diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 15055-8.txt | 10618 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 15055-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 197490 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 15055-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 317593 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 15055-h/15055-h.htm | 10764 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 15055-h/images/1-tb.jpg | bin | 0 -> 32233 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 15055-h/images/1.jpg | bin | 0 -> 81997 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 15055-h/images/emblem.jpg | bin | 0 -> 1937 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 15055.txt | 10618 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 15055.zip | bin | 0 -> 197444 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 |
12 files changed, 32016 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15055-8.txt b/15055-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c2c4e40 --- /dev/null +++ b/15055-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10618 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Free Rangers, by Joseph A. Altsheler + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Free Rangers + A Story of the Early Days Along the Mississippi + +Author: Joseph A. Altsheler + +Release Date: February 14, 2005 [EBook #15055] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FREE RANGERS *** + + + + +Produced by Kentuckiana Digital Library, David Garcia, Emmy and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team.(www.pgdp.net) + + + + + + +THE +FREE RANGERS + +[Illustration] + +JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + +_The_ +FREE RANGERS + + + + +_The_ +FREE RANGERS + +A STORY OF EARLY DAYS +ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI + +BY + +JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + +AUTHOR OF "THE YOUNG TRAILERS," "THE FOREST RUNNERS," ETC. + +[Illustration] + +APPLETON-CENTURY-CROFTS, INC. + +NEW YORK + +COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY + + +_All rights reserved. This book, or parts +thereof, must not be reproduced in any +form without permission of the publishers._ + + +Copyright, 1936, by Sallie B. Altsheler +Printed in the United States of America + +"THE FREE RANGERS," WHILE AN INDEPENDENT +STORY IN ITSELF, CONTINUES THE FORTUNES OF THE +TWO BOYS AND THEIR COMRADES WHO WERE THE +CENTRAL CHARACTERS IN "THE YOUNG TRAILERS," +"THE FOREST RUNNERS," "THE KEEPERS OF THE +TRAIL" AND "THE EYES of THE WOODS." + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER PAGE + + I. THE CALL 1 + + II. A FOREST ENVOY 17 + + III. AN INVISIBLE CHASE 39 + + IV. TAKING A "GALLEON" 54 + + V. ON THE GREAT RIVER 74 + + VI. BATTLE AND STORM 96 + + VII. THE LONE VOYAGER 115 + + VIII. THE CHATEAU OF BEAULIEU 133 + + IX. PAUL AND THE SPANIARD 153 + + X. A BARBARIC ORDEAL 171 + + XI. THE SPANIARD'S OFFER 181 + + XII. THE SHADOW IN THE FOREST 196 + + XIII. THE WHITE STALLION 214 + + XIV. NEW ORLEANS 230 + + XV. BEFORE BERNARDO GALVEZ 251 + + XVI. IN PRISON 271 + + XVII. THE FLAW IN THE ARMOR 285 + +XVIII. NORTHWARD WITH THE FLEET 302 + + XIX. THE BATTLE OF THE BANK 322 + + XX. THE BATTLE OF THE BAYOU 334 + + XXI. THE DEFENSE OF THE FIVE 349 + + XXII. THE CHOSEN TASK 361 + + + + + +THE FREE RANGERS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE CALL + + +The wilderness rolled away to north and to south, and also it rolled away +to east and to west, an unbroken sweep of dark, glossy green. Straight up +stood the mighty trunks, but the leaves rippled and sang low when a gentle +south wind breathed upon them. It was the forest as God made it, the +magnificent valley of North America, upon whose edges the white man had +just begun to nibble. + +A young man, stepping lightly, came into a little glade. He was white, but +he brought with him no alien air. He was in full harmony with the primeval +woods, a part of them, one in whose ears the soft song of the leaves was a +familiar and loved tune. He was lean, but tall, and he walked with a +wonderful swinging gait that betokened a frame wrought to the strength of +steel by exercise, wind, weather, and life always in the open. Though his +face was browned by sun and storm his hair was yellow and his eyes blue. +He was dressed wholly in deerskin and he carried over his shoulder the +long slender rifle of the border. At his belt swung hatchet and knife. + +There was a touch to the young man that separated him from the ordinary +woods rover. He held himself erect with a certain pride of manner. The +stock of his rifle, an unusually fine piece, was carved in an ornate and +beautiful way. The deerskin of his attire had been tanned with uncommon +care, and his moccasins were sewn thickly with little beads of yellow and +blue and red and green. Every piece of clothing was scrupulously clean, +and his arms were polished and bright. + +The shiftless one--who so little deserved his name--paused a moment in the +glade and, dropping the stock of his rifle to the ground, leaned upon the +muzzle. He listened, although he expected to hear nothing save the song of +the leaves, and that alone he heard. A faint smile passed over the face of +Shif'less Sol. He was satisfied. All was happening as he had planned. Then +he swung the rifle back to his shoulder, and walked to the crest of a hill +near by. + +The summit was bare and the shiftless one saw far. It was a splendid +rolling country, covered with forests of oak and elm, beech, hickory and +maple. Here and there faint threads of silver showed where rivers or +brooks flowed, and he drew a long deep breath. The measure of line and +verse he knew not, but deep in his being Nature had kindled the true fire +of poetry, and now his pleasure was so keen and sharp that a throb of +emotion stirred in his throat. It was a grand country and, if reserved for +any one, it must be reserved for his race and his people. Shif'less Sol +was resolved upon that purpose and to it he was ready to devote body and +life. + +Yet the wilderness seemed to tell only of peace. The low song of the +leaves was soothing and all innocence. The shiftless one was far beyond +the farthest outpost of his kind, beyond the broad yellow current of the +Mississippi, deep in the heart of the primeval forest. He might travel +full three hundred miles to the eastward and find no white cabin, while to +westward his own kind were almost a world away. On all sides stretched the +vast maze of forest and river, through which roamed only wild animals and +wilder man. + +Shif'less Sol, from his post on the hill, examined the whole circle of the +forest long and carefully. He seemed intent upon some unusual object. It +was shown in the concentration of his look and the thoughtful pucker of +his forehead. It was not game, because in a glade to windward, at the foot +of the hill, five buffaloes grazed undisturbed and now and then uttered +short, panting grunts to show their satisfaction. Presently a splendid +stag, walking through the woods as if he were sole proprietor, scented the +strange human odor, and threw up his head in alarm. But the figure on the +hill, the like of which the deer had never seen before, did not stir or +take notice, and His Lordship the Stag raised his head higher to see. The +figure still did not stir, and, his alarm dying, the stag walked +disdainfully away among the trees. + +Birds, the scarlet tanager, the blue bird, the cat bird, the jay and +others of their kin settled on the trees near the young man with the +yellow hair, and gazed at him with curiosity and without fear. A rabbit +peeped up now and then, but beyond the new presence the wilderness was +undisturbed, and it became obvious to the animal tribe that the stranger +meant no harm. Nor did the shiftless one himself discern any alien note. +The sky, a solid curve of blue, bore nowhere a trace of smoke. It was +undarkened and unstained, the same lonely brightness that had dawned every +morning for untold thousands of years. + +Shif'less Sol showed no disappointment. Again all seemed to be happening +as he wished. Presently he left the hill and, face toward the south, began +to walk swiftly and silently down the rows of trees. There was but little +undergrowth, nothing to check his speed, and he strode on and on. After a +while he came to a brook running through low soft soil and then he did a +strange thing, the very act that a white man travelling through the +dangerous forest would have avoided. He planted one foot in the yielding +soil near the water's edge, and then stepping across, planted the other in +exactly the same way on the far side. + +When another yard brought him to hard ground he stopped and looked back +with satisfaction. On either side of the brook remained the firm deep +impression of a human foot, of a white foot, the toes being turned +outward. No wilderness rover could mistake it, and yet it was hundreds of +miles to the nearest settlement of Shif'less Sol's kind. + +He took another look at the footsteps, smiled again and resumed his +journey. The character of the country did not change. Still the low +rolling hills, still the splendid forests of oak and elm, beech, maple and +hickory, and of all their noble kin, still the little brooks of clear +water, still the deer and the buffalo, grazing in the glades, and taking +but little notice of the strange human figure as it passed. Presently, the +shiftless one stopped again and he did another thing, yet stranger than +the pressing-in of the foot-prints beside the little stream. He drew the +hatchet from his belt and cut a chip out of the bark of a hickory. A +hundred yards further on he did the same thing, and, at three hundred +yards or so, he cut the chip for the third time. He looked well at the +marks, saw that they were clear, distinct and unmistakable, and then the +peculiar little smile of satisfaction would pass again over his face. + +But these stops were only momentary. Save for them he never ceased his +rapid course, and always it led straight toward the south. When the sun +was squarely overhead, pouring down a flood of golden beams, he paused in +the shade of a mighty oak, and took food from his belt. He might have +eaten there in silence and obscurity, but once more the shiftless one +showed a singular lack of caution and woodcraft. He drew together dry +sticks, ignited a fire with flint and steel, and cooked deer meat over it. +He let the fire burn high, and a thin column of dark smoke rose far up +into the blue. Any savage, roaming the wilderness, might see it, but the +shiftless one was reckless. He let the fire burn on, after his food was +cooked, while the column of smoke grew thicker and mounted higher, and ate +the savory steaks, lying comfortably between two upthrust roots. Now and +then he uttered a little sigh of satisfaction, because he had travelled +far and hard, and he was hungry. Food meant new strength. + +But he was not as reckless as he seemed. Nothing that passed in the forest +within the range of eyesight escaped his notice. He heard the leaf, when +it fell close by, and the light tread of a deer passing. He remained a +full hour between the roots, a long time for one who might have a purpose, +and, after he rose, he did not scatter the fire and trample upon the +brands after the wilderness custom when one was ready to depart. The +flames had died down, but he let the coals smoulder on, and, hundreds of +yards away, he could still see their smoke. Now, he sought the softest +parts of the earth and trod there deliberately, leaving many footprints. +Again he cut little chips from the trees as he passed, but never ceased +his swift and silent journey to the south. The hours fled by, and a dark +shade appeared in the east. It deepened into dusk, and spread steadily +toward the zenith. The sun, a golden ball, sank behind a hill in the +west, and then the shiftless one stopped. + +He ascended a low hill again, and took a long scrutinizing look around the +whole horizon. But his gaze was not apprehensive. On the contrary, it was +expectant, and his face seemed to show a slight disappointment when the +wilderness merely presented its wonted aspect. Then he built another fire, +not choosing a secluded glade, but the top of the hill, the most exposed +spot that he could find, and, after he had eaten his supper, he sat beside +it, the expectant air still on his face. + +Nothing came. But the shiftless one sat long. He raked up dead leaves of +last year's winter and made a pillow, against which he reclined +luxuriously. Shif'less Sol was one who drew mental and physical comfort +from every favoring circumstance, and the leaves felt very soft to his +head and shoulders. He was not in the least lonesome, although the night +had fully come, and heavy darkness lay like a black robe over the forest. +He stretched out his moccasined toes to the fire, closed his eyes for a +moment or two, and a dreamy look of satisfaction rested on his face. It +seemed to the shiftless one that he lay in the very lap of luxury, in the +very best of worlds. + +But when he opened his eyes again he continued to watch the forest, or +rather he watched with his ears now, as he lay close to the earth, and his +hearing, at all times, was so acute that it seemed to border upon instinct +or divination. But no sound save the usual ones of the forest and the +night came to him, and he remained quite still, thinking. + +Shif'less Sol Hyde was in an exalted mood, and the flickering firelight +showed a face refined and ennobled by a great purpose. Leading a life that +made him think little of hardship and danger he thought nothing at all of +them now, but he felt instead a great buoyancy, and a hope equally great. + +He lay awake a full three hours after the dark had come, and he rose only +twice from his reclining position, each time merely to replenish the fire +which remained a red core in the circling blackness. Always he was +listening and always he heard nothing but the usual sounds of the forest +and the night. The darkness grew denser and heavier, but after a while it +began to thin and lighten. The sky became clear, and the great stars swam +in the dusky blue. Then Shif'less Sol fell asleep, head on the leaves, +feet to the fire, and slept soundly all through the night. + +He was up at dawn, cooked his breakfast, and then, after another long and +searching examination of the surrounding forest, departed, leaving the +coals of the fire to smoulder, and tell as they might that some one had +passed. Shif'less Sol throughout that morning repeated the tactics of the +preceding day, leaving footprints that would last, and cutting pieces of +bark from the trees with his sharp hatchet. At the noon hour he stopped, +according to custom, and, just when he had lighted his fire, he uttered a +low cry of pleasure. + +The shiftless one was gazing back upon his own trail, and the singular +look of exaltation upon his face deepened. He rose to his feet and stood, +very erect, in the attitude of one who welcomes. No undergrowth was here, +and he could see far down the aisles of trunks. + +A figure, so distant that only a keen eye would notice it, was +approaching. It came on swiftly and silently, much after the manner of the +shiftless one himself, elastic, and instinct with strength. + +The figure was that of a boy in years, but of a man in size, surpassing +Shif'less Sol himself in height, yellow haired, blue-eyed, and dressed, +too, in the neatest of forest garb. His whole appearance was uncommon, +likely anywhere to attract attention and admiration. The shiftless one +drew a long breath of mingled welcome and approval. + +"I knew that he would be first," he murmured. + +Then he sat down and began to broil a juicy deer steak on the end of a +sharpened stick. + +Henry Ware came into the little glade. He had seen the fire afar and he +knew who waited. All was plain to him like the print of a book, and, +without a word, he dropped down on the other side of the fire facing +Shif'less Sol. The two nodded, but their eyes spoke far more. Sol held out +the steak, now crisp and brown and full of savor, and Henry began to eat. +Sol quickly broiled another for himself, and joined him in the pleasant +task, over which they were silent for a little while. + +"I was on the Ohio," said Henry at last, "when the trapper brought me +your message, but I started at once." + +"O' course," said Shif'less Sol, "I never doubted it for a minute. I +reckon that you've come about seven hundred miles." + +"Nearer eight," said Henry, "but I'm fresh and strong, and we need all our +strength, Sol, because it's a great task that lies before us." + +"It shorely is," said Sol, "an' that's why I sent the message. I don't +want to brag, Henry, but we've done a big thing or two before, an' maybe +we kin do a bigger now." + +He spoke the dialect of the border, he was not a man of books, but that +great look of exaltation came into his face again, and the boy on the +other side of the fire shared it. + +"It seems to me, Sol," said Henry presently, "that we've been selected for +work of a certain kind. We finish one job, and then another on the same +line begins." + +"Mebbe it's because we like to do it, an' are fit fur it," said Sol +philosophically. "I've noticed that a river gen'ally runs in a bed that +suits it. I don't know whether the bed is thar because the river is, or +the river is thar 'cause the bed is, but it's shore that they're both thar +together, an' you can't git aroun' that." + +"There's something in what you say," said Henry. + +Then they relapsed into silence, and, in a half hour, as if by mutual +consent, they rose, left the fire burning, and departed, still walking +steadily toward the south. + +The country grew rougher. The hills were higher and closer together, and +the undergrowth became thick. Neither took any precautions as they passed +among the slender bushes, frequently trampling them down and leaving signs +that the blindest could not fail to see. Now and then the two looked back, +but they beheld only the forest and the forest people. + +"I don't think I ever saw the game so tame before," said Henry. + +"Which means," said Sol, "that the warriors ain't hunted here fur a long +time. I ain't seen a single sign o' them." + +"Nor I." + +They fell silent and scarcely spoke until the sun was setting again, when +they stopped for the night, choosing a conspicuous place, as Sol had done +the evening before. After supper, they sought soft places on the turf, and +lay in peace, gazing up at the great stars. Henry was the first to break +the silence. + +"One is coming," he said. "I can hear the footstep. Listen!" + +His ear was to the earth, and the shiftless one imitated him. At the end +of a minute he spoke. + +"Yes," he said, "I hear him, too. We'll make him welcome." + +He rose, put a fresh piece of wood on the fire, and smiled, as he saw the +flame leap up and crackle merrily. + +"Here he is," said Henry. + +The figure that emerged from the bushes was thick-set and powerful, the +strong face seamed and tanned by the wind, rain and sun of years. The man +stepped into the circle of the firelight, and held out his hand. Each +shook it with a firm and hearty clasp, and Tom Ross took his seat with +them beside the fire. They handed him food first, and then he said: + +"I was away up in the Miami country, huntin' buffalo, when the word came +to me, Sol, but I quit on the minute an' started." + +"I was shore you would," said the shiftless one quietly. "Buffaloes are +big game, but we're huntin' bigger now." + +"I was never in this part of the country before," said Tom Ross, looking +around curiously at the ghostly tree trunks. + +"I've been through here," said Henry, "and it runs on in the same way for +hundreds of miles in every direction." + +"Bigger an' finer than any o' them old empires that Paul used to tell us +about," said Shif'less Sol. + +"Yes," said Henry. + +The three looked at one another significantly. + +They wrapped themselves in their blankets by and by, and went to sleep on +the soft turf. Henry was the first to awake, just when the dawn was +turning from pink to red, and a single glance revealed to him an object on +the horizon that had not been there the night before. A man stood on the +crest of a low hill, and even at the distance, Henry recognized him. His +comrades were awaking and he turned to them. + +"See!" he said, pointing with a long forefinger. + +Their eyes followed, and they too recognized the man. + +"He'll be here in a minute," said Shif'less Sol. "He jest eats up space." + +He spoke the truth, as it seemed scarcely a minute before Long Jim Hart +entered the camp, showing no sign of fatigue. The three welcomed him and +gave him a place at their breakfast fire. + +"I wuz at Marlowe," he said, "when the word reached me, but I started just +an hour later. I struck your trail, Sol, two days back, an' I traveled +nearly all last night. I saw Henry join you an' then Tom." + +Shif'less Sol laughed. He had a soft, mellow laugh that crinkled up the +corners of his mouth, and made his eyes shine. There was no doubt that a +man who laughed such a laugh was enjoying himself. + +"I reckon you didn't have much trouble follerin' that trail o' ourn," he +said. + +Jim Hart answered the laugh with a grin. + +"Not much," he replied. "It was like a wagon road through the wilderness. +The ashes uv your last camp fire weren't sca'cely cold when I passed by." + +"We're all here 'cept the fifth feller," said Tom Ross. + +"The fifth will come," said Henry emphatically. + +"Uv course," said Tom Ross with equal emphasis. + +"And when he comes," said Shif'less Sol, "we take right hold o' the big +job." + +They lingered awhile over their breakfast, but saw no one approaching. +Then they took up the march again, going steadily southward in single +file, talking little, but leaving a distinct trail. They were only four, +but they were a formidable party, all strong of arm, keen of eye and ear, +skilled in the lore of the forest, and every one bore the best weapons +that the time could furnish. + +Toward noon the day grew very warm and clouds gathered in the sky. The +wind became damp. + +"Rain," said Henry. "I'm sorry of that. I wish it wouldn't break before he +overtook us." + +"S'pose we stop an' make ready," said Shif'less Sol. "You know we ain't +bound to be in a big hurry, an' it won't help any o' us to get a soakin'." + +"You're shorely right, Sol," said Jim Hart. "We're bound to take the best +uv care uv ourselves." + +They looked around with expert eyes, and quickly chose a stony outcrop or +hollow in the side of a hill, just above which grew two gigantic beeches +very close together. Then it was wonderful to see them work, so swift and +skillful were they. They cut small saplings with their hatchets, and, with +the little poles and fallen bark of last year, made a rude thatch which +helped out the thick branches of the beeches overhead. They also built up +the sides of the hollow with the same materials, and the whole was done in +less than ten minutes. Then they raked in heaps of dead leaves and sat +down upon them comfortably. Many drops of water would come through the +leaves and thatch, but such as they, hardened to the wilderness, would not +notice them. + +Meanwhile the storm was gathering with the rapidity so frequent in the +great valley. All the little clouds swung together and made a big one that +covered nearly the whole sky. The air darkened rapidly. Thunder began to +growl and mutter and now and then emitted a sharp crash. Lightning cut the +heavens from zenith to horizon, and the forest would leap into the light, +standing there a moment, vivid, like tracery. + +A blaze more brilliant than all the rest cleft wide the sky and, as they +looked toward the North, they saw directly in the middle of the flame a +black dot that had not been there before. + +"He's coming," said Henry in the quiet tone that indicated nothing more +than a certainty fulfilled. + +"Just in time to take a seat in our house," said the shiftless one. + +Sol ran out and gave utterance to a long echoing cry that sounded like a +call. It was answered at once by the new black dot under the Northern +horizon, which was now growing fast in size, as it came on rapidly. It +took a human shape, and, thirty yards away, a fine, delicately-chiselled +face, the face of a scholar and dreamer, remarkable in the wilderness, was +revealed. The face belonged to a youth, tall and strong, but not so tall +and large as Henry. + +"Here we are, Paul," said Shif'less Sol. "We've fixed fur you." + +"And mighty glad I am to overtake you fellows," said Paul Cotter, +"particularly at this time." + +He ran for the shelter just as the forest began to moan, and great drops +of rain rushed down upon them. He was inside in a moment, and each gave +his hand a firm grasp. + +"We're all here now," said Henry. + +"All here and ready for the great work," said Shif'less Sol, his tranquil +face illumined again with that look of supreme exaltation. + +Then the storm burst. The skies opened and dropped down floods of water. +They heard it beating on the leaves and thatch overhead, and some came +through, falling upon them but they paid no heed. They sat placidly until +the rush and roar passed, and then Henry said to the others: + +"We're to stick to the task that we've set ourselves through thick and +through thin, through everything?" + +"Yes! Yes!" + +"If one falls, the four that are left keep on?" + +"Yes! yes!" + +"If three fall and only two are left, these must not flinch." + +"Yes! yes!" + +"If four go down and only one is left, then he whoever he may be, must go +on and win alone?" + +"Yes! yes!" came forth with deep emphasis. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A FOREST ENVOY + + +A group of men were seated in a pleasant valley, where the golden beams of +the sun sifted in myriads through the green leaves. They were about fifty +in number and all were white. Most of them were dressed in Old World +fashion, doublets, knee breeches, hose, and cocked hats. Nearly all were +dark; olive faces, black hair, and black pointed beards, but now and then +one had fair hair, and eyes of a cold, pale blue. Manner, speech, looks, +and dress, alike differentiated them from the borderers. They were not the +kind of men whom one would expect to find in these lonely woods in the +heart of North America. + +The leader of the company--and obviously he was such--was one of the few +who belonged to the blonde type. His eyes were of the chilly, metallic +blue, and his hair, long and fair, curled at the ends. His dress, of some +fine, black cloth, was scrupulously neat and clean, and a silver-hilted +small sword swung it his belt. He was not more than thirty. + +The fair man was leaning lazily but gracefully against the trunk of a +tree, and he talked in a manner that seemed indolent and careless, but +which was neither to a youth in buckskins who sat opposite him, +a striking contrast in appearance. This youth was undeniably of the +Anglo-Saxon type, large and well-built, with a broad, full forehead, but +with eyes set too close together. He was tanned almost to the darkness of +an Indian. + +"You tell me, Seņor Wyatt," said Don Francisco Alvarez, the leader of the +Spanish band, "that the new settlers in Kaintock[A] have twice driven off +the allied tribes, and that, if they are left alone another year or two, +they will go down so deep in the soil that they can never be uprooted. +Is it not so?" + +"It is so," replied Braxton Wyatt, the renegade. "The tribes have failed +twice in a great effort. Every man among these settlers is a daring and +skillful fighter, and many of the boys--and many of the women, too. But if +white troops and cannon are sent against them their forts must fall." + +The Spaniard was idly whipping the grass stems with a little switch. Now +he narrowed his metallic, blue eyes, and gazed directly into those of +Braxton Wyatt. + +"And you, Seņor Wyatt?" he said, speaking his slow, precise English. +"Nothing premeditated is done without a motive. You are of these people +who live in Kaintock, their blood is your blood; why then do you wish to +have them destroyed?" + +A deep flush broke its way through the brown tan on the face of Braxton +Wyatt, and his eyes fell before the cold gaze of the Spaniard. But he +raised them again in a moment. Braxton Wyatt was not a coward, and he +never permitted a guilty conscience to last longer than a throb or two. + +"I did belong to them," he replied, "but my tastes led me away. I have +felt that all this mighty valley should belong to the Indians who have +inhabited it so long, but, if the white people come, it should be those +who are true and loyal to their kings, not these rebels of the colonies." + +Francisco Alvarez smiled cynically, and once more surveyed Braxton Wyatt, +with a rapid, measuring glance. + +"You speak my sentiments, Seņor Wyatt," he said, "and you speak them in a +language that I scarcely expected." + +"I had a schoolmaster even in the wilderness," said Braxton Wyatt. "And I +may tell you, too, as proof of my faith that I would be hanged at once +should I return to the settlements." + +"I do not doubt your faith. I was merely curious about your motives. I am +sure also that you can be of great help to us." + +He spoke in a patronizing manner, and Braxton Wyatt moved slightly in +anger, but restrained his speech. + +"I may say," continued the Spaniard, "that His Excellency Bernardo Galvez, +His Most Catholic Majesty's Governor of his loyal province of Louisiana, +has been stirred by the word that comes to him of these new settlements of +the rebel Americans in the land of the Ohio. The province of Louisiana is +vast, and it may be that it includes the country on either side of the +Ohio. The French, our predecessors, claimed it, and now that all the +colonists east of the mountains are busy fighting their king, it may be +easy to take it from them, as one would snip off a skirt with a pair of +scissors. That is why I and this faithful band are so far north in these +woods." + +Braxton Wyatt nodded. + +"And a wise thing, too," he said. "I am strong with the tribes. The great +chief, Yellow Panther, of the Miamis and the great chief, Red Eagle, of +the Shawnees are both my friends. I know how they feel. The Spanish in New +Orleans are far away. Their settlements do not spread. They come rather to +hunt and trade. But the Americans push farther and farther. They build +their homes and they never go back. Do you wonder then that the warriors +wish your help?" + +Francisco Alvarez smiled again. It was a cold but satisfied smile and he +rubbed one white hand over the other. + +"Your logic is good," he said, "and these reasons have occurred to me, +also, but my master, Bernardo Galvez, the Governor, is troubled. We love +not England and there is a party among us--a party at present in +power--which wishes to help the Americans in order that we may damage +England, but I, if I could choose the way would have no part in it. As +surely as we help the rebels we will also create rebels against +ourselves." + +"You are far from New Orleans," said Braxton Wyatt. "It would take long +for a messenger to go and come, and meanwhile you could act as you think +best." + +"It is so," said the Spaniard. "Our presence here is unknown to all save +the chiefs and yourself. In this wilderness, a thousand miles from his +superior, one must act according to his judgment, and I should like to see +these rebel settlements crushed." + +He spoke to himself rather than to Wyatt, and again his eyes narrowed. +Blue eyes are generally warm and sympathetic, but his were of the cold, +metallic shade that can express cruelty so well. He plucked, too, at his +short, light beard, and Braxton Wyatt read his thoughts. The renegade felt +a thrill of satisfaction. Here was a man who could be useful. + +"How far is it from this place to the land of the Miamis and the +Shawnees?" asked Alvarez. + +"It must be six or seven hundred miles, but bands of both tribes are now +hunting much farther west. One Shawnee party that I know of is even now +west of the Mississippi." + +Francisco Alvarez, frowned slightly. + +"It is a huge country," he said. "These great distances annoy me. Still, +one must travel them. Ah, what is it now?" + +He was looking at Braxton Wyatt, as he spoke, and he saw a sudden change +appear upon his face, a look of recognition and then of mingled hate and +rage. The renegade was staring Northward, and the eyes of Alvarez followed +his. + +The Spaniard saw a man or rather a youth approaching, a straight, slender, +but tall and compact figure, and a face uncommon in the wilderness, fine, +delicate, with the eyes of a dreamer, and seer, but never weak. The youth +came on steadily, straight coward the Spanish camp. + +"Paul Cotter!" exclaimed Braxton Wyatt. "How under the sun did he come +here!" + +"Some one you know?" said Alvarez who heard the words. + +"Yes, from the settlements of which we speak," replied Wyatt quickly and +in a low tone. He had no time to add more, because Paul was now in the +Spanish camp, and was gravely saluting the leader, whom he had recognized +instantly to be such by his dress and manner. Francisco Alvarez rose to +his feet, and politely returned the salute. He saw at once a quality in +the stranger that was not wholly of the wilderness. Braxton Wyatt nodded, +but Paul took no notice whatever of him. A flush broke again through the +tan of the renegade's face. + +"Be seated," said Alvarez, and Paul sat down on a little grassy knoll. + +"You are Captain Francisco Alvarez of the Spanish forces at New Orleans?" + +"You have me truly," replied the Spaniard smiling and shrugging his +shoulders, "although I cannot surmise how you became aware of my presence +here. But the domains of my master, the king, extend far, and his servants +must travel far, also, to do his will." + +Paul understood the implication in his words, but he, too, had the gift of +language and diplomacy, and he did not reply to it. Stirred by deep +curiosity, the Spanish soldiers were gathering a little nearer, but +Alvarez waved back all but Wyatt. + +"I am glad to find you here, Captain Alvarez," said Paul with a gravity +beyond his years; indeed, as he spoke, his face was lighted up by that +same singular look of exaltation that had passed more than once over the +face of the shiftless one. "And I am glad because I have come for a +reason, one of the greatest of all reasons. I want to say something, not +for myself, but for others." + +"Ah, an ambassador, I see," said Francisco Alvarez with a light touch of +irony. + +But Paul took no notice of the satire. He was far too much in earnest, and +he resumed in tones impressive in their solemnity: + +"I am from one of the little white villages in the Kentucky woods far to +the eastward. There we have fought the wilderness and twice we have driven +back strong forces of the allied tribes, although they came with great +resolution and were helped moreover by treachery." + +Braxton Wyatt moved angrily and was about to speak, but Paul, never +glancing in his direction, went on steadily: + +"These settlements cannot be uprooted now. They may be damaged. They may +be made to suffer great loss and grief, but the vanguard of our people +will never turn back. Neither warrior nor king can withstand it." + +Now Paul's look was wholly that of the prophet. As he said the last words, +"neither warrior nor king can withstand it" his face was transfigured. He +did not see the Spaniard before him, nor Braxton Wyatt, the renegade, nor +the surrounding woods, but he saw instead great states and mighty cities. + +The Spaniard, despite his displeasure, was impressed by the words of the +youth, but he took hold of himself bodily, as it were, and shook off the +spell. A challenging light sprang into his cold blue eyes. + +"I do not know so much about warriors," he said, "but kings may be and are +able to do what they will. If my master should choose to put forth his +strength, even to send his far-extended arm into these woods, to what +would your tiny settlements amount? A pinch of sand before a puff of wind. +Whiff! You are gone. Nor could your people east of the mountains help you, +because they, on bended knee, will soon be receiving their own lesson from +the King of England." + +Francisco Alvarez snapped his fingers, as if Paul and his people were +annihilated by a single derisive gesture. Paul reddened and a dangerous +flash came into his eyes. But the natural diplomatist in him took control, +and he replied with the utmost calmness. + +"It may be so, but It is not a question that should arise. The King of +Spain is at peace with us. We even hear, deep in the woods as we are, that +he may take our part against England. France already is helping us. So I +have come to ask you to take no share in plots against us, not to listen +to evil counsels, and not to turn ear to traitors, who, having been +traitors to one people, can readily be traitors to another." + +Braxton Wyatt leaped to his feet, his face blazing with wrath, and his +hand flew to the hilt of the knife at his belt. + +"Now this is more than I will stand!" he exclaimed, "you cannot ignore me, +Paul Cotter, until such time you choose, and then call me foul names!" + +The Spaniard smiled. The sight of Braxton Wyatt's wrath pleased him, but +he put out his hand in a detaining gesture. + +"Sit down!" he said in a tone so sharp that Wyatt obeyed. "This is no time +for personal quarrels. As I see it, an embassy has come to us and we must +discuss matters of state. Is it not so, Seņor, Seņor--" + +"Cotter! Paul Cotter is my name." + +Paul felt the sneer in the Spaniard's last words, but he hid his +resentment. + +"Then your proposition is this," continued Alvarez, "that I and my men +have nothing to do with the Indians, that we make no treaty, no agreement +with them, that we abandon this country and go back to New Orleans. This +you propose despite the fact that the region in which we now are belongs +to Spain." + +"I would not put it in quite that fashion," replied Paul calmly. +"I suggest instead that you be our friend. It is natural for the white +races to stand together. I suggest that you send away, also, the messenger +of the tribes who comes seeking your help to slaughter women and children." + +Braxton Wyatt half rose, but again he was put down by the restraining +gesture of Francisco Alvarez. + +"No personal quarrels, as I stated before," said the Spaniard, "but to +you, Seņor Cotter, I wish to say that I have heard your words, but it +seems to me they are without weight. I do not agree with you that the +settlements of the Americans cannot be uprooted. Nor am I sure that your +title to Kaintock is good. It was claimed in the beginning by France, and +justly, but a great war gave it by might though not by right to England. +Now Spain has succeeded to France. Here, throughout all this vast region, +there is none to dispute her title. To the east of the Mississippi great +changes are going on, and it may be that Kaintock, also, will revert to my +master, the king." + +He waved his hand in a gesture of finality, and a look of satisfaction +came into Braxton Wyatt's eyes. The renegade glanced triumphantly at Paul, +but Paul's face remained calm. + +"You would not proceed to any act of hostility in conjunction with the +tribes, when Spain and the colonies are at peace?" said Paul to the +Spaniard. + +Francisco Alvarez frowned, and assumed a haughty look. + +"I make neither promises nor prophecies," he said, "I have spoken +courteously to you, Seņor Cotter, although you are a trespasser on the +Spanish domain. I have given you the hospitality of our camp, but I cannot +answer questions pertaining to the policy of my government." + +Paul, for the first time, showed asperity. He, too, drew himself up with a +degree of haughtiness, and he looked Don Francisco Alvarez squarely in the +eyes, as he replied: + +"I did not come here to ask questions. I came merely to say that our +nations are at peace, and to urge you not to help savages in a war upon +white people." + +"I do not approve of rebels," said Alvarez. + +Paul was silent. He felt instinctively that his mission had failed. +Something cold and cruel about the Spaniard repelled him, and he believed, +too, that Braxton Wyatt had not been without a sinister influence. + +Alvarez arose and walked over to his camp-fire. Braxton Wyatt followed him +and whispered rapidly to the Spaniard. Paul, persistent and always +hopeful, was putting down his anger and trying to think of other effective +words that he might use. But none would come into his head, and he, too, +rose. + +"I am sorry that we cannot agree. Captain Alvarez," he said with the grave +courtesy that became him so well, "and therefore I will bid you good day." + +A thin smile passed over the face of the Spaniard and the blue eyes shed a +momentary, metallic gleam. + +"I pray you not to be in haste, Seņor Cotter," he said. "Be our guest for +a while." + +"I must go," replied Paul, "although I thank you for the courtesy." + +"But we cannot part with you now," said the Spaniard, "you are on Spanish +soil. Others of your kind may be near, also, and you and they have come, +uninvited. I would know more about it." + +"You mean that you will detain me?" said Paul in surprise. + +The Spaniard delicately stroked his pointed beard. + +"Perhaps that is the word," he replied. "As I said, you have trespassed +upon our domain, and I must hold you, for a time, at least. I know not +what plot is afoot" + +"As a prisoner?" + +"If you wish to call it so." + +"And yet there is no war between your country and mine!" + +The Spaniard delicately stroked his pointed beard again. + +Paul looked at him accusingly, and Francisco Alvarez unable to sustain his +straight gaze, turned his eyes aside. But Braxton Wyatt's face was full of +triumph, although he kept silent. + +Paul thought rapidly. It seemed to him a traitorous design and he did not +doubt that Wyatt had instigated it, but he must submit at present. He was +powerless inside a ring of fifty soldiers. Without a word, he sat down +again on the little grassy knoll and it pleased Alvarez to affect a great +politeness, and to play with his prisoner as a cat with a mouse. He +insisted that he eat and he made his men bring him the tenderest of food, +deer meat and wild turkey, and fish, freshly caught. Finally he opened a +flask and poured wine in a small silver cup. + +"It is the wine of Xeres, Seņor Cotter," he said, "and you can judge how +precious it is, as it must be a full five thousand miles from its +birthplace." + +He handed the little cup in grandiose manner to Paul, and Paul, meeting +his humor, accepted it in like fashion. He had not tasted wine often in +his life and he found it a strong fluid, but, in this crisis, it +strengthened him and put a new sparkle in his blood. + +"Thanks," he said as he politely returned the empty cup, and resumed his +seat on the knoll. Then Alvarez walked aside, and talked again in whispers +with the renegade. + +Wyatt urged that Paul be held indefinitely. He would not talk at first, +but they must get from him the fullest details about the settlements in +Kentucky, the weak points, where to attack and when. If the settlements +were left alone they would certainly spread all over Kentucky and in time +across the Mississippi into the Spanish domain. Spain was far away, and +she could not drive them back. But the Spaniards could urge on the tribes +again, and with a hidden hand, send them arms and ammunition. White men +with cannon could even join the warriors, and Spain might convincingly say +that she knew nothing of if. + +The words of the renegade pleased Francisco Alvarez. Deep down in his +crafty heart he loved intrigue and cunning. + +"Yes, we'll hold him," he said. "He is a trespasser here, although I will +admit that he is not the kind of person that I expected to find in the +heart of this vast wilderness." + +He glanced at Paul, who was sitting on the knoll, calm and apparently +unconcerned, his fine features at rest, his blue eyes lazily regarding the +forest. The blue of Paul's eyes was different from the blue of the eyes of +Alvarez. The blue of his was deep, warm, and sympathetic. + +"Is it likely that Cotter is alone?" Alvarez asked of Wyatt. + +"Not at all," replied the renegade. "He has friends, and I warn you that +they are able and dangerous. We must be on our watch against them." + +"What friends?" asked the Spaniard incredulously. + +"There is a group. They are five. Where one of them is, the other four are +not likely to be far away. There is Cotter's comrade, Henry Ware, a little +older, and larger and stronger, wonderful in the woods! He surpasses the +Indians themselves in cunning and craft. Then comes Sol Hyde, whom they +call the shiftless one, but swift and cunning, and much to be dreaded. +Look out for him when he is pretending to be most harmless. And then Tom +Ross, who has been, a hunter and guide all his life, and the one they call +Long Jim, the swiftest runner in the wilderness. Oh, I know them all!" + +"Perhaps you have had cause to know them well," said the Spaniard in a +sardonic tone--he was a keen reader of character, and he understood +Braxton Wyatt. + +But Braxton Wyatt ignored the taunt in his anxiety. + +"They must not be taken too lightly," he said. "They are somewhere in +these woods, and, Captain, I warn you once more against them." + +The Spaniard smiled in his superior way, and, turning to his men, began to +give directions for the camp that night. Sunset was not far away, and they +would remain in the glade. His was too strong a force to fear attack in +that isolated region, but Alvarez posted sentinels, and ordered the others +to sleep, when the time came, in a wide ring about the fire. Within the +ring he and Paul and Wyatt sat, and the Spaniard, maintaining his light, +ironic humor, talked much. Paul, if addressed directly by Alvarez, always +answered, but he persistently ignored the renegade. Such a being filled +him with horror, and once, when Wyatt gave him a look of deadly hate, Paul +shot back one of his own, fully a match for it. But that was all. + +Night came on fast. The red sun shot down. Darkness fell upon the forest, +and swept up to the circling rim of the camp fire. Chill came into the +air. The Spaniards shivered and crept a little nearer to the coals. Talk +ceased, and, out of the illimitable forest, came the low, moaning sound of +the wind among the leaves. The great stars sprang out, and shone with a +thin, pale light on the wilderness. + +Francisco Alvarez was a brave man, but he was born on sunny plains where +he basked in warmth and the eye ranged far. Now, despite himself, he felt +a chill that was uncanny. The forest, thick and black, spread away, he +knew, for hundreds of miles, and neither city nor town broke it. A fervent +imagination leaped up and peopled it with weird beings. Nor would +imagination go down before will and knowledge. Boughs twisted themselves +into fantastic, hideous shapes, and the moan of the wind was certainly +like the cry of a soul in torment. + +Don Francisco Alvarez shivered and the shiver became a shudder. He looked +across the fire at his prisoner, but Paul seemed unconscious of the forest +and the night, and the demon spell of the two. The lad sat immovable. Upon +his face was the dreamy, mystic look that so often came there. He seemed +to be gazing far beyond the Spaniard and the renegade into some greater +future. + +Francisco Alvarez, brave man though he was, felt awe. He rose impatiently, +kicked a coal deeper into the fire, looked once more at Paul, who was yet +silent, and spoke sharply to the sentinels. Then he returned to his place, +and said to Paul: + +"We offer you the hospitality of the forest and an extra blanket if you +wish it." + +"It's a hospitality to which I'm used," replied Paul, "and I don't need +the extra blanket, although I thank you for the offer." + +He took his own blanket from the little roll at his back, wrapped himself +in it, pillowed his head on the knoll, and closed his eyes. Francisco +Alvarez looked at him for some minutes, and could not tell whether he was +sleeping or waking, but he thought that he slept. His long, regular +breathing and the expression of his face, as peaceful as that of a little +child, indicated It. + +The night grew chillier. The great stars remained pale and cold, and the +forest continued to whine, as that strange, wandering breeze slipped +through the leaves. Francisco Alvarez of the sunny plains wished that it +would stop. It got upon his nerves, and the feeling it gave him was +singularly like that of an evil conscience. He saw his men fall to sleep +one by one, and he heard their heavy breathing. Braxton Wyatt also wrapped +himself in his blanket and soon slumbered. The fire sank, the coals +crumbled, and with soft little hisses, fell together. The circling rim of +darkness crept up closer and closer, and the trunks of the trees became +ghostly in the shadows. + +Alvarez saw his sentinels at either side of the camp, to right and left, +walking back and forth, and he knew also that they would watch well. Time +passed. The night darkened and then a wan moon came out, casting a +ghostly, gray shadow over the measureless black forest. The great stars, +pale and cold, danced in a dusky blue. Faint moans came out of the depths +of the wilderness, as a stray wind wandered here and there among the +leaves. Francisco Alvarez, resolute and self contained though he was, +could not sleep. He had taken a bold step in holding the messenger of +peace, and, although one might do much a thousand wilderness miles from +the seat of his authority, he was nevertheless anxious to have the full +support of Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana. + +Royalist to the marrow, he wished the colonists to be defeated by their +mother country, and he wished, moreover, that Spain might make secure a +title to all the immense regions in the valley. If he could skillfully +commit Spain to a quarrel with the settlers much might be done for the +cause in which his heart was enlisted. He foresaw the truth of Paul's +warning that in a little while nothing could uproot the settlers in +Kentucky. A blow at them, if it would destroy, must fall quickly, and he +meant that the blow should be given. + +His anxiety weighed heavily upon him and the wilderness at night grew more +uncanny. Sleep refused to come. The coals sank lower. One by one they +gleamed with the last fitful sparks of dying fire and then went out. The +two sentinels, one to the right and one to the left, had sat down now upon +fallen logs, but Alvarez knew that they were still watching with +care--they would not dare to do otherwise. All the rest but Alvarez slept. + +The Spaniard looked at Braxton Wyatt as he lay in his blanket, one arm +under his head, and his lip curled. He despised him, and yet he could be +very useful. He would have to work with him and he must treat him at least +with superficial politeness. Then he looked at the prisoner. Paul, too, +slept soundly, his fine face thrown into relief in the wan moonlight, +every sensitive feature revealed. Alvarez wondered again that he should +find a youth of such classic countenance and cultivated mind in the deep +forest. + +The wandering breeze ceased, and the wilderness fell into a silence so +deep and heavy that it preyed upon the nerves of the Spaniard. Then, out +of the stillness came a long, plaintive note, wailing, but musical, full +of a quality that made it seem to Alvarez weird and ominous. + +"Only the howl of a wolf," muttered the Spaniard, who recognized the +long-drawn cry. But it made him shiver a little, nevertheless. He alone +was awake, except the sentinels, and he felt like a tiny, lost speck in +all the vast wilderness. A second time came the cry of the wolf, and then +it was repeated a third and a fourth time. After the fourth it ceased. + +The four cries were so distinct, so equal in length, and repeated at such +regular intervals that they seemed to Francisco Alvarez like set notes. He +listened intently, but they did not come again. He glanced at the prisoner +but Paul had not stirred, the moon's rays illuminating his face with a +pale light. The renegade, too, slept soundly. + +Alvarez wrapped himself in his blanket after the fashion of the others, +and lay down, but still sleep would not come. He knew that it was far in +the night and he wished to be rested and fresh for the next day, but he +lay awake, nevertheless. A half hour passed, and then came that plaintive +cry of the wolf again. As before, it seemed to be wonderfully distinct and +full of character, but it was nearer now. Francisco Alvarez raised +himself on his elbow, and heard it a second and then a third and fourth +time. After that only the heavy silence of the forest. + +"The same as before," murmured the Spaniard to himself. "The wolf howled +four times. What a coincidence! Bah, I'm becoming a superstitious fool!" + +He resolutely closed his eyes and sought slumber once more. It was far +past midnight now, and weary nature began at last her task. His nerves +were soothed. A soft breeze fanned his eyelids with drowsy wing, the +forest wavered, swam away, and he slept. + +Red dawn was coming when Francisco Alvarez awoke. The fire was dead and +cold, and the men around it yet slumbered. The two sentinels, one to the +right and one to the left, still sat on the logs, backs toward him. He +took one glance to see if the prisoner, too, slept, and then he leaped to +his feet with a cry. The prisoner was not there! Nor was he anywhere in +the camp. + +"Up! up! you rascals!" shouted the Spaniard. "The boy is gone! escaped. +Luiz, Pedro, in what manner have you watched!" + +He rushed to the sentinel on the right, Luiz, and struck him sharply +across the back with the flat of his sword. + +"Wretch!" he cried, "you have slept!" and he struck him again. + +Luiz did not stir, even under the sharp blow. He remained, sitting on the +log, back to his chief, shoulders bent forward, as if he were in a +slumber too profound to be disturbed by anything short of a crash of +thunder in his ear. Alvarez, furious with anger, seized him by the +shoulder and dragged him back. Then he uttered another cry, in which rage +and surprise were mingled in equal portions. But Luiz, the sentinel, still +said nothing. He could not. A gag was fixed firmly in his mouth, his arms +were bound to his side, his legs to the tree on which he sat, and his +rifle had been left standing between his knees and against his shoulder, +as if held by one who watched. + +The unfortunate sentinel gazed up at his chief with wide-open, appealing +eyes, and, leaving him with the men, who were now crowding around he ran +to the other sentinel. Pedro, only to find him gagged and bound, exactly +like his comrade. It was some minutes before either could speak, after +they were cut loose and their gags removed, and then their tales were the +same. + +"I watched. I watched well, Captain," said Luiz, "by the Holy Virgin I +swear it! Never in this whole terrible night, not for a moment, have my +eyes closed. I saw nothing, I heard nothing but a wolf howling in the +forest, and then, long after midnight, I was suddenly seized from behind +by powerful hands. I could not move, so strong were they. I was gagged and +bound and I could see only the phantom figures of the men who did it. I +know no more." + +Pedro, with many supplications, repeated the tale, and Francisco Alvarez +was forced to believe them, although he cursed them for carelessness, and +promised them punishment. Braxton Wyatt had remained silent, although his +face showed deep disappointment. Presently, when the turmoil had died +down, he said in a low voice to Alvarez: + +"What was it that the sentinel said about hearing the howl of a wolf?" + +"I heard it myself," replied Alvarez. "It was about midnight, when a wolf +to the north howled four times. An hour or so later I heard it again, +somewhat nearer and somewhat to the west, when it howled four times as +before." + +"Ah!" said Braxton Wyatt. + +It was a short exclamation, but it was so full of significance that the +Spaniard in surprise, asked him what he meant. + +"Four cries," replied the renegade, "and he had four friends, of whom I +told you to beware. I told you what they were, what cunning and skill they +have, but you would not believe me and you must now! Cotter heard the four +cries. He was not asleep and he understood!" + +Braxton Wyatt, despite his annoyance at Paul's escape, felt a moment of +triumph. His warning had come true. He had been wiser than this Spaniard +who had patronised and insulted him. + +"We will deal with these people yet," said Francisco Alvarez angrily as he +turned away. + +"I hope so," replied Braxton Wyatt. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote A: An early French and Spanish name for Kentucky.] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +AN INVISIBLE CHASE + + +Deep in a shadowed glade sat the five, eating a quiet breakfast, and +talking in low tones of satisfaction. + +"I knew that you would come," said Paul, "and when I heard the four cries +of the wolf I knew, too, that all four of you were there. When you sent +the call Braxton Wyatt, who alone might have suspected, was asleep. The +Spanish commander was awake, and he was troubled, but he did not know +why." + +"Wa'al, I guess he knows now," said Shif'less Sol with a silent but deep +laugh. "Ef he's the kind o' man you say he is, Paul, an' I guess he is--he +needed our teachin' him a lesson. I hate a man who knows too much, who is +too almighty certain, an' I guess the Spaniard is one o' that kind. Think +o' him comin' out here in the woods, breakin' faith, so to speak, an' +holdin' you, Paul. Ef I wuz to go over to Europe, which I ain't ever goin' +to do--an' wuz to light down in one o' them big cities, Paris or London, +do you think I'd tell the fellers in the streets that I knowed more about +their town than they did?" + +"No, Sol," said Paul, "you're too wise a man ever to do such a thing." + +"I should hope I wuz," said Sol emphatically. "Jest think o' me stoppin' a +lot o' French fellers in the streets o' Paris, me jest happened in from +the woods fur the fust time, an' sayin' to them: 'Here, Bob, be keerful +how you cross the street thar, it's a right bad spot fur wagons, an' you'd +shorely git run over ef you tried it,' or 'Now, Dick, that thar is the +wrong street that you're takin', ef you foller it you'll land a full mile +from your cabin.'" + +"But Frenchmen are not named Bob and Dick," said Paul with a smile. + +"Wa'al ef they ain't they ought to be," said the shiftless one with +conviction. "Why they want to call theirselves by all them long names +nobody can pronounce, when there are a lot o' good, nice, short, handy +names like Dick, an' Jim, an' Bill, an' Bob, an' Hank, layin' 'roun' loose +an' jest beggin' to be used, is more'n I kin understand." + +"We must soon decide what to do," said Henry. "If the Spanish captain +concludes to help the Indians, and with Braxton Wyatt at his elbow I think +he is likely to do it, our people in Kentucky will again be in great +danger. We must drive the Spaniards back to New Orleans." + +"I agree with you," said Paul, "but how is it to be done?" + +"Mebbe we kin shoo 'em back, skeer 'em, so to speak," said Shif'less Sol. +"We're jest bound to keep Spain out o' this country." + +"It is true," said Paul. "Great things grow out of little ones. Such a +land as this is sure to have a great population some day and what we five +do now, obscure and few as we are, may help to decide what that population +is to be." + +As Paul spoke, his comrades and the shadowed glen floated away, and the +look of seer came upon him. Again he saw great towns and a nation. The +others regarded him with a little awe. The spiritual, or rather prophetic, +quality in Paul always had their deep respect. + +"Paul shorely does take mighty long looks ahead," whispered Shif'less Sol +to Henry, "an' sometimes I can't follow him clean to the end. I mostly +drop by the way. I like to live this very minute, an' I'm pow'ful glad to +be alive right now. But I'm with him clean to the finish o' our big job." + +Henry nodded and presently he and the shiftless one went away through the +woods. Paul, Ross, and Long Jim remained lying at ease in the forest--Paul +had learned the great wilderness lesson of patience--and about noon the +two returned. They had been spying upon the Spanish camp, and they +reported that Alvarez and his men had not moved. + +"They seem to be waiting for something," said Henry. "Braxton Wyatt is +still with them, and they have posted more sentinels in a wider circle. I +don't believe they will move camp for several days. So long as they keep +theirs there, we'll keep ours here." + +"O' course," said the shiftless one. "We must keep the watch." + +Several days passed and there was little to do. One or another of the +five at times crept close to the Spanish camp, and always reported that +the men there were lounging at their ease and still waiting. Now and then +the Spaniards hunted in detachments, usually guided by Braxton Wyatt, and +brought in both deer and buffalo. On the fourth day Henry and Paul also +went hunting. + +"The country west of here," said Henry, "opens out into a big prairie, and +we may see something worth seeing." + +Paul did not ask what it was, content to go and see, and the two, rifle on +shoulder, slipped away through the woods, taking a direct, western course. + +Paul noticed that the country soon became much less hilly, and that the +forest thinned. After a while hills and forest ceased altogether and the +two stood upon the edge of a wide sweep of gently rolling, open country, +extending so far that it met the horizon. + +"Look," said Henry. "A great prairie!" + +"And look what's on it!" exclaimed Paul. + +Henry laughed and glanced at his comrade's pleased face. As far as the eye +could reach the prairie was covered with a multitude of great, dark +animals, grazing on the short, sweet grass. Near by these animals, as Paul +saw, were a few feet apart, but further on they seemed to blend into one +solid, black, but heaving mass. + +"A real buffalo herd," said Henry. + +Paul had seen buffaloes often in Kentucky, but there they were usually in +small groups of a dozen or so, owing to the wooded nature of the country, +and now he looked for the first time upon a great herd, twenty thousand, +thirty thousand, maybe more--one could not calculate. The spectacle +appealed greatly to his imaginative temperament. + +"What a grand sight!" he said. + +"Yes," said Henry, "it is wonderful, but, Paul, this is nothing to what +you can see on the great plains. When I was a captive with the +northwestern Indians I've seen a herd that was passing our party all day, +and it was also so wide you could not see across it." + +They stood there some time looking. The huge, savage bulls were on the +outskirts of the herd, and just beyond them at the fringe of the forest +were snarling timber wolves, waiting for a chance to drag down some +careless calf, or a bull weakened to the last degree by old age. + +As the two youths looked they heard a shot and saw a movement among the +buffaloes. Another shot followed and then a half dozen. The portion of the +herd near by seemed suddenly to contract and to roll in upon itself. The +waiting wolves disappeared in the woods, and snorts of terror arose from +the herd. + +"There they are! I see them!" exclaimed Paul. "It is the Spaniards, sure +enough!" + +Five or six men in the Spanish military attire burst from the forest, not +more than a hundred yards away, and continued to fire as fast as they +could into the herd. + +"How foolish!" exclaimed Henry. "Either they are wasting their shots or if +they don't waste them they are killing far more buffaloes than they can +use!" + +The boys withdrew into a thicket, as they did not wish to be seen by the +Spaniards, and watched closely. The soldiers continued to reload and fire +and uttered shouts of joy whenever a buffalo fell. Transported by +excitement they scattered, and one man ran down near Paul and Henry, +detaching himself unconsciously from the rest of his comrades. + +This Spaniard was young and athletic, and he fired at a huge bull. Had he +been an experienced hunter, he would have known better, as the bull was +too big and tough to eat, and he was also one of the savage guardians of +the herd. Moreover, the Spaniards were armed mostly with muskets, a weapon +far inferior to the Kentucky rifle. + +This great bull stung in the flank, but stung only, uttered a roar of +pain, and, sharp horns down, charged directly upon the young Spaniard. He +was a terrifying sight as he tore up the grass of the prairie, his red +eyes flaming. The Spaniard, appalled, dropped his musket and ran for the +woods, the great beast thundering at his heels, and his hot breath, in +fancy at least, upon his back. Both Paul and Henry at that instant +recognized him. It was one of the unfortunate sentinels. Luiz. + +"I'll save him," said Henry, "but keep back, Paul! Don't let him see you!" + +The Spaniard was about to reach the edge of the wood, but another jump +would bring the raging buffalo upon him. His foot caught among some roots +and with a despairing cry he fell upon his face. But as he struck the +ground there was a sharp, lashing report, far different from the dull boom +of a musket, and the great animal suddenly ploughed forward on his head. +So violent was his plunge, as he was stricken in mid-charge, that his neck +was broken, and, after his crashing fall, he lay quite still. + +The young Spaniard, Luiz, sprang to his feet unharmed, and he was +confronted by a figure that startled him, the figure of a very tall and +powerful youth, clad wholly in deerskin, leaning on a long, slender +barreled Kentucky rifle, and looking at him contemplatively. So sudden was +his appearance and so fixed his gaze that Luiz, although joyful over his +escape from death, was startled and awed. His adventure of a few nights +before when he was seized, bound, and gagged by unseen but powerful hands +had left him shaken, and now his brain was whirling. + +The young Spaniard stared at the figure, which neither moved nor spoke, +but which returned his gaze with a fixed look. Was it a spirit, or was it +really one of the Americans? But whatever it was, it had, beyond a doubt, +saved his life, and deep down in his Spanish heart he was not ungrateful. + +"Thanks, Seņor!" he stammered. "Your shot--it came just in time!" + +The apparition spoke, but only a few words. + +"We are your friends, not your enemies, don't forget," it said, and the +startled Luiz rubbed his eyes. The figure of the great youth was gone. It +had been there and then it was not there, and only some bushes, waving +slightly, told where it had been. He regained his musket, and, still +bewildered, rejoined his comrades to tell them a story that they did not +more than half believe. + +Henry, laughing a little, returned to Paul. It had been a simple trick. He +had merely darted away among the bushes, while Luiz was still in a daze. + +"I did not want to see the man killed," he said, "and maybe we have sowed +a good seed, that will grow up in time, and produce something." + +"It may be," added Paul. + +They went a little farther into the forest and watched the Spaniards +finish their hunt, gather up as much of their game as they could carry, +and depart. When they were well out of sight, Henry and Paul went to a +slain cow that the soldiers had neglected, cut out some of the choicest +portions, and took the way to their own camp. + +"I think the Spaniards are likely to be disturbed over what has happened," +said Henry. + +In fact, the shiftless one, who was the scout the following night, +returned with a story that the Spanish camp was greatly agitated. Braxton +Wyatt and Alvarez were positive that the five were still lingering +somewhere near, but the uneducated soldiers were not sure that a spirit +was not lurking in the wilderness. It might be a beneficent spirit, as it +had saved Luiz, but, on the other hand, it had taken away the American +prisoner, and they were afraid of the unknown and mysterious. These vast, +dark woods were so different from the open and sunny plains of Spain, +where a man knew what to expect, that they were inspired with awe. + +Yet Alvarez would not move, so Shif'less Sol reported. He seemed to be +still waiting for something, and on the following night Henry, Paul, and +Shif'less Sol went forth to watch the Spanish camp again. + +"I've a feelin' in me," said the shiftless one, "that somethin' is goin' +to happen to-night. I often have these feelin's, omens some people call +'em, min'-readin' other people say. I notice that I gena'lly have 'em jest +about when all the circumstances show that things are comm' to a head, +jest ez ef Paul here wuz to feel along about 6 or 7 o'clock in the +afternoon that sundown couldn't be fur away. You can't beat it. Now when +I've gone fifteen or eighteen hours without food I have a feelin'--an' +it's a strong one, too--that I'm goin' to be hungry, an' I'm sca'cely ever +mistook, jest ez I've got a feelin' when the skies are filled with big +black clouds that it's liable to rain purty soon. I tell you, Paul, it's a +great thing to have this here power you call second sight." + +The three walked steadily on in Indian file through the forest, their +trained feet making no sound among the trunks and brushes. The night was +dark, just suited to their purpose, and clouds floated up to dim the +skies. No stars came out, and the moon was hidden. By and bye the wind +rose, and dashes of rain were whipped into their faces. + +But the three did not mind. Such things as these had become trifles to +them long since. Henry led with sure step, Shif'less Sol came next, and +Paul brought up the rear. Henry stopped after a while, and sank down +among the bushes. The other two did likewise, and, after a little pause in +which they heard nothing, they began to creep forward, taking the utmost +care to make not even the slightest sound. They saw presently through the +trees and bushes a faint red shade that grew fast to a glow and then to a +glare. + +Henry stopped, sank lower, and beckoned to his comrades. They crept to his +side and looked over a steep little cliff directly upon the Spanish camp. +Most of the soldiers were grouped about a large camp fire, and Francisco +Alvarez was among them in a place of honor. + +Hidden in the deep shrubbery the three occupied points of vantage, and, +while secure from observation themselves, they could easily see all that +passed in the glade. Several tents had been set, although the flaps were +wide open and within one of these sat Francisco Alvarez in all the +gorgeous attire of a Spanish officer, most fastidious in his taste. The +gold on his uniform glittered, the lace on his cuffs was snowy and fresh, +and the polished hilt of his small sword gleamed in the firelight. He had +the air of one who expected distinguished guests. + +"Now I wonder what has become of Braxton Wyatt," whispered Paul. Nowhere +could he see a sign of the renegade. + +"He is coming," whispered Henry, who had what Shif'less Sol would have +called an intuition. + +Two of the Spaniards heaped more wood upon the fire. The logs crackled +and blazed merrily, casting long tongues of flame across the glade, and +sending a grateful heat into the veins of the warm-blooded Southerners. +The flurries of rain ceased, and the skies brightened a little. A star or +two peeped out. + +"Ah!" said Henry in the lowest of whispers, "here they come!" + +The bushes at the far side of the glade parted and three figures came into +the open. They took but two or three steps forward and then stopped full +in the blaze of the firelight, where every feature showed like carving in +the red glow. + +The hidden watchers recognized at once the three who had come. They were +Braxton Wyatt, Yellow Panther the Miami chief, and Red Eagle the Shawnee +chief. Paul repressed a little cry of amazement that he should see the two +Indian leaders so far from the territory of their tribes. They must intend +much to come such a journey. + +Braxton Wyatt stepped back a little, as if having performed his function +of guide he would now remain awhile in the background, but the two great +chiefs stood motionless, side by side, magnificent specimens of savage +life, bronze of skin, tall of figure, powerful of chest, thin, eagle-like +faces, and defiant scalp-locks waving above. The imaginative Paul, seeing +how well they fitted into the wilderness scene, was forced to admire. The +firelight flickered and blazed over them, but they were immovable in all +their savage dignity. Henry put his hand upon Paul's shoulder, and pressed +gently. It was an intimation to look with all his eyes and listen with +all attention. But Paul did not need the hint. + +Francisco Alvarez also was impressed. He loved the towns and luxury, but +he had acuteness and perception, and he knew that these were strong men of +their kind, men with whom he must deal according to the courtesy of the +woods. He rose from his tent, bowed to them, and walked forward. He +himself was a splendid figure in his gorgeous uniform, and his carriage +was marked by dignity. + +"Now see them salute," whispered the shiftless one in Paul's ear. + +Braxton Wyatt stepped forward again, produced a pipe with a beautifully +carved horn handle, and filled it carefully with tobacco, which he lighted +with a coal from the fire. Then he handed it to Red Eagle, who was the +older of the chiefs, and Red Eagle gravely took a half dozen whiffs. Then +he passed it to Yellow Panther, who did likewise, and the chief in his +turn handed it to the Spanish commander. Alvarez smoked gravely for a half +minute, and then Braxton Wyatt took the pipe. + +"Now for the big confab," whispered Sol. + +Fine buffalo robes were spread before the fire, and the three leaders and +Braxton Wyatt sat upon them. All others kept at a respectful distance. The +four began to talk and, although only an occasional word reached the +watching three, they knew too well their subject of converse. It was the +great conspiracy to draw the Spanish from Louisiana into an attack upon +the infant settlements, upon the ground that they were or would be +interlopers. It was cannon that the assailants needed to smash the block +houses, and cannon in abundance could be brought on the great rivers from +New Orleans. + +The watchers presently saw Braxton Wyatt take a small parcel from the +inside of his deerskin hunting shirt. He unfolded the parcel and the +watchers could see that it consisted of large pieces of the finest, tanned +deerskin. + +"Maps," said Paul intuitively. "That scoundrel, Braxton Wyatt, has made +them for the aid of the Spanish, and to disclose all our weak points!" + +The fire blazed higher and they could see that on the white deerskin were +drawn lines in colored pigment, and the rest they guessed. It was true +enough. Braxton Wyatt, no mean draughtsman, had drawn, with the most +elaborate care and attention to detail, maps on a large scale of every one +of the infant settlements. There was nothing about Wareville in particular +that he did not show, and he also designated all the rivers, hills, and +valleys as far as they were known. With such aid a Spanish force, backed +by cannon and the warriors, must triumph over every post in Kentucky. + +"I never thought of this," whispered Paul. Henry merely pressed his +shoulder again to indicate that they were ready to deal with it, if man +could. + +The three watchers remained there more than an hour, and Alvarez, Wyatt, +and the chiefs still discussed the maps with every appearance of +agreement, bending their heads over them, and now and then disclosing +eager faces, as they lifted them in the firelight. + +"Alvarez wants to help them," whispered Paul. "He hates us, and, if he +can, he will commit the Governor of Louisiana to the Indian alliance." + +"Beyond a doubt," replied Henry, "and so it's not worth while for us to +wait here any longer." + +They slid away in the dark and returned to their own camp. There Long Jim +and Tom Ross were placidly awaiting them, and they were not at all +surprised at the news. Then the five held another of their conferences. + +"I think it likely," said Paul, "that Alvarez will go back at once to New +Orleans. He will tell the Governor there that armed bands of Americans are +trespassing upon Spanish territory and that they must be driven off. He +will come back with cannon and a powerful force to do the driving. That +means war, of course, and an attack upon us in Kentucky. How will the +Governor of New Orleans know whether the fighting is on Spanish territory +or not? And even if Alvarez overstepped the limits he could say that he +was attacked first." + +"Of course," said Henry, "and it means that we must follow Alvarez all the +way to New Orleans if necessary, and it may be that we shall have to carry +the message of the Kentuckians to Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish Governor +General himself." + +"We're ready," said Shif'less Sol lazily. "I wouldn't mind seein' that +furrin town. I saw a town once when I wuz a little boy. It wuz Baltimore, +an' a pow'ful big place it wuz, most nigh set my head to swimmin'. I +heard tell that ez many ez eight or ten thousand people lived thar. Sounds +impossible but some o' 'em swore it wuz true." + +"We'll prepare at once for the journey," said Henry. + +All set to work. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +TAKING A "GALLEON" + + +Henry and Shif'less Sol spied upon the Spanish camp again the next day, +and returned with news that the two chiefs had departed, but that Braxton +Wyatt had remained, evidently intending to accompany Alvarez to New +Orleans, where they were sure the Spanish leader now intended going. + +"I think, too," said Henry, "that they will break up camp in the morning +and march. I believe that they came up on the Mississippi, and will return +the same way." + +"Then they have boats," said Paul in dismay, "and we have none." + +"But we can get one," said Henry significantly. + +"If you want a thing, jest go an' git it," said Shif'less Sol. "I remember +once when I wuz a leetle bit o' a boy back in the East, I hankered +terribly after some hickory nuts that I knowed wuz in a grove about a mile +from our house. I suffered days an' days o' anguish fur them hickory nuts, +wishin' mighty bad all the time that I had 'em. At the end o' two weeks I +walked over an' got 'em, an' my sufferin' stopped off short." + +"That's just what we mean to do about our boat, step over and get it," +said Henry laughing. But he did not divulge his plan and the others were +content to wait for the event. + +As Henry had predicted, the Spanish camp broke up the following morning, +and Alvarez and his force took up a march almost due eastward. They +traveled in an easy fashion, and showed no signs of apprehension, Alvarez +deeming that fifty well-armed men were not in any danger from wandering +tribes. He did not know that five resolute borderers were following +closely behind him, even looking into his camp at night, and knowing every +important thing that he did. Braxton Wyatt may have suspected it, but he +said nothing, aware that it could not be prevented. + +The five were well prepared. They carried a large supply of ammunition, a +blanket each, and jerked meat. If their food supplies gave out there was +the forest swarming with game, and they knew that it swarmed in the same +fashion all the way down to New Orleans. They would camp at sunset three +or four miles from the Spaniards, keeping watch the night through, and in +the morning it was easy enough to take up the trail of Alvarez and his +men, which, to their experienced eyes, was like a high road leading +through the forest. + +One evening just as the sun was setting Henry parted some twining bushes +and looked over a cliff. The others came to his side and they, too, looked +as he was looking. + +At their very feet lay the mighty Mississippi. They had seen it before, +but it was never so impressive as now. Great at any time it was in spring +flood, rolling a vast, yellow current down toward the Gulf. The waters +overflowed on the low, eastern shore, and it was so far across that they +could not see the further bank in the shadowed evening. The setting sun, +nevertheless, lighted up the middle of the current with blood-red gleams, +and the five gazed with a certain awe at the mighty stream, as it flowed +ever onward. It was the highly imaginative Paul who was impressed the +most. + +"We know where it goes to," he said, "but I wonder where it comes from." + +Henry waved his hand vaguely toward the North. + +"Up there somewhere," he said, "a thousand miles from here, or maybe two +thousand. Nobody can tell." + +Paul did not say anything more, but continued to gaze at the vast, yellow +current of the Mississippi, coming out of the unknown regions of the far +north and flowing into lands of the far south, almost as mysterious and, +vague, once belonging to France but now owning the lordship of Spain. It +was the homely language of Shif'less Sol that recalled him from his +dreams. + +"It's purty big out thar, an' looks ez if you couldn't tamper with +it--this here river stands no foolin'--but do you know, Paul, water's +pow'ful friendly. It's always travelin' about, always on the move. Land +stands still, it's always thar, an' never sees nothin' new, but water +jest keeps a' movin', seein' new countries, here to-day, somewhar else +to-morrow, lavin' new banks, breathin' new air, floatin' peacefully on to +new people, gatherin' in their talk an' ways. + +"Jest think! This river comes out o' we don't know whar, sees all the +wilderness, whispers to the bars and buffaloes an' Injun tribes ez it goes +by, takes a look at us standin' here on the bank, an', after wonderin' +what we're about, slips on down hundreds o' miles to Louisianny, gazin' at +the French thar on the bank at New Orleans, an' then shoots out into the +sea." + +"Thar to be lost," said the unpoetical Long Jim. + +"Not to be lost, never to be lost, Jim," said Shif'less Sol earnestly. +"That Missip. water is still thar in the sea, an' it goes slippin' an' +slidin' along with the salt clean to all them old continents. It takes a +look in at England, that's fightin' us in the East, an' if the English +could understand the water's language it might tell 'em a lot o' things +that wuz wuth their knowin'. An' then it goes on to Spain an' France an' +Germany, whar they talk all them useless tongues, an' after a while it +takes a whirl clean 'roun' Africa an' Asia, an' sees goodness knows what, +an' then goes slippin' off to see islands in oceans that I ain't ever +heard tell on. Jumpin' Jehoshaphat but ain't that a movin' an' stirrin' +life fur ye!" + +Sol drew a deep breath and Paul looked at him with shining eyes. + +"You've said a good deal of what I was thinking, Sol," he said, "but for +which I couldn't find words." + +"We're likely to travel with the river for a while," said Tom Ross, "an' +we must purvide a way." + +"We'll do it soon," said Henry. + +They camped that night in a dense grove near the bank but they built no +fire. After midnight Henry and Shif'less Sol slipped away and went +northward. + +"'Bout four miles on we'll strike them Spaniards," said the shiftless one. + +It was a close calculation, as at the end of the four miles they saw the +light of a fire flaring through the trees and bushes and knew that they +had come upon Alvarez and his men. Their camp lay on rather low ground +beside a little bay of the Mississippi, and the keen eyes of the two +woodsmen saw at once that the force of Alvarez had been increased. + +"He's got about seventy men whar he had about fifty afore," said Shif'less +Sol as they crept nearer. + +"They came on boats as I thought," replied Henry, "and he left a +detachment here with the boats, while he went across country. Maybe he was +on an exploring expedition or something of that kind, when Braxton Wyatt +overtook him with his proposition." + +Sol looked at Henry and Henry looked at Sol. A ray of moonlight fell upon +their tanned and stern faces. Then as they looked a twinkle appeared in +the eye of each. The twinkle deepened and the two broke simultaneously +into a soundless laugh. + +"We want one of those boats," said Henry. + +"We shorely do," said Shif'less Sol. + +"We need it in the course of our duty," said Henry. + +"We jest can't git along without it," said Shif'less Sol. + +"It will be much easier floating down the middle of the Mississippi in a +boat than it will be walking along the bank all the way." + +"It will shorely save the feet, an' give a feller time to think, while the +current's doin' the work. It jest suits a lazy man like me." + +Again they broke simultaneously into a laugh that contained no sound, but +which was full of mirth. + +"It's taking what doesn't belong to us, and we are not at war with the +Spanish," said Henry. + +"They tried to hold Paul a prisoner, and they're not at war with us," +rejoined Sol. "We've got a right to hit back. Besides, we're doin' it to +save a war, and we're only borrowin' their boat fur their own good." + +The two, without further ado, made a circuit around the Spanish camp, +coming down on the northern side. There fortunately for them the trees and +bushes were thick to the water's edge, and the shore was very low. In +fact, the river, owing to the flood, overlapped the bushes. + +They redoubled their caution, using every art and device of woodcraft to +approach without noise. They could see the flare of the camp fire beyond +the bushes, and now and then they caught sight of a sentinel's head. They +felt amply justified in this attempt, for Alvarez had not only held Paul a +prisoner, but was plotting with the Indian chiefs to slay all the white +people in Kentucky. + +"Here are the boats," whispered Henry. + +There they were, eight in number, large, strong boats, every one with +several pairs of oars, and tied with ropes to the bushes. + +The eyes of Shif'less Sol watered as he gazed. + +"They look pow'ful good to a lazy man," he said, "I could shorely sleep +mighty comf'table in one o' them while Jim Hart wuz pullin' at the oars." + +"I think the small one at the end nearest to us would just suit our +party," said Henry; "although it has more, it could be handled easily with +a single pair of oars." + +"Shorely!" said Shif'less Sol, "but how to git away with it is now the +question." + +It was indeed a problem, vexing and likewise dangerous. A sentinel, musket +on shoulder, walked up and down in front of the Spanish navy, and he +seemed to be very wide awake. Moreover, two men slept in each boat. + +"We must get that sentinel somehow," said Henry, "not to hurt him, but to +see that he doesn't talk for the next half hour or so." + +"What's your idea?" asked the shiftless one. + +Henry whispered to him rapidly and Sol grinned with satisfaction. + +"Good enough," said the shiftless one. "It'll work," and he crept away +from Henry deep in the bushes a little west of the sentinel. A moment or +two later the Spaniard on watch was startled by a sharp, warning hiss +from the edge of the thicket. He knew very well what made it--a +rattlesnake, a thing that he loathed and feared. He certainly did not want +such a deadly reptile sliding through the grass on his feet, and, clubbing +his musket, he walked forward, looking intently for the venomous thing. He +did not see it at first and all his faculties became absorbed in the +search. Holding the clubbed musket ready for an instant blow he peered +into the grass and short bushes. He was a Spaniard not without courage, +but he was oppressed by the night, the wilderness, the huge river flowing +by, and his feeling that he was far, very far, from Spain. Under the +circumstances, the poisonous hiss inspired him with an intense dread and +he was eager to slay. He leaned a little farther, swinging the musket butt +back and forth, ready for a quick blow when he should see the target. + +He did not hear a light step behind him, but he did feel a powerful arm +grasp him around the waist, pinning his own arms to his side, while a hand +was clasped over his mouth, checking the ready cry that could not pass his +lips. Then before his starting eyes a figure rose out of the bushes whence +the hiss had come. It was not that of a rattlesnake, but that of a man, a +tall man with powerful shoulders, blue eyes, and yellow hair, undoubtedly +one of the ferocious Americans. + +The sentinel felt that his hour had come, and he began to patter his +prayers in his throat, but the two Americans, the one before him, and the +one who had grasped him from behind, did not slay him at once. Instead +they said words together in their harsh tongue. Then they tore pieces from +the sentinel's clothing, made a wad of it and pressed it into his mouth. +They also tied a strip from the same clothing over his mouth and behind +his head, and, still despoiling his clothing, they bound him hand and foot +and laid him in the bushes, where he was invisible to his comrades and +could only see a sky in which a few dim stars danced. But on the whole he +was glad. They had not killed him as he had expected, and the gag in his +mouth was soft. Moreover, his comrades would surely find him in time and +release him. + +Henry and Shif'less Sol turned away and smiled again at each other. + +"Not much trouble, that," whispered the shiftless one. "He wuz shorely a +skeered Spaniard ef I kin read a man's face. Guess he wuz glad to get off +ez easy ez he did. Now fur the boat!" + +"Here we are," said Henry. "We must pitch out the two men sleeping in +it--you take one and I'll take the other--and then we must seize the oars +and pull like mad, because the whole camp will be up." + +The boat was tied with a rope to a stout sapling and two Spanish soldiers +slumbered in great peace inside. The oars lay beside them. Henry cut the +rope with one sweep of his long-bladed hunting-knife, and then he and +Shif'less Sol sprang into the boat. Each seized a man by the shoulders and +lifted him in his powerful arms. It was a chance that one of the sleepers +was Luiz, and, when he was snatched suddenly from blissful dreams to +somber fact, he opened his eyes to see bending over him the same grave, +tanned being who had rescued him from the raging buffalo. + +But it was not a beneficent spirit, because Luiz was tossed bodily the +next moment into three feet of muddy water. He uttered a cry of terror and +despair as he went down, and another Spaniard uttered a similar cry at the +same moment. Both cries were cut off short by mouthfuls of the +Mississippi, but the two Spaniards came up a moment later, and began to +wade hastily to the shore. Each cast a frightened glance behind him, and +saw their boat disappearing on the river's bosom, carrying the two evil +spirits with it. + +"I shorely enjoyed that," said Shif'less Sol, as the oars bent beneath his +powerful stroke. "That Spaniard's face as he woke up an' found hisself +whirled out into the Mississippi wuz the funniest thing I ever seed, an' I +had the fun, too, without hurting him. It ain't often, Paul, that you kin +do what you need to do an' be full o' laugh, too, an' so when the time +comes I make the most o' it." + +"It was worth seeing," said Henry, "and we've been in great luck, too. +There, hear 'em! They've got the water out of their mouths and are giving +tongue again! Pull, Sol! Pull!" + +Loud shouts came from the sentinels who had risen from their bath and it +was followed by cries in the Spanish camp. Torches flared, there was the +sound of running footsteps, and dusky figures appeared at the river's +bank. + +"Pull, Sol! Pull!" exhorted Henry again. "We're not yet out of range!" + +Shots were fired and bullets pattered on the water but none reached the +boat. They heard angry cries, imprecations, and they saw one figure +apparently giving commands, which they were sure was that of Francisco +Alvarez. + +"Now if they had our Kentucky rifles and real marksmen," said Shif'less +Sol, "they could pick you an' me off without any trouble. Thar's light +enough. But with them old bell-mouthed muskets they can't do much. No, +Henry, we're bold pirates on the high seas an' we've been an' took a +Spanish gall-yun--ain't that what they call their treasure ships? 'Pears +to me, Henry, I kinder like bein' a pirate, 'specially when you do the +takin', an' ain't took yourself." + +"That's so," laughed Henry, "but we'd better keep pulling, Sol, with all +our might. They're sure to pursue, and, as they have plenty of men for the +oars we need all the start that we can get." + +They were well out in the middle of the stream now, and the deep, powerful +current of the Mississippi was aiding them greatly, but both glanced back. +The shore was lined with men and another volley was fired. All the bullets +fell short, and Shif'less Sol laughed contemptuously. + +"Now they are beginnin' the pursuit," he said. + +Four boats had been cut loose, and, filled with Spaniards, they were +pushed from the bank. Henry turned the prow of their own boat until it +bore in a slanting direction toward the eastern shore. + +"What's your plan?" asked the shiftless one. + +"The river, you know, has overflowed on the eastern shore over there for +three or four miles; we must lose ourselves in the forest on that side." + +"An' let 'em pass us?" + +"That's just it. We want 'em to go on ahead of us to Louisiana, while we +follow. Besides we've got to pick up Paul and Jim and Tom." + +Shouts arose from the pursuers and more shots were fired, but they were +still beyond the range of the Spanish muskets and the two were untouched. +They were not even alarmed. + +"There's a lot of confusion in the boats," said Henry, who looked back +again with a critical eye, "and as they don't pull together they're not +gaining. The night is also growing darker and that helps us, too. Keep it +up, Sol!" + +"All right," said the shiftless one, increasing his stroke. "It's fine to +be a pirate, Henry. Wonder why I never tried it afore! But I believe I'll +always be a pirate at night when you've got more chance to git away." + +"You're right as usual, Sol," said Henry as he, too, increased his stroke. + +They pulled away for some time without further words, and the pursuers, +also, settled into silence save for an encouraging shout now and then to +the rowers. Henry thought that he discerned both Alvarez and Braxton +Wyatt in the foremost boat and he could imagine the rage and chagrin of +both. + +"I believe they're gaining," he said presently to Sol. + +"Yes," replied the shiftless one, "that big boat thar is creepin' up." + +"Crack!" came a report and a bullet embedded itself in the stout wood of +their own boat. Both recognized the report. It was not that of a Spanish +musket, but the lashing fire of a Kentucky rifle like their own. + +"That was Braxton Wyatt," said Henry. "I thought I could make him out in +that boat. He's got a rifle that reaches and he's a danger." + +"Why don't you talk back?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"I will," replied Henry. "We're not at war with Spain, but we are surely +at war with Braxton Wyatt. I think the second man in the boat is Braxton. +Hold her steady just a second, Sol." + +Henry shipped his oars, knelt a moment, and up went the long, slender +barrel of his Kentucky rifle. As he looked down the sight he was sure that +the man at whom he was aiming was Braxton Wyatt, and he was sure, +moreover, that he would not miss. But a feeling for which he could not +account made him deflect slightly the muzzle of his weapon. + +Braxton Wyatt richly deserved death for crimes already done and he would +be, as long as he lived, a deadly menace to the border. But Henry felt +that he could not be both judge and executioner. He and Braxton Wyatt had +been young boys together. So, when he deflected the muzzle of his rifle, +it was to turn the bullet from his heart to his arm. + +The rifle flashed, the sharp report echoed over the flowing waters, and a +cry of pain came from the pursuing boat, which quickly slackened its +speed. + +"I hit him in the arm only," said Henry. + +Shif'less Sol glanced at his comrade and he understood, but he made no +criticism. + +"Ef you've stung him in the arm," he said, "it ain't likely that he kin +use that rifle o' his ag'in, an' I notice, too, since you shot that them +oarsmen ain't burnin' up with zeal. Now you row, Henry, while I plunk a +bullet in among 'em, an' they'll burn less than ever." + +Shif'less Sol fired. He did not shoot to kill, but his bullet whistled +unpleasantly near the heads of the rowers, and, as he had predicted, they +rapidly lost zeal. The captured boat slid swiftly ahead. + +"Here we are among the trees," said Henry. "Now, Sol, keep on rowing and +I'll look out that we don't run into anything." + +The swollen waters rose far up on the trunks of the trees, which grew +thickly here, and Sol rowed slowly, making no noise save a slight ripple, +while Henry pushed the prow of the boat away from the trunks and the +bushes. It was very dark here and in a few minutes the pursuing boats were +shut out of sight. + +"Thar ain't eyes enough in that Spanish camp to find us now," said +Shif'less Sol. + +But they rowed deeper and deeper into the forest, and then, in a cluster +of trees where they could not be seen ten feet away, they stopped and +listened. Not a sound but the lapping of the water came to their ears. + +"We'll take a good rest and then row Northward, still keeping in the +forest," said Henry. + +They shipped their oars and drew long, deep breaths of relief and +satisfaction. + +"Henry," said Shif'less Sol presently in a tone of great exultation, "have +you noticed that this is a shore enough gall-yun that we've took? We +didn't know it, but we jest boarded and sailed away with a real treasure +ship. Look!" + +He opened a locker and took out two fine ornamented guns. + +"What are these?" he said. + +"Why, those are fowling pieces," replied Henry, "and they are of the very +best English make. We'll certainly borrow those, Sol." + +"Yes, an' this end o' the locker is full o' powder an' shot fur 'em. +Thar's no lack o' ammunition, an' look here, Henry, at these!" + +He took out of another locker three beautiful rapiers with polished hilts +and decorated scabbards. + +"Spaniards like sech tools ez these," continued the shiftless one, "an' +they're mighty purty to look at, but ez fur me give me my good old +Kentucky rifle. At a hundred yards what chance would them things have +ag'in me?" + +"We'll borrow them, too," said Henry. "We may have a use for them later +on. They're weapons that never have to be reloaded." + +Sol drew forth one of the small swords and held it up. A shaft of +moonlight fell across the blade, and showed the keen edge. + +"They're such fine weepins they must hev belonged to that thar Spanish +commander hisself," he said. "After all, a thing like this mightn't be bad +when you come to it right close. Mebbe Paul could handle it. You know Mr. +Pennypacker used to teach him how to swing the sword. This is how it goes: +Ah, ha! Sa ha! touched you thar! How's that my hearty!" + +Shif'less Sol lunged at the night air, slashed, cut, swept his sword +around in circles, and then laughed again. But none of his exclamations +was uttered above a whisper. Henry was forced to smile. + +"Put it down, Sol," he said, "and let's see what else we've got. It may be +that we've taken Alvarez's own private boat." + +Sol opened the locker again, and held up a curiously shaped stone jug, +which he contemplated for a few moments. Then he took out the stopper, +smelled the contents, and looked appreciatively at his comrade. + +"Henry," he said, "I'm going to risk it." + +"It's no risk." + +Sol turned the jug up to his lips, took a mouthful, which he held for a +moment or two, and then swallowed. After waiting a half minute he uttered +a deep sigh of content, and rubbed his chest. + +"It tasted good all the way down, Henry," he said. "Here's something writ +over the label, but I guess it's Spanish, another o' them useless +tongues, an' so it tells nothin'." + +"Put it back," said Henry. "It's some of those fancy liquors, but we'll +keep it for times when we're wet or cold or tired out." + +"All right," said Sol, "an' here's three more little jugs like it." + +"What else do you find?" asked Henry. + +"Oh, look at these, will you!" exclaimed Sol, holding up two splendid +double barreled duelling pistols of Spanish make. + +"Now I'm sure that this is the boat of Alvarez himself," said Henry. "Such +fine things as these could belong only to the Commander. Those are +duelling pistols, Sol, but they can be made mighty useful, too, for our +defense in case of a pinch. We'll keep them, too." + +The shiftless one put them back and opening another locker uttered a +little cry of delight. + +"A hull carpenter shop!" he exclaimed. "Jest look, Henry! A fine axe, +hammers an' hatchets, an' saws an' augers an' a lot o' other things +pow'ful useful to fellers like us that have to cut an' bore their own way +out here in the woods. This is shorely one o' them gall-yuns that Paul +tells us about, an' I guess we're about ez highfalutin' an lucky pirates +ez any o' them." + +"You're right, Sol," said Henry. "This boat is a great find, and it's +lawful prize as they began the war upon us by seizing Paul. Keep on +looking, Sol." + +"Here's some beautiful blankets," continued the shiftless one. "Guess they +were made to trade with the Injuns. But it's more'n likely that this here +most gorg-y-us one will, on occasions, shelter, warm, purtect an' +otherwise care fur the deservin' body o' one Solomon Hyde, a highly +valooable citizen o' the new country they call Kentucky. An' say, Henry, +what do you call this?" + +His voice took a rapidly rising inflection, as he held up a glittering +garment, puffed with magnificent lace. + +"That," said Henry, "is what they call a doublet, and I should say that it +is the finest one belonging to Captain Alvarez. Oh, won't he be angry!" + +Sol slipped off his hunting shirt, and slipped on the doublet. + +"It's a little tight in the shoulders," he said, "but I could wear it in a +pinch, that is, I guess I'd hev to wear it in a pinch. Say, Henry, ain't I +a beauty?" + +He stood up in the boat and turned slowly around and around, his arms +extended and the doublet glittering. Henry leaned against the side of the +boat and laughed. + +"It doesn't suit you, Sol," he replied, "you're a fine looking man, but +it's in your own way, not the Spanish way." + +Sol took off the garment, folded it up carefully, and put it back in the +locker. + +"Anyway, I'm goin' to claim it," he said. "I want it to make Jim Hart +jealous. An', Henry, thar's a lot more things here, a little tent all +rolled up, some bottles o' medicine, some more clothes, two big bottles +o' brandy, and a whole lot o' house-keepin' truck, like pins an' needles +an' thread, an' them things that kin be pow'ful useful to us on a long +journey. An' jumpin' Jehoshaphat, Henry, here's a little bag o' silver an' +gold!" + +"Put that back!" said Henry hastily. "Put it back, Sol! Their goods we'll +borrow as fair spoil, but we won't touch their money. Put it back and none +of us will ever take that bag out again." + +"You're right, Henry," said Sol soberly. "I wouldn't handle a single coin +in that bag thar. Here she goes right under the bottom o' everything in +this locker, an' thar she'll stay. But, Henry, our gall-yun is the biggest +find we ever made in our lives. I never dreamed o' travelin' in sech style +an' comfort down the Mississippi." + +"Do you think it's going to grow lighter?" asked Henry. + +"No," replied Sol decidedly. "It's been a shy kind o' moon to-night, an' +it's a gittin' so much shyer that it's plumb afraid to show its face. In +three minutes it will hide behind a big cloud that's edgin' up over thar, +an' we won't see it no more to-night." + +"Then we'll pull down to the edge of the woods and see if the Spaniards +have given up the chase." + +"An' be keerful not to run into any snags or sech like. We don't want to +wreck a magnificent gall-yun like this when we've got her." + +They had been lying in the flooded forest about two hours, and now they +pulled very cautiously toward the main stream. It was a large boat for +two men, however strong, to handle, but they got through without colliding +with snag or tree trunk, or making any noise that could be heard a dozen +yards away. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +ON THE GREAT RIVER + + +They remained just within the edge of the forest, but, despite the lack of +moonlight, they could see far over the surface of the river. It seemed to +be an absolutely clean sweep of waters, as free from boats as if man had +never come, but, after long looking, Henry thought that he could detect a +half dozen specks moving southward. It was only for a moment, and then the +specks were gone. + +"I'm sure it was the Spanish boats," said Henry, "and I think they've +given up the hunt." + +"More'n likely," said Sol, "an' I guess it's about time fur us to pull +across an' pick up Paul an' Tom an' Jim. They'll wonder what hez become o' +us. An' say, Henry, won't they be s'prised to see us come proudly sailin' +into port in our gran' big gall-yun, all loaded down with arms an' +supplies an' treasures that we hev captured?" + +Sol spoke in a tone of deep content, and Henry replied in the same tone: + +"If they don't they've changed mightily since we left 'em." + +Both, in truth, were pervaded with satisfaction. They felt that they had +never done a better night's work. They had a splendid boat filled with the +most useful supplies. As Sol truthfully said, it was one thing to walk a +thousand miles through the woods to New Orleans and another to float down +on the current in a comfortable boat. They had cause for their deep +satisfaction. + +They pulled with strong, steady strokes across the Mississippi, taking a +diagonal course, and they stopped now and then to look for a possible +enemy. But they saw nothing, and at last their boat touched the western +shore. Here Sol uttered their favorite signal, the cry of the wolf, and it +was quickly answered from the brush. + +"They're all right," said Henry, and presently they heard the light +footsteps of the three coming fast. + +"Here, Paul, here we are!" called out Sol a few moments later, "an' min', +Paul, that your moccasins are clean. We don't allow no dirty footsteps on +this magnificent, silver-plated gall-yun o' ours, an' ez fur Jim Hart, ef +the Mississippi wuzn't so muddy I'd make him take a bath afore he come +aboard." + +Henry and the shiftless one certainly enjoyed the surprise of their +comrades who stood staring. + +"I suppose you cut her out, took her from the Spaniards?" said Paul. + +"We shorely did," replied Sol, "an', Paul, she's a shore enough gall-yun, +one o' the kind you told us them Spaniards had, 'cause she's full o' good +things. Jest come on board an' look." + +The three were quickly on the boat and they followed Sol with surprise and +delight, as he showed them their new treasures one by one. + +"You've named her right, Sol," said Paul. "She is a galleon to us, sure +enough, and that's what we'll call her, 'The Galleon.' When we have time, +Sol, you and I will cut that name on her with our knives." + +They tied their boat to a sapling and kept the oars and themselves aboard. +Tom Ross volunteered to keep the watch for the few hours that were left of +the night. The others disposed themselves comfortably in the boat, wrapped +their bodies in the beautiful new Spanish blankets, and were soon sound +asleep. + +Tom sat in the prow of the boat, his rifle across his knees, and his keen +hunting knife by his side. At the first sign of danger from shore he could +cut the rope with a single slash of his knife and push the boat far out +into the current. + +But there was no indication of danger nor did the indefinable sixth sense, +that came of long habit and training, warn him of any. Instead, it +remained a peaceful night, though dark, and Tom looked contemplatively at +his comrades. He was the oldest of the little party and a man of few +words, but he was deeply attached to his four faithful comrades. Silently +he gave thanks that his lot was cast with those whom he liked so well. + +The night passed away and up came a beautiful dawn of rose and gold. Tom +Ross awakened his comrades. + +"The day is here," he said, "an' we must be up an' doin' ef we're goin' to +keep on the trail o' them Spanish fellers." + +"All right," said Shif'less Sol, opening his eyes. "Jim Hart, is my +breakfus ready? Ef so, you kin jest bring it to me while I'm layin' here +an' I'll eat it in bed." + +"Your breakfus ready!" replied Jim Hart indignantly. "What sort uv +nonsense are you talkin' now, Sol Hyde?" + +"Why, ain't you the ship's cook?" said Sol in a hurt tone, "an' oughtn't +you to be proud o' bein' head cook on a splendiferous new gall-yun like +this? I'd a-thought, Jim, you'd be so full o' enthusiasm over bein' +promoted that you'd have had ready fur us the grandest breakfus that wuz +ever cooked by a mortal man fur mortal men. It wuz sech a fine chance fur +you." + +"I think we can risk a fire," said Henry. "The Spaniards are far out of +sight, and warm food will be good for us." + +After they had eaten, Henry poured a few drops of the Spanish liquor for +each in a small silver cup that he found in one of the lockers. + +"That will hearten us up," he said, but directly after they drank it Paul, +who had been making an exploration of his own on the boat, uttered a cry +of joy. + +"Coffee!" he said, as he dragged a bag from under a seat, "and here is a +pot to boil it in." + +"More treasures," said Sol gleefully. "That wuz shorely a good night's +work you an' me done, Henry!" + +There was nothing to do but boil a pot of the coffee then and there, and +each had a long, delicious drink. Coffee and tea were so rare in the +wilderness that they were valued like precious treasures. Then they packed +their things and started, pulling out into the middle of the stream and +giving the current only a little assistance with the oars. + +"One thing is shore," said Shif'less Sol, lolling luxuriously on a locker, +"that Spanish gang can't git away from us. All we've got to do is to float +along ez easy ez you please, an' we'll find 'em right in the middle o' the +road." + +"It does beat walkin'," said Jim Hart, with equal content, "but this is +shorely a pow'ful big river. I never seed so much muddy water afore in my +life." + +"It's a good river, a kind river," said Paul, "because it's taking us +right to its bosom, and carrying us on where we want to go with but little +trouble to us." + +It was to Paul, the most imaginative of them all, to whom the mighty river +made the greatest appeal. It seemed beneficent and kindly to him, a friend +in need. Nature, Paul thought, had often come to their assistance, +watching over them, as it were, and helping them when they were weakest. +And, in truth, what they saw that morning was enough to inspire a bold +young wilderness rover. + +The river turned from yellow to a lighter tint in the brilliant sunlight. +Little waves raised by the wind ran across the slowly-flowing current. As +far as they could see the stream extended to eastward, carried by the +flood deep into the forest. The air was crisp, with the sparkle of spring, +and all the adventurers rejoiced. + +Now and then great flocks of wild fowl, ducks and geese, flew over the +river, and they were so little used to man that more than once they passed +close to the boat. + +"The Spaniards are too far away to hear," said Henry, "and the next time +any wild ducks come near I'm going to try one of these fowling pieces. We +need fresh ducks, anyway." + +He took out a fowling piece, loaded it carefully with the powder and shot +that the locker furnished in abundance and waited his time. By and by a +flock of wild ducks flew near and Henry fired into the midst of them. +Three lay floating on the water after the shot, and when they took them in +Long Jim Hart, a master on all such subjects, pronounced them to be of a +highly edible variety. + +Paul, meanwhile, took out one of the small swords and examined it +critically. + +"It is certainly a fine one," he said, "I suppose it's what they call a +Toledo blade in Spain, the finest that they make." + +"Could you do much with it, Paul?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"I could," replied Paul confidently. "Mr. Pennypacker served in the great +French war. He was at the taking of Quebec, and he learned the use of the +sword from good masters. He's taught me all the tricks." + +"Maybe, then," said Sol laughing, "you'll have to fight Alvarez with one +o' them stickers. Ef sech a combat is on it'll fall to you, Paul. The rest +of us are handier with rifle an' knife." + +"It's never likely to happen," said Paul. + +The morning passed peacefully on, and the glory of the heavens was +undimmed. The river was a vast, murmuring stream, and the five voyagers +felt that, for the present, their task was an easy one. A single man at +the oars was sufficient to keep the boat moving as fast as they wished, +and the rest occupied themselves with details that might provide for a +future need. + +Paul brought out one of the beautiful small swords again, and fenced +vigorously with an imaginary antagonist. Jim Hart took a captured needle +and thread and began to mend a rent in his attire. Henry lifted the folded +tent from the locker and looked carefully at the cloth. + +"I think that with this and a pole or two we might fix up a sail if we +needed it," he said. "We don't know anything about sails, but we can learn +by trying." + +Tom Ross was at the oars, but Shif'less Sol lay back on a locker, closed +his eyes, and said: + +"Jest wake me up, when we git to New Or-lee-yuns. I could lay here an' +sleep forever, the boat rockin' me to sleep like a cradle." + +They saw nothing of the Spanish force, but they knew that such a flotilla +could not evade them. Having no reason to hide, the Spaniards would not +seek to conceal so many boats in the flooded forest. Hence the five felt +perfectly easy on that point. About noon they ran their own boat among the +trees until they reached dry land. Here they lighted a fire and cooked +their ducks, which they found delicious, and then resumed their leisurely +journey. + +The afternoon was as peaceful as the morning, but it seemed to the +sensitive imagination of Paul that the wilderness aspect of everything was +deepening. The great flooded river broadened until the line of water and +horizon met, and Paul could easily fancy that they were floating on a +boundless sea. An uncommonly red sun was setting and here and there the +bubbles were touched with fire. Far in the west dark shadows were stealing +up. + +"Look," Henry suddenly exclaimed, "I think that the Spanish have gone into +camp for the night!" + +He pointed down the stream and toward the western shore, where a thin +spire of smoke was rising. + +"It's that, certain," said Tom Ross, "an' I guess we'd better make fur +camp, too." + +They pulled toward the eastern shore, in order that the river might be +between them and the Spaniards during the night and soon reached a grove +which stood many feet deep in the water. As they passed under the shelter +of the boughs they took another long look toward the spire of smoke. +Henry, who had the keenest eyes of all, was able to make out the dim +outline of boats tied to the bank, and any lingering doubt that the +Spaniards might not be there was dispelled. + +"When they start in the morning we'll start, too," said Henry. + +Then they pushed their boat further back into the grove. Night was coming +fast. The sun sank in the bosom of the river, the water turned from yellow +to red and then to black, and the earth lay in darkness. + +"I think we'd better tie up here and eat cold food," said Henry. + +"An' then sleep," said Shif'less Sol. "That wuz a mighty comf'table +Spanish blanket I had last night an', Jim Hart, I want to tell you that if +you move 'roun' to-night, while you're watchin', please step awful easy, +an' be keerful not to wake me 'cause I'm a light sleeper. I don't like to +be waked up either early or late in the night. Tain't good fur the health. +Makes a feller grow old afore his time." + +"Sol," said Henry, who was captain by fitness and universal consent, +"you'll take the watch until about one o'clock in the morning and then +Paul will relieve you." + +Jim Hart doubled up his long form with silent laughter, and smote his knee +violently with the palm of his right hand. + +"Oh, yes, Sol Hyde," he said, "I'll step lightly, that is, ef I happen to +be walkin' 'roun' in my sleep, an' I'll take care not to wake you too +suddenly, Sol Hyde. I wouldn't do it for anything. I don't want to stunt +your growth, an' you already sech a feeble, delicate sort o' creetur, not +able to take nourishment 'ceptin' from a spoon." + +"Thar ain't no reward in this world fur a good man," said the shiftless +one in a resigned tone. + +They ate quickly, and, as usual, those who did not have to watch wrapped +themselves in their blankets and with equal quickness fell asleep. +Shif'less Sol took his place in the prow of the boat, and his attitude was +much like that of Tom Ross the night before, only lazier and more +graceful. Sol was a fine figure of a young man, drooped in a luxurious and +reclining attitude, his shoulder against the side of the boat, and a roll +of two blankets against his back. His eyes were half closed, and a stray +observer, had there been any, might have thought that he was either asleep +or dreaming. + +But the shiftless one, fit son of the wilderness, was never more awake in +his life. The eyes, looking from under the lowered lids, pierced the +forest like those of a cat. He saw and noted every tree trunk within the +range of human vision, and no piece of floating debris on the surface of +the flooded river escaped his attention. His sharp ears heard, too, every +sound in the grove, the rustle of a stray breeze through the new leaves, +or the splash of a fish, as it leaped from the water and sank back again. + +The hours dragged after one another, one by one, but Shif'less Sol was not +unhappy. He was really quite willing to keep the watch, and, as Tom Ross +had done, he regarded his sleeping comrades with pride, and all the warmth +of good fellowship. + +The night was dark, like its predecessor. The moon's rays fell only in +uneven streaks, and revealed a singular scene, a forest standing knee +deep, as it were, in water. + +Shif'less Sol presently took one of the blankets and wrapped it around his +shoulders. A cold damp pervaded the atmosphere, and a fog began to rise +from the river. The shiftless one was a cautious man and he knew the +danger of chills and fever. His comrades were already well wrapped, but he +stepped softly over and drew Paul's blanket a little closer around his +neck. Then he resumed his seat, maintaining his silence. + +Shif'less Sol did not like the rising of the river fog. It was thick and +cold, it might be unhealthy, and it hid the view. His circle of vision +steadily narrowed. Tree trunks became ghostly, and then were gone. The +water, seen through the fog, had a pallid, unpleasant color. Eye became of +little use, and it was ear upon which the sentinel must depend. + +Shif'less Sol judged that it was about midnight, and he became troubled. +The sixth sense, that comes of acute natural perceptions fortified by long +habit, was giving him warning. It seemed to him that he felt the approach +of something. He raised himself up a little higher and stared anxiously +into the thick mass of white fog. He could make out nothing but a little +patch of water and a few ghostly tree trunks near by. Even the stern of +the boat was half hidden by the fog. + +"Wa'al," thought the shiftless one philosophically, "ef it's hard fur me +to find anything it'll be hard fur anything to find us." + +But his troubled mind would not be quiet. Philosophy was not a sufficient +reply to the warning of the sixth sense, and, leaning far over the edge of +the boat, he listened with ears long trained to every sound of the +wilderness. He heard only the stray murmur of the wind among the +leaves--and was that a ripple in the water? He strained his ears and +decided that it was either a ripple or the splash of a fish, and he sank +back again in his seat. + +Although he had resumed his old position, the shiftless one was not +satisfied. The feeling of apprehension, like a mysterious mental signal, +was not effaced. That thick, whitish fog was surcharged with an alien +quality, and slowly he raised himself up once more. Hark! was it the +ripple again? He rose half to his feet, and instantly his eye caught a +glimpse of something brown upon the edge of the boat. It was a human hand, +the brown, powerful hand of a savage. + +The glance of Shif'less Sol followed the hand and saw a brown face +emerging from the water and fog. Quick as a flash he fired. There was a +terrible, unearthly cry, the hand slipped from the boat and the head sank +from view. + +"Up! up! boys!" cried Sol in thunderous tones. "We're attacked by swimmin' +savages!" + +He snatched up one of the double-barreled pistols and fired at another +head on the water. The others were awake in an instant and rose up, rifles +in hand. But they saw only a splash of blood on the stream that was gone +in a moment, then the thick, whitish fog closed in again, and after that +silence! But they knew Sol too well to doubt him, and the momentary red +splash would have converted even the ignorant. + +"Lie low!" exclaimed Henry. "Everybody down behind the sides of the boat! +They may fire at any time!" + +The boat was built of thick timber, through which no bullet of that time +could go, and they crouched down, merely peeping over the edges and +presenting scarcely any target. They had their own rifles and the extra +fowling pieces and pistols were made ready, also. + +But nothing came from the great pall of whitish fog, and the silence was +chilly and heavy. It was the most uncanny thing in all Paul's experience. +Beyond a doubt they were surrounded by savage enemies, but from which side +they would come, and when, nobody could tell until they were at the very +side of the boat. + +"How many did you see, Sol?" whispered Henry. + +"Only two, but one of 'em won't ever attack us again." + +"The others must be near by in their canoes, and the swimmers may have +been scouts and skirmishers. They know where we are, but we don't know +where they are." + +"That's so," said Shif'less Sol, "an' it gives 'em an advantage." + +"Which, perhaps, we can take from 'em by moving our own boat." + +Henry was about to put his plan into action, but they heard a light splash +in the water to the west, and another to the north. Spots of piercing red +light appeared in the fog, and many rifles cracked. Fortunately, all had +thrown themselves down, and the bullets spent themselves in the wood of +the boat's side. Henry and Sol and Tom fired back at the flashes, but more +rifle shots came out of the fog, and those on the boat had no way of +telling whether any of their bullets had hit. + +"I think we'd better hold our fire," whispered Henry between rifle shots. +"It's wasting bullets to shoot at a fog." + +The others nodded and waited. A long cry, quavering at first, and then +rising to a fierce top note to die away later in a ferocious, wolfish +whine came through the fog. It was uttered by many throats, and in the +uncanny, whitish gloom it seemed to be on all sides of them. Then shouts +and shots both ceased and the heavy silence came again. + +"Now is our time," whispered Henry. "Paul, steer southward. Jim, you and +Tom row, and Sol and I will be ready with the guns. Keep your heads down +as low as you can." + +Jim Hart and Tom Ross took the oars, pulling them through the water with +extreme caution and slowness. All knew that sharp ears were listening in +the flooded forest, and the splash of oars would bring the war canoes at +once. But they were determined that the fog which was such a help to +their enemies should be an equal help to them also. + +Slowly the heavy boat crept through the water. Paul, at the tiller, +steered with judgment and craft, and his was no light task. Now and then +low boughs were lapped in the water and bushes submerged to their tops +grew in the way. To become tangled in them might be fatal and to scrape +against them would be a signal to their enemies, but Paul steered clear +every time. + +They had gone perhaps fifty yards when Henry gave a signal to stop and Jim +and Tom rested on their oars. Then they heard a burst of firing behind +them, and a smile of saturnine triumph spread slowly but completely over +the face of Shif'less Sol. + +"They're shootin' at the place whar we wuz, an' whar we ain't now," he +whispered to Henry. + +"Yes," Henry whispered back, "they haven't found out yet that we've left, +but they are likely to do it pretty soon. I hope now that this fog will +hang on just as thick as it can. Start up again, boys." + +"'Twould be funny," whispered Sol, "ef the savages should find us an' +chase us right into the bosoms o' the Spaniards." + +"Yes," replied Henry, "and for that reason I think we'd better bend around +a circle and then go up stream. I'll tell Paul to steer that way." + +They went on again, creeping through the white darkness; fifty yards or so +at a time, and then a pause to listen. Henry judged that they were about a +half mile from their original anchorage, when the solemn note of an owl +arose, to be answered by a similar note from another point. + +"They've discovered our departure," he whispered, "and they're telling it +to each other. I imagine that their war canoes will now come in a kind of +half circle toward the center of the river. They'll guess that we won't +retreat toward the land, because then we might be hemmed in." + +"No doubt of it," replied Sol, "and I think we'd better pull off toward +the north now. Mebbe we kin give 'em the slip." + +Henry gave the word and Paul steered the boat in the chosen course. The +forest grew thinner, showing that they were approaching the true stream, +but the fog held fast. After a hundred yards or so they stopped again, and +then they distinctly heard the sound of paddles to their right. It was not +a great splash, but they knew it well. Paul, at the tiller, fancied that +he could see the faces of the savages bending over their paddles. They +were eager, he knew, for their prey, and either chance or instinct had +brought them through the white pall in the right course. + +The uncertainty, the fog, and the great mysterious river weighed upon +Paul. He wished, for a moment, that the vapors might lift, and then they +could fight their enemies face to face. He glanced at his own comrades and +they had taken on an unearthly look. Their forms became gigantic and +unreal in the white darkness. As Henry leaned forward to listen better +his figure was distorted like that of a misshapen giant. + +"Steer straight toward the north, Paul," he whispered. "We must shake them +off somehow or other." + +Silently the boat slid through the water but they heard again those signal +cries, the hoots of the owl and now they were much nearer. + +"They must have guessed our course," whispered Henry, "or perhaps they +have heard the splash of an oar now and then. Stop, boys, and let's see if +we can hear their canoes." + +Their boat lay under the thick, spreading boughs of some oaks. Paul could +see the branches and twigs showing overhead through the white fog like +lace work, but everything else was invisible twenty feet away. All heard, +however, now and then the faint splash, splash of paddles, perhaps a +hundred yards distant. Henry tried to tell from the sounds how many war +canoes might be in the party, and he hazarded a wild guess of twenty. As +he listened, the splash grew a little louder. Obviously the canoes were +keeping on the right course. Shif'less Sol wet his finger and held it up. +When he took it down he whispered in some alarm to Henry: + +"The wind has begun to blow, an' it's shore to rise. It'll blow the fog +away, an' we'll lay in plain sight o' all o' them savages." + +Henry's instinct for generalship rose at once and he saw a plan. + +"We must keep on for midstream," he said. "We know what direction that +is, and, out in open water, we'd have one advantage even over their +numbers. Theirs are only light canoes, while ours is a big strong boat +that will shelter us from any bullet. Pull away, boys! I'll help Sol keep +up the watch." + +The boat once more resumed its progress toward the main current. The wind, +as Sol had predicted, rapidly grew stronger. The deep curtain of fog began +to thin and lighten. Suddenly a canoe appeared through it and then a +second. + +A bullet, fired from the first canoe, whizzed dangerously near the head of +Shif'less Sol. He replied instantly, but the light was so uncertain and +tricky that he missed the savage at whom he had aimed. The heavy bullet +instead ploughed through the side and bottom of the bark canoe, which +rapidly filled and sank, leaving its occupants struggling in the water. A +bullet had come from the second canoe, also, but it flew wild, and then +the whitish fog, thick and impenetrable, caught by a contrary current of +wind, closed in again. + +"Did you hit anything, Sol?" asked Henry. + +"Only a canoe, but I busted it all up, an' they're swimmin' from tree to +tree until they get to the bank." + +"Now, boys, pull with all your might!" exclaimed Henry, "and, Paul, you +steer us clear of trees, brush, logs, and snags. They know where we are +and we must get out into the stream, where there's a chance for our +escape." + +Then ensued a flight and running combat in a tricky fog that lifted and +closed down over and over again. Henry put down his oars presently and +took up his rifle, but Jim Hart and Tom Ross continued to pull, and Paul +kept a steady hand on the tiller. + +Paul's task was the most trying of all. Highly sensitive and imaginative, +this battle rolling along in alternate dusky light and white obscurity, +was to him uncanny and unreal. He saw pink dots of rifle fire in the fog, +he caught glimpses now and then of brown, savage faces or the prow of a +canoe, and then the heavy fog would come down like a blanket again, +shutting out everything. + +Paul's hand trembled. Every nerve in him was jumping, but he resolutely +steered the boat while the others rowed and fought. Once he barely grazed +a snag and he shivered, knowing how one of these terrible obstructions +could rip the bottom out of a boat. But soon the trees and bushes almost +disappeared. They were coming into open water. The fog, too, ceased to +close down, and the wind began to blow steadily out of the north. Banks +and streamers of white vapor rolled away toward the south. In a few +minutes it would all be gone. Out of the mists behind them rose the shapes +of war canoes not far away, and the fierce triumphant yell that swept far +over the river sent a chill to Paul's very marrow. Once again rose the +rifle fire, and it was now a rapid and steady crackle, but the bullets +thudded in vain on the thick sides of "The Galleon." + +All except Paul now pulled desperately for the middle of the stream, while +he, bending as low as he could, still kept a steady hand on the tiller. +The triumphant shout behind them rose again, and the great stream gave it +back in a weird echo. Paul suddenly uttered a gasp of despair. Directly in +front of them, not thirty yards away, was a large war canoe, crowded with +a dozen savages while behind them came the horde. + +"What is it, Paul?" asked Henry. + +"A big canoe in front of us full of warriors. We're cut off! No, we're +not! I have it! Bend low! bend low, you fellows, and pull with all the +might that's in you!" + +Paul had an inspiration, and his blood was leaping. The rifle shots still +rattled behind them, but, as usual, the bullets buried themselves in the +wood with a sigh, doing no harm. Four pairs of powerful arms and four +powerful shoulders bent suddenly to their task with new strength and +vigor. Paul's words had been electric, thrilling, and every one felt their +impulse instantly. The prow of the heavy boat cut swiftly through the +water, and Paul bent still lower to escape the rifle-shots. No need for +him to choose his course now! The boat was already sent upon its errand. + +A wild shout of alarm rose from the war canoe, and the next instant the +prow of "The Galleon" struck it squarely in the middle. There were more +shouts of alarm or pain, a crunching, ripping and breaking of wood, and +then "The Galleon," after its momentary check, went on. The war canoe had +been cut in two, and its late occupants were swimming for their lives. +Not in vain had Paul read in an old Roman history of the battles between +the fleets when galley cut down galley. + +Henry, although he did not look up, knew at once what had happened, and he +could not restrain admiration and praise. + +"Good for you, Paul!" he cried. "You took us right over the war canoe and +that's what's likely to save us!" + +Henry was right. The other canoes, appalled by the disaster, and busy, +too, in picking up the derelicts, hung back. Henry and Shif'less Sol took +advantage of the opportunity, and sent bullet after bullet among them, +aiming more particularly at the light bark canoes. Three filled and began +to sink and their occupants had to be rescued. The utmost confusion and +consternation reigned in the savage fleet, and the distance between it and +"The Galleon" widened rapidly as the latter bore in a diagonal course +across the Mississippi. + +"They've had all they want," said Henry, as he laid down his rifle and +took up the oars again, "but it's this big heavy boat that's saved us. +She's been a regular floating fort." + +"We took our gall-yun just in time," said Shif'less Sol jubilantly, "an' +she is shore the greatest warship that ever floated on these waters. Oh, +she's a fine boat, a beautiful boat, the reg'lar King o' the seas!" + +"Queen, you mean," said Paul, who felt the reaction. + +"No, King it is," replied Sol stoutly. "A boat that carries travelers may +be a she, but shorely one that fights like this is a he." + +The fog was gone, save for occasional wisps of white mist, but the day had +not yet come, and the night was by no means light. When they looked back +again they could not see any of the Indian canoes. Apparently they had +retreated into the flooded forest. Henry and Sol held a consultation. + +"It's hard to pull up stream," said Henry, "and we'd exhaust ourselves +doing it. Besides, if the Indians chose to renew the pursuit, that would +cut us off from our own purpose. We must drop down the river toward the +Spanish camp." + +"You're always right, Henry," said the shiftless one with conviction. "The +Spaniards o' course, know nothin' about our fight, ez they wuz much too +fur off to hear the shots, an', ez we go down that way, the savages likely +will think that we belong to the party, which is too strong for them to +attack. This must be some band that Braxton Wyatt don't know nothin' +about. Maybe it's a gang o' southern Indians that's come away up here in +canoes." + +The boat swung close to the western shore, which was overhung throughout +by heavy forests, and then dropped silently down until it came within two +miles of the Spanish camp. There, in a particularly dark cove, they tied +up to a tree, and drew mighty breaths of relief. Both Henry and Paul felt +an intense gladness. Despite all the dangers and hardships through which +they had gone, they were but boys. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +BATTLE AND STORM + + +It was yet dark, in fact much darker than it had been just after the fog +lifted, and the dawn was a full three hours away. Although the flooded +area of forest on the western shore was much less than on the eastern, it +was sufficient to furnish ample concealment for the boat, and, when they +tied up amid dense foliage, they could not see the main stream behind +them. + +Jim Hart laid down his oars, stood up, and carefully cracked his joints. + +"I _am_ tired," he said. "Never wuz I so tired afore in my life." + +"But, Jim," said Shif'less Sol, "Think what a pow'ful lively naval battle +you hev been through. Ef you ever git a wife--which I doubt, 'cause you +ain't beautiful, Jim--you kin tell her how once you rowed right over a +great Injun warship. Mebbe, Jim, she'll believe all them fancy details +you'll stick on to it." + +"I know I ain't beautiful," said Long Jim thoughtfully, "an' I don't know +ez I want to be, but ef any woman wuz to marry me she'd most likely +believe whatever I told her, bein' ez I hev a truthful countenance, but +ez fur you, Sol, anybody kin tell by lookin' at you that ef you wuz to +ketch in this river a little cat-fish six inches long you'd tell them that +didn't know that it wuz a whale." + +"Seems to me," said Tom Ross, "that I wuz waked up kinder suddint a few +hours ago. I wuz in the middle uv a most bee-yu-ti-ful nap, and I know +right whar I stopped it. I'm goin' back an' pick up that nap at the exact +place whar I left off." + +Without another word he pulled his blanket over him and stretched himself +on a seat. In a minute or two he was sound asleep. Tom Ross was a veteran +campaigner. He not only knew what to do, but he could and would do it. + +"Paul, you and Jim follow him," said Henry, "I'll keep what's left of the +watch with Sol." + +Jim was treading the easy path of slumber in five minutes, but it took +Paul at least ten to pass through the gates. Henry and Sol sat in the +boat, silent but watchful. + +"We're between two fires," whispered Henry at last. "I don't think that +war party will give up just yet, and maybe we'd better stick here in the +woods for a while, on the chance that they think we belong to the Spanish +force and have rejoined it." + +"We've got to stay in hidin' fur a spell, that's shore," said Shif'less +Sol. "We might stick here all day. We kin overtake the Spaniards any time, +cause we have only one road to foller an' that's the river." + +Henry nodded and they settled back to the watch and silence. Their three +comrades stretched on seats, lockers, or the boat's bottom, slept +soundly, and they could hear their regular breathing. But they heard +nothing else save the light lapping of the water against the tree trunks. + +Dawn came, golden and beautiful. Tom Ross opened his eyes. + +"Anything happened?" he asked. + +"No," replied Henry, "and we are not going to move yet. Sleep on." + +Tom closed his eyes again, and in a minute was back in the pleasant land +of slumber. The other two did not awake and Henry and Sol still did not +stir. From the leafy arbor in which "The Galleon" was moored, they were +intently watching the surface of the river. An hour passed and the sun +rose higher and higher, flooding the surface of the great stream with +golden beams. + +"Do you see anything, Henry?" asked Sol. + +"Yes, I think there's a canoe among the trees on the opposite shore." + +"I reckoned that I saw it, too, but I wuzn't certain. Must be a scout +canoe." + +"Do you see anything to the southward, Sol?" + +"I reckoned that I saw somethin' thar, too, an' I took it fur smoke." + +"The Spanish camp, of course." + +"O' course." + +"And I think the Indians are spying upon it. They are quite sure now that +we were a part of the Spanish force." + +"They think they know it, an' they'll hang 'roun' until to-night, when +they're more'n likely to shoot into the Spanish camp." + +"Which won't hurt us, Sol." + +"Not a leetle bit. We kin sing all the time, 'dog eat dog, go it one, go +it tother.'" + +"Instead of singing," said Henry smiling, "we can put in most of the time +sleeping." + +"Both please me," said Shif'less Sol, rubbing his hands gleefully. + +Everything befell as they thought it would. Other canoes appeared at the +edge of the wood on the far shore, but on every occasion further down the +river. There was no doubt in the minds of the watchful observers aboard +"The Galleon" that they were spying upon the Spanish camp and meditated an +attack at night. It was equally certain that the Spaniards knew nothing of +the Indians' presence. All the five were now awake and they rejoiced at +the prospect. + +"I see an easy day comin' to me," said Shif'less Sol luxuriously. "'Tain't +often that a lazy man like me kin hev sech a good time an' I'm goin' to +make the most o' it." + +"I think," said Henry, "that while the Indians are busy with the Spaniards +we'd better try to fix up that sail. We don't need a tent and we do need a +sail. Some time or other, when we get in a pinch, the sail might do the +pulling, leaving the rowers free to use their rifles." + +"Jest ez I might hev expected," said Sol in a tone of disgust. "All ready +for rest, fixed fur it most bee-yu-ti-ful-ly, an' told instead that I +must go to work. This world shorely ain't kind to a good man." + +Once more the staunch ship, "The Galleon," proved herself to be a treasure +house. They found in the lockers plenty of rope and stout cord, and they +cut in the forest a stout young sapling which they made of the right +length, peeled off the bark, and adjusted in rude fashion, as a mast. They +also made a boom and then rigged a single sail, somewhat after the fashion +of the cat-boat of the present day. + +This would have been an impossible task to them, had not "The Galleon" +been so well provided with axes, saws, hammers, other valuable tools, and +cord and nails. The mast could be taken down in an emergency, but they +were all of the opinion that the sail would draw, and draw well. It might +not always be easy to control it, but "The Galleon" was built in Spanish +fashion, heavy, deep, and square, and it would take a great deal to make +her capsize. + +While the others worked one watched, and the boats of the Indians were +seen again at the edge of the far forest. The last time they saw them they +were so far down that they were almost opposite the point where the +Spaniards lay, which indicated two things to them, first the certainty +that Alvarez had not moved, and second that "The Galleon" and her crew +were absolutely safe for the time being, where they lay. + +"I suppose that Alvarez is in no hurry and decided to take a day of rest," +said Henry. + +They finished their own labors late in the afternoon and contemplated the +mast and sail with pride. + +"Now that it's done, I'm glad that it hez been done," said Shif'less Sol. +"It'll save me a lot o' work hereafter. It would be jest like you fellers +to make me git callous spots all over the inside o' my hands, when the +hide on Jim Hart's is already so thick it wouldn't hurt him to do all his +rowin' an' mine, too." + +"I jest love to see you work, Sol," said Long Jim Hart. "I can't enjoy my +rest real good, 'less at the same time I'm layin' on my back watchin' you +heavin' away." + +Nevertheless, all took a long rest though maintaining a vigilant watch, +and, with pleasure, they saw a dark night come on. When the twilight was +completely gone they steered once more for the main stream, not using +their sail yet, because of the boughs and bushes. + +"We've got to keep in the edge of the forest," whispered Henry, and in +that manner they crept cautiously southward. After a while they stopped +suddenly and all exclaimed together. They distinctly heard the sound of +rifle shots straight toward the south and perhaps a mile away. + +"The savages hev attacked," said Shif'less Sol in a whisper. "Go it, +Spaniard, go it, Injun, one may lick and tother may lick, but whether one +may lick tother or tother lick which. I don't care." + +They pulled a little nearer to the last line of trees in the water and +there off to the south they saw the little pinkish dots that marked the +rifle and musket fire. It was too far away for them to see anything else, +but they heard distinctly the intermittent crackle of the shots. + +"Neither will win," said Henry. "The Spaniards are too strong to be +defeated, but they won't venture the unknown terrors of the river at +night. The Indians, who are in their canoes, will draw off when they find +they are not doing much harm." + +"Wish we could put up that sail," said Shif'less Sol, who was still at the +oars. "I'm shore gittin' a callous lump in the pa'm o' my hand." + +"It wouldn't do, Sol," said Henry. "We're going to run past a battle, and +we mean to lie as low as possible." + +Paul again steered, Henry sat, rifle in hand, and the others rowed. They +took a diagonal course across the stream once more, but this time toward +the eastern shore. They advanced slowly, hugging the dark. Fortunately +there was no moon and the dusk came close up to the boat. + +"That's a right noisy fight," said Shif'less Sol, looking toward the +south, where pink and red spots of flame still appeared in the dark and +the rattling fire of rifle and musket grew louder. + +"More noise than anything else," said Tom Ross, "but it keeps 'em pow'ful +busy an' that's a good thing fur us." + +They were now near the flooded forest on the eastern shore, and they moved +slowly along in its shadow, still watching the distant battle. It +lightened a little, the rim of a moon came out, and they saw toward the +western bank the dark silhouettes of canoes moving back and forth on the +water. Flashes came from the canoes and returning flashes came from the +bank. + +"Go it, Spaniard, go it, Injun, go it, one, go it, tother," muttered +Shif'less Sol again. + +"The Galleon" slowly passed by in the darkness. The pink and red dots went +out and the sound of the rifle fire died behind hem. They could neither +see nor hear anything more of the battle, and all were of the opinion that +it would soon cease by a sort of mutual agreement of the contestants. + +Paul once more turned the head of the boat toward the middle of the +stream, and she swung gaily into the current, where her speed soon +increased greatly. + +"We can fix up our mast and hoist our sail now," said Henry. "Since there +is nobody to look, it won't hurt us to make speed for a while." + +It required some time and exertion to put the mast in place and then they +unfurled the sail. They were rather clumsy about it from lack of +experience, but the tent cloth filled with the north wind, and "The +Galleon" leaped forward in the water, her broad nose parting the stream +swiftly, while the youthful hearts of Henry and Paul swelled with +exultation. + +Shif'less Sol drew in his oars and bestowed upon the sail a look of deep +approval. + +"That's the most glorious sight that hez met the eyes o' a tired man in a +year," he said. "Blow, Mr. Wind, blow! an' let me rest." + +The others also rested, but Sol and Henry put all their attention upon the +boom and sail. They did not intend to be wrecked by ignorance or any +sudden flaw in the wind. The breeze, however, was steady and strong, and +"The Galleon" continued to move gallantly before it. + +They sailed for three or four hours and during the latter part of the time +they coasted along the western bank. There they came to the mouth of a +small river, thickly lined on both shores with gigantic trees. + +"I think we'd better take down our sail and run up this," said Henry. "We +can go back some distance and hide close to the bank. The Spaniards of +course will not dream of coming up it, and we can stay here until they go +by." + +"A safe and pleasant haven as long as it is needed," said Paul. + +They took down the sail and pulled at least a mile up the little river. +There they tied close to the bank, and, happy over their success, sought +sleep, all except the watch, the night passing without disturbance. + +The day came, again unclouded and beautiful, and the five regarded it, the +boat, and themselves with a great deal of satisfaction. + +"I'm thinkin' that our treasure ship, the gall-yun, ought to hev the most +credit," said Shif'less Sol. "She brought us past all them warrin' people +in great style. Without her we'd hev a hard time, follerin' the Spaniards +to New Or-lee-yuns." + +After breakfast they remained awhile in the boat, content to lie still and +await events. Everywhere around them was the deep forest, oak, hickory, +chestnut, maple, elm, and all the other noble trees that flourish in the +great valley. Just above them was a low point in the hank of the little +river and they could see that it was trodden by many feet. + +"Game comes down to drink thar," said Shif'less Sol. + +"Lie still and let's see," said Paul. The boat was almost hidden in the +thick foliage that overhung the river, and nobody on it stirred. Two deer +presently walked gingerly to the water, drank daintily, and then walked as +gingerly away. Soon a black bear followed them and shambled to the water's +edge. He looked up and down the stream, but he saw nothing and the wind +blowing from him toward the boat brought no dread odor to his sensitive +nostrils. He drank, wrinkled his face in a comical manner, scratched +himself with his left paw, and then shambled away. Shif'less Sol laughed. + +"I'd hev to be hard pushed afore I shot that feller," he said. "Ain't the +black bear a comic chap when he tries to be. I declare I hev a real feller +feelin' fur him. I couldn't ever feel that way toward a panther. They +always look mean an' they always are mean, but I could hobnob right along +with a jolly, fat black bear." + +"Yes," said Paul, looking dreamily far into the future. "It's a pity they +have to go." + +"Hev to go, what do you mean, Paul?" interrupted Long Jim Hart, as he +cracked a joint or two. + +"Why," replied Paul, "all this country will be settled up some day, and +how can bears and panthers and buffaloes roam wild on farms?" + +Long Jim looked at him with eyes slowly widening in wonder. + +"Paul," he exclaimed, "you do say the beatinest things sometimes! Now what +do you mean by sayin' that all this country will be settled up? Why, thar +ain't enough people in the world fur that, an' thar won't never be." + +"Yes there will be, Jim," said Paul decisively, "although it will not +occur in your time." + +"Not if I lived to be a hundred years old, Paul, or mebbe a hundred an' +twenty, 'cause I'm a pow'ful healthy man?" + +"No, not if you lived to be a hundred and twenty." + +Long Jim heaved a deep sigh of relief--he had the true soul of the +woodsman. + +"That's mighty relievin' an' soothin'," he said. "Think uv havin' to walk +every day through cleared ground! Think uv lookin' every day fur a +bee-yu-ti-ful sky only to see cabin-smoke! Think uv drawin' your sights on +what you fust take to be a fine buffalo, an' then find out is only your +neighbor's old cow! Think uv your goin' off to a river to trap beaver, an' +findin' nothin' thar but a saw-mill! Think uv your havin' to meet mornin' +an' evenin' all kinds uv people that you don't care nothin' about! Think +uv your goin' out on a great huntin' expedition only to find all them +noble trees cut down a thousan' miles every way, an' nothin' wanderin' +around thar but old lame horses an' gruntin' pigs! I'm plum' thankful that +I'm livin' at the time I do, when thar's lots uv countries you don't know +nothin' about, an' lots uv fun guessin' what they are, an' mostly guessin' +wrong. An' I'm glad too that I didn't live in them old days that Sol tells +about, when people had to build walls around theirselves in towns, an' wuz +afraid to go out in the woods an' hunt bear an' buffalo like men!" + +Jim Hart, after this speech, so long for him, stopped for want of breath, +and Shif'less Sol, regarding him with a look of deep sympathy, held out a +brown and sinewy hand. + +"Jim Hart," he said, "shake. I'll be proud to hev you do it. You ain't no +beauty, Jim, an' somehow you an' me are kinder disputatious now an' then, +but you are lettin' flow at this minute a solid stream o' wisdom, a +fountain, ez Paul would say in his highfalutin' way, at which everybody +ought to drink." + +Jim Hart also reached out a brown and sinewy hand and the two met in a +powerful and friendly clasp. + +"I'm like Jim," continued Shif'less Sol. "'Tain't what you git that makes +you happy, but thar's a heap in bein' suited. I'm glad I'm livin' when I +am, an' whar I am. Me an' things suit each other. What Paul says may come +true, but it won't bust my heart, 'cause I won't be here to see it." + +An hour or so later Henry and Sol went through the woods and watched for +the Spanish fleet. They saw it presently moving in single file down the +Mississippi, and showing, so far as they could judge, no signs of damage. + +"Twas ez we guessed last night it would be, a dogfall," said Shif'less +Sol, "lots o' noise and not much done. Now that Injun crowd hez drawed off +to the east, an' I think we've seed the last o' them, while the Spaniards, +thinkin' they've had enough o' excitement, will keep straight on to New +Or-lee-yuns." + +"I've no doubt you're right," said Henry, "and we'll follow to-night. +We'll let them take a good start." + +They watched the little fleet until it passed out of sight down the river +and then returned to their own boat. There they devoted the day to further +preparations for a long journey. As game was close at hand in such +abundance, they shot two deer and took the meat on board. They also +undertook to provide shelter, as this was the period of the spring rains +and they did not wish to be drenched or have their stores damaged. +Fortunately they found a tarpaulin in one of the lockers and, taking this +and the two deerskins, they united all in a larger covering which they +could spread over nearly the whole boat. This all considered a highly +important task, and they meant to enlarge the tarpaulin still more as +they killed more deer. Meanwhile they let it lie in the sun, in order that +the deerskins might dry. + +Their tasks occupied them until about 10 o'clock at night and then they +decided to start again, thinking that night traveling would be safer for a +day or two. They rowed down the river until they entered the Mississippi, +and then they set their sail again. + +No other human beings were afloat on the river, at least not within the +range of their vision, but there was a plenty of floating trees and other +debris brought down by the spring flood. Careful steering was necessary, +but they went on without any accident. Shif'less Sol, however, gazed up at +the moon with an unquiet eye. + +"She looks too soft an' fleecy," he said, speaking of the moon. "When +she's peepin' through them lacy-lookin' clouds it means that trouble is +about to stir." + +"We'll keep a watch," said Henry. + +They continued until midnight and Sol's troubles still kept off, but about +that time all noticed a sudden increase of the breeze, accompanied by an +equal increase of dampness. + +"Something like a storm is coming and you were right, Sol," said Henry. +"Now, I wish we knew a lot about sailing." + +"But as we don't," said Paul, "I think we'd better take in our sail at +once." + +They quickly did so and their precaution was wise. The wind, blowing out +of the north, began to shriek, and the boat, even without the aid of a +sail, leaped forward. Driving clouds suddenly shut out the moon, and the +yellow waters of the giant stream, lashed by the wind, began to heave and +surge in waves like those of the sea. The treasure ship, "The Galleon," +pitched and rocked like a real galleon in the long swells of the Pacific, +but the five knew that she was perfectly safe. The broad, square Spanish +boat could not be swamped. + +"Thank God, we've taken in that sail," said Henry. "We're going to have a +night of it! Do you think we'd better pull for the shore?" + +"Not now," replied Shif'less Sol, "the wind's risin' too fast, an' we'd +hit a tree or a snag, shore. Better keep ez nearly in the middle o' the +river ez we kin!" + +The soundness of Sol's judgment became apparent at once. The shriek of the +wind rose to a scream and then a roar. The night became pitchy dark. They +could see nothing around them but a narrow circle of muddy waters heaving +violently. Under the far horizon in the south and west, low, sullen +thunder began to mutter. Suddenly the sky parted before a tremendous flash +of lightning that blazed for a moment across the heavens and then went +out, leaving the night darker than before. But in that moment they caught +a vivid glimpse of the flooded forest, the great waste of troubled waters, +and all the vast desolation about them. It was weird and uncanny to the +last degree, and despite all the dangers and hardships through which they +had passed on land, the five steadied their nerves only with supreme +efforts of the will. + +"We've forgot the covering for our boat," exclaimed Henry. "Paul, keep her +steady, while the rest of you help me." + +It required the strength of four to spread the tarpaulin in the wind and +make it all secure, but they were a strong four and the task was quickly +done. Meanwhile the turbulence of air and water were increasing. The waves +on the river rose higher and higher and the wind drove the foam in their +faces. The thunder, no longer a mutter, became one terrific peal after +another, and the lightning burned across the great stream in flash after +flash. + +"I sp'ose it's jest the same ez bein' at sea," said Sol between crashes. +"I don't know much choice between bein' drowned in the Mississippi, which +I know is muddy, an' the sea, which they say is salt." + +"No danger of either!" said Paul cheerfully, "but I'm glad this is such a +wide river. So long as we can keep the boat straight there is not much +risk of being driven into anything." + +Then everyone jumped suddenly to his feet. There was a tremendous crash of +thunder louder than all the rest, and the whole river swam for a moment in +a burning glare. The lightning seemed to have struck upon the surface of +the water not far from them. Then, when the lightning and the thunder +passed, they heard only the wind and saw only the darkness. + +"This ain't so easy ez it looked," said Shif'less Sol in a plaintive +tone. "It's nice ridin' on a boat, but if the lightning should strike 'The +Gall-yun,' whar are we? I'd a heap rather be on the land." + +"That must have been its climax," said Paul, "and if so look out for the +rain." + +Paul was right. The lightning began to decline in intensity and the +thunder sank in volume. The wind died rapidly. Yet there was no increase +of light, and presently they heard afar a rushing sound. Great drops beat +like hail upon their tarpaulin, and all except the man who was steering +snuggled to cover. The steersman happened to be Shif'less Sol this time, +and he wrapped one of the new Spanish blankets tightly around him from +heel to throat. + +"Now let it come," murmured the indomitable man. + +It took him at his word and it came with a sweep and a roar. The heavens +opened and a deluge fell out. The thunder and lightning ceased entirely +and from the black skies the rain poured in amazing quantities. Now and +then all except the steersman were forced to bail out the boat, but mostly +they kept to cover under their tarpaulin, which was a good one. + +Shif'less Sol held the good ship "The Galleon," in the middle of the +current, and all the time he strained his eyes ahead for floating debris +and particularly for the terrible snags which were such a danger in the +early Mississippi. Keen as were his eyes, he could see little ahead of him +but the black water, now beaten into a comparatively smooth plain by the +steady rain. + +Shif'less Sol had taken off his cap and the rain drove steadily on the +back of his head; but his body, thanks to the thick blanket wrapped so +tightly around his neck, remained dry. + +Shif'less Sol was not uncomfortable. Neither was he alarmed or unhappy. +There was a strain of chivalry and romance in his forest-bred soul, and +the situation appealed to him. He was in a strong boat, his four faithful +comrades were with him, and he was piercing a new mystery, that of a vast +and unknown river. The spirit that has always driven on the great +explorers and adventurers thrilled in every nerve of Solomon Hyde, +nicknamed the Shiftless One, but not at all deserving the title. + +The boat went steadily on in the blackness and the rain, and Sol's soul +swelled jubilantly within him. He could see perhaps thirty or forty feet +ahead of him over the smooth plain of black water, and at an equal +distance to right and left the black wall rose, also. So far as feeling +went, the land might be a thousand miles away, and he was glad of it. + +"Which sea are we ploughin' through now, Paul?" he said. "Is it the +Atlantic or the Pacific or one I ain't heard tell of a-tall, a-tall? But +which ever it is, I'm Christopher Columbus the second, on my way to +discover a new continent bigger than all the others put together! Jumpin' +Jehoshaphat! but that was a narrow escape! It made my flesh creep!" + +Sol had shifted the boat in her course, just in time to escape an ominous +snag, but in a moment his joyousness came back, and without giving Paul +time to answer, he continued: + +"A boat goin' down stream on a river is shorely the right way o' travelin' +fur a lazy man like me. I wish it wuz all like this!" + +The violence of the rain abated somewhat in an hour or so, but it +continued to come down for a long time. Far after midnight the clouds +began to part. A damp patch of sky showed, but it was clear sky +nevertheless and soon it broadened. + +The flooded world rose up before the five voyagers, the vast river, still +black in the night light, floating trees, perhaps rooted up by the stream +from shores thousands of miles to the north and west, the low dim outline +of forest to right and left, and all around them an immense desolation. +Everything to other minds would have been gigantic, somber, and menacing. +Gigantic it was to the five, but neither somber nor menacing. Instead it +told them of safety and comfort and it was, at all times, full of a varied +and supreme interest. + +As soon as the light was strong enough for them to find a suitable place +they pulled the boat among the trees on the western shore and tied it up +securely. Here they made a critical examination and found that none of +their precious goods had suffered a wetting. Powder, provisions, clothing, +all were dry and every one except the watch went to sleep with a sound +conscience. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE LONE VOYAGER + + +Henry Ware awoke, rubbed his eyes, and looked through the tree trunks at +the Mississippi, now wider than ever. + +"What do you see, Tom?" he asked of Tom Ross, who had kept the watch. + +"Nothin' but a black speck fur across thar. It come into sight only a +minute ago. Fust I thought it wuz a shadder, then I thought it wuz a +floatin' log, an' now I do believe it's a canoe. What do you make uv it, +Henry?" + +Henry looked long. + +"It is a canoe," said he at last, "and there's a man in it. They're +floating with the stream down our way." + +"You're right," said Tom Ross, "an' ef I ain't mistook that man an' that +canoe are in trouble. Half the time he's paddlin', half the time he's +bailin' her out, an' all the time he's making a desperate effort to git to +land." + +The others were now up and awake, and they gazed with intense interest. + +"It's a white man in the canoe ez shore ez I'm a livin' sinner!" exclaimed +Shif'less Sol. + +"And it's a question," added Henry, "whether his canoe gets to the bank or +the bottom of the river first." + +"It's a white man and we must save him!" cried Paul, his generous boy's +heart stirred to the utmost. + +They quickly untied their boat and pulled with great strokes toward the +sinking canoe and its lone occupant. They were alongside in a few minutes +and Henry threw a rope to the man, who caught it with a skillful hand, and +tied his frail craft stoutly to the side of the strong "Galleon." Then, as +Paul reached a friendly hand down to him he sprang on board, exclaiming at +the same time in a deep voice: "May the blessing of Heaven rest upon you, +my children." + +The five were startled at the face and appearance of the man who came upon +their boat. They had never thought of encountering such a figure in the +wilderness. He was of middle age, tall, well-built, and remarkably +straight, but his shaven face was thin and ascetic, and the look in his +eyes was one of extraordinary benevolence. Moreover, it had the peculiar +quality of seeming to gaze far into the future, as it were, at something +glorious and beautiful. His dress was a strange mixture. He wore deerskin +leggins and moccasins, but his body was clothed in a long, loose garment +of black cloth and on his head was a square cap of black felt. A small +white crucifix suspended by a thin chain from his neck lay upon his breast +and gleamed upon the black cloth. + +Every one of the five instantly felt veneration and respect for the +stranger and Paul murmured, "A priest." The others heard him and +understood. They were all Protestants, but in the deep wilderness +religious hatred and jealousy had little hold; upon them none at all. + +"Bless you, my sons," repeated the man in his deep, benevolent voice, and +then he continued in a lighter tone, speaking almost perfect English, "I +do believe that if you had not appeared when you did I and my canoe should +have both gone to the bottom of this very deep river. I am a fair swimmer, +but I doubt if I could have gained the land." + +"We are glad, father," said Paul respectfully, "that we had the privilege +to be present and help at such a time." + +The priest looked at Paul and smiled. He liked his refined and sensitive +face and his correct language and accent. + +"I should fancy, my young friend," he said, still smiling, "that the debt +of gratitude is wholly mine. I am Pierre Montigny, and, as you perhaps +surmise, a Frenchman and priest of the Holy Church, sent to the New World +to convert and save the heathen. I belong to the mission at New Orleans, +but I have been on a trip, to a tribe called the Osage, west of the Great +River. Last night my canoe was damaged by the fierce storm and I started +forth rather rashly this morning, not realizing the extent to which the +canoe had suffered. You have seen and taken a part in the rest." + +"You were going back to New Orleans alone, and in a little canoe?" said +Paul. + +"Oh, yes," replied Father Montigny, as if he were speaking of trifles. "I +always go alone, and my canoe isn't so very little, as you see. I carry in +it a change or clothing, provisions, and gifts for the Indians." + +"But no arms," said Henry who had been looking into the canoe. + +"No arms, of course," replied Father Montigny. + +"You are a brave man! About the bravest I ever saw!" burst out Tom Ross, +he of few words. + +Father Montigny merely smiled again. + +"Oh, no," he said, "I have many brethren who do likewise, and there are as +many different kinds of bravery as there are different kinds of life. You, +I fancy, are brave, too, though I take it from appearances that you +sometimes fight with arms." + +"We have to do it, Father Montigny," said Paul in an apologetic tone. + +The priest made no further comment and, taking him to the shore, with much +difficulty they built a fire, at which they prepared him warm food while +he dried his clothing. They had no hesitation in telling him of their +errand and of the presence of Alvarez and his force on the river. Father +Montigny sighed. + +"It is a matter of great regret," he said, "that Louisiana has passed from +the hands of my nation into those of Spain. France is now allied with your +colonies, but Spain holds aloof. She fears you and perhaps with reason. +Every country, if its people be healthy and vigorous, must ultimately be +owned by those who live upon it." + +"Do you know this Alvarez?" asked Henry. + +"Yes, a man of imperious and violent temper, one who, with all his +courage, does not recognize the new forces at work in the world. He thinks +that Spain is still the greatest of nations, and that the outposts of your +race, who have reached the backwoods, are nothing. It is we who travel in +the great forests who recognize the strength of the plant that is yet so +young and tender." + +The priest sighed again and a shade of emotion passed over his singularly +fine face. + +"Alvarez would be glad to commit the Spanish forces in America to the +cause of your enemies," he resumed, "and he is bold enough to do any +violent deed at this distance to achieve that end. In fact, he is already +allied with the renegade and the Indians against you and began war when he +seized one of you. Perhaps it is just as well that you are going to New +Orleans, since Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish Governor, is a man of +different temper, young, enthusiastic, and ready, I think, to listen to +you." + +While the priest was talking by the fireside Shif'less Sol, Long Jim, and +Tom Ross slipped away. They hauled his canoe out on dry land, and with the +tools that they had found on "The Galleon" quickly made it as good as +ever. They also quietly put some of their own stores in the canoe, and +then returned it to the water. + +"O' course, he won't go comf'tably with us in our boat to New +Or-lee-yuns," said Shif'less Sol. "He'll stick to his canoe an' stop to +preach to Injuns who mebbe will torture him to death, but he has my +respeck an' ef I kin do anything fur him I want to do it." + +"So would I," said Jim Hart heartily. "I'm a pow'ful good cook ez you +know, Sol, bein' ez you've et in your time more'n a hundred thousand +pounds uv my victuals, an' I'd like to cook him all the buffaler an' deer +steak he could eat between here an' New Or-lee-yuns, no matter how long he +wuz on the way." + +"An' me," said Tom Ross simply, wishing to add his mite, "I'd like to be +on hand when any Injun tried to hurt him. That Injun would think he'd been +struck by seven different kinds uv lightnin', all at the same time." + +The fire was built on a hillock that rose above the flood. It had been +kindled with the greatest difficulty, even by such experienced woodsmen as +the five, but, once well started, it consumed the damp brush and +spluttered and blazed merrily. Gradually a great bed of coals formed and +threw out a temperate, grateful heat. All were glad enough, after the +storm and the cold and the wet, to sit around it and to feel the glow upon +their faces. It warmed the blood. + +The hill formed an island in the flood and "The Galleon" and the canoe +were tied to trees only thirty or forty feet away. Far to the west +extended the great sweep of the river and around them the flooded forest +was still dripping with the night's rain. + +"I think I'm willin' to rest a while," said Shif'less Sol. "That wuz a +pow'ful lively time we had last night, but thar wuz enough o' it an' I'd +like to lay by to-day, now that our friend's canoe hez been fixed." + +Father Montigny glanced up in surprise. + +"My canoe repaired!" he said. "I don't understand." + +"'Twas only a little job fur fellers like us," said the shiftless one. +"She's all done, an' your canoe, ez good ez new, is tied up thar alongside +o' our 'Gall-yun.'" + +"You are very good to me," said the priest raising his hands slightly in +the manner of benediction, "and I suggest, since we have a comfortable +place here, that we remain on this little island until to-morrow. Do you +know what day it is?" + +"No," replied Paul, "to tell you the truth, Father Montigny, we've been +through so much and we've had to think so hard of other things that we've +lost count of the days. I'd scarcely know how to guess at it." + +"It's the Holy Sabbath," said Father Montigny. "You, I have no doubt, +belong to a church other than mine, but the wilderness teaches us that +we're merely traveling by different roads to the same place. We six are +alone upon this little spot of ground in a great river flowing through a +vast desolation. Surely we can be comrades, too, and give thanks together +for the mercy that is taking us through such great dangers and +hardships." + +"We're like Noah and his family after the ark landed," whispered Shif'less +Sol to Henry, in a tone that was far from irreverence. But Paul said +aloud: + +"I'm sure that we're all in agreement upon that point, Father Montigny. We +do not have to hasten and we'll remain here on the island in a manner +proper to the day." + +Father Montigny glanced at the five in turn and the rare, beautiful smile +lighted up his face. He read every thought of theirs in their open +countenances, and he knew that they were in thorough accord with him. But +Paul, as usual, appealed to him most of all--the deeply spiritual quality +in the lad was evident to the priest and reader of men. + +Father Montigny took a little leather-bound book from under his black robe +and stood up. The others stood up also. Then the priest read a prayer. It +was in Latin and the five--Paul included--did not understand a word of it, +but not a particle of its solemnity and effect was lost on that account. + +It was to Paul, in many ways, the most impressive scene in which he had +ever taken part, the noble, inspired face of the priest, the solemn words, +and no other sound except the peaceful murmur made by the flowing of the +great river. They seemed as much alone on their little hill as if they +stood on a coral island in the south seas. + +Nature was in unison with the rite. A brilliant sun came out, the dripping +trees dried fast, and, under the blue sky, the yellow of the river took +on a lighter hue. + +After the prayer they resumed their seats by the fire, which they left at +intervals only to get something from the boat or to bring the dryest wood +that they could find for the replenishing of the fire. Paul and Shif'less +Sol went together on one of the trips for firewood. + +"He is shorely a good man," said the shiftless one nodding in the +direction of the priest, "but don't you think, Paul, he's undertook a +mighty big job, tryin' to convert Injuns?" + +"Undoubtedly," replied Paul, "but that is the purpose to which he has +devoted his life. He does good, but it seems a pity to me too, Sol, that +he goes on such missions. In the end he'll find martyrdom among some cruel +tribe, and he knows it." + +While Father Montigny, like others of his kind, expected martyrdom and +willingly risked it, his spirits were darkened by no shadow now. Not one +of the five was more cheerful than he, and he gave them all the news at +his command. + +"And I am glad," he continued, "that you are going to New Orleans. You are +really messengers of peace and, unofficial heralds though you are, you may +save more than one nation from great trouble." + +The five were deeply gratified by his words. If they had needed any +encouragement in their self-chosen task they would have received it now. + +"Since you are returning to New Orleans, Father Montigny," said Paul, +"why don't you go with us in our big boat? It is far safer and more +comfortable than a canoe." + +Father Montigny shook his head. + +"It is a kind offer," he replied, "but I cannot accept it. I leave you +to-morrow at the mouth of a river on our right as we descend. There is a +small village of peaceful Indians several miles up that stream and I wish +to stay with them a day or two. I and my canoe have traveled many +thousands of miles together and we will continue." + +They would have repeated the offer, but they saw that he was not to be +moved and they talked of other things. The rest was, in truth, welcome to +all, as the labors and dangers of the night had been a severe strain upon +their nerves and strength, and they luxuriated before the fire while the +peaceful day passed. Henry noticed that the water was still rising, and +that the mass of floating debris was also increasing. + +"It's been a tremendous rain," he said, "and it's extended far up. It must +have been raining on all the great rivers that run into the Mississippi on +either side, away off there in the north. It's going to be a mighty big +flood, and this hill itself will go under." + +"You're right," said Shif'less Sol. "It's a mighty big river any time but +is shorely gittin' to be like a sea now." + +They walked back to the little party by the fire. The day had considerable +coolness in it after the rain, and the warmth was still welcome. Little +was left for them to do and they still luxuriated in rest. Like all +woodsmen in those times who were compelled to endure long and most +strenuous periods of toil and danger, they knew how to do nothing when the +time came, and let Nature recuperate the tired faculties. + +The brilliant sun shone on the river, the muddy waters were gilded with +gold. The east turned to rose, then to red, and after that came the +shadows. The mellow voice of the priest was lifted in a solemn Latin hymn. +His song carried far over the darkening waters, and Paul, under its +influence, felt more deeply than ever the immense majesty of the scene. +Red light from the sunken sun still lingered over the longest of rivers, +but the shadows now covered all the eastern shore. Through the increasing +night the firelight on the little island twinkled like a beacon, but for +the time being, they were careless who saw it. + +The hymn died away in a last long echo, the red light was wholly gone, +darkness was over everything, and they prepared for a long night of sleep. +The next morning they started together, the big boat and the little canoe. +Every one of the five offered to paddle the canoe for Father Montigny as +far as they were going together, but he smilingly declined. + +"No," he said, "my good canoe and I have been closely associated too long +to be separated now, nor must I be spoiled. I see that you have put fresh +stores in the canoe, and I accept them. You have good hearts, as I knew +when I first saw you." + +The five would not put up their sail while they were in company, and "The +Galleon" and the canoe drifted together until they reached the mouth of +the river up which the peaceful Indian village lay. There Father Montigny +gave them his blessing and bade them farewell. They held their own boat in +the current while they watched him paddle with strong arms up the +tributary stream. He stopped at the first curve, lifted his paddle in a +last salute, which they returned with their own lifted oars, and then he +passed out of sight. + +"We may never see him again," said Paul--but Paul could not read the +future. + +Then they set their sail, swung into the middle of the stream and swept +forward on their great journey. But the meeting with the priest had a +strong influence upon every one of them. + +"He is sure to suffer a violent death some time or other," said Paul, "and +he knows it, but it never mikes him gloomy. There are other French priests +like him, too, boys, going thousands of miles, alone and unarmed, over +this vast continent." + +"'Pears to me that we are wrong when we talk about the French bein' +dancin' masters an' sech like," said Shif'less Sol. "My father fit in the +great French war up thar along the Canady line an' in Canady, an' he says +the French wuz ez good fighters ez anybody. Besides, they took naterally +to the woods, makin' fust rate scouts an' hunters, an' ef that ain't proof +o' the stuff that's in people, nothin' is." + +This day upon the waters was one of unbroken peace. The flood, as Henry +had predicted, continued to rise, spreading far into the woods and out of +sight. Now and then some portion of the shore, eaten into continually by +the powerful stream, would give way and fall with a sticky sigh into the +river. Uprooted trees floated in the current or became wedged in the +forest. But the sunlight remained undimmed and they began to grow familiar +with the river. It was a friend now, bearing them whither they would go. + +About noon they saw two deer marooned on an island made by the flood, and +they shot one of them for the sake of the fresh meat. + +Now ensued a long journey, unbroken by danger, but full of interest. They +came near enough once or twice to ascertain that the Spanish force was +just ahead of them, but they saw no chance to secure the precious maps and +plans or interfere in any other way with the dangerous project of Alvarez, +and they waited patiently. + +The flood began to subside, but it was a mighty river yet, and would still +be so when all the flood was gone. They passed the mouths of great rivers +to right and to left, but they did not know their names, nor whence they +came. The air grew much warmer and they were very glad indeed now that +they had the sail, which, allied with the current, carried them on as fast +as they wished. + +Shif'less Sol lay lazily under the sail, his limbs relaxed, and his face a +picture of content. + +"I could float on an' on forever," he said sleepily, "an' I don't care how +long it takes to git to New Or-lee-yuns. I think I'm goin' to like that +place. I saw a trapper once who had been thar, an' he said you could be +jest ez lazy an' sleepy ez you wished an' nobody would blame you--they +kinder look upon it ez the right thing, an' that suits me. He said them +Spaniards an' French had orange trees about. You could lay in your bed, +reach a han' out o' the window, pull an orange off the tree, suck it, an' +then go back to sleep without ever havin' disturbed the cover. I never +seed an orange, but I know it's nice." + +The same day they rowed the boat a few miles up a small but deep and very +clear river that emptied into the Mississippi from the east. Their object +was to fish, the greater river itself being too muddy for the succulent +kind that they wished. The incomparable "Galleon" had also been supplied +with fishing tackle, and in a short time they caught a splendid supply of +black bass and perch, which proved to be very fine and toothsome. As their +boat floated back from the smaller stream into the Mississippi, Shif'less +Sol heaved a deep sigh. + +"What's the matter, Sol?" asked Paul. + +"I wuz thinkin' o' Christopher Columbus," replied Shif'less Sol. "Ef it +wuzn't that I'd be dead now, I wish I'd been with him. I do enjoy sailin' +on an' discoverin' lands an' waters that ain't yet got no name to 'em. It +looks funny to me that we wuzn't discovered sooner, when we've always been +here, but Columbus has all my respeck an' admiration 'cause he done it +when the others didn't." + +"That shorely wuz a man," said Tom Ross, his eyes lighting up. "I've heard +the tale how he kep' tryin' an' tryin' to git a ship, an' couldn't, an' +at last the Spanish lady pulled off her earrings an' finger rings an' +bracelets an' said: 'Here, Chris, these, these are my jewels, take 'em, +trade 'em fur the best ship thar is in the market, an' discover Ameriky.' +An' then he got his ship, an' kep' sailin' on an' on, an' the sailors they +began to git skeered an' then more skeered. They're afraid they're goin' +to drop off on the other side uv the world an' they go to Chris an' say: +'Thar ain't no sech continent ez Ameriky an' we ain't goin' to discover +it. We're goin' to turn right 'round an' go straight back to Spain.' + +"Chris says in the knowin'est manner like a father talkin' to his child. +'Thar is sech a continent ez Ameriky, an' it's a big one, too. It's layin' +over thar straight to the west, an' it's full uv big lakes an' big rivers +an' big mountains an' red Injuns that fight with bows an' arrers, and +b'ars an' buffalers an' deer an' panthers an' all things fine, jest +waitin' fur us. Thar's whar we're goin'.' And the sailors say more uppish +than ever: No, we ain't, we ain't goin' to discover Ameriky, thar ain't no +sech place, we're goin' right back to Spain.' Then a kinder funny look +comes into Chris's eye. He reaches fur his long rifle, an' he draws a bead +on the foremost uv them sailors, the feller that speaks fur 'em all, an' +he says, droppin' that fatherly manner an' speakin' up sharp an' snappy: +'I reckin we're either goin' to discover Ameriky, or go right back to +Spain, which is it?' + +"An' that foremost sailor, the one that speaks fur 'em all, sees the funny +look in Chris's eye, an' he thinks, too, he kin see clean down the barrel +uv that long rifle to whar the bullet is layin', an' he answers right off: +'We're goin' to discover Ameriky'; an' shore enough they did, this fine, +big continent, full uv big lakes an' big rivers an' big mountains an' red +Injuns that fight with bows an' arrers an' b'ars and buffalers an' deer +an' panthers an' all things fine." + +"I didn't know Tom Ross had sech a gift o' gab," said Shif'less Sol. "He +stirs me all up, he makes me want to hev some lady buy a ship fur me an' +start me out to discoverin' continents. Do you think, Paul, thar's any +lady who would sell her earrings an' finger rings fur me ez that Spanish +one did fur Columbus?" + +"But think, Sol, what a chance you've got whether there is or not," said +Henry Ware. "America is discovered but not much of it is explored. There's +enough here to keep you roaming about for the next fifty or sixty years." + +"That's so," said the shiftless one brightening up. "What am I growlin' +about, when here's a river, mebbe ten thousand miles long that we know +next to nothin' 'bout, an' buffalers an' b'ars an' panthers an' deer to +shoot, an' red Injuns to fight ez long ez I live. After all, we're shorely +mighty lucky to live at the time we do, ez I've said before. Do you think +thar'll ever be any times hereafter as interestin' ez ourn, Paul?" + +"I can't say," replied Paul with a smile, "but they're not likely to be as +interesting to us." + +They went on their way, and the air became still warmer. Moreover, it +grew heavy and oppressive, and the spring rains were resumed with great +violence. They had worked meanwhile on their tarpaulin, enlarging and +strengthening it with skins which they had allowed to dry on the boat, and +they rested, sheltered and secure, as they floated along. + +Although Frenchmen had gone up and down the river long before, they felt +like genuine explorers. So little was known of the mighty stream that they +regarded every stretch and turn with keen interest. It was not beautiful +now, a vast, brown flood flowing between low and changing shores, but in +its size and loneliness it had a majesty peculiarly its own. + +Wild geese and wild ducks flew over the river in abundance, and they were +so little used to man that often they passed near "The Galleon." The +fowling pieces proved useful again, as the five were able to sit in +comfort on their boat and shoot geese and ducks for their needs. Some were +of kinds that they had never seen before, but all proved to be good +eating, and they were welcome. + +Jim Hart also exercised his ingenuity in a very useful manner. In the prow +of the boat, but under the tarpaulin, he spread a layer of mud about two +inches thick. Protected from the rain, it soon dried, forming a hard, +impervious, brick-like covering for the bottom of the boat, and upon this +he built a small smothered fire of dry sticks, a supply of which they kept +in the boat. Here Jim, with all the skill and delicacy of a gastronomic +artist, would cook their wild ducks and wild geese, and, considering the +limited area and resources for the exercise of his favorite occupation, +he did extremely well. Nor was it any longer necessary for them to run in +to the shore and worry in the dripping forest with wet wood. + +"It ain't like that stove we built the time we wuz on the ha'nted islan'," +Long Jim would say, "but it's a heap sight better than nothin." + +"It shorely is," said Shif'less Sol. "You ain't much account for anything, +Jim, but you kin cook a leetle bit." + +Long Jim smiled contentedly. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE CHATEAU OF BEAULIEU + + +They noticed one day a high bluff shooting up on the eastern bank and +running along for some distance. It was clothed in dense green forest, and +it was rather a welcome break in the monotony of the low shores. + +"A big city will be built there some day," said the prophetic Paul.[B] + +"Now, Paul, why in tarnation do you say that?" exclaimed Tom Ross. + +"Why, because it's such a good place. It's a high hill on a great river so +well suited to navigation, and it has a vast, rich country behind it." + +But Tom Ross shook his head. + +"Seems to me, Paul," he said, "that you're bitin' off a lot more'n you can +chaw. Things that are to happen a hundred years from now ain't never +happenin' fur me." + +But Paul merely smiled and held to his opinion. + +On the following day they tied up at a point, where the river began a +sharp and wide curve around a long, narrow peninsula. It was just about +dark when they stopped and, as usual, they were able to run the boat into +dense foliage at the margin, where not even the keenest eye could see it. + +"We've got plenty of goose and duck left over from dinner," said Henry, +"so I'm thinking, Jim, that you'd better not light the fire on your bricks +to-night." + +"All right," replied Jim, "I don't mind restin'. I feel about ez lazy ez +Sol Hyde looks." + +But Henry Ware had another and more important thing in mind. His was the +keenest eye of them all, and just before landing he had noticed to the +southward and on the other side of the peninsula a faint, dark line +against the edge of the sunset. Few, even with an eye good enough to see +it, would have taken it for anything but a wisp of cloud, but the physical +sense of Henry Ware, so acute that it bordered upon intuition, was not +deceived. + +"Sol," he said after they had eaten a little, "let's walk across this neck +of land and explore a bit." + +"It's a dark night to be traveling," said Paul. But Henry only laughed. +Tom Ross may have had his suspicions, but he did not deem it worth while +to say anything. He knew that Henry and Shif'less Sol were quite competent +to achieve any task that they might be undertaking. + +Henry and Sol strolled carelessly into the bush, but before they had gone +a dozen steps their whole manner changed. Each became eager and alert. + +"What is it, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol. "What have you seed?" + +"Smoke! the smoke of a camp fire and it's on the other side of this neck. +I think it's the camp of Alvarez. He must have been going more slowly than +we thought." + +"We'll soon find out," said Shif'less Sol, as they advanced. + +But the task was not as easy as they had thought. The peninsula was very +low and the greater part of it had been overflowed recently. Their feet, +no matter how lightly they stepped, sank in the mire, and when they pulled +them out again the mud emitted a sticky sigh. An owl perched in a tree, +high above the marsh, began to hoot dismally, and Shif'less Sol uttered a +growl. + +"I wish we had the big, dry woods o' Kentucky to go through," he whispered +to Henry. "I ain't much o' a mud-crawler." + +"But as we haven't got those big, dry woods," Henry whispered back, "we'll +have to crawl, creep, or walk through the mud." + +It was about two miles across the neck, and as they went very slowly for +fear of making noise, it took them a full hour to reach the other side, or +to come near enough to see what might be there. Then they found that +Henry's belief, or rather intuition, was right. + +They could see quite well from the dense covert. All the Spanish boats +were tied up at the shore and two or three fires had been built for the +purposes of cooking. The soldiers in their picturesque costumes lounged +about. The hum of conversation and now and then a laugh arose. + +Henry soon marked Francisco Alvarez. The Spanish leader sat on a little +heap of boughs on the highest and dryest spot in the camp, and all who +approached him did so with every sign of respect--if they spoke it was hat +in hand. + +The firelight fell in a red blaze across the face of Francisco Alvarez and +revealed every feature in minute detail to the keen eyes in the covert. It +was a thin, haughty face, clear-cut and cruel, but just now it's air was +that of satisfaction, as if in the opinion of Francisco Alvarez all things +were going well with his plans. Henry believed that he could guess his +thoughts. "He thinks that the Spanish are already committed against us and +that he and Braxton Wyatt with a force of Spaniards and the tribes will +yet destroy our settlements in Kentucky." + +Thinking of Braxton Wyatt he looked for him and, as he looked, the +renegade came from a point near the shore toward the commander. It was +evident that Wyatt had been faring well. His frontier dress had been +partly replaced with gay Spanish garments. He now wore a cap with a +feather in it, and a velvet doublet. He, too, had a most complacent look. + +Wyatt approached Alvarez and the commander courteously invited him to a +seat on the hillock near him. When he took the seat a soldier brought the +renegade a cup of wine, and he drank, first lifting the cup toward Alvarez +as if he drank a toast to the success of the alliance. There could be no +doubt about the perfect understanding of the two; and Henry's anger rose. +It was impossible to set a limit to what a ruthless and determined man +like Francisco Alvarez might do. + +Wyatt rose presently after a nod to the commander and walked among the +soldiers. He seemed to have no particular object in view and his +strollings brought him near to the edge of the swampy forest. + +"Perhaps he's spying about, and will come into the woods where we are," +whispered Henry. "Maybe he has those maps and plans upon him, and it would +be a great thing to get them. I don't believe he could make a new set +soon." + +"It's a risky thing to try," said Shif'less Sol, "but ef he comes in here, +an' you think it the best thing to do, I'm ready to help." + +The two crouched a little lower and remained breathless. Braxton Wyatt +strolled on. He was making a sort of vague inspection of the camp, but he +was really thinking more about the great triumph that he saw ahead. Since +he had turned renegade, leaving his own white race to join the Indians, a +thing that was sometimes done, he had been stung by many defeats and he +wished a great revenge that would pour oil upon all these wounds. + +A bad nature grows worse with failure. Seeking to injure his former people +and failing at every turn, Braxton Wyatt hated them more and more all the +time. His wrath was particularly directed against the five who had been +such great instruments in sending his careful plans astray. His scheme +with the Indian league had failed chiefly through them, but he felt that +he could now come with a Spanish force that would prove irresistible. That +was why he glowed with internal warmth and pride. The settlements would be +destroyed and he, in fact, would be the destroyer. + +Braxton Wyatt entered the edge of the woods, still occupied with the cruel +triumph that was to be his. He did not notice that the foliage was +gradually shutting out the firelight. Presently he saw, or believed that +he saw, a shadowy but terrible figure. It was the figure of the one whom +he dreaded most on earth. + +It was but a glimpse of a form, seen through the bushes, but Wyatt's blood +turned cold in every vein. He uttered a half-choked cry, and running back +through the bushes, sprang into the firelight. Two or three Spanish +soldiers looked at him in amazement, but he was not a coward, and he had +pride of a kind. As soon as he leaped back into the firelight he felt that +he had made a fool of himself. Henry Ware could not have been there--he +and his comrades had been left behind long ago. Coming suddenly out of his +thoughts, he had been deceived in the dark by a bush and imagination had +done the rest. Yes, it was only fancy! + +"A rattlesnake! I nearly trod on him," he said in broken Spanish words +that he had picked up, and then walked in as careless a manner as he could +assume toward the mound where Francisco Alvarez sat. But he could not +wholly control himself--the shock had been too great--and his body yet +trembled. He did not know it, but the pallor of his face showed through +the tan, and Alvarez noticed it. + +"You have had a fright, Seņor Wyatt," he said in his precise, cold +English. "What is it?" + +"Not a fright," replied Wyatt in tones that he sought to make indifferent, +"but a start. I nearly trod on a rattlesnake that lay coiled ready to +strike, and I got away just in time." + +The Spaniard regarded him with a penetrating look, but the chilly blue +eyes expressed nothing. Yet Francisco Alvarez thought that a bold woodsman +like Braxton Wyatt would not show so much fear after a harmless passage +with any kind of a snake. + +"Do you think the five, the party that you said were so much to be +dreaded, are still following us?" he asked presently. + +The pallor showed again for a moment through the tan in Braxton Wyatt's +face, but he answered again as carelessly as he could: + +"It may be. I hate them, but I do not deny that they are bold and +resourceful. They have a good boat, and they may follow; but what harm +could they do?" + +"As I told you, they might go before Bernardo Galvez, our Governor General +at New Orleans, and spoil the pretty plan that you and I have formed. +Galvez is--as he calls himself--a Liberal. He would help these rebels and +fight England. How can a Spaniard lend himself to the cause of Republican +rebels and injure monarchy? Cannot he foresee, cannot he look ahead a +little and tell what rebel success means? It would in the end be as great +a blow to Spain as to England. If Kaintock is permitted to grow she will +threaten Louisiana. These men in their buckskins are daring and dangerous +and we must attend to them!" + +The Spaniard clenched his hands in anger, and the blue light of his eyes +was singularly cruel. + +"Galvez is a fool," he continued. "He is not allowing the English to trade +at New Orleans, but he is giving the American rebels full chance. He his +allowed one, Pollock, Oliver Pollock, to establish a base there. This +Pollock has formed a company of New York, Philadelphia, and Boston +merchants, and they are sending arms and ammunition in fleets of canoes up +the Mississippi and then up the Ohio to Fort Pitt, where they are unloaded +and then taken eastward by land for the use of the rebels. A fleet of +these canoes is to start about the time we arrive in New Orleans." + +"We might meet it," suggested Braxton Wyatt, "and say that it attacked +us." + +The Spaniard smiled. + +"The idea is not bad," he said, "and it could be done. We could sink their +whole fleet of canoes with the pretty little cannon that we carry, and we +could prove that they began the attack. But I do not choose to run the +risk of compromising myself just yet. There is a more glorious enterprise +afoot. Hark you, Seņor Wyatt." + +Braxton Wyatt leaned forward and listened attentively. Francisco Alvarez +had drank of wine that evening, and his blood was warm. He, too, dreamed +a great dream. + +"You are a man of discretion and you have helped me. I speak to you as one +devoted to my cause. If you should but breathe what I say to another I +would first swear that it was a lie, and then deliver you to these five +gentlemen, former friends of yours, who would tear you in pieces." + +Braxton Wyatt shivered again, and the Spaniard, seeing the shiver, laughed +and was convinced. + +"Why should I betray you?" said the renegade. "I have no motive to do so +and every possible motive to keep faith." + +"I know it," replied Alvarez, "and that is why I speak. It is to your +interest to be faithful to me and when my enterprise succeeds, as it +certainly will, you shall have your proper share of the reward. Bernardo +Galvez, as you know, is the Governor General of Louisiana, and his father +is the Viceroy of Mexico. They are powerful, very powerful, and I am only +a commander of troops under the son, but I, too, am powerful. My family is +one of the first in Spain. It sits upon the very steps of the throne and +more than once royal blood has entered our veins. I was a favorite at the +court and I have many friends there. The King might be persuaded that +Bernardo Galvez is not a fit representative of the royal interests in +Louisiana." + +Francisco Alvarez leaned a little forward and his blue eyes, usually so +chill, sparkled now with fire. He was speaking of what lay next to his +heart. Braxton Wyatt, full of shrewdness and perception, understood at +once. + +"Bernardo Galvez might give way as Governor General of Louisiana," said +the renegade, "to be succeeded by a better man, one who had the real +interests of Spain at heart, one who would refuse to give the slightest +aid to rebels, rebels who would strike against a throne!" + +The Spaniard looked pleased. + +"I see that you are a man of penetration, Seņor Wyatt," he said, "and I am +fortunate in having you as a lieutenant. You have divined my thought. I +work, not for the interests of a man whose name has been mentioned by +neither of us, but for the true interests of Spain and the divine right of +kings. What is this miserable Kaintock which is springing up? We will +crush it out as you would have crushed the rattlesnake! The people of New +Orleans and Louisiana hate rebels! Why should they not? It is the rebels +who in time will take Louisiana from us if they can, not England." + +Braxton Wyatt smiled. He was delighted to the very center of his cunning +heart. His plans and those of Alvarez marched well together. Each +strengthened the other. + +"I am with you to the end," he said. + +"The end will be a glorious triumph," said the Spaniard in emphatic tones. + +Meanwhile Henry and Shif'less Sol still lay in the thicket. Their project +to seize Braxton Wyatt and strip him of the maps and plans had been +defeated. Henry knew that the renegade had caught a glimpse of him in the +dusk and among the thick bushes and he expected an immediate alarm. But +when Wyatt raised none, he and Sol lingered. They saw the renegade go to +the Spaniard's side on the little mound, and they saw the two talk long +and earnestly, but, of course, they could not understand a word of what +was said. + +"They look mighty pleased with one another," whispered Shif'less Sol, "so +it's bound to mean that they're up to the worst sort o' mischief." + +"Yes," replied Henry, "and that mischief is sure to be aimed at our +people." + +They waited about a half hour longer and then picked their way back +through the marsh to their own side of the peninsula. + +It was now very late and Paul and Jim Hart were sound asleep in the boat, +but Tom Ross was keeping vigilant guard. + +"Wuz it them?" he asked. + +"Yes," replied Henry. "They're camped on the other side of this neck, and +Braxton Wyatt is still with them. There's big mischief afoot and we've got +to keep on following, waiting our chance, which, I think, will come." + +They did not start until noon the next day, in order to give the Spaniards +a longer lead, and they rounded the neck of land very slowly lest they run +into a trap. But when the river lay straight before them again they beheld +nothing. They passed the point where the Spaniards had camped and saw the +dead coals of their fires, but they did not stop, continuing instead +their steady progress down stream. + +It now grew hot upon the water. They had come many hundreds of miles since +the start, and they were in a warmer climate. The character of the +vegetation was changing. The cypress and the magnolia became frequent on +the banks, and now and then they saw great, drooping live oaks. The soil +seemed to grow softer and the water was more deeply permeated with mud. +Although the flood was gone, the river spread out in places to a vast +width, and even at its narrowest it was a gigantic stream. Other great, +lazy rivers poured in their volume from east and west. Narrow, deep +inlets, half-hidden in vegetation, extended from either side. There were +bayous, although the five had not yet heard the name, and many of them +swarmed with fish. + +The warm air was heavy and languorous and now Shif'less Sol confessed. + +"I'm gittin' too much o' it, even fur a lazy man," he said. "'Pears to me +I'm always wantin' to sleep. Now, I like about sixteen hours sleepin' out +o' the twenty-four, but when it comes to keepin' awake jest long enough to +eat three meals a day I ain't in favor o' it." + +"It must be a rich country, though," said Tom Ross. "No wonder them +Spaniards want to keep it." + +That day they passed at some distance three canoes containing Indians, but +the canoes showed no wish to come near and investigate. Henry said that +the Indians in them looked sprawling and dirty, unlike the alert, +clean-limbed natives of the North. + +"They probably belong," said Paul, "to the Natchez tribe who were beaten +into submission long ago by the French, and who doubtless lack energy +anyhow." + +The Indian canoes went lazily on, and soon were lost to sight. Now a +serious problem arose. They were approaching the settled parts of +Louisiana. It is true, it was only the thinnest fringe of white people +extending along either shore of the river a short distance above New +Orleans, but they were coming to a region in which they would be noticed, +and they might have to explain their presence before they wished to do so. +Nor had they found any opportunity to capture Braxton Wyatt and his maps +and plans. Nevertheless, they hung so closely on the trail of Alvarez that +every night and morning they could see the smoke of his camp fire. + +They stopped one evening in a cove of the river, sheltered by great +mournful cypresses, and Henry and Shif'less Sol went out again to +scrutinize the Spanish camp. They returned before midnight with unusual +news. Alvarez with his whole force had turned from the Mississippi and had +gone up a bayou about four miles. There he had landed some of his small +cannon and stores at a rude wharf, and showed all the signs of making a +stay, but whether short or long they could not tell. + +"Alvarez must have a place, a plantation, I believe they call it, near +here," said Paul intuitively, "and he's going to stop at it. As he wants +to get Spain into a war with us he could plot a lot of mischief in a house +of his own away from New Orleans." + +"Of course, that's it," said Henry with conviction. "Now if we could only +capture Braxton Wyatt and then carry off the fellow and his maps and plans +with us, it would be a great stroke. It might make Alvarez quit his wicked +plot." + +Henry and Shif'less Sol slept briefly, and rising before daylight, went +forth to investigate again. When they arrived at the edge of the bayou, +they saw that the work of removal had been resumed already. All the boats +had been tied up securely, and a mongrel lot of new men had joined the +Spanish force, shiftless and half-civilized Houma and Natchez Indians, +coal black negroes, some from the West Indies and some from Africa, +Acadians, and fierce-looking adventurers from Europe. Most of them seemed +to be laborers, however, and they worked with the arms and baggage taken +from the boats. Among these laborers were several stalwart negro women +with blazing red handkerchiefs tied around their heads. + +Alvarez came off one of the boats, followed by Braxton Wyatt. The Spanish +commander had attired himself with great care, and he was a really +splendid figure in his glittering uniform and plumed hat. His gold-hilted +small sword swung by his side. He bore himself as a lord proprietor, and +in fact he was such at this moment. He was about to go, surrounded by his +retainers, to his own house on a huge grant of land made to him by the +Spanish King--Spanish kings granted lands very freely in America to +favorites, and the relatives of favorites. + +Braxton Wyatt also showed pride. Was he not the most trusted friend of an +able man who was dreaming a great dream, a dream that would come true? The +last remnants of his border attire had disappeared and he, too, was +dressed wholly as a Spanish officer, though by no means so splendidly as +his chief. + +Alvarez addressed a few words to a man in civilian attire, evidently his +overseer, a dark, heavy West India Spaniard who carried a pistol in his +sash, and then advanced through the rabble, which quickly fell back on +either side to let him pass. + +Horses were in waiting for Alvarez, Wyatt, and several others, and +mounting, they rode off, Henry and Shif'less Sol watching from the bush as +well as they could, and following. The way of the officers led through a +great plantation but partially redeemed from the ancient forest. Cane and +grain fields were on either side of the path, and presently they +approached a large house of only one story, built of wood, and surrounded +by a wide veranda supported with posts at regular intervals. This house +was built around a court in the center of which was a clear pool. + +Henry and the shiftless one saw Alvarez and his company dismount and enter +the house. They noticed others who approached on foot, but who did not +enter, obviously men who did not dare to enter unless asked. Among them +was a thin, middle-aged Natchez Indian, whose extraordinary, feline face +had won for him the name of The Cat. Henry particularly observed this man, +whose manner was in accordance with his appearance and name. Like those +they had seen in the canoes he had a hangdog, shiftless look, different +from the bold warrior of the more northerly forests. + +The two did not remain long. So many people were about that they were +likely to be seen, and they returned through the forest to the cypress +cove in which "The Galleon" lay hidden. Here, it was agreed that they +should go forth later in the day on another tour of inspection, +re-inforced by Tom Ross, while Long Jim and Paul should remain to guard +the boat and their precious stores. + +When the three had gone, Long Jim sat on the edge of the boat and looked +around at the sluggish waters of the bayou, the sad cypresses, and the +drooping live oaks. An ugly water snake twined its slimy length just +within the edge of the bayou, and the odor of the still forest about them +was heavy and oppressive. + +Long Jim took a long, comprehensive look, and then heaved a deep sigh. + +"What's the matter?" asked Paul. + +"I don't think the country and the climate agree with me," replied Long +Jim lugubriously. "I wuz never so fur south afore, an' I'm a delicate +plant, I am. I need the snow and the north wind to keep me fresh an' +bloomin'. All this gits on me. My lungs don't feel clean. I'm longin' fur +them big, fine woods up in our country, whar you may run agin a b'ar, but +whar you ain't likely to step on a snake afore you see it." + +"Give me the temperate climate, too," said Paul, "but we've come on a +great errand, Jim, and we've come a long way. It's good, too, to see new +things." + +"So it is, but I don't like to set here waitin' in this swamp. Think I'll +stretch my legs a little on the bank thar, ef it's firm enough to hold me +up, though I do have an abidin' distrust uv most uv the land hereabouts." + +Jim leaped upon the bank which upheld him, and stretched his long legs +with obvious relief. + +"A boat's mighty easy," he said, "but now an' then walkin's good." + +He strode up and down two or three times and then he stopped. He had heard +a sound, faint, it is true, but enough to arrest the attention of Long +Jim. Then he went on with a look of disgust. It was surely one of those +snakes again! + +He was about to pass a great cypress when a pair of long, brown arms +reached out and grasped him by the throat. Long Jim was a strong man and, +despite his early advantage, it would have gone hard with the owner of the +arms, none other than The Cat himself, but three or four men, springing +from the covert, threw themselves upon him. + +Paul heard the first sounds of the contest and sprang up. He saw Long Jim +struggling in the grasp of many hands, and snatching at the first weapon +that lay near, he sprang to the bank, rushing to the assistance of his +comrade. + +A shout of derisive laughter greeted Paul. Long Jim had been thrown down +and held fast and the lad was confronted by none other than Alvarez +himself, while Braxton Wyatt, smiling in malignant triumph, stood just +behind him. + +"Well, my young man of Kaintock," said Francisco Alvarez in his precise +English, "we have taken you and at least one of your brother thieves. In +good time we'll have the others, too. It was an evil day when you ventured +on my plantation so near such a wonderful tracker as The Cat. Why, he +detected them instinctively when your comrades ventured near us!" + +The eyes of the stooping Natchez Indian flashed at the compliment but, in +a moment, he resumed his immobility. All the blood rushed to Paul's face, +and he could not contain his anger. + +"Thief! how dare you call me a thief!" he said. + +"This is my boat before me," replied Alvarez. "You stole it." + +"Not so," replied Paul. "We captured it. You seized and held me a prisoner +when I came to your camp on a friendly mission, and we took it in fair +reprisal and for a good purpose. Moreover, you are plotting with that vile +renegade there to destroy our people in Kentucky!" + +"You are a thief," repeated Francisco Alvarez calmly, "you stole my boat. +Why, the very sword that you hold in your hand is mine, stolen from me." + +Paul glanced down. In his haste and excitement he had snatched up one of +the beautiful small swords when he leaped from the boat, but he had been +unconscious of it. He was yet free and he held a sword in his hand. One of +the men who was holding Jim Hart suddenly kicked him to make him keep +quiet, and Paul's wrath blazed up under the double incentive of the blow +and the sneering face of Francisco Alvarez. + +The lad rushed forward, sword in hand, and one of the soldiers raised his +musket. Alvarez pushed the weapon down. + +"Since this young rebel wants to fight, and has a stolen sword of mine in +his hand," he said, "he can fight with me. I will give him that honor." + +So speaking Alvarez drew his own sword and held up the blade to the light +until it glittered. A shout of approval arose from the soldiers, but Long +Jim cried out: + +"It ain't fair! It ain't right to take one uv your kind uv weepins an' +attack him! It's murder! Let me loose an' I'll fight you with rifles." + +"Have you got that ruffian securely bound?" asked Alvarez. + +"Yes," replied one of his men. + +"Then I'll teach this youth a lesson, as I said." + +Paul had stopped in his rush, and suddenly he became cool and collected. + +"Don't you be afraid for me, Jim," he said. "I can take care of myself, +and I'll fight him." + +Alvarez laughed derisively and the others echoed the laugh of their +master, but Paul held up his own sword, also, until it glittered in the +light. Every nerve and muscle became taut, and the blood went back from +his brain, leaving it cool and clear. + +"Come on," he said to Alvarez. "I'm ready." + +They stood in a level glade, and the two faced each other, the sunshine +lighting up all the area enclosed by the cypresses. Around them stood +Braxton Wyatt and the followers of Alvarez. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote B: It is probable that the bluff, indicated by Paul, is the one +on which the present city of Memphis stands.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +PAUL AND THE SPANIARD + + +Francisco Alvarez never suffered from the vice of humility. While he was +planning to make himself Governor General of Louisiana he thought also +that the selection was a most admirable one. Nor would he have +condescended now to cross a blade with this boy from the backwoods, but +his pride had been bitterly hurt by the deeds of Paul and his comrades. +Such presumption must be punished, and the punishment must be of a +humiliating kind. + +The Spaniard took the point of his sword between his thumb and forefinger +and bent the blade a little. The steel was flexible and true. Then he put +himself on guard, and physically he was a splendid figure of a man, tall, +compact, and obviously skilled with his weapon. + +Long Jim Hart writhed again in his bonds. His heart yearned over Paul, his +young comrade. + +"Stop it! stop it!" he cried. "It's murder, I say, fur a man used to them +weepins to set upon a boy." + +"Shall we gag this fellow, Captain?" asked Braxton Wyatt, who enjoyed the +scene. + +"No," replied Alvarez, scornfully. "Let him make as much noise as he +pleases." + +Paul heard Long Jim's second protest, but now he did not answer. He was +intently watching Alvarez. He had read the look in the eye of the Spanish +leader, and he knew that Alvarez not only intended to punish him, but also +to make that process as mortifying as possible. But Paul was yet unafraid. +Although not as large and powerful as Henry, he was nevertheless a very +strong youth, used to the open air and exercise, and wonderfully flexible +and alert. He held the sword lightly but firmly with the point well +forward, ready for any movement by his antagonist. + +Alvarez came a step nearer. His sword flashed, but Paul dextrously caught +the stroke upon his own weapon, and the blade glanced off, ringing. +Alvarez was surprised. He had seen from Paul's position and the manner in +which he held his weapon that he knew something about the sword, but he +was not prepared for such a skillful parry. + +"Good, Paul! Good!" cried Long Jim, a sudden hope bounding up in his +heart. "Go in! Trim him! Slice off his mustache for him!" + +Alvarez was stung by the taunt. Braxton Wyatt made an angry movement +toward Long Jim, but the Spaniard again waved him back. His own pride +would not permit him to silence the taunter in such a way. No, he would +silence him in another manner. But the cry of Long Jim had its effect upon +Paul, too. It aroused him to a supreme effort. He leaped forward +suddenly, thrust quick as lightning, and then leaped away. The Spaniard +had parried, but the blade nevertheless cut the cloth of his brilliant +coat, making a long gash. The cut was not in the flesh, only in the cloth, +but Alvarez was stung by it and the sting became the more bitter when Long +Jim cried out: + +"Hooray, Paul! That wuz somethin' like! He thought he wuz goin' to murder +you, but he ain't!" + +Alvarez, furious, rushed in and Paul, keen of eye and alert of muscle, +fought on the defensive. Lucky for him now that he remembered all the +lessons taught to him by the old soldier of the great French and Indian +war, and lucky for him, too, that he had lived such a temperate life! +Steel met steel and the ringing sound filled the little glade. The others +were silent, leaning a little forward, lips slightly apart. A new element +of uncertainty had come into the combat, and even Braxton Wyatt shared in +the excitement that had been aroused by it. + +Alvarez uttered a cry of satisfaction and then stepped back. Paul stood +still while the blood came slowly from a cut across his left arm and dyed +his sleeve. He had thrown out the arm just in time to ward off a thrust at +his heart, but he received a slash in its place. The pain was considerable +but Paul scarcely felt it; his mind was too intent on the crisis, and his +head was yet clear and cool. + +"Never you mind, Paul! Never you mind!" cried Long Jim. "'Twas only a +lucky sweep uv his! you'll git him yet." + +Paul gave his informal second a smile of confidence, for second he was +with his encouraging tongue, even though bound and helpless otherwise. + +Paul suddenly rushed in, struck swiftly, and, although the blow was +parried, he thrust again so quickly that his blade passed inside the guard +of Alvarez, pierced through his doublet, and wounded him in the side. Mad +with pain and rage Alvarez struck furiously, but Paul caught the blow so +skillfully that the Spaniard's sword broke in his hand. + +Long Jim shouted with delight. + +"You've beat him, Paul! you've beat him!" he cried. "Go in now and trim +his mustache right off his face!" + +Braxton Wyatt struck him a blow on the cheek. + +"Shut up, will you!" he cried. + +Paul, sword in hand, turned away. He would not cut down an unarmed man, +and some strain of chivalry hidden beneath the Spaniard's ambition and +cruelty recognized the boy's nobility. He stepped aside and rebuked +Braxton Wyatt for striking Long Jim. Then he took off his doublet and one +of the men bound up his wound, which was painful but not at all dangerous. +His heart was full of rage and chagrin, but he did not show either. + +"You have done well with the sword," he said to Paul, "I admit it, and I +am in a position to know. But you must surrender it, and come as my +prisoner. Your sword can be no defense against the bullets of my +soldiers." + +Paul yielded his weapon. It would have been folly to resist when the +soldiers stood close by, loaded guns in hand, but he felt, nevertheless, a +deep satisfaction. He had performed a deed of valor, worthy of Shif'less +Sol or Henry, and he proudly took his place by the side of the other +prisoner, Long Jim. The wound in his arm had already stopped bleeding. + +"I didn't know it was in you, Paul," whispered Long Jim, "but I never had +anything in my life do me more good. A lot uv wicked hopes wuz +disapp'inted when you give him that slash in the side, an' then broke his +sword." + +"I did better than I expected," replied Paul briefly, "but the result is +not likely to endear us to Captain Alvarez." + +"Ef I'd been keepin' the right kind uv a watch," said Long Jim, "this +wouldn't have happened. We could a' got 'The Gall-yun' out in the stream +an' away." + +"No, Jim," replied Paul, "it was no fault of yours. Cunning was at work. +They had located us in some manner and they prepared a surprise." + +Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt went on ahead. Paul and Jim followed in the +midst of a strong guard of soldiers. The road led again through corn and +grain fields where cultivation was making a struggle against the +luxuriance of a semi-tropical wilderness, although with small success, as +yet. + +A stooping figure with a hideous, feline face shambled up by the side of +Paul, and purposely struck his elbow against the wound upon his arm. It +was The Cat, but Paul, whose arms had been left unbound, whirled, without +hesitation, and struck the Natchez in the face. + +The Cat staggered but he promptly drew a knife and Paul might have been +slain, but a soldier knocked the knife from the Indian's hand and rebuked +him severely. The soldier was Luiz, a Spaniard of height and strength. He +had fared badly at the hands of the five, but his life had also been saved +by one of them, and he was not ungrateful. He did not mean that these two +prisoners should be treated any worse than the captain ordered. He +compelled The Cat to fall back, and he smiled pleasantly at Paul and Long +Jim. + +"I'll take it that we've got one friend in this crowd," said Long Jim. + +"Yes," said Paul, "and we'll need all we can get. Alvarez seems to have a +big place here, a sort of feudal estate." + +It seemed to Paul that he had come into another world; the difference +between this and Kentucky was so enormous. There, in the little +settlements, every man spoke his mind and the life was all freedom. Here, +fear and suspicion abounded, there were degrees of importance, and Alvarez +was an autocrat who could make or mar as he pleased. It was an atmosphere +heavy to Paul's lungs, and, like Long Jim, he longed for the great forests +of the Ohio River country. Behind the chateau were some low, heavy out +buildings of logs, and Paul and Long Jim were thrust into one of these, +the door being fastened behind them with a huge padlock. Alvarez detailed +Luiz, who seemed to rank a little above his fellows, and three others to +keep watch and then, feeling that he held his prisoners securely, the +commander went into the chateau. But he stopped at the door and ordered +that a gold coin and as much rum as he could drink should be given to The +Cat. + +"It was due to his wonderful instinct and cunning," he said, "that we +captured these fellows and recovered my boat. It was an important +achievement." + +Braxton Wyatt looked with intense interest at the chateau, which was +unlike anything that he had ever seen before. It was a strange compound of +luxury and roughness. The walls were of wood, often ill-hewn, but several +pieces of beautifully-woven tapestry hung upon them. Some of the floors +were entirely bare, others were covered partly by Eastern rugs. Carved and +curved weapons of many lands adorned the walls, and in one room were a +mandolin and guitar. + +Alvarez led the way to an inner court or patio, waving back all except +Braxton Wyatt. The patio was large, with little beds of flowers in the +corners, and a pool of pure, fresh water in the center. The pool was fed +by a little stream that ran from a brook near the chateau, and it was +drained by a similar stream. + +The patio was enclosed by a narrow, interior veranda, and the veranda held +deep cane chairs, one of which Alvarez took, waving Braxton Wyatt to +another. + +The Spanish commander with a great air of relief and luxury leaned back in +his cane chair. He loved the south and the sunshine to which he was born, +and, although bold and hardy, he had little liking for the great, cold +forests of the North. He clapped his hand and a servant brought glasses +and wine. Alvarez filled the glasses himself and handed the first +courteously to Wyatt. + +"Drink," he said, "I am glad that expedition is over. The Governor General +wished me to go, to explore, to make treaties, and to secure our title, +but the wilderness, though interesting, grows monotonous." + +"It is comfortable here," said Braxton Wyatt, stretching himself in the +great cane chair. He was entirely recovered from his own wound and he +appreciated the luxury of the place. + +"Yes, it is indeed grateful to the tired body and limbs. I could feel a +complete sense of rest and victory, if it were not for the sting of the +wound that boy gave me. Who could have thought that I should be defeated +with the sword by a boy from the woods of Kaintock?" + +The Spaniard frowned and narrowed his cruel blue eyes. Braxton Wyatt +murmured some words of sympathy, but in his heart he was not sorry because +of the incident. He thought that Alvarez at times had patronized him too +much, had assumed too lofty an air, and he was willing to see him suffer +mortification. Moreover, he could use the hurt pride of Alvarez as an +additional incitement against the five whom he hated. + +"You told me once," said Alvarez "that the three comrades of the two, the +three whom we have not captured, are much to be dreaded, and we have had +proof of it?" + +"It is so." + +"But what can they do now?" + +"But little," answered the renegade. "It was farther north in the great +wilderness, where they are so much at home, that they could do us harm. +Here within the fringe of the French and Spanish settlements, they will be +hampered too much." + +"Yes, I should think so," said Alvarez thoughtfully. "As you perhaps +surmise, I am going to stay here indefinitely, Wyatt. This place of mine, +Beaulieu, I call it, is at a suitable distance from New Orleans and I am +an absolute monarch while I remain. Here, on the border, I am as a +military commander, practically lord of life and death, and on one excuse +or another I can hold the troops as long as I please." + +"Which seems to me to be very convenient for all our plans," said Braxton +Wyatt. + +The Spaniard smiled, but speedily contracted his brows again. The cut that +Paul had given him was hurting. + +"I should like to punish that boy in some spectacular manner," he said. "I +should want him to be humiliated in the presence of others as I was." + +Suddenly he raised his head, which he had bent in thought, and his lips +curled in laughter under his yellow mustache. + +"I have it!" he exclaimed. "An idea! Since young Kaintock can use the +sword I shall give him a chance to do it again! Oh, I shall give him every +opportunity!" + +Then he leaned over and spoke in lower tones to Braxton Wyatt. The +renegade's eyes lighted up with delight. + +"The very thing!" he exclaimed. "I'd have it done at once!" + +Paul and Long Jim Hart meanwhile were resting in their log prison. Jim's +arms had been unbound and, after rubbing them freely, he said that the +circulation was restored. Then the two turned their attention to their +prison. Paul surmised that it had been built as a tool house or store +house, but at present it was empty save for himself and his comrade, Long +Jim. + +The only light came from two little windows made merely by cutting out a +section of log and quite too small to admit a human body. They tried the +door but it was so strong that they could not shake it. Then Long Jim lay +calmly down on the floor. + +"Paul," he said, "I don't believe I wuz ever fastened up in sech a little +place ez this afore. Ef I stretch out my legs my feet will hit the wall +over thar, an' the place is so close an' hot I don't breathe good." + +"We'll have to stand it for a while," said Paul philosophically. + +"That's so," said Long Jim, "I don't s'pose they mean to murder us ez +we're not at real war with the Spaniards, so I wonder what they mean to +do." + +Paul shook his head. But he understood better than Long Jim the dangers of +their situation. He knew the temper and character of Alvarez, and he knew, +too, that at this distant chateau he was omnipotent. Alvarez was bent on +making war upon the settlers in Kentucky, and nothing would stop him. + +"Henry an' Sol an' Tom are free," said Long Jim. "They'll git us out, +shore." + +They remained a long time undisturbed, and the air in the room was so +close and hot that both became languorous and sleepy. Nor was there any +sound except the droning of some flies overhead and this added to the +heaviness. Paul finally rose and gazed through the little windows, but he +saw only an empty field and the edge of the forest. Save for this glimpse +of green they were completely cut off from the world. He sat down again on +the floor and composed his figure as comfortably as he could. + +"How long do you think we hev been in here, Paul?" asked Long Jim. + +"About four hours." + +"Four hours! why, I thought it wuz four months. Paul, I don't believe I +could stand this more'n a week, no matter ef they fed me upon the finest +things in the land. At the end uv a week I'd turn right over an' die, an' +when they examined me to see the cause uv my death, they'd find that my +heart wuz broke in two, right squar' down the middle." + +"They say that some wild animals die in captivity, and you might call it +of a broken heart." + +"I'm one uv them kind. I like lots uv room. I want it to be clean woods +an' prairie runnin' a thousan' miles from me in every direction. An' I +don't want too many people trampin' 'roun' in them woods either, save +Injuns to keep you lookin' lively, an' mebbe twenty or thirty white men +purty well scattered. I reckon I'd call that my estate, Paul, an' I'd want +it swarmin' with b'ars an' buffaler an' deer, an' all kinds uv big an' +little game. Then I'd want a couple uv good rifles, one to take the place +uv tother when it went bad, an' a couple uv huts p'raps three or four +hundred miles apart to sleep in, when the weather wuz too tarnation bad, +lots uv ammunition an', Paul, I'd be happy on that thar estate uv mine." + +"Aren't you a little bit grasping, Jim?" asked Paul. + +"Me, graspin'," replied Long Jim in a surprise. "What makes you ask sech a +foolish question, Paul? Why, all I ask is to range ez fur an' ez long ez I +like an' not to be bothered by no interlopers. I don't want to crowd +nobody, an' I don't want nobody to crowd me. But, Paul, ef a feller could +do that fur about a thousand years wouldn't it be a life wuth livin'? Just +think uv all the deer hunts an' buffaler hunts an' b'ar hunts you could +hev! An' the long beaver trappin' trips, you could go on? An' the new +rivers an' new mountings you could find! The Injuns has the right idea +about Heaven, Paul. They make it the happy huntin' grounds. Them huntin' +grounds o' theirs run ten million miles in every direction. You couldn't +ever come to any end. No matter how fur you went you'd see oceans uv +green trees ahead uv you, an' on one side uv you prairies covered with +buffaler herds so big that they'd be a week passin' you, an' then they'd +still be passin'." + +Long Jim heaved a deep sigh and was silent for a while. Paul, too, was +silent. At last Long Jim said: + +"I s'pose it don't pay, Paul, to be drawin' sech splendiferous pictures uv +what ain't. Now I've gone an' made myself onhappy, talkin' uv them +glorious huntin' grounds that stretch away without end, when here we are +in this hot box so narrer I can't straighten out my legs. Besides, I'm +gittin' pow'ful hungry. I wonder ef they mean to starve us to death. +Strikes me that's an awful mean way uv killin' a man. He not only dies but +he's so terrible hungry sech a long time." + +But Long Jim's forebodings were not fulfilled. When the light that came +through the little windows began to grow dusky, the door was thrown open +and Luiz and another man entered with food and water. Luiz could not speak +English, but he could make pantomime, and in that dumb but suggestive way +he invited them to partake freely. Long Jim's good humor returned. + +"Don't keer ef I do, Mr. Spaniard," he said jovially. "It's a failin' uv +mine to want to eat whenever I'm hungry, an' since you're invitin', why, +I'll jest accept." + +The door was left open while Luiz and the soldier were inside, but +several other soldiers were on guard at the opening, and there was no +chance for a dash. But fresh air came in, the cooler air of the evening, +and Paul and Long Jim were greatly relieved. Yet Jim Hart cast many a +longing glance at the open door. Outside was the wide world, and his place +was there. Darkness was coming, but darkness would have no terrors for +Long Jim, if only there were no walls about him. + +When hunger and thirst were satisfied, Luiz and his comrade fell back +respectfully. A tall figure, followed by a man bearing a torch, entered +the doorway. + +The man was Francisco Alvarez, but neither Paul nor Long Jim rose, Paul +because he disliked the Spaniard and considered him a bitter enemy of his +people, Long Jim because he saw no reason why he should rise for anybody. + +Alvarez looked down at them and the sight of the two caused him a mixture +of anger and triumph. His wound still stung, but at the bottom of his +heart was a feeling that he had deserved it. In the presence of his own +retainers, and with all the circumstances in his favor, he had sought to +humiliate a boy. But this faint feeling was not enough to induce +corresponding action. He was also something of a statesman, and he saw the +power behind these two who had come out of the woods. They were foresters, +they wore the tanned skin of the deer, but they belonged to the soil; they +were natives, while he, in all his brilliant uniform and gold lace, was a +foreigner, merely the long, extended arm of a power four thousand miles +away. The two were but a vanguard, others would come and yet others in a +volume, always increasing. The only possibility of saving Louisiana was to +cut off the stream at the fountain head, while it was yet a thin and +trickling rill, and he, Francisco Alvarez, was the man for the deed. + +It was because such thoughts as these were passing through his head that +he did not speak for at least a minute, but stood steadily regarding Paul +and Long Jim. He knew instinctively that it was Paul to whom he must +speak, the boy with the thoughtful, dreamy eye, who, like himself, would +gaze far into the future. + +"Where are your comrades?" he asked, "the other three who helped you to +steal my boat?" + +"Captured it, you mean," replied Paul, calmly. "So long as you use the +words 'steal' and 'thief,' you can talk to the air. I've nothing to say." + +"Nor me either, Paul," said Long Jim, "I can't remember another time in my +life when I felt so little like talkin'." + +Long Jim leaned his head against the wall and half closed his eyes. His +manner expressed the utmost indifference. Alvarez frowned, but he +remembered that they were wholly in his power and he had plans. + +"I'll change the words," he said, "but I repeat the question. Where are +your comrades?" + +"I don't know," replied Paul, and feeling a sudden happy thrill of +defiance he added: "They are probably somewhere arranging the details of +our rescue." + +Alvarez frowned again. + +"That is impossible," he said. "Perhaps you do not know your position. You +are not at New Orleans. Here I am both the civil and military chief and +this is my own place. I can put you to death as brigands or guerillas, +caught red-handed upon Spanish soil." + +"Both charges, you know, are false," said Paul, "you know, too, that we +have come to defeat, if we can, a conspiracy between you and Braxton +Wyatt, a renegade whose life is doubly forfeit to his people. He carries +plans, maps, and full information of our settlements in Kentucky, and he +expects that you will go with many soldiers and cannon to help him and the +tribes destroy us. What plans you and he have beyond this I do not know, +but these, my friends and I hope to defeat, and we feel we could not be +engaged in a greater or holier task." + +Paul spoke with great fire and eloquence. His soul was revealed in his +eyes, and Alvarez felt that he was in touch with a mind of no common +order. + +"Imagination!" said the Spaniard trying to laugh the impression away. "I +find in Seņor Wyatt a pleasant and intelligent assistant. He understands +the rights of the King of Spain in these vast regions, and has a due +regard for them. You and your comrades are outlaws, subject to the penalty +of death and I hold you in my hand. Yet I am disposed to be generous. +Give me your oath that you and your comrade here and the three in the +woods will go back to Kaintock at once and remain there, and I will +release you." + +Paul regarded him steadily. Bold man as he was, the Spaniard's eyes fell +at last. + +"We can give no such promise," said Paul. "I think that the reasons why we +should go on to New Orleans are exceedingly strong." + +"Ez fur me," said Long Jim, "I ain't ever been fond uv goin' back on my +own tracks until I git good an' ready." + +"I merely came here to give you a chance," said Alvarez, still addressing +himself to Paul. "Do you think that a few woodsmen can stand in the path +of Spain? Do you think that a great ancient monarchy can be held back by +stray settlers?" + +"You seem to be afraid of it yourself," said Paul who was regarding him +closely. + +A flush, despite himself, came into the Spaniard's cheeks, and it was +partly of anger because a boy had read his mind so well. It was not a +thing to be endured. + +"I repeat that I came merely to give you a chance," he said. "Whatever you +may suffer you can now bear in mind that you are the cause of it. Come, +Luiz, I have wasted too much time." + +He walked out followed by the soldier, but Francisco Alvarez had known +before entering the prison that his offer would be declined. He merely +wished to clear away any light burden that might rest on his conscience, +before proceeding with another plan that he had in mind. + +Paul and Jim did not say a word until the door was fastened and they were +left to the darkness. Then it was Jim who unburdened himself. + +"Paul," he said, "did you ever see a panther gittin' ready to jump? Notice +how his eyes turn a yellery-green, 'cause he thinks he's goin' to git what +he wants right away? Notice how his mouth is slobberin' 'cause he thinks +he's goin' to hev his dinner on the spot. Notice how his body is drawed +up, an' his tail is slowly movin' side to side, 'cause he thinks he's +goin' to sink his claws in tender flesh the next second! Wa'al that +panther makes me think uv this here Spaniard, Alvarez. I think we kin look +fur jest about ez much kindness an' gentlin' from him ez a fawn could +expect from a hungry panther." + +"You are certainly right, Jim," said Paul. + +"Uv course! Ef I didn't know thar wuz so many soldiers about, I'd send a +whoop through one uv them little winders thar, an' bring Henry, Tom, an' +Sol here to let us out." + +"As we can't do that, Jim," said Paul, "I think I'll go to sleep." + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A BARBARIC ORDEAL + + +When Paul awoke the next morning just after daylight, he did not feel very +good. Accustomed all his life to fresh air and infinite spaces, the close, +hot little log house oppressed him. His head felt heavy and his lungs +choked. Jim felt likewise and made audible complaint, but the door was +soon opened, and again it was Luiz and a comrade with food. + +"Luiz, you ain't no beauty an' you can't talk a real decent language," +said Long Jim, "but I'm pow'ful glad to see you." + +The words were foreign to Luiz, but he understood Long Jim's tone. He +smiled and showed his white teeth, but when his glance fell upon Paul he +became sad. Then he looked quickly away. He did not wish either Paul or +his comrade to read anything in that glance. Luiz did not have a bad heart +and he was troubled. + +When they had eaten their breakfast, Luiz put his hand on Paul's shoulder, +and pointed to the door, beckoning also to Long Jim. His manner indicated +plainly that they were to leave the prison. + +"All right, pardner," said Long Jim. "You won't have to git no pole to +pry me out uv this place." + +Luiz led the way and the two followed gladly. The air was crisper and +fresher than usual, and to both of them it felt divine. They inhaled deep +breaths, and thought that the world had never looked so beautiful. What a +golden sunrise! What a blue sky! What magnificent green woods off there +under the horizon! They felt strength and courage rushing back in a flood. + +"Which way now, Mr. Spaniard?" said Long Jim. "Has your captain repented, +an' does he want to give us the finest rooms in his house? I can't say +that we liked the tavern he made us stop at last night." + +Luiz shook his head, either to signify that he did not understand or that +there was no reply, and led the way down a narrow path shut in on either +side with magnolias and cypresses. The little group of soldiers enclosed +Paul and Long Jim, but all their glances were for the boy, none for the +man. + +The enclosed path led on for two or three hundred yards. Paul now and then +caught glimpses through the trees of the chateau or a passing face, and he +heard a low murmur that seemed to be the hum of many voices. + +The path ended presently at a gate in a high board wall, and both gate and +wall were thick and strong Here a Spaniard dressed like a minor officer +was waiting, and began to unlock the gate. + +"Now what under the sun can they be about?" asked Long Jim, to whom all +this seemed very strange. "Are they goin' to tie us up in a pen?" + +The heavy gate was unlocked and swung open a foot or so. Two soldiers +suddenly seized Long Jim and pulled him back, while another thrust Paul +into the open space. The officer put in his hand a sword--the very one +with which he had wounded Alvarez, Paul's fingers closing mechanically +over the hilt. Then they shoved Paul inside, and quickly closed and locked +the gate behind him. But the last look that Luiz had bent upon the boy was +one of pity and sympathy. + +Paul staggered with the force of the push that the men had given him, and +for a moment or two he was dazed, but eye and brain alike cleared as a +great shout arose. Then he beheld an extraordinary scene. + +The boy stood within a ring fence enclosing a circular space perhaps +thirty yards across, free from grass, and trodden hard. The fence was of +boards only about half way around, the rest of it being made of strong +parallel bars about two feet apart and fastened to posts. At the far side +a rude log stable seemed to open into it. The place might have been +intended as a breaking ground for horses but Paul did not have time to +think. + +Facing him just outside the fence and sitting on a hastily constructed +wooden seat was Francisco Alvarez, still in his finest uniform. Beside him +was Braxton Wyatt, also in a Spanish uniform, and all about them on either +side, wherever the fence was made of parallel bars and open to see, +clustered the mob, soldiers, laborers, servants, white faces, black faces, +yellow faces, brown faces, straight hair, curly hair, and kinky hair, +French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Indians, negroes, and many mixtures, every +one eager and tense, and every eye bent upon Paul who stood, back to the +gate, holding the sword in his hand, but unconscious that he held it. + +What was this mummery? Why was he a spectacle for that mob? All the blood +rushed to Paul's head and the little pulses in his temples began to beat +like hammers. He looked at Alvarez, but the Spaniard had turned his face +into a stony mask, and he could read no meaning there. Then he looked at +Braxton Wyatt, and the renegade's countenance plainly expressed malignity +and triumph. + +The great shout that greeted the entrance of Paul died away to a silence +so heavy that it seemed ominous. Then Francisco Alvarez looked toward the +wooden building, at the far side of the ring, and raised his hand. A gate +there was thrown open, and a man, sword in hand, strolled lazily out. +Again a tremendous shout arose, and the mob pressed closer to the bars, +those in front sitting on the grass and those behind standing up in order +that they might look over them. + +Francisco Alvarez raised his hand a second time, and instantly there was +silence once more. He was like a feudal lord dispensing justice in the +open air before all his retainers. + +"Kaintock," he called in a loud voice, "since you are so expert with the +sword, we give you another chance to display your skill. Defend yourself +from this champion." + +Again the approving shout of the mob arose, and Paul looked across the +ring, where the swordsman had come forth. + +The man was of great size, and his whole appearance reminded Paul of the +ancient gladiators of whom he had read. He seemed to be a West Indian of +Spanish descent, very dark and with immense shoulders. He wore a red +shirt, which added to his strange and savage appearance. He carried in his +hand a long sword, much longer than Paul's and when he faced the lad he +suddenly grasped the hilt of his weapon in both hands and twirled it about +until it made a glittering circle. The crowd set up a shout, but Paul felt +chilled through and through. + +"I have no quarrel with this man," he called to Alvarez, "and I will not +fight him." + +"You have no choice," replied Alvarez, and the more savage in the crowd, +who wished to see barbaric sport, shouted their approval. But some were +silent. Long Jim struggled with four men, and exclaimed, "It's murder! +He's only a boy!" But the four held him fast. + +The swordsman, grinning in the certainty of easy triumph, advanced upon +Paul. + +Now Paul understood. He was there to furnish sport, terrible, deadly +sport, and he must fight if he would save himself. As Alvarez truly said, +no choice was left to him. If he sprang for the barrier they would thrust +him back, and that was not a thing to be endured. + +Francisco Alvarez, spurred on by the sting of his wound, and urged, too, +by Braxton Wyatt, who was mad for the deed the moment he heard of it, had +done this wicked thing. The strain of cruelty in his nature, inherited +perhaps, from far-off ancestors who had looked upon pitiless games in the +arena in the Roman cities in Spain, was completely in control. + +"It is better than I thought," he said to Braxton Wyatt. "The ring serves +the purpose well. We shall have some royal sport if Kaintock will but +fight." + +"He will fight," said Braxton Wyatt. + +The swordsman advanced upon Paul and thrust with his shining blade. Paul +felt intuitively that he was a master of the weapon, reinforced, too, by +enormous strength. He, a boy, would have but little chance. Yet he parried +the thrust and replied with one of his own that flashed dangerously near +the man's side. The crowd again shouted approval, but as before some were +silent. Long Jim made another effort to drag himself loose, but he could +not. The men held him. Nevertheless, he repeated his cry: "It's murder! +He's only a boy!" + +The rapid interchange of thrust and parry followed, and the swordsman grew +angry. He was there not only to furnish sport, but to have it also for +himself. He did not like to be held back by one over whom he had thought +victory so easy. Suddenly he exerted his full strength and broke through +Paul's guard. The lad felt his left shoulder and arm seared as if by a +great flame, and, with a cry that he could not repress, he dropped back. + +The swordsman, too, stepped back, sure now of his triumph. The shout came +from the crowd once more, but only from a part of it, and brave, faithful +Long Jim closed his eyes that he might not see what would follow. + +The elated swordsman held up his weapon as one would a banner. It was a +broad blade like a cutlass and it glittered in the brilliant sunlight. The +next moment there was the sound of a shot, the man uttered a cry of pain, +although himself untouched, and the sword, broken in several pieces, fell +to the ground. It had been shot from his hand with a rifle bullet. + +Long Jim, opening his eyes, uttered a cry of joy and Henry Ware, smoking +rifle in hand, pressed his way through the crowd, which he had entered +unnoticed in the excitement. + +Francisco Alvarez sprang to his feet in anger. Not for some moments did he +see the figure of the one who fired the shot, and even then he did not +know who it was. But Braxton Wyatt knew Henry Ware at once, and he was +resolved that he should not escape. + +"Seize him! seize him!" cried the renegade. "He is the most dangerous of +them all!" + +But Henry offered no resistance, as the soldiers rushed toward him, +quietly surrendering his rifle. Tom Ross, who was behind him, angrily +threw back the crowd and would have fought, but Henry said: "Give up, +Tom, it's best for the present." + +Henry's eyes were upon his comrade who had been subjected to such +treatment. Paul stood erect, but there were stains on his shoulder, and he +was pale and weak. + +"Look to him," said Henry threateningly to Francisco Alvarez who was +approaching. "It is an outrage of which the Governor General of Louisiana +shall know." + +Alvarez flushed. He felt now slight prickings of the conscience and of +apprehension. It was indeed a wicked deed that he had done, but he had no +mind to be bearded by another from Kaintock. + +"He will receive the proper attention," he said, "but you are my prisoner, +and so is this man who has just been taken with you. I tell you, too, that +I am in supreme command here, and I take the responsibility for all my +acts." + +Braxton Wyatt had crowded near, but Henry and Tom refused to notice him. +Luiz went into the ring and led Paul away, binding up his shoulder where +the flesh was cut, although the hurt was not serious. "Take their arms and +put them all in the same prison," said Alvarez to one of his officers and +the four were escorted to the log house which Paul and Long Jim had left +not long before. + +"Our plan has been marked by some success after all," said Alvarez to +Braxton Wyatt. "It has drawn two more into our hands." + +"There is a fifth," said Braxton Wyatt. "The one they call Shif'less Sol, +and we have not got him. As long as a single one of them is free we are in +danger." + +The Spaniard laughed. + +"You exaggerate their powers," he said. "We have nothing to fear from one +wandering hunter." + +"But this man, Shif'less Sol, is full of cunning," said Braxton Wyatt. + +The Spaniard's only reply was to hold his head a little higher. It was his +plan now to assume his haughtiest manner. The little fear that he had done +wrong, that his act in forcing Paul into the ring against a professional +swordsman, a gladiator as it were, was mediæval, and that harm might come +to him from it, clung to him. But pride bade him never to show it. + +As he and Braxton Wyatt went into the Chateau of Beaulieu, the doors of +the log prison closed upon the four comrades. Paul, under the care of +Luiz, reached it first but the others were just behind. Paul sat on the +floor and leaned against the wall. The others bent tenderly over him. But +Paul looked up at them and smiled. + +"It isn't much," he said. "The sword only grazed me. My clothing saved me +from a bad cut. But I wish you boys, whatever happens, would remember that +Spaniard, Luiz. He's been kind to me." + +"We'll do it," said Henry. "I don't know what will come of all this, Paul, +but I feel sure that we'll succeed." + +"Of course," said Paul, "but you came just in time, and that was a great +shot of yours." + +"We were in the woods," said Henry, "and we saw the crowd gathering. We +knew some mischief was afoot, and they were so eager on it that we came up +unnoticed. I wanted Tom to stay back, but he was afraid he would be +needed." + +"And Shif'less Sol?" said Paul. "Where is he?" + +Henry laughed. + +"The shiftless one is about the shiftiest man in the wilderness," he +replied. "Do you suppose that he would ever walk into a trap, when there +was nothing inside the trap worth the risk? Didn't he know that Tom and I +were sufficient for any task that might be ahead of us this morning?" + +Paul laughed, too, and the others were glad to see the color coming back +into his face. + +"Good old Sol," he said, "I'm glad he didn't come too. He's somewhere out +there in the woods, and he's the one link between us and Kentucky. We'll +be sure to hear from him." + +They talked of their plans, but for the time, they could see no way. +Shif'less Sol might go on alone to New Orleans, but it needed the presence +of the five to be convincing. + +"He wouldn't go anyhow," said Paul. "Sol would never leave us here." + +Luiz brought them food and water at noon, and then they were left again to +themselves. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE SPANIARD'S OFFER + + +The afternoon passed without incident in the log prison save another and +very welcome visit from Luiz, who brought water and some cloth bandages to +be used on Paul's shoulder. Henry and Long Jim, familiar with hurts, +dressed it carefully and skillfully. Paul's healthy blood would quickly do +the rest. + +"It will be stiff a little for three or four days," said Henry, "but +you'll forget in a week that you ever had it." + +Then he turned to Luiz. + +"We'd like to thank you," he said, "I know you don't understand our words, +but maybe you take our meaning." + +Luiz nodded violently, smiled at the boy, and then held out his hand in +quite an American fashion. His face expressed not only understanding but +gratitude as well. Henry, of the acute eye and retentive mind, took a +second look. Then he remembered. + +"The man whom the buffalo was about to gore and run over!" he exclaimed. +"Well, I am glad I was there to help you, and it seems that a lucky chance +has made us a friend." + +He took the proffered hand and shook it heartily. When Luiz had gone he +explained to the others. + +"He is surely a friend," he said, "and we have certainly had a piece of +good fortune." + +But Long Jim instantly demurred. + +"Henry," he said, "you're a smart fellow, but you're talkin' real foolish. +It wuz your good heart that done it. Ef it hadn't told you to help him +when that mad bull wuz about to run over him an' gore him an' trample him +clean out uv sight in the earth, he wouldn't a-been here now, grinnin' at +you an' with the gratitude oozin' out uv him all over." + +Just before the sunset the door was opened again and Braxton Wyatt thrust +in his hateful face. Behind him stood four Spanish soldiers. + +"I hope you are enjoying yourselves," he said with irony. + +"We'd rather be here, as we are, than be in your place, having done what +you have done," exclaimed Paul passionately. + +Wyatt paled a little, but instantly recovered himself. + +"A bear can growl a lot when it's in a trap but growling doesn't help it +out," he said airily. + +"We kin do more than growl. We've got sharp teeth, too, ez you ought to +know," said Tom Ross, the man of few words. + +"I'll admit that you have had some successes in the past," said Wyatt, +smiling maliciously, "but your time is done. We are the victors, and +you'll never get out of this." + +The four as if by common consent turned their backs upon him and did not +utter another word. The renegade understood the contempt expressed by +those four silent backs, and the willful flush broke through the tan of +his face. He had never hated them more bitterly. + +"Come you, Henry Ware," he said roughly, "Captain Alvarez wishes to ask +you some questions." + +"I wouldn't go, Henry," said Long Jim. "I wouldn't hev a word to say to +that Spaniard or to this white Injun either." + +"He will go, whether willingly or unwillingly," said Braxton Wyatt. "I've +men enough here to drag him." + +"I will go willingly, Jim," said Henry addressing himself to his comrade +rather than to the renegade. "It cannot do any harm, and it may help." + +"Yes, it is wiser," said Paul. + +"So long, boys," said Henry. "I'll be back pretty soon." + +He stepped out, calmly ignoring the existence of Braxton Wyatt, and placed +himself in the center of the little group of soldiers. His manner +indicated clearly that he would make no attempt to escape, and, armed +though the four soldiers were, and unarmed though their captive was, they +breathed four simultaneous sighs of relief. Henry Ware, boy though he was, +with his great height and powerful shoulders, chest, and limbs, was a +truly formidable figure. + +Braxton Wyatt turned the key noisily in the huge padlock that held the +door. + +"There," he said, "I think we've got that cattle securely fastened in the +pen!" + +Henry knew that the insulting words were intended for his ear, but he gave +no sign of hearing them. He stood expressionless, awaiting the word to the +soldiers to march. Braxton Wyatt quickly gave it. He was angrier than +ever, because he could not stir Henry Ware, whom he hated most of all, to +open anger. + +The march led straight to the Chateau of Beaulieu, across well-trimmed +sward, and Henry's alert eye took in everything, the pretentious house, so +unlike anything erected by his own people in Kentucky, the low +outbuildings, and the occasional gleam of a uniform. + +But Henry did not observe at this moment with any eye to the escape of +himself and his comrades. His condition of mind was spiritual and he felt +a satisfaction for which he could not have accounted if he had tried. He +felt sure that his friends and he would escape. He did not doubt it even +now, when only one of the five was free in the woods out there. The spring +sun was setting in great clouds of red and gold fire, a pleasant coolness +was coming over the heated landscape, and every building, fence, and tree +was touched by a soft but vivid light. + +Braxton led the way into the house and into a great room, where Francisco +Alvarez sat in a high chair, keeping state like a feudal lord. He waved +his hand and the soldiers withdrew. Then he said to Braxton Wyatt: + +"I wish to speak alone, absolutely alone, to Seņor Ware, and I must ask +you to leave us for a little while." + +Braxton turned on his heel, his anger but half concealed, and the Spaniard +smiled to himself, Francisco Alvarez was a wily man, a reader of the minds +of others, and he did not object to the present displeasure of Wyatt. + +But he said nothing until the renegade was gone. Henry, meanwhile, had +quietly taken his seat in a cane chair. He was not of any mind to stand in +the presence of this man who bore himself as if he were master of +everything by right divine. + +Francisco Alvarez observed the act and understood its meaning. He smiled +again to himself. He had not misjudged the youth, and it confirmed him in +the plan that had come suddenly into his cunning mind. + +"Seņor Ware," he said, veiling his voice and speaking with a velvety +courtesy that was unusual in him, "I have brought you here to tell you +first that I repent my act to-day, by which I placed your comrade's life +in seeming danger. I was hasty, but I had been goaded greatly, and it may +be, too, that I was influenced by the sinister advice of one who hates you +and your friends in a manner almost beyond belief. Besides, the swordsman +had orders not to slay." + +Henry Ware looked at him in great surprise. Five minutes ago he would not +have dreamed it possible that he could hear such a speech in such a tone +from Francisco Alvarez. He waited to see what it meant. Alvarez regarded +him in a sort of kindly contemplation, as a man would look upon a youth +for whom he had benevolent plans. + +"We have been enemies so far," he resumed in his winning tone, "you and +your comrades against myself and my people. But I have learned one thing, +and I am confirmed in it by the opinion of others; boy as you are, you are +the strongest and most dangerous of the five who oppose me; you are the +leader." + +The words, although true, were those of compliment and flattery, and Henry +felt the touch of poison in the silky tone. He stiffened himself slightly +as if he would resist a danger, unknown as yet, but all the more to be +dreaded on that account. He still remained silent. + +"Yes, you are the strongest and the one most to be feared," continued +Alvarez musingly, "I am not saying it to flatter you, but because it is a +matter that I have weighed well for reasons pertaining to statecraft. +There sentiment or personal liking cannot count. I have plans, large +plans, in regard to this country. I suppose that every ambitious man who +comes here has them. How can he help it when he sees so vast and fertile a +land inhabited only by savages? My plan, I believe, is right, in +accordance with probability and justice. You, Seņor Ware, are a +representative of a race that has crossed the mountains into a new +region. You have there, in Kaintock, thin and feeble settlements that must +soon be crushed." + +Henry spoke for the first time, but he showed no excitement, although his +heart had begun to beat faster. + +"I think you are wrong, Captain Alvarez," he said. "The settlements in +Kentucky have already driven back some formidable forays, and they grow +stronger every day." + +"Forays of savages only. What could they do if a force of white men, a +powerful force, armed with cannon came?" + +"But will they come?" asked Henry pointedly. + +"Ah, I see you are clever," said Alvarez, still smiling. "You and the +other youth, Cotter, are educated, and you must realize the truth of what +I say. Yes, that force will come. Your Eastern colonies are about to be +defeated by the King of England. You are rebels, and there is no place for +defeated rebels but the depths of the wilderness. Spain has been +coquetting with these colonies, but she will come back to the side of the +English monarchy where she belongs. The monarchies must stand together +against all rebels." + +"How do you know that Spain will help England to fight us?" asked Henry. + +Alvarez smiled once more, but the smile now, instead of being merely +winning, was superior. + +"It is a long distance from here to Europe," he replied, "but news may +come even into the depths of the woods. I have many friends in Spain, +friends near the court, who inform me whenever the wind changes." + +Henry did not like that superior smile. It was a mistake of Francisco +Alvarez, a mistake that many strong men make, to assume a patronizing +manner even for a moment in the presence of another who was also strong. +Henry's intuition at once put him on guard at all points. + +"I have heard," he said, "that Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish Governor +General at New Orleans, is no friend of the British power. But why do you +discuss these things with me or tell me of them?" + +"It is because I have considered you and recognize your worth," replied +Alvarez slowly. "Why rush on to destruction with the foolish rebels? No, +do not speak! Pay good heed to what I say. There is more passing on this +continent than you think. Great events are about to occur. I do not speak +merely of the war between the rebels--or, if you prefer it, the +Americans--and the English, but of another change. + +"Spain is seated at New Orleans near the mouth of the Mississippi, which +flows through a larger area of fertile and temperate country than any +other river in the world. The waters of hundreds of navigable streams +converge there, and it must become the rival of London and Paris. What can +Quebec, Boston, New York, or Charleston be to New Orleans? Can Spain give +up such a site and such a vast and fertile territory as Louisiana? Never! +And here is the greatest opportunity in the world for strong men! Come +with me! Bring your friends with you! We need such as you! I offer you a +career that could not even enter your dreams in the woods of Kaintock!" + +A deep, red flush overspread Henry's face. + +"Do you think that we could fight against our own people," he exclaimed. +"Do you think that we are made of such stuff as that miserable renegade, +Braxton Wyatt?" + +Alvarez did not flinch. His words had been delivered with extraordinary +emphasis, and they carried the ring of his own conviction. His great plan +possessed him, and he saw before him an instrument of which he could make +good use. + +"I do not ask you to go against your own people," he replied. "Remain in +Louisiana. Great work can be found here for you and your friends. And +where Kaintock is concerned another way could be made. It is far from the +Eastern colonies, divided by mountains, the forest, and Indians. Where +could they find a better friend to whom to turn than the King of Spain? +And they will surely need a powerful friend!" + +Henry gazed at him in amazement, and yet he felt a certain respect for the +scope and largeness of the man's plan, repellent though the plan was to +him. He saw that Alvarez was not an ordinary man, that he was one with +whom the people for whom he cared would have to reckon. But he was not +afraid, nor was he tempted for a moment by the promise of a glittering +future that Alvarez held out to him. He felt an immense indignation, but +he was still master of himself, and he replied quietly. + +"I could not leave my own people, nor would any of my comrades. The air of +Louisiana does not suit us. We are accustomed to a colder climate. We +feel, too, that Kaintock can take care of herself. Nor is it sure that the +Eastern colonies will be crushed by the King. But, should they be, +Kentucky would never desert them to join Spain." + +Alvarez frowned, and his temper began to rise. Henry was showing more +finesse and more knowledge of the world and its events than he had thought +possible in one just come out of the woods. + +"By entering my service, by becoming a lieutenant of mine, you have all to +gain and nothing to lose," he said, resuming his customary tone of +superiority. + +Henry instantly felt the change of manner and resented it. + +"I could not dream of accepting such an offer," he said, "but, if I +should, I'd merely take the place that you've already given to Braxton +Wyatt, a renegade. He thinks it is his, and you have made him think it is +his. If you do not keep faith with him how could I believe that you would +keep faith with me?" + +The dark blood of anger flushed the Spaniard's face. He half rose from his +seat and then sat down again. + +"I have made you an offer," he said, "one that any youth or young man +should be proud to accept, and you insult me by saying that you doubt my +faith. You are a child, a backwoodsman, and an ignorant fellow!" + +"I am not ignorant about some things of importance," replied Henry calmly, +"but, if I were low enough to be tempted by your offer, I should still be +wise enough to know that a man who plots against his own superior officer +could not be trusted by me." "What do you mean?" asked Alvarez, paling for +a moment. + +"Is it not true that by fair or foul means you expect shortly to succeed +Bernardo Galvez as Governor General of Louisiana?" + +The Spaniard's hand flew to his sword hilt. Such things as these were not +to be known by everybody. But Henry met his gaze steadily, and the hand +fell away from the sword-hilt. He had gone too far already. He was sorry +that he had turned the professional swordsman loose on Paul--it had been +an unwise deed--and another act of violence in a single day was unworthy a +man of his self-control. No, a new and better plan came suddenly into his +mind. + +The two sat for a few moments gazing steadily at each other. Alvarez was +in the higher chair, and that gave him the physical advantage, but the +look of the fearless youth was like the sharp sword that cuts scornfully +through the maze and web of intrigue and trickery. Alvarez was forced to +turn his gaze aside, and his soul was full of tumult and anger because he +had to yield. The new plan that he had conceived in regard to this daring +boy now seemed a peculiarly happy thought. Henry's pride and spirit must +be broken, and he, Francisco Alvarez, was the man for the task. + +He clapped his hands and a soldier entered. He sent a message by him and +several more came, accompanied by Braxton Wyatt. Alvarez motioned Wyatt to +a seat. + +"Seņor Wyatt," he said in his slow, precise English, "I have been having a +talk with your friend, your former friend here, and I find him to be as +unworthy as you have described him to be. I offered only kindness to +himself and his friends. I chose to believe that they had been merely +foolish, misled by ignorance, but his reply has been only to insult me and +to blacken you." + +The renegade did not seek to conceal the joy that shone in his eyes. He +had been in fear when he was sent out of the hall, in fear lest Alvarez +had some plan by which he would suffer, and now it was obvious that +nothing had been changed. + +"It is his character," said Wyatt. "He is vicious and the truth has never +been in him." + +Henry did not know what all this talk meant, but he refused to notice +Braxton Wyatt. His manner indicated that the renegade had ceased to exist, +and it made Wyatt furious. + +"You tell the truth," continued Alvarez, "but he is dangerous, too, as you +told me, a strong, wily fellow, and I shall not take any chances on his +escape. See, I am providing against it." + +A soldier entered, bearing balls and chain, and Alvarez pointed to Henry. +The youth sprang to his feet. He knew that this was intended as an +indignity, and his mind rebelled. + +"Put them on him," said Alvarez, and the soldiers approached. Henry hurled +the first back and then the second, but the others were about to fling +themselves upon him in a heap, when a voice from the door cried: + +"Stop!" + +It was not a loud voice, but one full of dignity and command, and the +soldiers instantly fell back. + +A tall man, robed in black, and with a thin face, smoothly shaven and +austere, stood in the doorway. The eyes, usually benevolent and kindly, +sparkled with indignation, and one hand was uplifted in rebuke. + +"Father Montigny!" said Henry, under his breath. + +"Who says 'stop!' here, where I command?" Alvarez exclaimed, and then he +paled at sight of the priest. The Spaniard was a bold man, but he wished +no conflict with Holy Church. + +"I said 'stop,'" replied the priest with calm dignity, advancing into the +room. "Francisco Alvarez, you were about to perform a deed unworthy of +yourself, one that you would have cause to regret. There is no war between +Louisiana and Kaintock. What right have you to put this youth in chains?" + +He took a step further, and the rebuking hand was still uplifted. The +soldiers shrank back and more than one crossed himself. Yet they were +relieved, as Father Montigny had interfered with a task that they did not +like. + +"I have the utmost respect for Holy Church," replied Alvarez, though it +cost him an effort to utter the words, "but I am in command here and all +military affairs fall under my jurisdiction. This young man is a dangerous +spy and plotter from Kaintock, one who has used force against us. He and +his comrades seized one of our boats and that was an act of war." + +"He is a good youth," said Father Montigny. "He and his comrades did me a +great service. I know that his motives are good, and I will not see him +treated in such barbarous fashion." + +The face of Alvarez darkened. This was more than he could stand. + +"I am the judge in these matters," he replied, "and I tell you, Father +Montigny, that you must not interfere. Your order, the Capuchins, are in +power now at New Orleans, as I know, but the Jesuits may come back. I +should favor their returning." + +"It is not a question of Capuchin or Jesuit," replied Father Montigny +sternly, "and you, Francisco Alvarez, should know it. It is a question of +you and what you are doing here. You need not make any threats against me. +I care for none of them, but Bernardo Galvez, the Governor General at New +Orleans, shall know of what is passing at Beaulieu." + +The face of Alvarez contracted into a terrible frown. Nevertheless he +feared the unarmed priest. He was helpless against him and he feared, +too, that if he persisted Father Montigny would quickly learn of other and +deeper matters. He broke into a short and by no means hearty laugh. + +"Perhaps I was going rather far," he said, "but this youth has provoked me +beyond endurance. Take away those things, Gaspar." + +The Spaniard whom he indicated took the irons, and Henry sat down again in +his chair. The threatened ignominy had stung him deeply and he said under +his breath: "I thank you, Father Montigny." Then Alvarez ordered Henry to +be taken away, also. + +Henry arose without resistance, and walked from the hall with the +soldiers. As he passed, Father Montigny put his hand on his shoulder and +said: "I am your friend, my son." + +Henry said nothing but gave him a look of deep gratitude as he walked +proudly out. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE SHADOW IN THE FOREST + + +Luiz and his comrades escorted Henry back to the prison, and the +expressive face of Luiz showed pleasure. He made a vigorous pantomime and +spoke words in Spanish. + +"Yes, I understand your meaning if not your language, my friend," said +Henry, "and I thank you. I am glad to know that I have your good will." + +When the door of his prison was thrown open and Henry was then shut in +again with his comrades they looked at him expectantly. + +"Well?" said Paul. + +"What happened?" said Long Jim. + +"Anything to tell?" said Tom Ross. + +"How's your shoulder, Paul?" asked Henry. + +"Fast getting well," replied Paul, who knew that his comrade would speak +in his own good time. + +Henry sat on the floor and leaned against the wall in as comfortable a +position as he could assume. Then he looked rather humorously at his +comrades. + +"Alvarez wanted to bribe me," he said. + +"To bribe you? What do you mean?" + +"Yes, to bribe me--and all of us together. He wanted us to serve him here +in Louisiana, and help him in an attempt to bring over Kentucky to Spain." + +"That is, he wanted to make Braxton Wyatts out of us?" said Paul. + +"You put it exactly right, Paul," said Henry, "I laughed at him, and +called him by the names that belonged to him. He brought in Braxton Wyatt +and the soldiers and ordered me to be put in irons, there in his +presence." + +"What!" exclaimed Paul, "did he dare that, too?" + +"Yes. His object, of course, was to humiliate me--and all of us. It was +stopped by one who came in at the right moment. You couldn't guess who it +was." + +"It must a-been Shif'less Sol," said Long Jim, whose mind ran to physical +deeds. "I guess he sent a bullet right into the middle uv that rascal +crew. Sol's the boy to be right on the spot when he's needed." + +Henry laughed. + +"No, Jim," he said. "That's a pretty wild guess. It was none other than +Father Montigny, the man whom we helped. He paid us back sooner than we +thought. You ought to have seen him, Paul. He looked like an avenging +angel. He stood there, a single, unarmed man, and they were afraid of him. +I could see fear on every one of their faces." + +Paul's vivid imagination instantly painted the whole scene. It appealed to +him with tremendous power. It was the triumph of mind and character over +force and wickedness. + +"I can see Father Montigny now," he said. "A man who always does right and +has no fear whatever of death, is afraid of nothing, either in this world +or the world to come." + +"Which gives him a pow'ful sight uv freedom," said Long Jim. + +"When he told them to stop they took away their balls and chain," said +Henry, "and sent me back here. Alvarez realized that he had gone too far, +but I think that he fears Father Montigny for other reasons, too. The +priest may put the Governor General on his guard." + +"So we ain't alone," said Long Jim musingly. "Curious how you git help +when you ain't expectin' it. The wicked hev it their way fur a while, an' +then they don't. They don't ever seem able to finish up their work. +Sometimes I think the right is jest like a river flowin' on in its nateral +channel, an' boun' to git to the sea after a while, no matter what +happens. The wrong is all them dams, an' san' bars an' snags, and brush +an' drift-wood that people an' chance pile up in the way. They do choke up +the waters, an' send 'em around in other channels, an' make a heap uv +trouble, but by and by them waters git to the sea jest the same." + +"I hope so, Jim," said Paul. + +"Now thar ain't no doubt uv what I say," said Long Jim. "Take this case uv +ourn. Jest when we need it most fur a thousand miles uv river travel we +git a bee-yu-ti-ful boat, all fitted up with everything we want. Jest when +that Spaniard gits his paws on us, he don't git his paws on one uv us, an' +that's Shif'less Sol out thar in the woods. An' so long ez Shif'less Sol +is free out thar in the woods we're mighty nigh free ourselves. Then, when +this same Spaniard is ready to load irons on Henry in a way that no +free-born man kin stand, in pops a priest who likes us--an' we don't +belong to his church either--an' puts a stop to the whole thing." + +While they were talking Francisco Alvarez also was busy with a kindred +theme, as he entertained a guest. That guest was Father Montigny, to whom +he had made up his mind to be courteous, although he would not condescend +to any further apology. He ordered that the priest should receive food and +attention, and that men should look after and replenish his canoe which +was now tied in the bayou. After all these orders were given, Alvarez sat +in the great room of Beaulieu and smoked the cigarro of his time. + +There was a bitter drop in the well of his satisfaction. The coming of the +priest had been unforeseen and unfortunate. He knew Father Montigny, and +Father Montigny knew him. Now how much did Father Montigny know of his +plans? That was the important question. + +While he was yet speaking, Father Montigny, whom a very little of rest and +food always sufficed, entered the room, his manner full of austerity. +Francisco Alvarez rose, all blandness and courtesy. + +"Be seated, Father," he said. "It is a poor place that we have here, but +we give you of our best. Who would deserve it more than you, a man of such +long travels and such great hardships in the holiest of all causes?" + +The face of the priest did not relax. He sat down upon one of the cane +chairs and gazed sternly at Alvarez. Truly, it is a terrible thing to meet +the accusing gaze of a man who fears neither torture, nor death, nor the +world to come! The accusation is likely to be true. Alvarez looked away. +Twice within one day he who, with reason, thought himself so courageous +had been forced to yield to the gaze of another, and his heart was full of +angry rebellion. But he knew that knowledge and power dwelt under the +simple black robe of this man. + +"It seems," said Father Montigny, and there was a slight touch of irony in +his tone, "that I came at the right moment." + +Francisco Alvarez compelled his face to smile, though his heart was +raging. + +"I have already apologized, Father Montigny," he said, "for what I was +about to do. And yet the phrase 'about to do' is wrong. Even if you had +not come I should have repented of myself, and sent away the irons. I can +repeat, too, in my defense that I was provoked beyond endurance by this +youth's insolence." + +His tone was silky, light, indolent, as if he would dismiss a trifle about +which too much had been said already. It might have been convincing to any +other man, but he felt the stern, reproving gaze of Father Montigny still +fixed upon him. + +"And what of the ring and the professional swordsman?" said the priest. +"Are you to turn a youth to a gladiator, even as the blessed martyrs were +given to the lions and tigers by the Roman pagans! What of that, Francisco +Alvarez? Are such deeds to be done, here, in our day, in Louisiana, and to +pass unchallenged?" + +The priest's voice rose and it cut like the sharp edge of a knife. Never +since his boyhood had Francisco Alvarez flushed more deeply, and he moved +uneasily on his cane chair. + +"You give it a name that does not belong to it," he said. "It was play, or +not much more. Romildo, the swordsman, had orders not to hurt him much." + +"That may or may not be true, Francisco Alvarez," said the priest, +speaking slowly and precisely. "But I have more to ask you. What of this +plot of yours to set the Indian tribes and a Spanish force with cannon +upon Kaintock? What of your plan to become Governor General in place of +Galvez? What of your intention to make distant war upon the rebel colonies +and therefore commit Spain to an alliance with England? Answer me, +Francisco Alvarez. What of these things?" + +The priest rose from his seat, as he spoke, and lifted that stern, +accusing finger. Alvarez was as still as if struck by lightning. His great +plan known to this man, this man who feared not even torture, or death, +or the world to come! He shrank visibly both mentally and physically, but +then his courage came back under the spur of dreadful necessity. + +"A priest can take great liberties," he said. "Sometimes I think it +scarcely fair that you of the Book may denounce us of the sword and that +we may say nothing in return, although we may be right and you may be +wrong. It is sufficient now for me to tell you that I do not know what you +are talking about. I, the Governor General! Any man may dream of that! I +have done so, and I have no doubt that many others have done the same. I +favor, too, an alliance with England, as do nearly all the Spanish +officers in Louisiana, but I am a faithful servant of His Majesty, the +King, and though I may hold my opinions, I know of no plot, either against +Bernardo Galvez or to make a war upon Kaintock." + +"I have heard you, Francisco Alvarez," said the priest, "but it is for +your actions to prove the truth of your words. See to it, also, that there +is no further cruelty practised against these men from Kaintock." + +"They are my prisoners," replied Alvarez, "and I mean to hold them. There +you cannot interfere, Father Montigny. They were taken in arms against us +upon our soil of Louisiana, and that they are my prisoners even you cannot +dispute." + +"No," replied Father Montigny, "I do not dispute it; at least not for the +present. But if they are held as prisoners they should be sent to Bernardo +Galvez at New Orleans, and not be retained here." + +He walked out without waiting for an answer, and Francisco Alvarez was +glad to see him go. Five minutes later the Spaniard sent for Braxton Wyatt +and the two remained long in consultation. + +Meanwhile, something was stirring in the forest not far from Beaulieu. It +was a forest of magnolia, willow, and cypress, and of oaks, from which +hung great solemn festoons of moss. A deep still bayou cut across it, and +here and there were pools of stagnant water, in which coiling black forms +swam. + +Night was deepening over the wilderness upon which the estate of Beaulieu +had made only a scratch. Pale moonlight fell over the drooping green +forest and across the deep waters of the bayou. The something that had +stirred resolved itself into the shadowy figure of a man who came out of +the heart of the forest toward its edge. He walked with a singularly agile +step. His moccasined feet made no noise when they touched the ground and +the bushes seemed to part for the passage of his body. + +When the man reached the edge of the forest next to the Chateau of +Beaulieu, he paused for a long time, standing in the shadow of the trees. +Always he looked fixedly at a single building, the log hut, in which +Alvarez held his four prisoners from Kaintock. While he stood there, stray +rays of moonlight coming through the cypresses fell upon him, revealing a +tanned face, yellow hair, and a tall, athletic form. He did not look like +a Spaniard or an Acadian, or one of the Frenchmen who had emigrated from +Canada, or any kind of a West Indian. His was certainly an alien presence +in those regions. + +The moon slid back behind a cloud, the silver rays failed, and the figure +of the man became more indistinct, almost a shadow, thin and impalpable. +Then he bent far over in a stooping position, passed rapidly through a +patch of scrub bushes, and came much nearer to the log prison. + +At the edge of the bushes he stopped again and watched the prison for at +least a minute. Two soldiers were on watch in front of it before the +single door, two soldiers in Spanish uniform, who were suffering from +tedium, and who were quite sure, anyway that unarmed prisoners could not +escape from a one-room building of logs with but a single door, secured by +a huge, oak shutter, and two windows, each too small to admit the passage +of a boy's or man's body. + +The two soldiers slouched in their walk, and presently, when their beats +met before the door, they let the butts of their guns rest on the ground, +and exchanged pleasant talk about pretty, dark girls that they had known +in far-away Spain. One boldly lighted a cigarrito and the other encouraged +by his example did likewise. Hark, what was that? "A lizard in the grass," +said Carlos. "Yes, certainly," said Juan. They continued to smoke their +cigarritos blissfully, and talk of the pretty, dark girls that they had +known in far-away Spain. + +As they smoked and talked, and found smoke, talk and company pleasant, +they did not see a shadow glide swiftly from the bushes and pass to the +rear of the log prison that they were guarding so well. Nor could they +see the shadow, since the building was now between them, resolve itself +again into the figure of a man, who stood upright against the wall, his +face at one of the little slits of windows. + +Their own talk was so pleasant, and the sound of their voices was such a +cure for lonesomeness on a dark night, that they did not hear the man at +the little slit of a window utter a faint warning hiss. Nor did they hear +something a moment later fall with a slight metalic sound on the bark +floor of the prison. The sound was repeated in an instant, but still they +did not hear it, and then the figure of a man, melting back to a shadow, +glided away from the house and into the bushes and thence to the forest, +where it was lost. + +Carlos and Juan chatted until their cigarritos were smoked out. Then they +shouldered their muskets and continued the watch that seemed to them so +easy. How could unarmed men escape through such a thickness of logs? The +shadow in the forest was lost to the sight of any possible Spaniard, but +not to the sight of another shadow that arose from the bushes and flitted +after it. The two shadows were now deep in the forest, but the second hung +close on the first, making no noise, and sinking quickly to the ground, +when the other looked back. + +This second shadow, as it passed through a partially open space, also +revealed itself in the moonlight as a man, but a man ghastly and terrible +in appearance. He had a hideous, feline face, and he was naked, save a +breech-cloth at the waist. He carried but a single weapon, a knife in his +ready hand, but the eyes were those of the most utter savage expecting a +speedy prey. + +The first shadow reached a little grove free from undergrowth and stopped. +He was about to lie down, rifle by his side, and seek sleep, but his ear, +attuned to the wilderness, caught a faint sound. It was not the wind among +the leaves, nor the gliding of a snake nor the chirp of an insect, but a +sound that was not a part of the night harmony. The sensitive ear had +given him warning, as the instinct of an animal warns that an enemy has +come. + +The first shadow slid from the grove and into the undergrowth, sank low, +and, waiting, caught sight of the second shadow, the man who pursued. He +saw the naked figure, the feline face, and the ready knife in hand. The +skill and wonderful forest intuition of the second man had been matched by +those of the first. + +The pursued, when he caught that glimpse of his pursuer, laid his rifle +carefully on the earth, because he did not wish a shot to be heard, and +drew his own knife. Slight as was the sound that he made the other heard +it, turned in a flash, and the two sprang at each other. + +The moonlight streamed for a moment along their knife blades and then they +struck. One stepped back, and remained standing upright. The other swayed +a moment and then fell without a sound, lying upon his back. + +He who lay staring with sightless eyes up at the moon was the man with the +feline face and the body naked save for the cloth at the waist. The other, +unharmed, stood, looking at him a moment or two, and then plunged deeper +into the forest. + +Morning dawned. The sun swung up through a terrace of rosy clouds, and +Luiz brought the four their breakfast, _callas tous chauds_, other food of +La Louisiane, and milk and coffee. They ate and drank with a great +appetite, and it seemed to Luiz that they were quite cheerful, for which +he was truly glad, because one of these men had saved his life, and the +wounded youth who made an especial appeal to him had been subjected to +barbarous treatment. But Paul could use his injured arm already. His blood +was so healthy that the scratch of the sword healed fast. + +Two or three hours later Francisco Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt entered the +prison. The renegade was not above showing by his looks that he rejoiced +in his triumph over his enemies, but the face of Alvarez was without +expression. + +"I have come to tell you," said the Spaniard, "that you will be held here +subject to my will. But you will not be treated badly. At such time as I +think fit you may be taken to New Orleans." + +"It seems that the words of Father Montigny were not to be despised," said +Henry maliciously. + +"Father Montigny disposes of nothing here," said Alvarez. "This is to be +done because I think it best." + +Then he and Wyatt went out, but that afternoon when Alvarez was sitting in +the cool shadow of the pillared portico, there came to him a man, dusty, +and riding fast, who delivered to him a document sealed with red seals, +and important in appearance. + +When Alvarez read the paper he frowned, and then cursed under his breath. +It was written in plain letters and its meaning was plain, also. It stated +that Bernardo Galvez, the Governor General at New Orleans, had learned +that his brave and loyal captain, Don Francisco Louis Philip Ferdinand +Alvarez, held in his possession four prisoners from Kaintock, persons of +daring, whose presence in Louisiana might be of great significance. +Therefore His Excellency, Bernardo Galvez, Governor General of Louisiana, +commanded his trusty and loyal captain, Don Francisco Louis Philip +Ferdinand Alvarez, to bring the aforesaid four prisoners, from Kaintock, +to New Orleans at once. + +"At once!" repeated Alvarez angrily to himself. "That means not next week +but now, and I am compelled to obey. To refuse or to evade would make a +breach too soon." + +He sent for Braxton Wyatt and told him of the letter. The renegade was +startled, but he counseled immediate obedience from motives of policy. + +"How could Galvez have known?" said Alvarez. "How could the news have +reached New Orleans so soon?" + +"Perhaps the priest has told," suggested Wyatt. + +"No, that is impossible. He came from up river, and I am glad to say that +he left again in his canoe this morning. Those Capuchins to whom he +belongs shall be well punished, if I gain the power in Louisiana. They +shall be expelled, every one of them, from New Orleans, and their old +rivals, the Jesuits, shall take their place. It's one of the first things +that I mean to do." + +"It would be a wise thing to do," said Braxton Wyatt. He cared nothing for +either Capuchin or Jesuit, but he hated and feared Father Montigny, and +would be glad to know that he was driven from the country. + +"We must start in the morning," said Alvarez. "It will not take us long to +reach New Orleans by the river, and I can spin a tale that will lull the +suspicions of Galvez." + +"You can prove many things by me," said Braxton Wyatt significantly. + +"Yes, Seņor Wyatt, you are a good lieutenant," said Alvarez, and he meant +it. "We will make our preparations to-night and start with a strong force +in the morning. We need not bring the prisoners forth until we are ready." + +Alvarez, slept peacefully that night. He had recovered his spirits, shaken +by the arrival of the King's messenger. Aided by the dexterous renegade, +Braxton Wyatt, he would soon persuade Bernardo Galvez that he had acted +for the best in the matter of the men from Kaintock. + +He rose early the next morning and, as a mark of signal favor, invited +Braxton Wyatt to take breakfast with him. While they sat together Luiz +came in with a long face. + +"Now what is it, my brave Luiz?" said Alvarez, who was in an exceeding +good humor, "why this saturnine countenance?" + +"I beg to report, your Excellency," said Luiz, "that the Natchez Indian +whom they call The Cat had been found dead in the forest, of a knife +thrust that came out behind the shoulder." + +"That is bad," said Alvarez. "Have they found out who did it?" + +"No, Your Excellency. There were some signs of a struggle, and a few +traces of foot-steps, but the trail was gone before they had followed it a +dozen yards." + +"We have lost a good man," said Alvarez, "a matchless spy and trailer, but +it cannot be helped. I suppose it was a quarrel with some savage like +himself. I would investigate the matter, but we have not time now. Come, +Luiz, we will take out the prisoners, and then to the boats." + +He led the way across the grass to the log house,--two sentinels, again it +was Carlos and Juan--walked up and down in front of it--and the Spanish +captain was pleased at their vigilance. He gave them a very good morning +as they saluted respectfully. + +"Unlock the door, Luiz," he said. "This is a strong prison and a close +one. I've no doubt our gallants from Kaintock, where there is much room, +will be glad to be outside again." + +Luiz inserted the huge iron key, turned it in the lock, and threw wide the +door. Alvarez looked in, and then uttered a cry so charged with rage that +even Braxton Wyatt was startled. He pressed close up to his chief and +gazed over his shoulder. + +The prison was empty! + +"What does this mean?" shouted Alvarez at the trembling sentinels. "The +prisoners have escaped! Idiots! Blind men! What have you been doing? Have +you helped them yourselves? If it is so, both of you shall be shot!" + +The unfortunates, Carlos and Juan, stared at the empty prison and crossed +themselves. "Witchcraft," muttered Carlos, the readier of the two. "We +have watched faithfully all night, my captain. We saw nothing, we heard +nothing, and the door was locked, as you behold. We are honest men and we +have been faithful!" + +Braxton Wyatt pointed to the dark corner of the prison. + +"See," he said, "that is how they went." + +Heaped against the wall was a pile of dirt, and in its place a hole large +enough to admit a man's body led under the logs. The Spaniard cried out in +rage again. + +"We see how they have gone!" he exclaimed, "but in what way did they do +it? Who has helped them!" + +Braxton Wyatt examined the tunnel. The bottom logs of the cabin rested +squarely upon the ground, after the primitive fashion. The floor was of +bark, and a section of this had been lifted. The prisoners had then dug +their hole under the log. + +"It was done with metal tools of some kind," said Wyatt. "But they had +nothing when we locked them in here. I can swear to that, as I was one of +those who searched them well." + +"Then they must have had help!" exclaimed Alvarez, and again he turned +fiercely upon the sentinels, but Braxton Wyatt intervened. He was glad +that he could patronize Alvarez at least once and show himself to be the +superior in discernment. + +"These men, Your Excellency, of whom I told you to beware, were five," he +said. "We captured four, therefore one was left, and I said beware of him, +even alone. He is a fellow of great cunning and skill who would try +anything. He has come for his comrades, and he has taken them away with +him." + +"It must be as you say," said Alvarez, seeking now to hide his anger. He +was not sorry on the whole that the sentinels were obviously innocent, as +he needed as many adherents as he could keep, in order to carry out his +great plan. + +"Knowing that the window was too small to admit them, we watched only the +front where the door is, Your Excellency," said Carlos, still trembling. +"Who would have dreamed that these men of Kaintock were magicians, that +without picks or shovels they could burrow under the earth and be gone +like ghosts." + +"Begone yourselves!" exclaimed Alvarez. "Get ready for the boats at +once!" + +Carlos and Juan fled away, glad to escape the sight of their master. + +"Now that they have escaped, what do you think they will do?" asked +Alvarez of Wyatt. + +"They will go to New Orleans," replied the renegade promptly, "and appear +before Bernardo Galvez to denounce you." + +"Then our own start must not be delayed a moment!" exclaimed Alvarez. + +In an hour he and his force were ready to embark. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE WHITE STALLION + + +Shif'less Sol led the way through the forest and four ghostly figures +followed in single file. They made no noise as they passed among the +cypresses and magnolias, and oaks of the drooping foliage. No one spoke, +but the leader laughed more than once in his throat, a laugh which never +passed the lips, but which was full of satisfaction nevertheless. He felt +that he, Solomon Hyde, nicknamed the shiftless one, had not lived in vain. +He had achieved the greatest triumph of a life already crowded with +dangers and deeds. To use the phrase of a later day, it was his crowded +hour, and his four comrades gave him all the honor and glory of it. + +They came presently to a still, dark channel of water, the bayou, and +stopped on its bank. A light wind had risen, and as it blew among the +cypresses and magnolias and oaks of the drooping foliage, it blew the song +of the triumph of Shif'less Sol. The moonlight fell on his face now and as +his features drew into a smile he, at last, permitted himself to laugh +outright. + +"It was wonderful, Sol," said Henry. "We always knew that you were near +us, and we knew, too, that because you were near us we were near to +freedom." + +He stepped forward, grasped the hand of the shiftless one, and gave it a +fervent shake. Paul at once did the same, then followed Long Jim and Tom +Ross. Shif'less Sol's face became beatific. He had received his silent +tribute and it was enough. The flavor of it would be with him all the rest +of his life. + +"What did you fellers think?" he asked, "when them two big knives came +fallin' down on the floor. I'd hev called to you, but I wuz afeard I'd +stir up them two sentinels on the other side of the house." + +"We knew it was you, Sol," replied Paul, "and we knew then that our escape +was certain. Where did you get the knives?" + +"I stole them from a tool house," replied Sol with pride. "I guess they +use 'em to cut cane with, or something like that." + +"We certainly cut dirt with 'em at a great rate," said Henry, "and here we +are free, the five of us together again, but without arms except the two +knives you threw to us." + +The moonlight was deepening and the shiftless one stood in the center of +it. His figure seemed suddenly to swell and the calm, victorious light of +the supreme conqueror came into his eyes. + +"Boys," he said, and his voice was even and precise, as a victor's should +be, "when I undertook this here job o' settin' us on our feet agin, I +undertook to do it all. I not only meant to put us on our feet, but to git +us ready fur runnin', too. Boys, I hev took 'The Gall-yun' from the +Spaniards ag'in an' she's waitin' fur us." + +"What! what!" they cried in chorus. "You don't mean it, Sol?" + +"I shorely do mean it. All the boats that they expect to use to-day wuz +anchored in the bi-yoo or hay-yoo or whatever they call it. 'The +Gall-yun,' our gall-yun, wuz at the end o' the line nearest to the big +river. Nobody wuz on board, but she wuz tied to the boat next to her. I +slipped on her--it was pow'ful dark then an' the Spaniards wuz keepin' a +slip-shod watch, anyhow--cut the rope an' floated her down the stream, +where I've tied her up under sech thick brush that nobody 'cept ourselves +is likely to find her. She'll be thar, waitin' fur us, an' don't you doubt +it. An' fellers all our rifles an' ammunition an' things are on her. It +wuz the captain's boat, an' I s'pose he thought he might ez well hev them +trophies, an' use 'em." + +"Is this really true, Sol?" exclaimed Paul, although he did not doubt. + +"Gospel truth. We're jest ez well off ez we wuz afore we wuz captured. I +don't think, either, them Spaniards will miss 'The Gall-yun' until +mornin'. So we kin be up an' away with somethin' o' a start." + +"Lead on, Sol," said Henry. + +Sol led, and resumed the noiseless Indian file. They found the good ship, +"The Galleon," under the overhanging bushes where Sol had left her, and +rejoicingly they took possession again of the boat, their arms, and +supplies. + +"Now for New Orleans and the Governor General," said Paul, as they pushed +out into the bayou. There was no current here, but their powerful arms at +the oars soon sent the boat into the Mississippi. There they set the sail +which had been left unchanged, and as a good wind caught it they went on +at a quickening pace. Wind, current, and oars combined made the low banks +pass swiftly by. + +It was now the darkest hour and all things were veiled. Each felt a great +satisfaction. They had the courage, after such a great and skillful +escape, to attempt anything. + +"It's only lately that I've been gittin' friendly with the Missip," said +Shif'less Sol. "It's a pow'ful big river an' a new one, but me an' this +river are already jest like brothers. It ought all to belong to us people +o' Kentucky. When we git to be a great big settled country, hev we got to +float everything down it, right in among the Spaniards or the French, an' +they able to stop us ef they want to? 'Pears to me thar oughtn't to be +anything but a string o' free countries all along the length o' this big +river." + +"I think that is what is likely to happen," said Paul looking into the +future, as he did so often. "We'll always be pressing down, and we can't +help it." + +"Anyhow," resumed Shif'less Sol, "I'm glad that we've left that thar place +o' Booly, or Bee-yu-ly, or whatever they call it. Funny these furrin' +people can't pronounce names like they spell. Now we Americans, an' the +English, who use our language, call words jest ez they are, but you never +know what a Frenchman or a Spaniard is goin' to make out o' 'em." + +They made good progress throughout the day, and saw no sign of the +flotilla of Alvarez which they had feared might overtake them. They were +agreed that it would be wise for them to reach New Orleans first, and +hence they went boldly forward into the country that they regarded as that +of the enemy, confident of their fortune. + +The river widened and narrowed frequently, but always it was very deep. It +was not beautiful here, but the vast current flowing between low shores +had a somber majesty all its own. Its effect upon the imagination of every +one of them was heightened by the knowledge that the stream had come an +immeasurable distance, from unknown regions, and that in the coming it had +gathered into itself innumerable other rivers, most of which also had come +from lands of mystery. + +They stopped one morning in the mouth of a clear creek that flowed into +the Mississippi, and decided to spend the day in making repairs, a general +cleaning-up, and a search for fresh food. It was the universal opinion +that they would profit more by such a halt than by pushing on regardless +of everything. + +It was a beautiful spot in which they lay. They had gone about a hundred +yards up the creek, and its waters here, about thirty feet across and five +or six feet deep, were perfectly transparent. But this silver stream the +moment it entered the Mississippi was lost in the great, brown current, +swallowed up in an instant by the giant river. + +The banks of the creek were low and on either side brilliant wild flowers +grew to the very water's edge. Ferns, lilies, and other plants of deeper +hues, were massed in great beds that ran from the creek edges back to the +forest. Tall birds on immensely long and slender legs stood in the +shallower water and now and then as quick as a flash of lightning darted +down a hooked bill. Invariably the bill came up with a fish struggling in +its grasp. + +Beautiful flamingoes hovered about the bank and many birds of brilliant +plumage darted from tree to tree. Few of these sang, except the mocking +bird, which gave forth an incessant mellow note. But it was a scene of +uncommon peace and beauty and all felt its influence. + +Henry looked at the creek and the forest through which it came with an +appreciative eye. He knew because the waters of the creek were clear that +it must flow through hard, firm ground, and he was thinking at that moment +of a plan which he intended to carry out later. + +Their first work was with the boat. In its long voyage on the river it had +gathered mud and other objects on its bottom. This they could see +perfectly now that it lay in the clear water, and Shif'less Sol and Jim +Hart volunteered to scrape it with two of the shovels that were contained +in the invaluable store house of "The Galleon." + +Their offer was accepted, and taking off their clothing, they sprang into +the water. Once a huge cat fish from the Mississippi, unused to man, +brushed against Long Jim's leg, its horn raking him slightly. With a shout +Long Jim sprang almost out of the water and clambered up the side of the +boat. + +"Somethin' big bit me!" he cried. "It took one uv my legs with him!" + +"It's only a scared cat fish and you still have two legs, Jim," replied +Henry laughing boyishly, because a boy he was in spite of his size and +experience. + +Jim looked down, and a great smile of delight unfolded like a fan across +his face from side to side. + +"Guess you're right, Henry," he said, "an' I am still all in one piece." + +He sprang back into the water, and he and Sol soon finished their task. +After that it was arranged that Sol, Jim, and Tom should give a thorough +furbishing to the boat's interior, wash and dry their spare clothing and +bedding, while Henry and Paul went on a hunt for a deer to replenish their +larder. + +"You see, Paul," said Henry, "the waters of this creek are quite clear, +which means that it comes through good, hard ground. It's likely that it +isn't far back to one of the little prairies which I've heard are common +in this part of Louisiana, and in a wild country like this where there's a +prairie there's pretty likely to be deer." + +The logic seemed good to Paul. At any rate he was willing enough to go on +a hunt, stretch his legs, and see a new region. Saying that they should +probably be gone all day they started at once, leaving the others +absorbed in the task of housecleaning. + +They reached solid ground not far from the creek's edge and walked along +briskly, following the course of the stream back toward its source. The +soil was black and deep and the forest magnificent. Great beeches and +hickories were mingled with the willows and live oaks and cypresses, and +the foliage was thick, green, and beautiful. The birds seemed innumerable, +and now and then flocks of wild fowl rose with a whir from the creek's +edge. Keen, penetrating odors of forest and wild flower came to their +nostrils. + +Both boys threw up their heads, inhaled the odors, and thrilled in every +fiber. They were very young, care could never stay with them long and now +they felt only the sheer, pure delight of living. They looked back. The +forest had already shut out their boat, and one who did not know would not +have dreamed that the longest river in the world was only a mile or two +away. They were alone in the wilderness and they did not care. They were +sufficient, for the moment, each to the other. + +As they advanced, the creek narrowed and the forest thickened. The trees +not only grew closer together, but there was a vast mass and network of +trailing vines, extended from trunk to trunk and bough to bough. One huge +oak in the very center of an intricate maze of vines was drawn far over +and its boughs were twisted into strange, distorted shapes. It was obvious +to both that the vines, singly so feeble, collectively so powerful, had +done it, and they stood a moment or two wondering at this proof of the +power of united and unceasing effort. + +They went a mile or so further on, and Henry led the way toward the left +and from the creek. An instinct or the lay of the land, perhaps, warned +him that the open country was in that direction. The trees, had begun to +thin already, and in another mile they came out upon a beautiful little +rolling prairie. It was quite clear of trees; grass, mingled with wild +flowers, grew high upon it, and at the far edge they saw the figures of +animals grazing. + +"Deer!" exclaimed Paul. "There they are, Henry! Just waiting for us!" + +Henry took a long and keen look, then shook his head. + +"No, not deer, Paul," he said. "Now guess what they are." + +"They can't be buffaloes," replied Paul. "I think, Henry, I'm right; +they're deer." + +"No," said Henry, "they're horses." + +"Horses! Why there are no plantations hereabouts!" + +"Not tame horses. Wild horses. Descendants of the horses that the +Spaniards brought to Mexico two or three hundreds ago." + +"And which have been spreading northward ever since," continued Paul, +alive with interest. "Let's try to get a near look at them, Henry." + +"I'm with you," said Henry. + +Full of boyish curiosity they went around the prairie, keeping in the edge +of the woods until they came much nearer to the herd of wild horses, +which numbered about thirty. As a considerable wind was blowing their odor +away from the animals, they could approach very closely without their +presence being suspected. + +The horses were clean limbed and well-shaped, and all except one were +small and dark of color. But that one was a noticeable exception. He was +almost pure white, far larger than the others, and he had a great flowing +white mane and tail. + +The herd grazed in a bunch, but the magnificent white stallion stood apart +on the side next to the woods. He, too, grazed at intervals, but most of +the time he stood, head erect like a sentinel or rather a leader. It +seemed to both the boys that his whole attitude was full of spirit and +majesty, the vast freedom of the wilderness. He carried, too, the +responsibility for the whole herd and he knew it. + +"A prairie King," whispered Paul. "Wouldn't I like to catch such a +splendid animal, Henry, and ride him into New Orleans!" + +"No you wouldn't, Paul," replied Henry, "That stallion wasn't made to be +ridden by anybody. Look. Paul, look!" + +Henry's last word rose to an excited whisper, and Paul's gaze quickly +followed his pointing finger. Even then he would not have seen anything +had he not looked long and carefully. At last he made out a long, tawny +shape on a low-lying bough of a tree at the very edge of the forest. The +shape was flattened against the bough and almost blended with it. + +"A panther!" whispered Paul. + +Henry nodded. It was, in fact, a large specimen of the panther or southern +cougar, and Henry whispered again: + +"See what he is after!" + +A small colt from the herd had wandered dangerously near to the forest and +the bough on which the cougar lay, watching him with the yellow, famished +eyes of the great, hungry cat. + +"Shoot him, Henry! Shoot him!" whispered Paul. "You can reach him with a +bullet from here. Don't let him kill the poor, little colt!" + +"I'd do it if it were needed," replied Henry, "but I don't think it will +be. See, Paul, the Prairie King suspects!" + +The great white stallion raised his head a little higher. It may be that +he caught a glimpse of the tawny form and yellow, hungry eyes amid the +foliage of the bough, or it may be that a sudden flaw in the wind brought +to his nostrils the pungent odor of the big cat. He reared and stamped, +the startled colt turned away, and the cougar, afraid that he was about to +lose his chance, sprang. + +A yellow compact mass, bristling with sharp, white teeth and long, hooked +claws shot through the air, but the distance was too great. The colt had +turned just in time, and the cougar fell short. He gathered himself +instantly for another spring, but quick as he was, he was not quick +enough. + +The boys heard a fierce neigh, and the great stallion, wild with rage, +launched himself upon the cougar. Agile and powerful though the great cat +was, the sharp hoofs trampled him down. Taken at a disadvantage, just at +the moment when his first spring had spent itself, he was no match for the +protector of the herd. No bone could resist the impact of those heavy +terrible hoofs. No skull was thick enough to save. The cougar squealed, +clawed, and bit wildly, but in an incredibly quick space he was trampled +to death and lay quite still. The boys believed that every bone in him +must have been broken. + +The herd had run some distance away in fright at the cougar's leap, but +while the swift combat lasted it stood looking on. Now the stallion, after +a last look at the slain robber, turned and walked away in triumph to the +herd that he had protected so well. It seemed to the glorified fancy of +the boys that he held his head higher than ever, and that his great mane +and tail flowed away in new ripples. He stalked proudly at the head of the +herd down to the other side of the prairie, where they went placidly on +with their grazing. + +"That is certainly one thing that turned out right," said Paul in a +gratified tone. + +"The hoofs of a powerful and enraged wild stallion are a terrible thing," +said Henry. "Even a deer, which is far smaller, can kill a man with its +hoofs. But if you'll look again, Paul, you'll see that a new danger +threatens our king of horses." + +Paul followed Henry's gaze, and he distinctly saw two or three human +figures at the edge of the wood. These figures were hidden from the horses +by a swell of the prairies, and, as in the case of the cougar, the wind +blew their odor away. "Indians?" asked Paul. + +"I can't tell at this distance," replied Henry, "but it's more likely that +they belong to the party of Alvarez, and perhaps they know that wild +horses frequent this prairie and others hereabouts. See what they are +doing!" + +Paul saw well enough, One man carrying on his arm a coll of rope, the +lariat of Mexico, lay down in the long grass which completely hid him, but +both Henry and Paul knew that he was creeping forward inch by inch toward +the beautiful stallion that was grazing not ten yards from the woods. + +"When he comes close enough, if he can do so before the horse takes the +alarm," said Henry, "he will throw the rope and catch the horse by the +neck in the running noose at the end." + +"But the horse will take alarm," said Paul hopefully. + +"I don't know," said Henry. "He may think in his horse mind that one enemy +in one day is as much as he has need to dread." + +It seemed that Henry was right. Exultant in his victory over the cougar, +the Prairie King had relaxed his vigilance. More often now his head was +down, cropping the grass like the rest of the herd. Henry and Paul +believed that they could see the grass rippling as the new and more +cunning enemy crept forward. But it was only agile fancy--they were too +far away. + +"What ever happens it's bound to happen soon," said Henry. + +Even as he spoke the man in the grass sprang to his feet, threw forth his +right arm, and the rope shot out like a snake uncoiling itself as it +sprang. Both Paul and Henry felt a pang when they saw the loop enclose the +neck of the noble horse, while the man himself and his comrades uttered +loud shouts of exultation. + +"He has caught him!" exclaimed Paul sadly. + +"Yes," said Henry, "and I'm sorry, but it was a wonderful feat of skill +and patience!" + +The frightened herd ran away, and the white stallion reared and struggled, +his great eyes red and distended with rage and astonishment. Two men ran +forward and seized the rope which their comrade had thrown so skillfully. +Then the three pulled hard. + +But the quarry was too magnificent. They had miscalculated the white +stallion's strength. Caught by the neck, he dragged, nevertheless, all +three over the prairie, and then, suddenly making a mighty lunge, tore the +rope from their grasp, leaving them thrown headlong to the earth. Away he +went, the long rope flying out behind him like a streamer. + +Doubtless some failure of the noose to draw tightly around his neck had +saved the horse, and this was proved when the rope catching in a bush +slipped off over his head as he struggled again. Then the stallion, by +chance, or because his horse's mind inclined him to it, uttered a long, +shrill neigh of triumph, kicked his heels high in the air, and galloped +away, his flowing tail streaming out behind him, a banner of triumph. + +"He's won again," said Henry in a tone of gladness. "I told you that horse +wasn't made ever to be ridden." + +"But he has to struggle continually for life and freedom," said Paul. + +"Just the same as we do," rejoined Henry. "See those fellows are picking +themselves up; but they've been slow about it." + +"I don't blame them. I fancy they suffered some pretty severe bruises when +the horse jerked them down. Paul, I think I can make out two white faces +in that party, which almost certainly means that they are the men of +Alvarez. And it says to us that we ought to hurry." + +"But not without our deer, I hope," said Paul. They gave one last look at +the far edge of the prairie, where they could still dimly see the white +stallion, now keeping well away from the woods. + +"I don't think anything will get him," said Henry, "and I hope not. Just +as we do, he loves to be free." + +They, too, re-entered the woods and were fortunate enough to find a deer +quickly. Henry was willing to risk the chance of the shot being heard by +their enemies and his bullet brought it down. Then they cut up the body +and took it back to the boat, where they told all that had occurred. The +others agreed that if Alvarez and his men were in the vicinity they ought +to leave at once, and, transferring the drying clothes from the bank to +the boat, they entered the Mississippi once more and set sail down its +stream. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +NEW ORLEANS + + +They sailed and rowed steadily on for several days. Once or twice they saw +canoes or boats containing white men, who regarded them curiously, but +none approached. They inferred that they were now very near New Orleans, +and all the five were alert with anticipation. Besides the accomplishment +of their great task, they were about to visit a metropolis, a seat of +government, a city of eight or ten thousand people, commanding the road to +the heart of the North American continent, swarming with many races, and +destined, as all the world then believed, to be the largest place in +either America. It is no wonder that the bosoms of the five throbbed with +curiosity, and that they looked forward to strange and varied sights. + +"Now, Jim," said Shif'less Sol in a warning tone to Long Jim, "I've got +advice to give you. I wuz in a big town once. I told you about that time I +went to Baltimore when I wuz a little boy, an' so I'm fit to tell you how +to behave. New Or-lee-yuns ain't like the woods, Jim. Don't you be too +handy with your gun. Ef you see a man follerin' along behind you ez ef he +wuz trailin' you, don't you up an' take a shot at him. Like ez not he's +about his business, only it happens to be in the same direction that +you're goin'. An', Jim, don't you go to gittin' dizzy, through seein' so +many people about. Mebbe you don't think thar will be sech a crowd, but +you'll believe it when you see it." + +"Sol Hyde," rejoined Long Jim indignantly, "I'm sorry New Or-lee-yuns +ain't right at the sea, 'cause the sea is salt, so I've heard, an' then ef +I wuz to dip you in it three or four times it would do you a pow'ful lot +uv good. Salt is shorely mighty helpful in the curin' up uv fresh things." + +"There goes another of those canoes," said Paul, "but I can't tell whether +it's a white man or an Indian in it." + +"It's a white man," said Henry, "but I fancy it's a West Indian Frenchman +or Spaniard. I've heard that some of them are as dark as Indians." + +"Time to think 'bout tyin' up for the dark," said Tom Ross. "We might go +on all night, but we need to save our strength fur to-morrow. What do you +say to that little cove over thar on the west bank, Henry?" + +"Looks as if it would be the right place," replied Henry, "and it is +certainly time to stop. The sun seems to go down faster here than it does +In Kentucky." + +The twilight was spreading swiftly over the arch from west to east as they +entered the cove and tied "The Galleon" to a live oak. Paul leaped +joyfully ashore, glad to stretch his limbs again. The others quickly +followed, and they set about gathering wood to build a fire. They were out +of the Indian country now and they had no need to be cautious. + +Paul bestirred himself looking for brushwood. Presently he found at the +edge of the water a dead bough which was long enough to be broken into +several sticks of convenient length. He picked it up, and for the purpose +of breaking it brought it down heavily on a large brown log lying in the +mud near the water. + +To Paul's amazement and horror, the big brown log got into action at +either end. One end, in the shape of a tail, whipped around at him, barely +missing him, and the other end, splitting itself horizontally in half, +revealed huge jaws lined with terrible teeth. Paul sprang back with a cry, +and Henry, who was near, rifle in hand, fired a ball into the monster's +brain. The big brown log, that was no log, turned partially over and died. + +"An alligator," said Henry, "I've heard of them, but this is the first +that I've ever seen." + +"I've heard of them, too," said Paul, "but I never thought I'd walk almost +into the mouth of one without knowing it." + +Shif'less Sol had his grievance, too. "Now that's another o' the ways o' +this here southern country!" he exclaimed in a pained tone, "A big, +hungry, wild animal, tryin' to pass itself off ez, an old dead log. Up in +Kentucky, a good honest bear, or even a sneakin' panther, would be +ashamed to look you in the face after tryin' to play sech a low-down +trick on a man." + +"It is certainly a hideous brute," said Paul. + +"I'm thinkin' that we'd better build our fire big," said Long Jim. "I +don't want to wake up in the mornin' an' find myself devoured by an +alligator, jest when I wuz about to reach the great town uv New +Or-lee-yuns." + +But they were not molested that night by either man or animal, and the +next day, watchful and surcharged with interest, they approached New +Orleans, which was bulking so large to them. The river looped out into a +crescent and narrowed greatly. As they came to the city, the Mississippi +did not seem to them to be more than a third of a mile wide, but they knew +that it was extremely deep. + +But there, snugly within the crescent, lay New Orleans, a town enclosed +within palisaded fortifications that faced the levee for about a thousand +yards, and that ran back perhaps half as far. The levee was lined with +vessels. Already New Orleans was famous for shipping, and they saw the +flags of many nations. Schooners there were and brigs and brigantines, and +barks and barkentines, and other craft from Europe and the West Indies and +South America. Near the shore was a great, high ship, from which the red +and yellow flag of Spain fluttered in more than one place, while the +muzzles of cannon protruded from her wooden sides. + +"That's an armed galleon," said Paul. + +"She's a big ship an' she's got lots o' men on her," said Shif'less Sol, +"but I wouldn't trade our gall-yun fur her." + +"No, our boat suits us best," said Henry. + +They saw about them on the river many small craft like their own, ships, +boats, canoes, barges, dug-outs, and other kinds, manned by white men, red +men, yellow men, and brown men. They heard strange cries in foreign +tongues, and now and then the sound of a trumpet blown at one of the forts +in the palisaded wall. Officers in brilliant uniforms appeared on the +levee. + +The eyes of Long Jim Hart opened wider and wider. + +"It shorely is a big town," he said. "Sol, I'd been thinkin' that you an' +Paul wuz tellin' a good deal that ain't, but I reckon it's the truth. The +world has a lot more people than I thought it had. I'm pow'ful glad I +came." + +They turned "The Galleon" toward the levee, and an officer in a boat +pulled by four uniformed oarsmen hailed them in Spanish, which none of +them understood. + +"Must be a harbor master or something of that kind," said Henry. + +They brought "The Galleon" to a stop, and the other boat came alongside. +The officer in the bow was a Catalan, richly dressed, and small, but with +a thin, alert face. He looked at the five with as much curiosity as they +looked at him. Secretly he admired their splendid shoulders and chests, +and their obvious strength. He was acute enough, too, to guess whence +they came. Lieutenant Diégo Bernal had not been two years in New Orleans +for nothing. + +"You come from Kaintock?" he said in fair and not unfriendly English. + +"Yes," replied Henry, "we are all the way from Kentucky, and we have an +important message for the Governor General, Bernardo Galvez. Can you tell +us how to reach him?" + +Lieutenant Diégo Bernal glanced at "The Galleon," which was obviously of +Spanish build, but he was a shrewd officer who would make his way in the +world and he knew that many strange things passed inspection in this great +Franco-Spanish metropolis of New Orleans. + +"His Excellency, the Governor General," he replied, "is now at his house +at the corner of Toulouse street and Rue de la Levee, but it is too late +for you to see him to-day. To-morrow morning you may secure audience with +him if you have the important message that you say." + +The five disregarded the ironical tone in his voice. They were good enough +judges of character to surmise that Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, whose name +and career were unknown to them, did not care a particle how they had come +into possession of the boat which was so obviously of Spanish build. There +was no advantage to him in asking too many questions, and he calmly waved +them to a landing. + +They pulled in and tied their boat to the levee, while men and women, +white, yellow, brown, and black, and all the colors between, stood about +and looked at the giants from Kaintock, where people were reported to be +of such extraordinary size and ferocity, and where they certainly were, as +their own eyes could tell them, of uncommon height and strength, even boys +such as they saw Henry and Paul to be. + +While the five were engaged in this task, _rabbais_, or peddling +merchants, some Provenįals and some Catalans came to sell them goods, +which they carried in coffin-shaped vehicles pushed before them. They had +wares, mostly small articles from Spain and France and the West Indies. +Colored women carrying immense cans of milk or coffee on their heads +passed by or lingered in hope of a sale. Others were calling for sale +_callas_ and cakes _tous chauds_ in monotonous, drawling voices. +Negresses, also, were trying to sell _belles chandelles_, which were dirty +candles made from green myrtle wax, the chief light then sold in the city. + +The five understood the gestures of this rabble, although not their words, +and waved them away, not caring to buy anything. + +"Keep cool, Jim! keep cool!" said Shif'less Sol. "Don't shoot. They don't +want to kill you; they jest want to rob you." + +"Depends on what they want to rob me uv," replied Long Jim with a grin. "I +never had more'n ten shillin's at one time in my life, an' I've got a +purty strong grip on my rifle an' the clothes that I hev on." + +"I think we'd better go ashore an' do a little scoutin'," said Tom Ross. +"It's always well to know the groun' on which you're goin' to act." + +"No doubt of it, Tom," said Henry, "and we'll all go together." + +They had a little money of English coinage which was taken readily in +cosmopolitan New Orleans, and with two shillings they hired a levee +watchman, whom they judged they could trust, to look after "The Galleon." +Then, rifle on shoulder, they entered the fortified city by the gate +called _Chemin des Tchoupitoulas_. Spain, officially at least, was the +friend of the colonies and the enemy of England, and the sentinels at the +gate readily passed them after a few questions. + +Here they asked again for the Governor General, Bernardo Galvez, and the +statement of Lieutenant Diégo Bernal that he could not be seen was +confirmed. He had arrived only a few hours before from a two days' +expedition down the river, and was now immersed in important papers that +had awaited his coming. + +They saw the Governor General's house, a one-story building fronting the +river with a gallery on one side, gardens on the other, and kitchen and +outbuildings behind. They looked longingly at it, as they desired very +much to see Bernardo Galvez at once. But presently they passed on into the +Place d'Armes, a wide open space used as a review ground. At the very +moment they entered it a company of Spanish soldiers were going through +their evolutions, and, after the fashion of to-day, children and their +dark-faced nurses were watching them. The five did not think much of the +soldiers, who seemed to them to be dwarfed and without zeal. + +"Ef ever Kentucky comes down the long river," said Shif'less Sol, "it will +take bigger men than these to hold her back." + +Paul's gaze wandered from the soldiers, and he saw in a corner of the +Place d'Armes a great wooden gallows that made him shudder. It was a +gallows very often used, too, and any one could have pointed out to Paul +the spot in the middle of the Place d'Armes where five gallant French +gentlemen, among the best citizens of New Orleans, had been shot not long +before for planning to throw off the rule of Spain and make Louisiana a +free republic. + +They strolled on, still filled with curiosity and gratifying it. They saw +many buildings that surpassed anything hitherto in their experience, the +brick parish church, on the site of which the Cathedral of St. Louis was +afterwards built, the arsenal, the jail, and the house of the Capuchins, +who had lately triumphed over the Jesuits. The largest building of all +that they saw was the convent of the Ursuline Nuns, standing in the city +square on the river front, and this was, in fact, the largest building in +New Orleans. + +While there were many houses of brick, the cheaper were of cypress wood, +and the sidewalks were only four or five feet wide, with a wooden drain +for a gutter. There was no paving of the streets, which, now deep in dust, +would turn to quagmires when the rain came. At long intervals were wooden +posts with projecting arms from which hung oil lamps, to be lighted when +nightfall came. + +Long Jim uttered an exclamation of disgust, and gripped his nose firmly +between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. + +"I never smelt sech smells afore in all my life," he said, pointing to the +heaps of garbage scattered about. "A big town like this here is pow'ful +interestin', but it ain't clean. Paul, remember them great forests up thar +in Kentucky an' across the Ohio! Remember how clean an' nice the ground +is! Remember all them big, fine, friendly trees, millions an' millions uv +'em! Remember all them nice little springs uv clean, cold water, clear +enough to be lookin' glasses, one, an' sometimes more, every three or four +hundred yards! Remember all them nice smells uv the wild flowers, an' the +trees, an' the grass, an' me settin' at the foot uv the biggest tree uv +'em all, cookin' on a roarin' fire, fat, juicy buffaler an' deer steaks +fur you fellers!" + +"I remember," replied Paul smiling. "I remember it all, and I do believe, +Jim, that you are homesick for the woods." + +"Not homesick eggzackly, but I jest want to say that a big town like this +kin be mighty interestin', but after I've seed it, give me back our own +clean woods." + +"I believe I agree with you, Jim," said Paul thoughtfully. + +They strolled back into the Place d'Armes, where the review was still in +progress, and where more people were gathering. The women were +bare-headed, and generally wore a short round skirt, and long basque like +overgarments, the two invariably of different, but bright, colors. All of +them wore much ribbon and jewelry, but, as a rule, they were too dark of +countenance to suit the ideas of the five concerning feminine beauty. At +rare intervals, however, they saw a girl with light hair and light eyes +and light complexion, and all these were really handsome. + +"Those, I imagine, are French," said Paul. "We've got into the habit of +thinking of the French as always dark, but many of them are fair. I've +heard our school teacher, Mr. Pennypacker, say so often, and he ought to +know. For the matter of that, some of the Spaniards are light, too." + +"Yes, thar's Alvarez," said Shif'less Sol. "He's light, an' that's one +reason why I mistrusted him the first time I saw him. It looks more +nateral fur a Spaniard to be dark." + +As they stood in the Place d'Armes looking at the sights, the five +themselves began to attract much attention. Their height and strength, +their long, sender barreled rifles, and their deerskin attire made them +highly picturesque figures. The motley population of New Orleans was used +to all kinds of people, armed or unarmed, but generally armed. These, +however, were different. They bore themselves with dignity, there was +about them an air of absolute simplicity and honesty, and they kept close +together in a manner that indicated a faithful brotherhood, closer even +than the brotherhood of blood. They seemed to come from another world than +that which furnished so many desperate adventurers and former galley +slaves to New Orleans. + +Henry noticed the attention that they were attracting, and he did not like +it. + +"Perhaps, boys, we'd better go back to our boat," he said. + +But before any one could answer he was tapped lightly on the arm and, +turning about, he saw the small, trim figure of Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, +who had been the first man to greet them as they entered New Orleans. + +"We met on the water, as you know," said the little lieutenant, smiling in +a friendly manner. "My name is Bernal, Diégo Bernal, and I am a lieutenant +in the service of our most excellent Governor General, Bernardo Galvez." + +His manner was polite, and Henry met him half way. He had nothing to +conceal, and he gave him the names of his comrades and himself. Lieutenant +Bernal all the time was regarding them shrewdly. + +"It is evident that you are mighty men despite the youth of some of you," +he said, "and I begin to suspect it from other facts also." + +"What other facts?" asked Henry. + +"Now, there is the matter of your boat," replied the lieutenant jauntily. +"I had a belief, wrong no doubt, that she was of Spanish build. I also +seemed to have a recollection, wrong, too, no doubt, that I had once seen +Francisco Alvarez, the chief of our captains, aboard that boat and bearing +himself in a manner that indicated ownership. I am wrong, no doubt. My +impressions are often false and my memory always weak. Gladly would I +stand correction. Gladly would I be convinced that I am misled by some +fancied resemblance." + +"Them's pow'ful big words," said Long Jim. + +Henry, who was always the leader of the five when they were together, +looked into the eyes of Diégo Bernal, and he seemed to see there the +curious contraction that is called a wink. He gave judgment at once +concerning Diégo Bernal. + +"I take it," he said by way of reply, "that you are no great friend of the +captain, Francisco Alvarez?" + +"If a higher officer rebukes you unjustly and sneers at a commander whom +you respect and like, is it calculated to promote friendship?" + +The gaze of the two met again, and Henry understood. + +"I see what your choice would be if you were compelled to choose between +Bernardo Galvez and Francisco Alvarez," he said. "It may be that you will +have to make such a choice, and I will tell you, too, that the boat did +belong to the Captain Alvarez. We took it from him because, first, he made +an outrageous attack upon us; secondly, he is plotting to set all the +Indian tribes upon us in Kentucky, aided with Spanish soldiers and Spanish +guns, and, thirdly, he hopes to become Governor General of Louisiana, and +commit Spain to an alliance with England in the war upon the Americans." + +Henry spoke boldly and earnestly, and the others nodded assent. + +Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, a trim, dandified little man, drew forth from the +pocket of his waistcoat a small gold snuff box and delicately took a pinch +of snuff, a habit to which the five were unaccustomed. + +"Speak it low, my friend," he said deliberately. "All this, if it be true, +is great news, and you do right in coming to New Orleans to see Bernardo +Galvez. Can you prove it when you see the Governor General?" + +"We can give proofs," replied Henry guardedly. + +"It is well, and I am pleased that I have met you. Know then that I am the +enemy of Francisco Alvarez, and that I may aid you. Who can tell? It is +well for strangers to have friends in New Orleans. I have an impression +that I have some influence. I am usually wrong and my memory is always +weak, but this particular impression persists, nevertheless." + +Long Jim opened his mouth in wonder. + +"'Pears strange to me," he said, "that a furrin man kin pick more big +words out uv our language, an' rope 'em together than we kin." + +Lieutenant Diégo Bernal smiled. He was pleased. + +"I learned English when I was a boy," he said, "and now it serves me well. +I would hear more of your news, gentlemen, but for the present I wish to +offer you refreshments. Come with me, if you please." + +He led the way into a low building of brick, an inn fashioned after the +manner of those in France. + +They entered the public room, which was large and square, with a fairly +clean, sanded floor, and many men about drinking liquors unknown to the +five. + +They took seats at a table in a rather retired corner, and gazed with +interest at the variegated crowd. Many of the men wore great, gold rings +in their ears, something entirely new to the five, and others were +tattooed in strange designs. They drank deep and swore much and loudly in +strange tongues. Also, they smoked cigarros, cigarritos, and pipes, and +there was scarcely one present who did not have either knife or pistol or +both at belt. + +"Undoubtedly there is more than one pirate from the Gulf or the Caribbean +among them," said Lieutenant Bernal, "but the pirates perhaps are not the +worst. Louisiana and New Orleans can supply many a desperate villain of +their own." + +"Sent by Europe!" said Paul. + +"Truly so. An old country always seeks to disgorge such people upon a new +one. But Monsieur Gilibert, the proprietor of this inn, on the whole, +maintains good order among his customers. As you can now see, Monsieur +Gilibert is a man of parts." + +The proprietor, wearing a cook's cap and white apron, emerged that moment +from his kitchen. He was not above supervising, and even doing his own +cooking, and, because of it, his inn had acquired a great reputation for +excellence of food, as well as drink. + +Many of the French in New Orleans were Provenįals, but Monsieur Gilibert +was from the North of France, a huge, flaxen-haired man with a large +square chin, and a fearless countenance. His blue eye roved around the +room and lighted upon the five and their host, Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, at +the secluded table. He noted that every one of the five had a long rifle +leaning by his chair, and he shrewdly surmised that they were from the +wilderness of the far North. + +Monsieur Franįois Eugene Gilibert did not love the Spanish, although he +did like Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, who was a Catalan and therefore, in the +opinion of Monsieur Gilibert, almost a Frenchman. Neither did he like the +passing of New Orleans from the French into the hands of the Spanish, +although trade was as good as ever at his Inn of Henri Quatre, despite the +narrow Spanish rule, which was not to his taste. It was perhaps one half +his love of freedom and one-half his objection to the rule of Spain that +made him look with friendly eyes upon any far wanderers from Kaintock. + +He strolled to the table and greeted Lieutenant Bernal, who returned his +greeting pleasantly and gave the names of the five. + +"They come from Kaintock," said the lieutenant, significantly, "and they +do not like Francisco Alvarez." + +"Ah," said Monsieur Gilibert, who also spoke English. "I do not love that +man Alvarez. He is the enemy of the French." + +"Not more than he is of Kaintock," said the Lieutenant. Then he turned to +the five and said: + +"I did not bring you here merely to hear words. I wish something to drink +for my friends, kind Monsieur Gilibert. The inn has rum of both New +England and Barbadoes, Spanish and French wines. Now what shall it be?" + +He turned to the five, and as they answered, one by one, the eyes of the +young Spanish lieutenant opened wider and wider in astonishment. They had +never tasted rum and were quite sure they would not care for it. Wine they +knew, almost as little about, using that they had found on "The Galleon" +chiefly as a medicine, and they ended, one and all, by choosing a mild +West Indian drink, a kind of orange water. Lieutenant Bernal reached over +and with his two hands felt gingerly of Henry's mighty right arm. + +"Do you mean to tell me," he said, "that such a muscle and such a body +have been built up and nourished by things as mild as orange water?" + +"Not orange water, but plain water," replied Henry laughing. "But in +Maryland where I was born, and in Kentucky, where I've been growing up, +the water is very good, clear, pure, and cold." + +"Will you kindly stand up a moment?" said the lieutenant. + +Henry promptly stood up and then Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, standing by the +side of him, was about a head the shorter. Then the young lieutenant made +a wry face. + +"And I have drunk wine all my life," he said plaintively, "and he has +drunk only water!" + +The two sat down again, and the others laughed. Their talk and actions had +attracted the attention of a number in the room, and a large man with +great gold bands in his ears, rose and sauntered over toward them. He was +a dark fellow, evidently a West Indian Spaniard with a dash of Carib. + +"I have drunk rum and wine and all other liquors all my life," he said, +"but I am neither little nor weak." + +His tone was truculent, and his flushed face indicated that he had already +taken too much. + +"Go away, Menocal," said Monsieur Gilibert, in a voice half soothing, half +warning. "I do not wish my guests to be annoyed." + +But Menocal would not turn away. He put his hand upon Henry's shoulder. + +"This is a great youth," he said. "They grow large in the new country to +the north that they call Kaintock, but I, Alonzo Menocal of Santo Domingo, +am the stronger. Stand up, thou youth of Kaintock, by the side of me!" + +Henry promptly stood up again, and the young giant towered above Alonzo +Menocal of Santo Domingo, tall though the West Indian was. Moreover he had +greater breadth of shoulder and a deeper chest. + +"Ha, thou Kaintock!" exclaimed Menocal, "thou art the taller and the +larger, but I am the stronger, as I shall quickly prove!" + +The size of Henry acted as an irritant upon Menocal, already flushed with +intoxicants, and he seized the youth by the waist in an attempt to hurl +him to the floor and thus prove his superior strength. Henry, with an +instant, powerful effort, threw oft the encircling arms, seized the West +Indian by both shoulders, and made use of a trick that Shif'less Sol had +taught him. + +He thrust the man backward with a mighty shove, put out his foot, and +Menocal went over it. But the West Indian did not touch the floor. Henry +caught him by the neck and waist, and, with a great heave, lifted him high +above his head. He held him there a moment, and then said gravely to +Monsieur Franįois Eugene Gilibert: + +"Shall I cast him through yonder window, or put him back in the chair in +which he was sitting before he came to us uninvited?" + +Monsieur Gilibert looked longingly at the window--he was a man of strength +and dexterity himself--and he admired great strength and great dexterity +in others--but motives of prudence and humanity prevailed. + +"Put him back in his chair," he said. + +Henry walked all the way across the room and gently put the half-stunned +man in a sitting position in his chair. A roar of applause shook the room +at this remarkable performance, and Monsieur Gilibert was not the slackest +among those who cheered. Never before had the Inn of Henri Quatre +witnessed such an extraordinary feat of strength. Lieutenant Diégo Bernal +sprang to his feet and again seized Henry's right hand in both of his. + +"Seņor," he exclaimed, "it is an honor to me to deem myself your friend!" + +Alonzo Menocal arose from his chair and came across the room. Paul's hand +moved to the butt of the pistol in his belt, but the intentions of the +West Indian were not hostile. + +"Thou hast conquered," he said to Henry in his queer thee- and +thou-English. "Thou art not only the taller and the larger, but also the +stronger and the more skillful. It is the first time that Alonzo Menocal +was ever picked up, carried across a room, and put down in his chair, as a +mother puts her baby to bed." + +He put out his hand in quite an American fashion, and Henry shook it, glad +that the man was good-natured. More applause greeted this act of +friendship by the two and, taking advantage of it, the five went out, +accompanied by Lieutenant Bernal, all in great good humor. + +Night was coming on, and they felt that it was time to return to "The +Galleon." A man was already lighting the smoking oil lamps that hung from +the wooden arms of the posts, and from one of the forts a sentinel was +calling the hour. + +New Orleans looked better under the softening hue of the twilight. Many of +the asperities that go as a matter of course with newness were hidden, but +the smells remained. + +"Wish I could sleep in the woods to-night, with nuthin' but trees runnin' +away at least ten miles in every direction," said Long Jim. + +"It will be all right in our boat on the river," said Paul. + +"I think I shall go with you as far as your boat," said Lieutenant Bernal. + +"You're welcome. Come on," said Henry, confident of his friendship. + +The five and the lieutenant walked swiftly toward the Mississippi. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +BEFORE BERNARDO GALVEZ + + +It took only a few minutes to reach the banks of the stream, and they saw +at once that an event was occurring. New Orleans could rejoice, if she +choose, in honor of an important arrival. + +A fleet of a dozen large boats swung from the middle of the stream and +made for the levee. In the boats were men in uniform. + +"I have an impression, though my impressions are often wrong and my memory +always weak, that yonder cavalier who sits haughtily in the boat as if he +were sole proprietor of the Mississippi, is your good friend, Don +Francisco Alvarez," said Lieutenant Bernal in his mincing way. + +They had all recognized Alvarez, and they expected quick trouble. As it +was bound to come they had no objection to its coming at once. The boat of +Alvarez made the landing and as he sprang out he was followed by Braxton +Wyatt, also in the uniform of a Spanish officer. The eyes of the Captain +instantly caught sight of "The Galleon," then of the five, and then of +Lieutenant Diégo Bernal standing near the Americans. + +"Men," he cried to some of his soldiers who had landed. "Seize this boat +at once! It is my property, taken from me by these American thieves!" + +The soldiers moved to obey, but the little Catalan, Lieutenant Diégo +Bernal stepped forward. Never was he more mincing, and it is likely that +he never felt more satisfaction than he did now at the role that he was +about to play. + +"Gently! Gently! my good captain," he said. "I am a port officer and boats +cannot be seized at will in His Most Catholic Majesty's city of New +Orleans." + +His manner stung Alvarez, who replied hotly: + +"I repeat, it is my boat! It was stolen from me by these thieves from +Kaintock!" + +"But that must be proved," and the lieutenant's voice was very soft and +silky. "The law is still administered in the City of New Orleans. And let +me assure you, my good captain, that the matter of the boat is a trifle. +What really concerns is your delay in coming to New Orleans with your +American captives, whom you held at your place of Beaulieu. His +Excellency, the Governor General, Don Bernardo Galvez, is very much afraid +that you have involved Spain in serious difficulties with a friendly +people." + +Alvarez looked fiercely at Bernal. How much did this man know? But the +little lieutenant merely stroked his mustache, and his face was +expressionless. + +"If explanations are due," said Alvarez, "I shall make them to Don +Bernardo." + +"Very good! very good!" murmured the lieutenant. "I am quite sure that +Don Bernardo will be greatly pleased." + +Alvarez turned angrily, gave some orders to his men, and then stalked away +followed by Wyatt and two others. The renegade had never spoken a word, +but he and the five had exchanged some threatening glances. + +Alvarez and Bernal had spoken in Spanish, but Henry and the others +surmised the import of their words. They knew, too, by the manner of +Alvarez that the little triumph had been with Bernal. + +"He wanted the boat, did he not?" said Henry. + +"Yes," replied the lieutenant, "but you can sleep in it to-night. I warn +you, however, to see Bernardo Galvez in the morning as soon as you can. +After all, you are Americans and foreigners, while Alvarez is a Spaniard +and one of us. You will have much to overcome." + +They perceived the truth of his suggestion and thanked him. He gave them a +friendly good night and went away. The five went on board "The Galleon" +and prepared for sleep, having dismissed their watchman with ample pay. + +As the boat was securely tied there was no need to keep a watch and all +prepared for the night. But they did not go to sleep yet, although they +did not talk, every one being occupied with his own thoughts. + +Paul sat at the stern of the boat leaning against the side, and his eyes +were on New Orleans, where he saw the formless shapes of buildings and +twinkling lights here and there. The city, in a way, attracted him and, +in another way, it repelled him. It interested him, but he had no desire +to live there. It was a port, a gate, as it were, opening into the vast +old world, to which belonged the centuries, and of which he had read and +thought so much, but the single taste of it turned Paul's heart with a +stronger affection than ever toward the New World to which he belonged. +The great forests of the north seemed clean and fresh to him as they had +seemed to Jim. There, at least, a man could know who were his friends and +who were his enemies. + +He saw boats passing on the turbid, brown current of the Mississippi and +he heard snatches of strange, foreign songs. The night had fully come and +heavy darkness hung over land and water, but New Orleans did not sleep. +The smugglers, the adventurers, the former galley slaves, the riff-raff of +Europe, and the mixed bloods of the West Indies were abroad in pursuit of +either business or pleasure, each equally favored by the dusk. + +Shif'less Sol and Long Jim were already asleep, but Paul was restless and +slumber would not come. Henry, too, was wakeful, and Paul at last +suggested that they walk in the city. Henry accepted, and with a word to +Tom Ross they sprang ashore. + +New Orleans was even more interesting to them by night than by day, as it +had now a peculiarly uncanny look added to its other qualities. The night +was close, heavy, and warm, and the brown current of the river showed but +dismally through it. Lights were still moving on the Mississippi, but the +boats that bore them were invisible. From the side of the river pleasant +odors came to their nostrils, the clean, sweet scents of vast, undefiled +woods and prairies, the flavor of a wind blowing over wild flowers, but +from the side of the city the smells were as variegated and repellent as +ever. + +Nevertheless the two youths turned into the city, lit faintly by the +flaring oil lanterns, and walked along through one street and another +seeing what they could see. The night life was active and much of it was +sodden. Oaths played a great part in the talk they heard and intoxication +was a prevalent note. Sounds of strife, either without or within, arose +now and then, but Henry and Paul, wishing to keep clear of all trouble, +never stayed to see the result. They more than suspected that knives shone +too often in these orgies. + +They stopped a few moments by the old church in front of the Place +d'Armes. The church was flanked on one side by a low brick building, very +white with roof of red and yellow tiles, while to the left of the church +stood a villa-like house half hidden among the trees. They admired the +effect of the moonlight on the tiles, and then, passing through the wooden +fence that enclosed it, they entered the deserted Place d'Armes. + +"I can breathe better here," said Henry. "I know that I shall never be +fond of towns." + +But the imaginative Paul shuddered. + +"Look," he said, "the gallows!" + +He pointed to the huge gallows that stood in the Place d'Armes, ready for +frequent use. The moonlight had now grown dim. In its wavering beams the +gallows rose to immense proportions and seemed also to take on the +semblance of life. It reached out its long wooden arm as if to grasp Paul +and with another shudder he turned his back to it. + +The two continued down one side of the Place d'Armes in the shade of +magnolias and cypresses that drooped over the wooden fence. As they passed +they heard the sound of a shot. + +"Somebody in the city fighting with a rifle or pistol instead of a knife," +said Paul. + +But Henry stood motionless and silent for a moment or two. He had +distinctly felt the rush of air on his face as a bullet passed by. He was +seeking to see whence the shot had come and he thought he caught a glimpse +of a figure among the cypresses. + +"No, Paul," he exclaimed, "that shot was aimed at me!" + +He sprang over the wooden fence and was followed by Paul. They searched +diligently among the trees but found nothing. Then they looked at each +other, and each read the same opinion in the other's eyes. + +"It was either Braxton Wyatt or somebody else in the service of Alvarez," +said Henry. + +"Yes," said Paul, nodding assent, "and I think that 'The Galleon' is a +much safer place for us at night than the City of New Orleans." + +"That is true," said Henry, "and it is not worth while for us to make a +complaint about being shot at. We cannot prove anything, and New Orleans +is too turbulent a place to pay attention to a stray rifle or pistol shot +at night." + +They were back at the boat in a few minutes. Shif'less Sol and Long Jim +still slept soundly, but Tom Ross was awake. They told him briefly what +had occurred, and Tom shook his head sagely. + +"Better stay on the boat ez long ez we kin keep it," he said. "Ez fur me, +I'd rather be shot at by Injuns in the woods uv Kentucky than be hevin' +white men drawin' beads on me here in a town. It looks more nateral. Uv +course it wuz Braxton Wyatt or some other tool uv that wicked Spaniard, +Alvarez." + +Early the next morning the five, after hiring the same watchman to care +again for their boat, went to the house of the Governor General, the +large, low building at the corner of Toulouse Street and Rue de la Levee. +Early as they were they were not the first to arrive. + +A tall man, neatly dressed in a fine brown suit with fine, snow-white, +puffed linen, silver-buckled shoes, and hair, tied in a powdered queue, +stood on the veranda. He had a frank, open face, and the rive knew at once +that he was an American. Had not his appearance proclaimed his +nationality, his speech would have done it for him. + +"Good morning," he exclaimed, cheerily, "you are the gentlemen from +Kentucky who arrived yesterday? Yes, you must be! All New Orleans has +heard of the feat of strength and dexterity, performed by one of you last +night in Monsieur Gilibert's Inn of Henri Quatre! And he who did it could +be none other than you, my friend!" + +He looked fixedly and admiringly at Henry, and the youth blushed under his +tan. + +"It was merely done to stop an annoyance," he said. "I did not mean to +make any display." + +The prepossessing stranger laughed. + +"Doubtless," he said, "but you have received a great advertisement, +nevertheless. Some rumor concerning the cause of your visit has also +spread in New Orleans, and for this reason I am here to meet you at the +door of the Governor General." + +The five looked at him inquiringly. He smiled, and they liked him better +than ever. + +"I don't mean to make a mystery of anything," he said. "My name is +Pollock, Oliver Pollock." + +"Ah," exclaimed Paul, his face alight, "you are the head of the company of +Philadelphia, New York and Boston merchants that is sending arms from New +Orleans up the Mississippi and Ohio to Pittsburg, where they are landed +and taken across the country for the use of our hard-pressed brethren in +the east!" + +The shrewd merchant's eyes twinkled. + +"I see, my young friend," he said to Paul, "that you are alert, even if +you have just come out of the wilderness. Yes, I am that man, and I am +proud to be the head of such a company. I tell you, too, that you have +come at the right time. The English, as you know, are forbidden for the +present to trade at New Orleans, while we are unrestricted. But England +is powerful, far more powerful than Spain, and she is pushing hard for +the privilege. If she gets it we shall he hit in a vital spot. Moreover, +an exceedingly strong faction here, one with great influence, is striving +continually to help England and to crush us." + +"Alvarez!" exclaimed Henry and Paul together. + +"Yes, Alvarez! We must not underrate his strength and cunning, but if he +is engaged in plotting, in actual treason, or what is very near it, your +coming may help us to prove it and thus strengthen the hand of Bernardo +Galvez, who is our friend." + +"There is no doubt of the fact!" said Henry earnestly. "He is planning to +make himself Governor General in place of Galvez!" + +"Ah, but to prove it! to prove it! You are strangers and foreigners, and +Alvarez is before you here. No, don't blame yourselves, you could not help +it. But he is the commander of the Spanish forces in Northern Louisiana. +He came, summoned urgently on the King's business, and he gained access to +Bernardo Galvez last night. Oh, he's a shrewd man, and a cunning one, and +we know not what plausible tale he may have poured out to the Governor +General. But come, the sentinel here wishes to know our business and I +shall go in with you, if I may." + +"Of course," said Henry. "We thank you for your aid." + +They saw in a moment how valuable this help could be as Mr. Pollock spoke +rapidly in Spanish to one of the sentinels, who seemed impressed, and who +quickly disappeared within the house. They spent some anxious minutes in +waiting, but the sentinel returned in a few minutes with word that they +would be received. + +"That is good," said Mr. Pollock to the five. "It is well to strike before +the blow of Alvarez sinks in too deeply." + +They entered an ante-chamber furnished with a splendor that the +Kentuckians had never seen before. There were pictures and the arms of +Spain upon the walls, and rich heavy rugs upon the floor. The sentinel +said something in Spanish to Mr. Pollock and the merchant laughed. + +"He makes the polite request," said Mr. Pollock, "that you leave your +rifles here. Ah, you see that the fame of the Kentucky rifle has already +reached New Orleans. They will be perfectly safe, I assure you." + +The five leaned their rifles in a row against the wall, long, +slender-barreled weapons, which were destined to make one day an +unparalleled record before this very city of New Orleans. + +A wide door was thrown open and an attendant dressed in gorgeous Spanish +livery announced their names as they entered a large room furnished with +as great a degree of state as could be reproduced at that time in New +Orleans. An armed soldier stood on either side of the door, and, at the +far end of the room, sitting in a great chair on a slightly raised +platform, was a handsome, youngish man in the uniform of a Spanish +colonel. He had a strong, open countenance, and the five knew that it was +Bernardo Galvez, the Governor General of Louisiana. The favorable +impression of him that they had received from reports was confirmed by his +appearance. + +Bernardo Galvez rose with punctilious courtesy and saluted Oliver Pollock, +who introduced in turn the five, to every one of whom the Governor General +gave a bow and a friendly word. Like all others in New Orleans who had +seen them, he bestowed an admiring look upon their size, their +straightness, and above all, the extraordinary air of independence and +resolution that characterized every one of them, indicated, not by the +words they said or the things they did, but by an atmosphere they created, +something that cannot be described. They had never been in such a room +before, one containing so much of the splendor of old Europe, but they +were not awed in the least by it, and Bernardo Galvez knew it. + +Oliver Pollock, the shrewd merchant and patriot, man of affairs, and judge +of his kind, observed them closely and, observing, he felt a great thrill +of satisfaction. The five, boys though two of them were, had felt the vast +importance of their mission and, now that they had come, he too, felt it. +It was a most critical and delicate moment for the struggling young +nation. He knew much of Francisco Alvarez, and he surmised more. + +"I have heard of you," said the Governor General to the five, and his +tones became judicial and severe, as became the ruler of a million square +miles of fertile territory belonging to His Most Catholic Majesty, the +King of Spain. "You are the subject of formal complaint made by the +captain of our forces in the North, Don Francisco Alvarez." + +It was now Paul, the scholar, youth of imagination, and future statesman, +who responded and it seemed fitting to all that he should do so. + +"Will Your Excellency state the complaint against us?" he asked in a grave +and manly way. + +"I will leave it to Don Francisco to state it," replied Bernardo Galvez. +"I expected that you would be here this morning, so I have chosen to +confront you with him. Each side shall tell its story." + +This seemed fair, and the five, who had been waved to seats by a great +window with Mr. Pollock, made no protest. There they sat in silence for a +few minutes, while the Governor General dictated to a secretary who sat at +a little table by his side and who wrote with a goose-quill. + +The wide door was at length thrown open again, and the usher announced Don +Francisco and his aide, Seņor Braxton Wyatt. The five were amazed and +indignant at the assurance of the renegade, but they said nothing. + +Alvarez walked into the room, cool, dignified, and austere, but his manner +was not calculated to ruffle his superior officer. It seemed rather to +indicate a confidence that the Governor General would punish as was +fitting the impertinence of the intruders from Kaintock. He bestowed only +a single glance upon them, as if his victory over such insignificant +opponents were already assured. The blood slowly rose to the faces of +Paul and Henry, but they were about to witness an extraordinary exhibition +of Spanish pliancy and dexterity. + +Braxton Wyatt was as thoroughly the Spaniard as clothes could make him, +which was not thorough at all, and he imitated his leader even to the +supercilious glance at the Kentuckians and the following look of assured +victory. The five took no notice of him. + +Alvarez gave to the Governor General a military salute, which Galvez +returned in like fashion. Then the captain sat down in a chair near the +Governor General, and the latter said, maintaining his judicial tone: + +"Those against whom you made the complaint last night are here, Don +Francisco. Will you state again the charges? It is but fair that they +should hear and make reply, if they can." + +He spoke in English that the five might understand, and Alvarez replied in +the same language. + +"Your Excellency," he said, and his tone seemed frank, open, and +convincing--the five were amazed that he could have such a truthful look +and manner of injured innocence--"you know that I have been a most +faithful guardian of the interests of our master, the King. I have done +long and hard service in the far north, in a wilderness infested by +hostile savages." + +"No one doubts your courage and endurance, Don Francisco," said Bernardo +Galvez. + +"My devotion to Spain is the great passion of my life," continued Alvarez +in a gratified tone. + +"You know how jealously I have sought to guard against incursions from +Kaintock. The settlements of the Americans there are but two or three year +old, yet these people press already upon the Mississippi and threaten His +Majesty's territory of Louisiana." + +"I think that we wander a little from the subject," said Galvez, "It would +be better to state the core of your complaint." + +Alvarez made a deprecating gesture. + +"I deemed the preamble necessary to a full understanding of what has +followed," he said. "When I tell of Kaintock I tell what these men are. +Suffice it now to say that, of their own accord and by their own hands, +they have made war upon Spain. They have stolen away a boat of mine, +loaded with arms and stores, they have fired upon His Majesty's subjects, +and one of them has slain a Natchez trailer, a faithful, valuable man in +my service." + +When Alvarez spoke of The Cat, he pointed at Shif'less Sol--he was acting +on a hint of Wyatt's. The look of Alvarez followed the accusing finger, +but the shiftless one rose undaunted. + +"That part of what he tells is true," said Shif'less Sol. "I slew that +Injun--an' a meaner face I never saw in fa'r fight. He slipped upon me in +the dark to murder me, an' thar wuzn't nothin' else left fur me to do." + +Freed of his speech and his wrath, the shiftless one sat down again. +Alvarez and the renegade gave him looks of sneering incredulity, but the +look of Bernardo Galvez was one of interest and surprise. + +"What of the other charges?" he asked, turning to Paul, the spokesman. + +The gift of imagination often implies the orator's tongue and Paul had an +inspired moment. He stood up, his cheeks flushing and his eyes alight, as +they always were when he was deeply moved. + +"It is true," he said, "that we took a boat belonging to Captain Alvarez, +but it was because he forced us to do it. It is he who first made war upon +Kentucky, not we upon Spain. I went into his camp upon a peaceful mission. +He seized and held me a prisoner. I was rescued by my comrades, although +they inflicted no harm upon any of the men of Captain Alvarez. He has +sought in every way to destroy us, and because he was the beginner of +violence and because he is planning a great treason and war upon Kentucky, +we took his boat and have come to New Orleans for the sole purpose of +appearing before you." + +Alvarez burst into a sneering laugh and Braxton Wyatt, as a matter of +course, imitated him, but Bernardo Galvez asked in a grave tone: + +"What do you mean by a great treason? No, Don Francisco, wait! Let him +speak! It is their right." + +"I mean," said Paul boldly, "that he expects to become Governor General of +Louisiana in your place. It is not the policy of Spain to attack us. Yet +Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, the head chiefs of the powerful Shawnee and +Miami nations were in his camp, and he has agreed to help them with +Spanish soldiers and Spanish cannon in a raid upon Kentucky." + +"This is an extraordinary statement," said Bernardo Galvez. "Your proof?" + +"Yes, your proof!" sneered Alvarez, and Braxton Wyatt sneered, too. + +"This man," said Paul, pointing to the renegade, "is from Kentucky. We +were boys together but he deserted the white people, his own people, to go +with the red. He has continually urged the Indian attack upon us and he +has brought to Captain Alvarez complete maps of every settlement in +Kentucky, Wareville, Marlowe, Lexington, Harrodsburg, and all the others. +Why is he here! Why has he come to New Orleans, if not to bind the red +chiefs and Captain Alvarez together in such an enterprise?" + +Alvarez again burst into a laugh, ironical and taunting. Paul flushed +deeply. + +"I know," he exclaimed, "that we cannot bring you absolute proofs, but it +is true, nevertheless. The Indian chiefs, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle, +have his agreement made without any authority from you, and there are the +maps." + +"A map does not necessarily mean war," said Alvarez, "even if they should +exist, and they do not exist. I took these people, arms in hand, upon His +Majesty's soil, and it was my intention to bring them to New Orleans for +examination and punishment by you." + +"Doubtless it is so," said Bernardo Galvez, "but you were in no hurry to +perform the mission. I was forced to send a message to you at Beaulieu to +come to New Orleans with your prisoners, but it seems they have escaped +and come of their own accord." + +"And I may state, your Excellency," said Henry Ware rising, "that while my +comrade, Paul Cotter, was a prisoner at Beaulieu, he was forced into a +ring and a professional swordsman was set upon him. That, Captain Alvarez +cannot deny. It was witnessed by too many people." + +Bernardo Galvez gave Alvarez a surprised and stern look. The captain +winced, but it was only for a moment. + +"Is this true, Don Francisco?" asked the Governor General gravely. "Did +you do this thing?" + +Alvarez made a gesture as if It were true, but yet a trifle. + +"I confess, Your Excellency," he said. "I had forgotten the circumstance, +but, since I am reminded of it, I will not deny. The thing seems much +worse in the telling than it was in the happening. The young man had shown +great skill with the sword--he had disarmed me in a little encounter; I +admit that, too--and we wished to test his agility and courage against a +master, who was instructed not to hurt him seriously under any +circumstances." + +He spoke rapidly and lightly, almost convincingly. But Henry Ware +interrupted. + +"His object," he said, "was to have Paul Cotter killed." + +Bernardo Galvez looked from one to the other and back again. It was the +word of a stranger and a foreigner against that of a Spanish captain in +his service, a man of noble lineage, and with powerful friends at the +Court of Madrid. But the seeds of doubt had been sown nevertheless. The +youth, Paul, and his comrade Henry, also, had spoken with singular +earnestness. Moreover, Francisco Alvarez was an ambitious man, and +Bernardo Galvez also believed him to be unscrupulous. If he aimed at the +place of Governor General and the commitment of Spain to an alliance with +England, it was a daring thing to do. + +Bernardo Galvez was sorely troubled and he looked from Alvarez to the five +and then back again. Alvarez sat smiling. His look was that of one who was +right, who knew that he was right, and who knew that others knew it. +Oliver Pollock sitting by the big window, close to the five, was also +watching shrewdly in order that he might draw from all this coil some +capital for the patriot cause. + +"In any event," said Bernardo Galvez at last, speaking slowly, as if he +carefully considered each word, "you were wrong, Don Francisco, to expose +this youth to such an encounter. If, as you say, it was merely a little +sport, then the sport was ill-chosen and ill-timed. Whether that or +another was your purpose, it reflects upon your judgment and sense of +humanity." + +He paused, and Alvarez flushed darkly, but he was still master of his +supple self. + +"Your words are none too severe, Your Excellency," he said. "I did indeed +do a foolish thing. It was a thoughtless impulse." + +"But," resumed Galvez, as if Alvarez had not spoken, "you are an officer +high in the service of His Majesty, and these who accuse you are strangers +belonging to another race. They do not bring the proof of their charges, +and the fact that they have violently seized and put to their own use the +property of Spain cannot be denied, as the boat is now anchored at the +levee." + +Francisco Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt lifted their chins in triumph and the +five were downcast. But the face of Oliver Pollock, the shrewd merchant +and far-seeing judge of affairs and men, showed nothing. + +"Therefore," continued the Governor General, "the boat must be returned at +once to Don Francisco, and for the present those who seized it must be the +prisoners of Spain." + +Paul was about to spring up in protest, but Henry's hand on his arm held +him down. Oliver Pollock, too, gave him a warning glance. Yet the +triumphant looks of the Spanish captain and the renegade were hard to +bear. + +"On the other hand," continued the Governor General, still weighing his +words, "the actions of Don Francisco have not been beyond rebuke. He seems +to have regarded those from Kaintock as the prisoners of himself and not +of Spain. He made no report of these matters to me, his superior officer, +and he has lingered at his place of Beaulieu as if he were subject to no +orders save those of his own will." + +Alvarez again flushed and raised his hand in protest, but Bernardo Galvez +went on, disregarding him: + +"Because these offenses give some color to the charges against him, it is +my order that he be relieved for the present of his command, and that he +do not depart, under any circumstance, from the City of New Orleans until +he receive further instructions." + +Alvarez, sprang up in anger, but a commanding gesture from the Governor +General waved him down in silence. + +"I do not wish to hear any protests, Don Francisco," he said, "but I do +intend to look further into these matters." + +"If we have not won, neither has the Spaniard," whispered Henry in Paul's +ear. + +Oliver Pollock glanced out of the big window and the turning of his head +hid the twinkle in his eye. Yes, these were very delicate matters, and two +great nations and another that hoped to be great, too, were involved, but +one might make progress nevertheless. + +Bernardo Galvez spoke to his secretary, who left the room, but returned in +a few minutes with no less a personage than Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, +mincing, scrupulously dressed, but very alert of eye. + +"You will take six soldiers," said the Governor General to him, "and +escort these five to the fortress. Treat them well, but hold them until +further orders." + +Oliver Pollock gave a nod to Henry. It said plainly, "go without protest." +Henry and his comrades rose and followed Lieutenant Bernal from the +Governor General's house. Thence they went to one of the forts in the wall +that surrounded the town. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +IN PRISON + + +Their fortress prison was built of brick, but it was not a particularly +somber place. They were all put in one large room which had two windows +barred with iron; but plenty of air came in at the windows, and the place, +though bare, was clean. + +"Well," said Lieutenant Bernal, when they were inside, "tell me all that +occurred before Bernardo Galvez." + +Paul was again the spokesman telling everything that was said as literally +as he could. + +"I have an impression," said Lieutenant Bernal, "although my impressions +are usually wrong and my memory is always weak, that you have scored, at +least partially. You have sowed the fertile crop of suspicion in the mind +of Bernardo Galvez. He has shown that by making Francisco Alvarez +virtually a prisoner, also, and you have a powerful advocate in the Seņor +Pollock, the great merchant, and I may add the great diplomat, also." + +"How long do you think we will be kept in here?" asked Shif'less Sol, +looking around at the room, which, though wide, was by no means so wide as +the forests of Kentucky. + +"I do not know," replied the lieutenant, smiling--he understood the look +of the shiftless one, "but you shall not be ill-treated, and do not feel +that any disgrace lies upon you. This is a military prison. Good men have +been confined here; I myself, for instance, because of some little breach +of military discipline magnified by my officers into a fault. Oh, you +shall not suffer!" + +He bustled about cheerily. He had food and drink brought to them, and then +he departed, volunteering to see that their private property on "The +Galleon" was saved and brought to them. + +No one spoke for a little while after his going, and then the silence was +broken by a long, dismal sigh. It was drawn up from the depths of Long +Jim's chest. + +"Are you sick, Jim?" asked Henry. + +"Yes, Henry," replied Jim in a melancholy tone, "I'm sick; sick uv all +this jawin', sick uv seein' things pulled here, an' then pulled yonder, +sick uv hearin' people lyin', knowin' that they're lyin', and knowin' that +other people know that they're lyin'." + +"Why, Jim," said Paul, who had a twinkle in his eye, "that's diplomacy, +and the man who practises it is called a diplomatist or diplomat. It's +considered a great accomplishment." + +"It ain't so considered by me, an' I'm bein' heard from," said Long Jim +with great emphasis. "Them dy-plo-may-tists or dy-plo-maws may reckon +theirselves pow'ful big boys, but I've got another an' better name fur +'em, and it's spelled with jest four letters, uv which the furst is l an' +the last is r, an' them that comes in between are i an' a, with the i +first. Why, Paul, it makes me plum' sick, all these goin's on. In a big +town like this, full uv Spaniards an' Frenchmen an' Injuns an' niggers an' +mixed breeds, an' the Lord knows what, you can never tell nuth'in' 'bout +nobody, 'cept that he says what he don't believe, an' that he ain't what +he is. + +"I guess I'm in love more with the big woods than ever. Thar things is +what they is. A buffaler don't pretend to be a b'ar. He'd be ashamed to be +caught tryin' to play sech a trick, an' a b'ar has the same respect fur +hisself; he'd never dream uv sayin' in his b'ar language, 'Look at me, +admire me, see what a fine big buffaler I am!' An' I've a lot uv respeck +fur the Injun, too. He's an Injun an' he don't say he ain't. He don't come +sneakin' along claimin' that he's an old friend uv the family, he jest up +an' lets drive his tomahawk at your head, ef he gits the chance, an' makes +no bones 'bout it. I'd a heap ruther be killed by a good honest Injun who +wuz pantin' fur my blood an' didn't pretend that he wuzn't pantin', than +be done to death down here, in some cur'us, unbeknown, hole-in-the-dark +way, by a furrin' man who couldn't speak a real word of the decent English +language, but who wuz tryin' to let on all the time that he hated to do +it." + +Long Jim stopped, breathing hard with his long speech and anger. Shif'less +Sol rose, walked across the room, and solemnly held out his hand to his +comrade. + +"Jim," he said, "you don't often talk sense, but you're talkin' a heap o' +it now. Shake." + +Long Jim shook and added with a grin: + +"When me an' you agree, Sol, 'bout anythin', it's shorely right." + +Then they fell silent for a while, each thinking in his own way of what +had occurred. Henry Ware walked to one of the windows and looked out for a +long while. He relished little the idea of being a prisoner for the second +time, even if the second imprisonment were a sort of courtesy affair. He +saw from the windows the roofs of houses amid green foliage and he knew +that only a few hundred yards beyond lay the great forest, which, now in +the freshest and tenderest tints of spring, rolled away unbroken, save for +the few scratches that the French or Spanish had made, for thousands of +miles, and for all he knew to the Arctic Circle itself. + +The words of Long Jim stirred the youth deeply. He did not like intrigue +and double-dealing and the ways of foreign men. Like Long Jim he longed +for the great honest forest, and he, too, had his respect for the Indian +who would tomahawk him without claiming to be a friend. He was glad, very +glad, that he had come upon so great an errand, but he would like to +cleave through the whole web of intrigue with one sturdy blow and then be +off into the forest which was calling to him with such a dearly loved +voice. + +Paul saw Henry's face and he understood its expression. He knew that it +was harder for his comrade than for himself to endure the confinement +within four walls, but he said nothing. Words would be wasted. + +Later in the day their door was opened, and Mr. Pollock came in bringing +with him a cheery breeze. + +"I've come to tell you what news there may be," he said, "and also to ask +questions. Now, sit down and make yourselves comfortable. That's right. +The cunning and ambitious Don Francisco Alvarez is in a rage. He is also +somewhat frightened. He knows that Bernardo Galvez will be busy the next +few days trying to secure the proof of the charges that you make against +him. In my opinion, Galvez believes that they are true, but, as you will +agree, he cannot act without proof." + +"But that is exactly what we lack at this time," said Henry, "and how can +we get it while we are locked up here?" + +"Just so! Just so! That is a point to which I am coming. Now, about this +renegade, this Braxton Wyatt. You say he is the man who drew the maps and +who has been the intermediary in this whole nefarious scheme. Maps could +be drawn, of course, for a purpose not wicked, but if they could be +produced, and above all if Alvarez had made any notes upon them in his own +handwriting, they would go far to help. If not proof, they would at least +be a strong indication. Now, where do you think these maps are kept?" + +"On the person of Braxton Wyatt," replied Henry promptly. + +The merchant smiled with pleasure. + +"Of course! Of course!" he said. "They belong to Wyatt and naturally he +would keep them. Naturally, also, Alvarez would want him to keep them. He +would take care that such things were not found on his own person. We must +get possession of those maps. But we must go further. This renegade has +lived among both the Shawnees and Miamis and is high in their confidence, +is it not so?" + +"Yes, both the great head-chiefs, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle, trust +him." + +"And to carry out this nefarious alliance some promise must have passed +between Alvarez and the two head chiefs. That promise had to take a +concrete form to be binding." + +"War belts," suggested Henry. + +"But a white man does not send war belts. He has another kind of token, +and he makes that token with paper, ink, and a goose quill. Yes, Alvarez +is cunning, I know, but the most cunning of all men when he enters a great +conspiracy must leave a loose end hanging about somewhere. Or, to change +my simile, there is no armor of deception so complete that there is not a +crack in it. We must find that loose end, we must find that crack, and +when we do, we can see victory just ahead of us." + +"Do you mean," said Henry, "that Alvarez has probably sent a letter to the +Northern chiefs, promising that as Governor General of Louisiana he will +help them with soldiers and cannon against us in Kentucky?" + +"I think it likely, quite likely," returned Oliver Pollock, nodding his +head to give emphasis to his words. "He had to give them something that +would bind. A conspirator must take a risk and in this case it seemed +small. The villages of those chiefs are beyond the Ohio, fifteen hundred +miles at least from here. The chance that such a letter would reappear in +New Orleans was most remote, and Alvarez, might have expected to provide +against that, too, by being Governor General within a few months. I feel +confident that there is such a letter and we must find it." + +"It's a pretty problem," said Paul. + +"I admit it," said Oliver Pollock, "but a new continent teaches one to +achieve the impossible. That is what are we to do; how, I do not yet know, +but we must do it." + +"It's important," said Henry, "that it be done soon." + +"It certainly is," said Mr. Pollock with great emphasis, "because I wish +to start North soon with a great fleet of canoes and other boats loaded +with rifles, powder, lead, blankets, medicines, and other absolutely +necessary things for our suffering brethren in the east. They are hard +pressed there, and it takes a long time to pull up the Mississippi and the +Ohio and then carry these things across four or five hundred miles of +country to our army." + +"It's shorely a wonderful thing," said Shif'less Sol, "that you kin take +boats up a big river hundreds an' hundreds o' miles into the heart o' a +continent, then bend off into another river runnin' into it that takes +you nearly over to the Atlantic. An' mebbe ef you took one o' the rivers +that runs in it on the other side you might follow it up 'till you got +purty near to the western ocean. It says to me plain ez print that we must +hev this here Mississippi all the way to its mouth. We can't stay bottled +up." + +"Sh-sh," said Mr. Pollock, warningly. "Leave that to the future. It will +adjust itself, and I think it will adjust itself in the way that we wish, +but we cannot talk of it now, while Bernardo Galvez is our good friend and +Spain inclines to our side. Of course Louisiana may be passed back to +France, but France is a better and more powerful friend than Spain can +be." + +"Do you think you can get hold of Braxton Wyatt?" asked Henry of Mr. +Pollock. + +"I shall try," replied the merchant. "Our association has agents here, and +in such times as these and in such a great emergency much may be excused. +If we can get hands upon him at a convenient moment and place we'll see +whether he has those maps about him." + +"He'll surely have them," said Henry. "But he'll stick close to Alvarez." + +"Yes, there lies the trouble," said Mr. Pollock, "but we'll do our best." + +He took his departure, and they were left again to loneliness. Several +days passed thus and they chafed terribly. Food and drink they had in +plenty, and even some English books were sent to them. But the narrow +space and the four enclosing walls were always there. Outside the spring +was deepening. All the great forest throbbed with the life of bird and +beast, but they, the highest of creation, could not walk ten paces in any +direction. + +"Jim," said Shif'less Sol to Long Jim, "there's a spring 'bout twenty +miles north o' Wareville that you an' me hev sat by many a time. Thar are +hundreds a' springs through that country, yes, thousands o' 'em, but this +one is the finest o' 'em all. It comes right out o' the side o' a rock +hill, a stream so pure that you kin see right through it same ez ef it +wuzn't thar, then it falls into a most bee-yu-ti-ful rock pool scooped out +by Natur, an' ez the pool overflows, it runs away through the grass an' +the woods in a stream 'bout two feet wide an' four inches deep. I think +that's 'bout the nicest, coldest, an' most life-givin' water in all +Kentucky. You an' me, Jim, hev gone thar many a time, hot an' tired from +the hunt, an' hev felt ez ef we had landed right on the steps o' Heaven +itself. An' the game, Jim! The game, big an' little, knowed 'bout that +spring, too. Remember that tre-men-je-ous big elk you an' me killed 'bout +two hundred yards north o' the spring. He stood most ez high ez a horse. +An' remember, Jim, when we climbed up on top o' the hill out o' which the +spring runs, we could see a long distance every way, north, south, east +an' west, over the most bee-yu-ti-ful country, an' we could go whar we +pleased. We could follow the buffaler clean to the western ocean ef we +felt like it." + +Long Jim had been sitting on the floor. Now he rose and advanced in a +threatening manner upon Shif'less Sol. + +"See here, Sol Hyde!" he exclaimed, "me an' you hev had words many a time, +but they hev always ended in smoke! They hev never gone ez fur ez this! +An' I want to tell you right here, Sol Hyde, that I kin stand a lot uv +things but I can't stand this! 'Ef you say another word about that +bee-yu-ti-ful spring, an' them bee-yu-ti-ful woods, an' that bee-yu-ti-ful +game, thar'll be a heap uv trouble, an' it'll all be fur you!" + +"Hit him anyway, Jim," said Tom Ross. "He's done filled me clean up with +discontent, and he ought to be punished." + +Shif'less Sol laughed. + +"I won't do it again, Jim," he said. "It wuz 'cause I feel ez bad about it +ez you do, an' I jest had to let off some meanness." + +Lieutenant Diégo Bernal reappeared at last. He bestowed shrewd looks upon +the five and said: + +"I have an impression, though my impressions are usually false and my +memory always weak, that you are pining. You wish the liberty and the open +air of Kaintock. Your legs are long and you would stretch them." + +"You hev shore hit it, leftenant," said Tom Ross. "Sometimes I think uv +startin' off walkin' ez straight an' hard ez I kin, goin' right through +the wall thar, an' then through any house that might git in the way, an' +never to stop goin' 'till I got to Kentucky, whar a man may breathe free +an' easy." + +Lieutenant Diégo Bernal laughed and daintily stroked his little mustache. + +"I understand you and you have my sympathy," he said. "We Catalans are at +heart republicans, and I am interested in this new place of yours that you +call Kaintock. But you will have to endure this fort a while longer. The +good Seņor Pollock does not make progress. He cannot produce the proof of +what you charge. Yet Bernardo Galvez waits. He believes in you, and he +holds Alvarez and Wyatt in the city. He is strengthened in his opinion, +too, by gossip that has come down from Beaulieu, but that is not proof and +he cannot act upon it. But be patient. I have an impression, although my +impressions are usually false, that time is fighting for you." + +He stayed with them an hour, precise and affected, but they believed him +to be brave and true. A few days later Oliver Pollock himself came again. + +"I have not been able to get hold of Wyatt," he said. "He stays too +closely with Alvarez. I don't think that my agents are skillful enough. +Hence I decided to procure a new one and fortunately I have succeeded." + +"Who is that?" asked Henry. + +"Yourself." + +"Myself!" exclaimed Henry in astonishment. + +"No one but you," replied the merchant. "I have been able, by the use of +great influence, to secure from Bernardo Galvez your temporary release. It +is to his interest to have this plot exposed if it really exists, and +accordingly he has allowed me to borrow you. You can go forth with me if +you give your word of honor that you will not leave New Orleans or its +vicinity and will report again here." + +"Why, of course I'll go! I'll"--exclaimed Henry joyfully, and then he +stopped suddenly, looking around at his comrades. Then he added: "I don't +feel right, Mr. Pollock, to go away and leave the boys in this place." + +Up rose Tom Ross. + +"Don't you fret about us, Henry," he said. "You're goin' on a good work +an' you'll do it, too. We need to hev one uv our gang outside. Remember up +at Boo-ly, when Alvarez had us, how much better we felt 'cause he didn't +hev Sol. 'Twas a comfort to think that Sol wuz out thar in the woods." + +It was a long speech for Tom Ross, but it expressed the sentiments of them +all. Henry left with Mr. Pollock and they went to a handsome brick house +in the city. This house was store, office, and residence combined, and +several clerks were about. But these clerks did not have pale faces and +bent backs. They were mostly strong-limbed, broad-shouldered men with +tanned faces. + +"They work out of doors," said Mr. Pollock briefly. "Some are to go with +the fleet up the rivers, others have been as far as the West Indies +accumulating supplies. It is necessary for them all to be able to write +and shoot." + +Henry liked their looks, but he did not have a chance to speak to any of +them as Mr. Pollock quickly led the way Into a small inner office, where +he motioned Henry to a chair and took one himself. Henry was now within +narrower walls than those that confined him in the prison, but he felt a +huge sense of relief. He was free. If he wanted to open the door and walk +out he could do so. He expanded his great chest and took a mighty breath. +Mr. Pollock heard the suspiration, looked up, and laughed. He understood +perfectly. + +"I'd feel that way, too, if I had been in your place," he said. "Now what +we want to do is to devise some plan of trapping your friend and enemy. +Mr. Wyatt. What do you think?" + +"Once," replied Henry, "when, he was carrying war belts between the +Shawnees and Miamis we simply seized him and took them away from him. We +must do something of this kind. Where is he staying?" + +"Alvarez, has a house near the river. He is there. I know that the two are +plotting all the while, but I cannot get the proof." + +"Do Wyatt and Alvarez know that I'm out?" + +"No, neither of them." + +"That's good. I think I can surprise Braxton Wyatt. If I can get my hands +on him I'm sure that we'll find those maps. What kind of a house has +Alvarez?" + +"You can see it from that window. A pretty place, standing among the +trees." + +Henry looked, and the longer he looked the more pleased he felt. The trees +were thick around the house of Alvarez and the fact gave him an idea. + +"I think I know how to do it," he said. + +Oliver Pollock leaned forward, his shrewd face eager, and for a few +minutes the two talked low and earnestly. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE FLAW IN THE ARMOR + + +Don Francisco Alvarez was in a fairly happy frame of mind. It is true that +he could have been happier, but a revulsion from a great state of suspense +had come to him. When he had been so boldly accused in the presence of the +Governor General, cold fear had struck at his heart, despite his courage +and cunning. He knew that the seeds of suspicion had been sowed deep in +the heart of Bernardo Galvez and that the plant would grow fast in the +warm, moist air of intrigue that overhung New Orleans. + +But days had passed and nothing had happened. Moreover, the five whom he +feared so much were hard and fast in the military prison within the walls, +and no proof of their charges had been brought forth. Time, too, worked +steadily for him. It not only weakened the accusation against him, but it +also gave his powerful friends at the court of Madrid time to help him and +his ambition. That little strain of royal blood in his veins was well +worth having. He would certainly succeed to Bernardo Galvez, whether the +wait he long or short. + +He kept Braxton Wyatt with him all the time. He had learned to appreciate +the value of the renegade's unscrupulous cunning, and he was necessary, +too, in order to carry out the great alliance with the tribes which +Alvarez meant should become an accomplished fact. + +It was a pleasant house that Alvarez had within the walls, one story of +brick covered with red tiles, surrounded by piazzas, and standing in +grounds thick with magnolias, cypresses, and orange trees. In truth, the +foliage was so dense that by daylight the house was almost entirely hidden +from the city, and by night it was quite invisible unless lights chanced +to twinkle through the leaves. + +The Spaniard and Braxton Wyatt were sitting now upon the piazza drinking a +cool decoction of West Indian origin, and Alvarez was commenting upon what +he called his good fortune. + +"All things favor us, Wyatt," he said. "No proof reaches the ears of +Bernardo Galvez and the galleon, Doņa Isabel, will certainly arrive next +week from Spain. If I mistake not, she will bring news welcome to me and +unwelcome to Bernardo Galvez." + +"If you become Governor General what will you do with the Kentuckians in +the fort?" asked Wyatt. + +Alvarez laughed, and it was a very unpleasant laugh to hear. + +"I do not know what I shall do with them," he said, "but I am sure of one +fact. They will never see Kaintock again. The powers of a Governor General +are very great." + +Braxton Wyatt was satisfied with the answer. His wicked heart throbbed at +the thought that the five would never more roam their beloved forests. He, +too, looked forward to the arrival of the galleon, Doņa Isabel, with +welcome news. He saw how useful he was to Alvarez, and if the Spaniard +rose, he must rise with him. + +The two, after these few words, sat in silence, each occupied with his own +thoughts, which, however, were largely the same. Alvarez rose presently +and went into the house. If all things went as he wished, there were +certain letters that he would send to powerful friends in Spain, and now +was a good time to make rough drafts of them. + +Braxton Wyatt remained on the piazza. It was wonderfully cool and pleasant +there, after the heat of the day. The wind blew musically among the orange +trees, and the air was spiced with pleasant odors. Braxton Wyatt's +thoughts were pleasant, too. He liked this luxurious southern life. Though +born to the forest, and a good woodsman, he had sybaritic tastes, which +needed only opportunity to bud and bloom. + +Now, like the Arab who had the glass for sale, he was building his great +future. Alvarez would be Governor General of Louisiana, and he, Braxton +Wyatt, would be his trusted and necessary lieutenant. The five whom he +hated would be removed under the new rule from the military prison to +dungeons, where they would gradually be lost to the sight of man, never to +be heard of again. The Indians and the Spaniards with their cannon would +destroy the settlements in Kentucky, and he would become, if not the +first, at least the second man in His Most Catholic Majesty's huge +province of Louisiana. And it was not absolutely necessary to be +Spanish-born to become in time a Governor General himself. + +Time passed. It was very quiet within the belt of magnolias and cypresses +and orange trees and but little noise came from the town, the stray shout +of a reveler, a snatch of a song, and then nothing more. + +Braxton Wyatt, still filled with his dreams, arose and stepped down from +the piazza. The happy future promoted in him a certain physical activity, +and he wanted to walk among the trees. He stepped into their shadow, +strolled a rod or so, and then stopped. His acute, forest-bred ear had +brought to him a sound which was not that of the wind nor any echo of a +gay reveler's song. + +The renegade stopped. It was very dark among the trees. He could see +neither the house behind, nor the city before him. He did not hear the +sound again, but he was troubled. His pleasant thoughts were disturbed. It +was like waking from a happy dream. He turned to go back to the house and +then he saw a flitting shadow. The wicked heart of Braxton Wyatt stood +still. If he had not known that Henry Ware was safely in the military +prison he would have taken the terrible shadow for him. He knew too well +the great height, the broad shoulders, and the fierce accusing +countenance. Once he had laughed at the Shawnees and Miamis because they +had believed in ghosts. But could it be true? + +Braxton Wyatt turned back toward the house, where he might renew his +interrupted and pleasant dream, but the next instant the terrible shadow +turned itself into a reality more terrible. + +A powerful form hurled itself upon him, and he was thrown to the ground. +He looked up and met the eyes of Henry Ware, who knelt upon him. No, it +was certainly not a shadow but the most unpleasant of all facts! + +Braxton Wyatt was at first paralyzed by terror and the suddenness of the +attack. When he recovered, one hand of Henry pressed heavily upon his +mouth, while the other felt rapidly through his clothing. "Look for any +unusual thickness in his waistcoat; that is probably the place," Oliver +Pollock had said. Henry's hand in a few moments ran upon something folded +between the cloth and lining of the waistcoat. He snatched out his knife, +cut them apart and out fell several folds of fine, thin deerskin. He knew +that the prize had been secured, and he meant to keep it. + +Henry thrust the folds of deerskin in his pocket and sprang to his feet. + +"Now, you scoundrel!" he exclaimed, "tell what tale you please and we will +prove another!" + +Then the terrible reality resolved itself back into a shadow, and was +gone. Braxton Wyatt sprang to his feet, clapped his hand to his mangled +waistcoat where the precious package had been, and uttered a strangled +cry. Then he ran through the trees to the house of Alvarez. + + * * * * * + +A quarter of an hour later Oliver Pollock was sitting at his own window in +the little office and his thoughts were not happy. He wished his fleet of +supply canoes to start on the great river journey at once, but it could +not depart while such storms were threatening. Alvarez was too serious a +danger, and he must be removed. But the merchant realized that he had made +little progress. Alvarez seemed to be secure in his plot. + +There came a knock at his door, and in reply to his request to enter, a +clerk said that the young man, Mr. Ware, had returned. Mr. Pollock rose to +his feet as Henry came in. Henry carefully closed the door behind him, +advanced, and put a small package in Mr. Pollock's hand. + +"There they are!" he said, "the maps drawn up by Braxton Wyatt, and with +notes on them in handwriting, which I take to be that of Francisco +Alvarez." + +The merchant stared at first in astonishment and delight. Then he ran to +the lamp and spread out the sheets of fine, thin deerskin. He looked at +them, one by one, and laughed with delight. + +"Yes," he said, "the notes are in the handwriting of Francisco Alvarez! I +know it--I have seen it often enough--and Bernardo Galvez will know it, +too! Oh, it is a great find! a great find! It is not conclusive proof, +but it will go far toward swaying belief! How did you get them?" + +Henry had recovered from all signs of his struggle with the renegade, and +was now sitting placidly in a chair. + +"I took them," he said. "I found Braxton Wyatt in the grove around the +house of Alvarez, and I seized him. I found these in the lining of his +waistcoat." + +"You did not kill him?" + +"Oh, no. He is not hurt." + +"It is well. I did not wish any unnecessary violence, but we had a right +to seize these documents which mean so much to us and Bernardo Galvez. You +will leave them with me." + +"Of course," said Henry. "And now that this task is finished, I'll go back +to prison with my comrades." + +"It's unnecessary for you to join them there," said the merchant still +laughing in his pleasure. "I'll have them out to join you, and that +speedily, too. Go into the next room and sleep. You've earned the right to +it." + +The five, reduced to four, were sitting in their prison the next afternoon +chafing more than ever. It seemed to every one of them that those walls, +already so narrow, were still contracting. They did not even like to look +out of the window. The contrast was too painful, and they did not wish to +increase their sorrow. + +"Jim," said Shif'less Sol in plaintive tones to Long Jim Hart, "won't you +please come here, an' hold up my head?" + +"Now, Sol Hyde," said Long Jim, "what do you want me to come thar an' hold +up your head fur? Are you too lazy to hold it up fur yourself?" + +"No, Jim, I ain't too lazy to hold it up fur myself, I'm jest too weak. +Lack o' exercise an' fresh air, an' elbow room hev done fur poor Sol Hyde +at last. I'm pinin' away. Tell Henry when he comes back, ef he ever does, +that I fell into a decline. I done my best to b'ar up, but my best wuzn't +good enough." + +"Now you shut up, Sol Hyde," said Jim Hart, "or you'll hev me down real +sick with your foolish talk, ez I jest can't stand it." + +They stopped because at that moment there came unto them Lieutenant Diégo +Bernal, fresh, chipper, with a few additional flounces and ruffles added +to his jaunty uniform, and a smile upon his dark, pleasant face. + +"Ah, my gallant four, who were once my gallant five," he said as he +stroked his little mustache, "I have news for you, important news. You are +even to be summoned again to the presence of His Excellency, Bernardo +Galvez, the Governor General of Louisiana, and that summons is immediate. +I have an impression, though my impressions are usually false and my +memory always weak, that the large youth, the strong youth, the splendid +youth, surnamed the Ware, who was released for the time at the +intercession of Seņor Pollock, has been achieving something. This, I +think, is the reason of the sudden call to the audience with His +Excellency." + +Paul was all life at once. He sprang up, his eyes sparkling and the flush +of anticipation coming into his face. + +"Henry has succeeded!" he cried. "He has done something big! I knew he +would! He has defeated Alvarez and that wretch Wyatt!" + +The Catalan regarded Paul with admiration. He liked this enthusiasm, this +infinite trust in a comrade. The five and their faith in one another +continued to make the strongest of appeals to him. + +"I think it is even so," he said. "The young giant surnamed the Ware, must +have done a great deed, because Don Francisco Alvarez, is summoned, at the +same time, to the presence of His Excellency, the Governor General, +Bernardo Galvez, and I hear that he is in no pleasant frame of mind +because of it. Come!" + +The four went forth joyfully. Shif'less Sol was the first to put foot on +Mother Earth, and he stopped, raised his head, and opened his mouth to its +widest extent. + +"Jim," he said to Long Jim Hart, "I want to breathe it in, this outdoors +an' fresh air an' freedom, everywhar I kin, at my mouth, nose, ears, an' +eyes, too, ef they're any good at that sort o' business." + +"An' at the pores, too, Sol," said Paul. + +"What's pores?" + +"Millions and millions of fine little holes all over you." + +"Wa'll, I ain't ever seed any o' them holes, or felt 'em, but ef they're +in me I hope they're all workin' right now, drawin' the good fresh air." + +Lieutenant Diégo Bernal led the way rapidly to the house of the Governor +General, and four soldiers closed up by the side of them as an escort and +guard. But the four had no thought of attempting escape. Their minds were +wholly occupied with what might occur when they were a second time in the +presence of the Governor General. + +They were taken through the anteroom and then into the large hall of +audience where the Governor General sat, as before, in the great chair +with his secretary at the little table at his right. At one side of the +room were Francisco Alvarez, and Braxton Wyatt, both frowning, and at the +other side were Oliver Pollock and Henry Ware, neither frowning at all. +Henry came forward and shook hands warmly with his comrades. + +"What is it, Henry?" whispered Paul. "What has happened?" + +"Wait," replied Henry in a similar whisper. "We must see what Bernardo +Galvez is going to do." + +The Governor General motioned the four, now the five once more, to seats, +and they noticed that the audience was marked by unusual state. Two +soldiers, as a guard, stood near one of the windows, and the secretary was +ready with his ink and goose quills to write down whatever he might be +ordered to write. Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt were visibly uneasy. Bernardo +Galvez sat upright, his face stern, his look commanding. He was every inch +of him a Governor General. + +"Gentlemen," he said speaking in precise English, "a charge was made in +this chamber some days since, a charge involving the integrity and loyalty +of a high officer in the service of Spain, Don Francisco Alvarez. This +charge was made by five men and youths from the new region called by +themselves Kentucky and known here as Kaintock, but they brought little +proof to support it." + +Francisco Alvarez moved his chair, and a look of relief came over his +face. The opening promised well. The expressions of Henry Ware and Oliver +Pollock did not change, and Bernardo Galvez continued: + +"I could not hold an officer of Spain, one high in the service, upon such +charges, when they were without sufficient support, and hence, as these +five men and boys had committed acts of violence upon Spanish soil and +against Spanish subjects, I sent them to a military prison, pending +further disclosures if there should be any, and I have held Don Francisco +Alvarez in New Orleans in order that he might clear his good name of these +charges and of certain talk that has been afloat concerning him." + +Alvarez stirred again and his expression changed slightly. The +continuation was not quite as good as the beginning. Did he not detect a +slight undertone of irony or satire in the voice of Bernardo Galvez? But +neither Henry Ware nor Oliver Pollock moved a particle. The four looked +curiously from one to another of the actors in this tense scene. + +"It was my object," resumed Bernardo Galvez, and now his tone had a +curious hard quality like steel, "to find the truth. Only in that way +could justice be done. Now I have to say that proof of these charges, not +conclusive, but incriminating nevertheless, has been found, and is in my +possession." + +Alvarez leaped from his chair. He felt as if he had received a blow of a +hammer on his temple, but he cried out: + +"It is not true! there can be no such proof!" + +"It is true," said Bernardo Galvez sternly and accusingly, "because I hold +this evidence here in my hand. The war-maps which you are charged with +having, drawn by the one Wyatt, the friend of the Indians, and annotated +in your hand, are here." + +He opened his palm and laid the strips of deerskin upon the table. Alvarez +staggered back and looked savagely at Braxton Wyatt. + +"It is true," stammered the renegade in a whisper. "I was set upon last +night by Ware! He took me by surprise and robbed me of them! I could not +help it, but I was afraid to tell you then." + +"I knew that Henry would find a way! I knew it!" Paul was murmuring to +himself. + +"What of these maps, Don Francisco Alvarez?" said the Governor General. + +The bold and flexible Spaniard quickly recovered himself. + +"Maps do not mean anything," he said. "Any military officer provides +himself with them whenever he can. He need not he at war with a country to +secure them." + +"No, not in the case of ordinary maps, but here we have plans for an +attack upon the settlements in Kaintock. I find noted by the side of one +station in your handwriting: 'Could be destroyed easily with two cannon.' +It is obvious that you have exceeded your authority. How much further you +have gone is to be seen." + +"Your Excellency, I protest against"--began Alvarez, but at that moment +the door was opened and Lieutenant Diégo Bernal appeared upon the +threshold. + +"What is this interruption? How dare you?" exclaimed the Governor General. + +But the little Catalan was never more thoroughly master of himself. His +uniform was never more resplendent, and the lace at throat and sleeves +never fuller. He bore himself, too, with the utmost dignity because he +knew that he was about to make an announcement of the utmost importance. +Moreover, he was a favorite with Bernardo Galvez. + +"Your Excellency," he said, with dramatic effect, "a man has come craving +immediate audience with you. He says that his news cannot wait, and, in +order to secure entrance at once to your presence, he has given me the +purport of it. He is here now." + +A tall figure in a black robe, the face thin and austere, walked boldly +into the room. Mighty was the power of Holy Church in the colonies of +France and Spain and this priest who expected torture and death some day +feared neither Bernardo Galvez nor anybody else. + +"Father Montigny!" exclaimed every one of the five and, "Father Montigny!" +repeated Francisco Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt. Bernardo Galvez rose from +his chair and saluted the priest courteously. He knew him well. + +"What is this business, so urgent in its nature, Father," said the +Governor General. + +"I came to Beaulieu when Captain Alvarez had set the bully upon this +youth," said Father Montigny, pointing to Paul. + +"I have already acknowledged my fault there," exclaimed Alvarez. "It was +an impulse! Need I be accused of it again?" + +Father Montigny turned his gaze upon Alvarez, and the Captain, bold as he +was, feared it more than that of Bernardo Galvez. + +"That is but a preamble," continued the priest, the Governor General not +noticing the interruption, "but it caused me to take especial notice of +what might be occurring in Louisiana at the furthest limits of settlement. +I went thence among the Cherokees and Creeks and kindred tribes and I +found them stirred by a great emotion. They were preparing for the war +trail. Messengers had come from tribes in the far north, Shawnees, Miamis, +Wyandots, and others, whom they have fought for generations in the region, +lying between them, known to them as the Dark and Bloody Ground, and to +us as Kaintock." + +Francisco Alvarez suddenly paled, and looked away from the priest. + +"What was the purport of these messages?" asked Bernardo Galvez. + +"That there must be peace for the time being between the northern and +southern tribes. The northern tribes would march south and the southern +would march north. When they met they would be joined also by Spanish +soldiers with cannon, and the three forces would destroy forever the new +white settlements in Kaintock." + +The pallor of Alvarez deepened, but Oliver Pollock still sat immovable, +his expression not changing. Bernardo Galvez looked straight at Alvarez, +and there was lightning in his gaze. + +"How was this alliance formed?" asked the Governor General. "Some powerful +connection, some strong intermediary, must have drawn these warring +northern and southern tribes together. And above all why did they expect +Spanish troops and Spanish cannon?" + +"There was a letter," replied the priest in a grave, sad tone, "a letter +written by a Spanish officer, high in position and distinction. It was +sent to Red Eagle, head chief of the Shawnees, and Yellow Panther, head +chief of the Miamis. The writer said that he would soon be Governor +General of Louisiana and that Spain would then help the Indians to destroy +Kaintock." + +"It is a lie!" continued Alvarez. "There is no such letter." + +"It is no lie," continued the priest calmly. "There is such a letter. The +great chiefs, Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, as proof of the promise, sent +it south to the Cherokees and Creeks, among whom I have been. I have seen +it, I have read it, I have it, and to you, Bernardo Galvez, I now give it. +It is signed by Don Francisco Alvarez." + +Father Montigny drew a letter from his robe and handed It to the Governor +General. Francisco Alvarez fell back in his chair as if he had been struck +by a thunder-bolt. And it was little less. The letter that he had sent +into the vast Northern wilderness, and which he considered as obscure as +one leaf among millions, had come back to convict him. The one flaw in the +armor of his wild ambition had been found. He cast a baleful look at the +priest and was silent. It was not worth while now to deny anything. + +Bernardo Galvez read the letter and read it again. Then he folded it and +put it in his pocket. + +"It is enough," he said, "Francisco Alvarez, you are guilty of attempting +to usurp to yourself the powers that belong only to his Majesty, the King +of Spain. I can conceive of a man of your knowledge and craft writing such +a letter as this upon only one possibility, and that possibility has +passed. The galleon, Doņa Isabel, from Spain came this morning up the +Mississippi and she brings letters from Madrid. Your friends at the court, +powerful as they are, have failed. You are not to be the Governor General +of Louisiana. I am confirmed in my appointment and you remain under my +authority." + +"What do you intend to do?" asked Alvarez. + +The words came from a dry throat, and they had a harsh, rasping sound. + +"The galleon, Doņa Isabel, returns to Spain next week. You will remain a +prisoner in one of the forts until then, when you are to go to Spain on +the galleon to answer there for your acts here. The man, Wyatt, is not a +Spanish subject, but he must leave New Orleans within an hour. The five +who have been held in the fort are released from this moment. Lieutenant +Bernal, take away the prisoner." + +It was the cause of intense gratification to Lieutenant Diégo Bernal that +he had been permitted to see the last and most striking part of this +drama. Francisco Alvarez had treated him with scorn more than once, and it +was not his part or that of Bernardo Galvez to insult a fallen enemy. He +merely put his hand lightly on the sleeve of Alvarez, and the prisoner, +without a word, followed him. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +NORTHWARD WITH THE FLEET + + +When Alvarez was gone, the five rose and thanked the Governor General. +They, too, did not wish to rejoice over a fallen foe, but it was the +moment of their complete triumph. Success had come better than they had +ever hoped and the great three-faced conspiracy was shattered. It was +Spanish cannon that they had dreaded and now they could not thunder +against the wooden walls in Kentucky. They crowded around the priest, too, +and shook his hand and were grateful for his timely assistance. He had +come at the most opportune of all moments. + +It was Paul who acted as spokesman for them with Bernardo Galvez. + +"Your Excellency, we came this vast distance confiding in your justice, +and we have found our confidence well placed," he said. + +Bernardo Galvez smiled. It was a moment of triumph for him, too. A bold +conspiracy against him had been crushed, and the five had been the chief +instruments in the crushing of it. Even without the aid of his good heart, +his feelings toward them would have been very kindly. + +"If New Orleans has proved inhospitable to you for a time," he said, "she +is now ready to make atonement. Your good friend, Mr. Pollock, will care +for you." + +The five withdrew with the merchant, still elated, still feeling the full +sense of victory. Mr. Pollock had been very quiet but when they reached +the open air he burst forth. + +"Lads," he said, "'tis a great task that you have done. You have saved +Kentucky--and these things are far-reaching--you may have saved all the +colonies beside. If the Mississippi had been closed to us we could not +reach our friends in the east with the supplies that they need so badly. +But I can't say more. You were surely inspired when you set out upon this +errand, and there is a tremendous debt of gratitude coming to you." + +He shook hands with them all, one by one. But Long Jim heaved a mighty +sigh of relief. + +"Is it all over, Paul?" he asked. + +"I think so, Jim. We seem to have destroyed for good and all the great +three-cornered conspiracy against us." + +"Then," said Jim, "ef it's all done I want to talk sense. I'm in favor uv +our startin' to Kentucky right away, that is, in about five minutes. Them +big woods keep callin' to me, I heard 'em callin' last night in my dreams, +an' I hear 'em callin' now when I'm awake. I've breathed indoor air long +enough. It's layin' heavy on my lungs, an' I want to put in its place air +that's swep' clean across from the Pacific Ocean an' that ain't hit not +bin' foul on the way." + +"Five minutes is too short notice, Jim," laughed Paul, "but we'll surely +start soon, though it's a tremendously long tramp through the woods and +even if we had 'The Galleon' we'd have to pull and sail against the +current." + +Oliver Pollock was watching them as they talked and his eyes gleamed, but +he said nothing until they were within his house, where he took them and +gave them refreshments. There he had a proposition to make. + +"The boat, of course, you have lost," he said, "as it belongs to Spain, +but your arms and other equipment are all in my possession--they were +given to me to keep for you. But our fleet of canoes loaded with arms and +supplies will start north in three days. Will you go on it? Not to work, +not to paddle, unless you wish, but to guide and to fight. It is no favor +that I am conferring upon you, but one that you can confer upon me if you +will. We need such as you and with you I shall feel that the fleet is +safer." + +It was a most welcome offer. They could serve the cause and themselves at +the same time. All things seemed to fall out as they wished. + +"Sir, we thank you," said Henry speaking for them all. "You do not have to +make such an offer twice." + +"Good! Good!" said Oliver Pollock. "Then the main feature of the bargain +is closed and now I must have you to know the captain of the fleet. Oh, I +think that you will agree with him famously. He will be in charge of the +navigation and the fleet, though not of you. You are to remain in your +rôle of free rangers." + +He clapped his hand upon a little bell on the table and one of the +stalwart, sunbrowned clerks entered. + +"Bring in Captain Colfax. I want him to make some new friends," said +Oliver Pollock, who was in the greatest of good humors. + +Captain Adam Colfax of New Hampshire, who found the climate of New Orleans +very warm, came in in a minute or two, and his was a figure to attract the +attention of anybody. Middle aged, nearly as tall as Jim Hart, red haired, +with a sharp little tuft of red whisker on his chin, and with features +that seemed to be carved out of some kind of metal, he was a combination +of the seaman and landsman, as tough and wiry as they ever grow to be. He +regarded Oliver Pollock out of twinkling little blue eyes that could be +merry or severe, as they pleased. + +"Captain Colfax," said Oliver Pollock, "These are the five from Kentucky +of whom you heard. They are to go with you on your great journey as far as +Kentucky, but they are to do as they please. They are scouts, warriors, +and free rangers. You will find them of great service." + +He introduced them one by one, and Adam Colfax gave them a hearty grip +with a hand which seemed to be made of woven steel wire. + +"Good woodsmen and good riflemen I take it," he said, "and we may need +both. I hear that the Creeks, Cherokees, and others, are feeling full of +fight. Now, I ain't looking for a fight, but if it happens to get in my +way I'm not running from it." + +"You old war horse," said Oliver Pollock, laughing, "it's your business to +get these supplies through, not to be shooting at Indians. I wish I could +go with you. It's a wonderful journey, but I have to stay here in New +Orleans. This is the gate and we must see that it is not closed. How many +canoes and boats have we now, Adam?" + +"About sixty, and they are manned by at least three hundred men. As I see +it, we can take care of ourselves." + +"Adam," said Mr. Pollock laughing, "I believe you're really looking for a +fight." + +Adam Colfax showed two rows of fine, white teeth, but said nothing. After +a little more hearty talk he went away to look after his fleet, and Mr. +Pollock made arrangements for the five to stay at his house until their +departure north. They were to occupy a single big room, and their rifles, +other arms, and general equipment were already there waiting for them. + +"I'll miss 'The Galleon,'" said Paul, "I'd like to be going back in her. I +suppose it's sentiment, but I became attached to that boat." + +"She wuz shorely comf'table," said Shif'less Sol. "I had a good time +floatin' down her on the Missip'. Now I reckon Jim here will hev to row me +or paddle me all the way back to Kaintuck." + +"Ef you wait fur me to row or paddle you, you won't ever travel more'n six +inches," said Long Jim. + +"Jest like you, Jim; you ain't got no gratitood at all fur me gittin' you +away from New Orlee-yuns." + +Paul, who had been speaking to Henry in a low tone, now turned again to +Mr. Pollock. + +"There is one more thing that we want you to do for us, if you will, Mr. +Pollock," he said. "We took the boat from Alvarez because he attacked us +first, and we put it to what we think was a good use. But it really +belonged to Spain and Bernardo Galvez. So if any wages are coming to us we +wish that you would take enough in advance and pay the Governor General +for the use of the boat and what stores we may have consumed." + +"It shall be done," said Oliver Pollock, "and I like your spirit in +wishing it to be done." + +It was a promise that he kept faithfully. + +When they reached their room they found their rifles and other arms in +perfect order. Lieutenant Diégo Bernal had taken good care of them. Long +Jim picked up his rifle and handled it lovingly. + +"It feels good jest to tech it," he said. "I didn't think I could ever +like a Spaniard ez well ez I do that thar little leftenant. I'll miss him +when we go ploughin' up the river." + +They were preparing to leave the room and breathe all out of doors, as Sol +put it, when they were stopped by the entrance of Father Montigny. They +crowded around him, expressing anew the gratitude that they had shown to +him at the house of the Governor General. + +"It was really you, Father Montigny, who saved everything," said Paul. + +The priest smiled and shook his head. + +"No," he said, "It was not I, but your courage and tenacity. I had the +rare good fortune to find the letter among the Chickasaws and obtain it. +It was sent by the Shawnees and Miamis as a sort of token, a war belt as +it were. It was only a remote chance that brought it back to New Orleans, +and even then Alvarez confidently expected to be Governor General." + +"What will become of Alvarez?" asked Paul. + +"It is the plan to send him a prisoner to Spain on the galleon, Doņa +Isabel, as you know, but I fear that we have not heard the last of him. He +is a man of fierce temper, and now he is wild with rage and mortification. +Moreover, he has many followers here in New Orleans. All the desperadoes, +adventurers, former galley slaves, and others of that type would have been +ready to rally around him. But I have come to tell you good-bye. I go +again in my canoe up the Mississippi." + +"Can't you stay a while in New Orleans and rest?" asked Paul--the sympathy +between Paul and the priest was strong, each having a certain spiritual +quality that was in agreement. + +"No," replied Father Montigny, "I cannot stay. You came on your task in +spite of hardships and dangers because you felt that a power urged you to +it. Farewell. We may meet again or we may not, as Heaven wills." + +They followed him to the door and when he was almost out of sight he +turned and waved his hand to them. + +The next day New Orleans, which was already deeply stirred by news of the +plot of Alvarez and its discovery, had another thrill. It was Lieutenant +Diégo Bernal who told the five of it at the counting house of Oliver +Pollock. + +"Francisco Alvarez has escaped," he said. "The watch at the prison was +none too strict; it may be that some of the guards themselves were friends +of his. In any event, he is gone from the city, and his going has been +followed by the departure of many men whom New Orleans could well spare. +But whether their going now will be to our benefit I cannot tell." + +"Do you mean to say," asked Henry, "that all these men have gone away to +join Alvarez in some desperate adventure?" + +"I have an impression, although my impressions are usually false," replied +the Lieutenant, "that such is the case. The Chickasaws, the Creeks, and +other tribes of these regions are his friends because he has promised them +much. A capable officer with a hundred desperate white men at his back and +a horde of Indians might create stirring events." + +The five became very thoughtful over what he said, but when Lieutenant +Diégo Bernal was taking his leave he looked at them rather enviously. + +"You five inspire me with a certain jealousy," he said. "I have an +impression, although my impressions are usually wrong and my memory always +weak, that you are strongly attached to one another, that no one ever +hesitates to risk death for the others, that you are bound together by a +hundred ties, and that you act together for the common good. Ah, that is +something like friendship, real friendship, I should like to be one of a +band like yours, but I look in vain for such a thing in New Orleans." + +"I wish that you were going with us," said Henry heartily. + +"I wish it, too. Often I long for the great forests and the free air as +you do, but my service is due here to Bernardo Galvez, who is my good +friend. But it is pleasant to see that you have triumphed so finely." + +"We may encounter great dangers yet," said Henry. + +"It is quite likely, but I have an impression, and upon this occasion at +least I am sure my impression is not wrong, that you will overcome them as +you have done before." + +When he was gone, and every one of the five felt genuine regret at his +departure, they went down to the river, where their fleet was anchored, +and were welcomed by Adam Colfax. + +"We're certainly going to-morrow," said the captain, "but nobody can tell +when we'll get to Fort Pitt." + +It was indeed a fine fleet of canoes and boats to be propelled by paddle, +oar, and sail, and it bore a most precious cargo. Eight of the larger +boats carried a twelve pound brass cannon apiece to be used if need be on +the way, but destined for that far-distant and struggling army in the +northeast. Stored in the other boats and canoes were five hundred muskets, +mostly from France, barrels of powder, scores of bars of lead, precious +medicines worth their weight in gold, blankets, cloth for uniforms and +underclothing. It was the most valuable cargo ever started up the +Mississippi and there were many strong and brave men to guard it. + +"We carry things both to kill and to cure," said Paul. + +"An' we're goin', too!" said Long Jim, heaving again that mighty sigh of +relief. "That's the big thing!" + +They started the next day at the appointed time. Henry, Paul, and Long Jim +were In one of the leading boats, and Tom Ross and Shif'less Sol were in +another near them. The population of New Orleans was on the levee to see +them go, and some wished them good luck and many wished them bad. The +majority of the French were for them, and the majority of the Spanish +against them. + +But the five, now that the time was at hand, felt only elation. The breeze +blew strong and fresh over the mighty river that came from their +beloved-forests and vast unknown regions beyond. They seemed to feel in it +some of the tang and sparkle of the north. + +"Good-bye, New Orleans," said Jim Hart, waving a long hand on a long arm; +"I'm glad I've seed you, I'm glad I've laid my weary head to rest inside +your walls fur a few nights, but I'm glad I don't stay in you, nor in any +other town. Good-bye." + +One of the brass cannon fired a salute, cannon on the fort and the +galleon, Doņa Isabel, replied. Adam Colfax gave the word, and at the same +instant hundreds of oars and paddles dipped into the muddy current of the +Mississippi. The great supply fleet leaped forward as if it were one +whole, and soon New Orleans and its intrigues sank under the curve behind +them. + +Henry and Paul, although they did not have to work, pulled at the oars +with the others, and more than one man noticed how the mighty muscles of +Henry Ware's arm swelled and bunched as he made the boat leap forward. But +they did not maintain their high rate of speed long. As the rivers ran it +was a good two thousand miles to Fort Pitt, and they did not wish to +exhaust themselves on the first twenty. Long Jim at last let his oar rest +and patted Paul joyfully on the shoulder. + +"Ain't you noticed nothin', Paul?" he asked. + +"I've noticed a lot of river, and a fine little fleet on it." + +"But somethin' better than that. Look at the trees, Paul, all along on +either side, an' not a house in sight, an' not a human bein' 'cept +ourselves, not a single trail uv smoke to dirty the sky. Nothin' but the +woods ez God made 'em. I tell you, Paul, it's pow'ful fine jest to live!" + +Paul shared his enthusiasm, but his feelings went further. Beyond a doubt +they had been successful in their great journey to the south, but another +and large purpose was yet left. Their task had brought them into contact +with the world outside, and Paul devoutly hoped that the supply train +would reach Fort Pitt in time. + +The day went smoothly on. The fleet kept its formation something, like +that of an arrow, with Adam Colfax's boat the point of the arrow, and +those containing the five just behind. The river assumed a wholly +wilderness aspect. Spanish or French boats were few and they gave the +fleet a wide berth. Wild fowl swarmed once more, and they saw a bear on +the bank regarding them with a half wise, half comic countenance. + +When the sun was low the boats containing the five were turned toward the +land. There they found a cove in which the boats could be safely tied and +a fine grove in which they could cook, and which would also furnish a good +place for those who wished to sleep ashore. Henry Ware and Shif'less Sol +scouted in the country about but saw no sign of anything that might +disturb. + +All five slept on land wrapped in their blankets under the trees, and +early the next morning the journey was resumed. Progress could not be +rapid. They had to face the slow, heavy current of the Mississippi, and +now and then Henry and Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross walked through the +woods along the shore. They early established their reputations as the +best hunters and shots in the fleet, and they kept the men supplied with +game, bear, deer, and water fowl. + +Several days passed in this manner, and Henry noticed that people were +even scarcer than they had been when they were coming down. Then they had +seen a few, now not more than two or three, and these avoided them. + +"I don't believe they are really friendly to us," said Henry to Paul, "and +something to injure us may be on foot. I wish that we were beyond the last +French and Spanish settlement." + +"We are too strong to be attacked," said Paul, "I don't think we have +anything to fear." + +Henry shook his head somewhat doubtfully, but he said nothing more on the +subject at that time, and the fleet moved steadily on without event. Adam +Colfax exercised a stern discipline. There were wild men in his fleet, +adventurers, fellows who had floated about the world, but he was a match +for any of them, and those who did not respect his voice feared his ready +hand. But even these were animated by the great purpose and the thrill of +a two-thousand mile journey on unknown rivers through a vast wilderness. + +Half of the men slept ashore every night. They would build great fires, +cook their suppers, and then sit around awhile talking. Some one would +sing, and others would play strange, old tunes on accordion or guitar. +Paul heard many a snatch of song in Spanish or French or Portuguese, and +the wilderness would lend an additional charm to the melody. Adam Colfax, +stern ruler that he was, never forbade these amusements. + +"It isn't well to stop up things too tight," he would say. "Children have +got to make noise, and men are a good deal the same way. If you seal 'em +up they'll bust." + +These evening scenes always made a deep impression upon Paul. There were +the cheerful fires, lighted for cooking, and now dying down to great beds +of coals, the surrounding darkness seeming to come closer and closer, but +within it a wide circle of light in which many men sat or reclined at +ease, smoking or talking, or doing both. All were good-natured, the +weather was fair so far, the journey easy, the work not excessively hard, +and the hunters brought in fresh game in plenty. + +They passed the mouth of the bayou near which the Chateau of Beaulieu +stood, and Henry and Shif'less Sol went to see it. They found a small +detachment of Spanish soldiers sent by Bernardo Galvez in possession, but +the followers of Alvarez had disappeared. The place seemed lonely and +deserted, as the soldiers of Galvez kept close to the house, as if they +were afraid of the wilderness. + +Henry and Shif'less Sol sped back through the forest toward the river. + +"Now I wonder," said Shif'less Sol, "what could hev become o' that Spanish +feller. He wuz jest the kind, so proud he wuz, an' thinkin' so much o' +himself, to be burnin' up with hate over what has happened." + +"He has made himself an outlaw," said Henry, "and it's my opinion, Sol, +that he's somewhere in these regions. And Braxton Wyatt is with him, too. +That fellow will never rest in his plots against us. We'll hear from them +both again. They'll try for some sort of revenge." + +They rejoined the boats at noon, and three or four hours later they saw a +canoe ahead of them upon the water. It contained two occupants who graded +their speed to that of the fleet, keeping well out of rifle-shot. + +"What do you take them to be?" called out Adam Colfax to Henry. + +"Indians, I know, and spies, I think," replied Henry. + +Several of the more powerful boats moved ahead of the fleet and endeavored +to overtake the canoe, but they could not. The two Indians who occupied it +evidently had skill and powerful arms, as they maintained the distance +between themselves and their pursuers. Henry and Paul, stirred by the +interest of the chase, also seized oars and pulled hard, but the canoe +presently turned up a small tributary river, where they did not have time +to follow it, and they saw it no more. + +It was something that many might have passed as a mere incident of the +river, but Henry did not forget it. His sixth sense, the sense of danger, +as it were, had received a definite impression, and he paid heed to the +warning. + +That afternoon clouds came up for the first time. It had been very warm on +the river, but the heat and closeness did not develop into a rapid storm +of thunder and lightning as so often happens in the Mississippi valley. +Instead, the air turned colder, and a raw, drizzling rain set it. It was +then that they appreciated the comfort of their well-equipped boats. +Everybody was wrapped up and protected, and they moved steadily on. + +Henry and Shif'less Sol, as usual, went ashore later on to seek a landing +place, and a site suitable for a camp, as it was considered wise always to +give the men warm food. Presently they found a fairly well sheltered spot +near the shore, a slope surrounded by high trees, and when Adam Colfax +received the word the boats were tied to the bank. Some tents were pitched +in the opening, and with considerable difficulty the fires were lighted. A +drizzling rain still fell, but the fires finally triumphed over it, and +blazed and crackled merrily. Nevertheless, this lightness and merriment +were not communicated to the men, who shivered in the wet, drew close to +the flames, and had downcast faces. All the five were ashore and in the +shadow of the woods they held a little conference of their own, talking +with great earnestness. + +"I think," said Henry, "that we're being watched and that there is danger, +great danger. One never knows what the wilderness contains." + +"Suppose that all of us watch the night through," said Paul. + +"No," said Henry, "I think, Paul, that you ought to sleep and Long Jim +should do so, too. There are enough without you. To-morrow night will be +your turn. We shouldn't waste our resources." + +This satisfied Paul and Jim, and soon they were asleep in one of the +tents, but Henry, Shif'less Sol, and Tom Ross were in the dripping forest +outside Adam Colfax's own line of sentinels, seeking the hidden danger. +The three remained together, and they looked everywhere. They were on the +east bank and there was nothing but forest. The moon lay behind sodden +clouds, and the trees were dark and shadowy. Now and then the wind swept a +dash of rain in their faces, and the air remained raw and chill. Sharp as +were their eyes, they could not see very far into the forest, but they +could see behind them the flame of their own camp fires, a core of light +in the wilderness. + +"It might be better to put out all those fires," said Henry, "but I don't +believe Captain Colfax would hear to it. He thinks we're too strong to +fear any serious attack." + +"No," said Shif'less Sol, "he wouldn't do it, an' the men would grumble, +too. We've got to be the outside guard ourselves." + +The three kept together, continuing their steady patrol in a semi-circle +about the camp, the side of the river being guarded by the boats +themselves. The rain died to a drizzle, but the clouds remained, and the +skies were dark. Hours passed, and nearly everybody slept soundly by the +fires, but the faithful three, gliding among the wet trees and bushes, +still watched. + +They heard faint noises in the forest, the passage of the wind, or the +stir of a wild animal, and after a while they heard the long, plaintive +and weird note, with which they were so familiar, the howl of the wolf. + +It was characteristic of the three that when this faint note, almost like +the sigh of the wind among the wet trees, reached their ears, they said +nothing, but merely stopped and in the obscurity glanced at one another +with eyes of understanding. They listened patiently, and the low, +plaintive howl came again and then once more, all from different points of +the compass. There had been a time when Henry Ware was deceived for a +moment by these cries, but it was not possible now. + +"It must be a gathering of the southern tribes," he said, "and I imagine +that Braxton Wyatt is with them, giving them advice. Sol, suppose that you +go to the right and Tom to the left. I'll stay in the center, and if any +one of us sees an enemy he's to shoot at it and rouse the camp." + +The two were gone in an instant, and Henry was left alone. That instant +all the old, primeval instincts, so powerful in him, were aroused. His +sixth sense, the sense of danger, was speaking to him in a voice that he +could not but hear. There, too, was the quaver of the wolf. All the +signals of alarm were set, and he resolved that he should be the first to +see danger when It showed its head. + +The clouds piled in heavier masses in the sky, and the darkness thickened. +The wind blew lightly and its sound among the boughs and leaves was a +long, plaintive sigh that had in it a tone like the cry of a woman. The +rain came only in gusts, but when it struck it was sharp and cold. The +trees stood out, black and ill-defined, like skeletons. But the forest, +its wet, its chill, and its loneliness, had no effect upon the attuned +mind of Henry Ware. He was in his native element, and every nerve in him +thrilled with the knowledge that he would rise to meet the crisis, +whatever it might be. + +He was crouched by the side of a great oak, his form blurring with its +trunk, his eyes, now used to the darkness, searching every covert in +front--he knew that Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross would watch to right and +left. + +The cry of the wolf did not come again, save for a lone note, now much +nearer. But when its sound passed through the forest, Henry Ware's form +seemed to become a little more taut and he leaned a little further +forward. Beyond the slight bending motion he did not stir. + +He still saw nothing and heard nothing, but that voice which was his sixth +sense was calling to him more loudly than ever, and he was ready to +respond. + +In front of him, thirty yards away, lay a thicket or undergrowth, and he +watched it incessantly. It seemed to him now that he knew every bush and +briar and vine. Presently a briar moved, and then a bush, and then a +vine, but they moved against the wind, and the sharp eyes of the watcher +saw it. He sank a little lower and the muzzle of his rifle stole forward. +He made not the slightest sound, and good eyes, only a few yards away, +could not have separated his dark figure from that of the tree trunk. + +The same briar and bush moved a third time, and, as before, against the +wind. It did not escape the notice of Henry Ware. Now he saw a sharp, red +nose appear, and then the shaggy head behind it. + +The nose remained--projected and lifted in the air, a-sniff to catch the +fleeting scent of an enemy. Fancy could readily paint the ugly head of the +lank body behind it. But Henry Ware was not deceived for an instant. The +muzzle of the rifle that had been thrust forward, was raised now, and +taking swift aim, he fired. + +A wild and terrible cry swelled through the forest. An Indian warrior +sprang to his feet, casting off his guise of a wolfskin, stood perfectly +still for a moment, and then fell headlong among the wet bushes. The cry +came back in many real echoes, the shouts of the warriors who knew now +that there was to be no surprise for them. Their battle cry swelled in +volume, fierce with anger, but Henry, Shif'less Sol, and Tom Ross were +already running back upon the camp, sounding the alarm, and the men, +roused from sleep, were springing to arms. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE BATTLE OF THE BANK + + +"What is it? what is it?" cried Adam Colfax, as the three sentinels, who +were worth all the others combined, dashed into the camp. + +"An Indian army!" replied Henry Ware. "We do not yet know how strong, but +we have seen their scouts! hark to them!" + +The fierce war whoop rose and swelled through all the forest, died away, +then swelled and died again. From the dark wall of the trees came the +crackling fire of rifles. No one could be in doubt now. + +"Out with the fires! Scatter them, trample them down!" exclaimed Henry. + +He set the example, kicking the wood and embers in every direction. Adam +Colfax was not one to resent such a sudden assumption of authority, when +he saw that it meant the saving of human lives. He repeated the order and +joined in the work himself. Fortunately the fires had burned low and the +task was soon done, but not before two or three men had been hit by +bullets from the surrounding darkness. + +"Lie down, everybody!" cried Henry, and the order was obeyed at once. Then +the strange night battle in the heart of the wilderness began. The +savages, after their first attack, ceased to shout, and the voyagers on +their own part made little noise. But they knew that the assailing force +was numerous. It rimmed them on all sides save that of the river, and the +little pink and red beads of fire seemed to flash from every bush. The men +on the boats swarmed to the shore, but Adam Colfax allowed only half of +them to come, the land force at the same time falling back on the river to +meet them. He had no mind to let his communications be cut. + +As the white line fell back the red came on, and uttered again the +long-drawn, high-pitched war whoop, a cry of exultation. But it was not +repeated, as the white line withdrew only to the bank, and yielded no +more. Then both lines lay in the forest, faces invisible, but the pink and +red beads of opposing fire ran back and forth in a stream. Now and then, +even in the darkness, a bullet struck true. A groan would start in the +white line, but it would be checked at the lips, because these were men +too proud to give expression to pain. + +"They can't make much progress in this way," said Adam Colfax to Henry, +who had crept to his side. + +"They can make it terribly wearing by keeping it up all night." + +"We can withdraw to the boats entirely and row away." + +"I wouldn't do it. They're sure to have boats, too, knowing that we could +take to the water, and if we were to leave here they'd take it as a sign +of victory and follow. Then we'd have another and worse fight." + +Adam Colfax was of the same opinion. He was not in favor of yielding an +inch. + +"I think I can see some of their figures dancing about there among the +bushes," he whispered to Henry. + +"I see them, too," replied the youth, "and I think that I see white men. +They must be the desperate gang that followed Alvarez out of New Orleans." + +"No doubt of it." + +Adam Colfax presently crept down the river bank, but came back in a few +minutes. + +"Now we'll see something," he whispered to Henry, and what the cautious +leader said was quick to come true. + +The fire of both sides died for a moment, and then came a heavy crash and +a jet of fire from the river; there was a long, shrill scream as a missile +curved high over the white line and dropped in the red, where it burst, +flinging red-hot pieces of steel in a shower. It was followed instantly by +another report, another jet of fire, and another shower of metal in the +bushes. The brass twelve-pounders on the boat had opened fire, and with +shot after shot they were searching the dark thickets, whence cries of +rage now came. + +The Americans sent up shouts of triumph and redoubled their rifle fire. +Many of the more zealous were eager to creep to the thickets and turn the +defensive into the offensive, but the leaders restrained them. + +"No use to waste life in any such foolish fashion," said shrewd Adam +Colfax. "While we stay under the cannon they won't rush us, but if we +follow them into the bushes they'll have an overwhelming advantage." + +It began to lighten a little, but the wind blew stronger and very cold for +the time of the year. The red line was withdrawn further into the forest, +but it continued an intermittent fire, and now and then uttered a +challenging war whoop. The cannon every ten minutes sent a shot among +them, but whether it did any damage the Americans could not tell. The +defenders saved their bullets, firing only when there seemed to be a +chance for a hit, and thus the hours dragged their leaden weight slowly +by. + +A score of the Americans had been wounded by the rifle fire, but in most +cases the wounds were slight. Six were dead and they were taken to the +boats, where stones were tied to them and they were dropped into the +Mississippi to disappear forever. Rovers, adventurers, masterless men, +they had been, but they died in a good cause, and they were not without +mourners, as their bodies slid into the brown waters. + +Adam Colfax had coffee made on several of the boats provided with a +cooking apparatus, and it was served in the darkness to those who fought +on shore. One man had the tin cup shot from his hand as he was raising it +to his lips, but he calmly called for another, and when he had drunk it, +went on with his part of the battle. + +The hot coffee heartened them wonderfully, and the ten minute cannon shots +were good company. They grew to look for them, and so strong is habit, +that they knew almost to the second when the shot was due. It was like a +slow, steady chorus, cheering them and telling them to hold on. + +Far toward morning there was a tremendous burst of fire from the thickets, +the fierce, high-pitched war shout was repeated three times, and after +that, silence. Then the darkness sank away, and the day came in a burst of +red and gold, gilding river and forest. + +"They are gone," said Henry, "you'll find now that the woods are empty." + +Many of the voyagers rushed into the forest to discover that he spoke the +truth. Nowhere was there a sign of an enemy. No tree sheltered a warrior, +the thickets were harmless. The peaceful morning breeze had no note of +warning in its song. But when they looked more closely they saw that many +dark stains had soaked into the earth, and they knew that not all the +bullets and cannon balls had gone amiss. + +"Well, we drove them off that time," said Adam Colfax cheerfully. "They +found that they couldn't surprise us, and I guess they've concluded that +they couldn't rush us either. I fancy it's the last we'll see of 'em." + +Henry shook his head, and Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross, who were standing +by, also shook theirs. + +"We're pretty' sure that a big league of the southern tribes has been +formed," Henry said, "and there are also many white men with them, white +men who are driven by hate and revenge. They'll stick." + +"Then we've got to defend this fleet to the last," said Adam Colfax. "It's +bound to get through; and the first thing I'll have done is to cover up +our barrels of powder, so no fire or hot bullets can reach it. Those +barrels of powder are as precious as gold." + +This task was begun at once and everybody reembarked, a joyful little army +that had won a triumph and that felt able to win more if need be. The +wounded made light of their wounds and all felt new strength and courage +with the daylight. The five returned with the others to their boats. + +"Well, Jim," said Paul to Long Jim Hart, "there's trouble to be found away +from New Orleans as well as in it. Last night was not so very peaceful, +and the woods did contain danger." + +Long Jim heaved a satisfied sigh. + +"Yes, Paul," he replied, "thar wuz shorely a heap uv danger stirrin' 'bout +last night, an' thar wuz lots uv chances that some uv it would come +knockin' up ag'inst me, but, Paul, I knowed it wuz thar, I knowed it wuz +in the woods in front uv us; it wuzn't settin' by my side, talkin' soft +things to me, an' sayin' it wuz my friend. No, Paul, ef I had got killed +last night I would hev knowed, ef I knowed anythin' at all, that it wuz an +honest Injun bullet that done it, one that meant to do it, an' no +foolin'." + +The fleet resumed its passage up the river in its usual arrow formation, +with the five near the tip of the barb, but the bright promise of the +morning was deceitful. Toward noon the clouds of the night before that had +not retreated far, came back again, filing solemnly across the sky in a +long, somber procession. No air stirred. The wide, yellow river stretched +before them, a smooth, molten surface. + +The motion of the fleet became perceptibly slower. The men in that turgid +atmosphere felt languid and inert, and their hands rested but lightly on +oar and paddle. Cheerfulness gave way to depression. The voyage was far +less easy than it had seemed a few hours before. Overhead the clouds +united and drew a leaden blanket from horizon to horizon. + +"It's a storm, of course," said Henry. "Remember the one that struck us +when we were coming down the river. It's just such another." + +There was a sudden rush of hot air. Dull thunder, singularly uncanny in +its low, distant note, began to grumble. Lightning of an intense coppery +color flashed again and again across the heavens. The river began to rise +in yellow waves that crumbled and rose again. + +Some of the boats had sails, but these were quickly taken in--Adam Colfax +was no careless seaman. The fleet, nevertheless, began to heave on the +troubled water, break its formation, and fall into imminent danger of +frequent collision. The great river, usually so friendly, and, like a long +cord, uniting the green lands on either side, was now full of wrath and +fury. Burst after burst of wind, screaming ominously, swept over it, and +the waves rolled like those of the sea. Despite powerful hands on oar and +paddle, the fleet was driven about like a covey of frightened birds. +Meanwhile, the darkness increased until it was almost like night. + +Adam Colfax struggled hard. He wished to keep to the middle of the river, +and a single boat might have fought out the storm there, but the danger +was steadily increasing. Two boats, already, were in collision, and with +great difficulty were saved from sinking. + +"We'll have to make for the shore and tie up," he shouted to Henry, who +was in the boat next to him. "I think it's the most violent storm I ever +saw on the Mississippi." + +"We may find a sheltered place," Henry shouted back above the roar of the +wind. + +"There's nothing else to do," said Adam Colfax. "The eastern shore looks +the lower, and we'll go for it at once." + +He gave the signal with hand and voice, and all the boats began to pull +with their whole strength in a diagonal course toward the east bank, while +the wind shrieked in gust after gust, the thunder crashed incessantly, and +the coppery lightning flared in great saber-cuts across the sky. + +It was enough to daunt the heart of many a brave man, but Henry Ware was +not appalled. His primeval instincts had risen to the surface again. He +saw the grandeur of it rather than the weirdness and danger. Like Long +Jim, though less outspoken, he had been troubled by the intrigue, the +shiftiness, and the false seeming of New Orleans, and now his spirit +replied to the battle of the elements. He was the most active man in the +fleet. His quick hand and eye and powerful arm kept one canoe loaded with +medical stores, which had in them the saving of many lives, from going to +the bottom. The harder the wind blew and the rougher the waves grew the +higher his spirit rose to meet them. + +"Look!" he shouted to Adam Colfax, as they approached the shore, "an +opening! See it? I think it's a bayou, and if we go up that we'll be +safe!" + +Henry was right. Its mouth almost hidden by trees, the deep, still bayou +opened out before them, and ran its narrow length far back into the land. +One could not conceive a better anchorage for the small boats such as +constituted their fleet. The men, when they saw it, gave a hearty cheer +that rose above the wind. Hardy as they were, fear had entered most of +them. + +The leading boats passed into the bayou, and all the others, many +struggling hard with wind, current, and waves, followed them. The change +was immediate. They came into quarters comparatively still, but there was +a new danger. A tree, snapped through its mighty trunk by the hurricane, +fell across the bayou directly in front of them. It was lucky that no +canoe was in its way. + +"Out, men, with axes!" shouted Adam Colfax, and a dozen leaped to obey his +command. The tree was quickly cut apart and a score more dragged the two +halves up to the banks, leaving a passage once more for the fleet. This +was repeated further on, and now they began to look anxiously for more +open country. Only good fortune had saved them so far. + +The bayou ran on narrow and deep, and they pulled and paddled with all +their might, until at last they came to a place that was fringed only by +high bushes. The forest on either side was two or three hundred yards +away, and Adam Colfax, despite his stern New Hampshire nature, did not +repress a cry of joy. Here they were safe, alike from the Mississippi and +the forest. + +"Tie up!" he shouted, and the boats were soon fastened to the bushes in +parallel rows on either side of the bayou. Then they hurried to make +shelter for themselves. The supplies were already covered. The skies were +now at the darkest, a solid circle of heavy black clouds. The lightning +and thunder alike ceased, and then, borne on the swift wind, came a mighty +rain. It was so heavy, so steady, and so searching that they were put to +their utmost labor and ingenuity to keep their precious cargo dry. + +"If the rain were not so tremendously heavy I would look through the +forest to see if any enemies were about," said Henry to the leader. + +Adam Colfax glanced up at the water which was falling in sheets and +laughed, a laugh of genuine relief from a great strain. + +"Why, Henry," he said, "I don't believe that a man could keep his feet out +there in all that pelting flood long enough to go many miles. I wish I +was always as safe from attack as I feel now." + +It was certainly far more comfortable in the boats than it could possibly +be in the sodden forest, where little lakes were already forming. In +addition, night, very dark, was coming on, and no cessation of the rain +was promised. It was useless, in the face of the deluge, to attempt to +build fires on the shore, and huddling in the boats under tarpaulins, +sails, and blankets, they ate cold food. But Adam Colfax, as a precaution, +allowed a little brandy to be served to every man. + +"It's medicine in this case, boys," he said, "and you must look on it so. +I don't think you'll get any more." + +Bye and bye the rain slackened a little. Some one began a line of a song, +but it did not catch. Nobody joined in, and the singer stopped. The +atmosphere was not favorable to any kind of music. The hours passed +slowly, but it was nearly midnight when the rain ceased, and a timid moon +came out to cast a few pale rays over a soaked and dripping forest. Most +of the men were now asleep under their covers, but not one of the five +slumbered, nor did Adam Colfax and a dozen others. + +"Thank God, it's stopped at last!" said Adam Colfax devoutly--he was a +religious man, and his gratitude was not merely oral. "The clouds are +clearing away and I think we can soon see where we are." + +"Yes, it will be much lighter soon," said Henry Ware, "but in the +meantime we are about to receive a visitor. Look!" + +He pointed down the bayou toward the river. A light canoe was emerging +from the mists and shadows. It contained a single occupant, and came +straight on up the narrow channel. + +The man who sat in the canoe was tall and thin and wrapped in a dripping +black robe. His head was bare and his gray hair fell in long, straight +locks. The moonlight fell directly upon his thin, ascetic face, and +something in the eyes that Adam Colfax saw, or thought he saw, sent a +thrill through him. + +"Is it a ghost?" he asked of Henry Ware in an awed whisper. + +At that moment the moonlight shifted and fell upon something metallic that +gleamed upon the breast of the mystic visitor. + +"It is Father Montigny," said Henry. He, too, felt awe, not at any ghostly +apparition but because the priest had come suddenly at such a time. + +"What does it portend?" was his silent thought. + +Paddling with a strong hand the priest came straight toward them. The +moonlight continued to shine upon his face, and Henry thought that he read +there the impulse of a great mission. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE BATTLE OF THE BAYOU + + +The priest came directly to the boat, in which Henry Ware and Adam Colfax +were sitting--the remainder of the five were in the next boat--and held up +his hand as a sign of recognition and relief. + +"Father Montigny!" said Henry. + +"Yes, my son, it is I, and I give thanks to Heaven that I have found you +in time." + +"What is it, father?" It seemed natural that at this moment Henry should +be the spokesman for the fleet. + +"A great danger has closed upon you and all here." + +"Alvarez?" + +"Yes, he is the master spirit, but back of him are the allied tribes of +the south, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, even Osages from the west, and +others, and in addition there are two hundred desperate white men drawn +from all nations. Alvarez has promised to lead them to great spoil and +plunder. He is the buccaneer chief now and they will follow him. At +night-fall they surprised a French trading schooner tied to the shore for +safety, slaughtered those on board, and have now drawn the schooner +across the mouth of the bayou to shut you in. The vessel also carries four +bronze nine pounders which they will use against you. Outside in the +Mississippi is a great fleet of Indian war-canoes which has been above you +in the stream." + +Adam Colfax paled a little. + +"It seems," he said, "that when we thought we were pulling to safety we +were merely entering a trap." + +"It was a trap," said Henry with energy, "but we're strong enough to break +any trap into which we may fall." + +"That's so," said Adam Colfax. + +"You may ask me how I knew all this," continued the priest. "I tell you +not what I have heard, but what I have seen. I was with the Choctaws, and +I sought to dissuade them from this campaign upon which they were +marching. I told them that Alvarez was mad with ambition and +disappointment, that he had rebelled against lawful authority, that he was +an outlaw and buccaneer, and that he could not keep his promises. My words +availed nothing. I continued with them, hoping still to dissuade them and +the other bands that met them, but still I failed. + +"I was yet with the tribe when they met Alvarez and the wicked renegade, +the one Wyatt, and their men. Alvarez would have used force, he would have +driven me from the camp with heavy blows; even this, the white man who has +inherited Holy Church would have done, but the red men, born savages, +would not let him. Although they would not listen to me they let me stay, +unharmed. I witnessed, or rather heard, their attack upon you last night, +and their repulse has made them only the more eager for your destruction. +It has also united them the more firmly." + +"When do you think they will attack us, Father Montigny?" asked Henry. + +"That I cannot tell. I heard their plans, and I deemed it my duty to warn +you. A guard, one whom I have converted to our faith, let me slip away and +here I am." + +"And our debt to you is still growing," said Henry. "As for myself, I +think the attack will come to-night, when they deem us disorganized and +beaten down by the storm." + +"And so do I," said Adam Colfax. "We have no time to waste." + +"May God preserve you," said the priest. "I have no desire to witness +scenes of slaughter but I trust, for the sake of yourselves, for the sake +of Bernardo Galvez, the good Governor General of Louisiana, and for the +welfare of this region, that you may beat them off. But the contest will +be fierce and bloody." + +A young man, at the order of Adam Colfax, sounded a trumpet, a low +thrilling call that aroused the men from their brief sleep, and the word +was quickly passed that they were blockaded in the bayou, and that the +hordes were advancing to a new attack. They grumbled less now than at the +storm. Here was a danger that they knew how to meet. Battle had been a +part of all their lives, and they did not fear it. + +The moonlight increased, the forest was dripping, but there was a noise +now of bullet clinking against bullet, of the ramrod sent home in the +rifle barrel, and of men talking low. + +Adam Colfax called a conference in his boat. His best lieutenants and the +five were present. Should they await the attack or advance to meet it? In +any event, the fleet must escape from the bayou, and the nearer they were +to the river when the battle occurred the better it would be for them. + +"Ef we know thar's a danger," said Tom Ross, "the best thing fur us to do +is to go to it, an' lay hold uv it." + +The vote on Tom's suggestion was unanimous in its favor, and the fleet +once more began to move. A small force of riflemen marched on either bank +in order to uncover possible skirmishers. + +The advance was very slow and in silence save for the dip of the oars and +the paddles. The moonlight grew stronger and stronger, and they could now +see a good distance on the deep, still bayou. + +The five had remained in the leading boats and they watched closely for +sight or sound of the hostile force, but as yet eye and ear told nothing. +The trees now grew close to the water's edge and, looped heavily with +trailing vines, they presented a black wall on either side. But they had +no fear of shots from such a source, as they knew that the trusty +riflemen going in advance would clear out any skirmishers who might have +hidden themselves there. + +Paul was beside Henry. Near him was Long Jim and in the boat next to them +was Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross. At this moment, which they felt to be +heavy with import, it was good to be together. Paul in particular, Paul, +the impressionable and imaginative, looked around at the familiar figures +in the clearing moonlight, and drew strength and comfort from their near +presence. + +The dark fleet moved slowly on, cutting the deep still waters of the bayou +with almost noiseless keel. The men had ceased whispering. Now and then an +oar splashed or the water gave back the echo of a paddle's dip, but little +else was heard. All looked straight ahead. + +Suddenly they saw in the middle of the bayou, about a hundred yards before +them, a small, black shape, so low that it seemed to blend with the water. +It was an Indian canoe, the first outpost of the savage force, and its +occupant, promptly firing a rifle, raised a long, warning shout. In an +instant the woods on either side began to crackle with rifle-fire. +Skirmishers had met skirmishers, and the battle of the bayou had begun. + +"Press on! Press on! We must cut through somehow!" cried Adam Colfax, and +the American fleet moved steadily and unfalteringly on toward its goal. +They came now to the narrowest part of the bayou, and stretched across it +they saw a dark line of canoes, all crowded with Indians and the +desperadoes of Alvarez. Behind them heaved up the dark bulk of the +captured schooner. + +The battle blazed in an instant into volume and fury. Two lines of fire +facing each other were formed across the bayou, one bent upon pushing +forward, the other bent upon holding it back. These lines, moreover, +stretched far into the woods on either bank, where sharpshooters lay, and +both sides shouted at intervals as the blood in their veins grew hot. + +The dark hulk of the schooner suddenly burst into spots of flame, and the +woods and waters echoed with heavy reports. The captured nine pounders +were now helping to block the passage, but the brass twelve pounders on +the supply fleet replied. Steadily the fire of both sides grew in volume +and the lines came closer and closer together. + +The moonlight faded again and little clouds of smoke began to rise. These +clouds gradually grew bigger, then united into one heavy opaque mass that +hung over the combatants. Strips of vapor were detached from it and +floated off into the forest. A sharp, pungent odor, the smell of burnt +gunpowder, filled the nostrils of the men and added to the fire that +burned in their veins. + +This, the largest battle yet fought in the southern woods, had a somber +and unreal aspect to Paul. All around them now was the encircling +darkness. Only the area in which the battle was fought showed any light, +but here the flashes of the firing were continuous and intense. The crash +of the rifles never ceased. Now and then it rose to greater volume and +then fell again, but rising or falling it always went on, while over it +boomed the big guns answering one another in defiant notes of thunder. + +The schooner was the most formidable obstacle to the passage. It lay full +length across the narrow bayou and, even if the boats of the supply fleet +should reach it, there was little room to pass on either side. From its +decks the nine pounders were fired fast and often with precision, and the +majority of the Spaniard's desperate band found shelter there also, firing +with rifles, muskets, and pistols. Others sent bullets, also, from the +comparative security of port holes. The possession of the schooner gave +them a great advantage and they did not neglect it. Now and then they sent +up fierce yells, the war-cries of the West Indian pirates, and their +Indian allies answered them with their own long-drawn, high pitched whoop, +so full of ferocity and menace. Both looked forward to nothing less than +complete triumph. + +The space between the combatants was lighted up by the incessant flash of +the firing. Little jets of water where a missent bullet struck were +continually spouting up, and then would come a bigger one when a cannon +ball plunged into the depths of the bayou. + +Paul suddenly heard a heavy impact, a crash, as of ripping wood, and a +cry. A canoe near them had been struck by a cannon ball, and practically +broken in half. It sank in an instant, and one of the men in it, wounded +in the arm, and crippled, was sinking a second time, when Paul sprang +into the water and helped him into their own boat. But not all the wounded +were so fortunate. Some sank, to stay, and the dark night battle, far more +deadly than that of the night before, reeled to and fro. + +The combat at first had been more of a spectacle than anything else to +Paul. The extraordinary play of light and darkness, the innumerable +shadows and flashes on the surface of the bayou, the black tracery of the +forest on either bank, the red beads of flame from the rifle fire +appearing and re-appearing, made of it all a vast panorama for him. There +were the sounds, too, the piratical shout, hoarse and menacing, the Indian +whoop, shriller and with more of the wild beast's whine in it, the fierce, +sharp note of the rifle fire, steady, insistent, and full of threat, and +over it the heavy thudding of the great guns. + +It was Paul's eye and ear at first that received the deep impression, but +now the aspect of a panorama passed away and his soul was stirred with a +fierce desire to get on, to cut through the hostile line, to crush down +the opposition, and to reach the full freedom of the wide river. He began +to hate those men who opposed them, the fire of passion that battle breeds +was surely mounting to his head. Unconsciously, Paul, the scholar and +coming statesman, the grave quiet youth, began to shout and to hurl +invectives at those who presumed to hold them back. The barrel of his +rifle grew hot in his hand with constant loading and firing, but he did +not notice it. He still, at imminent risk to himself, sent his bullets +toward the dark line of Indian canoes and the flashing hulk of the ship +behind them. + +The supply fleet was beginning to suffer severely. A number of boats and +canoes had been sunk and nearly a score of men had been killed. Many more +were wounded and, despite all this loss, they had made no progress. The +fire from the bank, moreover, was beginning to sting them and to stop it +Adam Colfax landed more men. The increased force of the Americans on the +shore served the purpose but they were still unable to force the mouth of +the bayou. The schooner seemed to be fixed there and she never ceased to +send a storm of bullets and cannon balls at them. + +Adam Colfax had a slight wound in the arm, but his slow cold blood was now +at the boiling point. + +"We've got to force that schooner!" he cried. "We've got to take her, if +it has to be done with boarders! We can never get by unless we do it!" + +But the loss of life even if the attempt were a success, would be +terrible. That was apparent to everybody and Henry made a suggestion. + +"Let's concentrate our whole fire upon the ship," he said. "Mass the +cannon and the rest of us will back them up with our rifles. Maybe we can +silence her, and if we do then's the time to take her by storm." + +The supply fleet drew back and its fire died. It seemed, in truth, as if +it were beaten and that, hemmed in by fire, as it were in the narrow +bayou, it must surrender. A tremendous shout of triumph burst forth from +the men on the schooner, and the Indians took it up in a vast and shriller +but more terrible chorus. + +Then came one of those sudden and ominous silences that sometimes occur in +a battle. The fire of the Americans ceasing, that of their enemies ceased +for the moment also. But the pause was more deadly and menacing in its +stillness than all the thunder and shouting of the combat had been. It +seemed unnatural to hear again the sighing of the wind through the forest +and the quiet lap of water against the shore. The bank of smoke, no longer +increased from below, lifted, thinned, broke up into patches, and began to +float away. The moon's rays shot through the mists and vapors once more, +and lighted up the watery battlefield of the night, the schooner, the +desperate men on it, the swarms of canoes, the coppery, high-cheeked faces +of the Indians, the supply fleet packed now in a rather close mass, the +tanned faces of the men on board it, animated by the high spirit of daring +and enterprise, the wounded lying silent in the boats, and the wreckage +floating on the bayou. + +But the stillness endured for only a few moments. It was broken by the +American fleet, which seemed to draw itself together into closer and more +compact form. An order in a low tone, but sharp and precise, was carried +from boat to boat, and it seemed to strengthen the men anew, heart and +body. They straightened up, signs of exhaustion passed from their faces, +and every one made ready all the arms that he had. + +Paul, like the others, had felt the sudden silence, but perhaps most +acutely of all. His whole imaginative temperament was on fire. He knew--he +would have known, even had he not heard--that the sudden cessation of the +firing was merely preliminary, a fresh drawing of the breath as it were +for another and supreme effort. He clasped his hands to his temples, where +the pulses were beating rapidly and heavily, and his face burned as if in +a fever. But it was a fever of the mind not of the body. + +"It's a big battle, Paul," said Shif'less Sol, who had come with Tom Ross +into their boat, "but it's wuth it. The arms and other things that we +carry in these boats may be wuth millions an' millions to the people who +come after us." + +"Do you think we'll ever break through, Sol?" asked Paul. + +"Shorely," replied the shiftless one. "Henry's got the plan, and we're +goin' to cut through like a wedge druv through a log. Something's got to +give. Up, Paul, with your gun! Here she goes ag'in!" + +The battle suddenly burst forth afresh and with greater violence. All the +American twelve pounders were now in a row at the head of the fleet, and +one after another, from right to left and then from left to right and over +and over again, they began to fire with tremendous rapidity and accuracy +at the schooner. All the best gunners were around the twelve pounders. If +one fell, another took his place. Many of them were stripped to the waist, +and their own fire lighted up their tan faces and their brown sinewy arms +as they handled rammer and cannon shot. + +The fire of the cannon was supported by that of scores and scores of +rifles, and the enemy replied with furious energy. But the supply fleet +was animated now by a single purpose. The shiftless one's simile of a +wedge driven into a log was true. No attention was paid to anybody in the +hostile boats and canoes. They could fire unheeded. Every American cannon +and rifle sent its load straight at the schooner. All the upper works of +the vessel were shot away. The men of Alvarez could not live upon its +decks; they were even slain at the port holes by the terrific rifle fire; +cannon shot, grape shot, and rifle bullets searched every nook and corner +of the vessel, and her desperate crew, one by one, began to leap into the +water and make for the shores. + +A shout of exultation rose from the supply fleet, which was now slowly +moving forward. Flames suddenly burst from the schooner and ran up the +stumps of her masts and spars, reaching out long arms and laying hold at +new points. The cannon shots had also reached the inside of the ship as +fire began to spout from the port holes, and there was a steady stream of +men leaping from the schooner into the water of the bayou and making for +the land. + +The American shout of exultation was repeated, and the forest gave back +the echo. The Indians answered it with a fierce yell of defiance, and the +forest gave back that, too. + +But Adam Colfax had been watching shrewdly. + +In his daring life he had been in more than one naval battle, and when he +saw the schooner wrapped and re-wrapped in great coils and ribbons of +flame he knew what was due. Suddenly he shouted in a voice that could be +heard above the roar of the battle: + +"Back! Back, all! Back for your lives!" + +It reached the ears of everybody in the American fleet, and whether he +understood its words or not every man understood its tone. There was an +involuntary movement common to all. The fleet stopped its slow advance, +seemed to sway in another direction, and then to sit still on the water. +But all were looking at the schooner with an intense, fascinated, yet +horrified gaze. + +Nobody was left on the deck of the vessel but the dead. The huge, +intertwining coil of fiery ribbons seemed suddenly to unite in one great +glowing mass, out of which flames shot high, sputtering and crackling. +Then came an awful moment of silence, the vessel trembled, leaped from the +water, turned into a volcano of fire and with a tremendous crash blew up. + +The report was so great that it came rolling back in echo after echo, but +for a few moments there was no other sound save the echo. Then followed a +rain of burning wood, many pieces falling in the supply fleet, burning and +scorching, while others fell hissing in the forest on either shore. +Darkness, too, came over land and water. All the firing had ceased as if +by preconcerted signal, though the combatants on either side were awed by +the fate of the vessel. The smoke bank came back, too, thicker and heavier +than before, and the air was filled with the strong, pungent odor of +burnt gunpowder. + +But the schooner that had blocked the mouth of the bayou was gone forever +and the way lay open before them. Adam Colfax recovered from the shock of +the explosion. + +"On, men! On!" he roared, and the whole fleet, animated by a single +impulse, sprang forward toward the mouth of the bayou, the cannon blazing +anew the path, the gunners loading and firing, as fast as they could. But +the simile of the shiftless one had come true. The wedge, driven by +tremendous strokes, had cleft the log. + +The Indian fleet, many of the boats containing white men, too, closed in +and sought to bar the way, but they were daunted somewhat by their great +disaster, and in an instant the American fleet was upon them cutting a +path through to the free river. Boat often smashed into boat, and the +weaker, or the one with less impulse, went down. Now and then white and +red reached over and grasped each other in deadly struggle, but, whatever +happened, the supply fleet moved steadily on. + +It was to Paul a confused combat, a wild and terrible struggle, the climax +of the night-battle. White and red faces mingled before him in a blur, the +water seemed to flow in narrow, black streams between the boats and the +pall of smoke was ever growing thicker. It hung over them, black and +charged now with gases. Paul coughed violently, but he was not conscious +of it. He fired his rifle until it was too hot to hold. Then he laid it +down, and seizing an oar pulled with the energy of fever. + +When the boats containing the cannon were through and into the river, they +faced about and began firing over the heads of the others into the huddled +mass of the enemy behind. But it was only for a minute or two. Then the +last of the supply fleet; that is, the last afloat, came through, and the +gap that they had made was closed up at once by the enemy, who still hung +on their rear and who were yet shouting and firing. + +The Americans gave a great cheer, deep and full throated, but they did not +pause in their great effort. Boats swung off toward either bank of the +bayou's mouth. The skirmishers in the bushes who had done such useful work +must be taken on board. Theirs was now the most dangerous position of all, +pursued as they certainly would be by the horde of Indians and outlaws, +bent upon revenge. + +The boat containing the five was among those that touched the northern +side of the bayou's mouth, and everyone of them, rifle in hand, instantly +sprang ashore. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE DEFENSE OF THE FIVE + + +Henry Ware was the first on land, Shif'less Sol came just behind him, and +then the other three. The boat from which they had leaped, and which now +contained but two oarsmen, swung back a little into the stream, and in a +moment the darkness, closing down, shut it from view. They stood in a +patch of undergrowth and the battle still flamed around them on the bayou, +on the river, and in the woods. It was now fiercest in the forest, which +crackled with the rifle shots and the sound of singing bullets. +Innumerable jets of flame sparkled here and there, and then went out, to +be succeeded instantly by others. + +Many of the Indian canoes had been sunk by the explosion or the sweep of +the supply fleet, but it was easy for their occupants, if not seriously +wounded, to escape to the land, and they greatly increased the savage +swarm in the woods, chiefly on the north bank of the bayou. Henry and his +friends could hear their warning cries to one another, even their tread, +and they realized that their own skirmishers in the woods would be pressed +hard. Only a determined effort could hold back the horde long enough for +the men to reach the fleet. + +While they stood there, seeking the best thing to do, two skirmishers +dashed up, breathless, both slightly wounded, and exclaiming that they +were pursued by a formidable force. + +"Jump into the water!" cried Henry. "The boats are only a few yards away! +We'll hold back the savages!" + +There were two plunks, as the skirmishers sprang into the Mississippi, +sinking a moment from sight, and then, as they reappeared, swimming +swiftly for the boats. Behind them came their pursuers in a swarm, but +they were driven back by the rifle fire of the little party from Kentucky. +Another skirmisher burst through the bushes, and, helped in the same way, +sprang into the Mississippi, swimming for the boats. Then came a fourth +and a fifth and everyone escaped as the others had done. + +"It's well we came," said Henry. "This is not the least of our task. Lie +down, boys." + +They stretched themselves on the damp earth, the great, yellow river close +behind them, and the forest in front swarming with the savage force. They +had expected other men who had landed to come to their aid, but the +parties had become separated in the darkness and confusion of the battle, +and they were left alone. Nevertheless a dauntless heart beat in every +breast, and they expected to hold that neck of land, which seemed to be a +channel for the pursued, until the last fugitive was safe. + +Lying upon their faces, half supported by their elbows, they could load +and fire whenever they saw a hostile figure in front of them. Again and +again the pursuit of a skirmisher was driven back by these deadly +riflemen. Now and then a cannon shot fired from their own fleet whistled +over their heads and struck in the forest among their foes, but they paid +no attention to it. They were intent upon their own work and every faculty +was concentrated for the task. + +They had the bayou on one side and a little bay of the river on the other, +and they could not be surrounded by land. The foe was always straight +before them, in a way, eye to eye, and there they sent bullets that rarely +missed. + +A fever was in their blood, the long battle, its tremendous events, and +the new phase that it had now assumed, set every nerve to going. Certain +faculties useless for that crisis had become atrophied for the time. They +no longer heard the sounds of the cannon shots over their heads or the +shouts of the men on the boats, they saw and heard nothing but their own +battle and what lay directly in front of them. + +The position was growing more dangerous. Their searching fire had drawn +upon them an enemy always increasing in numbers. The savages converged in +front of them in a semicircle, and their fire grew heavier and heavier. +Bullets whistled over them, struck the earth about them, or clipped their +clothing. + +Another fugitive passed them and escaped, and then yet another. It was +evident that their task was not yet done, and they would not leave, +although the fire poured upon them, still increased in heat and the +bullets came in showers. + +Presently the attack seemed to veer away from them somewhat, as if the +attention of the enemy were turned elsewhere, and Paul, who was at the end +of the line, crept forward a little in the thicket. The fever was still +burning in his veins and he was anxious to see what lay in front of him. +He did not hear the warning cries of his comrades, or, if hearing, he did +not heed them. He was still burning with the desire to see what lay there +in the depths of the forest. Paul, the scholar, the thinker, the future +statesman, had become transformed. In such a surcharged atmosphere he, +too, had turned into the primitive man, the fighter, the man who looks +upon every other man not proven a friend, as his natural enemy. The +bullets had ceased for the time being to whistle above his head and to +strike up the earth about him. He became conscious once more of the cannon +shots, shrieking over him, and the crash of the rifle fire came from right +and left. + +A stick broke under Paul and he heard a shout in front of him. The shout +was so fierce, so fully charged with malice, that he sprang to his feet as +if he had been propelled by an electric shock. He stood face to face with +Don Francisco Alvarez, the plotter, the rebel, and leader of the attacking +army, a wild and terrible figure, clothes torn, bleeding from wounds, but +animated now by a savage joy. His pistol was leveled at the surprised +youth, and the next moment the deadly bullet would have been sped, but a +tall black-robed figure rose up from the bushes and threw Alvarez back. + +"Francisco Alvarez, thou hast done crime enough already!" exclaimed the +priest. + +Alvarez regained his balance, cast one look of hate at the man who had +intervened, and cried: + +"Ha! it is you, priest, who have come in my way once more! Then go the way +of martyrdom!" + +Turning his pistol he fired the bullet full into the black-robed chest, +and Father Montigny fell dying. + +Paul stood still, unable to move. Every muscle in him was paralyzed by +this deed which seemed to him not murder alone, but sacrilege. Of all the +events of that terrible night this was the worst. But a man behind Paul, +retained every faculty, alive and alert. Up rose Shif'less Sol, his honest +face ablaze with wrath. His rifle flew to his shoulder, his finger pressed +the trigger, and the soul of Don Francisco Alvarez, grandee of Spain, sped +to judgment from the darkness and obscurity of the North American +wilderness. + +"Come back, Paul! Come back!" cried Shif'less Sol, seizing the youth by +the shoulder. + +"But Father Montigny is dying!" cried Paul, falling upon his knees beside +the priest. The tears ran down his cheeks and fell upon the pale face of +the dying man. + +Paul and Father Montigny, Protestant and Catholic, young man and old, were +kindred spirits, and each had felt it from the first. In the soul of each +was the same mysticism, the same imaginative quality, the same spiritual +eye always looking into the future. It had occurred more than once to the +priest that, if he had remained outside the cloth, and had lived as other +men lived, he would have wished such a son as Paul. + +Now he smiled and opened his eyes as he saw this beloved youth of his +later days weeping over him, as he lay in the forest with his death wound. +The one face that he wished most to see beside him, as he drew his last +breath, was there. + +"Paul!" he said, "Paul, my son! Do not weep. It is the fate--in one form +or another--of all who travel in these woods--on such missions as mine. I +have long expected it--and I have often wondered that it has been delayed +so long. I escape, too, the torture--that more than one of my brethren has +suffered." + +He reached out one hand, and put it lightly upon Paul's bare head. There +it lay and Paul felt it grow cold upon him. + +"Come away, Paul," said the shiftless one gently. "The good priest is +dead. It's the livin' that need our help." + +Bullets began to whistle from the thickets. The battle converged toward +them again, and Paul knew that he was needed to help the others hold the +little neck of land so important to all. A cannon shot shrieked over his +head, and then another. Once more they were the focus of the combat. The +forest in front of them sparkled as rapidly as before with beads of +flame. + +Paul rose reluctantly and turned away. The priest lay on his back, his +face, pale and perfectly peaceful, upturned to the skies. Alvarez was a +dozen yards away, but his figure, still forever, was motionless in the +shadows. Paul did not bestow a glance upon him, but he gave Father +Montigny a last long look of affection and sorrow as he turned away. + +"Down, Paul, down!" cried Henry, when Paul and Shif'less Sol reached the +others. "We saw what happened! You cannot do anything for him now!" + +He dragged Paul down, and in an instant all of them turned their full +energy to the defense. The attack upon them was renewed with uncommon fire +and fury. The Indians and desperadoes wished to pass that particular neck +of land in order that they might pour a storm of bullets upon the crippled +fleet and the skirmishers who were yet coming in; but the little band, +headed by Henry Ware, still held them back. + +Henry looked once or twice toward the river and saw the boats hovering far +out in the stream. He judged that, in the darkness and confusion, Adam +Colfax no longer knew where the Kentuckians lay, and it was even possible +that he might lose them entirely; but the fact did not shake Henry's +resolve. It was vital that they should hold the neck, and he intended to +do it. He and his comrades, lying close together, replied rapidly and with +deadly aim to the fire in front of them, forming a compact little body, +with blazing rifles, which the savage army was not yet able to displace. + +The night darkened, there were signs of rain, induced perhaps, by so much +firing; the moon was completely hidden by gathering clouds; the river +became a black, flowing mass and the boats upon it blurred with its +surface, save when they leaped into the light in the blaze of a cannon +shot. The woods, too, seemed a solid, black wall, along the front of which +rifle shots sparkled in clusters. + +"Good boys! good boys!" exclaimed Henry in low tones, surcharged with +excitement. He, too, had the mounting blood hot in his brain. All the old +primeval passion was flaming in him. But the fire of the enemy converged +nearer and nearer, and the bullets sang a ceaseless little song in his +ears as they passed. "Ah!" he exclaimed as one struck him in the arm. But +that was all he said. He went on with his loading and firing. + +"Are you hit, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"A scratch! Nothing more! Look how Long Jim fights!" + +Long Jim was almost flat upon his face, but the man, usually so mild and +good tempered, was now wholly possessed by the rage of combat. His long +thin figure fitted around the sinuosities of the earth, and he seemed to +have a curious gliding motion, sliding forward slowly to meet the enemy. +The darkness was nothing now to his accustomed eyes, and he sent his +bullets with sure aim toward the shadowy forms in the bushes in front of +them. + +Long Jim forgot everything now but his rifle and the enemy there in the +thicket. He slid further and further, still drawing himself over the +ground in that terrible semblance of a serpent. Paul, seeing his face, was +frightened. "Jim! Jim!" he cried. "Stop!" But Long Jim slid slowly on. Tom +Ross said something, but it was lost in the whistling of a cannon shot +overhead. + +They saw Long Jim stop the next moment, and Paul believed that he heard +him utter a little sigh. Long Jim's limbs contracted and straightened out +again with a jerk. Then he turned slowly over on his side and lay still, a +moment or two, after which he began to writhe violently. At the same time +he clapped his hand to his head and it came back red. + +"Sol sometimes says I've a thick skull, an' 'ef so it's a good thing," he +muttered to himself. + +He shook his head again and again, as if to clear it, and crept back to +his friends. There he tore off a portion of his deerskin hunting shirt, +tied it tightly around the wound, and went on with his firing. + +"Don't be too enthusiastic, Jim," said Henry. + +"I won't," replied Long Jim, "I'm cured." + +Lower crouched the five, taking advantage of the bushes and little +hillocks, and sending a bullet every time they saw a flitting figure in +the forest in front of them. Behind them they could still hear the roar of +the combat on the river. The crackle of the rifles and the muskets was +steady in their ears, while now and then the note of a cannon boomed above +it, and a solid shot, curving over their heads, whizzed into the +thickets. But they paid little attention to the main battle; it was +merely a chorus, a background, as it were, for their own corner of the +struggle, which absorbed all their energies. + +Their fire was so incessant, it was so well aimed, and it stung the allied +army so severely, that an increasing force was steadily concentrating in +front of them. Nor did they escape wholly unhurt. A bullet grazed Henry's +arm and another did the same for Shif'less Sol's shoulder; but neither +paid any attention to his wounds, loading and reloading, facing the enemy +with undiminished zeal and courage. + +Its whole aspect was now a phantom battle to them all. The incessant crash +and roaring in their ears, and the smoke and vapor in their nostrils, +heated their brains and made everything look unreal. They were but +phantoms themselves, and the foes who leaped about in the forest were +phantoms, too. Darker and darker the clouds rolled up and the smoke and +vapors thickened in the forest, but through the blackness the lines of +flame still replied to each other. + +Paul's excitement was so great that he could not keep himself down. He was +burning with fever, but passion seemed to be departing from him. He +thought that, if they were all to die, it was a privilege to die together. +He saw now the deep cool woods, a beautiful lake, and an island enclosed +within it, like a green gem in a blue setting. Paul's thoughts, and his +vision with them, were wandering into the past. + +"Steady, Paul, steady!" said Henry. But Paul saw nothing now. A bullet, +singing merrily, gave him a leaden kiss, and he sank down very gently, +lying upon one arm, the red fast dyeing his buckskin hunting shirt. + +Henry gave a cry when he saw Paul fall, and bent anxiously over his +friend. The light was faint, but the bullet seemed to have gone entirely +through the youth. Henry put his ear to his chest, and could hear his +heart still beating, though faintly. + +"Hold 'em back!" he shouted to his friends, "and I'll help Paul!" + +Shif'less Sol, Tom, and Long Jim, although overwhelmed with anxiety for +their young comrade, steadily turned their faces toward the foe, and +replied to his fire. Henry, while the bullets whistled above his head, +bent down and cut away Paul's hunting shirt. Yes, the bullet had gone +entirely through his body and it was lucky for Paul that it had done so. +No need now of the surgeon's probe. Henry bound up the wound tightly and +stopped the bleeding. Then he undertook to lift the lad; but Paul, +although still unconscious and a dead weight in his arms, groaned with +pain. Henry laid him gently back on the ground. + +"Boys," he said, "Paul is too weak to be moved, and we've got to hold this +place until help comes or the enemy quits." + +"I think the last skirmisher has escaped now," said Shif'less Sol, "but +here we stay." + +He spoke for them all, and Henry, unable to do anything more for Paul, +turned his attention anew to the enemy. There was a sudden increase of the +firing in front. The clouds and vapors rolled back, and the dancing +figures in the thickets took on more semblance of reality. Suddenly Henry +uttered a cry. His eyes of almost preternatural keenness had recognized +one of the figures. + +"What is it, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"Braxton Wyatt. He's in the thicket. I saw him a moment ago. I know his +face and figure too well to be mistaken." + +"I saw him, too," replied the shiftless one. "O' course he's escaped the +bullets so fur. It's jest his luck." + +"I think he knows we're here," said Henry, "and he's leading the attack on +us. But we'll never yield this ground and Paul to such a fellow." + +"No!" said the others with one voice. + +The clouds and vapors closed in again. The darkness rolled up in wave +after wave, and the renegade, leading on outlaw and red man, pressed the +attack; but the four met them with courage and spirit unshaken. + +The clouds and vapors rolled over attack and defense, but through the +darkness fire answered fire. After a while the forest and the bayou, which +had witnessed such a desperate display of human energy, sank into darkness +and silence. The clouds, now in the zenith, began to give forth rain, but +it was a gentle, beneficent rain, and it fell silently on the faces of the +living and the dead alike. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE CHOSEN TASK + + +Adam Colfax had gone through the battle unharmed, but that terrible night +left new gray in his hair. He was a religious man, and, when the rifle +fire died down in the forest and then went out, he uttered a devout prayer +of thankfulness. He and his train, on the whole, had come through better +than he had expected. There had been moments in the bayou when he thought +no mortal strength or skill could break the chain that bound them. But the +savage army and navy had been beaten off, and the core of his fleet was +saved. He could still go on to Pittsburgh with his precious cargo. + +The trumpet was sounded again, and the boats, drawing together, began to +count their losses. It was a long sad count, but those who survived were +elated over their great victory. + +It was then that Adam Colfax discovered the loss of the five who had +helped him so much. Some one had seen them spring ashore to protect the +escape of the skirmishers, and he ordered the fleet at once toward the +land to save them, or, if too late, to bring their bodies to the boat. + +A dozen boats swung in toward the bank and that of Adam Colfax was +foremost. He was not conscious of the gentle rain, save that it felt +cooling and pleasant on his face after the heat and smoke of the battle. +Yet the brain of the stern New Hampshire man was still fevered, too. The +battle had ceased, but the roar of the cannon-shots and the crash of the +rifles yet echoed in his ears. The black forest that came down to the +water's edge, was full of mystery and terror, and his was no timid heart. +Smoke of the battle drifted among the trees or over the river, and the +rain did not drive it all away. In the far distance low thunder muttered, +and now and then flashes of heat lightning drew a belt of coppery red +along the dark horizon. + +Adam Colfax, stern man that he was, shuddered. But he would not flinch. He +was the first to spring ashore. The forest assumed its most somber aspect. +The trees were weird and ghostly, and there was no sound at all but the +gentle drip, drip of the rain. Here the vapors and mists seemed to be +imprisoned by the boughs and foliage, and the odors were heavy and acrid. + +He had landed upon a little neck of land, and some one remarked: "It was +here that the Kentuckians landed." But there was no sound in the forest +and the scouts had reported already that the enemy had gone away. A great +fear gripped at the heart of Adam Colfax. "They are all dead," he thought. + +Men brought torches, as they no longer had any fear of sharpshooters; and +Adam Colfax, followed by twenty others, entered the forest. The wind rose +slightly and whipped the rain in his face, but he stepped into the +deepest shadow, and, taking a torch from one of the men, held it aloft +with his own hand. The light fell upon a little open space and, despite +himself, Adam Colfax uttered a cry. + +A figure lay outstretched under the shelter of arching boughs and bushes, +and four more beside it were still and silent, leaning against a fallen +log. There was such an absolute lack of motion, that Colfax at first +thought that the soul of every one was sped. + +"Good God! Dead! All dead!" he exclaimed. + +But a great figure quickly uprose. + +"No," said Henry Ware, a fine smile passing over his boyish face. "We beat +them off, and we're just resting and waiting. Only Paul is seriously hurt, +and so far we've been afraid to move him." + +Shif'less Sol, Jim Hart, and Tom Ross rose, too, and shook the raindrops +from their clothes. + +"We didn't have good shelter here," said Shif'less Sol, "but I think the +rain and its coolness have helped Paul." + +Adam Colfax bent over the boy and, in the dawning light, made a critical +examination. + +"He will live," he said. "We'd have come to your relief long ago, had we +known you were here." + +"It was Braxton Wyatt who led the last attack against us," said Henry, +"and as usual, he has had the good luck to escape. At least, we can't find +his body here, and I haven't the slightest doubt that he's living to do +more mischief and that we'll meet him again." + +It was true, and a diligent search revealed no trace of Wyatt. He had +escaped, fleeing North after the battle, to rejoin his old friends, the +Shawnees and Miamis. + +Paul was lifted gently, after receiving treatment from the surgeon of the +fleet, and carried to a boat, where he regained consciousness. His wound +was severe, but his blood was so healthy that he would recover, according +to the surgeon, with great rapidity. + +When all five were together, Adam Colfax said to them collectively: + +"You did the most of all to save the fleet." + +That was enough reward for them. + +The body of Father Montigny was buried in the forest, and a little wooden +cross was put at his head, Christian burial was given to the body of +Alvarez, too, and the supply fleet prepared for a new start. + + * * * * * + +The fleet, two weeks later, was making its slow progress northward on the +Mississippi. The great river was in an uncommonly friendly mood. Its usual +yellow seemed silver in the brilliant morning light. Heavy masses of green +fringed either low shore, and keen pleasant odors came from the +wilderness. + +Oliver Pollock, hearing of the battle of the bayou, had sent a second +detachment from New Orleans to replace the men and boats lost and the +ammunition shot away by the first, and now, stronger than ever, it +continued under the brave and skillful leadership of Adam Colfax, on its +great mission. + +The five sat in the end of one of the largest boats, under the shade of a +sail. Paul's strength was fast coming back; he would not suffer the +slightest harm, and they were happy. + +"This is jest the life fur a lazy man like me," said Shif'less Sol. +"Nothin' to do but go on an' on, with people to wait on you, an' say you +hev already done your part." + +"We have had a wonderful escape," said Paul. + +The face of the shiftless one became grave, even reverent. + +"So we hev, Paul," he said. "Seems to me sometimes that we wuz spared fur +a purpose. We wouldn't hev come alive, every one of us, through all that, +ef it hadn't been intended that we should go on with the work that we are +doin', helpin' and defendin' our people the best we kin. I think we've +been chose." + +"I think so, too," said Paul, "and here and now we should devote ourselves +to it, as long as it is needed. I want to do so. Are the rest of you +willing?" + +"I am," said Henry with emphasis. + +"And I!" said the shiftless one. + +"And I!" said Tom Ross. + +"And I!" said Long Jim. + +"Amen!" said Paul. + + +THE END + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Free Rangers, by Joseph A. Altsheler + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FREE RANGERS *** + +***** This file should be named 15055-8.txt or 15055-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/0/5/15055/ + +Produced by Kentuckiana Digital Library, David Garcia, Emmy and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team.(www.pgdp.net) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/15055-8.zip b/15055-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..38c1e6f --- /dev/null +++ b/15055-8.zip diff --git a/15055-h.zip b/15055-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6a7891b --- /dev/null +++ b/15055-h.zip diff --git a/15055-h/15055-h.htm b/15055-h/15055-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bf780c4 --- /dev/null +++ b/15055-h/15055-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10764 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Free Rangers, by Joseph A. Altsheler. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right;} /* page numbers */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em; + float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: + 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + img {border: 0;} + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span {display: block; margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Free Rangers, by Joseph A. Altsheler + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Free Rangers + A Story of the Early Days Along the Mississippi + +Author: Joseph A. Altsheler + +Release Date: February 14, 2005 [EBook #15055] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FREE RANGERS *** + + + + +Produced by Kentuckiana Digital Library, David Garcia, Emmy and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team.(www.pgdp.net) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1>THE</h1> +<h1>FREE RANGERS</h1> + +<p class="figcenter"><a href="./images/1.jpg"><img src="./images/1-tb.jpg" alt="Cover" title="Cover" /></a></p> + +<h2>JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER</h2> + +<h1><i>The</i></h1> +<h1>FREE RANGERS</h1> + + +<h2>A STORY OF EARLY DAYS</h2> +<h2>ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI</h2> + +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER</h2> + +<p class="center">AUTHOR OF "THE YOUNG TRAILERS," "THE FOREST RUNNERS," ETC.</p> + + +<p class="figcenter"><img src="./images/emblem.jpg" alt="Emblem" title="Emblem" /></p> + +<p class="center">APPLETON-CENTURY-CROFTS, INC.</p> + +<p class="center">NEW YORK</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p class="center">COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY<br /> +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY</p> + + +<p class="center"><i>All rights reserved. This book, or parts +thereof, must not be reproduced in any +form without permission of the publishers.</i></p> + + +<p class="center">Copyright, 1936, by Sallie B. Altsheler<br /> +Printed in the United States of America</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center">"THE FREE RANGERS," WHILE AN INDEPENDENT +STORY IN ITSELF, CONTINUES THE FORTUNES OF THE +TWO BOYS AND THEIR COMRADES WHO WERE THE +CENTRAL CHARACTERS IN "THE YOUNG TRAILERS," +"THE FOREST RUNNERS," "THE KEEPERS OF THE +TRAIL" AND "THE EYES of THE WOODS." +</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2>Contents</h2> +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> +<tr><td align='left'>CHAPTER</td><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>PAGE</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>I.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>THE CALL</td> +<td align='right'>1</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>II.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>A FOREST ENVOY</td> +<td align='right'>17</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>III.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>AN INVISIBLE CHASE</td> +<td align='right'>39</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>IV.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>TAKING A "GALLEON"</td> +<td align='right'>54</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>V.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>ON THE GREAT RIVER</td> +<td align='right'>74</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>VI.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>BATTLE AND STORM</td> +<td align='right'>96</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>VII.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>THE LONE VOYAGER</td> +<td align='right'>115</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>VIII.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>THE CHATEAU OF BEAULIEU</td> +<td align='right'>133</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><b>IX.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>PAUL AND THE SPANIARD</td> +<td align='right'>153</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><b>X.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>A BARBARIC ORDEAL</td> +<td align='right'>171</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><b>XI.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>THE SPANIARD'S OFFER</td> +<td align='right'>181</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><b>XII.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>THE SHADOW IN THE FOREST</td> +<td align='right'>196</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><b>XIII.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>THE WHITE STALLION</td> +<td align='right'>214</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><b>XIV.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>NEW ORLEANS</td> +<td align='right'>230</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><b>XV.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>BEFORE BERNARDO GALVEZ</td> +<td align='right'>251</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><b>XVI.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>IN PRISON</td> +<td align='right'>271</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><b>XVII.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>THE FLAW IN THE ARMOR</td> +<td align='right'>285</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><b>XVIII.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>NORTHWARD WITH THE FLEET</td> +<td align='right'>302</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><b>XIX.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>THE BATTLE OF THE BANK</td> +<td align='right'>322</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><b>XX.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>THE BATTLE OF THE BAYOU</td> +<td align='right'>334</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"><b>XXI.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>THE DEFENSE OF THE FIVE</td> +<td align='right'>349</td></tr> + +<tr><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"><b>XXII.</b></a></td> +<td align='left'>THE CHOSEN TASK</td> +<td align='right'>361</td></tr> +</table> +</div> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE FREE RANGERS</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I" />CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>THE CALL</h3> + + +<p>The wilderness rolled away to north and to south, and also it rolled away +to east and to west, an unbroken sweep of dark, glossy green. Straight up +stood the mighty trunks, but the leaves rippled and sang low when a gentle +south wind breathed upon them. It was the forest as God made it, the +magnificent valley of North America, upon whose edges the white man had +just begun to nibble.</p> + +<p>A young man, stepping lightly, came into a little glade. He was white, but +he brought with him no alien air. He was in full harmony with the primeval +woods, a part of them, one in whose ears the soft song of the leaves was a +familiar and loved tune. He was lean, but tall, and he walked with a +wonderful swinging gait that betokened a frame wrought to the strength of +steel by exercise, wind, weather, and life always in the open. Though his +face was browned by sun and storm his hair was yellow and his eyes blue. +He was dressed wholly in deerskin and he carried over his shoulder the +long slender rifle of the border. At his belt swung hatchet and knife.</p> + +<p>There was a touch to the young man that separated him from the ordinary +woods rover. He held himself erect with a certain pride of manner. The +stock of his rifle, an unusually fine piece, was carved in an ornate and +beautiful way. The deerskin of his attire had been tanned with uncommon +care, and his moccasins were sewn thickly with little beads of yellow and +blue and red and green. Every piece of clothing was scrupulously clean, +and his arms were polished and bright.</p> + +<p>The shiftless one—who so little deserved his name—paused a moment in the +glade and, dropping the stock of his rifle to the ground, leaned upon the +muzzle. He listened, although he expected to hear nothing save the song of +the leaves, and that alone he heard. A faint smile passed over the face of +Shif'less Sol. He was satisfied. All was happening as he had planned. Then +he swung the rifle back to his shoulder, and walked to the crest of a hill +near by.</p> + +<p>The summit was bare and the shiftless one saw far. It was a splendid +rolling country, covered with forests of oak and elm, beech, hickory and +maple. Here and there faint threads of silver showed where rivers or +brooks flowed, and he drew a long deep breath. The measure of line and +verse he knew not, but deep in his being Nature had kindled the true fire +of poetry, and now his pleasure was so keen and sharp that a throb of +emotion stirred in his throat. It was a grand country and, if reserved for +any one, it must be reserved for his race and his people. Shif'less Sol +was resolved upon that purpose and to it he was ready to devote body and +life.</p> + +<p>Yet the wilderness seemed to tell only of peace. The low song of the +leaves was soothing and all innocence. The shiftless one was far beyond +the farthest outpost of his kind, beyond the broad yellow current of the +Mississippi, deep in the heart of the primeval forest. He might travel +full three hundred miles to the eastward and find no white cabin, while to +westward his own kind were almost a world away. On all sides stretched the +vast maze of forest and river, through which roamed only wild animals and +wilder man.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol, from his post on the hill, examined the whole circle of the +forest long and carefully. He seemed intent upon some unusual object. It +was shown in the concentration of his look and the thoughtful pucker of +his forehead. It was not game, because in a glade to windward, at the foot +of the hill, five buffaloes grazed undisturbed and now and then uttered +short, panting grunts to show their satisfaction. Presently a splendid +stag, walking through the woods as if he were sole proprietor, scented the +strange human odor, and threw up his head in alarm. But the figure on the +hill, the like of which the deer had never seen before, did not stir or +take notice, and His Lordship the Stag raised his head higher to see. The +figure still did not stir, and, his alarm dying, the stag walked +disdainfully away among the trees.</p> + +<p>Birds, the scarlet tanager, the blue bird, the cat bird, the jay and +others of their kin settled on the trees near the young man with the +yellow hair, and gazed at him with curiosity and without fear. A rabbit +peeped up now and then, but beyond the new presence the wilderness was +undisturbed, and it became obvious to the animal tribe that the stranger +meant no harm. Nor did the shiftless one himself discern any alien note. +The sky, a solid curve of blue, bore nowhere a trace of smoke. It was +undarkened and unstained, the same lonely brightness that had dawned every +morning for untold thousands of years.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol showed no disappointment. Again all seemed to be happening +as he wished. Presently he left the hill and, face toward the south, began +to walk swiftly and silently down the rows of trees. There was but little +undergrowth, nothing to check his speed, and he strode on and on. After a +while he came to a brook running through low soft soil and then he did a +strange thing, the very act that a white man travelling through the +dangerous forest would have avoided. He planted one foot in the yielding +soil near the water's edge, and then stepping across, planted the other in +exactly the same way on the far side.</p> + +<p>When another yard brought him to hard ground he stopped and looked back +with satisfaction. On either side of the brook remained the firm deep +impression of a human foot, of a white foot, the toes being turned +outward. No wilderness rover could mistake it, and yet it was hundreds of +miles to the nearest settlement of Shif'less Sol's kind.</p> + +<p>He took another look at the footsteps, smiled again and resumed his +journey. The character of the country did not change. Still the low +rolling hills, still the splendid forests of oak and elm, beech, maple and +hickory, and of all their noble kin, still the little brooks of clear +water, still the deer and the buffalo, grazing in the glades, and taking +but little notice of the strange human figure as it passed. Presently, the +shiftless one stopped again and he did another thing, yet stranger than +the pressing-in of the foot-prints beside the little stream. He drew the +hatchet from his belt and cut a chip out of the bark of a hickory. A +hundred yards further on he did the same thing, and, at three hundred +yards or so, he cut the chip for the third time. He looked well at the +marks, saw that they were clear, distinct and unmistakable, and then the +peculiar little smile of satisfaction would pass again over his face.</p> + +<p>But these stops were only momentary. Save for them he never ceased his +rapid course, and always it led straight toward the south. When the sun +was squarely overhead, pouring down a flood of golden beams, he paused in +the shade of a mighty oak, and took food from his belt. He might have +eaten there in silence and obscurity, but once more the shiftless one +showed a singular lack of caution and woodcraft. He drew together dry +sticks, ignited a fire with flint and steel, and cooked deer meat over it. +He let the fire burn high, and a thin column of dark smoke rose far up +into the blue. Any savage, roaming the wilderness, might see it, but the +shiftless one was reckless. He let the fire burn on, after his food was +cooked, while the column of smoke grew thicker and mounted higher, and ate +the savory steaks, lying comfortably between two upthrust roots. Now and +then he uttered a little sigh of satisfaction, because he had travelled +far and hard, and he was hungry. Food meant new strength.</p> + +<p>But he was not as reckless as he seemed. Nothing that passed in the forest +within the range of eyesight escaped his notice. He heard the leaf, when +it fell close by, and the light tread of a deer passing. He remained a +full hour between the roots, a long time for one who might have a purpose, +and, after he rose, he did not scatter the fire and trample upon the +brands after the wilderness custom when one was ready to depart. The +flames had died down, but he let the coals smoulder on, and, hundreds of +yards away, he could still see their smoke. Now, he sought the softest +parts of the earth and trod there deliberately, leaving many footprints. +Again he cut little chips from the trees as he passed, but never ceased +his swift and silent journey to the south. The hours fled by, and a dark +shade appeared in the east. It deepened into dusk, and spread steadily +toward the zenith. The sun, a golden ball, sank behind a hill in the +west, and then the shiftless one stopped.</p> + +<p>He ascended a low hill again, and took a long scrutinizing look around the +whole horizon. But his gaze was not apprehensive. On the contrary, it was +expectant, and his face seemed to show a slight disappointment when the +wilderness merely presented its wonted aspect. Then he built another fire, +not choosing a secluded glade, but the top of the hill, the most exposed +spot that he could find, and, after he had eaten his supper, he sat beside +it, the expectant air still on his face.</p> + +<p>Nothing came. But the shiftless one sat long. He raked up dead leaves of +last year's winter and made a pillow, against which he reclined +luxuriously. Shif'less Sol was one who drew mental and physical comfort +from every favoring circumstance, and the leaves felt very soft to his +head and shoulders. He was not in the least lonesome, although the night +had fully come, and heavy darkness lay like a black robe over the forest. +He stretched out his moccasined toes to the fire, closed his eyes for a +moment or two, and a dreamy look of satisfaction rested on his face. It +seemed to the shiftless one that he lay in the very lap of luxury, in the +very best of worlds.</p> + +<p>But when he opened his eyes again he continued to watch the forest, or +rather he watched with his ears now, as he lay close to the earth, and his +hearing, at all times, was so acute that it seemed to border upon instinct +or divination. But no sound save the usual ones of the forest and the +night came to him, and he remained quite still, thinking.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol Hyde was in an exalted mood, and the flickering firelight +showed a face refined and ennobled by a great purpose. Leading a life that +made him think little of hardship and danger he thought nothing at all of +them now, but he felt instead a great buoyancy, and a hope equally great.</p> + +<p>He lay awake a full three hours after the dark had come, and he rose only +twice from his reclining position, each time merely to replenish the fire +which remained a red core in the circling blackness. Always he was +listening and always he heard nothing but the usual sounds of the forest +and the night. The darkness grew denser and heavier, but after a while it +began to thin and lighten. The sky became clear, and the great stars swam +in the dusky blue. Then Shif'less Sol fell asleep, head on the leaves, +feet to the fire, and slept soundly all through the night.</p> + +<p>He was up at dawn, cooked his breakfast, and then, after another long and +searching examination of the surrounding forest, departed, leaving the +coals of the fire to smoulder, and tell as they might that some one had +passed. Shif'less Sol throughout that morning repeated the tactics of the +preceding day, leaving footprints that would last, and cutting pieces of +bark from the trees with his sharp hatchet. At the noon hour he stopped, +according to custom, and, just when he had lighted his fire, he uttered a +low cry of pleasure.</p> + +<p>The shiftless one was gazing back upon his own trail, and the singular +look of exaltation upon his face deepened. He rose to his feet and stood, +very erect, in the attitude of one who welcomes. No undergrowth was here, +and he could see far down the aisles of trunks.</p> + +<p>A figure, so distant that only a keen eye would notice it, was +approaching. It came on swiftly and silently, much after the manner of the +shiftless one himself, elastic, and instinct with strength.</p> + +<p>The figure was that of a boy in years, but of a man in size, surpassing +Shif'less Sol himself in height, yellow haired, blue-eyed, and dressed, +too, in the neatest of forest garb. His whole appearance was uncommon, +likely anywhere to attract attention and admiration. The shiftless one +drew a long breath of mingled welcome and approval.</p> + +<p>"I knew that he would be first," he murmured.</p> + +<p>Then he sat down and began to broil a juicy deer steak on the end of a +sharpened stick.</p> + +<p>Henry Ware came into the little glade. He had seen the fire afar and he +knew who waited. All was plain to him like the print of a book, and, +without a word, he dropped down on the other side of the fire facing +Shif'less Sol. The two nodded, but their eyes spoke far more. Sol held out +the steak, now crisp and brown and full of savor, and Henry began to eat. +Sol quickly broiled another for himself, and joined him in the pleasant +task, over which they were silent for a little while.</p> + +<p>"I was on the Ohio," said Henry at last, "when the trapper brought me +your message, but I started at once."</p> + +<p>"O' course," said Shif'less Sol, "I never doubted it for a minute. I +reckon that you've come about seven hundred miles."</p> + +<p>"Nearer eight," said Henry, "but I'm fresh and strong, and we need all our +strength, Sol, because it's a great task that lies before us."</p> + +<p>"It shorely is," said Sol, "an' that's why I sent the message. I don't +want to brag, Henry, but we've done a big thing or two before, an' maybe +we kin do a bigger now."</p> + +<p>He spoke the dialect of the border, he was not a man of books, but that +great look of exaltation came into his face again, and the boy on the +other side of the fire shared it.</p> + +<p>"It seems to me, Sol," said Henry presently, "that we've been selected for +work of a certain kind. We finish one job, and then another on the same +line begins."</p> + +<p>"Mebbe it's because we like to do it, an' are fit fur it," said Sol +philosophically. "I've noticed that a river gen'ally runs in a bed that +suits it. I don't know whether the bed is thar because the river is, or +the river is thar 'cause the bed is, but it's shore that they're both thar +together, an' you can't git aroun' that."</p> + +<p>"There's something in what you say," said Henry.</p> + +<p>Then they relapsed into silence, and, in a half hour, as if by mutual +consent, they rose, left the fire burning, and departed, still walking +steadily toward the south.</p> + +<p>The country grew rougher. The hills were higher and closer together, and +the undergrowth became thick. Neither took any precautions as they passed +among the slender bushes, frequently trampling them down and leaving signs +that the blindest could not fail to see. Now and then the two looked back, +but they beheld only the forest and the forest people.</p> + +<p>"I don't think I ever saw the game so tame before," said Henry.</p> + +<p>"Which means," said Sol, "that the warriors ain't hunted here fur a long +time. I ain't seen a single sign o' them."</p> + +<p>"Nor I."</p> + +<p>They fell silent and scarcely spoke until the sun was setting again, when +they stopped for the night, choosing a conspicuous place, as Sol had done +the evening before. After supper, they sought soft places on the turf, and +lay in peace, gazing up at the great stars. Henry was the first to break +the silence.</p> + +<p>"One is coming," he said. "I can hear the footstep. Listen!"</p> + +<p>His ear was to the earth, and the shiftless one imitated him. At the end +of a minute he spoke.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said, "I hear him, too. We'll make him welcome."</p> + +<p>He rose, put a fresh piece of wood on the fire, and smiled, as he saw the +flame leap up and crackle merrily.</p> + +<p>"Here he is," said Henry.</p> + +<p>The figure that emerged from the bushes was thick-set and powerful, the +strong face seamed and tanned by the wind, rain and sun of years. The man +stepped into the circle of the firelight, and held out his hand. Each +shook it with a firm and hearty clasp, and Tom Ross took his seat with +them beside the fire. They handed him food first, and then he said:</p> + +<p>"I was away up in the Miami country, huntin' buffalo, when the word came +to me, Sol, but I quit on the minute an' started."</p> + +<p>"I was shore you would," said the shiftless one quietly. "Buffaloes are +big game, but we're huntin' bigger now."</p> + +<p>"I was never in this part of the country before," said Tom Ross, looking +around curiously at the ghostly tree trunks.</p> + +<p>"I've been through here," said Henry, "and it runs on in the same way for +hundreds of miles in every direction."</p> + +<p>"Bigger an' finer than any o' them old empires that Paul used to tell us +about," said Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Henry.</p> + +<p>The three looked at one another significantly.</p> + +<p>They wrapped themselves in their blankets by and by, and went to sleep on +the soft turf. Henry was the first to awake, just when the dawn was +turning from pink to red, and a single glance revealed to him an object on +the horizon that had not been there the night before. A man stood on the +crest of a low hill, and even at the distance, Henry recognized him. His +comrades were awaking and he turned to them.</p> + +<p>"See!" he said, pointing with a long forefinger.</p> + +<p>Their eyes followed, and they too recognized the man.</p> + +<p>"He'll be here in a minute," said Shif'less Sol. "He jest eats up space."</p> + +<p>He spoke the truth, as it seemed scarcely a minute before Long Jim Hart +entered the camp, showing no sign of fatigue. The three welcomed him and +gave him a place at their breakfast fire.</p> + +<p>"I wuz at Marlowe," he said, "when the word reached me, but I started just +an hour later. I struck your trail, Sol, two days back, an' I traveled +nearly all last night. I saw Henry join you an' then Tom."</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol laughed. He had a soft, mellow laugh that crinkled up the +corners of his mouth, and made his eyes shine. There was no doubt that a +man who laughed such a laugh was enjoying himself.</p> + +<p>"I reckon you didn't have much trouble follerin' that trail o' ourn," he +said.</p> + +<p>Jim Hart answered the laugh with a grin.</p> + +<p>"Not much," he replied. "It was like a wagon road through the wilderness. +The ashes uv your last camp fire weren't sca'cely cold when I passed by."</p> + +<p>"We're all here 'cept the fifth feller," said Tom Ross.</p> + +<p>"The fifth will come," said Henry emphatically.</p> + +<p>"Uv course," said Tom Ross with equal emphasis.</p> + +<p>"And when he comes," said Shif'less Sol, "we take right hold o' the big +job."</p> + +<p>They lingered awhile over their breakfast, but saw no one approaching. +Then they took up the march again, going steadily southward in single +file, talking little, but leaving a distinct trail. They were only four, +but they were a formidable party, all strong of arm, keen of eye and ear, +skilled in the lore of the forest, and every one bore the best weapons +that the time could furnish.</p> + +<p>Toward noon the day grew very warm and clouds gathered in the sky. The +wind became damp.</p> + +<p>"Rain," said Henry. "I'm sorry of that. I wish it wouldn't break before he +overtook us."</p> + +<p>"S'pose we stop an' make ready," said Shif'less Sol. "You know we ain't +bound to be in a big hurry, an' it won't help any o' us to get a soakin'."</p> + +<p>"You're shorely right, Sol," said Jim Hart. "We're bound to take the best +uv care uv ourselves."</p> + +<p>They looked around with expert eyes, and quickly chose a stony outcrop or +hollow in the side of a hill, just above which grew two gigantic beeches +very close together. Then it was wonderful to see them work, so swift and +skillful were they. They cut small saplings with their hatchets, and, with +the little poles and fallen bark of last year, made a rude thatch which +helped out the thick branches of the beeches overhead. They also built up +the sides of the hollow with the same materials, and the whole was done in +less than ten minutes. Then they raked in heaps of dead leaves and sat +down upon them comfortably. Many drops of water would come through the +leaves and thatch, but such as they, hardened to the wilderness, would not +notice them.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the storm was gathering with the rapidity so frequent in the +great valley. All the little clouds swung together and made a big one that +covered nearly the whole sky. The air darkened rapidly. Thunder began to +growl and mutter and now and then emitted a sharp crash. Lightning cut the +heavens from zenith to horizon, and the forest would leap into the light, +standing there a moment, vivid, like tracery.</p> + +<p>A blaze more brilliant than all the rest cleft wide the sky and, as they +looked toward the North, they saw directly in the middle of the flame a +black dot that had not been there before.</p> + +<p>"He's coming," said Henry in the quiet tone that indicated nothing more +than a certainty fulfilled.</p> + +<p>"Just in time to take a seat in our house," said the shiftless one.</p> + +<p>Sol ran out and gave utterance to a long echoing cry that sounded like a +call. It was answered at once by the new black dot under the Northern +horizon, which was now growing fast in size, as it came on rapidly. It +took a human shape, and, thirty yards away, a fine, delicately-chiselled +face, the face of a scholar and dreamer, remarkable in the wilderness, was +revealed. The face belonged to a youth, tall and strong, but not so tall +and large as Henry.</p> + +<p>"Here we are, Paul," said Shif'less Sol. "We've fixed fur you."</p> + +<p>"And mighty glad I am to overtake you fellows," said Paul Cotter, +"particularly at this time."</p> + +<p>He ran for the shelter just as the forest began to moan, and great drops +of rain rushed down upon them. He was inside in a moment, and each gave +his hand a firm grasp.</p> + +<p>"We're all here now," said Henry.</p> + +<p>"All here and ready for the great work," said Shif'less Sol, his tranquil +face illumined again with that look of supreme exaltation.</p> + +<p>Then the storm burst. The skies opened and dropped down floods of water. +They heard it beating on the leaves and thatch overhead, and some came +through, falling upon them but they paid no heed. They sat placidly until +the rush and roar passed, and then Henry said to the others:</p> + +<p>"We're to stick to the task that we've set ourselves through thick and +through thin, through everything?"</p> + +<p>"Yes! Yes!"</p> + +<p>"If one falls, the four that are left keep on?"</p> + +<p>"Yes! yes!"</p> + +<p>"If three fall and only two are left, these must not flinch."</p> + +<p>"Yes! yes!"</p> + +<p>"If four go down and only one is left, then he whoever he may be, must go +on and win alone?"</p> + +<p>"Yes! yes!" came forth with deep emphasis.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II" />CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>A FOREST ENVOY</h3> + + +<p>A group of men were seated in a pleasant valley, where the golden beams of +the sun sifted in myriads through the green leaves. They were about fifty +in number and all were white. Most of them were dressed in Old World +fashion, doublets, knee breeches, hose, and cocked hats. Nearly all were +dark; olive faces, black hair, and black pointed beards, but now and then +one had fair hair, and eyes of a cold, pale blue. Manner, speech, looks, +and dress, alike differentiated them from the borderers. They were not the +kind of men whom one would expect to find in these lonely woods in the +heart of North America.</p> + +<p>The leader of the company—and obviously he was such—was one of the few +who belonged to the blonde type. His eyes were of the chilly, metallic +blue, and his hair, long and fair, curled at the ends. His dress, of some +fine, black cloth, was scrupulously neat and clean, and a silver-hilted +small sword swung it his belt. He was not more than thirty.</p> + +<p>The fair man was leaning lazily but gracefully against the trunk of a +tree, and he talked in a manner that seemed indolent and careless, but +which was neither to a youth in buckskins who sat opposite him, a +striking contrast in appearance. This youth was undeniably of the +Anglo-Saxon type, large and well-built, with a broad, full forehead, but +with eyes set too close together. He was tanned almost to the darkness of +an Indian.</p> + +<p>"You tell me, Señor Wyatt," said Don Francisco Alvarez, the leader of the +Spanish band, "that the new settlers in Kaintock<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1" /><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> have twice driven off +the allied tribes, and that, if they are left alone another year or two, +they will go down so deep in the soil that they can never be uprooted. Is +it not so?"</p> + +<p>"It is so," replied Braxton Wyatt, the renegade. "The tribes have failed +twice in a great effort. Every man among these settlers is a daring and +skillful fighter, and many of the boys—and many of the women, too. But if +white troops and cannon are sent against them their forts must fall."</p> + +<p>The Spaniard was idly whipping the grass stems with a little switch. Now +he narrowed his metallic, blue eyes, and gazed directly into those of +Braxton Wyatt.</p> + +<p>"And you, Señor Wyatt?" he said, speaking his slow, precise English. +"Nothing premeditated is done without a motive. You are of these people +who live in Kaintock, their blood is your blood; why then do you wish to +have them destroyed?"</p> + +<p>A deep flush broke its way through the brown tan on the face of Braxton +Wyatt, and his eyes fell before the cold gaze of the Spaniard. But he +raised them again in a moment. Braxton Wyatt was not a coward, and he +never permitted a guilty conscience to last longer than a throb or two.</p> + +<p>"I did belong to them," he replied, "but my tastes led me away. I have +felt that all this mighty valley should belong to the Indians who have +inhabited it so long, but, if the white people come, it should be those +who are true and loyal to their kings, not these rebels of the colonies."</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez smiled cynically, and once more surveyed Braxton Wyatt, +with a rapid, measuring glance.</p> + +<p>"You speak my sentiments, Señor Wyatt," he said, "and you speak them in a +language that I scarcely expected."</p> + +<p>"I had a schoolmaster even in the wilderness," said Braxton Wyatt. "And I +may tell you, too, as proof of my faith that I would be hanged at once +should I return to the settlements."</p> + +<p>"I do not doubt your faith. I was merely curious about your motives. I am +sure also that you can be of great help to us."</p> + +<p>He spoke in a patronizing manner, and Braxton Wyatt moved slightly in +anger, but restrained his speech.</p> + +<p>"I may say," continued the Spaniard, "that His Excellency Bernardo Galvez, +His Most Catholic Majesty's Governor of his loyal province of Louisiana, +has been stirred by the word that comes to him of these new settlements of +the rebel Americans in the land of the Ohio. The province of Louisiana is +vast, and it may be that it includes the country on either side of the +Ohio. The French, our predecessors, claimed it, and now that all the +colonists east of the mountains are busy fighting their king, it may be +easy to take it from them, as one would snip off a skirt with a pair of +scissors. That is why I and this faithful band are so far north in these +woods."</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt nodded.</p> + +<p>"And a wise thing, too," he said. "I am strong with the tribes. The great +chief, Yellow Panther, of the Miamis and the great chief, Red Eagle, of +the Shawnees are both my friends. I know how they feel. The Spanish in New +Orleans are far away. Their settlements do not spread. They come rather to +hunt and trade. But the Americans push farther and farther. They build +their homes and they never go back. Do you wonder then that the warriors +wish your help?"</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez smiled again. It was a cold but satisfied smile and he +rubbed one white hand over the other.</p> + +<p>"Your logic is good," he said, "and these reasons have occurred to me, +also, but my master, Bernardo Galvez, the Governor, is troubled. We love +not England and there is a party among us—a party at present in +power—which wishes to help the Americans in order that we may damage +England, but I, if I could choose the way would have no part in it. As +surely as we help the rebels we will also create rebels against +ourselves."</p> + +<p>"You are far from New Orleans," said Braxton Wyatt. "It would take long +for a messenger to go and come, and meanwhile you could act as you think +best."</p> + +<p>"It is so," said the Spaniard. "Our presence here is unknown to all save +the chiefs and yourself. In this wilderness, a thousand miles from his +superior, one must act according to his judgment, and I should like to see +these rebel settlements crushed."</p> + +<p>He spoke to himself rather than to Wyatt, and again his eyes narrowed. +Blue eyes are generally warm and sympathetic, but his were of the cold, +metallic shade that can express cruelty so well. He plucked, too, at his +short, light beard, and Braxton Wyatt read his thoughts. The renegade felt +a thrill of satisfaction. Here was a man who could be useful.</p> + +<p>"How far is it from this place to the land of the Miamis and the +Shawnees?" asked Alvarez.</p> + +<p>"It must be six or seven hundred miles, but bands of both tribes are now +hunting much farther west. One Shawnee party that I know of is even now +west of the Mississippi."</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez, frowned slightly.</p> + +<p>"It is a huge country," he said. "These great distances annoy me. Still, +one must travel them. Ah, what is it now?"</p> + +<p>He was looking at Braxton Wyatt, as he spoke, and he saw a sudden change +appear upon his face, a look of recognition and then of mingled hate and +rage. The renegade was staring Northward, and the eyes of Alvarez followed +his.</p> + +<p>The Spaniard saw a man or rather a youth approaching, a straight, slender, +but tall and compact figure, and a face uncommon in the wilderness, fine, +delicate, with the eyes of a dreamer, and seer, but never weak. The youth +came on steadily, straight coward the Spanish camp.</p> + +<p>"Paul Cotter!" exclaimed Braxton Wyatt. "How under the sun did he come +here!"</p> + +<p>"Some one you know?" said Alvarez who heard the words.</p> + +<p>"Yes, from the settlements of which we speak," replied Wyatt quickly and +in a low tone. He had no time to add more, because Paul was now in the +Spanish camp, and was gravely saluting the leader, whom he had recognized +instantly to be such by his dress and manner. Francisco Alvarez rose to +his feet, and politely returned the salute. He saw at once a quality in +the stranger that was not wholly of the wilderness. Braxton Wyatt nodded, +but Paul took no notice whatever of him. A flush broke again through the +tan of the renegade's face.</p> + +<p>"Be seated," said Alvarez, and Paul sat down on a little grassy knoll.</p> + +<p>"You are Captain Francisco Alvarez of the Spanish forces at New Orleans?"</p> + +<p>"You have me truly," replied the Spaniard smiling and shrugging his +shoulders, "although I cannot surmise how you became aware of my presence +here. But the domains of my master, the king, extend far, and his servants +must travel far, also, to do his will."</p> + +<p>Paul understood the implication in his words, but he, too, had the gift of +language and diplomacy, and he did not reply to it. Stirred by deep +curiosity, the Spanish soldiers were gathering a little nearer, but +Alvarez waved back all but Wyatt.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to find you here, Captain Alvarez," said Paul with a gravity +beyond his years; indeed, as he spoke, his face was lighted up by that +same singular look of exaltation that had passed more than once over the +face of the shiftless one. "And I am glad because I have come for a +reason, one of the greatest of all reasons. I want to say something, not +for myself, but for others."</p> + +<p>"Ah, an ambassador, I see," said Francisco Alvarez with a light touch of +irony.</p> + +<p>But Paul took no notice of the satire. He was far too much in earnest, and +he resumed in tones impressive in their solemnity:</p> + +<p>"I am from one of the little white villages in the Kentucky woods far to +the eastward. There we have fought the wilderness and twice we have driven +back strong forces of the allied tribes, although they came with great +resolution and were helped moreover by treachery."</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt moved angrily and was about to speak, but Paul, never +glancing in his direction, went on steadily:</p> + +<p>"These settlements cannot be uprooted now. They may be damaged. They may +be made to suffer great loss and grief, but the vanguard of our people +will never turn back. Neither warrior nor king can withstand it."</p> + +<p>Now Paul's look was wholly that of the prophet. As he said the last words, +"neither warrior nor king can withstand it" his face was transfigured. He +did not see the Spaniard before him, nor Braxton Wyatt, the renegade, nor +the surrounding woods, but he saw instead great states and mighty cities.</p> + +<p>The Spaniard, despite his displeasure, was impressed by the words of the +youth, but he took hold of himself bodily, as it were, and shook off the +spell. A challenging light sprang into his cold blue eyes.</p> + +<p>"I do not know so much about warriors," he said, "but kings may be and are +able to do what they will. If my master should choose to put forth his +strength, even to send his far-extended arm into these woods, to what +would your tiny settlements amount? A pinch of sand before a puff of wind. +Whiff! You are gone. Nor could your people east of the mountains help you, +because they, on bended knee, will soon be receiving their own lesson from +the King of England."</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez snapped his fingers, as if Paul and his people were +annihilated by a single derisive gesture. Paul reddened and a dangerous +flash came into his eyes. But the natural diplomatist in him took control, +and he replied with the utmost calmness.</p> + +<p>"It may be so, but It is not a question that should arise. The King of +Spain is at peace with us. We even hear, deep in the woods as we are, that +he may take our part against England. France already is helping us. So I +have come to ask you to take no share in plots against us, not to listen +to evil counsels, and not to turn ear to traitors, who, having been +traitors to one people, can readily be traitors to another."</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt leaped to his feet, his face blazing with wrath, and his +hand flew to the hilt of the knife at his belt.</p> + +<p>"Now this is more than I will stand!" he exclaimed, "you cannot ignore me, +Paul Cotter, until such time you choose, and then call me foul names!"</p> + +<p>The Spaniard smiled. The sight of Braxton Wyatt's wrath pleased him, but +he put out his hand in a detaining gesture.</p> + +<p>"Sit down!" he said in a tone so sharp that Wyatt obeyed. "This is no time +for personal quarrels. As I see it, an embassy has come to us and we must +discuss matters of state. Is it not so, Señor, Señor—"</p> + +<p>"Cotter! Paul Cotter is my name."</p> + +<p>Paul felt the sneer in the Spaniard's last words, but he hid his +resentment.</p> + +<p>"Then your proposition is this," continued Alvarez, "that I and my men +have nothing to do with the Indians, that we make no treaty, no agreement +with them, that we abandon this country and go back to New Orleans. This +you propose despite the fact that the region in which we now are belongs +to Spain."</p> + +<p>"I would not put it in quite that fashion," replied Paul calmly. "I +suggest instead that you be our friend. It is natural for the white races +to stand together. I suggest that you send away, also, the messenger of +the tribes who comes seeking your help to slaughter women and children."</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt half rose, but again he was put down by the restraining +gesture of Francisco Alvarez.</p> + +<p>"No personal quarrels, as I stated before," said the Spaniard, "but to +you, Señor Cotter, I wish to say that I have heard your words, but it +seems to me they are without weight. I do not agree with you that the +settlements of the Americans cannot be uprooted. Nor am I sure that your +title to Kaintock is good. It was claimed in the beginning by France, and +justly, but a great war gave it by might though not by right to England. +Now Spain has succeeded to France. Here, throughout all this vast region, +there is none to dispute her title. To the east of the Mississippi great +changes are going on, and it may be that Kaintock, also, will revert to my +master, the king."</p> + +<p>He waved his hand in a gesture of finality, and a look of satisfaction +came into Braxton Wyatt's eyes. The renegade glanced triumphantly at Paul, +but Paul's face remained calm.</p> + +<p>"You would not proceed to any act of hostility in conjunction with the +tribes, when Spain and the colonies are at peace?" said Paul to the +Spaniard.</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez frowned, and assumed a haughty look.</p> + +<p>"I make neither promises nor prophecies," he said, "I have spoken +courteously to you, Señor Cotter, although you are a trespasser on the +Spanish domain. I have given you the hospitality of our camp, but I cannot +answer questions pertaining to the policy of my government."</p> + +<p>Paul, for the first time, showed asperity. He, too, drew himself up with a +degree of haughtiness, and he looked Don Francisco Alvarez squarely in the +eyes, as he replied:</p> + +<p>"I did not come here to ask questions. I came merely to say that our +nations are at peace, and to urge you not to help savages in a war upon +white people."</p> + +<p>"I do not approve of rebels," said Alvarez.</p> + +<p>Paul was silent. He felt instinctively that his mission had failed. +Something cold and cruel about the Spaniard repelled him, and he believed, +too, that Braxton Wyatt had not been without a sinister influence.</p> + +<p>Alvarez arose and walked over to his camp-fire. Braxton Wyatt followed him +and whispered rapidly to the Spaniard. Paul, persistent and always +hopeful, was putting down his anger and trying to think of other effective +words that he might use. But none would come into his head, and he, too, +rose.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry that we cannot agree. Captain Alvarez," he said with the grave +courtesy that became him so well, "and therefore I will bid you good day."</p> + +<p>A thin smile passed over the face of the Spaniard and the blue eyes shed a +momentary, metallic gleam.</p> + +<p>"I pray you not to be in haste, Señor Cotter," he said. "Be our guest for +a while."</p> + +<p>"I must go," replied Paul, "although I thank you for the courtesy."</p> + +<p>"But we cannot part with you now," said the Spaniard, "you are on Spanish +soil. Others of your kind may be near, also, and you and they have come, +uninvited. I would know more about it."</p> + +<p>"You mean that you will detain me?" said Paul in surprise.</p> + +<p>The Spaniard delicately stroked his pointed beard.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps that is the word," he replied. "As I said, you have trespassed +upon our domain, and I must hold you, for a time, at least. I know not +what plot is afoot"</p> + +<p>"As a prisoner?"</p> + +<p>"If you wish to call it so."</p> + +<p>"And yet there is no war between your country and mine!"</p> + +<p>The Spaniard delicately stroked his pointed beard again.</p> + +<p>Paul looked at him accusingly, and Francisco Alvarez unable to sustain his +straight gaze, turned his eyes aside. But Braxton Wyatt's face was full of +triumph, although he kept silent.</p> + +<p>Paul thought rapidly. It seemed to him a traitorous design and he did not +doubt that Wyatt had instigated it, but he must submit at present. He was +powerless inside a ring of fifty soldiers. Without a word, he sat down +again on the little grassy knoll and it pleased Alvarez to affect a great +politeness, and to play with his prisoner as a cat with a mouse. He +insisted that he eat and he made his men bring him the tenderest of food, +deer meat and wild turkey, and fish, freshly caught. Finally he opened a +flask and poured wine in a small silver cup.</p> + +<p>"It is the wine of Xeres, Señor Cotter," he said, "and you can judge how +precious it is, as it must be a full five thousand miles from its +birthplace."</p> + +<p>He handed the little cup in grandiose manner to Paul, and Paul, meeting +his humor, accepted it in like fashion. He had not tasted wine often in +his life and he found it a strong fluid, but, in this crisis, it +strengthened him and put a new sparkle in his blood.</p> + +<p>"Thanks," he said as he politely returned the empty cup, and resumed his +seat on the knoll. Then Alvarez walked aside, and talked again in whispers +with the renegade.</p> + +<p>Wyatt urged that Paul be held indefinitely. He would not talk at first, +but they must get from him the fullest details about the settlements in +Kentucky, the weak points, where to attack and when. If the settlements +were left alone they would certainly spread all over Kentucky and in time +across the Mississippi into the Spanish domain. Spain was far away, and +she could not drive them back. But the Spaniards could urge on the tribes +again, and with a hidden hand, send them arms and ammunition. White men +with cannon could even join the warriors, and Spain might convincingly say +that she knew nothing of if.</p> + +<p>The words of the renegade pleased Francisco Alvarez. Deep down in his +crafty heart he loved intrigue and cunning.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we'll hold him," he said. "He is a trespasser here, although I will +admit that he is not the kind of person that I expected to find in the +heart of this vast wilderness."</p> + +<p>He glanced at Paul, who was sitting on the knoll, calm and apparently +unconcerned, his fine features at rest, his blue eyes lazily regarding the +forest. The blue of Paul's eyes was different from the blue of the eyes of +Alvarez. The blue of his was deep, warm, and sympathetic.</p> + +<p>"Is it likely that Cotter is alone?" Alvarez asked of Wyatt.</p> + +<p>"Not at all," replied the renegade. "He has friends, and I warn you that +they are able and dangerous. We must be on our watch against them."</p> + +<p>"What friends?" asked the Spaniard incredulously.</p> + +<p>"There is a group. They are five. Where one of them is, the other four are +not likely to be far away. There is Cotter's comrade, Henry Ware, a little +older, and larger and stronger, wonderful in the woods! He surpasses the +Indians themselves in cunning and craft. Then comes Sol Hyde, whom they +call the shiftless one, but swift and cunning, and much to be dreaded. +Look out for him when he is pretending to be most harmless. And then Tom +Ross, who has been, a hunter and guide all his life, and the one they call +Long Jim, the swiftest runner in the wilderness. Oh, I know them all!"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you have had cause to know them well," said the Spaniard in a +sardonic tone—he was a keen reader of character, and he understood +Braxton Wyatt.</p> + +<p>But Braxton Wyatt ignored the taunt in his anxiety.</p> + +<p>"They must not be taken too lightly," he said. "They are somewhere in +these woods, and, Captain, I warn you once more against them."</p> + +<p>The Spaniard smiled in his superior way, and, turning to his men, began to +give directions for the camp that night. Sunset was not far away, and they +would remain in the glade. His was too strong a force to fear attack in +that isolated region, but Alvarez posted sentinels, and ordered the others +to sleep, when the time came, in a wide ring about the fire. Within the +ring he and Paul and Wyatt sat, and the Spaniard, maintaining his light, +ironic humor, talked much. Paul, if addressed directly by Alvarez, always +answered, but he persistently ignored the renegade. Such a being filled +him with horror, and once, when Wyatt gave him a look of deadly hate, Paul +shot back one of his own, fully a match for it. But that was all.</p> + +<p>Night came on fast. The red sun shot down. Darkness fell upon the forest, +and swept up to the circling rim of the camp fire. Chill came into the +air. The Spaniards shivered and crept a little nearer to the coals. Talk +ceased, and, out of the illimitable forest, came the low, moaning sound of +the wind among the leaves. The great stars sprang out, and shone with a +thin, pale light on the wilderness.</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez was a brave man, but he was born on sunny plains where +he basked in warmth and the eye ranged far. Now, despite himself, he felt +a chill that was uncanny. The forest, thick and black, spread away, he +knew, for hundreds of miles, and neither city nor town broke it. A fervent +imagination leaped up and peopled it with weird beings. Nor would +imagination go down before will and knowledge. Boughs twisted themselves +into fantastic, hideous shapes, and the moan of the wind was certainly +like the cry of a soul in torment.</p> + +<p>Don Francisco Alvarez shivered and the shiver became a shudder. He looked +across the fire at his prisoner, but Paul seemed unconscious of the forest +and the night, and the demon spell of the two. The lad sat immovable. Upon +his face was the dreamy, mystic look that so often came there. He seemed +to be gazing far beyond the Spaniard and the renegade into some greater +future.</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez, brave man though he was, felt awe. He rose impatiently, +kicked a coal deeper into the fire, looked once more at Paul, who was yet +silent, and spoke sharply to the sentinels. Then he returned to his place, +and said to Paul:</p> + +<p>"We offer you the hospitality of the forest and an extra blanket if you +wish it."</p> + +<p>"It's a hospitality to which I'm used," replied Paul, "and I don't need +the extra blanket, although I thank you for the offer."</p> + +<p>He took his own blanket from the little roll at his back, wrapped himself +in it, pillowed his head on the knoll, and closed his eyes. Francisco +Alvarez looked at him for some minutes, and could not tell whether he was +sleeping or waking, but he thought that he slept. His long, regular +breathing and the expression of his face, as peaceful as that of a little +child, indicated It.</p> + +<p>The night grew chillier. The great stars remained pale and cold, and the +forest continued to whine, as that strange, wandering breeze slipped +through the leaves. Francisco Alvarez of the sunny plains wished that it +would stop. It got upon his nerves, and the feeling it gave him was +singularly like that of an evil conscience. He saw his men fall to sleep +one by one, and he heard their heavy breathing. Braxton Wyatt also wrapped +himself in his blanket and soon slumbered. The fire sank, the coals +crumbled, and with soft little hisses, fell together. The circling rim of +darkness crept up closer and closer, and the trunks of the trees became +ghostly in the shadows.</p> + +<p>Alvarez saw his sentinels at either side of the camp, to right and left, +walking back and forth, and he knew also that they would watch well. Time +passed. The night darkened and then a wan moon came out, casting a +ghostly, gray shadow over the measureless black forest. The great stars, +pale and cold, danced in a dusky blue. Faint moans came out of the depths +of the wilderness, as a stray wind wandered here and there among the +leaves. Francisco Alvarez, resolute and self contained though he was, +could not sleep. He had taken a bold step in holding the messenger of +peace, and, although one might do much a thousand wilderness miles from +the seat of his authority, he was nevertheless anxious to have the full +support of Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana.</p> + +<p>Royalist to the marrow, he wished the colonists to be defeated by their +mother country, and he wished, moreover, that Spain might make secure a +title to all the immense regions in the valley. If he could skillfully +commit Spain to a quarrel with the settlers much might be done for the +cause in which his heart was enlisted. He foresaw the truth of Paul's +warning that in a little while nothing could uproot the settlers in +Kentucky. A blow at them, if it would destroy, must fall quickly, and he +meant that the blow should be given.</p> + +<p>His anxiety weighed heavily upon him and the wilderness at night grew more +uncanny. Sleep refused to come. The coals sank lower. One by one they +gleamed with the last fitful sparks of dying fire and then went out. The +two sentinels, one to the right and one to the left, had sat down now upon +fallen logs, but Alvarez knew that they were still watching with +care—they would not dare to do otherwise. All the rest but Alvarez slept.</p> + +<p>The Spaniard looked at Braxton Wyatt as he lay in his blanket, one arm +under his head, and his lip curled. He despised him, and yet he could be +very useful. He would have to work with him and he must treat him at least +with superficial politeness. Then he looked at the prisoner. Paul, too, +slept soundly, his fine face thrown into relief in the wan moonlight, +every sensitive feature revealed. Alvarez wondered again that he should +find a youth of such classic countenance and cultivated mind in the deep +forest.</p> + +<p>The wandering breeze ceased, and the wilderness fell into a silence so +deep and heavy that it preyed upon the nerves of the Spaniard. Then, out +of the stillness came a long, plaintive note, wailing, but musical, full +of a quality that made it seem to Alvarez weird and ominous.</p> + +<p>"Only the howl of a wolf," muttered the Spaniard, who recognized the +long-drawn cry. But it made him shiver a little, nevertheless. He alone +was awake, except the sentinels, and he felt like a tiny, lost speck in +all the vast wilderness. A second time came the cry of the wolf, and then +it was repeated a third and a fourth time. After the fourth it ceased.</p> + +<p>The four cries were so distinct, so equal in length, and repeated at such +regular intervals that they seemed to Francisco Alvarez like set notes. He +listened intently, but they did not come again. He glanced at the prisoner +but Paul had not stirred, the moon's rays illuminating his face with a +pale light. The renegade, too, slept soundly.</p> + +<p>Alvarez wrapped himself in his blanket after the fashion of the others, +and lay down, but still sleep would not come. He knew that it was far in +the night and he wished to be rested and fresh for the next day, but he +lay awake, nevertheless. A half hour passed, and then came that plaintive +cry of the wolf again. As before, it seemed to be wonderfully distinct and +full of character, but it was nearer now. Francisco Alvarez raised +himself on his elbow, and heard it a second and then a third and fourth +time. After that only the heavy silence of the forest.</p> + +<p>"The same as before," murmured the Spaniard to himself. "The wolf howled +four times. What a coincidence! Bah, I'm becoming a superstitious fool!"</p> + +<p>He resolutely closed his eyes and sought slumber once more. It was far +past midnight now, and weary nature began at last her task. His nerves +were soothed. A soft breeze fanned his eyelids with drowsy wing, the +forest wavered, swam away, and he slept.</p> + +<p>Red dawn was coming when Francisco Alvarez awoke. The fire was dead and +cold, and the men around it yet slumbered. The two sentinels, one to the +right and one to the left, still sat on the logs, backs toward him. He +took one glance to see if the prisoner, too, slept, and then he leaped to +his feet with a cry. The prisoner was not there! Nor was he anywhere in +the camp.</p> + +<p>"Up! up! you rascals!" shouted the Spaniard. "The boy is gone! escaped. +Luiz, Pedro, in what manner have you watched!"</p> + +<p>He rushed to the sentinel on the right, Luiz, and struck him sharply +across the back with the flat of his sword.</p> + +<p>"Wretch!" he cried, "you have slept!" and he struck him again.</p> + +<p>Luiz did not stir, even under the sharp blow. He remained, sitting on the +log, back to his chief, shoulders bent forward, as if he were in a +slumber too profound to be disturbed by anything short of a crash of +thunder in his ear. Alvarez, furious with anger, seized him by the +shoulder and dragged him back. Then he uttered another cry, in which rage +and surprise were mingled in equal portions. But Luiz, the sentinel, still +said nothing. He could not. A gag was fixed firmly in his mouth, his arms +were bound to his side, his legs to the tree on which he sat, and his +rifle had been left standing between his knees and against his shoulder, +as if held by one who watched.</p> + +<p>The unfortunate sentinel gazed up at his chief with wide-open, appealing +eyes, and, leaving him with the men, who were now crowding around he ran +to the other sentinel. Pedro, only to find him gagged and bound, exactly +like his comrade. It was some minutes before either could speak, after +they were cut loose and their gags removed, and then their tales were the +same.</p> + +<p>"I watched. I watched well, Captain," said Luiz, "by the Holy Virgin I +swear it! Never in this whole terrible night, not for a moment, have my +eyes closed. I saw nothing, I heard nothing but a wolf howling in the +forest, and then, long after midnight, I was suddenly seized from behind +by powerful hands. I could not move, so strong were they. I was gagged and +bound and I could see only the phantom figures of the men who did it. I +know no more."</p> + +<p>Pedro, with many supplications, repeated the tale, and Francisco Alvarez +was forced to believe them, although he cursed them for carelessness, and +promised them punishment. Braxton Wyatt had remained silent, although his +face showed deep disappointment. Presently, when the turmoil had died +down, he said in a low voice to Alvarez:</p> + +<p>"What was it that the sentinel said about hearing the howl of a wolf?"</p> + +<p>"I heard it myself," replied Alvarez. "It was about midnight, when a wolf +to the north howled four times. An hour or so later I heard it again, +somewhat nearer and somewhat to the west, when it howled four times as +before."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Braxton Wyatt.</p> + +<p>It was a short exclamation, but it was so full of significance that the +Spaniard in surprise, asked him what he meant.</p> + +<p>"Four cries," replied the renegade, "and he had four friends, of whom I +told you to beware. I told you what they were, what cunning and skill they +have, but you would not believe me and you must now! Cotter heard the four +cries. He was not asleep and he understood!"</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt, despite his annoyance at Paul's escape, felt a moment of +triumph. His warning had come true. He had been wiser than this Spaniard +who had patronised and insulted him.</p> + +<p>"We will deal with these people yet," said Francisco Alvarez angrily as he +turned away.</p> + +<p>"I hope so," replied Braxton Wyatt.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1" /><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> An early French and Spanish name for Kentucky.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III" />CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>AN INVISIBLE CHASE</h3> + + +<p>Deep in a shadowed glade sat the five, eating a quiet breakfast, and +talking in low tones of satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"I knew that you would come," said Paul, "and when I heard the four cries +of the wolf I knew, too, that all four of you were there. When you sent +the call Braxton Wyatt, who alone might have suspected, was asleep. The +Spanish commander was awake, and he was troubled, but he did not know +why."</p> + +<p>"Wa'al, I guess he knows now," said Shif'less Sol with a silent but deep +laugh. "Ef he's the kind o' man you say he is, Paul, an' I guess he is—he +needed our teachin' him a lesson. I hate a man who knows too much, who is +too almighty certain, an' I guess the Spaniard is one o' that kind. Think +o' him comin' out here in the woods, breakin' faith, so to speak, an' +holdin' you, Paul. Ef I wuz to go over to Europe, which I ain't ever goin' +to do—an' wuz to light down in one o' them big cities, Paris or London, +do you think I'd tell the fellers in the streets that I knowed more about +their town than they did?"</p> + +<p>"No, Sol," said Paul, "you're too wise a man ever to do such a thing."</p> + +<p>"I should hope I wuz," said Sol emphatically. "Jest think o' me stoppin' a +lot o' French fellers in the streets o' Paris, me jest happened in from +the woods fur the fust time, an' sayin' to them: 'Here, Bob, be keerful +how you cross the street thar, it's a right bad spot fur wagons, an' you'd +shorely git run over ef you tried it,' or 'Now, Dick, that thar is the +wrong street that you're takin', ef you foller it you'll land a full mile +from your cabin.'"</p> + +<p>"But Frenchmen are not named Bob and Dick," said Paul with a smile.</p> + +<p>"Wa'al ef they ain't they ought to be," said the shiftless one with +conviction. "Why they want to call theirselves by all them long names +nobody can pronounce, when there are a lot o' good, nice, short, handy +names like Dick, an' Jim, an' Bill, an' Bob, an' Hank, layin' 'roun' loose +an' jest beggin' to be used, is more'n I kin understand."</p> + +<p>"We must soon decide what to do," said Henry. "If the Spanish captain +concludes to help the Indians, and with Braxton Wyatt at his elbow I think +he is likely to do it, our people in Kentucky will again be in great +danger. We must drive the Spaniards back to New Orleans."</p> + +<p>"I agree with you," said Paul, "but how is it to be done?"</p> + +<p>"Mebbe we kin shoo 'em back, skeer 'em, so to speak," said Shif'less Sol. +"We're jest bound to keep Spain out o' this country."</p> + +<p>"It is true," said Paul. "Great things grow out of little ones. Such a +land as this is sure to have a great population some day and what we five +do now, obscure and few as we are, may help to decide what that population +is to be."</p> + +<p>As Paul spoke, his comrades and the shadowed glen floated away, and the +look of seer came upon him. Again he saw great towns and a nation. The +others regarded him with a little awe. The spiritual, or rather prophetic, +quality in Paul always had their deep respect.</p> + +<p>"Paul shorely does take mighty long looks ahead," whispered Shif'less Sol +to Henry, "an' sometimes I can't follow him clean to the end. I mostly +drop by the way. I like to live this very minute, an' I'm pow'ful glad to +be alive right now. But I'm with him clean to the finish o' our big job."</p> + +<p>Henry nodded and presently he and the shiftless one went away through the +woods. Paul, Ross, and Long Jim remained lying at ease in the forest—Paul +had learned the great wilderness lesson of patience—and about noon the +two returned. They had been spying upon the Spanish camp, and they +reported that Alvarez and his men had not moved.</p> + +<p>"They seem to be waiting for something," said Henry. "Braxton Wyatt is +still with them, and they have posted more sentinels in a wider circle. I +don't believe they will move camp for several days. So long as they keep +theirs there, we'll keep ours here."</p> + +<p>"O' course," said the shiftless one. "We must keep the watch."</p> + +<p>Several days passed and there was little to do. One or another of the +five at times crept close to the Spanish camp, and always reported that +the men there were lounging at their ease and still waiting. Now and then +the Spaniards hunted in detachments, usually guided by Braxton Wyatt, and +brought in both deer and buffalo. On the fourth day Henry and Paul also +went hunting.</p> + +<p>"The country west of here," said Henry, "opens out into a big prairie, and +we may see something worth seeing."</p> + +<p>Paul did not ask what it was, content to go and see, and the two, rifle on +shoulder, slipped away through the woods, taking a direct, western course.</p> + +<p>Paul noticed that the country soon became much less hilly, and that the +forest thinned. After a while hills and forest ceased altogether and the +two stood upon the edge of a wide sweep of gently rolling, open country, +extending so far that it met the horizon.</p> + +<p>"Look," said Henry. "A great prairie!"</p> + +<p>"And look what's on it!" exclaimed Paul.</p> + +<p>Henry laughed and glanced at his comrade's pleased face. As far as the eye +could reach the prairie was covered with a multitude of great, dark +animals, grazing on the short, sweet grass. Near by these animals, as Paul +saw, were a few feet apart, but further on they seemed to blend into one +solid, black, but heaving mass.</p> + +<p>"A real buffalo herd," said Henry.</p> + +<p>Paul had seen buffaloes often in Kentucky, but there they were usually in +small groups of a dozen or so, owing to the wooded nature of the country, +and now he looked for the first time upon a great herd, twenty thousand, +thirty thousand, maybe more—one could not calculate. The spectacle +appealed greatly to his imaginative temperament.</p> + +<p>"What a grand sight!" he said.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Henry, "it is wonderful, but, Paul, this is nothing to what +you can see on the great plains. When I was a captive with the +northwestern Indians I've seen a herd that was passing our party all day, +and it was also so wide you could not see across it."</p> + +<p>They stood there some time looking. The huge, savage bulls were on the +outskirts of the herd, and just beyond them at the fringe of the forest +were snarling timber wolves, waiting for a chance to drag down some +careless calf, or a bull weakened to the last degree by old age.</p> + +<p>As the two youths looked they heard a shot and saw a movement among the +buffaloes. Another shot followed and then a half dozen. The portion of the +herd near by seemed suddenly to contract and to roll in upon itself. The +waiting wolves disappeared in the woods, and snorts of terror arose from +the herd.</p> + +<p>"There they are! I see them!" exclaimed Paul. "It is the Spaniards, sure +enough!"</p> + +<p>Five or six men in the Spanish military attire burst from the forest, not +more than a hundred yards away, and continued to fire as fast as they +could into the herd.</p> + +<p>"How foolish!" exclaimed Henry. "Either they are wasting their shots or if +they don't waste them they are killing far more buffaloes than they can +use!"</p> + +<p>The boys withdrew into a thicket, as they did not wish to be seen by the +Spaniards, and watched closely. The soldiers continued to reload and fire +and uttered shouts of joy whenever a buffalo fell. Transported by +excitement they scattered, and one man ran down near Paul and Henry, +detaching himself unconsciously from the rest of his comrades.</p> + +<p>This Spaniard was young and athletic, and he fired at a huge bull. Had he +been an experienced hunter, he would have known better, as the bull was +too big and tough to eat, and he was also one of the savage guardians of +the herd. Moreover, the Spaniards were armed mostly with muskets, a weapon +far inferior to the Kentucky rifle.</p> + +<p>This great bull stung in the flank, but stung only, uttered a roar of +pain, and, sharp horns down, charged directly upon the young Spaniard. He +was a terrifying sight as he tore up the grass of the prairie, his red +eyes flaming. The Spaniard, appalled, dropped his musket and ran for the +woods, the great beast thundering at his heels, and his hot breath, in +fancy at least, upon his back. Both Paul and Henry at that instant +recognized him. It was one of the unfortunate sentinels. Luiz.</p> + +<p>"I'll save him," said Henry, "but keep back, Paul! Don't let him see you!"</p> + +<p>The Spaniard was about to reach the edge of the wood, but another jump +would bring the raging buffalo upon him. His foot caught among some roots +and with a despairing cry he fell upon his face. But as he struck the +ground there was a sharp, lashing report, far different from the dull boom +of a musket, and the great animal suddenly ploughed forward on his head. +So violent was his plunge, as he was stricken in mid-charge, that his neck +was broken, and, after his crashing fall, he lay quite still.</p> + +<p>The young Spaniard, Luiz, sprang to his feet unharmed, and he was +confronted by a figure that startled him, the figure of a very tall and +powerful youth, clad wholly in deerskin, leaning on a long, slender +barreled Kentucky rifle, and looking at him contemplatively. So sudden was +his appearance and so fixed his gaze that Luiz, although joyful over his +escape from death, was startled and awed. His adventure of a few nights +before when he was seized, bound, and gagged by unseen but powerful hands +had left him shaken, and now his brain was whirling.</p> + +<p>The young Spaniard stared at the figure, which neither moved nor spoke, +but which returned his gaze with a fixed look. Was it a spirit, or was it +really one of the Americans? But whatever it was, it had, beyond a doubt, +saved his life, and deep down in his Spanish heart he was not ungrateful.</p> + +<p>"Thanks, Señor!" he stammered. "Your shot—it came just in time!"</p> + +<p>The apparition spoke, but only a few words.</p> + +<p>"We are your friends, not your enemies, don't forget," it said, and the +startled Luiz rubbed his eyes. The figure of the great youth was gone. It +had been there and then it was not there, and only some bushes, waving +slightly, told where it had been. He regained his musket, and, still +bewildered, rejoined his comrades to tell them a story that they did not +more than half believe.</p> + +<p>Henry, laughing a little, returned to Paul. It had been a simple trick. He +had merely darted away among the bushes, while Luiz was still in a daze.</p> + +<p>"I did not want to see the man killed," he said, "and maybe we have sowed +a good seed, that will grow up in time, and produce something."</p> + +<p>"It may be," added Paul.</p> + +<p>They went a little farther into the forest and watched the Spaniards +finish their hunt, gather up as much of their game as they could carry, +and depart. When they were well out of sight, Henry and Paul went to a +slain cow that the soldiers had neglected, cut out some of the choicest +portions, and took the way to their own camp.</p> + +<p>"I think the Spaniards are likely to be disturbed over what has happened," +said Henry.</p> + +<p>In fact, the shiftless one, who was the scout the following night, +returned with a story that the Spanish camp was greatly agitated. Braxton +Wyatt and Alvarez were positive that the five were still lingering +somewhere near, but the uneducated soldiers were not sure that a spirit +was not lurking in the wilderness. It might be a beneficent spirit, as it +had saved Luiz, but, on the other hand, it had taken away the American +prisoner, and they were afraid of the unknown and mysterious. These vast, +dark woods were so different from the open and sunny plains of Spain, +where a man knew what to expect, that they were inspired with awe.</p> + +<p>Yet Alvarez would not move, so Shif'less Sol reported. He seemed to be +still waiting for something, and on the following night Henry, Paul, and +Shif'less Sol went forth to watch the Spanish camp again.</p> + +<p>"I've a feelin' in me," said the shiftless one, "that somethin' is goin' +to happen to-night. I often have these feelin's, omens some people call +'em, min'-readin' other people say. I notice that I gena'lly have 'em jest +about when all the circumstances show that things are comm' to a head, +jest ez ef Paul here wuz to feel along about 6 or 7 o'clock in the +afternoon that sundown couldn't be fur away. You can't beat it. Now when +I've gone fifteen or eighteen hours without food I have a feelin'—an' +it's a strong one, too—that I'm goin' to be hungry, an' I'm sca'cely ever +mistook, jest ez I've got a feelin' when the skies are filled with big +black clouds that it's liable to rain purty soon. I tell you, Paul, it's a +great thing to have this here power you call second sight."</p> + +<p>The three walked steadily on in Indian file through the forest, their +trained feet making no sound among the trunks and brushes. The night was +dark, just suited to their purpose, and clouds floated up to dim the +skies. No stars came out, and the moon was hidden. By and bye the wind +rose, and dashes of rain were whipped into their faces.</p> + +<p>But the three did not mind. Such things as these had become trifles to +them long since. Henry led with sure step, Shif'less Sol came next, and +Paul brought up the rear. Henry stopped after a while, and sank down +among the bushes. The other two did likewise, and, after a little pause in +which they heard nothing, they began to creep forward, taking the utmost +care to make not even the slightest sound. They saw presently through the +trees and bushes a faint red shade that grew fast to a glow and then to a +glare.</p> + +<p>Henry stopped, sank lower, and beckoned to his comrades. They crept to his +side and looked over a steep little cliff directly upon the Spanish camp. +Most of the soldiers were grouped about a large camp fire, and Francisco +Alvarez was among them in a place of honor.</p> + +<p>Hidden in the deep shrubbery the three occupied points of vantage, and, +while secure from observation themselves, they could easily see all that +passed in the glade. Several tents had been set, although the flaps were +wide open and within one of these sat Francisco Alvarez in all the +gorgeous attire of a Spanish officer, most fastidious in his taste. The +gold on his uniform glittered, the lace on his cuffs was snowy and fresh, +and the polished hilt of his small sword gleamed in the firelight. He had +the air of one who expected distinguished guests.</p> + +<p>"Now I wonder what has become of Braxton Wyatt," whispered Paul. Nowhere +could he see a sign of the renegade.</p> + +<p>"He is coming," whispered Henry, who had what Shif'less Sol would have +called an intuition.</p> + +<p>Two of the Spaniards heaped more wood upon the fire. The logs crackled +and blazed merrily, casting long tongues of flame across the glade, and +sending a grateful heat into the veins of the warm-blooded Southerners. +The flurries of rain ceased, and the skies brightened a little. A star or +two peeped out.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Henry in the lowest of whispers, "here they come!"</p> + +<p>The bushes at the far side of the glade parted and three figures came into +the open. They took but two or three steps forward and then stopped full +in the blaze of the firelight, where every feature showed like carving in +the red glow.</p> + +<p>The hidden watchers recognized at once the three who had come. They were +Braxton Wyatt, Yellow Panther the Miami chief, and Red Eagle the Shawnee +chief. Paul repressed a little cry of amazement that he should see the two +Indian leaders so far from the territory of their tribes. They must intend +much to come such a journey.</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt stepped back a little, as if having performed his function +of guide he would now remain awhile in the background, but the two great +chiefs stood motionless, side by side, magnificent specimens of savage +life, bronze of skin, tall of figure, powerful of chest, thin, eagle-like +faces, and defiant scalp-locks waving above. The imaginative Paul, seeing +how well they fitted into the wilderness scene, was forced to admire. The +firelight flickered and blazed over them, but they were immovable in all +their savage dignity. Henry put his hand upon Paul's shoulder, and pressed +gently. It was an intimation to look with all his eyes and listen with +all attention. But Paul did not need the hint.</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez also was impressed. He loved the towns and luxury, but +he had acuteness and perception, and he knew that these were strong men of +their kind, men with whom he must deal according to the courtesy of the +woods. He rose from his tent, bowed to them, and walked forward. He +himself was a splendid figure in his gorgeous uniform, and his carriage +was marked by dignity.</p> + +<p>"Now see them salute," whispered the shiftless one in Paul's ear.</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt stepped forward again, produced a pipe with a beautifully +carved horn handle, and filled it carefully with tobacco, which he lighted +with a coal from the fire. Then he handed it to Red Eagle, who was the +older of the chiefs, and Red Eagle gravely took a half dozen whiffs. Then +he passed it to Yellow Panther, who did likewise, and the chief in his +turn handed it to the Spanish commander. Alvarez smoked gravely for a half +minute, and then Braxton Wyatt took the pipe.</p> + +<p>"Now for the big confab," whispered Sol.</p> + +<p>Fine buffalo robes were spread before the fire, and the three leaders and +Braxton Wyatt sat upon them. All others kept at a respectful distance. The +four began to talk and, although only an occasional word reached the +watching three, they knew too well their subject of converse. It was the +great conspiracy to draw the Spanish from Louisiana into an attack upon +the infant settlements, upon the ground that they were or would be +interlopers. It was cannon that the assailants needed to smash the block +houses, and cannon in abundance could be brought on the great rivers from +New Orleans.</p> + +<p>The watchers presently saw Braxton Wyatt take a small parcel from the +inside of his deerskin hunting shirt. He unfolded the parcel and the +watchers could see that it consisted of large pieces of the finest, tanned +deerskin.</p> + +<p>"Maps," said Paul intuitively. "That scoundrel, Braxton Wyatt, has made +them for the aid of the Spanish, and to disclose all our weak points!"</p> + +<p>The fire blazed higher and they could see that on the white deerskin were +drawn lines in colored pigment, and the rest they guessed. It was true +enough. Braxton Wyatt, no mean draughtsman, had drawn, with the most +elaborate care and attention to detail, maps on a large scale of every one +of the infant settlements. There was nothing about Wareville in particular +that he did not show, and he also designated all the rivers, hills, and +valleys as far as they were known. With such aid a Spanish force, backed +by cannon and the warriors, must triumph over every post in Kentucky.</p> + +<p>"I never thought of this," whispered Paul. Henry merely pressed his +shoulder again to indicate that they were ready to deal with it, if man +could.</p> + +<p>The three watchers remained there more than an hour, and Alvarez, Wyatt, +and the chiefs still discussed the maps with every appearance of +agreement, bending their heads over them, and now and then disclosing +eager faces, as they lifted them in the firelight.</p> + +<p>"Alvarez wants to help them," whispered Paul. "He hates us, and, if he +can, he will commit the Governor of Louisiana to the Indian alliance."</p> + +<p>"Beyond a doubt," replied Henry, "and so it's not worth while for us to +wait here any longer."</p> + +<p>They slid away in the dark and returned to their own camp. There Long Jim +and Tom Ross were placidly awaiting them, and they were not at all +surprised at the news. Then the five held another of their conferences.</p> + +<p>"I think it likely," said Paul, "that Alvarez will go back at once to New +Orleans. He will tell the Governor there that armed bands of Americans are +trespassing upon Spanish territory and that they must be driven off. He +will come back with cannon and a powerful force to do the driving. That +means war, of course, and an attack upon us in Kentucky. How will the +Governor of New Orleans know whether the fighting is on Spanish territory +or not? And even if Alvarez overstepped the limits he could say that he +was attacked first."</p> + +<p>"Of course," said Henry, "and it means that we must follow Alvarez all the +way to New Orleans if necessary, and it may be that we shall have to carry +the message of the Kentuckians to Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish Governor +General himself."</p> + +<p>"We're ready," said Shif'less Sol lazily. "I wouldn't mind seein' that +furrin town. I saw a town once when I wuz a little boy. It wuz Baltimore, +an' a pow'ful big place it wuz, most nigh set my head to swimmin'. I +heard tell that ez many ez eight or ten thousand people lived thar. Sounds +impossible but some o' 'em swore it wuz true."</p> + +<p>"We'll prepare at once for the journey," said Henry.</p> + +<p>All set to work.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV" />CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>TAKING A "GALLEON"</h3> + + +<p>Henry and Shif'less Sol spied upon the Spanish camp again the next day, +and returned with news that the two chiefs had departed, but that Braxton +Wyatt had remained, evidently intending to accompany Alvarez to New +Orleans, where they were sure the Spanish leader now intended going.</p> + +<p>"I think, too," said Henry, "that they will break up camp in the morning +and march. I believe that they came up on the Mississippi, and will return +the same way."</p> + +<p>"Then they have boats," said Paul in dismay, "and we have none."</p> + +<p>"But we can get one," said Henry significantly.</p> + +<p>"If you want a thing, jest go an' git it," said Shif'less Sol. "I remember +once when I wuz a leetle bit o' a boy back in the East, I hankered +terribly after some hickory nuts that I knowed wuz in a grove about a mile +from our house. I suffered days an' days o' anguish fur them hickory nuts, +wishin' mighty bad all the time that I had 'em. At the end o' two weeks I +walked over an' got 'em, an' my sufferin' stopped off short."</p> + +<p>"That's just what we mean to do about our boat, step over and get it," +said Henry laughing. But he did not divulge his plan and the others were +content to wait for the event.</p> + +<p>As Henry had predicted, the Spanish camp broke up the following morning, +and Alvarez and his force took up a march almost due eastward. They +traveled in an easy fashion, and showed no signs of apprehension, Alvarez +deeming that fifty well-armed men were not in any danger from wandering +tribes. He did not know that five resolute borderers were following +closely behind him, even looking into his camp at night, and knowing every +important thing that he did. Braxton Wyatt may have suspected it, but he +said nothing, aware that it could not be prevented.</p> + +<p>The five were well prepared. They carried a large supply of ammunition, a +blanket each, and jerked meat. If their food supplies gave out there was +the forest swarming with game, and they knew that it swarmed in the same +fashion all the way down to New Orleans. They would camp at sunset three +or four miles from the Spaniards, keeping watch the night through, and in +the morning it was easy enough to take up the trail of Alvarez and his +men, which, to their experienced eyes, was like a high road leading +through the forest.</p> + +<p>One evening just as the sun was setting Henry parted some twining bushes +and looked over a cliff. The others came to his side and they, too, looked +as he was looking.</p> + +<p>At their very feet lay the mighty Mississippi. They had seen it before, +but it was never so impressive as now. Great at any time it was in spring +flood, rolling a vast, yellow current down toward the Gulf. The waters +overflowed on the low, eastern shore, and it was so far across that they +could not see the further bank in the shadowed evening. The setting sun, +nevertheless, lighted up the middle of the current with blood-red gleams, +and the five gazed with a certain awe at the mighty stream, as it flowed +ever onward. It was the highly imaginative Paul who was impressed the +most.</p> + +<p>"We know where it goes to," he said, "but I wonder where it comes from."</p> + +<p>Henry waved his hand vaguely toward the North.</p> + +<p>"Up there somewhere," he said, "a thousand miles from here, or maybe two +thousand. Nobody can tell."</p> + +<p>Paul did not say anything more, but continued to gaze at the vast, yellow +current of the Mississippi, coming out of the unknown regions of the far +north and flowing into lands of the far south, almost as mysterious and, +vague, once belonging to France but now owning the lordship of Spain. It +was the homely language of Shif'less Sol that recalled him from his +dreams.</p> + +<p>"It's purty big out thar, an' looks ez if you couldn't tamper with +it—this here river stands no foolin'—but do you know, Paul, water's +pow'ful friendly. It's always travelin' about, always on the move. Land +stands still, it's always thar, an' never sees nothin' new, but water +jest keeps a' movin', seein' new countries, here to-day, somewhar else +to-morrow, lavin' new banks, breathin' new air, floatin' peacefully on to +new people, gatherin' in their talk an' ways.</p> + +<p>"Jest think! This river comes out o' we don't know whar, sees all the +wilderness, whispers to the bars and buffaloes an' Injun tribes ez it goes +by, takes a look at us standin' here on the bank, an', after wonderin' +what we're about, slips on down hundreds o' miles to Louisianny, gazin' at +the French thar on the bank at New Orleans, an' then shoots out into the +sea."</p> + +<p>"Thar to be lost," said the unpoetical Long Jim.</p> + +<p>"Not to be lost, never to be lost, Jim," said Shif'less Sol earnestly. +"That Missip. water is still thar in the sea, an' it goes slippin' an' +slidin' along with the salt clean to all them old continents. It takes a +look in at England, that's fightin' us in the East, an' if the English +could understand the water's language it might tell 'em a lot o' things +that wuz wuth their knowin'. An' then it goes on to Spain an' France an' +Germany, whar they talk all them useless tongues, an' after a while it +takes a whirl clean 'roun' Africa an' Asia, an' sees goodness knows what, +an' then goes slippin' off to see islands in oceans that I ain't ever +heard tell on. Jumpin' Jehoshaphat but ain't that a movin' an' stirrin' +life fur ye!"</p> + +<p>Sol drew a deep breath and Paul looked at him with shining eyes.</p> + +<p>"You've said a good deal of what I was thinking, Sol," he said, "but for +which I couldn't find words."</p> + +<p>"We're likely to travel with the river for a while," said Tom Ross, "an' +we must purvide a way."</p> + +<p>"We'll do it soon," said Henry.</p> + +<p>They camped that night in a dense grove near the bank but they built no +fire. After midnight Henry and Shif'less Sol slipped away and went +northward.</p> + +<p>"'Bout four miles on we'll strike them Spaniards," said the shiftless one.</p> + +<p>It was a close calculation, as at the end of the four miles they saw the +light of a fire flaring through the trees and bushes and knew that they +had come upon Alvarez and his men. Their camp lay on rather low ground +beside a little bay of the Mississippi, and the keen eyes of the two +woodsmen saw at once that the force of Alvarez had been increased.</p> + +<p>"He's got about seventy men whar he had about fifty afore," said Shif'less +Sol as they crept nearer.</p> + +<p>"They came on boats as I thought," replied Henry, "and he left a +detachment here with the boats, while he went across country. Maybe he was +on an exploring expedition or something of that kind, when Braxton Wyatt +overtook him with his proposition."</p> + +<p>Sol looked at Henry and Henry looked at Sol. A ray of moonlight fell upon +their tanned and stern faces. Then as they looked a twinkle appeared in +the eye of each. The twinkle deepened and the two broke simultaneously +into a soundless laugh.</p> + +<p>"We want one of those boats," said Henry.</p> + +<p>"We shorely do," said Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"We need it in the course of our duty," said Henry.</p> + +<p>"We jest can't git along without it," said Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"It will be much easier floating down the middle of the Mississippi in a +boat than it will be walking along the bank all the way."</p> + +<p>"It will shorely save the feet, an' give a feller time to think, while the +current's doin' the work. It jest suits a lazy man like me."</p> + +<p>Again they broke simultaneously into a laugh that contained no sound, but +which was full of mirth.</p> + +<p>"It's taking what doesn't belong to us, and we are not at war with the +Spanish," said Henry.</p> + +<p>"They tried to hold Paul a prisoner, and they're not at war with us," +rejoined Sol. "We've got a right to hit back. Besides, we're doin' it to +save a war, and we're only borrowin' their boat fur their own good."</p> + +<p>The two, without further ado, made a circuit around the Spanish camp, +coming down on the northern side. There fortunately for them the trees and +bushes were thick to the water's edge, and the shore was very low. In +fact, the river, owing to the flood, overlapped the bushes.</p> + +<p>They redoubled their caution, using every art and device of woodcraft to +approach without noise. They could see the flare of the camp fire beyond +the bushes, and now and then they caught sight of a sentinel's head. They +felt amply justified in this attempt, for Alvarez had not only held Paul a +prisoner, but was plotting with the Indian chiefs to slay all the white +people in Kentucky.</p> + +<p>"Here are the boats," whispered Henry.</p> + +<p>There they were, eight in number, large, strong boats, every one with +several pairs of oars, and tied with ropes to the bushes.</p> + +<p>The eyes of Shif'less Sol watered as he gazed.</p> + +<p>"They look pow'ful good to a lazy man," he said, "I could shorely sleep +mighty comf'table in one o' them while Jim Hart wuz pullin' at the oars."</p> + +<p>"I think the small one at the end nearest to us would just suit our +party," said Henry; "although it has more, it could be handled easily with +a single pair of oars."</p> + +<p>"Shorely!" said Shif'less Sol, "but how to git away with it is now the +question."</p> + +<p>It was indeed a problem, vexing and likewise dangerous. A sentinel, musket +on shoulder, walked up and down in front of the Spanish navy, and he +seemed to be very wide awake. Moreover, two men slept in each boat.</p> + +<p>"We must get that sentinel somehow," said Henry, "not to hurt him, but to +see that he doesn't talk for the next half hour or so."</p> + +<p>"What's your idea?" asked the shiftless one.</p> + +<p>Henry whispered to him rapidly and Sol grinned with satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"Good enough," said the shiftless one. "It'll work," and he crept away +from Henry deep in the bushes a little west of the sentinel. A moment or +two later the Spaniard on watch was startled by a sharp, warning hiss +from the edge of the thicket. He knew very well what made it—a +rattlesnake, a thing that he loathed and feared. He certainly did not want +such a deadly reptile sliding through the grass on his feet, and, clubbing +his musket, he walked forward, looking intently for the venomous thing. He +did not see it at first and all his faculties became absorbed in the +search. Holding the clubbed musket ready for an instant blow he peered +into the grass and short bushes. He was a Spaniard not without courage, +but he was oppressed by the night, the wilderness, the huge river flowing +by, and his feeling that he was far, very far, from Spain. Under the +circumstances, the poisonous hiss inspired him with an intense dread and +he was eager to slay. He leaned a little farther, swinging the musket butt +back and forth, ready for a quick blow when he should see the target.</p> + +<p>He did not hear a light step behind him, but he did feel a powerful arm +grasp him around the waist, pinning his own arms to his side, while a hand +was clasped over his mouth, checking the ready cry that could not pass his +lips. Then before his starting eyes a figure rose out of the bushes whence +the hiss had come. It was not that of a rattlesnake, but that of a man, a +tall man with powerful shoulders, blue eyes, and yellow hair, undoubtedly +one of the ferocious Americans.</p> + +<p>The sentinel felt that his hour had come, and he began to patter his +prayers in his throat, but the two Americans, the one before him, and the +one who had grasped him from behind, did not slay him at once. Instead +they said words together in their harsh tongue. Then they tore pieces from +the sentinel's clothing, made a wad of it and pressed it into his mouth. +They also tied a strip from the same clothing over his mouth and behind +his head, and, still despoiling his clothing, they bound him hand and foot +and laid him in the bushes, where he was invisible to his comrades and +could only see a sky in which a few dim stars danced. But on the whole he +was glad. They had not killed him as he had expected, and the gag in his +mouth was soft. Moreover, his comrades would surely find him in time and +release him.</p> + +<p>Henry and Shif'less Sol turned away and smiled again at each other.</p> + +<p>"Not much trouble, that," whispered the shiftless one. "He wuz shorely a +skeered Spaniard ef I kin read a man's face. Guess he wuz glad to get off +ez easy ez he did. Now fur the boat!"</p> + +<p>"Here we are," said Henry. "We must pitch out the two men sleeping in +it—you take one and I'll take the other—and then we must seize the oars +and pull like mad, because the whole camp will be up."</p> + +<p>The boat was tied with a rope to a stout sapling and two Spanish soldiers +slumbered in great peace inside. The oars lay beside them. Henry cut the +rope with one sweep of his long-bladed hunting-knife, and then he and +Shif'less Sol sprang into the boat. Each seized a man by the shoulders and +lifted him in his powerful arms. It was a chance that one of the sleepers +was Luiz, and, when he was snatched suddenly from blissful dreams to +somber fact, he opened his eyes to see bending over him the same grave, +tanned being who had rescued him from the raging buffalo.</p> + +<p>But it was not a beneficent spirit, because Luiz was tossed bodily the +next moment into three feet of muddy water. He uttered a cry of terror and +despair as he went down, and another Spaniard uttered a similar cry at the +same moment. Both cries were cut off short by mouthfuls of the +Mississippi, but the two Spaniards came up a moment later, and began to +wade hastily to the shore. Each cast a frightened glance behind him, and +saw their boat disappearing on the river's bosom, carrying the two evil +spirits with it.</p> + +<p>"I shorely enjoyed that," said Shif'less Sol, as the oars bent beneath his +powerful stroke. "That Spaniard's face as he woke up an' found hisself +whirled out into the Mississippi wuz the funniest thing I ever seed, an' I +had the fun, too, without hurting him. It ain't often, Paul, that you kin +do what you need to do an' be full o' laugh, too, an' so when the time +comes I make the most o' it."</p> + +<p>"It was worth seeing," said Henry, "and we've been in great luck, too. +There, hear 'em! They've got the water out of their mouths and are giving +tongue again! Pull, Sol! Pull!"</p> + +<p>Loud shouts came from the sentinels who had risen from their bath and it +was followed by cries in the Spanish camp. Torches flared, there was the +sound of running footsteps, and dusky figures appeared at the river's +bank.</p> + +<p>"Pull, Sol! Pull!" exhorted Henry again. "We're not yet out of range!"</p> + +<p>Shots were fired and bullets pattered on the water but none reached the +boat. They heard angry cries, imprecations, and they saw one figure +apparently giving commands, which they were sure was that of Francisco +Alvarez.</p> + +<p>"Now if they had our Kentucky rifles and real marksmen," said Shif'less +Sol, "they could pick you an' me off without any trouble. Thar's light +enough. But with them old bell-mouthed muskets they can't do much. No, +Henry, we're bold pirates on the high seas an' we've been an' took a +Spanish gall-yun—ain't that what they call their treasure ships? 'Pears +to me, Henry, I kinder like bein' a pirate, 'specially when you do the +takin', an' ain't took yourself."</p> + +<p>"That's so," laughed Henry, "but we'd better keep pulling, Sol, with all +our might. They're sure to pursue, and, as they have plenty of men for the +oars we need all the start that we can get."</p> + +<p>They were well out in the middle of the stream now, and the deep, powerful +current of the Mississippi was aiding them greatly, but both glanced back. +The shore was lined with men and another volley was fired. All the bullets +fell short, and Shif'less Sol laughed contemptuously.</p> + +<p>"Now they are beginnin' the pursuit," he said.</p> + +<p>Four boats had been cut loose, and, filled with Spaniards, they were +pushed from the bank. Henry turned the prow of their own boat until it +bore in a slanting direction toward the eastern shore.</p> + +<p>"What's your plan?" asked the shiftless one.</p> + +<p>"The river, you know, has overflowed on the eastern shore over there for +three or four miles; we must lose ourselves in the forest on that side."</p> + +<p>"An' let 'em pass us?"</p> + +<p>"That's just it. We want 'em to go on ahead of us to Louisiana, while we +follow. Besides we've got to pick up Paul and Jim and Tom."</p> + +<p>Shouts arose from the pursuers and more shots were fired, but they were +still beyond the range of the Spanish muskets and the two were untouched. +They were not even alarmed.</p> + +<p>"There's a lot of confusion in the boats," said Henry, who looked back +again with a critical eye, "and as they don't pull together they're not +gaining. The night is also growing darker and that helps us, too. Keep it +up, Sol!"</p> + +<p>"All right," said the shiftless one, increasing his stroke. "It's fine to +be a pirate, Henry. Wonder why I never tried it afore! But I believe I'll +always be a pirate at night when you've got more chance to git away."</p> + +<p>"You're right as usual, Sol," said Henry as he, too, increased his stroke.</p> + +<p>They pulled away for some time without further words, and the pursuers, +also, settled into silence save for an encouraging shout now and then to +the rowers. Henry thought that he discerned both Alvarez and Braxton +Wyatt in the foremost boat and he could imagine the rage and chagrin of +both.</p> + +<p>"I believe they're gaining," he said presently to Sol.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied the shiftless one, "that big boat thar is creepin' up."</p> + +<p>"Crack!" came a report and a bullet embedded itself in the stout wood of +their own boat. Both recognized the report. It was not that of a Spanish +musket, but the lashing fire of a Kentucky rifle like their own.</p> + +<p>"That was Braxton Wyatt," said Henry. "I thought I could make him out in +that boat. He's got a rifle that reaches and he's a danger."</p> + +<p>"Why don't you talk back?" asked Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"I will," replied Henry. "We're not at war with Spain, but we are surely +at war with Braxton Wyatt. I think the second man in the boat is Braxton. +Hold her steady just a second, Sol."</p> + +<p>Henry shipped his oars, knelt a moment, and up went the long, slender +barrel of his Kentucky rifle. As he looked down the sight he was sure that +the man at whom he was aiming was Braxton Wyatt, and he was sure, +moreover, that he would not miss. But a feeling for which he could not +account made him deflect slightly the muzzle of his weapon.</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt richly deserved death for crimes already done and he would +be, as long as he lived, a deadly menace to the border. But Henry felt +that he could not be both judge and executioner. He and Braxton Wyatt had +been young boys together. So, when he deflected the muzzle of his rifle, +it was to turn the bullet from his heart to his arm.</p> + +<p>The rifle flashed, the sharp report echoed over the flowing waters, and a +cry of pain came from the pursuing boat, which quickly slackened its +speed.</p> + +<p>"I hit him in the arm only," said Henry.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol glanced at his comrade and he understood, but he made no +criticism.</p> + +<p>"Ef you've stung him in the arm," he said, "it ain't likely that he kin +use that rifle o' his ag'in, an' I notice, too, since you shot that them +oarsmen ain't burnin' up with zeal. Now you row, Henry, while I plunk a +bullet in among 'em, an' they'll burn less than ever."</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol fired. He did not shoot to kill, but his bullet whistled +unpleasantly near the heads of the rowers, and, as he had predicted, they +rapidly lost zeal. The captured boat slid swiftly ahead.</p> + +<p>"Here we are among the trees," said Henry. "Now, Sol, keep on rowing and +I'll look out that we don't run into anything."</p> + +<p>The swollen waters rose far up on the trunks of the trees, which grew +thickly here, and Sol rowed slowly, making no noise save a slight ripple, +while Henry pushed the prow of the boat away from the trunks and the +bushes. It was very dark here and in a few minutes the pursuing boats were +shut out of sight.</p> + +<p>"Thar ain't eyes enough in that Spanish camp to find us now," said +Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>But they rowed deeper and deeper into the forest, and then, in a cluster +of trees where they could not be seen ten feet away, they stopped and +listened. Not a sound but the lapping of the water came to their ears.</p> + +<p>"We'll take a good rest and then row Northward, still keeping in the +forest," said Henry.</p> + +<p>They shipped their oars and drew long, deep breaths of relief and +satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"Henry," said Shif'less Sol presently in a tone of great exultation, "have +you noticed that this is a shore enough gall-yun that we've took? We +didn't know it, but we jest boarded and sailed away with a real treasure +ship. Look!"</p> + +<p>He opened a locker and took out two fine ornamented guns.</p> + +<p>"What are these?" he said.</p> + +<p>"Why, those are fowling pieces," replied Henry, "and they are of the very +best English make. We'll certainly borrow those, Sol."</p> + +<p>"Yes, an' this end o' the locker is full o' powder an' shot fur 'em. +Thar's no lack o' ammunition, an' look here, Henry, at these!"</p> + +<p>He took out of another locker three beautiful rapiers with polished hilts +and decorated scabbards.</p> + +<p>"Spaniards like sech tools ez these," continued the shiftless one, "an' +they're mighty purty to look at, but ez fur me give me my good old +Kentucky rifle. At a hundred yards what chance would them things have +ag'in me?"</p> + +<p>"We'll borrow them, too," said Henry. "We may have a use for them later +on. They're weapons that never have to be reloaded."</p> + +<p>Sol drew forth one of the small swords and held it up. A shaft of +moonlight fell across the blade, and showed the keen edge.</p> + +<p>"They're such fine weepins they must hev belonged to that thar Spanish +commander hisself," he said. "After all, a thing like this mightn't be bad +when you come to it right close. Mebbe Paul could handle it. You know Mr. +Pennypacker used to teach him how to swing the sword. This is how it goes: +Ah, ha! Sa ha! touched you thar! How's that my hearty!"</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol lunged at the night air, slashed, cut, swept his sword +around in circles, and then laughed again. But none of his exclamations +was uttered above a whisper. Henry was forced to smile.</p> + +<p>"Put it down, Sol," he said, "and let's see what else we've got. It may be +that we've taken Alvarez's own private boat."</p> + +<p>Sol opened the locker again, and held up a curiously shaped stone jug, +which he contemplated for a few moments. Then he took out the stopper, +smelled the contents, and looked appreciatively at his comrade.</p> + +<p>"Henry," he said, "I'm going to risk it."</p> + +<p>"It's no risk."</p> + +<p>Sol turned the jug up to his lips, took a mouthful, which he held for a +moment or two, and then swallowed. After waiting a half minute he uttered +a deep sigh of content, and rubbed his chest.</p> + +<p>"It tasted good all the way down, Henry," he said. "Here's something writ +over the label, but I guess it's Spanish, another o' them useless +tongues, an' so it tells nothin'."</p> + +<p>"Put it back," said Henry. "It's some of those fancy liquors, but we'll +keep it for times when we're wet or cold or tired out."</p> + +<p>"All right," said Sol, "an' here's three more little jugs like it."</p> + +<p>"What else do you find?" asked Henry.</p> + +<p>"Oh, look at these, will you!" exclaimed Sol, holding up two splendid +double barreled duelling pistols of Spanish make.</p> + +<p>"Now I'm sure that this is the boat of Alvarez himself," said Henry. "Such +fine things as these could belong only to the Commander. Those are +duelling pistols, Sol, but they can be made mighty useful, too, for our +defense in case of a pinch. We'll keep them, too."</p> + +<p>The shiftless one put them back and opening another locker uttered a +little cry of delight.</p> + +<p>"A hull carpenter shop!" he exclaimed. "Jest look, Henry! A fine axe, +hammers an' hatchets, an' saws an' augers an' a lot o' other things +pow'ful useful to fellers like us that have to cut an' bore their own way +out here in the woods. This is shorely one o' them gall-yuns that Paul +tells us about, an' I guess we're about ez highfalutin' an lucky pirates +ez any o' them."</p> + +<p>"You're right, Sol," said Henry. "This boat is a great find, and it's +lawful prize as they began the war upon us by seizing Paul. Keep on +looking, Sol."</p> + +<p>"Here's some beautiful blankets," continued the shiftless one. "Guess they +were made to trade with the Injuns. But it's more'n likely that this here +most gorg-y-us one will, on occasions, shelter, warm, purtect an' +otherwise care fur the deservin' body o' one Solomon Hyde, a highly +valooable citizen o' the new country they call Kentucky. An' say, Henry, +what do you call this?"</p> + +<p>His voice took a rapidly rising inflection, as he held up a glittering +garment, puffed with magnificent lace.</p> + +<p>"That," said Henry, "is what they call a doublet, and I should say that it +is the finest one belonging to Captain Alvarez. Oh, won't he be angry!"</p> + +<p>Sol slipped off his hunting shirt, and slipped on the doublet.</p> + +<p>"It's a little tight in the shoulders," he said, "but I could wear it in a +pinch, that is, I guess I'd hev to wear it in a pinch. Say, Henry, ain't I +a beauty?"</p> + +<p>He stood up in the boat and turned slowly around and around, his arms +extended and the doublet glittering. Henry leaned against the side of the +boat and laughed.</p> + +<p>"It doesn't suit you, Sol," he replied, "you're a fine looking man, but +it's in your own way, not the Spanish way."</p> + +<p>Sol took off the garment, folded it up carefully, and put it back in the +locker.</p> + +<p>"Anyway, I'm goin' to claim it," he said. "I want it to make Jim Hart +jealous. An', Henry, thar's a lot more things here, a little tent all +rolled up, some bottles o' medicine, some more clothes, two big bottles +o' brandy, and a whole lot o' house-keepin' truck, like pins an' needles +an' thread, an' them things that kin be pow'ful useful to us on a long +journey. An' jumpin' Jehoshaphat, Henry, here's a little bag o' silver an' +gold!"</p> + +<p>"Put that back!" said Henry hastily. "Put it back, Sol! Their goods we'll +borrow as fair spoil, but we won't touch their money. Put it back and none +of us will ever take that bag out again."</p> + +<p>"You're right, Henry," said Sol soberly. "I wouldn't handle a single coin +in that bag thar. Here she goes right under the bottom o' everything in +this locker, an' thar she'll stay. But, Henry, our gall-yun is the biggest +find we ever made in our lives. I never dreamed o' travelin' in sech style +an' comfort down the Mississippi."</p> + +<p>"Do you think it's going to grow lighter?" asked Henry.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Sol decidedly. "It's been a shy kind o' moon to-night, an' +it's a gittin' so much shyer that it's plumb afraid to show its face. In +three minutes it will hide behind a big cloud that's edgin' up over thar, +an' we won't see it no more to-night."</p> + +<p>"Then we'll pull down to the edge of the woods and see if the Spaniards +have given up the chase."</p> + +<p>"An' be keerful not to run into any snags or sech like. We don't want to +wreck a magnificent gall-yun like this when we've got her."</p> + +<p>They had been lying in the flooded forest about two hours, and now they +pulled very cautiously toward the main stream. It was a large boat for +two men, however strong, to handle, but they got through without colliding +with snag or tree trunk, or making any noise that could be heard a dozen +yards away.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V" />CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>ON THE GREAT RIVER</h3> + + +<p>They remained just within the edge of the forest, but, despite the lack of +moonlight, they could see far over the surface of the river. It seemed to +be an absolutely clean sweep of waters, as free from boats as if man had +never come, but, after long looking, Henry thought that he could detect a +half dozen specks moving southward. It was only for a moment, and then the +specks were gone.</p> + +<p>"I'm sure it was the Spanish boats," said Henry, "and I think they've +given up the hunt."</p> + +<p>"More'n likely," said Sol, "an' I guess it's about time fur us to pull +across an' pick up Paul an' Tom an' Jim. They'll wonder what hez become o' +us. An' say, Henry, won't they be s'prised to see us come proudly sailin' +into port in our gran' big gall-yun, all loaded down with arms an' +supplies an' treasures that we hev captured?"</p> + +<p>Sol spoke in a tone of deep content, and Henry replied in the same tone:</p> + +<p>"If they don't they've changed mightily since we left 'em."</p> + +<p>Both, in truth, were pervaded with satisfaction. They felt that they had +never done a better night's work. They had a splendid boat filled with the +most useful supplies. As Sol truthfully said, it was one thing to walk a +thousand miles through the woods to New Orleans and another to float down +on the current in a comfortable boat. They had cause for their deep +satisfaction.</p> + +<p>They pulled with strong, steady strokes across the Mississippi, taking a +diagonal course, and they stopped now and then to look for a possible +enemy. But they saw nothing, and at last their boat touched the western +shore. Here Sol uttered their favorite signal, the cry of the wolf, and it +was quickly answered from the brush.</p> + +<p>"They're all right," said Henry, and presently they heard the light +footsteps of the three coming fast.</p> + +<p>"Here, Paul, here we are!" called out Sol a few moments later, "an' min', +Paul, that your moccasins are clean. We don't allow no dirty footsteps on +this magnificent, silver-plated gall-yun o' ours, an' ez fur Jim Hart, ef +the Mississippi wuzn't so muddy I'd make him take a bath afore he come +aboard."</p> + +<p>Henry and the shiftless one certainly enjoyed the surprise of their +comrades who stood staring.</p> + +<p>"I suppose you cut her out, took her from the Spaniards?" said Paul.</p> + +<p>"We shorely did," replied Sol, "an', Paul, she's a shore enough gall-yun, +one o' the kind you told us them Spaniards had, 'cause she's full o' good +things. Jest come on board an' look."</p> + +<p>The three were quickly on the boat and they followed Sol with surprise and +delight, as he showed them their new treasures one by one.</p> + +<p>"You've named her right, Sol," said Paul. "She is a galleon to us, sure +enough, and that's what we'll call her, 'The Galleon.' When we have time, +Sol, you and I will cut that name on her with our knives."</p> + +<p>They tied their boat to a sapling and kept the oars and themselves aboard. +Tom Ross volunteered to keep the watch for the few hours that were left of +the night. The others disposed themselves comfortably in the boat, wrapped +their bodies in the beautiful new Spanish blankets, and were soon sound +asleep.</p> + +<p>Tom sat in the prow of the boat, his rifle across his knees, and his keen +hunting knife by his side. At the first sign of danger from shore he could +cut the rope with a single slash of his knife and push the boat far out +into the current.</p> + +<p>But there was no indication of danger nor did the indefinable sixth sense, +that came of long habit and training, warn him of any. Instead, it +remained a peaceful night, though dark, and Tom looked contemplatively at +his comrades. He was the oldest of the little party and a man of few +words, but he was deeply attached to his four faithful comrades. Silently +he gave thanks that his lot was cast with those whom he liked so well.</p> + +<p>The night passed away and up came a beautiful dawn of rose and gold. Tom +Ross awakened his comrades.</p> + +<p>"The day is here," he said, "an' we must be up an' doin' ef we're goin' to +keep on the trail o' them Spanish fellers."</p> + +<p>"All right," said Shif'less Sol, opening his eyes. "Jim Hart, is my +breakfus ready? Ef so, you kin jest bring it to me while I'm layin' here +an' I'll eat it in bed."</p> + +<p>"Your breakfus ready!" replied Jim Hart indignantly. "What sort uv +nonsense are you talkin' now, Sol Hyde?"</p> + +<p>"Why, ain't you the ship's cook?" said Sol in a hurt tone, "an' oughtn't +you to be proud o' bein' head cook on a splendiferous new gall-yun like +this? I'd a-thought, Jim, you'd be so full o' enthusiasm over bein' +promoted that you'd have had ready fur us the grandest breakfus that wuz +ever cooked by a mortal man fur mortal men. It wuz sech a fine chance fur +you."</p> + +<p>"I think we can risk a fire," said Henry. "The Spaniards are far out of +sight, and warm food will be good for us."</p> + +<p>After they had eaten, Henry poured a few drops of the Spanish liquor for +each in a small silver cup that he found in one of the lockers.</p> + +<p>"That will hearten us up," he said, but directly after they drank it Paul, +who had been making an exploration of his own on the boat, uttered a cry +of joy.</p> + +<p>"Coffee!" he said, as he dragged a bag from under a seat, "and here is a +pot to boil it in."</p> + +<p>"More treasures," said Sol gleefully. "That wuz shorely a good night's +work you an' me done, Henry!"</p> + +<p>There was nothing to do but boil a pot of the coffee then and there, and +each had a long, delicious drink. Coffee and tea were so rare in the +wilderness that they were valued like precious treasures. Then they packed +their things and started, pulling out into the middle of the stream and +giving the current only a little assistance with the oars.</p> + +<p>"One thing is shore," said Shif'less Sol, lolling luxuriously on a locker, +"that Spanish gang can't git away from us. All we've got to do is to float +along ez easy ez you please, an' we'll find 'em right in the middle o' the +road."</p> + +<p>"It does beat walkin'," said Jim Hart, with equal content, "but this is +shorely a pow'ful big river. I never seed so much muddy water afore in my +life."</p> + +<p>"It's a good river, a kind river," said Paul, "because it's taking us +right to its bosom, and carrying us on where we want to go with but little +trouble to us."</p> + +<p>It was to Paul, the most imaginative of them all, to whom the mighty river +made the greatest appeal. It seemed beneficent and kindly to him, a friend +in need. Nature, Paul thought, had often come to their assistance, +watching over them, as it were, and helping them when they were weakest. +And, in truth, what they saw that morning was enough to inspire a bold +young wilderness rover.</p> + +<p>The river turned from yellow to a lighter tint in the brilliant sunlight. +Little waves raised by the wind ran across the slowly-flowing current. As +far as they could see the stream extended to eastward, carried by the +flood deep into the forest. The air was crisp, with the sparkle of spring, +and all the adventurers rejoiced.</p> + +<p>Now and then great flocks of wild fowl, ducks and geese, flew over the +river, and they were so little used to man that more than once they passed +close to the boat.</p> + +<p>"The Spaniards are too far away to hear," said Henry, "and the next time +any wild ducks come near I'm going to try one of these fowling pieces. We +need fresh ducks, anyway."</p> + +<p>He took out a fowling piece, loaded it carefully with the powder and shot +that the locker furnished in abundance and waited his time. By and by a +flock of wild ducks flew near and Henry fired into the midst of them. +Three lay floating on the water after the shot, and when they took them in +Long Jim Hart, a master on all such subjects, pronounced them to be of a +highly edible variety.</p> + +<p>Paul, meanwhile, took out one of the small swords and examined it +critically.</p> + +<p>"It is certainly a fine one," he said, "I suppose it's what they call a +Toledo blade in Spain, the finest that they make."</p> + +<p>"Could you do much with it, Paul?" asked Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"I could," replied Paul confidently. "Mr. Pennypacker served in the great +French war. He was at the taking of Quebec, and he learned the use of the +sword from good masters. He's taught me all the tricks."</p> + +<p>"Maybe, then," said Sol laughing, "you'll have to fight Alvarez with one +o' them stickers. Ef sech a combat is on it'll fall to you, Paul. The rest +of us are handier with rifle an' knife."</p> + +<p>"It's never likely to happen," said Paul.</p> + +<p>The morning passed peacefully on, and the glory of the heavens was +undimmed. The river was a vast, murmuring stream, and the five voyagers +felt that, for the present, their task was an easy one. A single man at +the oars was sufficient to keep the boat moving as fast as they wished, +and the rest occupied themselves with details that might provide for a +future need.</p> + +<p>Paul brought out one of the beautiful small swords again, and fenced +vigorously with an imaginary antagonist. Jim Hart took a captured needle +and thread and began to mend a rent in his attire. Henry lifted the folded +tent from the locker and looked carefully at the cloth.</p> + +<p>"I think that with this and a pole or two we might fix up a sail if we +needed it," he said. "We don't know anything about sails, but we can learn +by trying."</p> + +<p>Tom Ross was at the oars, but Shif'less Sol lay back on a locker, closed +his eyes, and said:</p> + +<p>"Jest wake me up, when we git to New Or-lee-yuns. I could lay here an' +sleep forever, the boat rockin' me to sleep like a cradle."</p> + +<p>They saw nothing of the Spanish force, but they knew that such a flotilla +could not evade them. Having no reason to hide, the Spaniards would not +seek to conceal so many boats in the flooded forest. Hence the five felt +perfectly easy on that point. About noon they ran their own boat among the +trees until they reached dry land. Here they lighted a fire and cooked +their ducks, which they found delicious, and then resumed their leisurely +journey.</p> + +<p>The afternoon was as peaceful as the morning, but it seemed to the +sensitive imagination of Paul that the wilderness aspect of everything was +deepening. The great flooded river broadened until the line of water and +horizon met, and Paul could easily fancy that they were floating on a +boundless sea. An uncommonly red sun was setting and here and there the +bubbles were touched with fire. Far in the west dark shadows were stealing +up.</p> + +<p>"Look," Henry suddenly exclaimed, "I think that the Spanish have gone into +camp for the night!"</p> + +<p>He pointed down the stream and toward the western shore, where a thin +spire of smoke was rising.</p> + +<p>"It's that, certain," said Tom Ross, "an' I guess we'd better make fur +camp, too."</p> + +<p>They pulled toward the eastern shore, in order that the river might be +between them and the Spaniards during the night and soon reached a grove +which stood many feet deep in the water. As they passed under the shelter +of the boughs they took another long look toward the spire of smoke. +Henry, who had the keenest eyes of all, was able to make out the dim +outline of boats tied to the bank, and any lingering doubt that the +Spaniards might not be there was dispelled.</p> + +<p>"When they start in the morning we'll start, too," said Henry.</p> + +<p>Then they pushed their boat further back into the grove. Night was coming +fast. The sun sank in the bosom of the river, the water turned from yellow +to red and then to black, and the earth lay in darkness.</p> + +<p>"I think we'd better tie up here and eat cold food," said Henry.</p> + +<p>"An' then sleep," said Shif'less Sol. "That wuz a mighty comf'table +Spanish blanket I had last night an', Jim Hart, I want to tell you that if +you move 'roun' to-night, while you're watchin', please step awful easy, +an' be keerful not to wake me 'cause I'm a light sleeper. I don't like to +be waked up either early or late in the night. Tain't good fur the health. +Makes a feller grow old afore his time."</p> + +<p>"Sol," said Henry, who was captain by fitness and universal consent, +"you'll take the watch until about one o'clock in the morning and then +Paul will relieve you."</p> + +<p>Jim Hart doubled up his long form with silent laughter, and smote his knee +violently with the palm of his right hand.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, Sol Hyde," he said, "I'll step lightly, that is, ef I happen to +be walkin' 'roun' in my sleep, an' I'll take care not to wake you too +suddenly, Sol Hyde. I wouldn't do it for anything. I don't want to stunt +your growth, an' you already sech a feeble, delicate sort o' creetur, not +able to take nourishment 'ceptin' from a spoon."</p> + +<p>"Thar ain't no reward in this world fur a good man," said the shiftless +one in a resigned tone.</p> + +<p>They ate quickly, and, as usual, those who did not have to watch wrapped +themselves in their blankets and with equal quickness fell asleep. +Shif'less Sol took his place in the prow of the boat, and his attitude was +much like that of Tom Ross the night before, only lazier and more +graceful. Sol was a fine figure of a young man, drooped in a luxurious and +reclining attitude, his shoulder against the side of the boat, and a roll +of two blankets against his back. His eyes were half closed, and a stray +observer, had there been any, might have thought that he was either asleep +or dreaming.</p> + +<p>But the shiftless one, fit son of the wilderness, was never more awake in +his life. The eyes, looking from under the lowered lids, pierced the +forest like those of a cat. He saw and noted every tree trunk within the +range of human vision, and no piece of floating debris on the surface of +the flooded river escaped his attention. His sharp ears heard, too, every +sound in the grove, the rustle of a stray breeze through the new leaves, +or the splash of a fish, as it leaped from the water and sank back again.</p> + +<p>The hours dragged after one another, one by one, but Shif'less Sol was not +unhappy. He was really quite willing to keep the watch, and, as Tom Ross +had done, he regarded his sleeping comrades with pride, and all the warmth +of good fellowship.</p> + +<p>The night was dark, like its predecessor. The moon's rays fell only in +uneven streaks, and revealed a singular scene, a forest standing knee +deep, as it were, in water.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol presently took one of the blankets and wrapped it around his +shoulders. A cold damp pervaded the atmosphere, and a fog began to rise +from the river. The shiftless one was a cautious man and he knew the +danger of chills and fever. His comrades were already well wrapped, but he +stepped softly over and drew Paul's blanket a little closer around his +neck. Then he resumed his seat, maintaining his silence.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol did not like the rising of the river fog. It was thick and +cold, it might be unhealthy, and it hid the view. His circle of vision +steadily narrowed. Tree trunks became ghostly, and then were gone. The +water, seen through the fog, had a pallid, unpleasant color. Eye became of +little use, and it was ear upon which the sentinel must depend.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol judged that it was about midnight, and he became troubled. +The sixth sense, that comes of acute natural perceptions fortified by long +habit, was giving him warning. It seemed to him that he felt the approach +of something. He raised himself up a little higher and stared anxiously +into the thick mass of white fog. He could make out nothing but a little +patch of water and a few ghostly tree trunks near by. Even the stern of +the boat was half hidden by the fog.</p> + +<p>"Wa'al," thought the shiftless one philosophically, "ef it's hard fur me +to find anything it'll be hard fur anything to find us."</p> + +<p>But his troubled mind would not be quiet. Philosophy was not a sufficient +reply to the warning of the sixth sense, and, leaning far over the edge of +the boat, he listened with ears long trained to every sound of the +wilderness. He heard only the stray murmur of the wind among the +leaves—and was that a ripple in the water? He strained his ears and +decided that it was either a ripple or the splash of a fish, and he sank +back again in his seat.</p> + +<p>Although he had resumed his old position, the shiftless one was not +satisfied. The feeling of apprehension, like a mysterious mental signal, +was not effaced. That thick, whitish fog was surcharged with an alien +quality, and slowly he raised himself up once more. Hark! was it the +ripple again? He rose half to his feet, and instantly his eye caught a +glimpse of something brown upon the edge of the boat. It was a human hand, +the brown, powerful hand of a savage.</p> + +<p>The glance of Shif'less Sol followed the hand and saw a brown face +emerging from the water and fog. Quick as a flash he fired. There was a +terrible, unearthly cry, the hand slipped from the boat and the head sank +from view.</p> + +<p>"Up! up! boys!" cried Sol in thunderous tones. "We're attacked by swimmin' +savages!"</p> + +<p>He snatched up one of the double-barreled pistols and fired at another +head on the water. The others were awake in an instant and rose up, rifles +in hand. But they saw only a splash of blood on the stream that was gone +in a moment, then the thick, whitish fog closed in again, and after that +silence! But they knew Sol too well to doubt him, and the momentary red +splash would have converted even the ignorant.</p> + +<p>"Lie low!" exclaimed Henry. "Everybody down behind the sides of the boat! +They may fire at any time!"</p> + +<p>The boat was built of thick timber, through which no bullet of that time +could go, and they crouched down, merely peeping over the edges and +presenting scarcely any target. They had their own rifles and the extra +fowling pieces and pistols were made ready, also.</p> + +<p>But nothing came from the great pall of whitish fog, and the silence was +chilly and heavy. It was the most uncanny thing in all Paul's experience. +Beyond a doubt they were surrounded by savage enemies, but from which side +they would come, and when, nobody could tell until they were at the very +side of the boat.</p> + +<p>"How many did you see, Sol?" whispered Henry.</p> + +<p>"Only two, but one of 'em won't ever attack us again."</p> + +<p>"The others must be near by in their canoes, and the swimmers may have +been scouts and skirmishers. They know where we are, but we don't know +where they are."</p> + +<p>"That's so," said Shif'less Sol, "an' it gives 'em an advantage."</p> + +<p>"Which, perhaps, we can take from 'em by moving our own boat."</p> + +<p>Henry was about to put his plan into action, but they heard a light splash +in the water to the west, and another to the north. Spots of piercing red +light appeared in the fog, and many rifles cracked. Fortunately, all had +thrown themselves down, and the bullets spent themselves in the wood of +the boat's side. Henry and Sol and Tom fired back at the flashes, but more +rifle shots came out of the fog, and those on the boat had no way of +telling whether any of their bullets had hit.</p> + +<p>"I think we'd better hold our fire," whispered Henry between rifle shots. +"It's wasting bullets to shoot at a fog."</p> + +<p>The others nodded and waited. A long cry, quavering at first, and then +rising to a fierce top note to die away later in a ferocious, wolfish +whine came through the fog. It was uttered by many throats, and in the +uncanny, whitish gloom it seemed to be on all sides of them. Then shouts +and shots both ceased and the heavy silence came again.</p> + +<p>"Now is our time," whispered Henry. "Paul, steer southward. Jim, you and +Tom row, and Sol and I will be ready with the guns. Keep your heads down +as low as you can."</p> + +<p>Jim Hart and Tom Ross took the oars, pulling them through the water with +extreme caution and slowness. All knew that sharp ears were listening in +the flooded forest, and the splash of oars would bring the war canoes at +once. But they were determined that the fog which was such a help to +their enemies should be an equal help to them also.</p> + +<p>Slowly the heavy boat crept through the water. Paul, at the tiller, +steered with judgment and craft, and his was no light task. Now and then +low boughs were lapped in the water and bushes submerged to their tops +grew in the way. To become tangled in them might be fatal and to scrape +against them would be a signal to their enemies, but Paul steered clear +every time.</p> + +<p>They had gone perhaps fifty yards when Henry gave a signal to stop and Jim +and Tom rested on their oars. Then they heard a burst of firing behind +them, and a smile of saturnine triumph spread slowly but completely over +the face of Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"They're shootin' at the place whar we wuz, an' whar we ain't now," he +whispered to Henry.</p> + +<p>"Yes," Henry whispered back, "they haven't found out yet that we've left, +but they are likely to do it pretty soon. I hope now that this fog will +hang on just as thick as it can. Start up again, boys."</p> + +<p>"'Twould be funny," whispered Sol, "ef the savages should find us an' +chase us right into the bosoms o' the Spaniards."</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Henry, "and for that reason I think we'd better bend around +a circle and then go up stream. I'll tell Paul to steer that way."</p> + +<p>They went on again, creeping through the white darkness; fifty yards or so +at a time, and then a pause to listen. Henry judged that they were about a +half mile from their original anchorage, when the solemn note of an owl +arose, to be answered by a similar note from another point.</p> + +<p>"They've discovered our departure," he whispered, "and they're telling it +to each other. I imagine that their war canoes will now come in a kind of +half circle toward the center of the river. They'll guess that we won't +retreat toward the land, because then we might be hemmed in."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it," replied Sol, "and I think we'd better pull off toward +the north now. Mebbe we kin give 'em the slip."</p> + +<p>Henry gave the word and Paul steered the boat in the chosen course. The +forest grew thinner, showing that they were approaching the true stream, +but the fog held fast. After a hundred yards or so they stopped again, and +then they distinctly heard the sound of paddles to their right. It was not +a great splash, but they knew it well. Paul, at the tiller, fancied that +he could see the faces of the savages bending over their paddles. They +were eager, he knew, for their prey, and either chance or instinct had +brought them through the white pall in the right course.</p> + +<p>The uncertainty, the fog, and the great mysterious river weighed upon +Paul. He wished, for a moment, that the vapors might lift, and then they +could fight their enemies face to face. He glanced at his own comrades and +they had taken on an unearthly look. Their forms became gigantic and +unreal in the white darkness. As Henry leaned forward to listen better +his figure was distorted like that of a misshapen giant.</p> + +<p>"Steer straight toward the north, Paul," he whispered. "We must shake them +off somehow or other."</p> + +<p>Silently the boat slid through the water but they heard again those signal +cries, the hoots of the owl and now they were much nearer.</p> + +<p>"They must have guessed our course," whispered Henry, "or perhaps they +have heard the splash of an oar now and then. Stop, boys, and let's see if +we can hear their canoes."</p> + +<p>Their boat lay under the thick, spreading boughs of some oaks. Paul could +see the branches and twigs showing overhead through the white fog like +lace work, but everything else was invisible twenty feet away. All heard, +however, now and then the faint splash, splash of paddles, perhaps a +hundred yards distant. Henry tried to tell from the sounds how many war +canoes might be in the party, and he hazarded a wild guess of twenty. As +he listened, the splash grew a little louder. Obviously the canoes were +keeping on the right course. Shif'less Sol wet his finger and held it up. +When he took it down he whispered in some alarm to Henry:</p> + +<p>"The wind has begun to blow, an' it's shore to rise. It'll blow the fog +away, an' we'll lay in plain sight o' all o' them savages."</p> + +<p>Henry's instinct for generalship rose at once and he saw a plan.</p> + +<p>"We must keep on for midstream," he said. "We know what direction that +is, and, out in open water, we'd have one advantage even over their +numbers. Theirs are only light canoes, while ours is a big strong boat +that will shelter us from any bullet. Pull away, boys! I'll help Sol keep +up the watch."</p> + +<p>The boat once more resumed its progress toward the main current. The wind, +as Sol had predicted, rapidly grew stronger. The deep curtain of fog began +to thin and lighten. Suddenly a canoe appeared through it and then a +second.</p> + +<p>A bullet, fired from the first canoe, whizzed dangerously near the head of +Shif'less Sol. He replied instantly, but the light was so uncertain and +tricky that he missed the savage at whom he had aimed. The heavy bullet +instead ploughed through the side and bottom of the bark canoe, which +rapidly filled and sank, leaving its occupants struggling in the water. A +bullet had come from the second canoe, also, but it flew wild, and then +the whitish fog, thick and impenetrable, caught by a contrary current of +wind, closed in again.</p> + +<p>"Did you hit anything, Sol?" asked Henry.</p> + +<p>"Only a canoe, but I busted it all up, an' they're swimmin' from tree to +tree until they get to the bank."</p> + +<p>"Now, boys, pull with all your might!" exclaimed Henry, "and, Paul, you +steer us clear of trees, brush, logs, and snags. They know where we are +and we must get out into the stream, where there's a chance for our +escape."</p> + +<p>Then ensued a flight and running combat in a tricky fog that lifted and +closed down over and over again. Henry put down his oars presently and +took up his rifle, but Jim Hart and Tom Ross continued to pull, and Paul +kept a steady hand on the tiller.</p> + +<p>Paul's task was the most trying of all. Highly sensitive and imaginative, +this battle rolling along in alternate dusky light and white obscurity, +was to him uncanny and unreal. He saw pink dots of rifle fire in the fog, +he caught glimpses now and then of brown, savage faces or the prow of a +canoe, and then the heavy fog would come down like a blanket again, +shutting out everything.</p> + +<p>Paul's hand trembled. Every nerve in him was jumping, but he resolutely +steered the boat while the others rowed and fought. Once he barely grazed +a snag and he shivered, knowing how one of these terrible obstructions +could rip the bottom out of a boat. But soon the trees and bushes almost +disappeared. They were coming into open water. The fog, too, ceased to +close down, and the wind began to blow steadily out of the north. Banks +and streamers of white vapor rolled away toward the south. In a few +minutes it would all be gone. Out of the mists behind them rose the shapes +of war canoes not far away, and the fierce triumphant yell that swept far +over the river sent a chill to Paul's very marrow. Once again rose the +rifle fire, and it was now a rapid and steady crackle, but the bullets +thudded in vain on the thick sides of "The Galleon."</p> + +<p>All except Paul now pulled desperately for the middle of the stream, while +he, bending as low as he could, still kept a steady hand on the tiller. +The triumphant shout behind them rose again, and the great stream gave it +back in a weird echo. Paul suddenly uttered a gasp of despair. Directly in +front of them, not thirty yards away, was a large war canoe, crowded with +a dozen savages while behind them came the horde.</p> + +<p>"What is it, Paul?" asked Henry.</p> + +<p>"A big canoe in front of us full of warriors. We're cut off! No, we're +not! I have it! Bend low! bend low, you fellows, and pull with all the +might that's in you!"</p> + +<p>Paul had an inspiration, and his blood was leaping. The rifle shots still +rattled behind them, but, as usual, the bullets buried themselves in the +wood with a sigh, doing no harm. Four pairs of powerful arms and four +powerful shoulders bent suddenly to their task with new strength and +vigor. Paul's words had been electric, thrilling, and every one felt their +impulse instantly. The prow of the heavy boat cut swiftly through the +water, and Paul bent still lower to escape the rifle-shots. No need for +him to choose his course now! The boat was already sent upon its errand.</p> + +<p>A wild shout of alarm rose from the war canoe, and the next instant the +prow of "The Galleon" struck it squarely in the middle. There were more +shouts of alarm or pain, a crunching, ripping and breaking of wood, and +then "The Galleon," after its momentary check, went on. The war canoe had +been cut in two, and its late occupants were swimming for their lives. +Not in vain had Paul read in an old Roman history of the battles between +the fleets when galley cut down galley.</p> + +<p>Henry, although he did not look up, knew at once what had happened, and he +could not restrain admiration and praise.</p> + +<p>"Good for you, Paul!" he cried. "You took us right over the war canoe and +that's what's likely to save us!"</p> + +<p>Henry was right. The other canoes, appalled by the disaster, and busy, +too, in picking up the derelicts, hung back. Henry and Shif'less Sol took +advantage of the opportunity, and sent bullet after bullet among them, +aiming more particularly at the light bark canoes. Three filled and began +to sink and their occupants had to be rescued. The utmost confusion and +consternation reigned in the savage fleet, and the distance between it and +"The Galleon" widened rapidly as the latter bore in a diagonal course +across the Mississippi.</p> + +<p>"They've had all they want," said Henry, as he laid down his rifle and +took up the oars again, "but it's this big heavy boat that's saved us. +She's been a regular floating fort."</p> + +<p>"We took our gall-yun just in time," said Shif'less Sol jubilantly, "an' +she is shore the greatest warship that ever floated on these waters. Oh, +she's a fine boat, a beautiful boat, the reg'lar King o' the seas!"</p> + +<p>"Queen, you mean," said Paul, who felt the reaction.</p> + +<p>"No, King it is," replied Sol stoutly. "A boat that carries travelers may +be a she, but shorely one that fights like this is a he."</p> + +<p>The fog was gone, save for occasional wisps of white mist, but the day had +not yet come, and the night was by no means light. When they looked back +again they could not see any of the Indian canoes. Apparently they had +retreated into the flooded forest. Henry and Sol held a consultation.</p> + +<p>"It's hard to pull up stream," said Henry, "and we'd exhaust ourselves +doing it. Besides, if the Indians chose to renew the pursuit, that would +cut us off from our own purpose. We must drop down the river toward the +Spanish camp."</p> + +<p>"You're always right, Henry," said the shiftless one with conviction. "The +Spaniards o' course, know nothin' about our fight, ez they wuz much too +fur off to hear the shots, an', ez we go down that way, the savages likely +will think that we belong to the party, which is too strong for them to +attack. This must be some band that Braxton Wyatt don't know nothin' +about. Maybe it's a gang o' southern Indians that's come away up here in +canoes."</p> + +<p>The boat swung close to the western shore, which was overhung throughout +by heavy forests, and then dropped silently down until it came within two +miles of the Spanish camp. There, in a particularly dark cove, they tied +up to a tree, and drew mighty breaths of relief. Both Henry and Paul felt +an intense gladness. Despite all the dangers and hardships through which +they had gone, they were but boys.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI" />CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>BATTLE AND STORM</h3> + + +<p>It was yet dark, in fact much darker than it had been just after the fog +lifted, and the dawn was a full three hours away. Although the flooded +area of forest on the western shore was much less than on the eastern, it +was sufficient to furnish ample concealment for the boat, and, when they +tied up amid dense foliage, they could not see the main stream behind +them.</p> + +<p>Jim Hart laid down his oars, stood up, and carefully cracked his joints.</p> + +<p>"I <i>am</i> tired," he said. "Never wuz I so tired afore in my life."</p> + +<p>"But, Jim," said Shif'less Sol, "Think what a pow'ful lively naval battle +you hev been through. Ef you ever git a wife—which I doubt, 'cause you +ain't beautiful, Jim—you kin tell her how once you rowed right over a +great Injun warship. Mebbe, Jim, she'll believe all them fancy details +you'll stick on to it."</p> + +<p>"I know I ain't beautiful," said Long Jim thoughtfully, "an' I don't know +ez I want to be, but ef any woman wuz to marry me she'd most likely +believe whatever I told her, bein' ez I hev a truthful countenance, but +ez fur you, Sol, anybody kin tell by lookin' at you that ef you wuz to +ketch in this river a little cat-fish six inches long you'd tell them that +didn't know that it wuz a whale."</p> + +<p>"Seems to me," said Tom Ross, "that I wuz waked up kinder suddint a few +hours ago. I wuz in the middle uv a most bee-yu-ti-ful nap, and I know +right whar I stopped it. I'm goin' back an' pick up that nap at the exact +place whar I left off."</p> + +<p>Without another word he pulled his blanket over him and stretched himself +on a seat. In a minute or two he was sound asleep. Tom Ross was a veteran +campaigner. He not only knew what to do, but he could and would do it.</p> + +<p>"Paul, you and Jim follow him," said Henry, "I'll keep what's left of the +watch with Sol."</p> + +<p>Jim was treading the easy path of slumber in five minutes, but it took +Paul at least ten to pass through the gates. Henry and Sol sat in the +boat, silent but watchful.</p> + +<p>"We're between two fires," whispered Henry at last. "I don't think that +war party will give up just yet, and maybe we'd better stick here in the +woods for a while, on the chance that they think we belong to the Spanish +force and have rejoined it."</p> + +<p>"We've got to stay in hidin' fur a spell, that's shore," said Shif'less +Sol. "We might stick here all day. We kin overtake the Spaniards any time, +cause we have only one road to foller an' that's the river."</p> + +<p>Henry nodded and they settled back to the watch and silence. Their three +comrades stretched on seats, lockers, or the boat's bottom, slept +soundly, and they could hear their regular breathing. But they heard +nothing else save the light lapping of the water against the tree trunks.</p> + +<p>Dawn came, golden and beautiful. Tom Ross opened his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Anything happened?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Henry, "and we are not going to move yet. Sleep on."</p> + +<p>Tom closed his eyes again, and in a minute was back in the pleasant land +of slumber. The other two did not awake and Henry and Sol still did not +stir. From the leafy arbor in which "The Galleon" was moored, they were +intently watching the surface of the river. An hour passed and the sun +rose higher and higher, flooding the surface of the great stream with +golden beams.</p> + +<p>"Do you see anything, Henry?" asked Sol.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I think there's a canoe among the trees on the opposite shore."</p> + +<p>"I reckoned that I saw it, too, but I wuzn't certain. Must be a scout +canoe."</p> + +<p>"Do you see anything to the southward, Sol?"</p> + +<p>"I reckoned that I saw somethin' thar, too, an' I took it fur smoke."</p> + +<p>"The Spanish camp, of course."</p> + +<p>"O' course."</p> + +<p>"And I think the Indians are spying upon it. They are quite sure now that +we were a part of the Spanish force."</p> + +<p>"They think they know it, an' they'll hang 'roun' until to-night, when +they're more'n likely to shoot into the Spanish camp."</p> + +<p>"Which won't hurt us, Sol."</p> + +<p>"Not a leetle bit. We kin sing all the time, 'dog eat dog, go it one, go +it tother.'"</p> + +<p>"Instead of singing," said Henry smiling, "we can put in most of the time +sleeping."</p> + +<p>"Both please me," said Shif'less Sol, rubbing his hands gleefully.</p> + +<p>Everything befell as they thought it would. Other canoes appeared at the +edge of the wood on the far shore, but on every occasion further down the +river. There was no doubt in the minds of the watchful observers aboard +"The Galleon" that they were spying upon the Spanish camp and meditated an +attack at night. It was equally certain that the Spaniards knew nothing of +the Indians' presence. All the five were now awake and they rejoiced at +the prospect.</p> + +<p>"I see an easy day comin' to me," said Shif'less Sol luxuriously. "'Tain't +often that a lazy man like me kin hev sech a good time an' I'm goin' to +make the most o' it."</p> + +<p>"I think," said Henry, "that while the Indians are busy with the Spaniards +we'd better try to fix up that sail. We don't need a tent and we do need a +sail. Some time or other, when we get in a pinch, the sail might do the +pulling, leaving the rowers free to use their rifles."</p> + +<p>"Jest ez I might hev expected," said Sol in a tone of disgust. "All ready +for rest, fixed fur it most bee-yu-ti-ful-ly, an' told instead that I +must go to work. This world shorely ain't kind to a good man."</p> + +<p>Once more the staunch ship, "The Galleon," proved herself to be a treasure +house. They found in the lockers plenty of rope and stout cord, and they +cut in the forest a stout young sapling which they made of the right +length, peeled off the bark, and adjusted in rude fashion, as a mast. They +also made a boom and then rigged a single sail, somewhat after the fashion +of the cat-boat of the present day.</p> + +<p>This would have been an impossible task to them, had not "The Galleon" +been so well provided with axes, saws, hammers, other valuable tools, and +cord and nails. The mast could be taken down in an emergency, but they +were all of the opinion that the sail would draw, and draw well. It might +not always be easy to control it, but "The Galleon" was built in Spanish +fashion, heavy, deep, and square, and it would take a great deal to make +her capsize.</p> + +<p>While the others worked one watched, and the boats of the Indians were +seen again at the edge of the far forest. The last time they saw them they +were so far down that they were almost opposite the point where the +Spaniards lay, which indicated two things to them, first the certainty +that Alvarez had not moved, and second that "The Galleon" and her crew +were absolutely safe for the time being, where they lay.</p> + +<p>"I suppose that Alvarez is in no hurry and decided to take a day of rest," +said Henry.</p> + +<p>They finished their own labors late in the afternoon and contemplated the +mast and sail with pride.</p> + +<p>"Now that it's done, I'm glad that it hez been done," said Shif'less Sol. +"It'll save me a lot o' work hereafter. It would be jest like you fellers +to make me git callous spots all over the inside o' my hands, when the +hide on Jim Hart's is already so thick it wouldn't hurt him to do all his +rowin' an' mine, too."</p> + +<p>"I jest love to see you work, Sol," said Long Jim Hart. "I can't enjoy my +rest real good, 'less at the same time I'm layin' on my back watchin' you +heavin' away."</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, all took a long rest though maintaining a vigilant watch, +and, with pleasure, they saw a dark night come on. When the twilight was +completely gone they steered once more for the main stream, not using +their sail yet, because of the boughs and bushes.</p> + +<p>"We've got to keep in the edge of the forest," whispered Henry, and in +that manner they crept cautiously southward. After a while they stopped +suddenly and all exclaimed together. They distinctly heard the sound of +rifle shots straight toward the south and perhaps a mile away.</p> + +<p>"The savages hev attacked," said Shif'less Sol in a whisper. "Go it, +Spaniard, go it, Injun, one may lick and tother may lick, but whether one +may lick tother or tother lick which. I don't care."</p> + +<p>They pulled a little nearer to the last line of trees in the water and +there off to the south they saw the little pinkish dots that marked the +rifle and musket fire. It was too far away for them to see anything else, +but they heard distinctly the intermittent crackle of the shots.</p> + +<p>"Neither will win," said Henry. "The Spaniards are too strong to be +defeated, but they won't venture the unknown terrors of the river at +night. The Indians, who are in their canoes, will draw off when they find +they are not doing much harm."</p> + +<p>"Wish we could put up that sail," said Shif'less Sol, who was still at the +oars. "I'm shore gittin' a callous lump in the pa'm o' my hand."</p> + +<p>"It wouldn't do, Sol," said Henry. "We're going to run past a battle, and +we mean to lie as low as possible."</p> + +<p>Paul again steered, Henry sat, rifle in hand, and the others rowed. They +took a diagonal course across the stream once more, but this time toward +the eastern shore. They advanced slowly, hugging the dark. Fortunately +there was no moon and the dusk came close up to the boat.</p> + +<p>"That's a right noisy fight," said Shif'less Sol, looking toward the +south, where pink and red spots of flame still appeared in the dark and +the rattling fire of rifle and musket grew louder.</p> + +<p>"More noise than anything else," said Tom Ross, "but it keeps 'em pow'ful +busy an' that's a good thing fur us."</p> + +<p>They were now near the flooded forest on the eastern shore, and they moved +slowly along in its shadow, still watching the distant battle. It +lightened a little, the rim of a moon came out, and they saw toward the +western bank the dark silhouettes of canoes moving back and forth on the +water. Flashes came from the canoes and returning flashes came from the +bank.</p> + +<p>"Go it, Spaniard, go it, Injun, go it, one, go it, tother," muttered +Shif'less Sol again.</p> + +<p>"The Galleon" slowly passed by in the darkness. The pink and red dots went +out and the sound of the rifle fire died behind hem. They could neither +see nor hear anything more of the battle, and all were of the opinion that +it would soon cease by a sort of mutual agreement of the contestants.</p> + +<p>Paul once more turned the head of the boat toward the middle of the +stream, and she swung gaily into the current, where her speed soon +increased greatly.</p> + +<p>"We can fix up our mast and hoist our sail now," said Henry. "Since there +is nobody to look, it won't hurt us to make speed for a while."</p> + +<p>It required some time and exertion to put the mast in place and then they +unfurled the sail. They were rather clumsy about it from lack of +experience, but the tent cloth filled with the north wind, and "The +Galleon" leaped forward in the water, her broad nose parting the stream +swiftly, while the youthful hearts of Henry and Paul swelled with +exultation.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol drew in his oars and bestowed upon the sail a look of deep +approval.</p> + +<p>"That's the most glorious sight that hez met the eyes o' a tired man in a +year," he said. "Blow, Mr. Wind, blow! an' let me rest."</p> + +<p>The others also rested, but Sol and Henry put all their attention upon the +boom and sail. They did not intend to be wrecked by ignorance or any +sudden flaw in the wind. The breeze, however, was steady and strong, and +"The Galleon" continued to move gallantly before it.</p> + +<p>They sailed for three or four hours and during the latter part of the time +they coasted along the western bank. There they came to the mouth of a +small river, thickly lined on both shores with gigantic trees.</p> + +<p>"I think we'd better take down our sail and run up this," said Henry. "We +can go back some distance and hide close to the bank. The Spaniards of +course will not dream of coming up it, and we can stay here until they go +by."</p> + +<p>"A safe and pleasant haven as long as it is needed," said Paul.</p> + +<p>They took down the sail and pulled at least a mile up the little river. +There they tied close to the bank, and, happy over their success, sought +sleep, all except the watch, the night passing without disturbance.</p> + +<p>The day came, again unclouded and beautiful, and the five regarded it, the +boat, and themselves with a great deal of satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"I'm thinkin' that our treasure ship, the gall-yun, ought to hev the most +credit," said Shif'less Sol. "She brought us past all them warrin' people +in great style. Without her we'd hev a hard time, follerin' the Spaniards +to New Or-lee-yuns."</p> + +<p>After breakfast they remained awhile in the boat, content to lie still and +await events. Everywhere around them was the deep forest, oak, hickory, +chestnut, maple, elm, and all the other noble trees that flourish in the +great valley. Just above them was a low point in the hank of the little +river and they could see that it was trodden by many feet.</p> + +<p>"Game comes down to drink thar," said Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"Lie still and let's see," said Paul. The boat was almost hidden in the +thick foliage that overhung the river, and nobody on it stirred. Two deer +presently walked gingerly to the water, drank daintily, and then walked as +gingerly away. Soon a black bear followed them and shambled to the water's +edge. He looked up and down the stream, but he saw nothing and the wind +blowing from him toward the boat brought no dread odor to his sensitive +nostrils. He drank, wrinkled his face in a comical manner, scratched +himself with his left paw, and then shambled away. Shif'less Sol laughed.</p> + +<p>"I'd hev to be hard pushed afore I shot that feller," he said. "Ain't the +black bear a comic chap when he tries to be. I declare I hev a real feller +feelin' fur him. I couldn't ever feel that way toward a panther. They +always look mean an' they always are mean, but I could hobnob right along +with a jolly, fat black bear."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Paul, looking dreamily far into the future. "It's a pity they +have to go."</p> + +<p>"Hev to go, what do you mean, Paul?" interrupted Long Jim Hart, as he +cracked a joint or two.</p> + +<p>"Why," replied Paul, "all this country will be settled up some day, and +how can bears and panthers and buffaloes roam wild on farms?"</p> + +<p>Long Jim looked at him with eyes slowly widening in wonder.</p> + +<p>"Paul," he exclaimed, "you do say the beatinest things sometimes! Now what +do you mean by sayin' that all this country will be settled up? Why, thar +ain't enough people in the world fur that, an' thar won't never be."</p> + +<p>"Yes there will be, Jim," said Paul decisively, "although it will not +occur in your time."</p> + +<p>"Not if I lived to be a hundred years old, Paul, or mebbe a hundred an' +twenty, 'cause I'm a pow'ful healthy man?"</p> + +<p>"No, not if you lived to be a hundred and twenty."</p> + +<p>Long Jim heaved a deep sigh of relief—he had the true soul of the +woodsman.</p> + +<p>"That's mighty relievin' an' soothin'," he said. "Think uv havin' to walk +every day through cleared ground! Think uv lookin' every day fur a +bee-yu-ti-ful sky only to see cabin-smoke! Think uv drawin' your sights on +what you fust take to be a fine buffalo, an' then find out is only your +neighbor's old cow! Think uv your goin' off to a river to trap beaver, an' +findin' nothin' thar but a saw-mill! Think uv your havin' to meet mornin' +an' evenin' all kinds uv people that you don't care nothin' about! Think +uv your goin' out on a great huntin' expedition only to find all them +noble trees cut down a thousan' miles every way, an' nothin' wanderin' +around thar but old lame horses an' gruntin' pigs! I'm plum' thankful that +I'm livin' at the time I do, when thar's lots uv countries you don't know +nothin' about, an' lots uv fun guessin' what they are, an' mostly guessin' +wrong. An' I'm glad too that I didn't live in them old days that Sol tells +about, when people had to build walls around theirselves in towns, an' wuz +afraid to go out in the woods an' hunt bear an' buffalo like men!"</p> + +<p>Jim Hart, after this speech, so long for him, stopped for want of breath, +and Shif'less Sol, regarding him with a look of deep sympathy, held out a +brown and sinewy hand.</p> + +<p>"Jim Hart," he said, "shake. I'll be proud to hev you do it. You ain't no +beauty, Jim, an' somehow you an' me are kinder disputatious now an' then, +but you are lettin' flow at this minute a solid stream o' wisdom, a +fountain, ez Paul would say in his highfalutin' way, at which everybody +ought to drink."</p> + +<p>Jim Hart also reached out a brown and sinewy hand and the two met in a +powerful and friendly clasp.</p> + +<p>"I'm like Jim," continued Shif'less Sol. "'Tain't what you git that makes +you happy, but thar's a heap in bein' suited. I'm glad I'm livin' when I +am, an' whar I am. Me an' things suit each other. What Paul says may come +true, but it won't bust my heart, 'cause I won't be here to see it."</p> + +<p>An hour or so later Henry and Sol went through the woods and watched for +the Spanish fleet. They saw it presently moving in single file down the +Mississippi, and showing, so far as they could judge, no signs of damage.</p> + +<p>"Twas ez we guessed last night it would be, a dogfall," said Shif'less +Sol, "lots o' noise and not much done. Now that Injun crowd hez drawed off +to the east, an' I think we've seed the last o' them, while the Spaniards, +thinkin' they've had enough o' excitement, will keep straight on to New +Or-lee-yuns."</p> + +<p>"I've no doubt you're right," said Henry, "and we'll follow to-night. +We'll let them take a good start."</p> + +<p>They watched the little fleet until it passed out of sight down the river +and then returned to their own boat. There they devoted the day to further +preparations for a long journey. As game was close at hand in such +abundance, they shot two deer and took the meat on board. They also +undertook to provide shelter, as this was the period of the spring rains +and they did not wish to be drenched or have their stores damaged. +Fortunately they found a tarpaulin in one of the lockers and, taking this +and the two deerskins, they united all in a larger covering which they +could spread over nearly the whole boat. This all considered a highly +important task, and they meant to enlarge the tarpaulin still more as +they killed more deer. Meanwhile they let it lie in the sun, in order that +the deerskins might dry.</p> + +<p>Their tasks occupied them until about 10 o'clock at night and then they +decided to start again, thinking that night traveling would be safer for a +day or two. They rowed down the river until they entered the Mississippi, +and then they set their sail again.</p> + +<p>No other human beings were afloat on the river, at least not within the +range of their vision, but there was a plenty of floating trees and other +debris brought down by the spring flood. Careful steering was necessary, +but they went on without any accident. Shif'less Sol, however, gazed up at +the moon with an unquiet eye.</p> + +<p>"She looks too soft an' fleecy," he said, speaking of the moon. "When +she's peepin' through them lacy-lookin' clouds it means that trouble is +about to stir."</p> + +<p>"We'll keep a watch," said Henry.</p> + +<p>They continued until midnight and Sol's troubles still kept off, but about +that time all noticed a sudden increase of the breeze, accompanied by an +equal increase of dampness.</p> + +<p>"Something like a storm is coming and you were right, Sol," said Henry. +"Now, I wish we knew a lot about sailing."</p> + +<p>"But as we don't," said Paul, "I think we'd better take in our sail at +once."</p> + +<p>They quickly did so and their precaution was wise. The wind, blowing out +of the north, began to shriek, and the boat, even without the aid of a +sail, leaped forward. Driving clouds suddenly shut out the moon, and the +yellow waters of the giant stream, lashed by the wind, began to heave and +surge in waves like those of the sea. The treasure ship, "The Galleon," +pitched and rocked like a real galleon in the long swells of the Pacific, +but the five knew that she was perfectly safe. The broad, square Spanish +boat could not be swamped.</p> + +<p>"Thank God, we've taken in that sail," said Henry. "We're going to have a +night of it! Do you think we'd better pull for the shore?"</p> + +<p>"Not now," replied Shif'less Sol, "the wind's risin' too fast, an' we'd +hit a tree or a snag, shore. Better keep ez nearly in the middle o' the +river ez we kin!"</p> + +<p>The soundness of Sol's judgment became apparent at once. The shriek of the +wind rose to a scream and then a roar. The night became pitchy dark. They +could see nothing around them but a narrow circle of muddy waters heaving +violently. Under the far horizon in the south and west, low, sullen +thunder began to mutter. Suddenly the sky parted before a tremendous flash +of lightning that blazed for a moment across the heavens and then went +out, leaving the night darker than before. But in that moment they caught +a vivid glimpse of the flooded forest, the great waste of troubled waters, +and all the vast desolation about them. It was weird and uncanny to the +last degree, and despite all the dangers and hardships through which they +had passed on land, the five steadied their nerves only with supreme +efforts of the will.</p> + +<p>"We've forgot the covering for our boat," exclaimed Henry. "Paul, keep her +steady, while the rest of you help me."</p> + +<p>It required the strength of four to spread the tarpaulin in the wind and +make it all secure, but they were a strong four and the task was quickly +done. Meanwhile the turbulence of air and water were increasing. The waves +on the river rose higher and higher and the wind drove the foam in their +faces. The thunder, no longer a mutter, became one terrific peal after +another, and the lightning burned across the great stream in flash after +flash.</p> + +<p>"I sp'ose it's jest the same ez bein' at sea," said Sol between crashes. +"I don't know much choice between bein' drowned in the Mississippi, which +I know is muddy, an' the sea, which they say is salt."</p> + +<p>"No danger of either!" said Paul cheerfully, "but I'm glad this is such a +wide river. So long as we can keep the boat straight there is not much +risk of being driven into anything."</p> + +<p>Then everyone jumped suddenly to his feet. There was a tremendous crash of +thunder louder than all the rest, and the whole river swam for a moment in +a burning glare. The lightning seemed to have struck upon the surface of +the water not far from them. Then, when the lightning and the thunder +passed, they heard only the wind and saw only the darkness.</p> + +<p>"This ain't so easy ez it looked," said Shif'less Sol in a plaintive +tone. "It's nice ridin' on a boat, but if the lightning should strike 'The +Gall-yun,' whar are we? I'd a heap rather be on the land."</p> + +<p>"That must have been its climax," said Paul, "and if so look out for the +rain."</p> + +<p>Paul was right. The lightning began to decline in intensity and the +thunder sank in volume. The wind died rapidly. Yet there was no increase +of light, and presently they heard afar a rushing sound. Great drops beat +like hail upon their tarpaulin, and all except the man who was steering +snuggled to cover. The steersman happened to be Shif'less Sol this time, +and he wrapped one of the new Spanish blankets tightly around him from +heel to throat.</p> + +<p>"Now let it come," murmured the indomitable man.</p> + +<p>It took him at his word and it came with a sweep and a roar. The heavens +opened and a deluge fell out. The thunder and lightning ceased entirely +and from the black skies the rain poured in amazing quantities. Now and +then all except the steersman were forced to bail out the boat, but mostly +they kept to cover under their tarpaulin, which was a good one.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol held the good ship "The Galleon," in the middle of the +current, and all the time he strained his eyes ahead for floating debris +and particularly for the terrible snags which were such a danger in the +early Mississippi. Keen as were his eyes, he could see little ahead of him +but the black water, now beaten into a comparatively smooth plain by the +steady rain.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol had taken off his cap and the rain drove steadily on the +back of his head; but his body, thanks to the thick blanket wrapped so +tightly around his neck, remained dry.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol was not uncomfortable. Neither was he alarmed or unhappy. +There was a strain of chivalry and romance in his forest-bred soul, and +the situation appealed to him. He was in a strong boat, his four faithful +comrades were with him, and he was piercing a new mystery, that of a vast +and unknown river. The spirit that has always driven on the great +explorers and adventurers thrilled in every nerve of Solomon Hyde, +nicknamed the Shiftless One, but not at all deserving the title.</p> + +<p>The boat went steadily on in the blackness and the rain, and Sol's soul +swelled jubilantly within him. He could see perhaps thirty or forty feet +ahead of him over the smooth plain of black water, and at an equal +distance to right and left the black wall rose, also. So far as feeling +went, the land might be a thousand miles away, and he was glad of it.</p> + +<p>"Which sea are we ploughin' through now, Paul?" he said. "Is it the +Atlantic or the Pacific or one I ain't heard tell of a-tall, a-tall? But +which ever it is, I'm Christopher Columbus the second, on my way to +discover a new continent bigger than all the others put together! Jumpin' +Jehoshaphat! but that was a narrow escape! It made my flesh creep!"</p> + +<p>Sol had shifted the boat in her course, just in time to escape an ominous +snag, but in a moment his joyousness came back, and without giving Paul +time to answer, he continued:</p> + +<p>"A boat goin' down stream on a river is shorely the right way o' travelin' +fur a lazy man like me. I wish it wuz all like this!"</p> + +<p>The violence of the rain abated somewhat in an hour or so, but it +continued to come down for a long time. Far after midnight the clouds +began to part. A damp patch of sky showed, but it was clear sky +nevertheless and soon it broadened.</p> + +<p>The flooded world rose up before the five voyagers, the vast river, still +black in the night light, floating trees, perhaps rooted up by the stream +from shores thousands of miles to the north and west, the low dim outline +of forest to right and left, and all around them an immense desolation. +Everything to other minds would have been gigantic, somber, and menacing. +Gigantic it was to the five, but neither somber nor menacing. Instead it +told them of safety and comfort and it was, at all times, full of a varied +and supreme interest.</p> + +<p>As soon as the light was strong enough for them to find a suitable place +they pulled the boat among the trees on the western shore and tied it up +securely. Here they made a critical examination and found that none of +their precious goods had suffered a wetting. Powder, provisions, clothing, +all were dry and every one except the watch went to sleep with a sound +conscience.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII" />CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>THE LONE VOYAGER</h3> + + +<p>Henry Ware awoke, rubbed his eyes, and looked through the tree trunks at +the Mississippi, now wider than ever.</p> + +<p>"What do you see, Tom?" he asked of Tom Ross, who had kept the watch.</p> + +<p>"Nothin' but a black speck fur across thar. It come into sight only a +minute ago. Fust I thought it wuz a shadder, then I thought it wuz a +floatin' log, an' now I do believe it's a canoe. What do you make uv it, +Henry?"</p> + +<p>Henry looked long.</p> + +<p>"It is a canoe," said he at last, "and there's a man in it. They're +floating with the stream down our way."</p> + +<p>"You're right," said Tom Ross, "an' ef I ain't mistook that man an' that +canoe are in trouble. Half the time he's paddlin', half the time he's +bailin' her out, an' all the time he's making a desperate effort to git to +land."</p> + +<p>The others were now up and awake, and they gazed with intense interest.</p> + +<p>"It's a white man in the canoe ez shore ez I'm a livin' sinner!" exclaimed +Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"And it's a question," added Henry, "whether his canoe gets to the bank or +the bottom of the river first."</p> + +<p>"It's a white man and we must save him!" cried Paul, his generous boy's +heart stirred to the utmost.</p> + +<p>They quickly untied their boat and pulled with great strokes toward the +sinking canoe and its lone occupant. They were alongside in a few minutes +and Henry threw a rope to the man, who caught it with a skillful hand, and +tied his frail craft stoutly to the side of the strong "Galleon." Then, as +Paul reached a friendly hand down to him he sprang on board, exclaiming at +the same time in a deep voice: "May the blessing of Heaven rest upon you, +my children."</p> + +<p>The five were startled at the face and appearance of the man who came upon +their boat. They had never thought of encountering such a figure in the +wilderness. He was of middle age, tall, well-built, and remarkably +straight, but his shaven face was thin and ascetic, and the look in his +eyes was one of extraordinary benevolence. Moreover, it had the peculiar +quality of seeming to gaze far into the future, as it were, at something +glorious and beautiful. His dress was a strange mixture. He wore deerskin +leggins and moccasins, but his body was clothed in a long, loose garment +of black cloth and on his head was a square cap of black felt. A small +white crucifix suspended by a thin chain from his neck lay upon his breast +and gleamed upon the black cloth.</p> + +<p>Every one of the five instantly felt veneration and respect for the +stranger and Paul murmured, "A priest." The others heard him and +understood. They were all Protestants, but in the deep wilderness +religious hatred and jealousy had little hold; upon them none at all.</p> + +<p>"Bless you, my sons," repeated the man in his deep, benevolent voice, and +then he continued in a lighter tone, speaking almost perfect English, "I +do believe that if you had not appeared when you did I and my canoe should +have both gone to the bottom of this very deep river. I am a fair swimmer, +but I doubt if I could have gained the land."</p> + +<p>"We are glad, father," said Paul respectfully, "that we had the privilege +to be present and help at such a time."</p> + +<p>The priest looked at Paul and smiled. He liked his refined and sensitive +face and his correct language and accent.</p> + +<p>"I should fancy, my young friend," he said, still smiling, "that the debt +of gratitude is wholly mine. I am Pierre Montigny, and, as you perhaps +surmise, a Frenchman and priest of the Holy Church, sent to the New World +to convert and save the heathen. I belong to the mission at New Orleans, +but I have been on a trip, to a tribe called the Osage, west of the Great +River. Last night my canoe was damaged by the fierce storm and I started +forth rather rashly this morning, not realizing the extent to which the +canoe had suffered. You have seen and taken a part in the rest."</p> + +<p>"You were going back to New Orleans alone, and in a little canoe?" said +Paul.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes," replied Father Montigny, as if he were speaking of trifles. "I +always go alone, and my canoe isn't so very little, as you see. I carry in +it a change or clothing, provisions, and gifts for the Indians."</p> + +<p>"But no arms," said Henry who had been looking into the canoe.</p> + +<p>"No arms, of course," replied Father Montigny.</p> + +<p>"You are a brave man! About the bravest I ever saw!" burst out Tom Ross, +he of few words.</p> + +<p>Father Montigny merely smiled again.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no," he said, "I have many brethren who do likewise, and there are as +many different kinds of bravery as there are different kinds of life. You, +I fancy, are brave, too, though I take it from appearances that you +sometimes fight with arms."</p> + +<p>"We have to do it, Father Montigny," said Paul in an apologetic tone.</p> + +<p>The priest made no further comment and, taking him to the shore, with much +difficulty they built a fire, at which they prepared him warm food while +he dried his clothing. They had no hesitation in telling him of their +errand and of the presence of Alvarez and his force on the river. Father +Montigny sighed.</p> + +<p>"It is a matter of great regret," he said, "that Louisiana has passed from +the hands of my nation into those of Spain. France is now allied with your +colonies, but Spain holds aloof. She fears you and perhaps with reason. +Every country, if its people be healthy and vigorous, must ultimately be +owned by those who live upon it."</p> + +<p>"Do you know this Alvarez?" asked Henry.</p> + +<p>"Yes, a man of imperious and violent temper, one who, with all his +courage, does not recognize the new forces at work in the world. He thinks +that Spain is still the greatest of nations, and that the outposts of your +race, who have reached the backwoods, are nothing. It is we who travel in +the great forests who recognize the strength of the plant that is yet so +young and tender."</p> + +<p>The priest sighed again and a shade of emotion passed over his singularly +fine face.</p> + +<p>"Alvarez would be glad to commit the Spanish forces in America to the +cause of your enemies," he resumed, "and he is bold enough to do any +violent deed at this distance to achieve that end. In fact, he is already +allied with the renegade and the Indians against you and began war when he +seized one of you. Perhaps it is just as well that you are going to New +Orleans, since Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish Governor, is a man of +different temper, young, enthusiastic, and ready, I think, to listen to +you."</p> + +<p>While the priest was talking by the fireside Shif'less Sol, Long Jim, and +Tom Ross slipped away. They hauled his canoe out on dry land, and with the +tools that they had found on "The Galleon" quickly made it as good as +ever. They also quietly put some of their own stores in the canoe, and +then returned it to the water.</p> + +<p>"O' course, he won't go comf'tably with us in our boat to New +Or-lee-yuns," said Shif'less Sol. "He'll stick to his canoe an' stop to +preach to Injuns who mebbe will torture him to death, but he has my +respeck an' ef I kin do anything fur him I want to do it."</p> + +<p>"So would I," said Jim Hart heartily. "I'm a pow'ful good cook ez you +know, Sol, bein' ez you've et in your time more'n a hundred thousand +pounds uv my victuals, an' I'd like to cook him all the buffaler an' deer +steak he could eat between here an' New Or-lee-yuns, no matter how long he +wuz on the way."</p> + +<p>"An' me," said Tom Ross simply, wishing to add his mite, "I'd like to be +on hand when any Injun tried to hurt him. That Injun would think he'd been +struck by seven different kinds uv lightnin', all at the same time."</p> + +<p>The fire was built on a hillock that rose above the flood. It had been +kindled with the greatest difficulty, even by such experienced woodsmen as +the five, but, once well started, it consumed the damp brush and +spluttered and blazed merrily. Gradually a great bed of coals formed and +threw out a temperate, grateful heat. All were glad enough, after the +storm and the cold and the wet, to sit around it and to feel the glow upon +their faces. It warmed the blood.</p> + +<p>The hill formed an island in the flood and "The Galleon" and the canoe +were tied to trees only thirty or forty feet away. Far to the west +extended the great sweep of the river and around them the flooded forest +was still dripping with the night's rain.</p> + +<p>"I think I'm willin' to rest a while," said Shif'less Sol. "That wuz a +pow'ful lively time we had last night, but thar wuz enough o' it an' I'd +like to lay by to-day, now that our friend's canoe hez been fixed."</p> + +<p>Father Montigny glanced up in surprise.</p> + +<p>"My canoe repaired!" he said. "I don't understand."</p> + +<p>"'Twas only a little job fur fellers like us," said the shiftless one. +"She's all done, an' your canoe, ez good ez new, is tied up thar alongside +o' our 'Gall-yun.'"</p> + +<p>"You are very good to me," said the priest raising his hands slightly in +the manner of benediction, "and I suggest, since we have a comfortable +place here, that we remain on this little island until to-morrow. Do you +know what day it is?"</p> + +<p>"No," replied Paul, "to tell you the truth, Father Montigny, we've been +through so much and we've had to think so hard of other things that we've +lost count of the days. I'd scarcely know how to guess at it."</p> + +<p>"It's the Holy Sabbath," said Father Montigny. "You, I have no doubt, +belong to a church other than mine, but the wilderness teaches us that +we're merely traveling by different roads to the same place. We six are +alone upon this little spot of ground in a great river flowing through a +vast desolation. Surely we can be comrades, too, and give thanks together +for the mercy that is taking us through such great dangers and +hardships."</p> + +<p>"We're like Noah and his family after the ark landed," whispered Shif'less +Sol to Henry, in a tone that was far from irreverence. But Paul said +aloud:</p> + +<p>"I'm sure that we're all in agreement upon that point, Father Montigny. We +do not have to hasten and we'll remain here on the island in a manner +proper to the day."</p> + +<p>Father Montigny glanced at the five in turn and the rare, beautiful smile +lighted up his face. He read every thought of theirs in their open +countenances, and he knew that they were in thorough accord with him. But +Paul, as usual, appealed to him most of all—the deeply spiritual quality +in the lad was evident to the priest and reader of men.</p> + +<p>Father Montigny took a little leather-bound book from under his black robe +and stood up. The others stood up also. Then the priest read a prayer. It +was in Latin and the five—Paul included—did not understand a word of it, +but not a particle of its solemnity and effect was lost on that account.</p> + +<p>It was to Paul, in many ways, the most impressive scene in which he had +ever taken part, the noble, inspired face of the priest, the solemn words, +and no other sound except the peaceful murmur made by the flowing of the +great river. They seemed as much alone on their little hill as if they +stood on a coral island in the south seas.</p> + +<p>Nature was in unison with the rite. A brilliant sun came out, the dripping +trees dried fast, and, under the blue sky, the yellow of the river took +on a lighter hue.</p> + +<p>After the prayer they resumed their seats by the fire, which they left at +intervals only to get something from the boat or to bring the dryest wood +that they could find for the replenishing of the fire. Paul and Shif'less +Sol went together on one of the trips for firewood.</p> + +<p>"He is shorely a good man," said the shiftless one nodding in the +direction of the priest, "but don't you think, Paul, he's undertook a +mighty big job, tryin' to convert Injuns?"</p> + +<p>"Undoubtedly," replied Paul, "but that is the purpose to which he has +devoted his life. He does good, but it seems a pity to me too, Sol, that +he goes on such missions. In the end he'll find martyrdom among some cruel +tribe, and he knows it."</p> + +<p>While Father Montigny, like others of his kind, expected martyrdom and +willingly risked it, his spirits were darkened by no shadow now. Not one +of the five was more cheerful than he, and he gave them all the news at +his command.</p> + +<p>"And I am glad," he continued, "that you are going to New Orleans. You are +really messengers of peace and, unofficial heralds though you are, you may +save more than one nation from great trouble."</p> + +<p>The five were deeply gratified by his words. If they had needed any +encouragement in their self-chosen task they would have received it now.</p> + +<p>"Since you are returning to New Orleans, Father Montigny," said Paul, +"why don't you go with us in our big boat? It is far safer and more +comfortable than a canoe."</p> + +<p>Father Montigny shook his head.</p> + +<p>"It is a kind offer," he replied, "but I cannot accept it. I leave you +to-morrow at the mouth of a river on our right as we descend. There is a +small village of peaceful Indians several miles up that stream and I wish +to stay with them a day or two. I and my canoe have traveled many +thousands of miles together and we will continue."</p> + +<p>They would have repeated the offer, but they saw that he was not to be +moved and they talked of other things. The rest was, in truth, welcome to +all, as the labors and dangers of the night had been a severe strain upon +their nerves and strength, and they luxuriated before the fire while the +peaceful day passed. Henry noticed that the water was still rising, and +that the mass of floating debris was also increasing.</p> + +<p>"It's been a tremendous rain," he said, "and it's extended far up. It must +have been raining on all the great rivers that run into the Mississippi on +either side, away off there in the north. It's going to be a mighty big +flood, and this hill itself will go under."</p> + +<p>"You're right," said Shif'less Sol. "It's a mighty big river any time but +is shorely gittin' to be like a sea now."</p> + +<p>They walked back to the little party by the fire. The day had considerable +coolness in it after the rain, and the warmth was still welcome. Little +was left for them to do and they still luxuriated in rest. Like all +woodsmen in those times who were compelled to endure long and most +strenuous periods of toil and danger, they knew how to do nothing when the +time came, and let Nature recuperate the tired faculties.</p> + +<p>The brilliant sun shone on the river, the muddy waters were gilded with +gold. The east turned to rose, then to red, and after that came the +shadows. The mellow voice of the priest was lifted in a solemn Latin hymn. +His song carried far over the darkening waters, and Paul, under its +influence, felt more deeply than ever the immense majesty of the scene. +Red light from the sunken sun still lingered over the longest of rivers, +but the shadows now covered all the eastern shore. Through the increasing +night the firelight on the little island twinkled like a beacon, but for +the time being, they were careless who saw it.</p> + +<p>The hymn died away in a last long echo, the red light was wholly gone, +darkness was over everything, and they prepared for a long night of sleep. +The next morning they started together, the big boat and the little canoe. +Every one of the five offered to paddle the canoe for Father Montigny as +far as they were going together, but he smilingly declined.</p> + +<p>"No," he said, "my good canoe and I have been closely associated too long +to be separated now, nor must I be spoiled. I see that you have put fresh +stores in the canoe, and I accept them. You have good hearts, as I knew +when I first saw you."</p> + +<p>The five would not put up their sail while they were in company, and "The +Galleon" and the canoe drifted together until they reached the mouth of +the river up which the peaceful Indian village lay. There Father Montigny +gave them his blessing and bade them farewell. They held their own boat in +the current while they watched him paddle with strong arms up the +tributary stream. He stopped at the first curve, lifted his paddle in a +last salute, which they returned with their own lifted oars, and then he +passed out of sight.</p> + +<p>"We may never see him again," said Paul—but Paul could not read the +future.</p> + +<p>Then they set their sail, swung into the middle of the stream and swept +forward on their great journey. But the meeting with the priest had a +strong influence upon every one of them.</p> + +<p>"He is sure to suffer a violent death some time or other," said Paul, "and +he knows it, but it never mikes him gloomy. There are other French priests +like him, too, boys, going thousands of miles, alone and unarmed, over +this vast continent."</p> + +<p>"'Pears to me that we are wrong when we talk about the French bein' +dancin' masters an' sech like," said Shif'less Sol. "My father fit in the +great French war up thar along the Canady line an' in Canady, an' he says +the French wuz ez good fighters ez anybody. Besides, they took naterally +to the woods, makin' fust rate scouts an' hunters, an' ef that ain't proof +o' the stuff that's in people, nothin' is."</p> + +<p>This day upon the waters was one of unbroken peace. The flood, as Henry +had predicted, continued to rise, spreading far into the woods and out of +sight. Now and then some portion of the shore, eaten into continually by +the powerful stream, would give way and fall with a sticky sigh into the +river. Uprooted trees floated in the current or became wedged in the +forest. But the sunlight remained undimmed and they began to grow familiar +with the river. It was a friend now, bearing them whither they would go.</p> + +<p>About noon they saw two deer marooned on an island made by the flood, and +they shot one of them for the sake of the fresh meat.</p> + +<p>Now ensued a long journey, unbroken by danger, but full of interest. They +came near enough once or twice to ascertain that the Spanish force was +just ahead of them, but they saw no chance to secure the precious maps and +plans or interfere in any other way with the dangerous project of Alvarez, +and they waited patiently.</p> + +<p>The flood began to subside, but it was a mighty river yet, and would still +be so when all the flood was gone. They passed the mouths of great rivers +to right and to left, but they did not know their names, nor whence they +came. The air grew much warmer and they were very glad indeed now that +they had the sail, which, allied with the current, carried them on as fast +as they wished.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol lay lazily under the sail, his limbs relaxed, and his face a +picture of content.</p> + +<p>"I could float on an' on forever," he said sleepily, "an' I don't care how +long it takes to git to New Or-lee-yuns. I think I'm goin' to like that +place. I saw a trapper once who had been thar, an' he said you could be +jest ez lazy an' sleepy ez you wished an' nobody would blame you—they +kinder look upon it ez the right thing, an' that suits me. He said them +Spaniards an' French had orange trees about. You could lay in your bed, +reach a han' out o' the window, pull an orange off the tree, suck it, an' +then go back to sleep without ever havin' disturbed the cover. I never +seed an orange, but I know it's nice."</p> + +<p>The same day they rowed the boat a few miles up a small but deep and very +clear river that emptied into the Mississippi from the east. Their object +was to fish, the greater river itself being too muddy for the succulent +kind that they wished. The incomparable "Galleon" had also been supplied +with fishing tackle, and in a short time they caught a splendid supply of +black bass and perch, which proved to be very fine and toothsome. As their +boat floated back from the smaller stream into the Mississippi, Shif'less +Sol heaved a deep sigh.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter, Sol?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"I wuz thinkin' o' Christopher Columbus," replied Shif'less Sol. "Ef it +wuzn't that I'd be dead now, I wish I'd been with him. I do enjoy sailin' +on an' discoverin' lands an' waters that ain't yet got no name to 'em. It +looks funny to me that we wuzn't discovered sooner, when we've always been +here, but Columbus has all my respeck an' admiration 'cause he done it +when the others didn't."</p> + +<p>"That shorely wuz a man," said Tom Ross, his eyes lighting up. "I've heard +the tale how he kep' tryin' an' tryin' to git a ship, an' couldn't, an' +at last the Spanish lady pulled off her earrings an' finger rings an' +bracelets an' said: 'Here, Chris, these, these are my jewels, take 'em, +trade 'em fur the best ship thar is in the market, an' discover Ameriky.' +An' then he got his ship, an' kep' sailin' on an' on, an' the sailors they +began to git skeered an' then more skeered. They're afraid they're goin' +to drop off on the other side uv the world an' they go to Chris an' say: +'Thar ain't no sech continent ez Ameriky an' we ain't goin' to discover +it. We're goin' to turn right 'round an' go straight back to Spain.'</p> + +<p>"Chris says in the knowin'est manner like a father talkin' to his child. +'Thar is sech a continent ez Ameriky, an' it's a big one, too. It's layin' +over thar straight to the west, an' it's full uv big lakes an' big rivers +an' big mountains an' red Injuns that fight with bows an' arrers, and +b'ars an' buffalers an' deer an' panthers an' all things fine, jest +waitin' fur us. Thar's whar we're goin'.' And the sailors say more uppish +than ever: No, we ain't, we ain't goin' to discover Ameriky, thar ain't no +sech place, we're goin' right back to Spain.' Then a kinder funny look +comes into Chris's eye. He reaches fur his long rifle, an' he draws a bead +on the foremost uv them sailors, the feller that speaks fur 'em all, an' +he says, droppin' that fatherly manner an' speakin' up sharp an' snappy: +'I reckin we're either goin' to discover Ameriky, or go right back to +Spain, which is it?'</p> + +<p>"An' that foremost sailor, the one that speaks fur 'em all, sees the funny +look in Chris's eye, an' he thinks, too, he kin see clean down the barrel +uv that long rifle to whar the bullet is layin', an' he answers right off: +'We're goin' to discover Ameriky'; an' shore enough they did, this fine, +big continent, full uv big lakes an' big rivers an' big mountains an' red +Injuns that fight with bows an' arrers an' b'ars and buffalers an' deer +an' panthers an' all things fine."</p> + +<p>"I didn't know Tom Ross had sech a gift o' gab," said Shif'less Sol. "He +stirs me all up, he makes me want to hev some lady buy a ship fur me an' +start me out to discoverin' continents. Do you think, Paul, thar's any +lady who would sell her earrings an' finger rings fur me ez that Spanish +one did fur Columbus?"</p> + +<p>"But think, Sol, what a chance you've got whether there is or not," said +Henry Ware. "America is discovered but not much of it is explored. There's +enough here to keep you roaming about for the next fifty or sixty years."</p> + +<p>"That's so," said the shiftless one brightening up. "What am I growlin' +about, when here's a river, mebbe ten thousand miles long that we know +next to nothin' 'bout, an' buffalers an' b'ars an' panthers an' deer to +shoot, an' red Injuns to fight ez long ez I live. After all, we're shorely +mighty lucky to live at the time we do, ez I've said before. Do you think +thar'll ever be any times hereafter as interestin' ez ourn, Paul?"</p> + +<p>"I can't say," replied Paul with a smile, "but they're not likely to be as +interesting to us."</p> + +<p>They went on their way, and the air became still warmer. Moreover, it +grew heavy and oppressive, and the spring rains were resumed with great +violence. They had worked meanwhile on their tarpaulin, enlarging and +strengthening it with skins which they had allowed to dry on the boat, and +they rested, sheltered and secure, as they floated along.</p> + +<p>Although Frenchmen had gone up and down the river long before, they felt +like genuine explorers. So little was known of the mighty stream that they +regarded every stretch and turn with keen interest. It was not beautiful +now, a vast, brown flood flowing between low and changing shores, but in +its size and loneliness it had a majesty peculiarly its own.</p> + +<p>Wild geese and wild ducks flew over the river in abundance, and they were +so little used to man that often they passed near "The Galleon." The +fowling pieces proved useful again, as the five were able to sit in +comfort on their boat and shoot geese and ducks for their needs. Some were +of kinds that they had never seen before, but all proved to be good +eating, and they were welcome.</p> + +<p>Jim Hart also exercised his ingenuity in a very useful manner. In the prow +of the boat, but under the tarpaulin, he spread a layer of mud about two +inches thick. Protected from the rain, it soon dried, forming a hard, +impervious, brick-like covering for the bottom of the boat, and upon this +he built a small smothered fire of dry sticks, a supply of which they kept +in the boat. Here Jim, with all the skill and delicacy of a gastronomic +artist, would cook their wild ducks and wild geese, and, considering the +limited area and resources for the exercise of his favorite occupation, +he did extremely well. Nor was it any longer necessary for them to run in +to the shore and worry in the dripping forest with wet wood.</p> + +<p>"It ain't like that stove we built the time we wuz on the ha'nted islan'," +Long Jim would say, "but it's a heap sight better than nothin."</p> + +<p>"It shorely is," said Shif'less Sol. "You ain't much account for anything, +Jim, but you kin cook a leetle bit."</p> + +<p>Long Jim smiled contentedly.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII" />CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>THE CHATEAU OF BEAULIEU</h3> + + +<p>They noticed one day a high bluff shooting up on the eastern bank and +running along for some distance. It was clothed in dense green forest, and +it was rather a welcome break in the monotony of the low shores.</p> + +<p>"A big city will be built there some day," said the prophetic Paul.<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2" /><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a></p> + +<p>"Now, Paul, why in tarnation do you say that?" exclaimed Tom Ross.</p> + +<p>"Why, because it's such a good place. It's a high hill on a great river so +well suited to navigation, and it has a vast, rich country behind it."</p> + +<p>But Tom Ross shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Seems to me, Paul," he said, "that you're bitin' off a lot more'n you can +chaw. Things that are to happen a hundred years from now ain't never +happenin' fur me."</p> + +<p>But Paul merely smiled and held to his opinion.</p> + +<p>On the following day they tied up at a point, where the river began a +sharp and wide curve around a long, narrow peninsula. It was just about +dark when they stopped and, as usual, they were able to run the boat into +dense foliage at the margin, where not even the keenest eye could see it.</p> + +<p>"We've got plenty of goose and duck left over from dinner," said Henry, +"so I'm thinking, Jim, that you'd better not light the fire on your bricks +to-night."</p> + +<p>"All right," replied Jim, "I don't mind restin'. I feel about ez lazy ez +Sol Hyde looks."</p> + +<p>But Henry Ware had another and more important thing in mind. His was the +keenest eye of them all, and just before landing he had noticed to the +southward and on the other side of the peninsula a faint, dark line +against the edge of the sunset. Few, even with an eye good enough to see +it, would have taken it for anything but a wisp of cloud, but the physical +sense of Henry Ware, so acute that it bordered upon intuition, was not +deceived.</p> + +<p>"Sol," he said after they had eaten a little, "let's walk across this neck +of land and explore a bit."</p> + +<p>"It's a dark night to be traveling," said Paul. But Henry only laughed. +Tom Ross may have had his suspicions, but he did not deem it worth while +to say anything. He knew that Henry and Shif'less Sol were quite competent +to achieve any task that they might be undertaking.</p> + +<p>Henry and Sol strolled carelessly into the bush, but before they had gone +a dozen steps their whole manner changed. Each became eager and alert.</p> + +<p>"What is it, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol. "What have you seed?"</p> + +<p>"Smoke! the smoke of a camp fire and it's on the other side of this neck. +I think it's the camp of Alvarez. He must have been going more slowly than +we thought."</p> + +<p>"We'll soon find out," said Shif'less Sol, as they advanced.</p> + +<p>But the task was not as easy as they had thought. The peninsula was very +low and the greater part of it had been overflowed recently. Their feet, +no matter how lightly they stepped, sank in the mire, and when they pulled +them out again the mud emitted a sticky sigh. An owl perched in a tree, +high above the marsh, began to hoot dismally, and Shif'less Sol uttered a +growl.</p> + +<p>"I wish we had the big, dry woods o' Kentucky to go through," he whispered +to Henry. "I ain't much o' a mud-crawler."</p> + +<p>"But as we haven't got those big, dry woods," Henry whispered back, "we'll +have to crawl, creep, or walk through the mud."</p> + +<p>It was about two miles across the neck, and as they went very slowly for +fear of making noise, it took them a full hour to reach the other side, or +to come near enough to see what might be there. Then they found that +Henry's belief, or rather intuition, was right.</p> + +<p>They could see quite well from the dense covert. All the Spanish boats +were tied up at the shore and two or three fires had been built for the +purposes of cooking. The soldiers in their picturesque costumes lounged +about. The hum of conversation and now and then a laugh arose.</p> + +<p>Henry soon marked Francisco Alvarez. The Spanish leader sat on a little +heap of boughs on the highest and dryest spot in the camp, and all who +approached him did so with every sign of respect—if they spoke it was hat +in hand.</p> + +<p>The firelight fell in a red blaze across the face of Francisco Alvarez and +revealed every feature in minute detail to the keen eyes in the covert. It +was a thin, haughty face, clear-cut and cruel, but just now it's air was +that of satisfaction, as if in the opinion of Francisco Alvarez all things +were going well with his plans. Henry believed that he could guess his +thoughts. "He thinks that the Spanish are already committed against us and +that he and Braxton Wyatt with a force of Spaniards and the tribes will +yet destroy our settlements in Kentucky."</p> + +<p>Thinking of Braxton Wyatt he looked for him and, as he looked, the +renegade came from a point near the shore toward the commander. It was +evident that Wyatt had been faring well. His frontier dress had been +partly replaced with gay Spanish garments. He now wore a cap with a +feather in it, and a velvet doublet. He, too, had a most complacent look.</p> + +<p>Wyatt approached Alvarez and the commander courteously invited him to a +seat on the hillock near him. When he took the seat a soldier brought the +renegade a cup of wine, and he drank, first lifting the cup toward Alvarez +as if he drank a toast to the success of the alliance. There could be no +doubt about the perfect understanding of the two; and Henry's anger rose. +It was impossible to set a limit to what a ruthless and determined man +like Francisco Alvarez might do.</p> + +<p>Wyatt rose presently after a nod to the commander and walked among the +soldiers. He seemed to have no particular object in view and his +strollings brought him near to the edge of the swampy forest.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he's spying about, and will come into the woods where we are," +whispered Henry. "Maybe he has those maps and plans upon him, and it would +be a great thing to get them. I don't believe he could make a new set +soon."</p> + +<p>"It's a risky thing to try," said Shif'less Sol, "but ef he comes in here, +an' you think it the best thing to do, I'm ready to help."</p> + +<p>The two crouched a little lower and remained breathless. Braxton Wyatt +strolled on. He was making a sort of vague inspection of the camp, but he +was really thinking more about the great triumph that he saw ahead. Since +he had turned renegade, leaving his own white race to join the Indians, a +thing that was sometimes done, he had been stung by many defeats and he +wished a great revenge that would pour oil upon all these wounds.</p> + +<p>A bad nature grows worse with failure. Seeking to injure his former people +and failing at every turn, Braxton Wyatt hated them more and more all the +time. His wrath was particularly directed against the five who had been +such great instruments in sending his careful plans astray. His scheme +with the Indian league had failed chiefly through them, but he felt that +he could now come with a Spanish force that would prove irresistible. That +was why he glowed with internal warmth and pride. The settlements would be +destroyed and he, in fact, would be the destroyer.</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt entered the edge of the woods, still occupied with the cruel +triumph that was to be his. He did not notice that the foliage was +gradually shutting out the firelight. Presently he saw, or believed that +he saw, a shadowy but terrible figure. It was the figure of the one whom +he dreaded most on earth.</p> + +<p>It was but a glimpse of a form, seen through the bushes, but Wyatt's blood +turned cold in every vein. He uttered a half-choked cry, and running back +through the bushes, sprang into the firelight. Two or three Spanish +soldiers looked at him in amazement, but he was not a coward, and he had +pride of a kind. As soon as he leaped back into the firelight he felt that +he had made a fool of himself. Henry Ware could not have been there—he +and his comrades had been left behind long ago. Coming suddenly out of his +thoughts, he had been deceived in the dark by a bush and imagination had +done the rest. Yes, it was only fancy!</p> + +<p>"A rattlesnake! I nearly trod on him," he said in broken Spanish words +that he had picked up, and then walked in as careless a manner as he could +assume toward the mound where Francisco Alvarez sat. But he could not +wholly control himself—the shock had been too great—and his body yet +trembled. He did not know it, but the pallor of his face showed through +the tan, and Alvarez noticed it.</p> + +<p>"You have had a fright, Señor Wyatt," he said in his precise, cold +English. "What is it?"</p> + +<p>"Not a fright," replied Wyatt in tones that he sought to make indifferent, +"but a start. I nearly trod on a rattlesnake that lay coiled ready to +strike, and I got away just in time."</p> + +<p>The Spaniard regarded him with a penetrating look, but the chilly blue +eyes expressed nothing. Yet Francisco Alvarez thought that a bold woodsman +like Braxton Wyatt would not show so much fear after a harmless passage +with any kind of a snake.</p> + +<p>"Do you think the five, the party that you said were so much to be +dreaded, are still following us?" he asked presently.</p> + +<p>The pallor showed again for a moment through the tan in Braxton Wyatt's +face, but he answered again as carelessly as he could:</p> + +<p>"It may be. I hate them, but I do not deny that they are bold and +resourceful. They have a good boat, and they may follow; but what harm +could they do?"</p> + +<p>"As I told you, they might go before Bernardo Galvez, our Governor General +at New Orleans, and spoil the pretty plan that you and I have formed. +Galvez is—as he calls himself—a Liberal. He would help these rebels and +fight England. How can a Spaniard lend himself to the cause of Republican +rebels and injure monarchy? Cannot he foresee, cannot he look ahead a +little and tell what rebel success means? It would in the end be as great +a blow to Spain as to England. If Kaintock is permitted to grow she will +threaten Louisiana. These men in their buckskins are daring and dangerous +and we must attend to them!"</p> + +<p>The Spaniard clenched his hands in anger, and the blue light of his eyes +was singularly cruel.</p> + +<p>"Galvez is a fool," he continued. "He is not allowing the English to trade +at New Orleans, but he is giving the American rebels full chance. He his +allowed one, Pollock, Oliver Pollock, to establish a base there. This +Pollock has formed a company of New York, Philadelphia, and Boston +merchants, and they are sending arms and ammunition in fleets of canoes up +the Mississippi and then up the Ohio to Fort Pitt, where they are unloaded +and then taken eastward by land for the use of the rebels. A fleet of +these canoes is to start about the time we arrive in New Orleans."</p> + +<p>"We might meet it," suggested Braxton Wyatt, "and say that it attacked +us."</p> + +<p>The Spaniard smiled.</p> + +<p>"The idea is not bad," he said, "and it could be done. We could sink their +whole fleet of canoes with the pretty little cannon that we carry, and we +could prove that they began the attack. But I do not choose to run the +risk of compromising myself just yet. There is a more glorious enterprise +afoot. Hark you, Señor Wyatt."</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt leaned forward and listened attentively. Francisco Alvarez +had drank of wine that evening, and his blood was warm. He, too, dreamed +a great dream.</p> + +<p>"You are a man of discretion and you have helped me. I speak to you as one +devoted to my cause. If you should but breathe what I say to another I +would first swear that it was a lie, and then deliver you to these five +gentlemen, former friends of yours, who would tear you in pieces."</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt shivered again, and the Spaniard, seeing the shiver, laughed +and was convinced.</p> + +<p>"Why should I betray you?" said the renegade. "I have no motive to do so +and every possible motive to keep faith."</p> + +<p>"I know it," replied Alvarez, "and that is why I speak. It is to your +interest to be faithful to me and when my enterprise succeeds, as it +certainly will, you shall have your proper share of the reward. Bernardo +Galvez, as you know, is the Governor General of Louisiana, and his father +is the Viceroy of Mexico. They are powerful, very powerful, and I am only +a commander of troops under the son, but I, too, am powerful. My family is +one of the first in Spain. It sits upon the very steps of the throne and +more than once royal blood has entered our veins. I was a favorite at the +court and I have many friends there. The King might be persuaded that +Bernardo Galvez is not a fit representative of the royal interests in +Louisiana."</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez leaned a little forward and his blue eyes, usually so +chill, sparkled now with fire. He was speaking of what lay next to his +heart. Braxton Wyatt, full of shrewdness and perception, understood at +once.</p> + +<p>"Bernardo Galvez might give way as Governor General of Louisiana," said +the renegade, "to be succeeded by a better man, one who had the real +interests of Spain at heart, one who would refuse to give the slightest +aid to rebels, rebels who would strike against a throne!"</p> + +<p>The Spaniard looked pleased.</p> + +<p>"I see that you are a man of penetration, Señor Wyatt," he said, "and I am +fortunate in having you as a lieutenant. You have divined my thought. I +work, not for the interests of a man whose name has been mentioned by +neither of us, but for the true interests of Spain and the divine right of +kings. What is this miserable Kaintock which is springing up? We will +crush it out as you would have crushed the rattlesnake! The people of New +Orleans and Louisiana hate rebels! Why should they not? It is the rebels +who in time will take Louisiana from us if they can, not England."</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt smiled. He was delighted to the very center of his cunning +heart. His plans and those of Alvarez marched well together. Each +strengthened the other.</p> + +<p>"I am with you to the end," he said.</p> + +<p>"The end will be a glorious triumph," said the Spaniard in emphatic tones.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Henry and Shif'less Sol still lay in the thicket. Their project +to seize Braxton Wyatt and strip him of the maps and plans had been +defeated. Henry knew that the renegade had caught a glimpse of him in the +dusk and among the thick bushes and he expected an immediate alarm. But +when Wyatt raised none, he and Sol lingered. They saw the renegade go to +the Spaniard's side on the little mound, and they saw the two talk long +and earnestly, but, of course, they could not understand a word of what +was said.</p> + +<p>"They look mighty pleased with one another," whispered Shif'less Sol, "so +it's bound to mean that they're up to the worst sort o' mischief."</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Henry, "and that mischief is sure to be aimed at our +people."</p> + +<p>They waited about a half hour longer and then picked their way back +through the marsh to their own side of the peninsula.</p> + +<p>It was now very late and Paul and Jim Hart were sound asleep in the boat, +but Tom Ross was keeping vigilant guard.</p> + +<p>"Wuz it them?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Henry. "They're camped on the other side of this neck, and +Braxton Wyatt is still with them. There's big mischief afoot and we've got +to keep on following, waiting our chance, which, I think, will come."</p> + +<p>They did not start until noon the next day, in order to give the Spaniards +a longer lead, and they rounded the neck of land very slowly lest they run +into a trap. But when the river lay straight before them again they beheld +nothing. They passed the point where the Spaniards had camped and saw the +dead coals of their fires, but they did not stop, continuing instead +their steady progress down stream.</p> + +<p>It now grew hot upon the water. They had come many hundreds of miles since +the start, and they were in a warmer climate. The character of the +vegetation was changing. The cypress and the magnolia became frequent on +the banks, and now and then they saw great, drooping live oaks. The soil +seemed to grow softer and the water was more deeply permeated with mud. +Although the flood was gone, the river spread out in places to a vast +width, and even at its narrowest it was a gigantic stream. Other great, +lazy rivers poured in their volume from east and west. Narrow, deep +inlets, half-hidden in vegetation, extended from either side. There were +bayous, although the five had not yet heard the name, and many of them +swarmed with fish.</p> + +<p>The warm air was heavy and languorous and now Shif'less Sol confessed.</p> + +<p>"I'm gittin' too much o' it, even fur a lazy man," he said. "'Pears to me +I'm always wantin' to sleep. Now, I like about sixteen hours sleepin' out +o' the twenty-four, but when it comes to keepin' awake jest long enough to +eat three meals a day I ain't in favor o' it."</p> + +<p>"It must be a rich country, though," said Tom Ross. "No wonder them +Spaniards want to keep it."</p> + +<p>That day they passed at some distance three canoes containing Indians, but +the canoes showed no wish to come near and investigate. Henry said that +the Indians in them looked sprawling and dirty, unlike the alert, +clean-limbed natives of the North.</p> + +<p>"They probably belong," said Paul, "to the Natchez tribe who were beaten +into submission long ago by the French, and who doubtless lack energy +anyhow."</p> + +<p>The Indian canoes went lazily on, and soon were lost to sight. Now a +serious problem arose. They were approaching the settled parts of +Louisiana. It is true, it was only the thinnest fringe of white people +extending along either shore of the river a short distance above New +Orleans, but they were coming to a region in which they would be noticed, +and they might have to explain their presence before they wished to do so. +Nor had they found any opportunity to capture Braxton Wyatt and his maps +and plans. Nevertheless, they hung so closely on the trail of Alvarez that +every night and morning they could see the smoke of his camp fire.</p> + +<p>They stopped one evening in a cove of the river, sheltered by great +mournful cypresses, and Henry and Shif'less Sol went out again to +scrutinize the Spanish camp. They returned before midnight with unusual +news. Alvarez with his whole force had turned from the Mississippi and had +gone up a bayou about four miles. There he had landed some of his small +cannon and stores at a rude wharf, and showed all the signs of making a +stay, but whether short or long they could not tell.</p> + +<p>"Alvarez must have a place, a plantation, I believe they call it, near +here," said Paul intuitively, "and he's going to stop at it. As he wants +to get Spain into a war with us he could plot a lot of mischief in a house +of his own away from New Orleans."</p> + +<p>"Of course, that's it," said Henry with conviction. "Now if we could only +capture Braxton Wyatt and then carry off the fellow and his maps and plans +with us, it would be a great stroke. It might make Alvarez quit his wicked +plot."</p> + +<p>Henry and Shif'less Sol slept briefly, and rising before daylight, went +forth to investigate again. When they arrived at the edge of the bayou, +they saw that the work of removal had been resumed already. All the boats +had been tied up securely, and a mongrel lot of new men had joined the +Spanish force, shiftless and half-civilized Houma and Natchez Indians, +coal black negroes, some from the West Indies and some from Africa, +Acadians, and fierce-looking adventurers from Europe. Most of them seemed +to be laborers, however, and they worked with the arms and baggage taken +from the boats. Among these laborers were several stalwart negro women +with blazing red handkerchiefs tied around their heads.</p> + +<p>Alvarez came off one of the boats, followed by Braxton Wyatt. The Spanish +commander had attired himself with great care, and he was a really +splendid figure in his glittering uniform and plumed hat. His gold-hilted +small sword swung by his side. He bore himself as a lord proprietor, and +in fact he was such at this moment. He was about to go, surrounded by his +retainers, to his own house on a huge grant of land made to him by the +Spanish King—Spanish kings granted lands very freely in America to +favorites, and the relatives of favorites.</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt also showed pride. Was he not the most trusted friend of an +able man who was dreaming a great dream, a dream that would come true? The +last remnants of his border attire had disappeared and he, too, was +dressed wholly as a Spanish officer, though by no means so splendidly as +his chief.</p> + +<p>Alvarez addressed a few words to a man in civilian attire, evidently his +overseer, a dark, heavy West India Spaniard who carried a pistol in his +sash, and then advanced through the rabble, which quickly fell back on +either side to let him pass.</p> + +<p>Horses were in waiting for Alvarez, Wyatt, and several others, and +mounting, they rode off, Henry and Shif'less Sol watching from the bush as +well as they could, and following. The way of the officers led through a +great plantation but partially redeemed from the ancient forest. Cane and +grain fields were on either side of the path, and presently they +approached a large house of only one story, built of wood, and surrounded +by a wide veranda supported with posts at regular intervals. This house +was built around a court in the center of which was a clear pool.</p> + +<p>Henry and the shiftless one saw Alvarez and his company dismount and enter +the house. They noticed others who approached on foot, but who did not +enter, obviously men who did not dare to enter unless asked. Among them +was a thin, middle-aged Natchez Indian, whose extraordinary, feline face +had won for him the name of The Cat. Henry particularly observed this man, +whose manner was in accordance with his appearance and name. Like those +they had seen in the canoes he had a hangdog, shiftless look, different +from the bold warrior of the more northerly forests.</p> + +<p>The two did not remain long. So many people were about that they were +likely to be seen, and they returned through the forest to the cypress +cove in which "The Galleon" lay hidden. Here, it was agreed that they +should go forth later in the day on another tour of inspection, +re-inforced by Tom Ross, while Long Jim and Paul should remain to guard +the boat and their precious stores.</p> + +<p>When the three had gone, Long Jim sat on the edge of the boat and looked +around at the sluggish waters of the bayou, the sad cypresses, and the +drooping live oaks. An ugly water snake twined its slimy length just +within the edge of the bayou, and the odor of the still forest about them +was heavy and oppressive.</p> + +<p>Long Jim took a long, comprehensive look, and then heaved a deep sigh.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"I don't think the country and the climate agree with me," replied Long +Jim lugubriously. "I wuz never so fur south afore, an' I'm a delicate +plant, I am. I need the snow and the north wind to keep me fresh an' +bloomin'. All this gits on me. My lungs don't feel clean. I'm longin' fur +them big, fine woods up in our country, whar you may run agin a b'ar, but +whar you ain't likely to step on a snake afore you see it."</p> + +<p>"Give me the temperate climate, too," said Paul, "but we've come on a +great errand, Jim, and we've come a long way. It's good, too, to see new +things."</p> + +<p>"So it is, but I don't like to set here waitin' in this swamp. Think I'll +stretch my legs a little on the bank thar, ef it's firm enough to hold me +up, though I do have an abidin' distrust uv most uv the land hereabouts."</p> + +<p>Jim leaped upon the bank which upheld him, and stretched his long legs +with obvious relief.</p> + +<p>"A boat's mighty easy," he said, "but now an' then walkin's good."</p> + +<p>He strode up and down two or three times and then he stopped. He had heard +a sound, faint, it is true, but enough to arrest the attention of Long +Jim. Then he went on with a look of disgust. It was surely one of those +snakes again!</p> + +<p>He was about to pass a great cypress when a pair of long, brown arms +reached out and grasped him by the throat. Long Jim was a strong man and, +despite his early advantage, it would have gone hard with the owner of the +arms, none other than The Cat himself, but three or four men, springing +from the covert, threw themselves upon him.</p> + +<p>Paul heard the first sounds of the contest and sprang up. He saw Long Jim +struggling in the grasp of many hands, and snatching at the first weapon +that lay near, he sprang to the bank, rushing to the assistance of his +comrade.</p> + +<p>A shout of derisive laughter greeted Paul. Long Jim had been thrown down +and held fast and the lad was confronted by none other than Alvarez +himself, while Braxton Wyatt, smiling in malignant triumph, stood just +behind him.</p> + +<p>"Well, my young man of Kaintock," said Francisco Alvarez in his precise +English, "we have taken you and at least one of your brother thieves. In +good time we'll have the others, too. It was an evil day when you ventured +on my plantation so near such a wonderful tracker as The Cat. Why, he +detected them instinctively when your comrades ventured near us!"</p> + +<p>The eyes of the stooping Natchez Indian flashed at the compliment but, in +a moment, he resumed his immobility. All the blood rushed to Paul's face, +and he could not contain his anger.</p> + +<p>"Thief! how dare you call me a thief!" he said.</p> + +<p>"This is my boat before me," replied Alvarez. "You stole it."</p> + +<p>"Not so," replied Paul. "We captured it. You seized and held me a prisoner +when I came to your camp on a friendly mission, and we took it in fair +reprisal and for a good purpose. Moreover, you are plotting with that vile +renegade there to destroy our people in Kentucky!"</p> + +<p>"You are a thief," repeated Francisco Alvarez calmly, "you stole my boat. +Why, the very sword that you hold in your hand is mine, stolen from me."</p> + +<p>Paul glanced down. In his haste and excitement he had snatched up one of +the beautiful small swords when he leaped from the boat, but he had been +unconscious of it. He was yet free and he held a sword in his hand. One of +the men who was holding Jim Hart suddenly kicked him to make him keep +quiet, and Paul's wrath blazed up under the double incentive of the blow +and the sneering face of Francisco Alvarez.</p> + +<p>The lad rushed forward, sword in hand, and one of the soldiers raised his +musket. Alvarez pushed the weapon down.</p> + +<p>"Since this young rebel wants to fight, and has a stolen sword of mine in +his hand," he said, "he can fight with me. I will give him that honor."</p> + +<p>So speaking Alvarez drew his own sword and held up the blade to the light +until it glittered. A shout of approval arose from the soldiers, but Long +Jim cried out:</p> + +<p>"It ain't fair! It ain't right to take one uv your kind uv weepins an' +attack him! It's murder! Let me loose an' I'll fight you with rifles."</p> + +<p>"Have you got that ruffian securely bound?" asked Alvarez.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied one of his men.</p> + +<p>"Then I'll teach this youth a lesson, as I said."</p> + +<p>Paul had stopped in his rush, and suddenly he became cool and collected.</p> + +<p>"Don't you be afraid for me, Jim," he said. "I can take care of myself, +and I'll fight him."</p> + +<p>Alvarez laughed derisively and the others echoed the laugh of their +master, but Paul held up his own sword, also, until it glittered in the +light. Every nerve and muscle became taut, and the blood went back from +his brain, leaving it cool and clear.</p> + +<p>"Come on," he said to Alvarez. "I'm ready."</p> + +<p>They stood in a level glade, and the two faced each other, the sunshine +lighting up all the area enclosed by the cypresses. Around them stood +Braxton Wyatt and the followers of Alvarez.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2" /><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> It is probable that the bluff, indicated by Paul, is the one +on which the present city of Memphis stands.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX" />CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>PAUL AND THE SPANIARD</h3> + + +<p>Francisco Alvarez never suffered from the vice of humility. While he was +planning to make himself Governor General of Louisiana he thought also +that the selection was a most admirable one. Nor would he have +condescended now to cross a blade with this boy from the backwoods, but +his pride had been bitterly hurt by the deeds of Paul and his comrades. +Such presumption must be punished, and the punishment must be of a +humiliating kind.</p> + +<p>The Spaniard took the point of his sword between his thumb and forefinger +and bent the blade a little. The steel was flexible and true. Then he put +himself on guard, and physically he was a splendid figure of a man, tall, +compact, and obviously skilled with his weapon.</p> + +<p>Long Jim Hart writhed again in his bonds. His heart yearned over Paul, his +young comrade.</p> + +<p>"Stop it! stop it!" he cried. "It's murder, I say, fur a man used to them +weepins to set upon a boy."</p> + +<p>"Shall we gag this fellow, Captain?" asked Braxton Wyatt, who enjoyed the +scene.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Alvarez, scornfully. "Let him make as much noise as he +pleases."</p> + +<p>Paul heard Long Jim's second protest, but now he did not answer. He was +intently watching Alvarez. He had read the look in the eye of the Spanish +leader, and he knew that Alvarez not only intended to punish him, but also +to make that process as mortifying as possible. But Paul was yet unafraid. +Although not as large and powerful as Henry, he was nevertheless a very +strong youth, used to the open air and exercise, and wonderfully flexible +and alert. He held the sword lightly but firmly with the point well +forward, ready for any movement by his antagonist.</p> + +<p>Alvarez came a step nearer. His sword flashed, but Paul dextrously caught +the stroke upon his own weapon, and the blade glanced off, ringing. +Alvarez was surprised. He had seen from Paul's position and the manner in +which he held his weapon that he knew something about the sword, but he +was not prepared for such a skillful parry.</p> + +<p>"Good, Paul! Good!" cried Long Jim, a sudden hope bounding up in his +heart. "Go in! Trim him! Slice off his mustache for him!"</p> + +<p>Alvarez was stung by the taunt. Braxton Wyatt made an angry movement +toward Long Jim, but the Spaniard again waved him back. His own pride +would not permit him to silence the taunter in such a way. No, he would +silence him in another manner. But the cry of Long Jim had its effect upon +Paul, too. It aroused him to a supreme effort. He leaped forward +suddenly, thrust quick as lightning, and then leaped away. The Spaniard +had parried, but the blade nevertheless cut the cloth of his brilliant +coat, making a long gash. The cut was not in the flesh, only in the cloth, +but Alvarez was stung by it and the sting became the more bitter when Long +Jim cried out:</p> + +<p>"Hooray, Paul! That wuz somethin' like! He thought he wuz goin' to murder +you, but he ain't!"</p> + +<p>Alvarez, furious, rushed in and Paul, keen of eye and alert of muscle, +fought on the defensive. Lucky for him now that he remembered all the +lessons taught to him by the old soldier of the great French and Indian +war, and lucky for him, too, that he had lived such a temperate life! +Steel met steel and the ringing sound filled the little glade. The others +were silent, leaning a little forward, lips slightly apart. A new element +of uncertainty had come into the combat, and even Braxton Wyatt shared in +the excitement that had been aroused by it.</p> + +<p>Alvarez uttered a cry of satisfaction and then stepped back. Paul stood +still while the blood came slowly from a cut across his left arm and dyed +his sleeve. He had thrown out the arm just in time to ward off a thrust at +his heart, but he received a slash in its place. The pain was considerable +but Paul scarcely felt it; his mind was too intent on the crisis, and his +head was yet clear and cool.</p> + +<p>"Never you mind, Paul! Never you mind!" cried Long Jim. "'Twas only a +lucky sweep uv his! you'll git him yet."</p> + +<p>Paul gave his informal second a smile of confidence, for second he was +with his encouraging tongue, even though bound and helpless otherwise.</p> + +<p>Paul suddenly rushed in, struck swiftly, and, although the blow was +parried, he thrust again so quickly that his blade passed inside the guard +of Alvarez, pierced through his doublet, and wounded him in the side. Mad +with pain and rage Alvarez struck furiously, but Paul caught the blow so +skillfully that the Spaniard's sword broke in his hand.</p> + +<p>Long Jim shouted with delight.</p> + +<p>"You've beat him, Paul! you've beat him!" he cried. "Go in now and trim +his mustache right off his face!"</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt struck him a blow on the cheek.</p> + +<p>"Shut up, will you!" he cried.</p> + +<p>Paul, sword in hand, turned away. He would not cut down an unarmed man, +and some strain of chivalry hidden beneath the Spaniard's ambition and +cruelty recognized the boy's nobility. He stepped aside and rebuked +Braxton Wyatt for striking Long Jim. Then he took off his doublet and one +of the men bound up his wound, which was painful but not at all dangerous. +His heart was full of rage and chagrin, but he did not show either.</p> + +<p>"You have done well with the sword," he said to Paul, "I admit it, and I +am in a position to know. But you must surrender it, and come as my +prisoner. Your sword can be no defense against the bullets of my +soldiers."</p> + +<p>Paul yielded his weapon. It would have been folly to resist when the +soldiers stood close by, loaded guns in hand, but he felt, nevertheless, a +deep satisfaction. He had performed a deed of valor, worthy of Shif'less +Sol or Henry, and he proudly took his place by the side of the other +prisoner, Long Jim. The wound in his arm had already stopped bleeding.</p> + +<p>"I didn't know it was in you, Paul," whispered Long Jim, "but I never had +anything in my life do me more good. A lot uv wicked hopes wuz +disapp'inted when you give him that slash in the side, an' then broke his +sword."</p> + +<p>"I did better than I expected," replied Paul briefly, "but the result is +not likely to endear us to Captain Alvarez."</p> + +<p>"Ef I'd been keepin' the right kind uv a watch," said Long Jim, "this +wouldn't have happened. We could a' got 'The Gall-yun' out in the stream +an' away."</p> + +<p>"No, Jim," replied Paul, "it was no fault of yours. Cunning was at work. +They had located us in some manner and they prepared a surprise."</p> + +<p>Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt went on ahead. Paul and Jim followed in the +midst of a strong guard of soldiers. The road led again through corn and +grain fields where cultivation was making a struggle against the +luxuriance of a semi-tropical wilderness, although with small success, as +yet.</p> + +<p>A stooping figure with a hideous, feline face shambled up by the side of +Paul, and purposely struck his elbow against the wound upon his arm. It +was The Cat, but Paul, whose arms had been left unbound, whirled, without +hesitation, and struck the Natchez in the face.</p> + +<p>The Cat staggered but he promptly drew a knife and Paul might have been +slain, but a soldier knocked the knife from the Indian's hand and rebuked +him severely. The soldier was Luiz, a Spaniard of height and strength. He +had fared badly at the hands of the five, but his life had also been saved +by one of them, and he was not ungrateful. He did not mean that these two +prisoners should be treated any worse than the captain ordered. He +compelled The Cat to fall back, and he smiled pleasantly at Paul and Long +Jim.</p> + +<p>"I'll take it that we've got one friend in this crowd," said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Paul, "and we'll need all we can get. Alvarez seems to have a +big place here, a sort of feudal estate."</p> + +<p>It seemed to Paul that he had come into another world; the difference +between this and Kentucky was so enormous. There, in the little +settlements, every man spoke his mind and the life was all freedom. Here, +fear and suspicion abounded, there were degrees of importance, and Alvarez +was an autocrat who could make or mar as he pleased. It was an atmosphere +heavy to Paul's lungs, and, like Long Jim, he longed for the great forests +of the Ohio River country. Behind the chateau were some low, heavy out +buildings of logs, and Paul and Long Jim were thrust into one of these, +the door being fastened behind them with a huge padlock. Alvarez detailed +Luiz, who seemed to rank a little above his fellows, and three others to +keep watch and then, feeling that he held his prisoners securely, the +commander went into the chateau. But he stopped at the door and ordered +that a gold coin and as much rum as he could drink should be given to The +Cat.</p> + +<p>"It was due to his wonderful instinct and cunning," he said, "that we +captured these fellows and recovered my boat. It was an important +achievement."</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt looked with intense interest at the chateau, which was +unlike anything that he had ever seen before. It was a strange compound of +luxury and roughness. The walls were of wood, often ill-hewn, but several +pieces of beautifully-woven tapestry hung upon them. Some of the floors +were entirely bare, others were covered partly by Eastern rugs. Carved and +curved weapons of many lands adorned the walls, and in one room were a +mandolin and guitar.</p> + +<p>Alvarez led the way to an inner court or patio, waving back all except +Braxton Wyatt. The patio was large, with little beds of flowers in the +corners, and a pool of pure, fresh water in the center. The pool was fed +by a little stream that ran from a brook near the chateau, and it was +drained by a similar stream.</p> + +<p>The patio was enclosed by a narrow, interior veranda, and the veranda held +deep cane chairs, one of which Alvarez took, waving Braxton Wyatt to +another.</p> + +<p>The Spanish commander with a great air of relief and luxury leaned back in +his cane chair. He loved the south and the sunshine to which he was born, +and, although bold and hardy, he had little liking for the great, cold +forests of the North. He clapped his hand and a servant brought glasses +and wine. Alvarez filled the glasses himself and handed the first +courteously to Wyatt.</p> + +<p>"Drink," he said, "I am glad that expedition is over. The Governor General +wished me to go, to explore, to make treaties, and to secure our title, +but the wilderness, though interesting, grows monotonous."</p> + +<p>"It is comfortable here," said Braxton Wyatt, stretching himself in the +great cane chair. He was entirely recovered from his own wound and he +appreciated the luxury of the place.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is indeed grateful to the tired body and limbs. I could feel a +complete sense of rest and victory, if it were not for the sting of the +wound that boy gave me. Who could have thought that I should be defeated +with the sword by a boy from the woods of Kaintock?"</p> + +<p>The Spaniard frowned and narrowed his cruel blue eyes. Braxton Wyatt +murmured some words of sympathy, but in his heart he was not sorry because +of the incident. He thought that Alvarez at times had patronized him too +much, had assumed too lofty an air, and he was willing to see him suffer +mortification. Moreover, he could use the hurt pride of Alvarez as an +additional incitement against the five whom he hated.</p> + +<p>"You told me once," said Alvarez "that the three comrades of the two, the +three whom we have not captured, are much to be dreaded, and we have had +proof of it?"</p> + +<p>"It is so."</p> + +<p>"But what can they do now?"</p> + +<p>"But little," answered the renegade. "It was farther north in the great +wilderness, where they are so much at home, that they could do us harm. +Here within the fringe of the French and Spanish settlements, they will be +hampered too much."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I should think so," said Alvarez thoughtfully. "As you perhaps +surmise, I am going to stay here indefinitely, Wyatt. This place of mine, +Beaulieu, I call it, is at a suitable distance from New Orleans and I am +an absolute monarch while I remain. Here, on the border, I am as a +military commander, practically lord of life and death, and on one excuse +or another I can hold the troops as long as I please."</p> + +<p>"Which seems to me to be very convenient for all our plans," said Braxton +Wyatt.</p> + +<p>The Spaniard smiled, but speedily contracted his brows again. The cut that +Paul had given him was hurting.</p> + +<p>"I should like to punish that boy in some spectacular manner," he said. "I +should want him to be humiliated in the presence of others as I was."</p> + +<p>Suddenly he raised his head, which he had bent in thought, and his lips +curled in laughter under his yellow mustache.</p> + +<p>"I have it!" he exclaimed. "An idea! Since young Kaintock can use the +sword I shall give him a chance to do it again! Oh, I shall give him every +opportunity!"</p> + +<p>Then he leaned over and spoke in lower tones to Braxton Wyatt. The +renegade's eyes lighted up with delight.</p> + +<p>"The very thing!" he exclaimed. "I'd have it done at once!"</p> + +<p>Paul and Long Jim Hart meanwhile were resting in their log prison. Jim's +arms had been unbound and, after rubbing them freely, he said that the +circulation was restored. Then the two turned their attention to their +prison. Paul surmised that it had been built as a tool house or store +house, but at present it was empty save for himself and his comrade, Long +Jim.</p> + +<p>The only light came from two little windows made merely by cutting out a +section of log and quite too small to admit a human body. They tried the +door but it was so strong that they could not shake it. Then Long Jim lay +calmly down on the floor.</p> + +<p>"Paul," he said, "I don't believe I wuz ever fastened up in sech a little +place ez this afore. Ef I stretch out my legs my feet will hit the wall +over thar, an' the place is so close an' hot I don't breathe good."</p> + +<p>"We'll have to stand it for a while," said Paul philosophically.</p> + +<p>"That's so," said Long Jim, "I don't s'pose they mean to murder us ez +we're not at real war with the Spaniards, so I wonder what they mean to +do."</p> + +<p>Paul shook his head. But he understood better than Long Jim the dangers of +their situation. He knew the temper and character of Alvarez, and he knew, +too, that at this distant chateau he was omnipotent. Alvarez was bent on +making war upon the settlers in Kentucky, and nothing would stop him.</p> + +<p>"Henry an' Sol an' Tom are free," said Long Jim. "They'll git us out, +shore."</p> + +<p>They remained a long time undisturbed, and the air in the room was so +close and hot that both became languorous and sleepy. Nor was there any +sound except the droning of some flies overhead and this added to the +heaviness. Paul finally rose and gazed through the little windows, but he +saw only an empty field and the edge of the forest. Save for this glimpse +of green they were completely cut off from the world. He sat down again on +the floor and composed his figure as comfortably as he could.</p> + +<p>"How long do you think we hev been in here, Paul?" asked Long Jim.</p> + +<p>"About four hours."</p> + +<p>"Four hours! why, I thought it wuz four months. Paul, I don't believe I +could stand this more'n a week, no matter ef they fed me upon the finest +things in the land. At the end uv a week I'd turn right over an' die, an' +when they examined me to see the cause uv my death, they'd find that my +heart wuz broke in two, right squar' down the middle."</p> + +<p>"They say that some wild animals die in captivity, and you might call it +of a broken heart."</p> + +<p>"I'm one uv them kind. I like lots uv room. I want it to be clean woods +an' prairie runnin' a thousan' miles from me in every direction. An' I +don't want too many people trampin' 'roun' in them woods either, save +Injuns to keep you lookin' lively, an' mebbe twenty or thirty white men +purty well scattered. I reckon I'd call that my estate, Paul, an' I'd want +it swarmin' with b'ars an' buffaler an' deer, an' all kinds uv big an' +little game. Then I'd want a couple uv good rifles, one to take the place +uv tother when it went bad, an' a couple uv huts p'raps three or four +hundred miles apart to sleep in, when the weather wuz too tarnation bad, +lots uv ammunition an', Paul, I'd be happy on that thar estate uv mine."</p> + +<p>"Aren't you a little bit grasping, Jim?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"Me, graspin'," replied Long Jim in a surprise. "What makes you ask sech a +foolish question, Paul? Why, all I ask is to range ez fur an' ez long ez I +like an' not to be bothered by no interlopers. I don't want to crowd +nobody, an' I don't want nobody to crowd me. But, Paul, ef a feller could +do that fur about a thousand years wouldn't it be a life wuth livin'? Just +think uv all the deer hunts an' buffaler hunts an' b'ar hunts you could +hev! An' the long beaver trappin' trips, you could go on? An' the new +rivers an' new mountings you could find! The Injuns has the right idea +about Heaven, Paul. They make it the happy huntin' grounds. Them huntin' +grounds o' theirs run ten million miles in every direction. You couldn't +ever come to any end. No matter how fur you went you'd see oceans uv +green trees ahead uv you, an' on one side uv you prairies covered with +buffaler herds so big that they'd be a week passin' you, an' then they'd +still be passin'."</p> + +<p>Long Jim heaved a deep sigh and was silent for a while. Paul, too, was +silent. At last Long Jim said:</p> + +<p>"I s'pose it don't pay, Paul, to be drawin' sech splendiferous pictures uv +what ain't. Now I've gone an' made myself onhappy, talkin' uv them +glorious huntin' grounds that stretch away without end, when here we are +in this hot box so narrer I can't straighten out my legs. Besides, I'm +gittin' pow'ful hungry. I wonder ef they mean to starve us to death. +Strikes me that's an awful mean way uv killin' a man. He not only dies but +he's so terrible hungry sech a long time."</p> + +<p>But Long Jim's forebodings were not fulfilled. When the light that came +through the little windows began to grow dusky, the door was thrown open +and Luiz and another man entered with food and water. Luiz could not speak +English, but he could make pantomime, and in that dumb but suggestive way +he invited them to partake freely. Long Jim's good humor returned.</p> + +<p>"Don't keer ef I do, Mr. Spaniard," he said jovially. "It's a failin' uv +mine to want to eat whenever I'm hungry, an' since you're invitin', why, +I'll jest accept."</p> + +<p>The door was left open while Luiz and the soldier were inside, but +several other soldiers were on guard at the opening, and there was no +chance for a dash. But fresh air came in, the cooler air of the evening, +and Paul and Long Jim were greatly relieved. Yet Jim Hart cast many a +longing glance at the open door. Outside was the wide world, and his place +was there. Darkness was coming, but darkness would have no terrors for +Long Jim, if only there were no walls about him.</p> + +<p>When hunger and thirst were satisfied, Luiz and his comrade fell back +respectfully. A tall figure, followed by a man bearing a torch, entered +the doorway.</p> + +<p>The man was Francisco Alvarez, but neither Paul nor Long Jim rose, Paul +because he disliked the Spaniard and considered him a bitter enemy of his +people, Long Jim because he saw no reason why he should rise for anybody.</p> + +<p>Alvarez looked down at them and the sight of the two caused him a mixture +of anger and triumph. His wound still stung, but at the bottom of his +heart was a feeling that he had deserved it. In the presence of his own +retainers, and with all the circumstances in his favor, he had sought to +humiliate a boy. But this faint feeling was not enough to induce +corresponding action. He was also something of a statesman, and he saw the +power behind these two who had come out of the woods. They were foresters, +they wore the tanned skin of the deer, but they belonged to the soil; they +were natives, while he, in all his brilliant uniform and gold lace, was a +foreigner, merely the long, extended arm of a power four thousand miles +away. The two were but a vanguard, others would come and yet others in a +volume, always increasing. The only possibility of saving Louisiana was to +cut off the stream at the fountain head, while it was yet a thin and +trickling rill, and he, Francisco Alvarez, was the man for the deed.</p> + +<p>It was because such thoughts as these were passing through his head that +he did not speak for at least a minute, but stood steadily regarding Paul +and Long Jim. He knew instinctively that it was Paul to whom he must +speak, the boy with the thoughtful, dreamy eye, who, like himself, would +gaze far into the future.</p> + +<p>"Where are your comrades?" he asked, "the other three who helped you to +steal my boat?"</p> + +<p>"Captured it, you mean," replied Paul, calmly. "So long as you use the +words 'steal' and 'thief,' you can talk to the air. I've nothing to say."</p> + +<p>"Nor me either, Paul," said Long Jim, "I can't remember another time in my +life when I felt so little like talkin'."</p> + +<p>Long Jim leaned his head against the wall and half closed his eyes. His +manner expressed the utmost indifference. Alvarez frowned, but he +remembered that they were wholly in his power and he had plans.</p> + +<p>"I'll change the words," he said, "but I repeat the question. Where are +your comrades?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Paul, and feeling a sudden happy thrill of +defiance he added: "They are probably somewhere arranging the details of +our rescue."</p> + +<p>Alvarez frowned again.</p> + +<p>"That is impossible," he said. "Perhaps you do not know your position. You +are not at New Orleans. Here I am both the civil and military chief and +this is my own place. I can put you to death as brigands or guerillas, +caught red-handed upon Spanish soil."</p> + +<p>"Both charges, you know, are false," said Paul, "you know, too, that we +have come to defeat, if we can, a conspiracy between you and Braxton +Wyatt, a renegade whose life is doubly forfeit to his people. He carries +plans, maps, and full information of our settlements in Kentucky, and he +expects that you will go with many soldiers and cannon to help him and the +tribes destroy us. What plans you and he have beyond this I do not know, +but these, my friends and I hope to defeat, and we feel we could not be +engaged in a greater or holier task."</p> + +<p>Paul spoke with great fire and eloquence. His soul was revealed in his +eyes, and Alvarez felt that he was in touch with a mind of no common +order.</p> + +<p>"Imagination!" said the Spaniard trying to laugh the impression away. "I +find in Señor Wyatt a pleasant and intelligent assistant. He understands +the rights of the King of Spain in these vast regions, and has a due +regard for them. You and your comrades are outlaws, subject to the penalty +of death and I hold you in my hand. Yet I am disposed to be generous. +Give me your oath that you and your comrade here and the three in the +woods will go back to Kaintock at once and remain there, and I will +release you."</p> + +<p>Paul regarded him steadily. Bold man as he was, the Spaniard's eyes fell +at last.</p> + +<p>"We can give no such promise," said Paul. "I think that the reasons why we +should go on to New Orleans are exceedingly strong."</p> + +<p>"Ez fur me," said Long Jim, "I ain't ever been fond uv goin' back on my +own tracks until I git good an' ready."</p> + +<p>"I merely came here to give you a chance," said Alvarez, still addressing +himself to Paul. "Do you think that a few woodsmen can stand in the path +of Spain? Do you think that a great ancient monarchy can be held back by +stray settlers?"</p> + +<p>"You seem to be afraid of it yourself," said Paul who was regarding him +closely.</p> + +<p>A flush, despite himself, came into the Spaniard's cheeks, and it was +partly of anger because a boy had read his mind so well. It was not a +thing to be endured.</p> + +<p>"I repeat that I came merely to give you a chance," he said. "Whatever you +may suffer you can now bear in mind that you are the cause of it. Come, +Luiz, I have wasted too much time."</p> + +<p>He walked out followed by the soldier, but Francisco Alvarez had known +before entering the prison that his offer would be declined. He merely +wished to clear away any light burden that might rest on his conscience, +before proceeding with another plan that he had in mind.</p> + +<p>Paul and Jim did not say a word until the door was fastened and they were +left to the darkness. Then it was Jim who unburdened himself.</p> + +<p>"Paul," he said, "did you ever see a panther gittin' ready to jump? Notice +how his eyes turn a yellery-green, 'cause he thinks he's goin' to git what +he wants right away? Notice how his mouth is slobberin' 'cause he thinks +he's goin' to hev his dinner on the spot. Notice how his body is drawed +up, an' his tail is slowly movin' side to side, 'cause he thinks he's +goin' to sink his claws in tender flesh the next second! Wa'al that +panther makes me think uv this here Spaniard, Alvarez. I think we kin look +fur jest about ez much kindness an' gentlin' from him ez a fawn could +expect from a hungry panther."</p> + +<p>"You are certainly right, Jim," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"Uv course! Ef I didn't know thar wuz so many soldiers about, I'd send a +whoop through one uv them little winders thar, an' bring Henry, Tom, an' +Sol here to let us out."</p> + +<p>"As we can't do that, Jim," said Paul, "I think I'll go to sleep."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X" />CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>A BARBARIC ORDEAL</h3> + + +<p>When Paul awoke the next morning just after daylight, he did not feel very +good. Accustomed all his life to fresh air and infinite spaces, the close, +hot little log house oppressed him. His head felt heavy and his lungs +choked. Jim felt likewise and made audible complaint, but the door was +soon opened, and again it was Luiz and a comrade with food.</p> + +<p>"Luiz, you ain't no beauty an' you can't talk a real decent language," +said Long Jim, "but I'm pow'ful glad to see you."</p> + +<p>The words were foreign to Luiz, but he understood Long Jim's tone. He +smiled and showed his white teeth, but when his glance fell upon Paul he +became sad. Then he looked quickly away. He did not wish either Paul or +his comrade to read anything in that glance. Luiz did not have a bad heart +and he was troubled.</p> + +<p>When they had eaten their breakfast, Luiz put his hand on Paul's shoulder, +and pointed to the door, beckoning also to Long Jim. His manner indicated +plainly that they were to leave the prison.</p> + +<p>"All right, pardner," said Long Jim. "You won't have to git no pole to +pry me out uv this place."</p> + +<p>Luiz led the way and the two followed gladly. The air was crisper and +fresher than usual, and to both of them it felt divine. They inhaled deep +breaths, and thought that the world had never looked so beautiful. What a +golden sunrise! What a blue sky! What magnificent green woods off there +under the horizon! They felt strength and courage rushing back in a flood.</p> + +<p>"Which way now, Mr. Spaniard?" said Long Jim. "Has your captain repented, +an' does he want to give us the finest rooms in his house? I can't say +that we liked the tavern he made us stop at last night."</p> + +<p>Luiz shook his head, either to signify that he did not understand or that +there was no reply, and led the way down a narrow path shut in on either +side with magnolias and cypresses. The little group of soldiers enclosed +Paul and Long Jim, but all their glances were for the boy, none for the +man.</p> + +<p>The enclosed path led on for two or three hundred yards. Paul now and then +caught glimpses through the trees of the chateau or a passing face, and he +heard a low murmur that seemed to be the hum of many voices.</p> + +<p>The path ended presently at a gate in a high board wall, and both gate and +wall were thick and strong Here a Spaniard dressed like a minor officer +was waiting, and began to unlock the gate.</p> + +<p>"Now what under the sun can they be about?" asked Long Jim, to whom all +this seemed very strange. "Are they goin' to tie us up in a pen?"</p> + +<p>The heavy gate was unlocked and swung open a foot or so. Two soldiers +suddenly seized Long Jim and pulled him back, while another thrust Paul +into the open space. The officer put in his hand a sword—the very one +with which he had wounded Alvarez, Paul's fingers closing mechanically +over the hilt. Then they shoved Paul inside, and quickly closed and locked +the gate behind him. But the last look that Luiz had bent upon the boy was +one of pity and sympathy.</p> + +<p>Paul staggered with the force of the push that the men had given him, and +for a moment or two he was dazed, but eye and brain alike cleared as a +great shout arose. Then he beheld an extraordinary scene.</p> + +<p>The boy stood within a ring fence enclosing a circular space perhaps +thirty yards across, free from grass, and trodden hard. The fence was of +boards only about half way around, the rest of it being made of strong +parallel bars about two feet apart and fastened to posts. At the far side +a rude log stable seemed to open into it. The place might have been +intended as a breaking ground for horses but Paul did not have time to +think.</p> + +<p>Facing him just outside the fence and sitting on a hastily constructed +wooden seat was Francisco Alvarez, still in his finest uniform. Beside him +was Braxton Wyatt, also in a Spanish uniform, and all about them on either +side, wherever the fence was made of parallel bars and open to see, +clustered the mob, soldiers, laborers, servants, white faces, black faces, +yellow faces, brown faces, straight hair, curly hair, and kinky hair, +French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Indians, negroes, and many mixtures, every +one eager and tense, and every eye bent upon Paul who stood, back to the +gate, holding the sword in his hand, but unconscious that he held it.</p> + +<p>What was this mummery? Why was he a spectacle for that mob? All the blood +rushed to Paul's head and the little pulses in his temples began to beat +like hammers. He looked at Alvarez, but the Spaniard had turned his face +into a stony mask, and he could read no meaning there. Then he looked at +Braxton Wyatt, and the renegade's countenance plainly expressed malignity +and triumph.</p> + +<p>The great shout that greeted the entrance of Paul died away to a silence +so heavy that it seemed ominous. Then Francisco Alvarez looked toward the +wooden building, at the far side of the ring, and raised his hand. A gate +there was thrown open, and a man, sword in hand, strolled lazily out. +Again a tremendous shout arose, and the mob pressed closer to the bars, +those in front sitting on the grass and those behind standing up in order +that they might look over them.</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez raised his hand a second time, and instantly there was +silence once more. He was like a feudal lord dispensing justice in the +open air before all his retainers.</p> + +<p>"Kaintock," he called in a loud voice, "since you are so expert with the +sword, we give you another chance to display your skill. Defend yourself +from this champion."</p> + +<p>Again the approving shout of the mob arose, and Paul looked across the +ring, where the swordsman had come forth.</p> + +<p>The man was of great size, and his whole appearance reminded Paul of the +ancient gladiators of whom he had read. He seemed to be a West Indian of +Spanish descent, very dark and with immense shoulders. He wore a red +shirt, which added to his strange and savage appearance. He carried in his +hand a long sword, much longer than Paul's and when he faced the lad he +suddenly grasped the hilt of his weapon in both hands and twirled it about +until it made a glittering circle. The crowd set up a shout, but Paul felt +chilled through and through.</p> + +<p>"I have no quarrel with this man," he called to Alvarez, "and I will not +fight him."</p> + +<p>"You have no choice," replied Alvarez, and the more savage in the crowd, +who wished to see barbaric sport, shouted their approval. But some were +silent. Long Jim struggled with four men, and exclaimed, "It's murder! +He's only a boy!" But the four held him fast.</p> + +<p>The swordsman, grinning in the certainty of easy triumph, advanced upon +Paul.</p> + +<p>Now Paul understood. He was there to furnish sport, terrible, deadly +sport, and he must fight if he would save himself. As Alvarez truly said, +no choice was left to him. If he sprang for the barrier they would thrust +him back, and that was not a thing to be endured.</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez, spurred on by the sting of his wound, and urged, too, +by Braxton Wyatt, who was mad for the deed the moment he heard of it, had +done this wicked thing. The strain of cruelty in his nature, inherited +perhaps, from far-off ancestors who had looked upon pitiless games in the +arena in the Roman cities in Spain, was completely in control.</p> + +<p>"It is better than I thought," he said to Braxton Wyatt. "The ring serves +the purpose well. We shall have some royal sport if Kaintock will but +fight."</p> + +<p>"He will fight," said Braxton Wyatt.</p> + +<p>The swordsman advanced upon Paul and thrust with his shining blade. Paul +felt intuitively that he was a master of the weapon, reinforced, too, by +enormous strength. He, a boy, would have but little chance. Yet he parried +the thrust and replied with one of his own that flashed dangerously near +the man's side. The crowd again shouted approval, but as before some were +silent. Long Jim made another effort to drag himself loose, but he could +not. The men held him. Nevertheless, he repeated his cry: "It's murder! +He's only a boy!"</p> + +<p>The rapid interchange of thrust and parry followed, and the swordsman grew +angry. He was there not only to furnish sport, but to have it also for +himself. He did not like to be held back by one over whom he had thought +victory so easy. Suddenly he exerted his full strength and broke through +Paul's guard. The lad felt his left shoulder and arm seared as if by a +great flame, and, with a cry that he could not repress, he dropped back.</p> + +<p>The swordsman, too, stepped back, sure now of his triumph. The shout came +from the crowd once more, but only from a part of it, and brave, faithful +Long Jim closed his eyes that he might not see what would follow.</p> + +<p>The elated swordsman held up his weapon as one would a banner. It was a +broad blade like a cutlass and it glittered in the brilliant sunlight. The +next moment there was the sound of a shot, the man uttered a cry of pain, +although himself untouched, and the sword, broken in several pieces, fell +to the ground. It had been shot from his hand with a rifle bullet.</p> + +<p>Long Jim, opening his eyes, uttered a cry of joy and Henry Ware, smoking +rifle in hand, pressed his way through the crowd, which he had entered +unnoticed in the excitement.</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez sprang to his feet in anger. Not for some moments did he +see the figure of the one who fired the shot, and even then he did not +know who it was. But Braxton Wyatt knew Henry Ware at once, and he was +resolved that he should not escape.</p> + +<p>"Seize him! seize him!" cried the renegade. "He is the most dangerous of +them all!"</p> + +<p>But Henry offered no resistance, as the soldiers rushed toward him, +quietly surrendering his rifle. Tom Ross, who was behind him, angrily +threw back the crowd and would have fought, but Henry said: "Give up, +Tom, it's best for the present."</p> + +<p>Henry's eyes were upon his comrade who had been subjected to such +treatment. Paul stood erect, but there were stains on his shoulder, and he +was pale and weak.</p> + +<p>"Look to him," said Henry threateningly to Francisco Alvarez who was +approaching. "It is an outrage of which the Governor General of Louisiana +shall know."</p> + +<p>Alvarez flushed. He felt now slight prickings of the conscience and of +apprehension. It was indeed a wicked deed that he had done, but he had no +mind to be bearded by another from Kaintock.</p> + +<p>"He will receive the proper attention," he said, "but you are my prisoner, +and so is this man who has just been taken with you. I tell you, too, that +I am in supreme command here, and I take the responsibility for all my +acts."</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt had crowded near, but Henry and Tom refused to notice him. +Luiz went into the ring and led Paul away, binding up his shoulder where +the flesh was cut, although the hurt was not serious. "Take their arms and +put them all in the same prison," said Alvarez to one of his officers and +the four were escorted to the log house which Paul and Long Jim had left +not long before.</p> + +<p>"Our plan has been marked by some success after all," said Alvarez to +Braxton Wyatt. "It has drawn two more into our hands."</p> + +<p>"There is a fifth," said Braxton Wyatt. "The one they call Shif'less Sol, +and we have not got him. As long as a single one of them is free we are in +danger."</p> + +<p>The Spaniard laughed.</p> + +<p>"You exaggerate their powers," he said. "We have nothing to fear from one +wandering hunter."</p> + +<p>"But this man, Shif'less Sol, is full of cunning," said Braxton Wyatt.</p> + +<p>The Spaniard's only reply was to hold his head a little higher. It was his +plan now to assume his haughtiest manner. The little fear that he had done +wrong, that his act in forcing Paul into the ring against a professional +swordsman, a gladiator as it were, was mediæval, and that harm might come +to him from it, clung to him. But pride bade him never to show it.</p> + +<p>As he and Braxton Wyatt went into the Chateau of Beaulieu, the doors of +the log prison closed upon the four comrades. Paul, under the care of +Luiz, reached it first but the others were just behind. Paul sat on the +floor and leaned against the wall. The others bent tenderly over him. But +Paul looked up at them and smiled.</p> + +<p>"It isn't much," he said. "The sword only grazed me. My clothing saved me +from a bad cut. But I wish you boys, whatever happens, would remember that +Spaniard, Luiz. He's been kind to me."</p> + +<p>"We'll do it," said Henry. "I don't know what will come of all this, Paul, +but I feel sure that we'll succeed."</p> + +<p>"Of course," said Paul, "but you came just in time, and that was a great +shot of yours."</p> + +<p>"We were in the woods," said Henry, "and we saw the crowd gathering. We +knew some mischief was afoot, and they were so eager on it that we came up +unnoticed. I wanted Tom to stay back, but he was afraid he would be +needed."</p> + +<p>"And Shif'less Sol?" said Paul. "Where is he?"</p> + +<p>Henry laughed.</p> + +<p>"The shiftless one is about the shiftiest man in the wilderness," he +replied. "Do you suppose that he would ever walk into a trap, when there +was nothing inside the trap worth the risk? Didn't he know that Tom and I +were sufficient for any task that might be ahead of us this morning?"</p> + +<p>Paul laughed, too, and the others were glad to see the color coming back +into his face.</p> + +<p>"Good old Sol," he said, "I'm glad he didn't come too. He's somewhere out +there in the woods, and he's the one link between us and Kentucky. We'll +be sure to hear from him."</p> + +<p>They talked of their plans, but for the time, they could see no way. +Shif'less Sol might go on alone to New Orleans, but it needed the presence +of the five to be convincing.</p> + +<p>"He wouldn't go anyhow," said Paul. "Sol would never leave us here."</p> + +<p>Luiz brought them food and water at noon, and then they were left again to +themselves.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI" />CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>THE SPANIARD'S OFFER</h3> + + +<p>The afternoon passed without incident in the log prison save another and +very welcome visit from Luiz, who brought water and some cloth bandages to +be used on Paul's shoulder. Henry and Long Jim, familiar with hurts, +dressed it carefully and skillfully. Paul's healthy blood would quickly do +the rest.</p> + +<p>"It will be stiff a little for three or four days," said Henry, "but +you'll forget in a week that you ever had it."</p> + +<p>Then he turned to Luiz.</p> + +<p>"We'd like to thank you," he said, "I know you don't understand our words, +but maybe you take our meaning."</p> + +<p>Luiz nodded violently, smiled at the boy, and then held out his hand in +quite an American fashion. His face expressed not only understanding but +gratitude as well. Henry, of the acute eye and retentive mind, took a +second look. Then he remembered.</p> + +<p>"The man whom the buffalo was about to gore and run over!" he exclaimed. +"Well, I am glad I was there to help you, and it seems that a lucky chance +has made us a friend."</p> + +<p>He took the proffered hand and shook it heartily. When Luiz had gone he +explained to the others.</p> + +<p>"He is surely a friend," he said, "and we have certainly had a piece of +good fortune."</p> + +<p>But Long Jim instantly demurred.</p> + +<p>"Henry," he said, "you're a smart fellow, but you're talkin' real foolish. +It wuz your good heart that done it. Ef it hadn't told you to help him +when that mad bull wuz about to run over him an' gore him an' trample him +clean out uv sight in the earth, he wouldn't a-been here now, grinnin' at +you an' with the gratitude oozin' out uv him all over."</p> + +<p>Just before the sunset the door was opened again and Braxton Wyatt thrust +in his hateful face. Behind him stood four Spanish soldiers.</p> + +<p>"I hope you are enjoying yourselves," he said with irony.</p> + +<p>"We'd rather be here, as we are, than be in your place, having done what +you have done," exclaimed Paul passionately.</p> + +<p>Wyatt paled a little, but instantly recovered himself.</p> + +<p>"A bear can growl a lot when it's in a trap but growling doesn't help it +out," he said airily.</p> + +<p>"We kin do more than growl. We've got sharp teeth, too, ez you ought to +know," said Tom Ross, the man of few words.</p> + +<p>"I'll admit that you have had some successes in the past," said Wyatt, +smiling maliciously, "but your time is done. We are the victors, and +you'll never get out of this."</p> + +<p>The four as if by common consent turned their backs upon him and did not +utter another word. The renegade understood the contempt expressed by +those four silent backs, and the willful flush broke through the tan of +his face. He had never hated them more bitterly.</p> + +<p>"Come you, Henry Ware," he said roughly, "Captain Alvarez wishes to ask +you some questions."</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't go, Henry," said Long Jim. "I wouldn't hev a word to say to +that Spaniard or to this white Injun either."</p> + +<p>"He will go, whether willingly or unwillingly," said Braxton Wyatt. "I've +men enough here to drag him."</p> + +<p>"I will go willingly, Jim," said Henry addressing himself to his comrade +rather than to the renegade. "It cannot do any harm, and it may help."</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is wiser," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"So long, boys," said Henry. "I'll be back pretty soon."</p> + +<p>He stepped out, calmly ignoring the existence of Braxton Wyatt, and placed +himself in the center of the little group of soldiers. His manner +indicated clearly that he would make no attempt to escape, and, armed +though the four soldiers were, and unarmed though their captive was, they +breathed four simultaneous sighs of relief. Henry Ware, boy though he was, +with his great height and powerful shoulders, chest, and limbs, was a +truly formidable figure.</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt turned the key noisily in the huge padlock that held the +door.</p> + +<p>"There," he said, "I think we've got that cattle securely fastened in the +pen!"</p> + +<p>Henry knew that the insulting words were intended for his ear, but he gave +no sign of hearing them. He stood expressionless, awaiting the word to the +soldiers to march. Braxton Wyatt quickly gave it. He was angrier than +ever, because he could not stir Henry Ware, whom he hated most of all, to +open anger.</p> + +<p>The march led straight to the Chateau of Beaulieu, across well-trimmed +sward, and Henry's alert eye took in everything, the pretentious house, so +unlike anything erected by his own people in Kentucky, the low +outbuildings, and the occasional gleam of a uniform.</p> + +<p>But Henry did not observe at this moment with any eye to the escape of +himself and his comrades. His condition of mind was spiritual and he felt +a satisfaction for which he could not have accounted if he had tried. He +felt sure that his friends and he would escape. He did not doubt it even +now, when only one of the five was free in the woods out there. The spring +sun was setting in great clouds of red and gold fire, a pleasant coolness +was coming over the heated landscape, and every building, fence, and tree +was touched by a soft but vivid light.</p> + +<p>Braxton led the way into the house and into a great room, where Francisco +Alvarez sat in a high chair, keeping state like a feudal lord. He waved +his hand and the soldiers withdrew. Then he said to Braxton Wyatt:</p> + +<p>"I wish to speak alone, absolutely alone, to Señor Ware, and I must ask +you to leave us for a little while."</p> + +<p>Braxton turned on his heel, his anger but half concealed, and the Spaniard +smiled to himself, Francisco Alvarez was a wily man, a reader of the minds +of others, and he did not object to the present displeasure of Wyatt.</p> + +<p>But he said nothing until the renegade was gone. Henry, meanwhile, had +quietly taken his seat in a cane chair. He was not of any mind to stand in +the presence of this man who bore himself as if he were master of +everything by right divine.</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez observed the act and understood its meaning. He smiled +again to himself. He had not misjudged the youth, and it confirmed him in +the plan that had come suddenly into his cunning mind.</p> + +<p>"Señor Ware," he said, veiling his voice and speaking with a velvety +courtesy that was unusual in him, "I have brought you here to tell you +first that I repent my act to-day, by which I placed your comrade's life +in seeming danger. I was hasty, but I had been goaded greatly, and it may +be, too, that I was influenced by the sinister advice of one who hates you +and your friends in a manner almost beyond belief. Besides, the swordsman +had orders not to slay."</p> + +<p>Henry Ware looked at him in great surprise. Five minutes ago he would not +have dreamed it possible that he could hear such a speech in such a tone +from Francisco Alvarez. He waited to see what it meant. Alvarez regarded +him in a sort of kindly contemplation, as a man would look upon a youth +for whom he had benevolent plans.</p> + +<p>"We have been enemies so far," he resumed in his winning tone, "you and +your comrades against myself and my people. But I have learned one thing, +and I am confirmed in it by the opinion of others; boy as you are, you are +the strongest and most dangerous of the five who oppose me; you are the +leader."</p> + +<p>The words, although true, were those of compliment and flattery, and Henry +felt the touch of poison in the silky tone. He stiffened himself slightly +as if he would resist a danger, unknown as yet, but all the more to be +dreaded on that account. He still remained silent.</p> + +<p>"Yes, you are the strongest and the one most to be feared," continued +Alvarez musingly, "I am not saying it to flatter you, but because it is a +matter that I have weighed well for reasons pertaining to statecraft. +There sentiment or personal liking cannot count. I have plans, large +plans, in regard to this country. I suppose that every ambitious man who +comes here has them. How can he help it when he sees so vast and fertile a +land inhabited only by savages? My plan, I believe, is right, in +accordance with probability and justice. You, Señor Ware, are a +representative of a race that has crossed the mountains into a new +region. You have there, in Kaintock, thin and feeble settlements that must +soon be crushed."</p> + +<p>Henry spoke for the first time, but he showed no excitement, although his +heart had begun to beat faster.</p> + +<p>"I think you are wrong, Captain Alvarez," he said. "The settlements in +Kentucky have already driven back some formidable forays, and they grow +stronger every day."</p> + +<p>"Forays of savages only. What could they do if a force of white men, a +powerful force, armed with cannon came?"</p> + +<p>"But will they come?" asked Henry pointedly.</p> + +<p>"Ah, I see you are clever," said Alvarez, still smiling. "You and the +other youth, Cotter, are educated, and you must realize the truth of what +I say. Yes, that force will come. Your Eastern colonies are about to be +defeated by the King of England. You are rebels, and there is no place for +defeated rebels but the depths of the wilderness. Spain has been +coquetting with these colonies, but she will come back to the side of the +English monarchy where she belongs. The monarchies must stand together +against all rebels."</p> + +<p>"How do you know that Spain will help England to fight us?" asked Henry.</p> + +<p>Alvarez smiled once more, but the smile now, instead of being merely +winning, was superior.</p> + +<p>"It is a long distance from here to Europe," he replied, "but news may +come even into the depths of the woods. I have many friends in Spain, +friends near the court, who inform me whenever the wind changes."</p> + +<p>Henry did not like that superior smile. It was a mistake of Francisco +Alvarez, a mistake that many strong men make, to assume a patronizing +manner even for a moment in the presence of another who was also strong. +Henry's intuition at once put him on guard at all points.</p> + +<p>"I have heard," he said, "that Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish Governor +General at New Orleans, is no friend of the British power. But why do you +discuss these things with me or tell me of them?"</p> + +<p>"It is because I have considered you and recognize your worth," replied +Alvarez slowly. "Why rush on to destruction with the foolish rebels? No, +do not speak! Pay good heed to what I say. There is more passing on this +continent than you think. Great events are about to occur. I do not speak +merely of the war between the rebels—or, if you prefer it, the +Americans—and the English, but of another change.</p> + +<p>"Spain is seated at New Orleans near the mouth of the Mississippi, which +flows through a larger area of fertile and temperate country than any +other river in the world. The waters of hundreds of navigable streams +converge there, and it must become the rival of London and Paris. What can +Quebec, Boston, New York, or Charleston be to New Orleans? Can Spain give +up such a site and such a vast and fertile territory as Louisiana? Never! +And here is the greatest opportunity in the world for strong men! Come +with me! Bring your friends with you! We need such as you! I offer you a +career that could not even enter your dreams in the woods of Kaintock!"</p> + +<p>A deep, red flush overspread Henry's face.</p> + +<p>"Do you think that we could fight against our own people," he exclaimed. +"Do you think that we are made of such stuff as that miserable renegade, +Braxton Wyatt?"</p> + +<p>Alvarez did not flinch. His words had been delivered with extraordinary +emphasis, and they carried the ring of his own conviction. His great plan +possessed him, and he saw before him an instrument of which he could make +good use.</p> + +<p>"I do not ask you to go against your own people," he replied. "Remain in +Louisiana. Great work can be found here for you and your friends. And +where Kaintock is concerned another way could be made. It is far from the +Eastern colonies, divided by mountains, the forest, and Indians. Where +could they find a better friend to whom to turn than the King of Spain? +And they will surely need a powerful friend!"</p> + +<p>Henry gazed at him in amazement, and yet he felt a certain respect for the +scope and largeness of the man's plan, repellent though the plan was to +him. He saw that Alvarez was not an ordinary man, that he was one with +whom the people for whom he cared would have to reckon. But he was not +afraid, nor was he tempted for a moment by the promise of a glittering +future that Alvarez held out to him. He felt an immense indignation, but +he was still master of himself, and he replied quietly.</p> + +<p>"I could not leave my own people, nor would any of my comrades. The air of +Louisiana does not suit us. We are accustomed to a colder climate. We +feel, too, that Kaintock can take care of herself. Nor is it sure that the +Eastern colonies will be crushed by the King. But, should they be, +Kentucky would never desert them to join Spain."</p> + +<p>Alvarez frowned, and his temper began to rise. Henry was showing more +finesse and more knowledge of the world and its events than he had thought +possible in one just come out of the woods.</p> + +<p>"By entering my service, by becoming a lieutenant of mine, you have all to +gain and nothing to lose," he said, resuming his customary tone of +superiority.</p> + +<p>Henry instantly felt the change of manner and resented it.</p> + +<p>"I could not dream of accepting such an offer," he said, "but, if I +should, I'd merely take the place that you've already given to Braxton +Wyatt, a renegade. He thinks it is his, and you have made him think it is +his. If you do not keep faith with him how could I believe that you would +keep faith with me?"</p> + +<p>The dark blood of anger flushed the Spaniard's face. He half rose from his +seat and then sat down again.</p> + +<p>"I have made you an offer," he said, "one that any youth or young man +should be proud to accept, and you insult me by saying that you doubt my +faith. You are a child, a backwoodsman, and an ignorant fellow!"</p> + +<p>"I am not ignorant about some things of importance," replied Henry calmly, +"but, if I were low enough to be tempted by your offer, I should still be +wise enough to know that a man who plots against his own superior officer +could not be trusted by me." "What do you mean?" asked Alvarez, paling for +a moment.</p> + +<p>"Is it not true that by fair or foul means you expect shortly to succeed +Bernardo Galvez as Governor General of Louisiana?"</p> + +<p>The Spaniard's hand flew to his sword hilt. Such things as these were not +to be known by everybody. But Henry met his gaze steadily, and the hand +fell away from the sword-hilt. He had gone too far already. He was sorry +that he had turned the professional swordsman loose on Paul—it had been +an unwise deed—and another act of violence in a single day was unworthy a +man of his self-control. No, a new and better plan came suddenly into his +mind.</p> + +<p>The two sat for a few moments gazing steadily at each other. Alvarez was +in the higher chair, and that gave him the physical advantage, but the +look of the fearless youth was like the sharp sword that cuts scornfully +through the maze and web of intrigue and trickery. Alvarez was forced to +turn his gaze aside, and his soul was full of tumult and anger because he +had to yield. The new plan that he had conceived in regard to this daring +boy now seemed a peculiarly happy thought. Henry's pride and spirit must +be broken, and he, Francisco Alvarez, was the man for the task.</p> + +<p>He clapped his hands and a soldier entered. He sent a message by him and +several more came, accompanied by Braxton Wyatt. Alvarez motioned Wyatt to +a seat.</p> + +<p>"Señor Wyatt," he said in his slow, precise English, "I have been having a +talk with your friend, your former friend here, and I find him to be as +unworthy as you have described him to be. I offered only kindness to +himself and his friends. I chose to believe that they had been merely +foolish, misled by ignorance, but his reply has been only to insult me and +to blacken you."</p> + +<p>The renegade did not seek to conceal the joy that shone in his eyes. He +had been in fear when he was sent out of the hall, in fear lest Alvarez +had some plan by which he would suffer, and now it was obvious that +nothing had been changed.</p> + +<p>"It is his character," said Wyatt. "He is vicious and the truth has never +been in him."</p> + +<p>Henry did not know what all this talk meant, but he refused to notice +Braxton Wyatt. His manner indicated that the renegade had ceased to exist, +and it made Wyatt furious.</p> + +<p>"You tell the truth," continued Alvarez, "but he is dangerous, too, as you +told me, a strong, wily fellow, and I shall not take any chances on his +escape. See, I am providing against it."</p> + +<p>A soldier entered, bearing balls and chain, and Alvarez pointed to Henry. +The youth sprang to his feet. He knew that this was intended as an +indignity, and his mind rebelled.</p> + +<p>"Put them on him," said Alvarez, and the soldiers approached. Henry hurled +the first back and then the second, but the others were about to fling +themselves upon him in a heap, when a voice from the door cried:</p> + +<p>"Stop!"</p> + +<p>It was not a loud voice, but one full of dignity and command, and the +soldiers instantly fell back.</p> + +<p>A tall man, robed in black, and with a thin face, smoothly shaven and +austere, stood in the doorway. The eyes, usually benevolent and kindly, +sparkled with indignation, and one hand was uplifted in rebuke.</p> + +<p>"Father Montigny!" said Henry, under his breath.</p> + +<p>"Who says 'stop!' here, where I command?" Alvarez exclaimed, and then he +paled at sight of the priest. The Spaniard was a bold man, but he wished +no conflict with Holy Church.</p> + +<p>"I said 'stop,'" replied the priest with calm dignity, advancing into the +room. "Francisco Alvarez, you were about to perform a deed unworthy of +yourself, one that you would have cause to regret. There is no war between +Louisiana and Kaintock. What right have you to put this youth in chains?"</p> + +<p>He took a step further, and the rebuking hand was still uplifted. The +soldiers shrank back and more than one crossed himself. Yet they were +relieved, as Father Montigny had interfered with a task that they did not +like.</p> + +<p>"I have the utmost respect for Holy Church," replied Alvarez, though it +cost him an effort to utter the words, "but I am in command here and all +military affairs fall under my jurisdiction. This young man is a dangerous +spy and plotter from Kaintock, one who has used force against us. He and +his comrades seized one of our boats and that was an act of war."</p> + +<p>"He is a good youth," said Father Montigny. "He and his comrades did me a +great service. I know that his motives are good, and I will not see him +treated in such barbarous fashion."</p> + +<p>The face of Alvarez darkened. This was more than he could stand.</p> + +<p>"I am the judge in these matters," he replied, "and I tell you, Father +Montigny, that you must not interfere. Your order, the Capuchins, are in +power now at New Orleans, as I know, but the Jesuits may come back. I +should favor their returning."</p> + +<p>"It is not a question of Capuchin or Jesuit," replied Father Montigny +sternly, "and you, Francisco Alvarez, should know it. It is a question of +you and what you are doing here. You need not make any threats against me. +I care for none of them, but Bernardo Galvez, the Governor General at New +Orleans, shall know of what is passing at Beaulieu."</p> + +<p>The face of Alvarez contracted into a terrible frown. Nevertheless he +feared the unarmed priest. He was helpless against him and he feared, +too, that if he persisted Father Montigny would quickly learn of other and +deeper matters. He broke into a short and by no means hearty laugh.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps I was going rather far," he said, "but this youth has provoked me +beyond endurance. Take away those things, Gaspar."</p> + +<p>The Spaniard whom he indicated took the irons, and Henry sat down again in +his chair. The threatened ignominy had stung him deeply and he said under +his breath: "I thank you, Father Montigny." Then Alvarez ordered Henry to +be taken away, also.</p> + +<p>Henry arose without resistance, and walked from the hall with the +soldiers. As he passed, Father Montigny put his hand on his shoulder and +said: "I am your friend, my son."</p> + +<p>Henry said nothing but gave him a look of deep gratitude as he walked +proudly out.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII" />CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>THE SHADOW IN THE FOREST</h3> + + +<p>Luiz and his comrades escorted Henry back to the prison, and the +expressive face of Luiz showed pleasure. He made a vigorous pantomime and +spoke words in Spanish.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I understand your meaning if not your language, my friend," said +Henry, "and I thank you. I am glad to know that I have your good will."</p> + +<p>When the door of his prison was thrown open and Henry was then shut in +again with his comrades they looked at him expectantly.</p> + +<p>"Well?" said Paul.</p> + +<p>"What happened?" said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>"Anything to tell?" said Tom Ross.</p> + +<p>"How's your shoulder, Paul?" asked Henry.</p> + +<p>"Fast getting well," replied Paul, who knew that his comrade would speak +in his own good time.</p> + +<p>Henry sat on the floor and leaned against the wall in as comfortable a +position as he could assume. Then he looked rather humorously at his +comrades.</p> + +<p>"Alvarez wanted to bribe me," he said.</p> + +<p>"To bribe you? What do you mean?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, to bribe me—and all of us together. He wanted us to serve him here +in Louisiana, and help him in an attempt to bring over Kentucky to Spain."</p> + +<p>"That is, he wanted to make Braxton Wyatts out of us?" said Paul.</p> + +<p>"You put it exactly right, Paul," said Henry, "I laughed at him, and +called him by the names that belonged to him. He brought in Braxton Wyatt +and the soldiers and ordered me to be put in irons, there in his +presence."</p> + +<p>"What!" exclaimed Paul, "did he dare that, too?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. His object, of course, was to humiliate me—and all of us. It was +stopped by one who came in at the right moment. You couldn't guess who it +was."</p> + +<p>"It must a-been Shif'less Sol," said Long Jim, whose mind ran to physical +deeds. "I guess he sent a bullet right into the middle uv that rascal +crew. Sol's the boy to be right on the spot when he's needed."</p> + +<p>Henry laughed.</p> + +<p>"No, Jim," he said. "That's a pretty wild guess. It was none other than +Father Montigny, the man whom we helped. He paid us back sooner than we +thought. You ought to have seen him, Paul. He looked like an avenging +angel. He stood there, a single, unarmed man, and they were afraid of him. +I could see fear on every one of their faces."</p> + +<p>Paul's vivid imagination instantly painted the whole scene. It appealed to +him with tremendous power. It was the triumph of mind and character over +force and wickedness.</p> + +<p>"I can see Father Montigny now," he said. "A man who always does right and +has no fear whatever of death, is afraid of nothing, either in this world +or the world to come."</p> + +<p>"Which gives him a pow'ful sight uv freedom," said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>"When he told them to stop they took away their balls and chain," said +Henry, "and sent me back here. Alvarez realized that he had gone too far, +but I think that he fears Father Montigny for other reasons, too. The +priest may put the Governor General on his guard."</p> + +<p>"So we ain't alone," said Long Jim musingly. "Curious how you git help +when you ain't expectin' it. The wicked hev it their way fur a while, an' +then they don't. They don't ever seem able to finish up their work. +Sometimes I think the right is jest like a river flowin' on in its nateral +channel, an' boun' to git to the sea after a while, no matter what +happens. The wrong is all them dams, an' san' bars an' snags, and brush +an' drift-wood that people an' chance pile up in the way. They do choke up +the waters, an' send 'em around in other channels, an' make a heap uv +trouble, but by and by them waters git to the sea jest the same."</p> + +<p>"I hope so, Jim," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"Now thar ain't no doubt uv what I say," said Long Jim. "Take this case uv +ourn. Jest when we need it most fur a thousand miles uv river travel we +git a bee-yu-ti-ful boat, all fitted up with everything we want. Jest when +that Spaniard gits his paws on us, he don't git his paws on one uv us, an' +that's Shif'less Sol out thar in the woods. An' so long ez Shif'less Sol +is free out thar in the woods we're mighty nigh free ourselves. Then, when +this same Spaniard is ready to load irons on Henry in a way that no +free-born man kin stand, in pops a priest who likes us—an' we don't +belong to his church either—an' puts a stop to the whole thing."</p> + +<p>While they were talking Francisco Alvarez also was busy with a kindred +theme, as he entertained a guest. That guest was Father Montigny, to whom +he had made up his mind to be courteous, although he would not condescend +to any further apology. He ordered that the priest should receive food and +attention, and that men should look after and replenish his canoe which +was now tied in the bayou. After all these orders were given, Alvarez sat +in the great room of Beaulieu and smoked the cigarro of his time.</p> + +<p>There was a bitter drop in the well of his satisfaction. The coming of the +priest had been unforeseen and unfortunate. He knew Father Montigny, and +Father Montigny knew him. Now how much did Father Montigny know of his +plans? That was the important question.</p> + +<p>While he was yet speaking, Father Montigny, whom a very little of rest and +food always sufficed, entered the room, his manner full of austerity. +Francisco Alvarez rose, all blandness and courtesy.</p> + +<p>"Be seated, Father," he said. "It is a poor place that we have here, but +we give you of our best. Who would deserve it more than you, a man of such +long travels and such great hardships in the holiest of all causes?"</p> + +<p>The face of the priest did not relax. He sat down upon one of the cane +chairs and gazed sternly at Alvarez. Truly, it is a terrible thing to meet +the accusing gaze of a man who fears neither torture, nor death, nor the +world to come! The accusation is likely to be true. Alvarez looked away. +Twice within one day he who, with reason, thought himself so courageous +had been forced to yield to the gaze of another, and his heart was full of +angry rebellion. But he knew that knowledge and power dwelt under the +simple black robe of this man.</p> + +<p>"It seems," said Father Montigny, and there was a slight touch of irony in +his tone, "that I came at the right moment."</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez compelled his face to smile, though his heart was +raging.</p> + +<p>"I have already apologized, Father Montigny," he said, "for what I was +about to do. And yet the phrase 'about to do' is wrong. Even if you had +not come I should have repented of myself, and sent away the irons. I can +repeat, too, in my defense that I was provoked beyond endurance by this +youth's insolence."</p> + +<p>His tone was silky, light, indolent, as if he would dismiss a trifle about +which too much had been said already. It might have been convincing to any +other man, but he felt the stern, reproving gaze of Father Montigny still +fixed upon him.</p> + +<p>"And what of the ring and the professional swordsman?" said the priest. +"Are you to turn a youth to a gladiator, even as the blessed martyrs were +given to the lions and tigers by the Roman pagans! What of that, Francisco +Alvarez? Are such deeds to be done, here, in our day, in Louisiana, and to +pass unchallenged?"</p> + +<p>The priest's voice rose and it cut like the sharp edge of a knife. Never +since his boyhood had Francisco Alvarez flushed more deeply, and he moved +uneasily on his cane chair.</p> + +<p>"You give it a name that does not belong to it," he said. "It was play, or +not much more. Romildo, the swordsman, had orders not to hurt him much."</p> + +<p>"That may or may not be true, Francisco Alvarez," said the priest, +speaking slowly and precisely. "But I have more to ask you. What of this +plot of yours to set the Indian tribes and a Spanish force with cannon +upon Kaintock? What of your plan to become Governor General in place of +Galvez? What of your intention to make distant war upon the rebel colonies +and therefore commit Spain to an alliance with England? Answer me, +Francisco Alvarez. What of these things?"</p> + +<p>The priest rose from his seat, as he spoke, and lifted that stern, +accusing finger. Alvarez was as still as if struck by lightning. His great +plan known to this man, this man who feared not even torture, or death, +or the world to come! He shrank visibly both mentally and physically, but +then his courage came back under the spur of dreadful necessity.</p> + +<p>"A priest can take great liberties," he said. "Sometimes I think it +scarcely fair that you of the Book may denounce us of the sword and that +we may say nothing in return, although we may be right and you may be +wrong. It is sufficient now for me to tell you that I do not know what you +are talking about. I, the Governor General! Any man may dream of that! I +have done so, and I have no doubt that many others have done the same. I +favor, too, an alliance with England, as do nearly all the Spanish +officers in Louisiana, but I am a faithful servant of His Majesty, the +King, and though I may hold my opinions, I know of no plot, either against +Bernardo Galvez or to make a war upon Kaintock."</p> + +<p>"I have heard you, Francisco Alvarez," said the priest, "but it is for +your actions to prove the truth of your words. See to it, also, that there +is no further cruelty practised against these men from Kaintock."</p> + +<p>"They are my prisoners," replied Alvarez, "and I mean to hold them. There +you cannot interfere, Father Montigny. They were taken in arms against us +upon our soil of Louisiana, and that they are my prisoners even you cannot +dispute."</p> + +<p>"No," replied Father Montigny, "I do not dispute it; at least not for the +present. But if they are held as prisoners they should be sent to Bernardo +Galvez at New Orleans, and not be retained here."</p> + +<p>He walked out without waiting for an answer, and Francisco Alvarez was +glad to see him go. Five minutes later the Spaniard sent for Braxton Wyatt +and the two remained long in consultation.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, something was stirring in the forest not far from Beaulieu. It +was a forest of magnolia, willow, and cypress, and of oaks, from which +hung great solemn festoons of moss. A deep still bayou cut across it, and +here and there were pools of stagnant water, in which coiling black forms +swam.</p> + +<p>Night was deepening over the wilderness upon which the estate of Beaulieu +had made only a scratch. Pale moonlight fell over the drooping green +forest and across the deep waters of the bayou. The something that had +stirred resolved itself into the shadowy figure of a man who came out of +the heart of the forest toward its edge. He walked with a singularly agile +step. His moccasined feet made no noise when they touched the ground and +the bushes seemed to part for the passage of his body.</p> + +<p>When the man reached the edge of the forest next to the Chateau of +Beaulieu, he paused for a long time, standing in the shadow of the trees. +Always he looked fixedly at a single building, the log hut, in which +Alvarez held his four prisoners from Kaintock. While he stood there, stray +rays of moonlight coming through the cypresses fell upon him, revealing a +tanned face, yellow hair, and a tall, athletic form. He did not look like +a Spaniard or an Acadian, or one of the Frenchmen who had emigrated from +Canada, or any kind of a West Indian. His was certainly an alien presence +in those regions.</p> + +<p>The moon slid back behind a cloud, the silver rays failed, and the figure +of the man became more indistinct, almost a shadow, thin and impalpable. +Then he bent far over in a stooping position, passed rapidly through a +patch of scrub bushes, and came much nearer to the log prison.</p> + +<p>At the edge of the bushes he stopped again and watched the prison for at +least a minute. Two soldiers were on watch in front of it before the +single door, two soldiers in Spanish uniform, who were suffering from +tedium, and who were quite sure, anyway that unarmed prisoners could not +escape from a one-room building of logs with but a single door, secured by +a huge, oak shutter, and two windows, each too small to admit the passage +of a boy's or man's body.</p> + +<p>The two soldiers slouched in their walk, and presently, when their beats +met before the door, they let the butts of their guns rest on the ground, +and exchanged pleasant talk about pretty, dark girls that they had known +in far-away Spain. One boldly lighted a cigarrito and the other encouraged +by his example did likewise. Hark, what was that? "A lizard in the grass," +said Carlos. "Yes, certainly," said Juan. They continued to smoke their +cigarritos blissfully, and talk of the pretty, dark girls that they had +known in far-away Spain.</p> + +<p>As they smoked and talked, and found smoke, talk and company pleasant, +they did not see a shadow glide swiftly from the bushes and pass to the +rear of the log prison that they were guarding so well. Nor could they +see the shadow, since the building was now between them, resolve itself +again into the figure of a man, who stood upright against the wall, his +face at one of the little slits of windows.</p> + +<p>Their own talk was so pleasant, and the sound of their voices was such a +cure for lonesomeness on a dark night, that they did not hear the man at +the little slit of a window utter a faint warning hiss. Nor did they hear +something a moment later fall with a slight metalic sound on the bark +floor of the prison. The sound was repeated in an instant, but still they +did not hear it, and then the figure of a man, melting back to a shadow, +glided away from the house and into the bushes and thence to the forest, +where it was lost.</p> + +<p>Carlos and Juan chatted until their cigarritos were smoked out. Then they +shouldered their muskets and continued the watch that seemed to them so +easy. How could unarmed men escape through such a thickness of logs? The +shadow in the forest was lost to the sight of any possible Spaniard, but +not to the sight of another shadow that arose from the bushes and flitted +after it. The two shadows were now deep in the forest, but the second hung +close on the first, making no noise, and sinking quickly to the ground, +when the other looked back.</p> + +<p>This second shadow, as it passed through a partially open space, also +revealed itself in the moonlight as a man, but a man ghastly and terrible +in appearance. He had a hideous, feline face, and he was naked, save a +breech-cloth at the waist. He carried but a single weapon, a knife in his +ready hand, but the eyes were those of the most utter savage expecting a +speedy prey.</p> + +<p>The first shadow reached a little grove free from undergrowth and stopped. +He was about to lie down, rifle by his side, and seek sleep, but his ear, +attuned to the wilderness, caught a faint sound. It was not the wind among +the leaves, nor the gliding of a snake nor the chirp of an insect, but a +sound that was not a part of the night harmony. The sensitive ear had +given him warning, as the instinct of an animal warns that an enemy has +come.</p> + +<p>The first shadow slid from the grove and into the undergrowth, sank low, +and, waiting, caught sight of the second shadow, the man who pursued. He +saw the naked figure, the feline face, and the ready knife in hand. The +skill and wonderful forest intuition of the second man had been matched by +those of the first.</p> + +<p>The pursued, when he caught that glimpse of his pursuer, laid his rifle +carefully on the earth, because he did not wish a shot to be heard, and +drew his own knife. Slight as was the sound that he made the other heard +it, turned in a flash, and the two sprang at each other.</p> + +<p>The moonlight streamed for a moment along their knife blades and then they +struck. One stepped back, and remained standing upright. The other swayed +a moment and then fell without a sound, lying upon his back.</p> + +<p>He who lay staring with sightless eyes up at the moon was the man with the +feline face and the body naked save for the cloth at the waist. The other, +unharmed, stood, looking at him a moment or two, and then plunged deeper +into the forest.</p> + +<p>Morning dawned. The sun swung up through a terrace of rosy clouds, and +Luiz brought the four their breakfast, <i>callas tous chauds</i>, other food of +La Louisiane, and milk and coffee. They ate and drank with a great +appetite, and it seemed to Luiz that they were quite cheerful, for which +he was truly glad, because one of these men had saved his life, and the +wounded youth who made an especial appeal to him had been subjected to +barbarous treatment. But Paul could use his injured arm already. His blood +was so healthy that the scratch of the sword healed fast.</p> + +<p>Two or three hours later Francisco Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt entered the +prison. The renegade was not above showing by his looks that he rejoiced +in his triumph over his enemies, but the face of Alvarez was without +expression.</p> + +<p>"I have come to tell you," said the Spaniard, "that you will be held here +subject to my will. But you will not be treated badly. At such time as I +think fit you may be taken to New Orleans."</p> + +<p>"It seems that the words of Father Montigny were not to be despised," said +Henry maliciously.</p> + +<p>"Father Montigny disposes of nothing here," said Alvarez. "This is to be +done because I think it best."</p> + +<p>Then he and Wyatt went out, but that afternoon when Alvarez was sitting in +the cool shadow of the pillared portico, there came to him a man, dusty, +and riding fast, who delivered to him a document sealed with red seals, +and important in appearance.</p> + +<p>When Alvarez read the paper he frowned, and then cursed under his breath. +It was written in plain letters and its meaning was plain, also. It stated +that Bernardo Galvez, the Governor General at New Orleans, had learned +that his brave and loyal captain, Don Francisco Louis Philip Ferdinand +Alvarez, held in his possession four prisoners from Kaintock, persons of +daring, whose presence in Louisiana might be of great significance. +Therefore His Excellency, Bernardo Galvez, Governor General of Louisiana, +commanded his trusty and loyal captain, Don Francisco Louis Philip +Ferdinand Alvarez, to bring the aforesaid four prisoners, from Kaintock, +to New Orleans at once.</p> + +<p>"At once!" repeated Alvarez angrily to himself. "That means not next week +but now, and I am compelled to obey. To refuse or to evade would make a +breach too soon."</p> + +<p>He sent for Braxton Wyatt and told him of the letter. The renegade was +startled, but he counseled immediate obedience from motives of policy.</p> + +<p>"How could Galvez have known?" said Alvarez. "How could the news have +reached New Orleans so soon?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps the priest has told," suggested Wyatt.</p> + +<p>"No, that is impossible. He came from up river, and I am glad to say that +he left again in his canoe this morning. Those Capuchins to whom he +belongs shall be well punished, if I gain the power in Louisiana. They +shall be expelled, every one of them, from New Orleans, and their old +rivals, the Jesuits, shall take their place. It's one of the first things +that I mean to do."</p> + +<p>"It would be a wise thing to do," said Braxton Wyatt. He cared nothing for +either Capuchin or Jesuit, but he hated and feared Father Montigny, and +would be glad to know that he was driven from the country.</p> + +<p>"We must start in the morning," said Alvarez. "It will not take us long to +reach New Orleans by the river, and I can spin a tale that will lull the +suspicions of Galvez."</p> + +<p>"You can prove many things by me," said Braxton Wyatt significantly.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Señor Wyatt, you are a good lieutenant," said Alvarez, and he meant +it. "We will make our preparations to-night and start with a strong force +in the morning. We need not bring the prisoners forth until we are ready."</p> + +<p>Alvarez, slept peacefully that night. He had recovered his spirits, shaken +by the arrival of the King's messenger. Aided by the dexterous renegade, +Braxton Wyatt, he would soon persuade Bernardo Galvez that he had acted +for the best in the matter of the men from Kaintock.</p> + +<p>He rose early the next morning and, as a mark of signal favor, invited +Braxton Wyatt to take breakfast with him. While they sat together Luiz +came in with a long face.</p> + +<p>"Now what is it, my brave Luiz?" said Alvarez, who was in an exceeding +good humor, "why this saturnine countenance?"</p> + +<p>"I beg to report, your Excellency," said Luiz, "that the Natchez Indian +whom they call The Cat had been found dead in the forest, of a knife +thrust that came out behind the shoulder."</p> + +<p>"That is bad," said Alvarez. "Have they found out who did it?"</p> + +<p>"No, Your Excellency. There were some signs of a struggle, and a few +traces of foot-steps, but the trail was gone before they had followed it a +dozen yards."</p> + +<p>"We have lost a good man," said Alvarez, "a matchless spy and trailer, but +it cannot be helped. I suppose it was a quarrel with some savage like +himself. I would investigate the matter, but we have not time now. Come, +Luiz, we will take out the prisoners, and then to the boats."</p> + +<p>He led the way across the grass to the log house,—two sentinels, again it +was Carlos and Juan—walked up and down in front of it—and the Spanish +captain was pleased at their vigilance. He gave them a very good morning +as they saluted respectfully.</p> + +<p>"Unlock the door, Luiz," he said. "This is a strong prison and a close +one. I've no doubt our gallants from Kaintock, where there is much room, +will be glad to be outside again."</p> + +<p>Luiz inserted the huge iron key, turned it in the lock, and threw wide the +door. Alvarez looked in, and then uttered a cry so charged with rage that +even Braxton Wyatt was startled. He pressed close up to his chief and +gazed over his shoulder.</p> + +<p>The prison was empty!</p> + +<p>"What does this mean?" shouted Alvarez at the trembling sentinels. "The +prisoners have escaped! Idiots! Blind men! What have you been doing? Have +you helped them yourselves? If it is so, both of you shall be shot!"</p> + +<p>The unfortunates, Carlos and Juan, stared at the empty prison and crossed +themselves. "Witchcraft," muttered Carlos, the readier of the two. "We +have watched faithfully all night, my captain. We saw nothing, we heard +nothing, and the door was locked, as you behold. We are honest men and we +have been faithful!"</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt pointed to the dark corner of the prison.</p> + +<p>"See," he said, "that is how they went."</p> + +<p>Heaped against the wall was a pile of dirt, and in its place a hole large +enough to admit a man's body led under the logs. The Spaniard cried out in +rage again.</p> + +<p>"We see how they have gone!" he exclaimed, "but in what way did they do +it? Who has helped them!"</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt examined the tunnel. The bottom logs of the cabin rested +squarely upon the ground, after the primitive fashion. The floor was of +bark, and a section of this had been lifted. The prisoners had then dug +their hole under the log.</p> + +<p>"It was done with metal tools of some kind," said Wyatt. "But they had +nothing when we locked them in here. I can swear to that, as I was one of +those who searched them well."</p> + +<p>"Then they must have had help!" exclaimed Alvarez, and again he turned +fiercely upon the sentinels, but Braxton Wyatt intervened. He was glad +that he could patronize Alvarez at least once and show himself to be the +superior in discernment.</p> + +<p>"These men, Your Excellency, of whom I told you to beware, were five," he +said. "We captured four, therefore one was left, and I said beware of him, +even alone. He is a fellow of great cunning and skill who would try +anything. He has come for his comrades, and he has taken them away with +him."</p> + +<p>"It must be as you say," said Alvarez, seeking now to hide his anger. He +was not sorry on the whole that the sentinels were obviously innocent, as +he needed as many adherents as he could keep, in order to carry out his +great plan.</p> + +<p>"Knowing that the window was too small to admit them, we watched only the +front where the door is, Your Excellency," said Carlos, still trembling. +"Who would have dreamed that these men of Kaintock were magicians, that +without picks or shovels they could burrow under the earth and be gone +like ghosts."</p> + +<p>"Begone yourselves!" exclaimed Alvarez. "Get ready for the boats at +once!"</p> + +<p>Carlos and Juan fled away, glad to escape the sight of their master.</p> + +<p>"Now that they have escaped, what do you think they will do?" asked +Alvarez of Wyatt.</p> + +<p>"They will go to New Orleans," replied the renegade promptly, "and appear +before Bernardo Galvez to denounce you."</p> + +<p>"Then our own start must not be delayed a moment!" exclaimed Alvarez.</p> + +<p>In an hour he and his force were ready to embark.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII" />CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>THE WHITE STALLION</h3> + + +<p>Shif'less Sol led the way through the forest and four ghostly figures +followed in single file. They made no noise as they passed among the +cypresses and magnolias, and oaks of the drooping foliage. No one spoke, +but the leader laughed more than once in his throat, a laugh which never +passed the lips, but which was full of satisfaction nevertheless. He felt +that he, Solomon Hyde, nicknamed the shiftless one, had not lived in vain. +He had achieved the greatest triumph of a life already crowded with +dangers and deeds. To use the phrase of a later day, it was his crowded +hour, and his four comrades gave him all the honor and glory of it.</p> + +<p>They came presently to a still, dark channel of water, the bayou, and +stopped on its bank. A light wind had risen, and as it blew among the +cypresses and magnolias and oaks of the drooping foliage, it blew the song +of the triumph of Shif'less Sol. The moonlight fell on his face now and as +his features drew into a smile he, at last, permitted himself to laugh +outright.</p> + +<p>"It was wonderful, Sol," said Henry. "We always knew that you were near +us, and we knew, too, that because you were near us we were near to +freedom."</p> + +<p>He stepped forward, grasped the hand of the shiftless one, and gave it a +fervent shake. Paul at once did the same, then followed Long Jim and Tom +Ross. Shif'less Sol's face became beatific. He had received his silent +tribute and it was enough. The flavor of it would be with him all the rest +of his life.</p> + +<p>"What did you fellers think?" he asked, "when them two big knives came +fallin' down on the floor. I'd hev called to you, but I wuz afeard I'd +stir up them two sentinels on the other side of the house."</p> + +<p>"We knew it was you, Sol," replied Paul, "and we knew then that our escape +was certain. Where did you get the knives?"</p> + +<p>"I stole them from a tool house," replied Sol with pride. "I guess they +use 'em to cut cane with, or something like that."</p> + +<p>"We certainly cut dirt with 'em at a great rate," said Henry, "and here we +are free, the five of us together again, but without arms except the two +knives you threw to us."</p> + +<p>The moonlight was deepening and the shiftless one stood in the center of +it. His figure seemed suddenly to swell and the calm, victorious light of +the supreme conqueror came into his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Boys," he said, and his voice was even and precise, as a victor's should +be, "when I undertook this here job o' settin' us on our feet agin, I +undertook to do it all. I not only meant to put us on our feet, but to git +us ready fur runnin', too. Boys, I hev took 'The Gall-yun' from the +Spaniards ag'in an' she's waitin' fur us."</p> + +<p>"What! what!" they cried in chorus. "You don't mean it, Sol?"</p> + +<p>"I shorely do mean it. All the boats that they expect to use to-day wuz +anchored in the bi-yoo or hay-yoo or whatever they call it. 'The +Gall-yun,' our gall-yun, wuz at the end o' the line nearest to the big +river. Nobody wuz on board, but she wuz tied to the boat next to her. I +slipped on her—it was pow'ful dark then an' the Spaniards wuz keepin' a +slip-shod watch, anyhow—cut the rope an' floated her down the stream, +where I've tied her up under sech thick brush that nobody 'cept ourselves +is likely to find her. She'll be thar, waitin' fur us, an' don't you doubt +it. An' fellers all our rifles an' ammunition an' things are on her. It +wuz the captain's boat, an' I s'pose he thought he might ez well hev them +trophies, an' use 'em."</p> + +<p>"Is this really true, Sol?" exclaimed Paul, although he did not doubt.</p> + +<p>"Gospel truth. We're jest ez well off ez we wuz afore we wuz captured. I +don't think, either, them Spaniards will miss 'The Gall-yun' until +mornin'. So we kin be up an' away with somethin' o' a start."</p> + +<p>"Lead on, Sol," said Henry.</p> + +<p>Sol led, and resumed the noiseless Indian file. They found the good ship, +"The Galleon," under the overhanging bushes where Sol had left her, and +rejoicingly they took possession again of the boat, their arms, and +supplies.</p> + +<p>"Now for New Orleans and the Governor General," said Paul, as they pushed +out into the bayou. There was no current here, but their powerful arms at +the oars soon sent the boat into the Mississippi. There they set the sail +which had been left unchanged, and as a good wind caught it they went on +at a quickening pace. Wind, current, and oars combined made the low banks +pass swiftly by.</p> + +<p>It was now the darkest hour and all things were veiled. Each felt a great +satisfaction. They had the courage, after such a great and skillful +escape, to attempt anything.</p> + +<p>"It's only lately that I've been gittin' friendly with the Missip," said +Shif'less Sol. "It's a pow'ful big river an' a new one, but me an' this +river are already jest like brothers. It ought all to belong to us people +o' Kentucky. When we git to be a great big settled country, hev we got to +float everything down it, right in among the Spaniards or the French, an' +they able to stop us ef they want to? 'Pears to me thar oughtn't to be +anything but a string o' free countries all along the length o' this big +river."</p> + +<p>"I think that is what is likely to happen," said Paul looking into the +future, as he did so often. "We'll always be pressing down, and we can't +help it."</p> + +<p>"Anyhow," resumed Shif'less Sol, "I'm glad that we've left that thar place +o' Booly, or Bee-yu-ly, or whatever they call it. Funny these furrin' +people can't pronounce names like they spell. Now we Americans, an' the +English, who use our language, call words jest ez they are, but you never +know what a Frenchman or a Spaniard is goin' to make out o' 'em."</p> + +<p>They made good progress throughout the day, and saw no sign of the +flotilla of Alvarez which they had feared might overtake them. They were +agreed that it would be wise for them to reach New Orleans first, and +hence they went boldly forward into the country that they regarded as that +of the enemy, confident of their fortune.</p> + +<p>The river widened and narrowed frequently, but always it was very deep. It +was not beautiful here, but the vast current flowing between low shores +had a somber majesty all its own. Its effect upon the imagination of every +one of them was heightened by the knowledge that the stream had come an +immeasurable distance, from unknown regions, and that in the coming it had +gathered into itself innumerable other rivers, most of which also had come +from lands of mystery.</p> + +<p>They stopped one morning in the mouth of a clear creek that flowed into +the Mississippi, and decided to spend the day in making repairs, a general +cleaning-up, and a search for fresh food. It was the universal opinion +that they would profit more by such a halt than by pushing on regardless +of everything.</p> + +<p>It was a beautiful spot in which they lay. They had gone about a hundred +yards up the creek, and its waters here, about thirty feet across and five +or six feet deep, were perfectly transparent. But this silver stream the +moment it entered the Mississippi was lost in the great, brown current, +swallowed up in an instant by the giant river.</p> + +<p>The banks of the creek were low and on either side brilliant wild flowers +grew to the very water's edge. Ferns, lilies, and other plants of deeper +hues, were massed in great beds that ran from the creek edges back to the +forest. Tall birds on immensely long and slender legs stood in the +shallower water and now and then as quick as a flash of lightning darted +down a hooked bill. Invariably the bill came up with a fish struggling in +its grasp.</p> + +<p>Beautiful flamingoes hovered about the bank and many birds of brilliant +plumage darted from tree to tree. Few of these sang, except the mocking +bird, which gave forth an incessant mellow note. But it was a scene of +uncommon peace and beauty and all felt its influence.</p> + +<p>Henry looked at the creek and the forest through which it came with an +appreciative eye. He knew because the waters of the creek were clear that +it must flow through hard, firm ground, and he was thinking at that moment +of a plan which he intended to carry out later.</p> + +<p>Their first work was with the boat. In its long voyage on the river it had +gathered mud and other objects on its bottom. This they could see +perfectly now that it lay in the clear water, and Shif'less Sol and Jim +Hart volunteered to scrape it with two of the shovels that were contained +in the invaluable store house of "The Galleon."</p> + +<p>Their offer was accepted, and taking off their clothing, they sprang into +the water. Once a huge cat fish from the Mississippi, unused to man, +brushed against Long Jim's leg, its horn raking him slightly. With a shout +Long Jim sprang almost out of the water and clambered up the side of the +boat.</p> + +<p>"Somethin' big bit me!" he cried. "It took one uv my legs with him!"</p> + +<p>"It's only a scared cat fish and you still have two legs, Jim," replied +Henry laughing boyishly, because a boy he was in spite of his size and +experience.</p> + +<p>Jim looked down, and a great smile of delight unfolded like a fan across +his face from side to side.</p> + +<p>"Guess you're right, Henry," he said, "an' I am still all in one piece."</p> + +<p>He sprang back into the water, and he and Sol soon finished their task. +After that it was arranged that Sol, Jim, and Tom should give a thorough +furbishing to the boat's interior, wash and dry their spare clothing and +bedding, while Henry and Paul went on a hunt for a deer to replenish their +larder.</p> + +<p>"You see, Paul," said Henry, "the waters of this creek are quite clear, +which means that it comes through good, hard ground. It's likely that it +isn't far back to one of the little prairies which I've heard are common +in this part of Louisiana, and in a wild country like this where there's a +prairie there's pretty likely to be deer."</p> + +<p>The logic seemed good to Paul. At any rate he was willing enough to go on +a hunt, stretch his legs, and see a new region. Saying that they should +probably be gone all day they started at once, leaving the others +absorbed in the task of housecleaning.</p> + +<p>They reached solid ground not far from the creek's edge and walked along +briskly, following the course of the stream back toward its source. The +soil was black and deep and the forest magnificent. Great beeches and +hickories were mingled with the willows and live oaks and cypresses, and +the foliage was thick, green, and beautiful. The birds seemed innumerable, +and now and then flocks of wild fowl rose with a whir from the creek's +edge. Keen, penetrating odors of forest and wild flower came to their +nostrils.</p> + +<p>Both boys threw up their heads, inhaled the odors, and thrilled in every +fiber. They were very young, care could never stay with them long and now +they felt only the sheer, pure delight of living. They looked back. The +forest had already shut out their boat, and one who did not know would not +have dreamed that the longest river in the world was only a mile or two +away. They were alone in the wilderness and they did not care. They were +sufficient, for the moment, each to the other.</p> + +<p>As they advanced, the creek narrowed and the forest thickened. The trees +not only grew closer together, but there was a vast mass and network of +trailing vines, extended from trunk to trunk and bough to bough. One huge +oak in the very center of an intricate maze of vines was drawn far over +and its boughs were twisted into strange, distorted shapes. It was obvious +to both that the vines, singly so feeble, collectively so powerful, had +done it, and they stood a moment or two wondering at this proof of the +power of united and unceasing effort.</p> + +<p>They went a mile or so further on, and Henry led the way toward the left +and from the creek. An instinct or the lay of the land, perhaps, warned +him that the open country was in that direction. The trees, had begun to +thin already, and in another mile they came out upon a beautiful little +rolling prairie. It was quite clear of trees; grass, mingled with wild +flowers, grew high upon it, and at the far edge they saw the figures of +animals grazing.</p> + +<p>"Deer!" exclaimed Paul. "There they are, Henry! Just waiting for us!"</p> + +<p>Henry took a long and keen look, then shook his head.</p> + +<p>"No, not deer, Paul," he said. "Now guess what they are."</p> + +<p>"They can't be buffaloes," replied Paul. "I think, Henry, I'm right; +they're deer."</p> + +<p>"No," said Henry, "they're horses."</p> + +<p>"Horses! Why there are no plantations hereabouts!"</p> + +<p>"Not tame horses. Wild horses. Descendants of the horses that the +Spaniards brought to Mexico two or three hundreds ago."</p> + +<p>"And which have been spreading northward ever since," continued Paul, +alive with interest. "Let's try to get a near look at them, Henry."</p> + +<p>"I'm with you," said Henry.</p> + +<p>Full of boyish curiosity they went around the prairie, keeping in the edge +of the woods until they came much nearer to the herd of wild horses, +which numbered about thirty. As a considerable wind was blowing their odor +away from the animals, they could approach very closely without their +presence being suspected.</p> + +<p>The horses were clean limbed and well-shaped, and all except one were +small and dark of color. But that one was a noticeable exception. He was +almost pure white, far larger than the others, and he had a great flowing +white mane and tail.</p> + +<p>The herd grazed in a bunch, but the magnificent white stallion stood apart +on the side next to the woods. He, too, grazed at intervals, but most of +the time he stood, head erect like a sentinel or rather a leader. It +seemed to both the boys that his whole attitude was full of spirit and +majesty, the vast freedom of the wilderness. He carried, too, the +responsibility for the whole herd and he knew it.</p> + +<p>"A prairie King," whispered Paul. "Wouldn't I like to catch such a +splendid animal, Henry, and ride him into New Orleans!"</p> + +<p>"No you wouldn't, Paul," replied Henry, "That stallion wasn't made to be +ridden by anybody. Look. Paul, look!"</p> + +<p>Henry's last word rose to an excited whisper, and Paul's gaze quickly +followed his pointing finger. Even then he would not have seen anything +had he not looked long and carefully. At last he made out a long, tawny +shape on a low-lying bough of a tree at the very edge of the forest. The +shape was flattened against the bough and almost blended with it.</p> + +<p>"A panther!" whispered Paul.</p> + +<p>Henry nodded. It was, in fact, a large specimen of the panther or southern +cougar, and Henry whispered again:</p> + +<p>"See what he is after!"</p> + +<p>A small colt from the herd had wandered dangerously near to the forest and +the bough on which the cougar lay, watching him with the yellow, famished +eyes of the great, hungry cat.</p> + +<p>"Shoot him, Henry! Shoot him!" whispered Paul. "You can reach him with a +bullet from here. Don't let him kill the poor, little colt!"</p> + +<p>"I'd do it if it were needed," replied Henry, "but I don't think it will +be. See, Paul, the Prairie King suspects!"</p> + +<p>The great white stallion raised his head a little higher. It may be that +he caught a glimpse of the tawny form and yellow, hungry eyes amid the +foliage of the bough, or it may be that a sudden flaw in the wind brought +to his nostrils the pungent odor of the big cat. He reared and stamped, +the startled colt turned away, and the cougar, afraid that he was about to +lose his chance, sprang.</p> + +<p>A yellow compact mass, bristling with sharp, white teeth and long, hooked +claws shot through the air, but the distance was too great. The colt had +turned just in time, and the cougar fell short. He gathered himself +instantly for another spring, but quick as he was, he was not quick +enough.</p> + +<p>The boys heard a fierce neigh, and the great stallion, wild with rage, +launched himself upon the cougar. Agile and powerful though the great cat +was, the sharp hoofs trampled him down. Taken at a disadvantage, just at +the moment when his first spring had spent itself, he was no match for the +protector of the herd. No bone could resist the impact of those heavy +terrible hoofs. No skull was thick enough to save. The cougar squealed, +clawed, and bit wildly, but in an incredibly quick space he was trampled +to death and lay quite still. The boys believed that every bone in him +must have been broken.</p> + +<p>The herd had run some distance away in fright at the cougar's leap, but +while the swift combat lasted it stood looking on. Now the stallion, after +a last look at the slain robber, turned and walked away in triumph to the +herd that he had protected so well. It seemed to the glorified fancy of +the boys that he held his head higher than ever, and that his great mane +and tail flowed away in new ripples. He stalked proudly at the head of the +herd down to the other side of the prairie, where they went placidly on +with their grazing.</p> + +<p>"That is certainly one thing that turned out right," said Paul in a +gratified tone.</p> + +<p>"The hoofs of a powerful and enraged wild stallion are a terrible thing," +said Henry. "Even a deer, which is far smaller, can kill a man with its +hoofs. But if you'll look again, Paul, you'll see that a new danger +threatens our king of horses."</p> + +<p>Paul followed Henry's gaze, and he distinctly saw two or three human +figures at the edge of the wood. These figures were hidden from the horses +by a swell of the prairies, and, as in the case of the cougar, the wind +blew their odor away. "Indians?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"I can't tell at this distance," replied Henry, "but it's more likely that +they belong to the party of Alvarez, and perhaps they know that wild +horses frequent this prairie and others hereabouts. See what they are +doing!"</p> + +<p>Paul saw well enough, One man carrying on his arm a coll of rope, the +lariat of Mexico, lay down in the long grass which completely hid him, but +both Henry and Paul knew that he was creeping forward inch by inch toward +the beautiful stallion that was grazing not ten yards from the woods.</p> + +<p>"When he comes close enough, if he can do so before the horse takes the +alarm," said Henry, "he will throw the rope and catch the horse by the +neck in the running noose at the end."</p> + +<p>"But the horse will take alarm," said Paul hopefully.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," said Henry. "He may think in his horse mind that one enemy +in one day is as much as he has need to dread."</p> + +<p>It seemed that Henry was right. Exultant in his victory over the cougar, +the Prairie King had relaxed his vigilance. More often now his head was +down, cropping the grass like the rest of the herd. Henry and Paul +believed that they could see the grass rippling as the new and more +cunning enemy crept forward. But it was only agile fancy—they were too +far away.</p> + +<p>"What ever happens it's bound to happen soon," said Henry.</p> + +<p>Even as he spoke the man in the grass sprang to his feet, threw forth his +right arm, and the rope shot out like a snake uncoiling itself as it +sprang. Both Paul and Henry felt a pang when they saw the loop enclose the +neck of the noble horse, while the man himself and his comrades uttered +loud shouts of exultation.</p> + +<p>"He has caught him!" exclaimed Paul sadly.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Henry, "and I'm sorry, but it was a wonderful feat of skill +and patience!"</p> + +<p>The frightened herd ran away, and the white stallion reared and struggled, +his great eyes red and distended with rage and astonishment. Two men ran +forward and seized the rope which their comrade had thrown so skillfully. +Then the three pulled hard.</p> + +<p>But the quarry was too magnificent. They had miscalculated the white +stallion's strength. Caught by the neck, he dragged, nevertheless, all +three over the prairie, and then, suddenly making a mighty lunge, tore the +rope from their grasp, leaving them thrown headlong to the earth. Away he +went, the long rope flying out behind him like a streamer.</p> + +<p>Doubtless some failure of the noose to draw tightly around his neck had +saved the horse, and this was proved when the rope catching in a bush +slipped off over his head as he struggled again. Then the stallion, by +chance, or because his horse's mind inclined him to it, uttered a long, +shrill neigh of triumph, kicked his heels high in the air, and galloped +away, his flowing tail streaming out behind him, a banner of triumph.</p> + +<p>"He's won again," said Henry in a tone of gladness. "I told you that horse +wasn't made ever to be ridden."</p> + +<p>"But he has to struggle continually for life and freedom," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"Just the same as we do," rejoined Henry. "See those fellows are picking +themselves up; but they've been slow about it."</p> + +<p>"I don't blame them. I fancy they suffered some pretty severe bruises when +the horse jerked them down. Paul, I think I can make out two white faces +in that party, which almost certainly means that they are the men of +Alvarez. And it says to us that we ought to hurry."</p> + +<p>"But not without our deer, I hope," said Paul. They gave one last look at +the far edge of the prairie, where they could still dimly see the white +stallion, now keeping well away from the woods.</p> + +<p>"I don't think anything will get him," said Henry, "and I hope not. Just +as we do, he loves to be free."</p> + +<p>They, too, re-entered the woods and were fortunate enough to find a deer +quickly. Henry was willing to risk the chance of the shot being heard by +their enemies and his bullet brought it down. Then they cut up the body +and took it back to the boat, where they told all that had occurred. The +others agreed that if Alvarez and his men were in the vicinity they ought +to leave at once, and, transferring the drying clothes from the bank to +the boat, they entered the Mississippi once more and set sail down its +stream.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV" />CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h3>NEW ORLEANS</h3> + + +<p>They sailed and rowed steadily on for several days. Once or twice they saw +canoes or boats containing white men, who regarded them curiously, but +none approached. They inferred that they were now very near New Orleans, +and all the five were alert with anticipation. Besides the accomplishment +of their great task, they were about to visit a metropolis, a seat of +government, a city of eight or ten thousand people, commanding the road to +the heart of the North American continent, swarming with many races, and +destined, as all the world then believed, to be the largest place in +either America. It is no wonder that the bosoms of the five throbbed with +curiosity, and that they looked forward to strange and varied sights.</p> + +<p>"Now, Jim," said Shif'less Sol in a warning tone to Long Jim, "I've got +advice to give you. I wuz in a big town once. I told you about that time I +went to Baltimore when I wuz a little boy, an' so I'm fit to tell you how +to behave. New Or-lee-yuns ain't like the woods, Jim. Don't you be too +handy with your gun. Ef you see a man follerin' along behind you ez ef he +wuz trailin' you, don't you up an' take a shot at him. Like ez not he's +about his business, only it happens to be in the same direction that +you're goin'. An', Jim, don't you go to gittin' dizzy, through seein' so +many people about. Mebbe you don't think thar will be sech a crowd, but +you'll believe it when you see it."</p> + +<p>"Sol Hyde," rejoined Long Jim indignantly, "I'm sorry New Or-lee-yuns +ain't right at the sea, 'cause the sea is salt, so I've heard, an' then ef +I wuz to dip you in it three or four times it would do you a pow'ful lot +uv good. Salt is shorely mighty helpful in the curin' up uv fresh things."</p> + +<p>"There goes another of those canoes," said Paul, "but I can't tell whether +it's a white man or an Indian in it."</p> + +<p>"It's a white man," said Henry, "but I fancy it's a West Indian Frenchman +or Spaniard. I've heard that some of them are as dark as Indians."</p> + +<p>"Time to think 'bout tyin' up for the dark," said Tom Ross. "We might go +on all night, but we need to save our strength fur to-morrow. What do you +say to that little cove over thar on the west bank, Henry?"</p> + +<p>"Looks as if it would be the right place," replied Henry, "and it is +certainly time to stop. The sun seems to go down faster here than it does +In Kentucky."</p> + +<p>The twilight was spreading swiftly over the arch from west to east as they +entered the cove and tied "The Galleon" to a live oak. Paul leaped +joyfully ashore, glad to stretch his limbs again. The others quickly +followed, and they set about gathering wood to build a fire. They were out +of the Indian country now and they had no need to be cautious.</p> + +<p>Paul bestirred himself looking for brushwood. Presently he found at the +edge of the water a dead bough which was long enough to be broken into +several sticks of convenient length. He picked it up, and for the purpose +of breaking it brought it down heavily on a large brown log lying in the +mud near the water.</p> + +<p>To Paul's amazement and horror, the big brown log got into action at +either end. One end, in the shape of a tail, whipped around at him, barely +missing him, and the other end, splitting itself horizontally in half, +revealed huge jaws lined with terrible teeth. Paul sprang back with a cry, +and Henry, who was near, rifle in hand, fired a ball into the monster's +brain. The big brown log, that was no log, turned partially over and died.</p> + +<p>"An alligator," said Henry, "I've heard of them, but this is the first +that I've ever seen."</p> + +<p>"I've heard of them, too," said Paul, "but I never thought I'd walk almost +into the mouth of one without knowing it."</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol had his grievance, too. "Now that's another o' the ways o' +this here southern country!" he exclaimed in a pained tone, "A big, +hungry, wild animal, tryin' to pass itself off ez, an old dead log. Up in +Kentucky, a good honest bear, or even a sneakin' panther, would be +ashamed to look you in the face after tryin' to play sech a low-down +trick on a man."</p> + +<p>"It is certainly a hideous brute," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"I'm thinkin' that we'd better build our fire big," said Long Jim. "I +don't want to wake up in the mornin' an' find myself devoured by an +alligator, jest when I wuz about to reach the great town uv New +Or-lee-yuns."</p> + +<p>But they were not molested that night by either man or animal, and the +next day, watchful and surcharged with interest, they approached New +Orleans, which was bulking so large to them. The river looped out into a +crescent and narrowed greatly. As they came to the city, the Mississippi +did not seem to them to be more than a third of a mile wide, but they knew +that it was extremely deep.</p> + +<p>But there, snugly within the crescent, lay New Orleans, a town enclosed +within palisaded fortifications that faced the levee for about a thousand +yards, and that ran back perhaps half as far. The levee was lined with +vessels. Already New Orleans was famous for shipping, and they saw the +flags of many nations. Schooners there were and brigs and brigantines, and +barks and barkentines, and other craft from Europe and the West Indies and +South America. Near the shore was a great, high ship, from which the red +and yellow flag of Spain fluttered in more than one place, while the +muzzles of cannon protruded from her wooden sides.</p> + +<p>"That's an armed galleon," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"She's a big ship an' she's got lots o' men on her," said Shif'less Sol, +"but I wouldn't trade our gall-yun fur her."</p> + +<p>"No, our boat suits us best," said Henry.</p> + +<p>They saw about them on the river many small craft like their own, ships, +boats, canoes, barges, dug-outs, and other kinds, manned by white men, red +men, yellow men, and brown men. They heard strange cries in foreign +tongues, and now and then the sound of a trumpet blown at one of the forts +in the palisaded wall. Officers in brilliant uniforms appeared on the +levee.</p> + +<p>The eyes of Long Jim Hart opened wider and wider.</p> + +<p>"It shorely is a big town," he said. "Sol, I'd been thinkin' that you an' +Paul wuz tellin' a good deal that ain't, but I reckon it's the truth. The +world has a lot more people than I thought it had. I'm pow'ful glad I +came."</p> + +<p>They turned "The Galleon" toward the levee, and an officer in a boat +pulled by four uniformed oarsmen hailed them in Spanish, which none of +them understood.</p> + +<p>"Must be a harbor master or something of that kind," said Henry.</p> + +<p>They brought "The Galleon" to a stop, and the other boat came alongside. +The officer in the bow was a Catalan, richly dressed, and small, but with +a thin, alert face. He looked at the five with as much curiosity as they +looked at him. Secretly he admired their splendid shoulders and chests, +and their obvious strength. He was acute enough, too, to guess whence +they came. Lieutenant Diégo Bernal had not been two years in New Orleans +for nothing.</p> + +<p>"You come from Kaintock?" he said in fair and not unfriendly English.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Henry, "we are all the way from Kentucky, and we have an +important message for the Governor General, Bernardo Galvez. Can you tell +us how to reach him?"</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Diégo Bernal glanced at "The Galleon," which was obviously of +Spanish build, but he was a shrewd officer who would make his way in the +world and he knew that many strange things passed inspection in this great +Franco-Spanish metropolis of New Orleans.</p> + +<p>"His Excellency, the Governor General," he replied, "is now at his house +at the corner of Toulouse street and Rue de la Levee, but it is too late +for you to see him to-day. To-morrow morning you may secure audience with +him if you have the important message that you say."</p> + +<p>The five disregarded the ironical tone in his voice. They were good enough +judges of character to surmise that Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, whose name +and career were unknown to them, did not care a particle how they had come +into possession of the boat which was so obviously of Spanish build. There +was no advantage to him in asking too many questions, and he calmly waved +them to a landing.</p> + +<p>They pulled in and tied their boat to the levee, while men and women, +white, yellow, brown, and black, and all the colors between, stood about +and looked at the giants from Kaintock, where people were reported to be +of such extraordinary size and ferocity, and where they certainly were, as +their own eyes could tell them, of uncommon height and strength, even boys +such as they saw Henry and Paul to be.</p> + +<p>While the five were engaged in this task, <i>rabbais</i>, or peddling +merchants, some Provençals and some Catalans came to sell them goods, +which they carried in coffin-shaped vehicles pushed before them. They had +wares, mostly small articles from Spain and France and the West Indies. +Colored women carrying immense cans of milk or coffee on their heads +passed by or lingered in hope of a sale. Others were calling for sale +<i>callas</i> and cakes <i>tous chauds</i> in monotonous, drawling voices. +Negresses, also, were trying to sell <i>belles chandelles</i>, which were dirty +candles made from green myrtle wax, the chief light then sold in the city.</p> + +<p>The five understood the gestures of this rabble, although not their words, +and waved them away, not caring to buy anything.</p> + +<p>"Keep cool, Jim! keep cool!" said Shif'less Sol. "Don't shoot. They don't +want to kill you; they jest want to rob you."</p> + +<p>"Depends on what they want to rob me uv," replied Long Jim with a grin. "I +never had more'n ten shillin's at one time in my life, an' I've got a +purty strong grip on my rifle an' the clothes that I hev on."</p> + +<p>"I think we'd better go ashore an' do a little scoutin'," said Tom Ross. +"It's always well to know the groun' on which you're goin' to act."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it, Tom," said Henry, "and we'll all go together."</p> + +<p>They had a little money of English coinage which was taken readily in +cosmopolitan New Orleans, and with two shillings they hired a levee +watchman, whom they judged they could trust, to look after "The Galleon." +Then, rifle on shoulder, they entered the fortified city by the gate +called <i>Chemin des Tchoupitoulas</i>. Spain, officially at least, was the +friend of the colonies and the enemy of England, and the sentinels at the +gate readily passed them after a few questions.</p> + +<p>Here they asked again for the Governor General, Bernardo Galvez, and the +statement of Lieutenant Diégo Bernal that he could not be seen was +confirmed. He had arrived only a few hours before from a two days' +expedition down the river, and was now immersed in important papers that +had awaited his coming.</p> + +<p>They saw the Governor General's house, a one-story building fronting the +river with a gallery on one side, gardens on the other, and kitchen and +outbuildings behind. They looked longingly at it, as they desired very +much to see Bernardo Galvez at once. But presently they passed on into the +Place d'Armes, a wide open space used as a review ground. At the very +moment they entered it a company of Spanish soldiers were going through +their evolutions, and, after the fashion of to-day, children and their +dark-faced nurses were watching them. The five did not think much of the +soldiers, who seemed to them to be dwarfed and without zeal.</p> + +<p>"Ef ever Kentucky comes down the long river," said Shif'less Sol, "it will +take bigger men than these to hold her back."</p> + +<p>Paul's gaze wandered from the soldiers, and he saw in a corner of the +Place d'Armes a great wooden gallows that made him shudder. It was a +gallows very often used, too, and any one could have pointed out to Paul +the spot in the middle of the Place d'Armes where five gallant French +gentlemen, among the best citizens of New Orleans, had been shot not long +before for planning to throw off the rule of Spain and make Louisiana a +free republic.</p> + +<p>They strolled on, still filled with curiosity and gratifying it. They saw +many buildings that surpassed anything hitherto in their experience, the +brick parish church, on the site of which the Cathedral of St. Louis was +afterwards built, the arsenal, the jail, and the house of the Capuchins, +who had lately triumphed over the Jesuits. The largest building of all +that they saw was the convent of the Ursuline Nuns, standing in the city +square on the river front, and this was, in fact, the largest building in +New Orleans.</p> + +<p>While there were many houses of brick, the cheaper were of cypress wood, +and the sidewalks were only four or five feet wide, with a wooden drain +for a gutter. There was no paving of the streets, which, now deep in dust, +would turn to quagmires when the rain came. At long intervals were wooden +posts with projecting arms from which hung oil lamps, to be lighted when +nightfall came.</p> + +<p>Long Jim uttered an exclamation of disgust, and gripped his nose firmly +between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand.</p> + +<p>"I never smelt sech smells afore in all my life," he said, pointing to the +heaps of garbage scattered about. "A big town like this here is pow'ful +interestin', but it ain't clean. Paul, remember them great forests up thar +in Kentucky an' across the Ohio! Remember how clean an' nice the ground +is! Remember all them big, fine, friendly trees, millions an' millions uv +'em! Remember all them nice little springs uv clean, cold water, clear +enough to be lookin' glasses, one, an' sometimes more, every three or four +hundred yards! Remember all them nice smells uv the wild flowers, an' the +trees, an' the grass, an' me settin' at the foot uv the biggest tree uv +'em all, cookin' on a roarin' fire, fat, juicy buffaler an' deer steaks +fur you fellers!"</p> + +<p>"I remember," replied Paul smiling. "I remember it all, and I do believe, +Jim, that you are homesick for the woods."</p> + +<p>"Not homesick eggzackly, but I jest want to say that a big town like this +kin be mighty interestin', but after I've seed it, give me back our own +clean woods."</p> + +<p>"I believe I agree with you, Jim," said Paul thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>They strolled back into the Place d'Armes, where the review was still in +progress, and where more people were gathering. The women were +bare-headed, and generally wore a short round skirt, and long basque like +overgarments, the two invariably of different, but bright, colors. All of +them wore much ribbon and jewelry, but, as a rule, they were too dark of +countenance to suit the ideas of the five concerning feminine beauty. At +rare intervals, however, they saw a girl with light hair and light eyes +and light complexion, and all these were really handsome.</p> + +<p>"Those, I imagine, are French," said Paul. "We've got into the habit of +thinking of the French as always dark, but many of them are fair. I've +heard our school teacher, Mr. Pennypacker, say so often, and he ought to +know. For the matter of that, some of the Spaniards are light, too."</p> + +<p>"Yes, thar's Alvarez," said Shif'less Sol. "He's light, an' that's one +reason why I mistrusted him the first time I saw him. It looks more +nateral fur a Spaniard to be dark."</p> + +<p>As they stood in the Place d'Armes looking at the sights, the five +themselves began to attract much attention. Their height and strength, +their long, sender barreled rifles, and their deerskin attire made them +highly picturesque figures. The motley population of New Orleans was used +to all kinds of people, armed or unarmed, but generally armed. These, +however, were different. They bore themselves with dignity, there was +about them an air of absolute simplicity and honesty, and they kept close +together in a manner that indicated a faithful brotherhood, closer even +than the brotherhood of blood. They seemed to come from another world than +that which furnished so many desperate adventurers and former galley +slaves to New Orleans.</p> + +<p>Henry noticed the attention that they were attracting, and he did not like +it.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps, boys, we'd better go back to our boat," he said.</p> + +<p>But before any one could answer he was tapped lightly on the arm and, +turning about, he saw the small, trim figure of Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, +who had been the first man to greet them as they entered New Orleans.</p> + +<p>"We met on the water, as you know," said the little lieutenant, smiling in +a friendly manner. "My name is Bernal, Diégo Bernal, and I am a lieutenant +in the service of our most excellent Governor General, Bernardo Galvez."</p> + +<p>His manner was polite, and Henry met him half way. He had nothing to +conceal, and he gave him the names of his comrades and himself. Lieutenant +Bernal all the time was regarding them shrewdly.</p> + +<p>"It is evident that you are mighty men despite the youth of some of you," +he said, "and I begin to suspect it from other facts also."</p> + +<p>"What other facts?" asked Henry.</p> + +<p>"Now, there is the matter of your boat," replied the lieutenant jauntily. +"I had a belief, wrong no doubt, that she was of Spanish build. I also +seemed to have a recollection, wrong, too, no doubt, that I had once seen +Francisco Alvarez, the chief of our captains, aboard that boat and bearing +himself in a manner that indicated ownership. I am wrong, no doubt. My +impressions are often false and my memory always weak. Gladly would I +stand correction. Gladly would I be convinced that I am misled by some +fancied resemblance."</p> + +<p>"Them's pow'ful big words," said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>Henry, who was always the leader of the five when they were together, +looked into the eyes of Diégo Bernal, and he seemed to see there the +curious contraction that is called a wink. He gave judgment at once +concerning Diégo Bernal.</p> + +<p>"I take it," he said by way of reply, "that you are no great friend of the +captain, Francisco Alvarez?"</p> + +<p>"If a higher officer rebukes you unjustly and sneers at a commander whom +you respect and like, is it calculated to promote friendship?"</p> + +<p>The gaze of the two met again, and Henry understood.</p> + +<p>"I see what your choice would be if you were compelled to choose between +Bernardo Galvez and Francisco Alvarez," he said. "It may be that you will +have to make such a choice, and I will tell you, too, that the boat did +belong to the Captain Alvarez. We took it from him because, first, he made +an outrageous attack upon us; secondly, he is plotting to set all the +Indian tribes upon us in Kentucky, aided with Spanish soldiers and Spanish +guns, and, thirdly, he hopes to become Governor General of Louisiana, and +commit Spain to an alliance with England in the war upon the Americans."</p> + +<p>Henry spoke boldly and earnestly, and the others nodded assent.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, a trim, dandified little man, drew forth from the +pocket of his waistcoat a small gold snuff box and delicately took a pinch +of snuff, a habit to which the five were unaccustomed.</p> + +<p>"Speak it low, my friend," he said deliberately. "All this, if it be true, +is great news, and you do right in coming to New Orleans to see Bernardo +Galvez. Can you prove it when you see the Governor General?"</p> + +<p>"We can give proofs," replied Henry guardedly.</p> + +<p>"It is well, and I am pleased that I have met you. Know then that I am the +enemy of Francisco Alvarez, and that I may aid you. Who can tell? It is +well for strangers to have friends in New Orleans. I have an impression +that I have some influence. I am usually wrong and my memory is always +weak, but this particular impression persists, nevertheless."</p> + +<p>Long Jim opened his mouth in wonder.</p> + +<p>"'Pears strange to me," he said, "that a furrin man kin pick more big +words out uv our language, an' rope 'em together than we kin."</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Diégo Bernal smiled. He was pleased.</p> + +<p>"I learned English when I was a boy," he said, "and now it serves me well. +I would hear more of your news, gentlemen, but for the present I wish to +offer you refreshments. Come with me, if you please."</p> + +<p>He led the way into a low building of brick, an inn fashioned after the +manner of those in France.</p> + +<p>They entered the public room, which was large and square, with a fairly +clean, sanded floor, and many men about drinking liquors unknown to the +five.</p> + +<p>They took seats at a table in a rather retired corner, and gazed with +interest at the variegated crowd. Many of the men wore great, gold rings +in their ears, something entirely new to the five, and others were +tattooed in strange designs. They drank deep and swore much and loudly in +strange tongues. Also, they smoked cigarros, cigarritos, and pipes, and +there was scarcely one present who did not have either knife or pistol or +both at belt.</p> + +<p>"Undoubtedly there is more than one pirate from the Gulf or the Caribbean +among them," said Lieutenant Bernal, "but the pirates perhaps are not the +worst. Louisiana and New Orleans can supply many a desperate villain of +their own."</p> + +<p>"Sent by Europe!" said Paul.</p> + +<p>"Truly so. An old country always seeks to disgorge such people upon a new +one. But Monsieur Gilibert, the proprietor of this inn, on the whole, +maintains good order among his customers. As you can now see, Monsieur +Gilibert is a man of parts."</p> + +<p>The proprietor, wearing a cook's cap and white apron, emerged that moment +from his kitchen. He was not above supervising, and even doing his own +cooking, and, because of it, his inn had acquired a great reputation for +excellence of food, as well as drink.</p> + +<p>Many of the French in New Orleans were Provençals, but Monsieur Gilibert +was from the North of France, a huge, flaxen-haired man with a large +square chin, and a fearless countenance. His blue eye roved around the +room and lighted upon the five and their host, Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, at +the secluded table. He noted that every one of the five had a long rifle +leaning by his chair, and he shrewdly surmised that they were from the +wilderness of the far North.</p> + +<p>Monsieur François Eugene Gilibert did not love the Spanish, although he +did like Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, who was a Catalan and therefore, in the +opinion of Monsieur Gilibert, almost a Frenchman. Neither did he like the +passing of New Orleans from the French into the hands of the Spanish, +although trade was as good as ever at his Inn of Henri Quatre, despite the +narrow Spanish rule, which was not to his taste. It was perhaps one half +his love of freedom and one-half his objection to the rule of Spain that +made him look with friendly eyes upon any far wanderers from Kaintock.</p> + +<p>He strolled to the table and greeted Lieutenant Bernal, who returned his +greeting pleasantly and gave the names of the five.</p> + +<p>"They come from Kaintock," said the lieutenant, significantly, "and they +do not like Francisco Alvarez."</p> + +<p>"Ah," said Monsieur Gilibert, who also spoke English. "I do not love that +man Alvarez. He is the enemy of the French."</p> + +<p>"Not more than he is of Kaintock," said the Lieutenant. Then he turned to +the five and said:</p> + +<p>"I did not bring you here merely to hear words. I wish something to drink +for my friends, kind Monsieur Gilibert. The inn has rum of both New +England and Barbadoes, Spanish and French wines. Now what shall it be?"</p> + +<p>He turned to the five, and as they answered, one by one, the eyes of the +young Spanish lieutenant opened wider and wider in astonishment. They had +never tasted rum and were quite sure they would not care for it. Wine they +knew, almost as little about, using that they had found on "The Galleon" +chiefly as a medicine, and they ended, one and all, by choosing a mild +West Indian drink, a kind of orange water. Lieutenant Bernal reached over +and with his two hands felt gingerly of Henry's mighty right arm.</p> + +<p>"Do you mean to tell me," he said, "that such a muscle and such a body +have been built up and nourished by things as mild as orange water?"</p> + +<p>"Not orange water, but plain water," replied Henry laughing. "But in +Maryland where I was born, and in Kentucky, where I've been growing up, +the water is very good, clear, pure, and cold."</p> + +<p>"Will you kindly stand up a moment?" said the lieutenant.</p> + +<p>Henry promptly stood up and then Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, standing by the +side of him, was about a head the shorter. Then the young lieutenant made +a wry face.</p> + +<p>"And I have drunk wine all my life," he said plaintively, "and he has +drunk only water!"</p> + +<p>The two sat down again, and the others laughed. Their talk and actions had +attracted the attention of a number in the room, and a large man with +great gold bands in his ears, rose and sauntered over toward them. He was +a dark fellow, evidently a West Indian Spaniard with a dash of Carib.</p> + +<p>"I have drunk rum and wine and all other liquors all my life," he said, +"but I am neither little nor weak."</p> + +<p>His tone was truculent, and his flushed face indicated that he had already +taken too much.</p> + +<p>"Go away, Menocal," said Monsieur Gilibert, in a voice half soothing, half +warning. "I do not wish my guests to be annoyed."</p> + +<p>But Menocal would not turn away. He put his hand upon Henry's shoulder.</p> + +<p>"This is a great youth," he said. "They grow large in the new country to +the north that they call Kaintock, but I, Alonzo Menocal of Santo Domingo, +am the stronger. Stand up, thou youth of Kaintock, by the side of me!"</p> + +<p>Henry promptly stood up again, and the young giant towered above Alonzo +Menocal of Santo Domingo, tall though the West Indian was. Moreover he had +greater breadth of shoulder and a deeper chest.</p> + +<p>"Ha, thou Kaintock!" exclaimed Menocal, "thou art the taller and the +larger, but I am the stronger, as I shall quickly prove!"</p> + +<p>The size of Henry acted as an irritant upon Menocal, already flushed with +intoxicants, and he seized the youth by the waist in an attempt to hurl +him to the floor and thus prove his superior strength. Henry, with an +instant, powerful effort, threw oft the encircling arms, seized the West +Indian by both shoulders, and made use of a trick that Shif'less Sol had +taught him.</p> + +<p>He thrust the man backward with a mighty shove, put out his foot, and +Menocal went over it. But the West Indian did not touch the floor. Henry +caught him by the neck and waist, and, with a great heave, lifted him high +above his head. He held him there a moment, and then said gravely to +Monsieur François Eugene Gilibert:</p> + +<p>"Shall I cast him through yonder window, or put him back in the chair in +which he was sitting before he came to us uninvited?"</p> + +<p>Monsieur Gilibert looked longingly at the window—he was a man of strength +and dexterity himself—and he admired great strength and great dexterity +in others—but motives of prudence and humanity prevailed.</p> + +<p>"Put him back in his chair," he said.</p> + +<p>Henry walked all the way across the room and gently put the half-stunned +man in a sitting position in his chair. A roar of applause shook the room +at this remarkable performance, and Monsieur Gilibert was not the slackest +among those who cheered. Never before had the Inn of Henri Quatre +witnessed such an extraordinary feat of strength. Lieutenant Diégo Bernal +sprang to his feet and again seized Henry's right hand in both of his.</p> + +<p>"Señor," he exclaimed, "it is an honor to me to deem myself your friend!"</p> + +<p>Alonzo Menocal arose from his chair and came across the room. Paul's hand +moved to the butt of the pistol in his belt, but the intentions of the +West Indian were not hostile.</p> + +<p>"Thou hast conquered," he said to Henry in his queer thee- and +thou-English. "Thou art not only the taller and the larger, but also the +stronger and the more skillful. It is the first time that Alonzo Menocal +was ever picked up, carried across a room, and put down in his chair, as a +mother puts her baby to bed."</p> + +<p>He put out his hand in quite an American fashion, and Henry shook it, glad +that the man was good-natured. More applause greeted this act of +friendship by the two and, taking advantage of it, the five went out, +accompanied by Lieutenant Bernal, all in great good humor.</p> + +<p>Night was coming on, and they felt that it was time to return to "The +Galleon." A man was already lighting the smoking oil lamps that hung from +the wooden arms of the posts, and from one of the forts a sentinel was +calling the hour.</p> + +<p>New Orleans looked better under the softening hue of the twilight. Many of +the asperities that go as a matter of course with newness were hidden, but +the smells remained.</p> + +<p>"Wish I could sleep in the woods to-night, with nuthin' but trees runnin' +away at least ten miles in every direction," said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>"It will be all right in our boat on the river," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"I think I shall go with you as far as your boat," said Lieutenant Bernal.</p> + +<p>"You're welcome. Come on," said Henry, confident of his friendship.</p> + +<p>The five and the lieutenant walked swiftly toward the Mississippi.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV" />CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>BEFORE BERNARDO GALVEZ</h3> + + +<p>It took only a few minutes to reach the banks of the stream, and they saw +at once that an event was occurring. New Orleans could rejoice, if she +choose, in honor of an important arrival.</p> + +<p>A fleet of a dozen large boats swung from the middle of the stream and +made for the levee. In the boats were men in uniform.</p> + +<p>"I have an impression, though my impressions are often wrong and my memory +always weak, that yonder cavalier who sits haughtily in the boat as if he +were sole proprietor of the Mississippi, is your good friend, Don +Francisco Alvarez," said Lieutenant Bernal in his mincing way.</p> + +<p>They had all recognized Alvarez, and they expected quick trouble. As it +was bound to come they had no objection to its coming at once. The boat of +Alvarez made the landing and as he sprang out he was followed by Braxton +Wyatt, also in the uniform of a Spanish officer. The eyes of the Captain +instantly caught sight of "The Galleon," then of the five, and then of +Lieutenant Diégo Bernal standing near the Americans.</p> + +<p>"Men," he cried to some of his soldiers who had landed. "Seize this boat +at once! It is my property, taken from me by these American thieves!"</p> + +<p>The soldiers moved to obey, but the little Catalan, Lieutenant Diégo +Bernal stepped forward. Never was he more mincing, and it is likely that +he never felt more satisfaction than he did now at the role that he was +about to play.</p> + +<p>"Gently! Gently! my good captain," he said. "I am a port officer and boats +cannot be seized at will in His Most Catholic Majesty's city of New +Orleans."</p> + +<p>His manner stung Alvarez, who replied hotly:</p> + +<p>"I repeat, it is my boat! It was stolen from me by these thieves from +Kaintock!"</p> + +<p>"But that must be proved," and the lieutenant's voice was very soft and +silky. "The law is still administered in the City of New Orleans. And let +me assure you, my good captain, that the matter of the boat is a trifle. +What really concerns is your delay in coming to New Orleans with your +American captives, whom you held at your place of Beaulieu. His +Excellency, the Governor General, Don Bernardo Galvez, is very much afraid +that you have involved Spain in serious difficulties with a friendly +people."</p> + +<p>Alvarez looked fiercely at Bernal. How much did this man know? But the +little lieutenant merely stroked his mustache, and his face was +expressionless.</p> + +<p>"If explanations are due," said Alvarez, "I shall make them to Don +Bernardo."</p> + +<p>"Very good! very good!" murmured the lieutenant. "I am quite sure that +Don Bernardo will be greatly pleased."</p> + +<p>Alvarez turned angrily, gave some orders to his men, and then stalked away +followed by Wyatt and two others. The renegade had never spoken a word, +but he and the five had exchanged some threatening glances.</p> + +<p>Alvarez and Bernal had spoken in Spanish, but Henry and the others +surmised the import of their words. They knew, too, by the manner of +Alvarez that the little triumph had been with Bernal.</p> + +<p>"He wanted the boat, did he not?" said Henry.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied the lieutenant, "but you can sleep in it to-night. I warn +you, however, to see Bernardo Galvez in the morning as soon as you can. +After all, you are Americans and foreigners, while Alvarez is a Spaniard +and one of us. You will have much to overcome."</p> + +<p>They perceived the truth of his suggestion and thanked him. He gave them a +friendly good night and went away. The five went on board "The Galleon" +and prepared for sleep, having dismissed their watchman with ample pay.</p> + +<p>As the boat was securely tied there was no need to keep a watch and all +prepared for the night. But they did not go to sleep yet, although they +did not talk, every one being occupied with his own thoughts.</p> + +<p>Paul sat at the stern of the boat leaning against the side, and his eyes +were on New Orleans, where he saw the formless shapes of buildings and +twinkling lights here and there. The city, in a way, attracted him and, +in another way, it repelled him. It interested him, but he had no desire +to live there. It was a port, a gate, as it were, opening into the vast +old world, to which belonged the centuries, and of which he had read and +thought so much, but the single taste of it turned Paul's heart with a +stronger affection than ever toward the New World to which he belonged. +The great forests of the north seemed clean and fresh to him as they had +seemed to Jim. There, at least, a man could know who were his friends and +who were his enemies.</p> + +<p>He saw boats passing on the turbid, brown current of the Mississippi and +he heard snatches of strange, foreign songs. The night had fully come and +heavy darkness hung over land and water, but New Orleans did not sleep. +The smugglers, the adventurers, the former galley slaves, the riff-raff of +Europe, and the mixed bloods of the West Indies were abroad in pursuit of +either business or pleasure, each equally favored by the dusk.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol and Long Jim were already asleep, but Paul was restless and +slumber would not come. Henry, too, was wakeful, and Paul at last +suggested that they walk in the city. Henry accepted, and with a word to +Tom Ross they sprang ashore.</p> + +<p>New Orleans was even more interesting to them by night than by day, as it +had now a peculiarly uncanny look added to its other qualities. The night +was close, heavy, and warm, and the brown current of the river showed but +dismally through it. Lights were still moving on the Mississippi, but the +boats that bore them were invisible. From the side of the river pleasant +odors came to their nostrils, the clean, sweet scents of vast, undefiled +woods and prairies, the flavor of a wind blowing over wild flowers, but +from the side of the city the smells were as variegated and repellent as +ever.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless the two youths turned into the city, lit faintly by the +flaring oil lanterns, and walked along through one street and another +seeing what they could see. The night life was active and much of it was +sodden. Oaths played a great part in the talk they heard and intoxication +was a prevalent note. Sounds of strife, either without or within, arose +now and then, but Henry and Paul, wishing to keep clear of all trouble, +never stayed to see the result. They more than suspected that knives shone +too often in these orgies.</p> + +<p>They stopped a few moments by the old church in front of the Place +d'Armes. The church was flanked on one side by a low brick building, very +white with roof of red and yellow tiles, while to the left of the church +stood a villa-like house half hidden among the trees. They admired the +effect of the moonlight on the tiles, and then, passing through the wooden +fence that enclosed it, they entered the deserted Place d'Armes.</p> + +<p>"I can breathe better here," said Henry. "I know that I shall never be +fond of towns."</p> + +<p>But the imaginative Paul shuddered.</p> + +<p>"Look," he said, "the gallows!"</p> + +<p>He pointed to the huge gallows that stood in the Place d'Armes, ready for +frequent use. The moonlight had now grown dim. In its wavering beams the +gallows rose to immense proportions and seemed also to take on the +semblance of life. It reached out its long wooden arm as if to grasp Paul +and with another shudder he turned his back to it.</p> + +<p>The two continued down one side of the Place d'Armes in the shade of +magnolias and cypresses that drooped over the wooden fence. As they passed +they heard the sound of a shot.</p> + +<p>"Somebody in the city fighting with a rifle or pistol instead of a knife," +said Paul.</p> + +<p>But Henry stood motionless and silent for a moment or two. He had +distinctly felt the rush of air on his face as a bullet passed by. He was +seeking to see whence the shot had come and he thought he caught a glimpse +of a figure among the cypresses.</p> + +<p>"No, Paul," he exclaimed, "that shot was aimed at me!"</p> + +<p>He sprang over the wooden fence and was followed by Paul. They searched +diligently among the trees but found nothing. Then they looked at each +other, and each read the same opinion in the other's eyes.</p> + +<p>"It was either Braxton Wyatt or somebody else in the service of Alvarez," +said Henry.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Paul, nodding assent, "and I think that 'The Galleon' is a +much safer place for us at night than the City of New Orleans."</p> + +<p>"That is true," said Henry, "and it is not worth while for us to make a +complaint about being shot at. We cannot prove anything, and New Orleans +is too turbulent a place to pay attention to a stray rifle or pistol shot +at night."</p> + +<p>They were back at the boat in a few minutes. Shif'less Sol and Long Jim +still slept soundly, but Tom Ross was awake. They told him briefly what +had occurred, and Tom shook his head sagely.</p> + +<p>"Better stay on the boat ez long ez we kin keep it," he said. "Ez fur me, +I'd rather be shot at by Injuns in the woods uv Kentucky than be hevin' +white men drawin' beads on me here in a town. It looks more nateral. Uv +course it wuz Braxton Wyatt or some other tool uv that wicked Spaniard, +Alvarez."</p> + +<p>Early the next morning the five, after hiring the same watchman to care +again for their boat, went to the house of the Governor General, the +large, low building at the corner of Toulouse Street and Rue de la Levee. +Early as they were they were not the first to arrive.</p> + +<p>A tall man, neatly dressed in a fine brown suit with fine, snow-white, +puffed linen, silver-buckled shoes, and hair, tied in a powdered queue, +stood on the veranda. He had a frank, open face, and the rive knew at once +that he was an American. Had not his appearance proclaimed his +nationality, his speech would have done it for him.</p> + +<p>"Good morning," he exclaimed, cheerily, "you are the gentlemen from +Kentucky who arrived yesterday? Yes, you must be! All New Orleans has +heard of the feat of strength and dexterity, performed by one of you last +night in Monsieur Gilibert's Inn of Henri Quatre! And he who did it could +be none other than you, my friend!"</p> + +<p>He looked fixedly and admiringly at Henry, and the youth blushed under his +tan.</p> + +<p>"It was merely done to stop an annoyance," he said. "I did not mean to +make any display."</p> + +<p>The prepossessing stranger laughed.</p> + +<p>"Doubtless," he said, "but you have received a great advertisement, +nevertheless. Some rumor concerning the cause of your visit has also +spread in New Orleans, and for this reason I am here to meet you at the +door of the Governor General."</p> + +<p>The five looked at him inquiringly. He smiled, and they liked him better +than ever.</p> + +<p>"I don't mean to make a mystery of anything," he said. "My name is +Pollock, Oliver Pollock."</p> + +<p>"Ah," exclaimed Paul, his face alight, "you are the head of the company of +Philadelphia, New York and Boston merchants that is sending arms from New +Orleans up the Mississippi and Ohio to Pittsburg, where they are landed +and taken across the country for the use of our hard-pressed brethren in +the east!"</p> + +<p>The shrewd merchant's eyes twinkled.</p> + +<p>"I see, my young friend," he said to Paul, "that you are alert, even if +you have just come out of the wilderness. Yes, I am that man, and I am +proud to be the head of such a company. I tell you, too, that you have +come at the right time. The English, as you know, are forbidden for the +present to trade at New Orleans, while we are unrestricted. But England +is powerful, far more powerful than Spain, and she is pushing hard for +the privilege. If she gets it we shall he hit in a vital spot. Moreover, +an exceedingly strong faction here, one with great influence, is striving +continually to help England and to crush us."</p> + +<p>"Alvarez!" exclaimed Henry and Paul together.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Alvarez! We must not underrate his strength and cunning, but if he +is engaged in plotting, in actual treason, or what is very near it, your +coming may help us to prove it and thus strengthen the hand of Bernardo +Galvez, who is our friend."</p> + +<p>"There is no doubt of the fact!" said Henry earnestly. "He is planning to +make himself Governor General in place of Galvez!"</p> + +<p>"Ah, but to prove it! to prove it! You are strangers and foreigners, and +Alvarez is before you here. No, don't blame yourselves, you could not help +it. But he is the commander of the Spanish forces in Northern Louisiana. +He came, summoned urgently on the King's business, and he gained access to +Bernardo Galvez last night. Oh, he's a shrewd man, and a cunning one, and +we know not what plausible tale he may have poured out to the Governor +General. But come, the sentinel here wishes to know our business and I +shall go in with you, if I may."</p> + +<p>"Of course," said Henry. "We thank you for your aid."</p> + +<p>They saw in a moment how valuable this help could be as Mr. Pollock spoke +rapidly in Spanish to one of the sentinels, who seemed impressed, and who +quickly disappeared within the house. They spent some anxious minutes in +waiting, but the sentinel returned in a few minutes with word that they +would be received.</p> + +<p>"That is good," said Mr. Pollock to the five. "It is well to strike before +the blow of Alvarez sinks in too deeply."</p> + +<p>They entered an ante-chamber furnished with a splendor that the +Kentuckians had never seen before. There were pictures and the arms of +Spain upon the walls, and rich heavy rugs upon the floor. The sentinel +said something in Spanish to Mr. Pollock and the merchant laughed.</p> + +<p>"He makes the polite request," said Mr. Pollock, "that you leave your +rifles here. Ah, you see that the fame of the Kentucky rifle has already +reached New Orleans. They will be perfectly safe, I assure you."</p> + +<p>The five leaned their rifles in a row against the wall, long, +slender-barreled weapons, which were destined to make one day an +unparalleled record before this very city of New Orleans.</p> + +<p>A wide door was thrown open and an attendant dressed in gorgeous Spanish +livery announced their names as they entered a large room furnished with +as great a degree of state as could be reproduced at that time in New +Orleans. An armed soldier stood on either side of the door, and, at the +far end of the room, sitting in a great chair on a slightly raised +platform, was a handsome, youngish man in the uniform of a Spanish +colonel. He had a strong, open countenance, and the five knew that it was +Bernardo Galvez, the Governor General of Louisiana. The favorable +impression of him that they had received from reports was confirmed by his +appearance.</p> + +<p>Bernardo Galvez rose with punctilious courtesy and saluted Oliver Pollock, +who introduced in turn the five, to every one of whom the Governor General +gave a bow and a friendly word. Like all others in New Orleans who had +seen them, he bestowed an admiring look upon their size, their +straightness, and above all, the extraordinary air of independence and +resolution that characterized every one of them, indicated, not by the +words they said or the things they did, but by an atmosphere they created, +something that cannot be described. They had never been in such a room +before, one containing so much of the splendor of old Europe, but they +were not awed in the least by it, and Bernardo Galvez knew it.</p> + +<p>Oliver Pollock, the shrewd merchant and patriot, man of affairs, and judge +of his kind, observed them closely and, observing, he felt a great thrill +of satisfaction. The five, boys though two of them were, had felt the vast +importance of their mission and, now that they had come, he too, felt it. +It was a most critical and delicate moment for the struggling young +nation. He knew much of Francisco Alvarez, and he surmised more.</p> + +<p>"I have heard of you," said the Governor General to the five, and his +tones became judicial and severe, as became the ruler of a million square +miles of fertile territory belonging to His Most Catholic Majesty, the +King of Spain. "You are the subject of formal complaint made by the +captain of our forces in the North, Don Francisco Alvarez."</p> + +<p>It was now Paul, the scholar, youth of imagination, and future statesman, +who responded and it seemed fitting to all that he should do so.</p> + +<p>"Will Your Excellency state the complaint against us?" he asked in a grave +and manly way.</p> + +<p>"I will leave it to Don Francisco to state it," replied Bernardo Galvez. +"I expected that you would be here this morning, so I have chosen to +confront you with him. Each side shall tell its story."</p> + +<p>This seemed fair, and the five, who had been waved to seats by a great +window with Mr. Pollock, made no protest. There they sat in silence for a +few minutes, while the Governor General dictated to a secretary who sat at +a little table by his side and who wrote with a goose-quill.</p> + +<p>The wide door was at length thrown open again, and the usher announced Don +Francisco and his aide, Señor Braxton Wyatt. The five were amazed and +indignant at the assurance of the renegade, but they said nothing.</p> + +<p>Alvarez walked into the room, cool, dignified, and austere, but his manner +was not calculated to ruffle his superior officer. It seemed rather to +indicate a confidence that the Governor General would punish as was +fitting the impertinence of the intruders from Kaintock. He bestowed only +a single glance upon them, as if his victory over such insignificant +opponents were already assured. The blood slowly rose to the faces of +Paul and Henry, but they were about to witness an extraordinary exhibition +of Spanish pliancy and dexterity.</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt was as thoroughly the Spaniard as clothes could make him, +which was not thorough at all, and he imitated his leader even to the +supercilious glance at the Kentuckians and the following look of assured +victory. The five took no notice of him.</p> + +<p>Alvarez gave to the Governor General a military salute, which Galvez +returned in like fashion. Then the captain sat down in a chair near the +Governor General, and the latter said, maintaining his judicial tone:</p> + +<p>"Those against whom you made the complaint last night are here, Don +Francisco. Will you state again the charges? It is but fair that they +should hear and make reply, if they can."</p> + +<p>He spoke in English that the five might understand, and Alvarez replied in +the same language.</p> + +<p>"Your Excellency," he said, and his tone seemed frank, open, and +convincing—the five were amazed that he could have such a truthful look +and manner of injured innocence—"you know that I have been a most +faithful guardian of the interests of our master, the King. I have done +long and hard service in the far north, in a wilderness infested by +hostile savages."</p> + +<p>"No one doubts your courage and endurance, Don Francisco," said Bernardo +Galvez.</p> + +<p>"My devotion to Spain is the great passion of my life," continued Alvarez +in a gratified tone.</p> + +<p>"You know how jealously I have sought to guard against incursions from +Kaintock. The settlements of the Americans there are but two or three year +old, yet these people press already upon the Mississippi and threaten His +Majesty's territory of Louisiana."</p> + +<p>"I think that we wander a little from the subject," said Galvez, "It would +be better to state the core of your complaint."</p> + +<p>Alvarez made a deprecating gesture.</p> + +<p>"I deemed the preamble necessary to a full understanding of what has +followed," he said. "When I tell of Kaintock I tell what these men are. +Suffice it now to say that, of their own accord and by their own hands, +they have made war upon Spain. They have stolen away a boat of mine, +loaded with arms and stores, they have fired upon His Majesty's subjects, +and one of them has slain a Natchez trailer, a faithful, valuable man in +my service."</p> + +<p>When Alvarez spoke of The Cat, he pointed at Shif'less Sol—he was acting +on a hint of Wyatt's. The look of Alvarez followed the accusing finger, +but the shiftless one rose undaunted.</p> + +<p>"That part of what he tells is true," said Shif'less Sol. "I slew that +Injun—an' a meaner face I never saw in fa'r fight. He slipped upon me in +the dark to murder me, an' thar wuzn't nothin' else left fur me to do."</p> + +<p>Freed of his speech and his wrath, the shiftless one sat down again. +Alvarez and the renegade gave him looks of sneering incredulity, but the +look of Bernardo Galvez was one of interest and surprise.</p> + +<p>"What of the other charges?" he asked, turning to Paul, the spokesman.</p> + +<p>The gift of imagination often implies the orator's tongue and Paul had an +inspired moment. He stood up, his cheeks flushing and his eyes alight, as +they always were when he was deeply moved.</p> + +<p>"It is true," he said, "that we took a boat belonging to Captain Alvarez, +but it was because he forced us to do it. It is he who first made war upon +Kentucky, not we upon Spain. I went into his camp upon a peaceful mission. +He seized and held me a prisoner. I was rescued by my comrades, although +they inflicted no harm upon any of the men of Captain Alvarez. He has +sought in every way to destroy us, and because he was the beginner of +violence and because he is planning a great treason and war upon Kentucky, +we took his boat and have come to New Orleans for the sole purpose of +appearing before you."</p> + +<p>Alvarez burst into a sneering laugh and Braxton Wyatt, as a matter of +course, imitated him, but Bernardo Galvez asked in a grave tone:</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by a great treason? No, Don Francisco, wait! Let him +speak! It is their right."</p> + +<p>"I mean," said Paul boldly, "that he expects to become Governor General of +Louisiana in your place. It is not the policy of Spain to attack us. Yet +Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, the head chiefs of the powerful Shawnee and +Miami nations were in his camp, and he has agreed to help them with +Spanish soldiers and Spanish cannon in a raid upon Kentucky."</p> + +<p>"This is an extraordinary statement," said Bernardo Galvez. "Your proof?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, your proof!" sneered Alvarez, and Braxton Wyatt sneered, too.</p> + +<p>"This man," said Paul, pointing to the renegade, "is from Kentucky. We +were boys together but he deserted the white people, his own people, to go +with the red. He has continually urged the Indian attack upon us and he +has brought to Captain Alvarez complete maps of every settlement in +Kentucky, Wareville, Marlowe, Lexington, Harrodsburg, and all the others. +Why is he here! Why has he come to New Orleans, if not to bind the red +chiefs and Captain Alvarez together in such an enterprise?"</p> + +<p>Alvarez again burst into a laugh, ironical and taunting. Paul flushed +deeply.</p> + +<p>"I know," he exclaimed, "that we cannot bring you absolute proofs, but it +is true, nevertheless. The Indian chiefs, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle, +have his agreement made without any authority from you, and there are the +maps."</p> + +<p>"A map does not necessarily mean war," said Alvarez, "even if they should +exist, and they do not exist. I took these people, arms in hand, upon His +Majesty's soil, and it was my intention to bring them to New Orleans for +examination and punishment by you."</p> + +<p>"Doubtless it is so," said Bernardo Galvez, "but you were in no hurry to +perform the mission. I was forced to send a message to you at Beaulieu to +come to New Orleans with your prisoners, but it seems they have escaped +and come of their own accord."</p> + +<p>"And I may state, your Excellency," said Henry Ware rising, "that while my +comrade, Paul Cotter, was a prisoner at Beaulieu, he was forced into a +ring and a professional swordsman was set upon him. That, Captain Alvarez +cannot deny. It was witnessed by too many people."</p> + +<p>Bernardo Galvez gave Alvarez a surprised and stern look. The captain +winced, but it was only for a moment.</p> + +<p>"Is this true, Don Francisco?" asked the Governor General gravely. "Did +you do this thing?"</p> + +<p>Alvarez made a gesture as if It were true, but yet a trifle.</p> + +<p>"I confess, Your Excellency," he said. "I had forgotten the circumstance, +but, since I am reminded of it, I will not deny. The thing seems much +worse in the telling than it was in the happening. The young man had shown +great skill with the sword—he had disarmed me in a little encounter; I +admit that, too—and we wished to test his agility and courage against a +master, who was instructed not to hurt him seriously under any +circumstances."</p> + +<p>He spoke rapidly and lightly, almost convincingly. But Henry Ware +interrupted.</p> + +<p>"His object," he said, "was to have Paul Cotter killed."</p> + +<p>Bernardo Galvez looked from one to the other and back again. It was the +word of a stranger and a foreigner against that of a Spanish captain in +his service, a man of noble lineage, and with powerful friends at the +Court of Madrid. But the seeds of doubt had been sown nevertheless. The +youth, Paul, and his comrade Henry, also, had spoken with singular +earnestness. Moreover, Francisco Alvarez was an ambitious man, and +Bernardo Galvez also believed him to be unscrupulous. If he aimed at the +place of Governor General and the commitment of Spain to an alliance with +England, it was a daring thing to do.</p> + +<p>Bernardo Galvez was sorely troubled and he looked from Alvarez to the five +and then back again. Alvarez sat smiling. His look was that of one who was +right, who knew that he was right, and who knew that others knew it. +Oliver Pollock sitting by the big window, close to the five, was also +watching shrewdly in order that he might draw from all this coil some +capital for the patriot cause.</p> + +<p>"In any event," said Bernardo Galvez at last, speaking slowly, as if he +carefully considered each word, "you were wrong, Don Francisco, to expose +this youth to such an encounter. If, as you say, it was merely a little +sport, then the sport was ill-chosen and ill-timed. Whether that or +another was your purpose, it reflects upon your judgment and sense of +humanity."</p> + +<p>He paused, and Alvarez flushed darkly, but he was still master of his +supple self.</p> + +<p>"Your words are none too severe, Your Excellency," he said. "I did indeed +do a foolish thing. It was a thoughtless impulse."</p> + +<p>"But," resumed Galvez, as if Alvarez had not spoken, "you are an officer +high in the service of His Majesty, and these who accuse you are strangers +belonging to another race. They do not bring the proof of their charges, +and the fact that they have violently seized and put to their own use the +property of Spain cannot be denied, as the boat is now anchored at the +levee."</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt lifted their chins in triumph and the +five were downcast. But the face of Oliver Pollock, the shrewd merchant +and far-seeing judge of affairs and men, showed nothing.</p> + +<p>"Therefore," continued the Governor General, "the boat must be returned at +once to Don Francisco, and for the present those who seized it must be the +prisoners of Spain."</p> + +<p>Paul was about to spring up in protest, but Henry's hand on his arm held +him down. Oliver Pollock, too, gave him a warning glance. Yet the +triumphant looks of the Spanish captain and the renegade were hard to +bear.</p> + +<p>"On the other hand," continued the Governor General, still weighing his +words, "the actions of Don Francisco have not been beyond rebuke. He seems +to have regarded those from Kaintock as the prisoners of himself and not +of Spain. He made no report of these matters to me, his superior officer, +and he has lingered at his place of Beaulieu as if he were subject to no +orders save those of his own will."</p> + +<p>Alvarez again flushed and raised his hand in protest, but Bernardo Galvez +went on, disregarding him:</p> + +<p>"Because these offenses give some color to the charges against him, it is +my order that he be relieved for the present of his command, and that he +do not depart, under any circumstance, from the City of New Orleans until +he receive further instructions."</p> + +<p>Alvarez, sprang up in anger, but a commanding gesture from the Governor +General waved him down in silence.</p> + +<p>"I do not wish to hear any protests, Don Francisco," he said, "but I do +intend to look further into these matters."</p> + +<p>"If we have not won, neither has the Spaniard," whispered Henry in Paul's +ear.</p> + +<p>Oliver Pollock glanced out of the big window and the turning of his head +hid the twinkle in his eye. Yes, these were very delicate matters, and two +great nations and another that hoped to be great, too, were involved, but +one might make progress nevertheless.</p> + +<p>Bernardo Galvez spoke to his secretary, who left the room, but returned in +a few minutes with no less a personage than Lieutenant Diégo Bernal, +mincing, scrupulously dressed, but very alert of eye.</p> + +<p>"You will take six soldiers," said the Governor General to him, "and +escort these five to the fortress. Treat them well, but hold them until +further orders."</p> + +<p>Oliver Pollock gave a nod to Henry. It said plainly, "go without protest." +Henry and his comrades rose and followed Lieutenant Bernal from the +Governor General's house. Thence they went to one of the forts in the wall +that surrounded the town.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI" />CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3>IN PRISON</h3> + + +<p>Their fortress prison was built of brick, but it was not a particularly +somber place. They were all put in one large room which had two windows +barred with iron; but plenty of air came in at the windows, and the place, +though bare, was clean.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Lieutenant Bernal, when they were inside, "tell me all that +occurred before Bernardo Galvez."</p> + +<p>Paul was again the spokesman telling everything that was said as literally +as he could.</p> + +<p>"I have an impression," said Lieutenant Bernal, "although my impressions +are usually wrong and my memory is always weak, that you have scored, at +least partially. You have sowed the fertile crop of suspicion in the mind +of Bernardo Galvez. He has shown that by making Francisco Alvarez +virtually a prisoner, also, and you have a powerful advocate in the Señor +Pollock, the great merchant, and I may add the great diplomat, also."</p> + +<p>"How long do you think we will be kept in here?" asked Shif'less Sol, +looking around at the room, which, though wide, was by no means so wide as +the forests of Kentucky.</p> + +<p>"I do not know," replied the lieutenant, smiling—he understood the look +of the shiftless one, "but you shall not be ill-treated, and do not feel +that any disgrace lies upon you. This is a military prison. Good men have +been confined here; I myself, for instance, because of some little breach +of military discipline magnified by my officers into a fault. Oh, you +shall not suffer!"</p> + +<p>He bustled about cheerily. He had food and drink brought to them, and then +he departed, volunteering to see that their private property on "The +Galleon" was saved and brought to them.</p> + +<p>No one spoke for a little while after his going, and then the silence was +broken by a long, dismal sigh. It was drawn up from the depths of Long +Jim's chest.</p> + +<p>"Are you sick, Jim?" asked Henry.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Henry," replied Jim in a melancholy tone, "I'm sick; sick uv all +this jawin', sick uv seein' things pulled here, an' then pulled yonder, +sick uv hearin' people lyin', knowin' that they're lyin', and knowin' that +other people know that they're lyin'."</p> + +<p>"Why, Jim," said Paul, who had a twinkle in his eye, "that's diplomacy, +and the man who practises it is called a diplomatist or diplomat. It's +considered a great accomplishment."</p> + +<p>"It ain't so considered by me, an' I'm bein' heard from," said Long Jim +with great emphasis. "Them dy-plo-may-tists or dy-plo-maws may reckon +theirselves pow'ful big boys, but I've got another an' better name fur +'em, and it's spelled with jest four letters, uv which the furst is l an' +the last is r, an' them that comes in between are i an' a, with the i +first. Why, Paul, it makes me plum' sick, all these goin's on. In a big +town like this, full uv Spaniards an' Frenchmen an' Injuns an' niggers an' +mixed breeds, an' the Lord knows what, you can never tell nuth'in' 'bout +nobody, 'cept that he says what he don't believe, an' that he ain't what +he is.</p> + +<p>"I guess I'm in love more with the big woods than ever. Thar things is +what they is. A buffaler don't pretend to be a b'ar. He'd be ashamed to be +caught tryin' to play sech a trick, an' a b'ar has the same respect fur +hisself; he'd never dream uv sayin' in his b'ar language, 'Look at me, +admire me, see what a fine big buffaler I am!' An' I've a lot uv respeck +fur the Injun, too. He's an Injun an' he don't say he ain't. He don't come +sneakin' along claimin' that he's an old friend uv the family, he jest up +an' lets drive his tomahawk at your head, ef he gits the chance, an' makes +no bones 'bout it. I'd a heap ruther be killed by a good honest Injun who +wuz pantin' fur my blood an' didn't pretend that he wuzn't pantin', than +be done to death down here, in some cur'us, unbeknown, hole-in-the-dark +way, by a furrin' man who couldn't speak a real word of the decent English +language, but who wuz tryin' to let on all the time that he hated to do +it."</p> + +<p>Long Jim stopped, breathing hard with his long speech and anger. Shif'less +Sol rose, walked across the room, and solemnly held out his hand to his +comrade.</p> + +<p>"Jim," he said, "you don't often talk sense, but you're talkin' a heap o' +it now. Shake."</p> + +<p>Long Jim shook and added with a grin:</p> + +<p>"When me an' you agree, Sol, 'bout anythin', it's shorely right."</p> + +<p>Then they fell silent for a while, each thinking in his own way of what +had occurred. Henry Ware walked to one of the windows and looked out for a +long while. He relished little the idea of being a prisoner for the second +time, even if the second imprisonment were a sort of courtesy affair. He +saw from the windows the roofs of houses amid green foliage and he knew +that only a few hundred yards beyond lay the great forest, which, now in +the freshest and tenderest tints of spring, rolled away unbroken, save for +the few scratches that the French or Spanish had made, for thousands of +miles, and for all he knew to the Arctic Circle itself.</p> + +<p>The words of Long Jim stirred the youth deeply. He did not like intrigue +and double-dealing and the ways of foreign men. Like Long Jim he longed +for the great honest forest, and he, too, had his respect for the Indian +who would tomahawk him without claiming to be a friend. He was glad, very +glad, that he had come upon so great an errand, but he would like to +cleave through the whole web of intrigue with one sturdy blow and then be +off into the forest which was calling to him with such a dearly loved +voice.</p> + +<p>Paul saw Henry's face and he understood its expression. He knew that it +was harder for his comrade than for himself to endure the confinement +within four walls, but he said nothing. Words would be wasted.</p> + +<p>Later in the day their door was opened, and Mr. Pollock came in bringing +with him a cheery breeze.</p> + +<p>"I've come to tell you what news there may be," he said, "and also to ask +questions. Now, sit down and make yourselves comfortable. That's right. +The cunning and ambitious Don Francisco Alvarez is in a rage. He is also +somewhat frightened. He knows that Bernardo Galvez will be busy the next +few days trying to secure the proof of the charges that you make against +him. In my opinion, Galvez believes that they are true, but, as you will +agree, he cannot act without proof."</p> + +<p>"But that is exactly what we lack at this time," said Henry, "and how can +we get it while we are locked up here?"</p> + +<p>"Just so! Just so! That is a point to which I am coming. Now, about this +renegade, this Braxton Wyatt. You say he is the man who drew the maps and +who has been the intermediary in this whole nefarious scheme. Maps could +be drawn, of course, for a purpose not wicked, but if they could be +produced, and above all if Alvarez had made any notes upon them in his own +handwriting, they would go far to help. If not proof, they would at least +be a strong indication. Now, where do you think these maps are kept?"</p> + +<p>"On the person of Braxton Wyatt," replied Henry promptly.</p> + +<p>The merchant smiled with pleasure.</p> + +<p>"Of course! Of course!" he said. "They belong to Wyatt and naturally he +would keep them. Naturally, also, Alvarez would want him to keep them. He +would take care that such things were not found on his own person. We must +get possession of those maps. But we must go further. This renegade has +lived among both the Shawnees and Miamis and is high in their confidence, +is it not so?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, both the great head-chiefs, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle, trust +him."</p> + +<p>"And to carry out this nefarious alliance some promise must have passed +between Alvarez and the two head chiefs. That promise had to take a +concrete form to be binding."</p> + +<p>"War belts," suggested Henry.</p> + +<p>"But a white man does not send war belts. He has another kind of token, +and he makes that token with paper, ink, and a goose quill. Yes, Alvarez +is cunning, I know, but the most cunning of all men when he enters a great +conspiracy must leave a loose end hanging about somewhere. Or, to change +my simile, there is no armor of deception so complete that there is not a +crack in it. We must find that loose end, we must find that crack, and +when we do, we can see victory just ahead of us."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean," said Henry, "that Alvarez has probably sent a letter to the +Northern chiefs, promising that as Governor General of Louisiana he will +help them with soldiers and cannon against us in Kentucky?"</p> + +<p>"I think it likely, quite likely," returned Oliver Pollock, nodding his +head to give emphasis to his words. "He had to give them something that +would bind. A conspirator must take a risk and in this case it seemed +small. The villages of those chiefs are beyond the Ohio, fifteen hundred +miles at least from here. The chance that such a letter would reappear in +New Orleans was most remote, and Alvarez, might have expected to provide +against that, too, by being Governor General within a few months. I feel +confident that there is such a letter and we must find it."</p> + +<p>"It's a pretty problem," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"I admit it," said Oliver Pollock, "but a new continent teaches one to +achieve the impossible. That is what are we to do; how, I do not yet know, +but we must do it."</p> + +<p>"It's important," said Henry, "that it be done soon."</p> + +<p>"It certainly is," said Mr. Pollock with great emphasis, "because I wish +to start North soon with a great fleet of canoes and other boats loaded +with rifles, powder, lead, blankets, medicines, and other absolutely +necessary things for our suffering brethren in the east. They are hard +pressed there, and it takes a long time to pull up the Mississippi and the +Ohio and then carry these things across four or five hundred miles of +country to our army."</p> + +<p>"It's shorely a wonderful thing," said Shif'less Sol, "that you kin take +boats up a big river hundreds an' hundreds o' miles into the heart o' a +continent, then bend off into another river runnin' into it that takes +you nearly over to the Atlantic. An' mebbe ef you took one o' the rivers +that runs in it on the other side you might follow it up 'till you got +purty near to the western ocean. It says to me plain ez print that we must +hev this here Mississippi all the way to its mouth. We can't stay bottled +up."</p> + +<p>"Sh-sh," said Mr. Pollock, warningly. "Leave that to the future. It will +adjust itself, and I think it will adjust itself in the way that we wish, +but we cannot talk of it now, while Bernardo Galvez is our good friend and +Spain inclines to our side. Of course Louisiana may be passed back to +France, but France is a better and more powerful friend than Spain can +be."</p> + +<p>"Do you think you can get hold of Braxton Wyatt?" asked Henry of Mr. +Pollock.</p> + +<p>"I shall try," replied the merchant. "Our association has agents here, and +in such times as these and in such a great emergency much may be excused. +If we can get hands upon him at a convenient moment and place we'll see +whether he has those maps about him."</p> + +<p>"He'll surely have them," said Henry. "But he'll stick close to Alvarez."</p> + +<p>"Yes, there lies the trouble," said Mr. Pollock, "but we'll do our best."</p> + +<p>He took his departure, and they were left again to loneliness. Several +days passed thus and they chafed terribly. Food and drink they had in +plenty, and even some English books were sent to them. But the narrow +space and the four enclosing walls were always there. Outside the spring +was deepening. All the great forest throbbed with the life of bird and +beast, but they, the highest of creation, could not walk ten paces in any +direction.</p> + +<p>"Jim," said Shif'less Sol to Long Jim, "there's a spring 'bout twenty +miles north o' Wareville that you an' me hev sat by many a time. Thar are +hundreds a' springs through that country, yes, thousands o' 'em, but this +one is the finest o' 'em all. It comes right out o' the side o' a rock +hill, a stream so pure that you kin see right through it same ez ef it +wuzn't thar, then it falls into a most bee-yu-ti-ful rock pool scooped out +by Natur, an' ez the pool overflows, it runs away through the grass an' +the woods in a stream 'bout two feet wide an' four inches deep. I think +that's 'bout the nicest, coldest, an' most life-givin' water in all +Kentucky. You an' me, Jim, hev gone thar many a time, hot an' tired from +the hunt, an' hev felt ez ef we had landed right on the steps o' Heaven +itself. An' the game, Jim! The game, big an' little, knowed 'bout that +spring, too. Remember that tre-men-je-ous big elk you an' me killed 'bout +two hundred yards north o' the spring. He stood most ez high ez a horse. +An' remember, Jim, when we climbed up on top o' the hill out o' which the +spring runs, we could see a long distance every way, north, south, east +an' west, over the most bee-yu-ti-ful country, an' we could go whar we +pleased. We could follow the buffaler clean to the western ocean ef we +felt like it."</p> + +<p>Long Jim had been sitting on the floor. Now he rose and advanced in a +threatening manner upon Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"See here, Sol Hyde!" he exclaimed, "me an' you hev had words many a time, +but they hev always ended in smoke! They hev never gone ez fur ez this! +An' I want to tell you right here, Sol Hyde, that I kin stand a lot uv +things but I can't stand this! 'Ef you say another word about that +bee-yu-ti-ful spring, an' them bee-yu-ti-ful woods, an' that bee-yu-ti-ful +game, thar'll be a heap uv trouble, an' it'll all be fur you!"</p> + +<p>"Hit him anyway, Jim," said Tom Ross. "He's done filled me clean up with +discontent, and he ought to be punished."</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol laughed.</p> + +<p>"I won't do it again, Jim," he said. "It wuz 'cause I feel ez bad about it +ez you do, an' I jest had to let off some meanness."</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Diégo Bernal reappeared at last. He bestowed shrewd looks upon +the five and said:</p> + +<p>"I have an impression, though my impressions are usually false and my +memory always weak, that you are pining. You wish the liberty and the open +air of Kaintock. Your legs are long and you would stretch them."</p> + +<p>"You hev shore hit it, leftenant," said Tom Ross. "Sometimes I think uv +startin' off walkin' ez straight an' hard ez I kin, goin' right through +the wall thar, an' then through any house that might git in the way, an' +never to stop goin' 'till I got to Kentucky, whar a man may breathe free +an' easy."</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Diégo Bernal laughed and daintily stroked his little mustache.</p> + +<p>"I understand you and you have my sympathy," he said. "We Catalans are at +heart republicans, and I am interested in this new place of yours that you +call Kaintock. But you will have to endure this fort a while longer. The +good Señor Pollock does not make progress. He cannot produce the proof of +what you charge. Yet Bernardo Galvez waits. He believes in you, and he +holds Alvarez and Wyatt in the city. He is strengthened in his opinion, +too, by gossip that has come down from Beaulieu, but that is not proof and +he cannot act upon it. But be patient. I have an impression, although my +impressions are usually false, that time is fighting for you."</p> + +<p>He stayed with them an hour, precise and affected, but they believed him +to be brave and true. A few days later Oliver Pollock himself came again.</p> + +<p>"I have not been able to get hold of Wyatt," he said. "He stays too +closely with Alvarez. I don't think that my agents are skillful enough. +Hence I decided to procure a new one and fortunately I have succeeded."</p> + +<p>"Who is that?" asked Henry.</p> + +<p>"Yourself."</p> + +<p>"Myself!" exclaimed Henry in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"No one but you," replied the merchant. "I have been able, by the use of +great influence, to secure from Bernardo Galvez your temporary release. It +is to his interest to have this plot exposed if it really exists, and +accordingly he has allowed me to borrow you. You can go forth with me if +you give your word of honor that you will not leave New Orleans or its +vicinity and will report again here."</p> + +<p>"Why, of course I'll go! I'll"—exclaimed Henry joyfully, and then he +stopped suddenly, looking around at his comrades. Then he added: "I don't +feel right, Mr. Pollock, to go away and leave the boys in this place."</p> + +<p>Up rose Tom Ross.</p> + +<p>"Don't you fret about us, Henry," he said. "You're goin' on a good work +an' you'll do it, too. We need to hev one uv our gang outside. Remember up +at Boo-ly, when Alvarez had us, how much better we felt 'cause he didn't +hev Sol. 'Twas a comfort to think that Sol wuz out thar in the woods."</p> + +<p>It was a long speech for Tom Ross, but it expressed the sentiments of them +all. Henry left with Mr. Pollock and they went to a handsome brick house +in the city. This house was store, office, and residence combined, and +several clerks were about. But these clerks did not have pale faces and +bent backs. They were mostly strong-limbed, broad-shouldered men with +tanned faces.</p> + +<p>"They work out of doors," said Mr. Pollock briefly. "Some are to go with +the fleet up the rivers, others have been as far as the West Indies +accumulating supplies. It is necessary for them all to be able to write +and shoot."</p> + +<p>Henry liked their looks, but he did not have a chance to speak to any of +them as Mr. Pollock quickly led the way Into a small inner office, where +he motioned Henry to a chair and took one himself. Henry was now within +narrower walls than those that confined him in the prison, but he felt a +huge sense of relief. He was free. If he wanted to open the door and walk +out he could do so. He expanded his great chest and took a mighty breath. +Mr. Pollock heard the suspiration, looked up, and laughed. He understood +perfectly.</p> + +<p>"I'd feel that way, too, if I had been in your place," he said. "Now what +we want to do is to devise some plan of trapping your friend and enemy. +Mr. Wyatt. What do you think?"</p> + +<p>"Once," replied Henry, "when, he was carrying war belts between the +Shawnees and Miamis we simply seized him and took them away from him. We +must do something of this kind. Where is he staying?"</p> + +<p>"Alvarez, has a house near the river. He is there. I know that the two are +plotting all the while, but I cannot get the proof."</p> + +<p>"Do Wyatt and Alvarez know that I'm out?"</p> + +<p>"No, neither of them."</p> + +<p>"That's good. I think I can surprise Braxton Wyatt. If I can get my hands +on him I'm sure that we'll find those maps. What kind of a house has +Alvarez?"</p> + +<p>"You can see it from that window. A pretty place, standing among the +trees."</p> + +<p>Henry looked, and the longer he looked the more pleased he felt. The trees +were thick around the house of Alvarez and the fact gave him an idea.</p> + +<p>"I think I know how to do it," he said.</p> + +<p>Oliver Pollock leaned forward, his shrewd face eager, and for a few +minutes the two talked low and earnestly.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII" />CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h3>THE FLAW IN THE ARMOR</h3> + + +<p>Don Francisco Alvarez was in a fairly happy frame of mind. It is true that +he could have been happier, but a revulsion from a great state of suspense +had come to him. When he had been so boldly accused in the presence of the +Governor General, cold fear had struck at his heart, despite his courage +and cunning. He knew that the seeds of suspicion had been sowed deep in +the heart of Bernardo Galvez and that the plant would grow fast in the +warm, moist air of intrigue that overhung New Orleans.</p> + +<p>But days had passed and nothing had happened. Moreover, the five whom he +feared so much were hard and fast in the military prison within the walls, +and no proof of their charges had been brought forth. Time, too, worked +steadily for him. It not only weakened the accusation against him, but it +also gave his powerful friends at the court of Madrid time to help him and +his ambition. That little strain of royal blood in his veins was well +worth having. He would certainly succeed to Bernardo Galvez, whether the +wait he long or short.</p> + +<p>He kept Braxton Wyatt with him all the time. He had learned to appreciate +the value of the renegade's unscrupulous cunning, and he was necessary, +too, in order to carry out the great alliance with the tribes which +Alvarez meant should become an accomplished fact.</p> + +<p>It was a pleasant house that Alvarez had within the walls, one story of +brick covered with red tiles, surrounded by piazzas, and standing in +grounds thick with magnolias, cypresses, and orange trees. In truth, the +foliage was so dense that by daylight the house was almost entirely hidden +from the city, and by night it was quite invisible unless lights chanced +to twinkle through the leaves.</p> + +<p>The Spaniard and Braxton Wyatt were sitting now upon the piazza drinking a +cool decoction of West Indian origin, and Alvarez was commenting upon what +he called his good fortune.</p> + +<p>"All things favor us, Wyatt," he said. "No proof reaches the ears of +Bernardo Galvez and the galleon, Doña Isabel, will certainly arrive next +week from Spain. If I mistake not, she will bring news welcome to me and +unwelcome to Bernardo Galvez."</p> + +<p>"If you become Governor General what will you do with the Kentuckians in +the fort?" asked Wyatt.</p> + +<p>Alvarez laughed, and it was a very unpleasant laugh to hear.</p> + +<p>"I do not know what I shall do with them," he said, "but I am sure of one +fact. They will never see Kaintock again. The powers of a Governor General +are very great."</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt was satisfied with the answer. His wicked heart throbbed at +the thought that the five would never more roam their beloved forests. He, +too, looked forward to the arrival of the galleon, Doña Isabel, with +welcome news. He saw how useful he was to Alvarez, and if the Spaniard +rose, he must rise with him.</p> + +<p>The two, after these few words, sat in silence, each occupied with his own +thoughts, which, however, were largely the same. Alvarez rose presently +and went into the house. If all things went as he wished, there were +certain letters that he would send to powerful friends in Spain, and now +was a good time to make rough drafts of them.</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt remained on the piazza. It was wonderfully cool and pleasant +there, after the heat of the day. The wind blew musically among the orange +trees, and the air was spiced with pleasant odors. Braxton Wyatt's +thoughts were pleasant, too. He liked this luxurious southern life. Though +born to the forest, and a good woodsman, he had sybaritic tastes, which +needed only opportunity to bud and bloom.</p> + +<p>Now, like the Arab who had the glass for sale, he was building his great +future. Alvarez would be Governor General of Louisiana, and he, Braxton +Wyatt, would be his trusted and necessary lieutenant. The five whom he +hated would be removed under the new rule from the military prison to +dungeons, where they would gradually be lost to the sight of man, never to +be heard of again. The Indians and the Spaniards with their cannon would +destroy the settlements in Kentucky, and he would become, if not the +first, at least the second man in His Most Catholic Majesty's huge +province of Louisiana. And it was not absolutely necessary to be +Spanish-born to become in time a Governor General himself.</p> + +<p>Time passed. It was very quiet within the belt of magnolias and cypresses +and orange trees and but little noise came from the town, the stray shout +of a reveler, a snatch of a song, and then nothing more.</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt, still filled with his dreams, arose and stepped down from +the piazza. The happy future promoted in him a certain physical activity, +and he wanted to walk among the trees. He stepped into their shadow, +strolled a rod or so, and then stopped. His acute, forest-bred ear had +brought to him a sound which was not that of the wind nor any echo of a +gay reveler's song.</p> + +<p>The renegade stopped. It was very dark among the trees. He could see +neither the house behind, nor the city before him. He did not hear the +sound again, but he was troubled. His pleasant thoughts were disturbed. It +was like waking from a happy dream. He turned to go back to the house and +then he saw a flitting shadow. The wicked heart of Braxton Wyatt stood +still. If he had not known that Henry Ware was safely in the military +prison he would have taken the terrible shadow for him. He knew too well +the great height, the broad shoulders, and the fierce accusing +countenance. Once he had laughed at the Shawnees and Miamis because they +had believed in ghosts. But could it be true?</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt turned back toward the house, where he might renew his +interrupted and pleasant dream, but the next instant the terrible shadow +turned itself into a reality more terrible.</p> + +<p>A powerful form hurled itself upon him, and he was thrown to the ground. +He looked up and met the eyes of Henry Ware, who knelt upon him. No, it +was certainly not a shadow but the most unpleasant of all facts!</p> + +<p>Braxton Wyatt was at first paralyzed by terror and the suddenness of the +attack. When he recovered, one hand of Henry pressed heavily upon his +mouth, while the other felt rapidly through his clothing. "Look for any +unusual thickness in his waistcoat; that is probably the place," Oliver +Pollock had said. Henry's hand in a few moments ran upon something folded +between the cloth and lining of the waistcoat. He snatched out his knife, +cut them apart and out fell several folds of fine, thin deerskin. He knew +that the prize had been secured, and he meant to keep it.</p> + +<p>Henry thrust the folds of deerskin in his pocket and sprang to his feet.</p> + +<p>"Now, you scoundrel!" he exclaimed, "tell what tale you please and we will +prove another!"</p> + +<p>Then the terrible reality resolved itself back into a shadow, and was +gone. Braxton Wyatt sprang to his feet, clapped his hand to his mangled +waistcoat where the precious package had been, and uttered a strangled +cry. Then he ran through the trees to the house of Alvarez.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>A quarter of an hour later Oliver Pollock was sitting at his own window in +the little office and his thoughts were not happy. He wished his fleet of +supply canoes to start on the great river journey at once, but it could +not depart while such storms were threatening. Alvarez was too serious a +danger, and he must be removed. But the merchant realized that he had made +little progress. Alvarez seemed to be secure in his plot.</p> + +<p>There came a knock at his door, and in reply to his request to enter, a +clerk said that the young man, Mr. Ware, had returned. Mr. Pollock rose to +his feet as Henry came in. Henry carefully closed the door behind him, +advanced, and put a small package in Mr. Pollock's hand.</p> + +<p>"There they are!" he said, "the maps drawn up by Braxton Wyatt, and with +notes on them in handwriting, which I take to be that of Francisco +Alvarez."</p> + +<p>The merchant stared at first in astonishment and delight. Then he ran to +the lamp and spread out the sheets of fine, thin deerskin. He looked at +them, one by one, and laughed with delight.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said, "the notes are in the handwriting of Francisco Alvarez! I +know it—I have seen it often enough—and Bernardo Galvez will know it, +too! Oh, it is a great find! a great find! It is not conclusive proof, +but it will go far toward swaying belief! How did you get them?"</p> + +<p>Henry had recovered from all signs of his struggle with the renegade, and +was now sitting placidly in a chair.</p> + +<p>"I took them," he said. "I found Braxton Wyatt in the grove around the +house of Alvarez, and I seized him. I found these in the lining of his +waistcoat."</p> + +<p>"You did not kill him?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no. He is not hurt."</p> + +<p>"It is well. I did not wish any unnecessary violence, but we had a right +to seize these documents which mean so much to us and Bernardo Galvez. You +will leave them with me."</p> + +<p>"Of course," said Henry. "And now that this task is finished, I'll go back +to prison with my comrades."</p> + +<p>"It's unnecessary for you to join them there," said the merchant still +laughing in his pleasure. "I'll have them out to join you, and that +speedily, too. Go into the next room and sleep. You've earned the right to +it."</p> + +<p>The five, reduced to four, were sitting in their prison the next afternoon +chafing more than ever. It seemed to every one of them that those walls, +already so narrow, were still contracting. They did not even like to look +out of the window. The contrast was too painful, and they did not wish to +increase their sorrow.</p> + +<p>"Jim," said Shif'less Sol in plaintive tones to Long Jim Hart, "won't you +please come here, an' hold up my head?"</p> + +<p>"Now, Sol Hyde," said Long Jim, "what do you want me to come thar an' hold +up your head fur? Are you too lazy to hold it up fur yourself?"</p> + +<p>"No, Jim, I ain't too lazy to hold it up fur myself, I'm jest too weak. +Lack o' exercise an' fresh air, an' elbow room hev done fur poor Sol Hyde +at last. I'm pinin' away. Tell Henry when he comes back, ef he ever does, +that I fell into a decline. I done my best to b'ar up, but my best wuzn't +good enough."</p> + +<p>"Now you shut up, Sol Hyde," said Jim Hart, "or you'll hev me down real +sick with your foolish talk, ez I jest can't stand it."</p> + +<p>They stopped because at that moment there came unto them Lieutenant Diégo +Bernal, fresh, chipper, with a few additional flounces and ruffles added +to his jaunty uniform, and a smile upon his dark, pleasant face.</p> + +<p>"Ah, my gallant four, who were once my gallant five," he said as he +stroked his little mustache, "I have news for you, important news. You are +even to be summoned again to the presence of His Excellency, Bernardo +Galvez, the Governor General of Louisiana, and that summons is immediate. +I have an impression, though my impressions are usually false and my +memory always weak, that the large youth, the strong youth, the splendid +youth, surnamed the Ware, who was released for the time at the +intercession of Señor Pollock, has been achieving something. This, I +think, is the reason of the sudden call to the audience with His +Excellency."</p> + +<p>Paul was all life at once. He sprang up, his eyes sparkling and the flush +of anticipation coming into his face.</p> + +<p>"Henry has succeeded!" he cried. "He has done something big! I knew he +would! He has defeated Alvarez and that wretch Wyatt!"</p> + +<p>The Catalan regarded Paul with admiration. He liked this enthusiasm, this +infinite trust in a comrade. The five and their faith in one another +continued to make the strongest of appeals to him.</p> + +<p>"I think it is even so," he said. "The young giant surnamed the Ware, must +have done a great deed, because Don Francisco Alvarez, is summoned, at the +same time, to the presence of His Excellency, the Governor General, +Bernardo Galvez, and I hear that he is in no pleasant frame of mind +because of it. Come!"</p> + +<p>The four went forth joyfully. Shif'less Sol was the first to put foot on +Mother Earth, and he stopped, raised his head, and opened his mouth to its +widest extent.</p> + +<p>"Jim," he said to Long Jim Hart, "I want to breathe it in, this outdoors +an' fresh air an' freedom, everywhar I kin, at my mouth, nose, ears, an' +eyes, too, ef they're any good at that sort o' business."</p> + +<p>"An' at the pores, too, Sol," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"What's pores?"</p> + +<p>"Millions and millions of fine little holes all over you."</p> + +<p>"Wa'll, I ain't ever seed any o' them holes, or felt 'em, but ef they're +in me I hope they're all workin' right now, drawin' the good fresh air."</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Diégo Bernal led the way rapidly to the house of the Governor +General, and four soldiers closed up by the side of them as an escort and +guard. But the four had no thought of attempting escape. Their minds were +wholly occupied with what might occur when they were a second time in the +presence of the Governor General.</p> + +<p>They were taken through the anteroom and then into the large hall of +audience where the Governor General sat, as before, in the great chair +with his secretary at the little table at his right. At one side of the +room were Francisco Alvarez, and Braxton Wyatt, both frowning, and at the +other side were Oliver Pollock and Henry Ware, neither frowning at all. +Henry came forward and shook hands warmly with his comrades.</p> + +<p>"What is it, Henry?" whispered Paul. "What has happened?"</p> + +<p>"Wait," replied Henry in a similar whisper. "We must see what Bernardo +Galvez is going to do."</p> + +<p>The Governor General motioned the four, now the five once more, to seats, +and they noticed that the audience was marked by unusual state. Two +soldiers, as a guard, stood near one of the windows, and the secretary was +ready with his ink and goose quills to write down whatever he might be +ordered to write. Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt were visibly uneasy. Bernardo +Galvez sat upright, his face stern, his look commanding. He was every inch +of him a Governor General.</p> + +<p>"Gentlemen," he said speaking in precise English, "a charge was made in +this chamber some days since, a charge involving the integrity and loyalty +of a high officer in the service of Spain, Don Francisco Alvarez. This +charge was made by five men and youths from the new region called by +themselves Kentucky and known here as Kaintock, but they brought little +proof to support it."</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez moved his chair, and a look of relief came over his +face. The opening promised well. The expressions of Henry Ware and Oliver +Pollock did not change, and Bernardo Galvez continued:</p> + +<p>"I could not hold an officer of Spain, one high in the service, upon such +charges, when they were without sufficient support, and hence, as these +five men and boys had committed acts of violence upon Spanish soil and +against Spanish subjects, I sent them to a military prison, pending +further disclosures if there should be any, and I have held Don Francisco +Alvarez in New Orleans in order that he might clear his good name of these +charges and of certain talk that has been afloat concerning him."</p> + +<p>Alvarez stirred again and his expression changed slightly. The +continuation was not quite as good as the beginning. Did he not detect a +slight undertone of irony or satire in the voice of Bernardo Galvez? But +neither Henry Ware nor Oliver Pollock moved a particle. The four looked +curiously from one to another of the actors in this tense scene.</p> + +<p>"It was my object," resumed Bernardo Galvez, and now his tone had a +curious hard quality like steel, "to find the truth. Only in that way +could justice be done. Now I have to say that proof of these charges, not +conclusive, but incriminating nevertheless, has been found, and is in my +possession."</p> + +<p>Alvarez leaped from his chair. He felt as if he had received a blow of a +hammer on his temple, but he cried out:</p> + +<p>"It is not true! there can be no such proof!"</p> + +<p>"It is true," said Bernardo Galvez sternly and accusingly, "because I hold +this evidence here in my hand. The war-maps which you are charged with +having, drawn by the one Wyatt, the friend of the Indians, and annotated +in your hand, are here."</p> + +<p>He opened his palm and laid the strips of deerskin upon the table. Alvarez +staggered back and looked savagely at Braxton Wyatt.</p> + +<p>"It is true," stammered the renegade in a whisper. "I was set upon last +night by Ware! He took me by surprise and robbed me of them! I could not +help it, but I was afraid to tell you then."</p> + +<p>"I knew that Henry would find a way! I knew it!" Paul was murmuring to +himself.</p> + +<p>"What of these maps, Don Francisco Alvarez?" said the Governor General.</p> + +<p>The bold and flexible Spaniard quickly recovered himself.</p> + +<p>"Maps do not mean anything," he said. "Any military officer provides +himself with them whenever he can. He need not he at war with a country to +secure them."</p> + +<p>"No, not in the case of ordinary maps, but here we have plans for an +attack upon the settlements in Kaintock. I find noted by the side of one +station in your handwriting: 'Could be destroyed easily with two cannon.' +It is obvious that you have exceeded your authority. How much further you +have gone is to be seen."</p> + +<p>"Your Excellency, I protest against"—began Alvarez, but at that moment +the door was opened and Lieutenant Diégo Bernal appeared upon the +threshold.</p> + +<p>"What is this interruption? How dare you?" exclaimed the Governor General.</p> + +<p>But the little Catalan was never more thoroughly master of himself. His +uniform was never more resplendent, and the lace at throat and sleeves +never fuller. He bore himself, too, with the utmost dignity because he +knew that he was about to make an announcement of the utmost importance. +Moreover, he was a favorite with Bernardo Galvez.</p> + +<p>"Your Excellency," he said, with dramatic effect, "a man has come craving +immediate audience with you. He says that his news cannot wait, and, in +order to secure entrance at once to your presence, he has given me the +purport of it. He is here now."</p> + +<p>A tall figure in a black robe, the face thin and austere, walked boldly +into the room. Mighty was the power of Holy Church in the colonies of +France and Spain and this priest who expected torture and death some day +feared neither Bernardo Galvez nor anybody else.</p> + +<p>"Father Montigny!" exclaimed every one of the five and, "Father Montigny!" +repeated Francisco Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt. Bernardo Galvez rose from +his chair and saluted the priest courteously. He knew him well.</p> + +<p>"What is this business, so urgent in its nature, Father," said the +Governor General.</p> + +<p>"I came to Beaulieu when Captain Alvarez had set the bully upon this +youth," said Father Montigny, pointing to Paul.</p> + +<p>"I have already acknowledged my fault there," exclaimed Alvarez. "It was +an impulse! Need I be accused of it again?"</p> + +<p>Father Montigny turned his gaze upon Alvarez, and the Captain, bold as he +was, feared it more than that of Bernardo Galvez.</p> + +<p>"That is but a preamble," continued the priest, the Governor General not +noticing the interruption, "but it caused me to take especial notice of +what might be occurring in Louisiana at the furthest limits of settlement. +I went thence among the Cherokees and Creeks and kindred tribes and I +found them stirred by a great emotion. They were preparing for the war +trail. Messengers had come from tribes in the far north, Shawnees, Miamis, +Wyandots, and others, whom they have fought for generations in the region, +lying between them, known to them as the Dark and Bloody Ground, and to +us as Kaintock."</p> + +<p>Francisco Alvarez suddenly paled, and looked away from the priest.</p> + +<p>"What was the purport of these messages?" asked Bernardo Galvez.</p> + +<p>"That there must be peace for the time being between the northern and +southern tribes. The northern tribes would march south and the southern +would march north. When they met they would be joined also by Spanish +soldiers with cannon, and the three forces would destroy forever the new +white settlements in Kaintock."</p> + +<p>The pallor of Alvarez deepened, but Oliver Pollock still sat immovable, +his expression not changing. Bernardo Galvez looked straight at Alvarez, +and there was lightning in his gaze.</p> + +<p>"How was this alliance formed?" asked the Governor General. "Some powerful +connection, some strong intermediary, must have drawn these warring +northern and southern tribes together. And above all why did they expect +Spanish troops and Spanish cannon?"</p> + +<p>"There was a letter," replied the priest in a grave, sad tone, "a letter +written by a Spanish officer, high in position and distinction. It was +sent to Red Eagle, head chief of the Shawnees, and Yellow Panther, head +chief of the Miamis. The writer said that he would soon be Governor +General of Louisiana and that Spain would then help the Indians to destroy +Kaintock."</p> + +<p>"It is a lie!" continued Alvarez. "There is no such letter."</p> + +<p>"It is no lie," continued the priest calmly. "There is such a letter. The +great chiefs, Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, as proof of the promise, sent +it south to the Cherokees and Creeks, among whom I have been. I have seen +it, I have read it, I have it, and to you, Bernardo Galvez, I now give it. +It is signed by Don Francisco Alvarez."</p> + +<p>Father Montigny drew a letter from his robe and handed It to the Governor +General. Francisco Alvarez fell back in his chair as if he had been struck +by a thunder-bolt. And it was little less. The letter that he had sent +into the vast Northern wilderness, and which he considered as obscure as +one leaf among millions, had come back to convict him. The one flaw in the +armor of his wild ambition had been found. He cast a baleful look at the +priest and was silent. It was not worth while now to deny anything.</p> + +<p>Bernardo Galvez read the letter and read it again. Then he folded it and +put it in his pocket.</p> + +<p>"It is enough," he said, "Francisco Alvarez, you are guilty of attempting +to usurp to yourself the powers that belong only to his Majesty, the King +of Spain. I can conceive of a man of your knowledge and craft writing such +a letter as this upon only one possibility, and that possibility has +passed. The galleon, Doña Isabel, from Spain came this morning up the +Mississippi and she brings letters from Madrid. Your friends at the court, +powerful as they are, have failed. You are not to be the Governor General +of Louisiana. I am confirmed in my appointment and you remain under my +authority."</p> + +<p>"What do you intend to do?" asked Alvarez.</p> + +<p>The words came from a dry throat, and they had a harsh, rasping sound.</p> + +<p>"The galleon, Doña Isabel, returns to Spain next week. You will remain a +prisoner in one of the forts until then, when you are to go to Spain on +the galleon to answer there for your acts here. The man, Wyatt, is not a +Spanish subject, but he must leave New Orleans within an hour. The five +who have been held in the fort are released from this moment. Lieutenant +Bernal, take away the prisoner."</p> + +<p>It was the cause of intense gratification to Lieutenant Diégo Bernal that +he had been permitted to see the last and most striking part of this +drama. Francisco Alvarez had treated him with scorn more than once, and it +was not his part or that of Bernardo Galvez to insult a fallen enemy. He +merely put his hand lightly on the sleeve of Alvarez, and the prisoner, +without a word, followed him.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII" />CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h3>NORTHWARD WITH THE FLEET</h3> + + +<p>When Alvarez was gone, the five rose and thanked the Governor General. +They, too, did not wish to rejoice over a fallen foe, but it was the +moment of their complete triumph. Success had come better than they had +ever hoped and the great three-faced conspiracy was shattered. It was +Spanish cannon that they had dreaded and now they could not thunder +against the wooden walls in Kentucky. They crowded around the priest, too, +and shook his hand and were grateful for his timely assistance. He had +come at the most opportune of all moments.</p> + +<p>It was Paul who acted as spokesman for them with Bernardo Galvez.</p> + +<p>"Your Excellency, we came this vast distance confiding in your justice, +and we have found our confidence well placed," he said.</p> + +<p>Bernardo Galvez smiled. It was a moment of triumph for him, too. A bold +conspiracy against him had been crushed, and the five had been the chief +instruments in the crushing of it. Even without the aid of his good heart, +his feelings toward them would have been very kindly.</p> + +<p>"If New Orleans has proved inhospitable to you for a time," he said, "she +is now ready to make atonement. Your good friend, Mr. Pollock, will care +for you."</p> + +<p>The five withdrew with the merchant, still elated, still feeling the full +sense of victory. Mr. Pollock had been very quiet but when they reached +the open air he burst forth.</p> + +<p>"Lads," he said, "'tis a great task that you have done. You have saved +Kentucky—and these things are far-reaching—you may have saved all the +colonies beside. If the Mississippi had been closed to us we could not +reach our friends in the east with the supplies that they need so badly. +But I can't say more. You were surely inspired when you set out upon this +errand, and there is a tremendous debt of gratitude coming to you."</p> + +<p>He shook hands with them all, one by one. But Long Jim heaved a mighty +sigh of relief.</p> + +<p>"Is it all over, Paul?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I think so, Jim. We seem to have destroyed for good and all the great +three-cornered conspiracy against us."</p> + +<p>"Then," said Jim, "ef it's all done I want to talk sense. I'm in favor uv +our startin' to Kentucky right away, that is, in about five minutes. Them +big woods keep callin' to me, I heard 'em callin' last night in my dreams, +an' I hear 'em callin' now when I'm awake. I've breathed indoor air long +enough. It's layin' heavy on my lungs, an' I want to put in its place air +that's swep' clean across from the Pacific Ocean an' that ain't hit not +bin' foul on the way."</p> + +<p>"Five minutes is too short notice, Jim," laughed Paul, "but we'll surely +start soon, though it's a tremendously long tramp through the woods and +even if we had 'The Galleon' we'd have to pull and sail against the +current."</p> + +<p>Oliver Pollock was watching them as they talked and his eyes gleamed, but +he said nothing until they were within his house, where he took them and +gave them refreshments. There he had a proposition to make.</p> + +<p>"The boat, of course, you have lost," he said, "as it belongs to Spain, +but your arms and other equipment are all in my possession—they were +given to me to keep for you. But our fleet of canoes loaded with arms and +supplies will start north in three days. Will you go on it? Not to work, +not to paddle, unless you wish, but to guide and to fight. It is no favor +that I am conferring upon you, but one that you can confer upon me if you +will. We need such as you and with you I shall feel that the fleet is +safer."</p> + +<p>It was a most welcome offer. They could serve the cause and themselves at +the same time. All things seemed to fall out as they wished.</p> + +<p>"Sir, we thank you," said Henry speaking for them all. "You do not have to +make such an offer twice."</p> + +<p>"Good! Good!" said Oliver Pollock. "Then the main feature of the bargain +is closed and now I must have you to know the captain of the fleet. Oh, I +think that you will agree with him famously. He will be in charge of the +navigation and the fleet, though not of you. You are to remain in your +rôle of free rangers."</p> + +<p>He clapped his hand upon a little bell on the table and one of the +stalwart, sunbrowned clerks entered.</p> + +<p>"Bring in Captain Colfax. I want him to make some new friends," said +Oliver Pollock, who was in the greatest of good humors.</p> + +<p>Captain Adam Colfax of New Hampshire, who found the climate of New Orleans +very warm, came in in a minute or two, and his was a figure to attract the +attention of anybody. Middle aged, nearly as tall as Jim Hart, red haired, +with a sharp little tuft of red whisker on his chin, and with features +that seemed to be carved out of some kind of metal, he was a combination +of the seaman and landsman, as tough and wiry as they ever grow to be. He +regarded Oliver Pollock out of twinkling little blue eyes that could be +merry or severe, as they pleased.</p> + +<p>"Captain Colfax," said Oliver Pollock, "These are the five from Kentucky +of whom you heard. They are to go with you on your great journey as far as +Kentucky, but they are to do as they please. They are scouts, warriors, +and free rangers. You will find them of great service."</p> + +<p>He introduced them one by one, and Adam Colfax gave them a hearty grip +with a hand which seemed to be made of woven steel wire.</p> + +<p>"Good woodsmen and good riflemen I take it," he said, "and we may need +both. I hear that the Creeks, Cherokees, and others, are feeling full of +fight. Now, I ain't looking for a fight, but if it happens to get in my +way I'm not running from it."</p> + +<p>"You old war horse," said Oliver Pollock, laughing, "it's your business to +get these supplies through, not to be shooting at Indians. I wish I could +go with you. It's a wonderful journey, but I have to stay here in New +Orleans. This is the gate and we must see that it is not closed. How many +canoes and boats have we now, Adam?"</p> + +<p>"About sixty, and they are manned by at least three hundred men. As I see +it, we can take care of ourselves."</p> + +<p>"Adam," said Mr. Pollock laughing, "I believe you're really looking for a +fight."</p> + +<p>Adam Colfax showed two rows of fine, white teeth, but said nothing. After +a little more hearty talk he went away to look after his fleet, and Mr. +Pollock made arrangements for the five to stay at his house until their +departure north. They were to occupy a single big room, and their rifles, +other arms, and general equipment were already there waiting for them.</p> + +<p>"I'll miss 'The Galleon,'" said Paul, "I'd like to be going back in her. I +suppose it's sentiment, but I became attached to that boat."</p> + +<p>"She wuz shorely comf'table," said Shif'less Sol. "I had a good time +floatin' down her on the Missip'. Now I reckon Jim here will hev to row me +or paddle me all the way back to Kaintuck."</p> + +<p>"Ef you wait fur me to row or paddle you, you won't ever travel more'n six +inches," said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>"Jest like you, Jim; you ain't got no gratitood at all fur me gittin' you +away from New Orlee-yuns."</p> + +<p>Paul, who had been speaking to Henry in a low tone, now turned again to +Mr. Pollock.</p> + +<p>"There is one more thing that we want you to do for us, if you will, Mr. +Pollock," he said. "We took the boat from Alvarez because he attacked us +first, and we put it to what we think was a good use. But it really +belonged to Spain and Bernardo Galvez. So if any wages are coming to us we +wish that you would take enough in advance and pay the Governor General +for the use of the boat and what stores we may have consumed."</p> + +<p>"It shall be done," said Oliver Pollock, "and I like your spirit in +wishing it to be done."</p> + +<p>It was a promise that he kept faithfully.</p> + +<p>When they reached their room they found their rifles and other arms in +perfect order. Lieutenant Diégo Bernal had taken good care of them. Long +Jim picked up his rifle and handled it lovingly.</p> + +<p>"It feels good jest to tech it," he said. "I didn't think I could ever +like a Spaniard ez well ez I do that thar little leftenant. I'll miss him +when we go ploughin' up the river."</p> + +<p>They were preparing to leave the room and breathe all out of doors, as Sol +put it, when they were stopped by the entrance of Father Montigny. They +crowded around him, expressing anew the gratitude that they had shown to +him at the house of the Governor General.</p> + +<p>"It was really you, Father Montigny, who saved everything," said Paul.</p> + +<p>The priest smiled and shook his head.</p> + +<p>"No," he said, "It was not I, but your courage and tenacity. I had the +rare good fortune to find the letter among the Chickasaws and obtain it. +It was sent by the Shawnees and Miamis as a sort of token, a war belt as +it were. It was only a remote chance that brought it back to New Orleans, +and even then Alvarez confidently expected to be Governor General."</p> + +<p>"What will become of Alvarez?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"It is the plan to send him a prisoner to Spain on the galleon, Doña +Isabel, as you know, but I fear that we have not heard the last of him. He +is a man of fierce temper, and now he is wild with rage and mortification. +Moreover, he has many followers here in New Orleans. All the desperadoes, +adventurers, former galley slaves, and others of that type would have been +ready to rally around him. But I have come to tell you good-bye. I go +again in my canoe up the Mississippi."</p> + +<p>"Can't you stay a while in New Orleans and rest?" asked Paul—the sympathy +between Paul and the priest was strong, each having a certain spiritual +quality that was in agreement.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Father Montigny, "I cannot stay. You came on your task in +spite of hardships and dangers because you felt that a power urged you to +it. Farewell. We may meet again or we may not, as Heaven wills."</p> + +<p>They followed him to the door and when he was almost out of sight he +turned and waved his hand to them.</p> + +<p>The next day New Orleans, which was already deeply stirred by news of the +plot of Alvarez and its discovery, had another thrill. It was Lieutenant +Diégo Bernal who told the five of it at the counting house of Oliver +Pollock.</p> + +<p>"Francisco Alvarez has escaped," he said. "The watch at the prison was +none too strict; it may be that some of the guards themselves were friends +of his. In any event, he is gone from the city, and his going has been +followed by the departure of many men whom New Orleans could well spare. +But whether their going now will be to our benefit I cannot tell."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean to say," asked Henry, "that all these men have gone away to +join Alvarez in some desperate adventure?"</p> + +<p>"I have an impression, although my impressions are usually false," replied +the Lieutenant, "that such is the case. The Chickasaws, the Creeks, and +other tribes of these regions are his friends because he has promised them +much. A capable officer with a hundred desperate white men at his back and +a horde of Indians might create stirring events."</p> + +<p>The five became very thoughtful over what he said, but when Lieutenant +Diégo Bernal was taking his leave he looked at them rather enviously.</p> + +<p>"You five inspire me with a certain jealousy," he said. "I have an +impression, although my impressions are usually wrong and my memory always +weak, that you are strongly attached to one another, that no one ever +hesitates to risk death for the others, that you are bound together by a +hundred ties, and that you act together for the common good. Ah, that is +something like friendship, real friendship, I should like to be one of a +band like yours, but I look in vain for such a thing in New Orleans."</p> + +<p>"I wish that you were going with us," said Henry heartily.</p> + +<p>"I wish it, too. Often I long for the great forests and the free air as +you do, but my service is due here to Bernardo Galvez, who is my good +friend. But it is pleasant to see that you have triumphed so finely."</p> + +<p>"We may encounter great dangers yet," said Henry.</p> + +<p>"It is quite likely, but I have an impression, and upon this occasion at +least I am sure my impression is not wrong, that you will overcome them as +you have done before."</p> + +<p>When he was gone, and every one of the five felt genuine regret at his +departure, they went down to the river, where their fleet was anchored, +and were welcomed by Adam Colfax.</p> + +<p>"We're certainly going to-morrow," said the captain, "but nobody can tell +when we'll get to Fort Pitt."</p> + +<p>It was indeed a fine fleet of canoes and boats to be propelled by paddle, +oar, and sail, and it bore a most precious cargo. Eight of the larger +boats carried a twelve pound brass cannon apiece to be used if need be on +the way, but destined for that far-distant and struggling army in the +northeast. Stored in the other boats and canoes were five hundred muskets, +mostly from France, barrels of powder, scores of bars of lead, precious +medicines worth their weight in gold, blankets, cloth for uniforms and +underclothing. It was the most valuable cargo ever started up the +Mississippi and there were many strong and brave men to guard it.</p> + +<p>"We carry things both to kill and to cure," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"An' we're goin', too!" said Long Jim, heaving again that mighty sigh of +relief. "That's the big thing!"</p> + +<p>They started the next day at the appointed time. Henry, Paul, and Long Jim +were In one of the leading boats, and Tom Ross and Shif'less Sol were in +another near them. The population of New Orleans was on the levee to see +them go, and some wished them good luck and many wished them bad. The +majority of the French were for them, and the majority of the Spanish +against them.</p> + +<p>But the five, now that the time was at hand, felt only elation. The breeze +blew strong and fresh over the mighty river that came from their +beloved-forests and vast unknown regions beyond. They seemed to feel in it +some of the tang and sparkle of the north.</p> + +<p>"Good-bye, New Orleans," said Jim Hart, waving a long hand on a long arm; +"I'm glad I've seed you, I'm glad I've laid my weary head to rest inside +your walls fur a few nights, but I'm glad I don't stay in you, nor in any +other town. Good-bye."</p> + +<p>One of the brass cannon fired a salute, cannon on the fort and the +galleon, Doña Isabel, replied. Adam Colfax gave the word, and at the same +instant hundreds of oars and paddles dipped into the muddy current of the +Mississippi. The great supply fleet leaped forward as if it were one +whole, and soon New Orleans and its intrigues sank under the curve behind +them.</p> + +<p>Henry and Paul, although they did not have to work, pulled at the oars +with the others, and more than one man noticed how the mighty muscles of +Henry Ware's arm swelled and bunched as he made the boat leap forward. But +they did not maintain their high rate of speed long. As the rivers ran it +was a good two thousand miles to Fort Pitt, and they did not wish to +exhaust themselves on the first twenty. Long Jim at last let his oar rest +and patted Paul joyfully on the shoulder.</p> + +<p>"Ain't you noticed nothin', Paul?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I've noticed a lot of river, and a fine little fleet on it."</p> + +<p>"But somethin' better than that. Look at the trees, Paul, all along on +either side, an' not a house in sight, an' not a human bein' 'cept +ourselves, not a single trail uv smoke to dirty the sky. Nothin' but the +woods ez God made 'em. I tell you, Paul, it's pow'ful fine jest to live!"</p> + +<p>Paul shared his enthusiasm, but his feelings went further. Beyond a doubt +they had been successful in their great journey to the south, but another +and large purpose was yet left. Their task had brought them into contact +with the world outside, and Paul devoutly hoped that the supply train +would reach Fort Pitt in time.</p> + +<p>The day went smoothly on. The fleet kept its formation something, like +that of an arrow, with Adam Colfax's boat the point of the arrow, and +those containing the five just behind. The river assumed a wholly +wilderness aspect. Spanish or French boats were few and they gave the +fleet a wide berth. Wild fowl swarmed once more, and they saw a bear on +the bank regarding them with a half wise, half comic countenance.</p> + +<p>When the sun was low the boats containing the five were turned toward the +land. There they found a cove in which the boats could be safely tied and +a fine grove in which they could cook, and which would also furnish a good +place for those who wished to sleep ashore. Henry Ware and Shif'less Sol +scouted in the country about but saw no sign of anything that might +disturb.</p> + +<p>All five slept on land wrapped in their blankets under the trees, and +early the next morning the journey was resumed. Progress could not be +rapid. They had to face the slow, heavy current of the Mississippi, and +now and then Henry and Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross walked through the +woods along the shore. They early established their reputations as the +best hunters and shots in the fleet, and they kept the men supplied with +game, bear, deer, and water fowl.</p> + +<p>Several days passed in this manner, and Henry noticed that people were +even scarcer than they had been when they were coming down. Then they had +seen a few, now not more than two or three, and these avoided them.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe they are really friendly to us," said Henry to Paul, "and +something to injure us may be on foot. I wish that we were beyond the last +French and Spanish settlement."</p> + +<p>"We are too strong to be attacked," said Paul, "I don't think we have +anything to fear."</p> + +<p>Henry shook his head somewhat doubtfully, but he said nothing more on the +subject at that time, and the fleet moved steadily on without event. Adam +Colfax exercised a stern discipline. There were wild men in his fleet, +adventurers, fellows who had floated about the world, but he was a match +for any of them, and those who did not respect his voice feared his ready +hand. But even these were animated by the great purpose and the thrill of +a two-thousand mile journey on unknown rivers through a vast wilderness.</p> + +<p>Half of the men slept ashore every night. They would build great fires, +cook their suppers, and then sit around awhile talking. Some one would +sing, and others would play strange, old tunes on accordion or guitar. +Paul heard many a snatch of song in Spanish or French or Portuguese, and +the wilderness would lend an additional charm to the melody. Adam Colfax, +stern ruler that he was, never forbade these amusements.</p> + +<p>"It isn't well to stop up things too tight," he would say. "Children have +got to make noise, and men are a good deal the same way. If you seal 'em +up they'll bust."</p> + +<p>These evening scenes always made a deep impression upon Paul. There were +the cheerful fires, lighted for cooking, and now dying down to great beds +of coals, the surrounding darkness seeming to come closer and closer, but +within it a wide circle of light in which many men sat or reclined at +ease, smoking or talking, or doing both. All were good-natured, the +weather was fair so far, the journey easy, the work not excessively hard, +and the hunters brought in fresh game in plenty.</p> + +<p>They passed the mouth of the bayou near which the Chateau of Beaulieu +stood, and Henry and Shif'less Sol went to see it. They found a small +detachment of Spanish soldiers sent by Bernardo Galvez in possession, but +the followers of Alvarez had disappeared. The place seemed lonely and +deserted, as the soldiers of Galvez kept close to the house, as if they +were afraid of the wilderness.</p> + +<p>Henry and Shif'less Sol sped back through the forest toward the river.</p> + +<p>"Now I wonder," said Shif'less Sol, "what could hev become o' that Spanish +feller. He wuz jest the kind, so proud he wuz, an' thinkin' so much o' +himself, to be burnin' up with hate over what has happened."</p> + +<p>"He has made himself an outlaw," said Henry, "and it's my opinion, Sol, +that he's somewhere in these regions. And Braxton Wyatt is with him, too. +That fellow will never rest in his plots against us. We'll hear from them +both again. They'll try for some sort of revenge."</p> + +<p>They rejoined the boats at noon, and three or four hours later they saw a +canoe ahead of them upon the water. It contained two occupants who graded +their speed to that of the fleet, keeping well out of rifle-shot.</p> + +<p>"What do you take them to be?" called out Adam Colfax to Henry.</p> + +<p>"Indians, I know, and spies, I think," replied Henry.</p> + +<p>Several of the more powerful boats moved ahead of the fleet and endeavored +to overtake the canoe, but they could not. The two Indians who occupied it +evidently had skill and powerful arms, as they maintained the distance +between themselves and their pursuers. Henry and Paul, stirred by the +interest of the chase, also seized oars and pulled hard, but the canoe +presently turned up a small tributary river, where they did not have time +to follow it, and they saw it no more.</p> + +<p>It was something that many might have passed as a mere incident of the +river, but Henry did not forget it. His sixth sense, the sense of danger, +as it were, had received a definite impression, and he paid heed to the +warning.</p> + +<p>That afternoon clouds came up for the first time. It had been very warm on +the river, but the heat and closeness did not develop into a rapid storm +of thunder and lightning as so often happens in the Mississippi valley. +Instead, the air turned colder, and a raw, drizzling rain set it. It was +then that they appreciated the comfort of their well-equipped boats. +Everybody was wrapped up and protected, and they moved steadily on.</p> + +<p>Henry and Shif'less Sol, as usual, went ashore later on to seek a landing +place, and a site suitable for a camp, as it was considered wise always to +give the men warm food. Presently they found a fairly well sheltered spot +near the shore, a slope surrounded by high trees, and when Adam Colfax +received the word the boats were tied to the bank. Some tents were pitched +in the opening, and with considerable difficulty the fires were lighted. A +drizzling rain still fell, but the fires finally triumphed over it, and +blazed and crackled merrily. Nevertheless, this lightness and merriment +were not communicated to the men, who shivered in the wet, drew close to +the flames, and had downcast faces. All the five were ashore and in the +shadow of the woods they held a little conference of their own, talking +with great earnestness.</p> + +<p>"I think," said Henry, "that we're being watched and that there is danger, +great danger. One never knows what the wilderness contains."</p> + +<p>"Suppose that all of us watch the night through," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"No," said Henry, "I think, Paul, that you ought to sleep and Long Jim +should do so, too. There are enough without you. To-morrow night will be +your turn. We shouldn't waste our resources."</p> + +<p>This satisfied Paul and Jim, and soon they were asleep in one of the +tents, but Henry, Shif'less Sol, and Tom Ross were in the dripping forest +outside Adam Colfax's own line of sentinels, seeking the hidden danger. +The three remained together, and they looked everywhere. They were on the +east bank and there was nothing but forest. The moon lay behind sodden +clouds, and the trees were dark and shadowy. Now and then the wind swept a +dash of rain in their faces, and the air remained raw and chill. Sharp as +were their eyes, they could not see very far into the forest, but they +could see behind them the flame of their own camp fires, a core of light +in the wilderness.</p> + +<p>"It might be better to put out all those fires," said Henry, "but I don't +believe Captain Colfax would hear to it. He thinks we're too strong to +fear any serious attack."</p> + +<p>"No," said Shif'less Sol, "he wouldn't do it, an' the men would grumble, +too. We've got to be the outside guard ourselves."</p> + +<p>The three kept together, continuing their steady patrol in a semi-circle +about the camp, the side of the river being guarded by the boats +themselves. The rain died to a drizzle, but the clouds remained, and the +skies were dark. Hours passed, and nearly everybody slept soundly by the +fires, but the faithful three, gliding among the wet trees and bushes, +still watched.</p> + +<p>They heard faint noises in the forest, the passage of the wind, or the +stir of a wild animal, and after a while they heard the long, plaintive +and weird note, with which they were so familiar, the howl of the wolf.</p> + +<p>It was characteristic of the three that when this faint note, almost like +the sigh of the wind among the wet trees, reached their ears, they said +nothing, but merely stopped and in the obscurity glanced at one another +with eyes of understanding. They listened patiently, and the low, +plaintive howl came again and then once more, all from different points of +the compass. There had been a time when Henry Ware was deceived for a +moment by these cries, but it was not possible now.</p> + +<p>"It must be a gathering of the southern tribes," he said, "and I imagine +that Braxton Wyatt is with them, giving them advice. Sol, suppose that you +go to the right and Tom to the left. I'll stay in the center, and if any +one of us sees an enemy he's to shoot at it and rouse the camp."</p> + +<p>The two were gone in an instant, and Henry was left alone. That instant +all the old, primeval instincts, so powerful in him, were aroused. His +sixth sense, the sense of danger, was speaking to him in a voice that he +could not but hear. There, too, was the quaver of the wolf. All the +signals of alarm were set, and he resolved that he should be the first to +see danger when It showed its head.</p> + +<p>The clouds piled in heavier masses in the sky, and the darkness thickened. +The wind blew lightly and its sound among the boughs and leaves was a +long, plaintive sigh that had in it a tone like the cry of a woman. The +rain came only in gusts, but when it struck it was sharp and cold. The +trees stood out, black and ill-defined, like skeletons. But the forest, +its wet, its chill, and its loneliness, had no effect upon the attuned +mind of Henry Ware. He was in his native element, and every nerve in him +thrilled with the knowledge that he would rise to meet the crisis, +whatever it might be.</p> + +<p>He was crouched by the side of a great oak, his form blurring with its +trunk, his eyes, now used to the darkness, searching every covert in +front—he knew that Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross would watch to right and +left.</p> + +<p>The cry of the wolf did not come again, save for a lone note, now much +nearer. But when its sound passed through the forest, Henry Ware's form +seemed to become a little more taut and he leaned a little further +forward. Beyond the slight bending motion he did not stir.</p> + +<p>He still saw nothing and heard nothing, but that voice which was his sixth +sense was calling to him more loudly than ever, and he was ready to +respond.</p> + +<p>In front of him, thirty yards away, lay a thicket or undergrowth, and he +watched it incessantly. It seemed to him now that he knew every bush and +briar and vine. Presently a briar moved, and then a bush, and then a +vine, but they moved against the wind, and the sharp eyes of the watcher +saw it. He sank a little lower and the muzzle of his rifle stole forward. +He made not the slightest sound, and good eyes, only a few yards away, +could not have separated his dark figure from that of the tree trunk.</p> + +<p>The same briar and bush moved a third time, and, as before, against the +wind. It did not escape the notice of Henry Ware. Now he saw a sharp, red +nose appear, and then the shaggy head behind it.</p> + +<p>The nose remained—projected and lifted in the air, a-sniff to catch the +fleeting scent of an enemy. Fancy could readily paint the ugly head of the +lank body behind it. But Henry Ware was not deceived for an instant. The +muzzle of the rifle that had been thrust forward, was raised now, and +taking swift aim, he fired.</p> + +<p>A wild and terrible cry swelled through the forest. An Indian warrior +sprang to his feet, casting off his guise of a wolfskin, stood perfectly +still for a moment, and then fell headlong among the wet bushes. The cry +came back in many real echoes, the shouts of the warriors who knew now +that there was to be no surprise for them. Their battle cry swelled in +volume, fierce with anger, but Henry, Shif'less Sol, and Tom Ross were +already running back upon the camp, sounding the alarm, and the men, +roused from sleep, were springing to arms.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX" />CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<h3>THE BATTLE OF THE BANK</h3> + + +<p>"What is it? what is it?" cried Adam Colfax, as the three sentinels, who +were worth all the others combined, dashed into the camp.</p> + +<p>"An Indian army!" replied Henry Ware. "We do not yet know how strong, but +we have seen their scouts! hark to them!"</p> + +<p>The fierce war whoop rose and swelled through all the forest, died away, +then swelled and died again. From the dark wall of the trees came the +crackling fire of rifles. No one could be in doubt now.</p> + +<p>"Out with the fires! Scatter them, trample them down!" exclaimed Henry.</p> + +<p>He set the example, kicking the wood and embers in every direction. Adam +Colfax was not one to resent such a sudden assumption of authority, when +he saw that it meant the saving of human lives. He repeated the order and +joined in the work himself. Fortunately the fires had burned low and the +task was soon done, but not before two or three men had been hit by +bullets from the surrounding darkness.</p> + +<p>"Lie down, everybody!" cried Henry, and the order was obeyed at once. Then +the strange night battle in the heart of the wilderness began. The +savages, after their first attack, ceased to shout, and the voyagers on +their own part made little noise. But they knew that the assailing force +was numerous. It rimmed them on all sides save that of the river, and the +little pink and red beads of fire seemed to flash from every bush. The men +on the boats swarmed to the shore, but Adam Colfax allowed only half of +them to come, the land force at the same time falling back on the river to +meet them. He had no mind to let his communications be cut.</p> + +<p>As the white line fell back the red came on, and uttered again the +long-drawn, high-pitched war whoop, a cry of exultation. But it was not +repeated, as the white line withdrew only to the bank, and yielded no +more. Then both lines lay in the forest, faces invisible, but the pink and +red beads of opposing fire ran back and forth in a stream. Now and then, +even in the darkness, a bullet struck true. A groan would start in the +white line, but it would be checked at the lips, because these were men +too proud to give expression to pain.</p> + +<p>"They can't make much progress in this way," said Adam Colfax to Henry, +who had crept to his side.</p> + +<p>"They can make it terribly wearing by keeping it up all night."</p> + +<p>"We can withdraw to the boats entirely and row away."</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't do it. They're sure to have boats, too, knowing that we could +take to the water, and if we were to leave here they'd take it as a sign +of victory and follow. Then we'd have another and worse fight."</p> + +<p>Adam Colfax was of the same opinion. He was not in favor of yielding an +inch.</p> + +<p>"I think I can see some of their figures dancing about there among the +bushes," he whispered to Henry.</p> + +<p>"I see them, too," replied the youth, "and I think that I see white men. +They must be the desperate gang that followed Alvarez out of New Orleans."</p> + +<p>"No doubt of it."</p> + +<p>Adam Colfax presently crept down the river bank, but came back in a few +minutes.</p> + +<p>"Now we'll see something," he whispered to Henry, and what the cautious +leader said was quick to come true.</p> + +<p>The fire of both sides died for a moment, and then came a heavy crash and +a jet of fire from the river; there was a long, shrill scream as a missile +curved high over the white line and dropped in the red, where it burst, +flinging red-hot pieces of steel in a shower. It was followed instantly by +another report, another jet of fire, and another shower of metal in the +bushes. The brass twelve-pounders on the boat had opened fire, and with +shot after shot they were searching the dark thickets, whence cries of +rage now came.</p> + +<p>The Americans sent up shouts of triumph and redoubled their rifle fire. +Many of the more zealous were eager to creep to the thickets and turn the +defensive into the offensive, but the leaders restrained them.</p> + +<p>"No use to waste life in any such foolish fashion," said shrewd Adam +Colfax. "While we stay under the cannon they won't rush us, but if we +follow them into the bushes they'll have an overwhelming advantage."</p> + +<p>It began to lighten a little, but the wind blew stronger and very cold for +the time of the year. The red line was withdrawn further into the forest, +but it continued an intermittent fire, and now and then uttered a +challenging war whoop. The cannon every ten minutes sent a shot among +them, but whether it did any damage the Americans could not tell. The +defenders saved their bullets, firing only when there seemed to be a +chance for a hit, and thus the hours dragged their leaden weight slowly +by.</p> + +<p>A score of the Americans had been wounded by the rifle fire, but in most +cases the wounds were slight. Six were dead and they were taken to the +boats, where stones were tied to them and they were dropped into the +Mississippi to disappear forever. Rovers, adventurers, masterless men, +they had been, but they died in a good cause, and they were not without +mourners, as their bodies slid into the brown waters.</p> + +<p>Adam Colfax had coffee made on several of the boats provided with a +cooking apparatus, and it was served in the darkness to those who fought +on shore. One man had the tin cup shot from his hand as he was raising it +to his lips, but he calmly called for another, and when he had drunk it, +went on with his part of the battle.</p> + +<p>The hot coffee heartened them wonderfully, and the ten minute cannon shots +were good company. They grew to look for them, and so strong is habit, +that they knew almost to the second when the shot was due. It was like a +slow, steady chorus, cheering them and telling them to hold on.</p> + +<p>Far toward morning there was a tremendous burst of fire from the thickets, +the fierce, high-pitched war shout was repeated three times, and after +that, silence. Then the darkness sank away, and the day came in a burst of +red and gold, gilding river and forest.</p> + +<p>"They are gone," said Henry, "you'll find now that the woods are empty."</p> + +<p>Many of the voyagers rushed into the forest to discover that he spoke the +truth. Nowhere was there a sign of an enemy. No tree sheltered a warrior, +the thickets were harmless. The peaceful morning breeze had no note of +warning in its song. But when they looked more closely they saw that many +dark stains had soaked into the earth, and they knew that not all the +bullets and cannon balls had gone amiss.</p> + +<p>"Well, we drove them off that time," said Adam Colfax cheerfully. "They +found that they couldn't surprise us, and I guess they've concluded that +they couldn't rush us either. I fancy it's the last we'll see of 'em."</p> + +<p>Henry shook his head, and Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross, who were standing +by, also shook theirs.</p> + +<p>"We're pretty' sure that a big league of the southern tribes has been +formed," Henry said, "and there are also many white men with them, white +men who are driven by hate and revenge. They'll stick."</p> + +<p>"Then we've got to defend this fleet to the last," said Adam Colfax. "It's +bound to get through; and the first thing I'll have done is to cover up +our barrels of powder, so no fire or hot bullets can reach it. Those +barrels of powder are as precious as gold."</p> + +<p>This task was begun at once and everybody reembarked, a joyful little army +that had won a triumph and that felt able to win more if need be. The +wounded made light of their wounds and all felt new strength and courage +with the daylight. The five returned with the others to their boats.</p> + +<p>"Well, Jim," said Paul to Long Jim Hart, "there's trouble to be found away +from New Orleans as well as in it. Last night was not so very peaceful, +and the woods did contain danger."</p> + +<p>Long Jim heaved a satisfied sigh.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Paul," he replied, "thar wuz shorely a heap uv danger stirrin' 'bout +last night, an' thar wuz lots uv chances that some uv it would come +knockin' up ag'inst me, but, Paul, I knowed it wuz thar, I knowed it wuz +in the woods in front uv us; it wuzn't settin' by my side, talkin' soft +things to me, an' sayin' it wuz my friend. No, Paul, ef I had got killed +last night I would hev knowed, ef I knowed anythin' at all, that it wuz an +honest Injun bullet that done it, one that meant to do it, an' no +foolin'."</p> + +<p>The fleet resumed its passage up the river in its usual arrow formation, +with the five near the tip of the barb, but the bright promise of the +morning was deceitful. Toward noon the clouds of the night before that had +not retreated far, came back again, filing solemnly across the sky in a +long, somber procession. No air stirred. The wide, yellow river stretched +before them, a smooth, molten surface.</p> + +<p>The motion of the fleet became perceptibly slower. The men in that turgid +atmosphere felt languid and inert, and their hands rested but lightly on +oar and paddle. Cheerfulness gave way to depression. The voyage was far +less easy than it had seemed a few hours before. Overhead the clouds +united and drew a leaden blanket from horizon to horizon.</p> + +<p>"It's a storm, of course," said Henry. "Remember the one that struck us +when we were coming down the river. It's just such another."</p> + +<p>There was a sudden rush of hot air. Dull thunder, singularly uncanny in +its low, distant note, began to grumble. Lightning of an intense coppery +color flashed again and again across the heavens. The river began to rise +in yellow waves that crumbled and rose again.</p> + +<p>Some of the boats had sails, but these were quickly taken in—Adam Colfax +was no careless seaman. The fleet, nevertheless, began to heave on the +troubled water, break its formation, and fall into imminent danger of +frequent collision. The great river, usually so friendly, and, like a long +cord, uniting the green lands on either side, was now full of wrath and +fury. Burst after burst of wind, screaming ominously, swept over it, and +the waves rolled like those of the sea. Despite powerful hands on oar and +paddle, the fleet was driven about like a covey of frightened birds. +Meanwhile, the darkness increased until it was almost like night.</p> + +<p>Adam Colfax struggled hard. He wished to keep to the middle of the river, +and a single boat might have fought out the storm there, but the danger +was steadily increasing. Two boats, already, were in collision, and with +great difficulty were saved from sinking.</p> + +<p>"We'll have to make for the shore and tie up," he shouted to Henry, who +was in the boat next to him. "I think it's the most violent storm I ever +saw on the Mississippi."</p> + +<p>"We may find a sheltered place," Henry shouted back above the roar of the +wind.</p> + +<p>"There's nothing else to do," said Adam Colfax. "The eastern shore looks +the lower, and we'll go for it at once."</p> + +<p>He gave the signal with hand and voice, and all the boats began to pull +with their whole strength in a diagonal course toward the east bank, while +the wind shrieked in gust after gust, the thunder crashed incessantly, and +the coppery lightning flared in great saber-cuts across the sky.</p> + +<p>It was enough to daunt the heart of many a brave man, but Henry Ware was +not appalled. His primeval instincts had risen to the surface again. He +saw the grandeur of it rather than the weirdness and danger. Like Long +Jim, though less outspoken, he had been troubled by the intrigue, the +shiftiness, and the false seeming of New Orleans, and now his spirit +replied to the battle of the elements. He was the most active man in the +fleet. His quick hand and eye and powerful arm kept one canoe loaded with +medical stores, which had in them the saving of many lives, from going to +the bottom. The harder the wind blew and the rougher the waves grew the +higher his spirit rose to meet them.</p> + +<p>"Look!" he shouted to Adam Colfax, as they approached the shore, "an +opening! See it? I think it's a bayou, and if we go up that we'll be +safe!"</p> + +<p>Henry was right. Its mouth almost hidden by trees, the deep, still bayou +opened out before them, and ran its narrow length far back into the land. +One could not conceive a better anchorage for the small boats such as +constituted their fleet. The men, when they saw it, gave a hearty cheer +that rose above the wind. Hardy as they were, fear had entered most of +them.</p> + +<p>The leading boats passed into the bayou, and all the others, many +struggling hard with wind, current, and waves, followed them. The change +was immediate. They came into quarters comparatively still, but there was +a new danger. A tree, snapped through its mighty trunk by the hurricane, +fell across the bayou directly in front of them. It was lucky that no +canoe was in its way.</p> + +<p>"Out, men, with axes!" shouted Adam Colfax, and a dozen leaped to obey his +command. The tree was quickly cut apart and a score more dragged the two +halves up to the banks, leaving a passage once more for the fleet. This +was repeated further on, and now they began to look anxiously for more +open country. Only good fortune had saved them so far.</p> + +<p>The bayou ran on narrow and deep, and they pulled and paddled with all +their might, until at last they came to a place that was fringed only by +high bushes. The forest on either side was two or three hundred yards +away, and Adam Colfax, despite his stern New Hampshire nature, did not +repress a cry of joy. Here they were safe, alike from the Mississippi and +the forest.</p> + +<p>"Tie up!" he shouted, and the boats were soon fastened to the bushes in +parallel rows on either side of the bayou. Then they hurried to make +shelter for themselves. The supplies were already covered. The skies were +now at the darkest, a solid circle of heavy black clouds. The lightning +and thunder alike ceased, and then, borne on the swift wind, came a mighty +rain. It was so heavy, so steady, and so searching that they were put to +their utmost labor and ingenuity to keep their precious cargo dry.</p> + +<p>"If the rain were not so tremendously heavy I would look through the +forest to see if any enemies were about," said Henry to the leader.</p> + +<p>Adam Colfax glanced up at the water which was falling in sheets and +laughed, a laugh of genuine relief from a great strain.</p> + +<p>"Why, Henry," he said, "I don't believe that a man could keep his feet out +there in all that pelting flood long enough to go many miles. I wish I +was always as safe from attack as I feel now."</p> + +<p>It was certainly far more comfortable in the boats than it could possibly +be in the sodden forest, where little lakes were already forming. In +addition, night, very dark, was coming on, and no cessation of the rain +was promised. It was useless, in the face of the deluge, to attempt to +build fires on the shore, and huddling in the boats under tarpaulins, +sails, and blankets, they ate cold food. But Adam Colfax, as a precaution, +allowed a little brandy to be served to every man.</p> + +<p>"It's medicine in this case, boys," he said, "and you must look on it so. +I don't think you'll get any more."</p> + +<p>Bye and bye the rain slackened a little. Some one began a line of a song, +but it did not catch. Nobody joined in, and the singer stopped. The +atmosphere was not favorable to any kind of music. The hours passed +slowly, but it was nearly midnight when the rain ceased, and a timid moon +came out to cast a few pale rays over a soaked and dripping forest. Most +of the men were now asleep under their covers, but not one of the five +slumbered, nor did Adam Colfax and a dozen others.</p> + +<p>"Thank God, it's stopped at last!" said Adam Colfax devoutly—he was a +religious man, and his gratitude was not merely oral. "The clouds are +clearing away and I think we can soon see where we are."</p> + +<p>"Yes, it will be much lighter soon," said Henry Ware, "but in the +meantime we are about to receive a visitor. Look!"</p> + +<p>He pointed down the bayou toward the river. A light canoe was emerging +from the mists and shadows. It contained a single occupant, and came +straight on up the narrow channel.</p> + +<p>The man who sat in the canoe was tall and thin and wrapped in a dripping +black robe. His head was bare and his gray hair fell in long, straight +locks. The moonlight fell directly upon his thin, ascetic face, and +something in the eyes that Adam Colfax saw, or thought he saw, sent a +thrill through him.</p> + +<p>"Is it a ghost?" he asked of Henry Ware in an awed whisper.</p> + +<p>At that moment the moonlight shifted and fell upon something metallic that +gleamed upon the breast of the mystic visitor.</p> + +<p>"It is Father Montigny," said Henry. He, too, felt awe, not at any ghostly +apparition but because the priest had come suddenly at such a time.</p> + +<p>"What does it portend?" was his silent thought.</p> + +<p>Paddling with a strong hand the priest came straight toward them. The +moonlight continued to shine upon his face, and Henry thought that he read +there the impulse of a great mission.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX" />CHAPTER XX</h2> + +<h3>THE BATTLE OF THE BAYOU</h3> + + +<p>The priest came directly to the boat, in which Henry Ware and Adam Colfax +were sitting—the remainder of the five were in the next boat—and held up +his hand as a sign of recognition and relief.</p> + +<p>"Father Montigny!" said Henry.</p> + +<p>"Yes, my son, it is I, and I give thanks to Heaven that I have found you +in time."</p> + +<p>"What is it, father?" It seemed natural that at this moment Henry should +be the spokesman for the fleet.</p> + +<p>"A great danger has closed upon you and all here."</p> + +<p>"Alvarez?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, he is the master spirit, but back of him are the allied tribes of +the south, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, even Osages from the west, and +others, and in addition there are two hundred desperate white men drawn +from all nations. Alvarez has promised to lead them to great spoil and +plunder. He is the buccaneer chief now and they will follow him. At +night-fall they surprised a French trading schooner tied to the shore for +safety, slaughtered those on board, and have now drawn the schooner +across the mouth of the bayou to shut you in. The vessel also carries four +bronze nine pounders which they will use against you. Outside in the +Mississippi is a great fleet of Indian war-canoes which has been above you +in the stream."</p> + +<p>Adam Colfax paled a little.</p> + +<p>"It seems," he said, "that when we thought we were pulling to safety we +were merely entering a trap."</p> + +<p>"It was a trap," said Henry with energy, "but we're strong enough to break +any trap into which we may fall."</p> + +<p>"That's so," said Adam Colfax.</p> + +<p>"You may ask me how I knew all this," continued the priest. "I tell you +not what I have heard, but what I have seen. I was with the Choctaws, and +I sought to dissuade them from this campaign upon which they were +marching. I told them that Alvarez was mad with ambition and +disappointment, that he had rebelled against lawful authority, that he was +an outlaw and buccaneer, and that he could not keep his promises. My words +availed nothing. I continued with them, hoping still to dissuade them and +the other bands that met them, but still I failed.</p> + +<p>"I was yet with the tribe when they met Alvarez and the wicked renegade, +the one Wyatt, and their men. Alvarez would have used force, he would have +driven me from the camp with heavy blows; even this, the white man who has +inherited Holy Church would have done, but the red men, born savages, +would not let him. Although they would not listen to me they let me stay, +unharmed. I witnessed, or rather heard, their attack upon you last night, +and their repulse has made them only the more eager for your destruction. +It has also united them the more firmly."</p> + +<p>"When do you think they will attack us, Father Montigny?" asked Henry.</p> + +<p>"That I cannot tell. I heard their plans, and I deemed it my duty to warn +you. A guard, one whom I have converted to our faith, let me slip away and +here I am."</p> + +<p>"And our debt to you is still growing," said Henry. "As for myself, I +think the attack will come to-night, when they deem us disorganized and +beaten down by the storm."</p> + +<p>"And so do I," said Adam Colfax. "We have no time to waste."</p> + +<p>"May God preserve you," said the priest. "I have no desire to witness +scenes of slaughter but I trust, for the sake of yourselves, for the sake +of Bernardo Galvez, the good Governor General of Louisiana, and for the +welfare of this region, that you may beat them off. But the contest will +be fierce and bloody."</p> + +<p>A young man, at the order of Adam Colfax, sounded a trumpet, a low +thrilling call that aroused the men from their brief sleep, and the word +was quickly passed that they were blockaded in the bayou, and that the +hordes were advancing to a new attack. They grumbled less now than at the +storm. Here was a danger that they knew how to meet. Battle had been a +part of all their lives, and they did not fear it.</p> + +<p>The moonlight increased, the forest was dripping, but there was a noise +now of bullet clinking against bullet, of the ramrod sent home in the +rifle barrel, and of men talking low.</p> + +<p>Adam Colfax called a conference in his boat. His best lieutenants and the +five were present. Should they await the attack or advance to meet it? In +any event, the fleet must escape from the bayou, and the nearer they were +to the river when the battle occurred the better it would be for them.</p> + +<p>"Ef we know thar's a danger," said Tom Ross, "the best thing fur us to do +is to go to it, an' lay hold uv it."</p> + +<p>The vote on Tom's suggestion was unanimous in its favor, and the fleet +once more began to move. A small force of riflemen marched on either bank +in order to uncover possible skirmishers.</p> + +<p>The advance was very slow and in silence save for the dip of the oars and +the paddles. The moonlight grew stronger and stronger, and they could now +see a good distance on the deep, still bayou.</p> + +<p>The five had remained in the leading boats and they watched closely for +sight or sound of the hostile force, but as yet eye and ear told nothing. +The trees now grew close to the water's edge and, looped heavily with +trailing vines, they presented a black wall on either side. But they had +no fear of shots from such a source, as they knew that the trusty +riflemen going in advance would clear out any skirmishers who might have +hidden themselves there.</p> + +<p>Paul was beside Henry. Near him was Long Jim and in the boat next to them +was Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross. At this moment, which they felt to be +heavy with import, it was good to be together. Paul in particular, Paul, +the impressionable and imaginative, looked around at the familiar figures +in the clearing moonlight, and drew strength and comfort from their near +presence.</p> + +<p>The dark fleet moved slowly on, cutting the deep still waters of the bayou +with almost noiseless keel. The men had ceased whispering. Now and then an +oar splashed or the water gave back the echo of a paddle's dip, but little +else was heard. All looked straight ahead.</p> + +<p>Suddenly they saw in the middle of the bayou, about a hundred yards before +them, a small, black shape, so low that it seemed to blend with the water. +It was an Indian canoe, the first outpost of the savage force, and its +occupant, promptly firing a rifle, raised a long, warning shout. In an +instant the woods on either side began to crackle with rifle-fire. +Skirmishers had met skirmishers, and the battle of the bayou had begun.</p> + +<p>"Press on! Press on! We must cut through somehow!" cried Adam Colfax, and +the American fleet moved steadily and unfalteringly on toward its goal. +They came now to the narrowest part of the bayou, and stretched across it +they saw a dark line of canoes, all crowded with Indians and the +desperadoes of Alvarez. Behind them heaved up the dark bulk of the +captured schooner.</p> + +<p>The battle blazed in an instant into volume and fury. Two lines of fire +facing each other were formed across the bayou, one bent upon pushing +forward, the other bent upon holding it back. These lines, moreover, +stretched far into the woods on either bank, where sharpshooters lay, and +both sides shouted at intervals as the blood in their veins grew hot.</p> + +<p>The dark hulk of the schooner suddenly burst into spots of flame, and the +woods and waters echoed with heavy reports. The captured nine pounders +were now helping to block the passage, but the brass twelve pounders on +the supply fleet replied. Steadily the fire of both sides grew in volume +and the lines came closer and closer together.</p> + +<p>The moonlight faded again and little clouds of smoke began to rise. These +clouds gradually grew bigger, then united into one heavy opaque mass that +hung over the combatants. Strips of vapor were detached from it and +floated off into the forest. A sharp, pungent odor, the smell of burnt +gunpowder, filled the nostrils of the men and added to the fire that +burned in their veins.</p> + +<p>This, the largest battle yet fought in the southern woods, had a somber +and unreal aspect to Paul. All around them now was the encircling +darkness. Only the area in which the battle was fought showed any light, +but here the flashes of the firing were continuous and intense. The crash +of the rifles never ceased. Now and then it rose to greater volume and +then fell again, but rising or falling it always went on, while over it +boomed the big guns answering one another in defiant notes of thunder.</p> + +<p>The schooner was the most formidable obstacle to the passage. It lay full +length across the narrow bayou and, even if the boats of the supply fleet +should reach it, there was little room to pass on either side. From its +decks the nine pounders were fired fast and often with precision, and the +majority of the Spaniard's desperate band found shelter there also, firing +with rifles, muskets, and pistols. Others sent bullets, also, from the +comparative security of port holes. The possession of the schooner gave +them a great advantage and they did not neglect it. Now and then they sent +up fierce yells, the war-cries of the West Indian pirates, and their +Indian allies answered them with their own long-drawn, high pitched whoop, +so full of ferocity and menace. Both looked forward to nothing less than +complete triumph.</p> + +<p>The space between the combatants was lighted up by the incessant flash of +the firing. Little jets of water where a missent bullet struck were +continually spouting up, and then would come a bigger one when a cannon +ball plunged into the depths of the bayou.</p> + +<p>Paul suddenly heard a heavy impact, a crash, as of ripping wood, and a +cry. A canoe near them had been struck by a cannon ball, and practically +broken in half. It sank in an instant, and one of the men in it, wounded +in the arm, and crippled, was sinking a second time, when Paul sprang +into the water and helped him into their own boat. But not all the wounded +were so fortunate. Some sank, to stay, and the dark night battle, far more +deadly than that of the night before, reeled to and fro.</p> + +<p>The combat at first had been more of a spectacle than anything else to +Paul. The extraordinary play of light and darkness, the innumerable +shadows and flashes on the surface of the bayou, the black tracery of the +forest on either bank, the red beads of flame from the rifle fire +appearing and re-appearing, made of it all a vast panorama for him. There +were the sounds, too, the piratical shout, hoarse and menacing, the Indian +whoop, shriller and with more of the wild beast's whine in it, the fierce, +sharp note of the rifle fire, steady, insistent, and full of threat, and +over it the heavy thudding of the great guns.</p> + +<p>It was Paul's eye and ear at first that received the deep impression, but +now the aspect of a panorama passed away and his soul was stirred with a +fierce desire to get on, to cut through the hostile line, to crush down +the opposition, and to reach the full freedom of the wide river. He began +to hate those men who opposed them, the fire of passion that battle breeds +was surely mounting to his head. Unconsciously, Paul, the scholar and +coming statesman, the grave quiet youth, began to shout and to hurl +invectives at those who presumed to hold them back. The barrel of his +rifle grew hot in his hand with constant loading and firing, but he did +not notice it. He still, at imminent risk to himself, sent his bullets +toward the dark line of Indian canoes and the flashing hulk of the ship +behind them.</p> + +<p>The supply fleet was beginning to suffer severely. A number of boats and +canoes had been sunk and nearly a score of men had been killed. Many more +were wounded and, despite all this loss, they had made no progress. The +fire from the bank, moreover, was beginning to sting them and to stop it +Adam Colfax landed more men. The increased force of the Americans on the +shore served the purpose but they were still unable to force the mouth of +the bayou. The schooner seemed to be fixed there and she never ceased to +send a storm of bullets and cannon balls at them.</p> + +<p>Adam Colfax had a slight wound in the arm, but his slow cold blood was now +at the boiling point.</p> + +<p>"We've got to force that schooner!" he cried. "We've got to take her, if +it has to be done with boarders! We can never get by unless we do it!"</p> + +<p>But the loss of life even if the attempt were a success, would be +terrible. That was apparent to everybody and Henry made a suggestion.</p> + +<p>"Let's concentrate our whole fire upon the ship," he said. "Mass the +cannon and the rest of us will back them up with our rifles. Maybe we can +silence her, and if we do then's the time to take her by storm."</p> + +<p>The supply fleet drew back and its fire died. It seemed, in truth, as if +it were beaten and that, hemmed in by fire, as it were in the narrow +bayou, it must surrender. A tremendous shout of triumph burst forth from +the men on the schooner, and the Indians took it up in a vast and shriller +but more terrible chorus.</p> + +<p>Then came one of those sudden and ominous silences that sometimes occur in +a battle. The fire of the Americans ceasing, that of their enemies ceased +for the moment also. But the pause was more deadly and menacing in its +stillness than all the thunder and shouting of the combat had been. It +seemed unnatural to hear again the sighing of the wind through the forest +and the quiet lap of water against the shore. The bank of smoke, no longer +increased from below, lifted, thinned, broke up into patches, and began to +float away. The moon's rays shot through the mists and vapors once more, +and lighted up the watery battlefield of the night, the schooner, the +desperate men on it, the swarms of canoes, the coppery, high-cheeked faces +of the Indians, the supply fleet packed now in a rather close mass, the +tanned faces of the men on board it, animated by the high spirit of daring +and enterprise, the wounded lying silent in the boats, and the wreckage +floating on the bayou.</p> + +<p>But the stillness endured for only a few moments. It was broken by the +American fleet, which seemed to draw itself together into closer and more +compact form. An order in a low tone, but sharp and precise, was carried +from boat to boat, and it seemed to strengthen the men anew, heart and +body. They straightened up, signs of exhaustion passed from their faces, +and every one made ready all the arms that he had.</p> + +<p>Paul, like the others, had felt the sudden silence, but perhaps most +acutely of all. His whole imaginative temperament was on fire. He knew—he +would have known, even had he not heard—that the sudden cessation of the +firing was merely preliminary, a fresh drawing of the breath as it were +for another and supreme effort. He clasped his hands to his temples, where +the pulses were beating rapidly and heavily, and his face burned as if in +a fever. But it was a fever of the mind not of the body.</p> + +<p>"It's a big battle, Paul," said Shif'less Sol, who had come with Tom Ross +into their boat, "but it's wuth it. The arms and other things that we +carry in these boats may be wuth millions an' millions to the people who +come after us."</p> + +<p>"Do you think we'll ever break through, Sol?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"Shorely," replied the shiftless one. "Henry's got the plan, and we're +goin' to cut through like a wedge druv through a log. Something's got to +give. Up, Paul, with your gun! Here she goes ag'in!"</p> + +<p>The battle suddenly burst forth afresh and with greater violence. All the +American twelve pounders were now in a row at the head of the fleet, and +one after another, from right to left and then from left to right and over +and over again, they began to fire with tremendous rapidity and accuracy +at the schooner. All the best gunners were around the twelve pounders. If +one fell, another took his place. Many of them were stripped to the waist, +and their own fire lighted up their tan faces and their brown sinewy arms +as they handled rammer and cannon shot.</p> + +<p>The fire of the cannon was supported by that of scores and scores of +rifles, and the enemy replied with furious energy. But the supply fleet +was animated now by a single purpose. The shiftless one's simile of a +wedge driven into a log was true. No attention was paid to anybody in the +hostile boats and canoes. They could fire unheeded. Every American cannon +and rifle sent its load straight at the schooner. All the upper works of +the vessel were shot away. The men of Alvarez could not live upon its +decks; they were even slain at the port holes by the terrific rifle fire; +cannon shot, grape shot, and rifle bullets searched every nook and corner +of the vessel, and her desperate crew, one by one, began to leap into the +water and make for the shores.</p> + +<p>A shout of exultation rose from the supply fleet, which was now slowly +moving forward. Flames suddenly burst from the schooner and ran up the +stumps of her masts and spars, reaching out long arms and laying hold at +new points. The cannon shots had also reached the inside of the ship as +fire began to spout from the port holes, and there was a steady stream of +men leaping from the schooner into the water of the bayou and making for +the land.</p> + +<p>The American shout of exultation was repeated, and the forest gave back +the echo. The Indians answered it with a fierce yell of defiance, and the +forest gave back that, too.</p> + +<p>But Adam Colfax had been watching shrewdly.</p> + +<p>In his daring life he had been in more than one naval battle, and when he +saw the schooner wrapped and re-wrapped in great coils and ribbons of +flame he knew what was due. Suddenly he shouted in a voice that could be +heard above the roar of the battle:</p> + +<p>"Back! Back, all! Back for your lives!"</p> + +<p>It reached the ears of everybody in the American fleet, and whether he +understood its words or not every man understood its tone. There was an +involuntary movement common to all. The fleet stopped its slow advance, +seemed to sway in another direction, and then to sit still on the water. +But all were looking at the schooner with an intense, fascinated, yet +horrified gaze.</p> + +<p>Nobody was left on the deck of the vessel but the dead. The huge, +intertwining coil of fiery ribbons seemed suddenly to unite in one great +glowing mass, out of which flames shot high, sputtering and crackling. +Then came an awful moment of silence, the vessel trembled, leaped from the +water, turned into a volcano of fire and with a tremendous crash blew up.</p> + +<p>The report was so great that it came rolling back in echo after echo, but +for a few moments there was no other sound save the echo. Then followed a +rain of burning wood, many pieces falling in the supply fleet, burning and +scorching, while others fell hissing in the forest on either shore. +Darkness, too, came over land and water. All the firing had ceased as if +by preconcerted signal, though the combatants on either side were awed by +the fate of the vessel. The smoke bank came back, too, thicker and heavier +than before, and the air was filled with the strong, pungent odor of +burnt gunpowder.</p> + +<p>But the schooner that had blocked the mouth of the bayou was gone forever +and the way lay open before them. Adam Colfax recovered from the shock of +the explosion.</p> + +<p>"On, men! On!" he roared, and the whole fleet, animated by a single +impulse, sprang forward toward the mouth of the bayou, the cannon blazing +anew the path, the gunners loading and firing, as fast as they could. But +the simile of the shiftless one had come true. The wedge, driven by +tremendous strokes, had cleft the log.</p> + +<p>The Indian fleet, many of the boats containing white men, too, closed in +and sought to bar the way, but they were daunted somewhat by their great +disaster, and in an instant the American fleet was upon them cutting a +path through to the free river. Boat often smashed into boat, and the +weaker, or the one with less impulse, went down. Now and then white and +red reached over and grasped each other in deadly struggle, but, whatever +happened, the supply fleet moved steadily on.</p> + +<p>It was to Paul a confused combat, a wild and terrible struggle, the climax +of the night-battle. White and red faces mingled before him in a blur, the +water seemed to flow in narrow, black streams between the boats and the +pall of smoke was ever growing thicker. It hung over them, black and +charged now with gases. Paul coughed violently, but he was not conscious +of it. He fired his rifle until it was too hot to hold. Then he laid it +down, and seizing an oar pulled with the energy of fever.</p> + +<p>When the boats containing the cannon were through and into the river, they +faced about and began firing over the heads of the others into the huddled +mass of the enemy behind. But it was only for a minute or two. Then the +last of the supply fleet; that is, the last afloat, came through, and the +gap that they had made was closed up at once by the enemy, who still hung +on their rear and who were yet shouting and firing.</p> + +<p>The Americans gave a great cheer, deep and full throated, but they did not +pause in their great effort. Boats swung off toward either bank of the +bayou's mouth. The skirmishers in the bushes who had done such useful work +must be taken on board. Theirs was now the most dangerous position of all, +pursued as they certainly would be by the horde of Indians and outlaws, +bent upon revenge.</p> + +<p>The boat containing the five was among those that touched the northern +side of the bayou's mouth, and everyone of them, rifle in hand, instantly +sprang ashore.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI" />CHAPTER XXI</h2> + +<h3>THE DEFENSE OF THE FIVE</h3> + + +<p>Henry Ware was the first on land, Shif'less Sol came just behind him, and +then the other three. The boat from which they had leaped, and which now +contained but two oarsmen, swung back a little into the stream, and in a +moment the darkness, closing down, shut it from view. They stood in a +patch of undergrowth and the battle still flamed around them on the bayou, +on the river, and in the woods. It was now fiercest in the forest, which +crackled with the rifle shots and the sound of singing bullets. +Innumerable jets of flame sparkled here and there, and then went out, to +be succeeded instantly by others.</p> + +<p>Many of the Indian canoes had been sunk by the explosion or the sweep of +the supply fleet, but it was easy for their occupants, if not seriously +wounded, to escape to the land, and they greatly increased the savage +swarm in the woods, chiefly on the north bank of the bayou. Henry and his +friends could hear their warning cries to one another, even their tread, +and they realized that their own skirmishers in the woods would be pressed +hard. Only a determined effort could hold back the horde long enough for +the men to reach the fleet.</p> + +<p>While they stood there, seeking the best thing to do, two skirmishers +dashed up, breathless, both slightly wounded, and exclaiming that they +were pursued by a formidable force.</p> + +<p>"Jump into the water!" cried Henry. "The boats are only a few yards away! +We'll hold back the savages!"</p> + +<p>There were two plunks, as the skirmishers sprang into the Mississippi, +sinking a moment from sight, and then, as they reappeared, swimming +swiftly for the boats. Behind them came their pursuers in a swarm, but +they were driven back by the rifle fire of the little party from Kentucky. +Another skirmisher burst through the bushes, and, helped in the same way, +sprang into the Mississippi, swimming for the boats. Then came a fourth +and a fifth and everyone escaped as the others had done.</p> + +<p>"It's well we came," said Henry. "This is not the least of our task. Lie +down, boys."</p> + +<p>They stretched themselves on the damp earth, the great, yellow river close +behind them, and the forest in front swarming with the savage force. They +had expected other men who had landed to come to their aid, but the +parties had become separated in the darkness and confusion of the battle, +and they were left alone. Nevertheless a dauntless heart beat in every +breast, and they expected to hold that neck of land, which seemed to be a +channel for the pursued, until the last fugitive was safe.</p> + +<p>Lying upon their faces, half supported by their elbows, they could load +and fire whenever they saw a hostile figure in front of them. Again and +again the pursuit of a skirmisher was driven back by these deadly +riflemen. Now and then a cannon shot fired from their own fleet whistled +over their heads and struck in the forest among their foes, but they paid +no attention to it. They were intent upon their own work and every faculty +was concentrated for the task.</p> + +<p>They had the bayou on one side and a little bay of the river on the other, +and they could not be surrounded by land. The foe was always straight +before them, in a way, eye to eye, and there they sent bullets that rarely +missed.</p> + +<p>A fever was in their blood, the long battle, its tremendous events, and +the new phase that it had now assumed, set every nerve to going. Certain +faculties useless for that crisis had become atrophied for the time. They +no longer heard the sounds of the cannon shots over their heads or the +shouts of the men on the boats, they saw and heard nothing but their own +battle and what lay directly in front of them.</p> + +<p>The position was growing more dangerous. Their searching fire had drawn +upon them an enemy always increasing in numbers. The savages converged in +front of them in a semicircle, and their fire grew heavier and heavier. +Bullets whistled over them, struck the earth about them, or clipped their +clothing.</p> + +<p>Another fugitive passed them and escaped, and then yet another. It was +evident that their task was not yet done, and they would not leave, +although the fire poured upon them, still increased in heat and the +bullets came in showers.</p> + +<p>Presently the attack seemed to veer away from them somewhat, as if the +attention of the enemy were turned elsewhere, and Paul, who was at the end +of the line, crept forward a little in the thicket. The fever was still +burning in his veins and he was anxious to see what lay in front of him. +He did not hear the warning cries of his comrades, or, if hearing, he did +not heed them. He was still burning with the desire to see what lay there +in the depths of the forest. Paul, the scholar, the thinker, the future +statesman, had become transformed. In such a surcharged atmosphere he, +too, had turned into the primitive man, the fighter, the man who looks +upon every other man not proven a friend, as his natural enemy. The +bullets had ceased for the time being to whistle above his head and to +strike up the earth about him. He became conscious once more of the cannon +shots, shrieking over him, and the crash of the rifle fire came from right +and left.</p> + +<p>A stick broke under Paul and he heard a shout in front of him. The shout +was so fierce, so fully charged with malice, that he sprang to his feet as +if he had been propelled by an electric shock. He stood face to face with +Don Francisco Alvarez, the plotter, the rebel, and leader of the attacking +army, a wild and terrible figure, clothes torn, bleeding from wounds, but +animated now by a savage joy. His pistol was leveled at the surprised +youth, and the next moment the deadly bullet would have been sped, but a +tall black-robed figure rose up from the bushes and threw Alvarez back.</p> + +<p>"Francisco Alvarez, thou hast done crime enough already!" exclaimed the +priest.</p> + +<p>Alvarez regained his balance, cast one look of hate at the man who had +intervened, and cried:</p> + +<p>"Ha! it is you, priest, who have come in my way once more! Then go the way +of martyrdom!"</p> + +<p>Turning his pistol he fired the bullet full into the black-robed chest, +and Father Montigny fell dying.</p> + +<p>Paul stood still, unable to move. Every muscle in him was paralyzed by +this deed which seemed to him not murder alone, but sacrilege. Of all the +events of that terrible night this was the worst. But a man behind Paul, +retained every faculty, alive and alert. Up rose Shif'less Sol, his honest +face ablaze with wrath. His rifle flew to his shoulder, his finger pressed +the trigger, and the soul of Don Francisco Alvarez, grandee of Spain, sped +to judgment from the darkness and obscurity of the North American +wilderness.</p> + +<p>"Come back, Paul! Come back!" cried Shif'less Sol, seizing the youth by +the shoulder.</p> + +<p>"But Father Montigny is dying!" cried Paul, falling upon his knees beside +the priest. The tears ran down his cheeks and fell upon the pale face of +the dying man.</p> + +<p>Paul and Father Montigny, Protestant and Catholic, young man and old, were +kindred spirits, and each had felt it from the first. In the soul of each +was the same mysticism, the same imaginative quality, the same spiritual +eye always looking into the future. It had occurred more than once to the +priest that, if he had remained outside the cloth, and had lived as other +men lived, he would have wished such a son as Paul.</p> + +<p>Now he smiled and opened his eyes as he saw this beloved youth of his +later days weeping over him, as he lay in the forest with his death wound. +The one face that he wished most to see beside him, as he drew his last +breath, was there.</p> + +<p>"Paul!" he said, "Paul, my son! Do not weep. It is the fate—in one form +or another—of all who travel in these woods—on such missions as mine. I +have long expected it—and I have often wondered that it has been delayed +so long. I escape, too, the torture—that more than one of my brethren has +suffered."</p> + +<p>He reached out one hand, and put it lightly upon Paul's bare head. There +it lay and Paul felt it grow cold upon him.</p> + +<p>"Come away, Paul," said the shiftless one gently. "The good priest is +dead. It's the livin' that need our help."</p> + +<p>Bullets began to whistle from the thickets. The battle converged toward +them again, and Paul knew that he was needed to help the others hold the +little neck of land so important to all. A cannon shot shrieked over his +head, and then another. Once more they were the focus of the combat. The +forest in front of them sparkled as rapidly as before with beads of +flame.</p> + +<p>Paul rose reluctantly and turned away. The priest lay on his back, his +face, pale and perfectly peaceful, upturned to the skies. Alvarez was a +dozen yards away, but his figure, still forever, was motionless in the +shadows. Paul did not bestow a glance upon him, but he gave Father +Montigny a last long look of affection and sorrow as he turned away.</p> + +<p>"Down, Paul, down!" cried Henry, when Paul and Shif'less Sol reached the +others. "We saw what happened! You cannot do anything for him now!"</p> + +<p>He dragged Paul down, and in an instant all of them turned their full +energy to the defense. The attack upon them was renewed with uncommon fire +and fury. The Indians and desperadoes wished to pass that particular neck +of land in order that they might pour a storm of bullets upon the crippled +fleet and the skirmishers who were yet coming in; but the little band, +headed by Henry Ware, still held them back.</p> + +<p>Henry looked once or twice toward the river and saw the boats hovering far +out in the stream. He judged that, in the darkness and confusion, Adam +Colfax no longer knew where the Kentuckians lay, and it was even possible +that he might lose them entirely; but the fact did not shake Henry's +resolve. It was vital that they should hold the neck, and he intended to +do it. He and his comrades, lying close together, replied rapidly and with +deadly aim to the fire in front of them, forming a compact little body, +with blazing rifles, which the savage army was not yet able to displace.</p> + +<p>The night darkened, there were signs of rain, induced perhaps, by so much +firing; the moon was completely hidden by gathering clouds; the river +became a black, flowing mass and the boats upon it blurred with its +surface, save when they leaped into the light in the blaze of a cannon +shot. The woods, too, seemed a solid, black wall, along the front of which +rifle shots sparkled in clusters.</p> + +<p>"Good boys! good boys!" exclaimed Henry in low tones, surcharged with +excitement. He, too, had the mounting blood hot in his brain. All the old +primeval passion was flaming in him. But the fire of the enemy converged +nearer and nearer, and the bullets sang a ceaseless little song in his +ears as they passed. "Ah!" he exclaimed as one struck him in the arm. But +that was all he said. He went on with his loading and firing.</p> + +<p>"Are you hit, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"A scratch! Nothing more! Look how Long Jim fights!"</p> + +<p>Long Jim was almost flat upon his face, but the man, usually so mild and +good tempered, was now wholly possessed by the rage of combat. His long +thin figure fitted around the sinuosities of the earth, and he seemed to +have a curious gliding motion, sliding forward slowly to meet the enemy. +The darkness was nothing now to his accustomed eyes, and he sent his +bullets with sure aim toward the shadowy forms in the bushes in front of +them.</p> + +<p>Long Jim forgot everything now but his rifle and the enemy there in the +thicket. He slid further and further, still drawing himself over the +ground in that terrible semblance of a serpent. Paul, seeing his face, was +frightened. "Jim! Jim!" he cried. "Stop!" But Long Jim slid slowly on. Tom +Ross said something, but it was lost in the whistling of a cannon shot +overhead.</p> + +<p>They saw Long Jim stop the next moment, and Paul believed that he heard +him utter a little sigh. Long Jim's limbs contracted and straightened out +again with a jerk. Then he turned slowly over on his side and lay still, a +moment or two, after which he began to writhe violently. At the same time +he clapped his hand to his head and it came back red.</p> + +<p>"Sol sometimes says I've a thick skull, an' 'ef so it's a good thing," he +muttered to himself.</p> + +<p>He shook his head again and again, as if to clear it, and crept back to +his friends. There he tore off a portion of his deerskin hunting shirt, +tied it tightly around the wound, and went on with his firing.</p> + +<p>"Don't be too enthusiastic, Jim," said Henry.</p> + +<p>"I won't," replied Long Jim, "I'm cured."</p> + +<p>Lower crouched the five, taking advantage of the bushes and little +hillocks, and sending a bullet every time they saw a flitting figure in +the forest in front of them. Behind them they could still hear the roar of +the combat on the river. The crackle of the rifles and the muskets was +steady in their ears, while now and then the note of a cannon boomed above +it, and a solid shot, curving over their heads, whizzed into the +thickets. But they paid little attention to the main battle; it was +merely a chorus, a background, as it were, for their own corner of the +struggle, which absorbed all their energies.</p> + +<p>Their fire was so incessant, it was so well aimed, and it stung the allied +army so severely, that an increasing force was steadily concentrating in +front of them. Nor did they escape wholly unhurt. A bullet grazed Henry's +arm and another did the same for Shif'less Sol's shoulder; but neither +paid any attention to his wounds, loading and reloading, facing the enemy +with undiminished zeal and courage.</p> + +<p>Its whole aspect was now a phantom battle to them all. The incessant crash +and roaring in their ears, and the smoke and vapor in their nostrils, +heated their brains and made everything look unreal. They were but +phantoms themselves, and the foes who leaped about in the forest were +phantoms, too. Darker and darker the clouds rolled up and the smoke and +vapors thickened in the forest, but through the blackness the lines of +flame still replied to each other.</p> + +<p>Paul's excitement was so great that he could not keep himself down. He was +burning with fever, but passion seemed to be departing from him. He +thought that, if they were all to die, it was a privilege to die together. +He saw now the deep cool woods, a beautiful lake, and an island enclosed +within it, like a green gem in a blue setting. Paul's thoughts, and his +vision with them, were wandering into the past.</p> + +<p>"Steady, Paul, steady!" said Henry. But Paul saw nothing now. A bullet, +singing merrily, gave him a leaden kiss, and he sank down very gently, +lying upon one arm, the red fast dyeing his buckskin hunting shirt.</p> + +<p>Henry gave a cry when he saw Paul fall, and bent anxiously over his +friend. The light was faint, but the bullet seemed to have gone entirely +through the youth. Henry put his ear to his chest, and could hear his +heart still beating, though faintly.</p> + +<p>"Hold 'em back!" he shouted to his friends, "and I'll help Paul!"</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol, Tom, and Long Jim, although overwhelmed with anxiety for +their young comrade, steadily turned their faces toward the foe, and +replied to his fire. Henry, while the bullets whistled above his head, +bent down and cut away Paul's hunting shirt. Yes, the bullet had gone +entirely through his body and it was lucky for Paul that it had done so. +No need now of the surgeon's probe. Henry bound up the wound tightly and +stopped the bleeding. Then he undertook to lift the lad; but Paul, +although still unconscious and a dead weight in his arms, groaned with +pain. Henry laid him gently back on the ground.</p> + +<p>"Boys," he said, "Paul is too weak to be moved, and we've got to hold this +place until help comes or the enemy quits."</p> + +<p>"I think the last skirmisher has escaped now," said Shif'less Sol, "but +here we stay."</p> + +<p>He spoke for them all, and Henry, unable to do anything more for Paul, +turned his attention anew to the enemy. There was a sudden increase of the +firing in front. The clouds and vapors rolled back, and the dancing +figures in the thickets took on more semblance of reality. Suddenly Henry +uttered a cry. His eyes of almost preternatural keenness had recognized +one of the figures.</p> + +<p>"What is it, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"Braxton Wyatt. He's in the thicket. I saw him a moment ago. I know his +face and figure too well to be mistaken."</p> + +<p>"I saw him, too," replied the shiftless one. "O' course he's escaped the +bullets so fur. It's jest his luck."</p> + +<p>"I think he knows we're here," said Henry, "and he's leading the attack on +us. But we'll never yield this ground and Paul to such a fellow."</p> + +<p>"No!" said the others with one voice.</p> + +<p>The clouds and vapors closed in again. The darkness rolled up in wave +after wave, and the renegade, leading on outlaw and red man, pressed the +attack; but the four met them with courage and spirit unshaken.</p> + +<p>The clouds and vapors rolled over attack and defense, but through the +darkness fire answered fire. After a while the forest and the bayou, which +had witnessed such a desperate display of human energy, sank into darkness +and silence. The clouds, now in the zenith, began to give forth rain, but +it was a gentle, beneficent rain, and it fell silently on the faces of the +living and the dead alike.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII" />CHAPTER XXII</h2> + +<h3>THE CHOSEN TASK</h3> + + +<p>Adam Colfax had gone through the battle unharmed, but that terrible night +left new gray in his hair. He was a religious man, and, when the rifle +fire died down in the forest and then went out, he uttered a devout prayer +of thankfulness. He and his train, on the whole, had come through better +than he had expected. There had been moments in the bayou when he thought +no mortal strength or skill could break the chain that bound them. But the +savage army and navy had been beaten off, and the core of his fleet was +saved. He could still go on to Pittsburgh with his precious cargo.</p> + +<p>The trumpet was sounded again, and the boats, drawing together, began to +count their losses. It was a long sad count, but those who survived were +elated over their great victory.</p> + +<p>It was then that Adam Colfax discovered the loss of the five who had +helped him so much. Some one had seen them spring ashore to protect the +escape of the skirmishers, and he ordered the fleet at once toward the +land to save them, or, if too late, to bring their bodies to the boat.</p> + +<p>A dozen boats swung in toward the bank and that of Adam Colfax was +foremost. He was not conscious of the gentle rain, save that it felt +cooling and pleasant on his face after the heat and smoke of the battle. +Yet the brain of the stern New Hampshire man was still fevered, too. The +battle had ceased, but the roar of the cannon-shots and the crash of the +rifles yet echoed in his ears. The black forest that came down to the +water's edge, was full of mystery and terror, and his was no timid heart. +Smoke of the battle drifted among the trees or over the river, and the +rain did not drive it all away. In the far distance low thunder muttered, +and now and then flashes of heat lightning drew a belt of coppery red +along the dark horizon.</p> + +<p>Adam Colfax, stern man that he was, shuddered. But he would not flinch. He +was the first to spring ashore. The forest assumed its most somber aspect. +The trees were weird and ghostly, and there was no sound at all but the +gentle drip, drip of the rain. Here the vapors and mists seemed to be +imprisoned by the boughs and foliage, and the odors were heavy and acrid.</p> + +<p>He had landed upon a little neck of land, and some one remarked: "It was +here that the Kentuckians landed." But there was no sound in the forest +and the scouts had reported already that the enemy had gone away. A great +fear gripped at the heart of Adam Colfax. "They are all dead," he thought.</p> + +<p>Men brought torches, as they no longer had any fear of sharpshooters; and +Adam Colfax, followed by twenty others, entered the forest. The wind rose +slightly and whipped the rain in his face, but he stepped into the +deepest shadow, and, taking a torch from one of the men, held it aloft +with his own hand. The light fell upon a little open space and, despite +himself, Adam Colfax uttered a cry.</p> + +<p>A figure lay outstretched under the shelter of arching boughs and bushes, +and four more beside it were still and silent, leaning against a fallen +log. There was such an absolute lack of motion, that Colfax at first +thought that the soul of every one was sped.</p> + +<p>"Good God! Dead! All dead!" he exclaimed.</p> + +<p>But a great figure quickly uprose.</p> + +<p>"No," said Henry Ware, a fine smile passing over his boyish face. "We beat +them off, and we're just resting and waiting. Only Paul is seriously hurt, +and so far we've been afraid to move him."</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol, Jim Hart, and Tom Ross rose, too, and shook the raindrops +from their clothes.</p> + +<p>"We didn't have good shelter here," said Shif'less Sol, "but I think the +rain and its coolness have helped Paul."</p> + +<p>Adam Colfax bent over the boy and, in the dawning light, made a critical +examination.</p> + +<p>"He will live," he said. "We'd have come to your relief long ago, had we +known you were here."</p> + +<p>"It was Braxton Wyatt who led the last attack against us," said Henry, +"and as usual, he has had the good luck to escape. At least, we can't find +his body here, and I haven't the slightest doubt that he's living to do +more mischief and that we'll meet him again."</p> + +<p>It was true, and a diligent search revealed no trace of Wyatt. He had +escaped, fleeing North after the battle, to rejoin his old friends, the +Shawnees and Miamis.</p> + +<p>Paul was lifted gently, after receiving treatment from the surgeon of the +fleet, and carried to a boat, where he regained consciousness. His wound +was severe, but his blood was so healthy that he would recover, according +to the surgeon, with great rapidity.</p> + +<p>When all five were together, Adam Colfax said to them collectively:</p> + +<p>"You did the most of all to save the fleet."</p> + +<p>That was enough reward for them.</p> + +<p>The body of Father Montigny was buried in the forest, and a little wooden +cross was put at his head, Christian burial was given to the body of +Alvarez, too, and the supply fleet prepared for a new start.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>The fleet, two weeks later, was making its slow progress northward on the +Mississippi. The great river was in an uncommonly friendly mood. Its usual +yellow seemed silver in the brilliant morning light. Heavy masses of green +fringed either low shore, and keen pleasant odors came from the +wilderness.</p> + +<p>Oliver Pollock, hearing of the battle of the bayou, had sent a second +detachment from New Orleans to replace the men and boats lost and the +ammunition shot away by the first, and now, stronger than ever, it +continued under the brave and skillful leadership of Adam Colfax, on its +great mission.</p> + +<p>The five sat in the end of one of the largest boats, under the shade of a +sail. Paul's strength was fast coming back; he would not suffer the +slightest harm, and they were happy.</p> + +<p>"This is jest the life fur a lazy man like me," said Shif'less Sol. +"Nothin' to do but go on an' on, with people to wait on you, an' say you +hev already done your part."</p> + +<p>"We have had a wonderful escape," said Paul.</p> + +<p>The face of the shiftless one became grave, even reverent.</p> + +<p>"So we hev, Paul," he said. "Seems to me sometimes that we wuz spared fur +a purpose. We wouldn't hev come alive, every one of us, through all that, +ef it hadn't been intended that we should go on with the work that we are +doin', helpin' and defendin' our people the best we kin. I think we've +been chose."</p> + +<p>"I think so, too," said Paul, "and here and now we should devote ourselves +to it, as long as it is needed. I want to do so. Are the rest of you +willing?"</p> + +<p>"I am," said Henry with emphasis.</p> + +<p>"And I!" said the shiftless one.</p> + +<p>"And I!" said Tom Ross.</p> + +<p>"And I!" said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>"Amen!" said Paul.</p> + + +<h2>THE END</h2> + + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Free Rangers, by Joseph A. Altsheler + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FREE RANGERS *** + +***** This file should be named 15055-h.htm or 15055-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/0/5/15055/ + +Produced by Kentuckiana Digital Library, David Garcia, Emmy and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team.(www.pgdp.net) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + +</body> +</html> diff --git a/15055-h/images/1-tb.jpg b/15055-h/images/1-tb.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..880e0ac --- /dev/null +++ b/15055-h/images/1-tb.jpg diff --git a/15055-h/images/1.jpg b/15055-h/images/1.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7f77e3f --- /dev/null +++ b/15055-h/images/1.jpg diff --git a/15055-h/images/emblem.jpg b/15055-h/images/emblem.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..319a8e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/15055-h/images/emblem.jpg diff --git a/15055.txt b/15055.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..eef3a49 --- /dev/null +++ b/15055.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10618 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Free Rangers, by Joseph A. Altsheler + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Free Rangers + A Story of the Early Days Along the Mississippi + +Author: Joseph A. Altsheler + +Release Date: February 14, 2005 [EBook #15055] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FREE RANGERS *** + + + + +Produced by Kentuckiana Digital Library, David Garcia, Emmy and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team.(www.pgdp.net) + + + + + + +THE +FREE RANGERS + +[Illustration] + +JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + +_The_ +FREE RANGERS + + + + +_The_ +FREE RANGERS + +A STORY OF EARLY DAYS +ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI + +BY + +JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + +AUTHOR OF "THE YOUNG TRAILERS," "THE FOREST RUNNERS," ETC. + +[Illustration] + +APPLETON-CENTURY-CROFTS, INC. + +NEW YORK + +COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY + + +_All rights reserved. This book, or parts +thereof, must not be reproduced in any +form without permission of the publishers._ + + +Copyright, 1936, by Sallie B. Altsheler +Printed in the United States of America + +"THE FREE RANGERS," WHILE AN INDEPENDENT +STORY IN ITSELF, CONTINUES THE FORTUNES OF THE +TWO BOYS AND THEIR COMRADES WHO WERE THE +CENTRAL CHARACTERS IN "THE YOUNG TRAILERS," +"THE FOREST RUNNERS," "THE KEEPERS OF THE +TRAIL" AND "THE EYES of THE WOODS." + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER PAGE + + I. THE CALL 1 + + II. A FOREST ENVOY 17 + + III. AN INVISIBLE CHASE 39 + + IV. TAKING A "GALLEON" 54 + + V. ON THE GREAT RIVER 74 + + VI. BATTLE AND STORM 96 + + VII. THE LONE VOYAGER 115 + + VIII. THE CHATEAU OF BEAULIEU 133 + + IX. PAUL AND THE SPANIARD 153 + + X. A BARBARIC ORDEAL 171 + + XI. THE SPANIARD'S OFFER 181 + + XII. THE SHADOW IN THE FOREST 196 + + XIII. THE WHITE STALLION 214 + + XIV. NEW ORLEANS 230 + + XV. BEFORE BERNARDO GALVEZ 251 + + XVI. IN PRISON 271 + + XVII. THE FLAW IN THE ARMOR 285 + +XVIII. NORTHWARD WITH THE FLEET 302 + + XIX. THE BATTLE OF THE BANK 322 + + XX. THE BATTLE OF THE BAYOU 334 + + XXI. THE DEFENSE OF THE FIVE 349 + + XXII. THE CHOSEN TASK 361 + + + + + +THE FREE RANGERS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE CALL + + +The wilderness rolled away to north and to south, and also it rolled away +to east and to west, an unbroken sweep of dark, glossy green. Straight up +stood the mighty trunks, but the leaves rippled and sang low when a gentle +south wind breathed upon them. It was the forest as God made it, the +magnificent valley of North America, upon whose edges the white man had +just begun to nibble. + +A young man, stepping lightly, came into a little glade. He was white, but +he brought with him no alien air. He was in full harmony with the primeval +woods, a part of them, one in whose ears the soft song of the leaves was a +familiar and loved tune. He was lean, but tall, and he walked with a +wonderful swinging gait that betokened a frame wrought to the strength of +steel by exercise, wind, weather, and life always in the open. Though his +face was browned by sun and storm his hair was yellow and his eyes blue. +He was dressed wholly in deerskin and he carried over his shoulder the +long slender rifle of the border. At his belt swung hatchet and knife. + +There was a touch to the young man that separated him from the ordinary +woods rover. He held himself erect with a certain pride of manner. The +stock of his rifle, an unusually fine piece, was carved in an ornate and +beautiful way. The deerskin of his attire had been tanned with uncommon +care, and his moccasins were sewn thickly with little beads of yellow and +blue and red and green. Every piece of clothing was scrupulously clean, +and his arms were polished and bright. + +The shiftless one--who so little deserved his name--paused a moment in the +glade and, dropping the stock of his rifle to the ground, leaned upon the +muzzle. He listened, although he expected to hear nothing save the song of +the leaves, and that alone he heard. A faint smile passed over the face of +Shif'less Sol. He was satisfied. All was happening as he had planned. Then +he swung the rifle back to his shoulder, and walked to the crest of a hill +near by. + +The summit was bare and the shiftless one saw far. It was a splendid +rolling country, covered with forests of oak and elm, beech, hickory and +maple. Here and there faint threads of silver showed where rivers or +brooks flowed, and he drew a long deep breath. The measure of line and +verse he knew not, but deep in his being Nature had kindled the true fire +of poetry, and now his pleasure was so keen and sharp that a throb of +emotion stirred in his throat. It was a grand country and, if reserved for +any one, it must be reserved for his race and his people. Shif'less Sol +was resolved upon that purpose and to it he was ready to devote body and +life. + +Yet the wilderness seemed to tell only of peace. The low song of the +leaves was soothing and all innocence. The shiftless one was far beyond +the farthest outpost of his kind, beyond the broad yellow current of the +Mississippi, deep in the heart of the primeval forest. He might travel +full three hundred miles to the eastward and find no white cabin, while to +westward his own kind were almost a world away. On all sides stretched the +vast maze of forest and river, through which roamed only wild animals and +wilder man. + +Shif'less Sol, from his post on the hill, examined the whole circle of the +forest long and carefully. He seemed intent upon some unusual object. It +was shown in the concentration of his look and the thoughtful pucker of +his forehead. It was not game, because in a glade to windward, at the foot +of the hill, five buffaloes grazed undisturbed and now and then uttered +short, panting grunts to show their satisfaction. Presently a splendid +stag, walking through the woods as if he were sole proprietor, scented the +strange human odor, and threw up his head in alarm. But the figure on the +hill, the like of which the deer had never seen before, did not stir or +take notice, and His Lordship the Stag raised his head higher to see. The +figure still did not stir, and, his alarm dying, the stag walked +disdainfully away among the trees. + +Birds, the scarlet tanager, the blue bird, the cat bird, the jay and +others of their kin settled on the trees near the young man with the +yellow hair, and gazed at him with curiosity and without fear. A rabbit +peeped up now and then, but beyond the new presence the wilderness was +undisturbed, and it became obvious to the animal tribe that the stranger +meant no harm. Nor did the shiftless one himself discern any alien note. +The sky, a solid curve of blue, bore nowhere a trace of smoke. It was +undarkened and unstained, the same lonely brightness that had dawned every +morning for untold thousands of years. + +Shif'less Sol showed no disappointment. Again all seemed to be happening +as he wished. Presently he left the hill and, face toward the south, began +to walk swiftly and silently down the rows of trees. There was but little +undergrowth, nothing to check his speed, and he strode on and on. After a +while he came to a brook running through low soft soil and then he did a +strange thing, the very act that a white man travelling through the +dangerous forest would have avoided. He planted one foot in the yielding +soil near the water's edge, and then stepping across, planted the other in +exactly the same way on the far side. + +When another yard brought him to hard ground he stopped and looked back +with satisfaction. On either side of the brook remained the firm deep +impression of a human foot, of a white foot, the toes being turned +outward. No wilderness rover could mistake it, and yet it was hundreds of +miles to the nearest settlement of Shif'less Sol's kind. + +He took another look at the footsteps, smiled again and resumed his +journey. The character of the country did not change. Still the low +rolling hills, still the splendid forests of oak and elm, beech, maple and +hickory, and of all their noble kin, still the little brooks of clear +water, still the deer and the buffalo, grazing in the glades, and taking +but little notice of the strange human figure as it passed. Presently, the +shiftless one stopped again and he did another thing, yet stranger than +the pressing-in of the foot-prints beside the little stream. He drew the +hatchet from his belt and cut a chip out of the bark of a hickory. A +hundred yards further on he did the same thing, and, at three hundred +yards or so, he cut the chip for the third time. He looked well at the +marks, saw that they were clear, distinct and unmistakable, and then the +peculiar little smile of satisfaction would pass again over his face. + +But these stops were only momentary. Save for them he never ceased his +rapid course, and always it led straight toward the south. When the sun +was squarely overhead, pouring down a flood of golden beams, he paused in +the shade of a mighty oak, and took food from his belt. He might have +eaten there in silence and obscurity, but once more the shiftless one +showed a singular lack of caution and woodcraft. He drew together dry +sticks, ignited a fire with flint and steel, and cooked deer meat over it. +He let the fire burn high, and a thin column of dark smoke rose far up +into the blue. Any savage, roaming the wilderness, might see it, but the +shiftless one was reckless. He let the fire burn on, after his food was +cooked, while the column of smoke grew thicker and mounted higher, and ate +the savory steaks, lying comfortably between two upthrust roots. Now and +then he uttered a little sigh of satisfaction, because he had travelled +far and hard, and he was hungry. Food meant new strength. + +But he was not as reckless as he seemed. Nothing that passed in the forest +within the range of eyesight escaped his notice. He heard the leaf, when +it fell close by, and the light tread of a deer passing. He remained a +full hour between the roots, a long time for one who might have a purpose, +and, after he rose, he did not scatter the fire and trample upon the +brands after the wilderness custom when one was ready to depart. The +flames had died down, but he let the coals smoulder on, and, hundreds of +yards away, he could still see their smoke. Now, he sought the softest +parts of the earth and trod there deliberately, leaving many footprints. +Again he cut little chips from the trees as he passed, but never ceased +his swift and silent journey to the south. The hours fled by, and a dark +shade appeared in the east. It deepened into dusk, and spread steadily +toward the zenith. The sun, a golden ball, sank behind a hill in the +west, and then the shiftless one stopped. + +He ascended a low hill again, and took a long scrutinizing look around the +whole horizon. But his gaze was not apprehensive. On the contrary, it was +expectant, and his face seemed to show a slight disappointment when the +wilderness merely presented its wonted aspect. Then he built another fire, +not choosing a secluded glade, but the top of the hill, the most exposed +spot that he could find, and, after he had eaten his supper, he sat beside +it, the expectant air still on his face. + +Nothing came. But the shiftless one sat long. He raked up dead leaves of +last year's winter and made a pillow, against which he reclined +luxuriously. Shif'less Sol was one who drew mental and physical comfort +from every favoring circumstance, and the leaves felt very soft to his +head and shoulders. He was not in the least lonesome, although the night +had fully come, and heavy darkness lay like a black robe over the forest. +He stretched out his moccasined toes to the fire, closed his eyes for a +moment or two, and a dreamy look of satisfaction rested on his face. It +seemed to the shiftless one that he lay in the very lap of luxury, in the +very best of worlds. + +But when he opened his eyes again he continued to watch the forest, or +rather he watched with his ears now, as he lay close to the earth, and his +hearing, at all times, was so acute that it seemed to border upon instinct +or divination. But no sound save the usual ones of the forest and the +night came to him, and he remained quite still, thinking. + +Shif'less Sol Hyde was in an exalted mood, and the flickering firelight +showed a face refined and ennobled by a great purpose. Leading a life that +made him think little of hardship and danger he thought nothing at all of +them now, but he felt instead a great buoyancy, and a hope equally great. + +He lay awake a full three hours after the dark had come, and he rose only +twice from his reclining position, each time merely to replenish the fire +which remained a red core in the circling blackness. Always he was +listening and always he heard nothing but the usual sounds of the forest +and the night. The darkness grew denser and heavier, but after a while it +began to thin and lighten. The sky became clear, and the great stars swam +in the dusky blue. Then Shif'less Sol fell asleep, head on the leaves, +feet to the fire, and slept soundly all through the night. + +He was up at dawn, cooked his breakfast, and then, after another long and +searching examination of the surrounding forest, departed, leaving the +coals of the fire to smoulder, and tell as they might that some one had +passed. Shif'less Sol throughout that morning repeated the tactics of the +preceding day, leaving footprints that would last, and cutting pieces of +bark from the trees with his sharp hatchet. At the noon hour he stopped, +according to custom, and, just when he had lighted his fire, he uttered a +low cry of pleasure. + +The shiftless one was gazing back upon his own trail, and the singular +look of exaltation upon his face deepened. He rose to his feet and stood, +very erect, in the attitude of one who welcomes. No undergrowth was here, +and he could see far down the aisles of trunks. + +A figure, so distant that only a keen eye would notice it, was +approaching. It came on swiftly and silently, much after the manner of the +shiftless one himself, elastic, and instinct with strength. + +The figure was that of a boy in years, but of a man in size, surpassing +Shif'less Sol himself in height, yellow haired, blue-eyed, and dressed, +too, in the neatest of forest garb. His whole appearance was uncommon, +likely anywhere to attract attention and admiration. The shiftless one +drew a long breath of mingled welcome and approval. + +"I knew that he would be first," he murmured. + +Then he sat down and began to broil a juicy deer steak on the end of a +sharpened stick. + +Henry Ware came into the little glade. He had seen the fire afar and he +knew who waited. All was plain to him like the print of a book, and, +without a word, he dropped down on the other side of the fire facing +Shif'less Sol. The two nodded, but their eyes spoke far more. Sol held out +the steak, now crisp and brown and full of savor, and Henry began to eat. +Sol quickly broiled another for himself, and joined him in the pleasant +task, over which they were silent for a little while. + +"I was on the Ohio," said Henry at last, "when the trapper brought me +your message, but I started at once." + +"O' course," said Shif'less Sol, "I never doubted it for a minute. I +reckon that you've come about seven hundred miles." + +"Nearer eight," said Henry, "but I'm fresh and strong, and we need all our +strength, Sol, because it's a great task that lies before us." + +"It shorely is," said Sol, "an' that's why I sent the message. I don't +want to brag, Henry, but we've done a big thing or two before, an' maybe +we kin do a bigger now." + +He spoke the dialect of the border, he was not a man of books, but that +great look of exaltation came into his face again, and the boy on the +other side of the fire shared it. + +"It seems to me, Sol," said Henry presently, "that we've been selected for +work of a certain kind. We finish one job, and then another on the same +line begins." + +"Mebbe it's because we like to do it, an' are fit fur it," said Sol +philosophically. "I've noticed that a river gen'ally runs in a bed that +suits it. I don't know whether the bed is thar because the river is, or +the river is thar 'cause the bed is, but it's shore that they're both thar +together, an' you can't git aroun' that." + +"There's something in what you say," said Henry. + +Then they relapsed into silence, and, in a half hour, as if by mutual +consent, they rose, left the fire burning, and departed, still walking +steadily toward the south. + +The country grew rougher. The hills were higher and closer together, and +the undergrowth became thick. Neither took any precautions as they passed +among the slender bushes, frequently trampling them down and leaving signs +that the blindest could not fail to see. Now and then the two looked back, +but they beheld only the forest and the forest people. + +"I don't think I ever saw the game so tame before," said Henry. + +"Which means," said Sol, "that the warriors ain't hunted here fur a long +time. I ain't seen a single sign o' them." + +"Nor I." + +They fell silent and scarcely spoke until the sun was setting again, when +they stopped for the night, choosing a conspicuous place, as Sol had done +the evening before. After supper, they sought soft places on the turf, and +lay in peace, gazing up at the great stars. Henry was the first to break +the silence. + +"One is coming," he said. "I can hear the footstep. Listen!" + +His ear was to the earth, and the shiftless one imitated him. At the end +of a minute he spoke. + +"Yes," he said, "I hear him, too. We'll make him welcome." + +He rose, put a fresh piece of wood on the fire, and smiled, as he saw the +flame leap up and crackle merrily. + +"Here he is," said Henry. + +The figure that emerged from the bushes was thick-set and powerful, the +strong face seamed and tanned by the wind, rain and sun of years. The man +stepped into the circle of the firelight, and held out his hand. Each +shook it with a firm and hearty clasp, and Tom Ross took his seat with +them beside the fire. They handed him food first, and then he said: + +"I was away up in the Miami country, huntin' buffalo, when the word came +to me, Sol, but I quit on the minute an' started." + +"I was shore you would," said the shiftless one quietly. "Buffaloes are +big game, but we're huntin' bigger now." + +"I was never in this part of the country before," said Tom Ross, looking +around curiously at the ghostly tree trunks. + +"I've been through here," said Henry, "and it runs on in the same way for +hundreds of miles in every direction." + +"Bigger an' finer than any o' them old empires that Paul used to tell us +about," said Shif'less Sol. + +"Yes," said Henry. + +The three looked at one another significantly. + +They wrapped themselves in their blankets by and by, and went to sleep on +the soft turf. Henry was the first to awake, just when the dawn was +turning from pink to red, and a single glance revealed to him an object on +the horizon that had not been there the night before. A man stood on the +crest of a low hill, and even at the distance, Henry recognized him. His +comrades were awaking and he turned to them. + +"See!" he said, pointing with a long forefinger. + +Their eyes followed, and they too recognized the man. + +"He'll be here in a minute," said Shif'less Sol. "He jest eats up space." + +He spoke the truth, as it seemed scarcely a minute before Long Jim Hart +entered the camp, showing no sign of fatigue. The three welcomed him and +gave him a place at their breakfast fire. + +"I wuz at Marlowe," he said, "when the word reached me, but I started just +an hour later. I struck your trail, Sol, two days back, an' I traveled +nearly all last night. I saw Henry join you an' then Tom." + +Shif'less Sol laughed. He had a soft, mellow laugh that crinkled up the +corners of his mouth, and made his eyes shine. There was no doubt that a +man who laughed such a laugh was enjoying himself. + +"I reckon you didn't have much trouble follerin' that trail o' ourn," he +said. + +Jim Hart answered the laugh with a grin. + +"Not much," he replied. "It was like a wagon road through the wilderness. +The ashes uv your last camp fire weren't sca'cely cold when I passed by." + +"We're all here 'cept the fifth feller," said Tom Ross. + +"The fifth will come," said Henry emphatically. + +"Uv course," said Tom Ross with equal emphasis. + +"And when he comes," said Shif'less Sol, "we take right hold o' the big +job." + +They lingered awhile over their breakfast, but saw no one approaching. +Then they took up the march again, going steadily southward in single +file, talking little, but leaving a distinct trail. They were only four, +but they were a formidable party, all strong of arm, keen of eye and ear, +skilled in the lore of the forest, and every one bore the best weapons +that the time could furnish. + +Toward noon the day grew very warm and clouds gathered in the sky. The +wind became damp. + +"Rain," said Henry. "I'm sorry of that. I wish it wouldn't break before he +overtook us." + +"S'pose we stop an' make ready," said Shif'less Sol. "You know we ain't +bound to be in a big hurry, an' it won't help any o' us to get a soakin'." + +"You're shorely right, Sol," said Jim Hart. "We're bound to take the best +uv care uv ourselves." + +They looked around with expert eyes, and quickly chose a stony outcrop or +hollow in the side of a hill, just above which grew two gigantic beeches +very close together. Then it was wonderful to see them work, so swift and +skillful were they. They cut small saplings with their hatchets, and, with +the little poles and fallen bark of last year, made a rude thatch which +helped out the thick branches of the beeches overhead. They also built up +the sides of the hollow with the same materials, and the whole was done in +less than ten minutes. Then they raked in heaps of dead leaves and sat +down upon them comfortably. Many drops of water would come through the +leaves and thatch, but such as they, hardened to the wilderness, would not +notice them. + +Meanwhile the storm was gathering with the rapidity so frequent in the +great valley. All the little clouds swung together and made a big one that +covered nearly the whole sky. The air darkened rapidly. Thunder began to +growl and mutter and now and then emitted a sharp crash. Lightning cut the +heavens from zenith to horizon, and the forest would leap into the light, +standing there a moment, vivid, like tracery. + +A blaze more brilliant than all the rest cleft wide the sky and, as they +looked toward the North, they saw directly in the middle of the flame a +black dot that had not been there before. + +"He's coming," said Henry in the quiet tone that indicated nothing more +than a certainty fulfilled. + +"Just in time to take a seat in our house," said the shiftless one. + +Sol ran out and gave utterance to a long echoing cry that sounded like a +call. It was answered at once by the new black dot under the Northern +horizon, which was now growing fast in size, as it came on rapidly. It +took a human shape, and, thirty yards away, a fine, delicately-chiselled +face, the face of a scholar and dreamer, remarkable in the wilderness, was +revealed. The face belonged to a youth, tall and strong, but not so tall +and large as Henry. + +"Here we are, Paul," said Shif'less Sol. "We've fixed fur you." + +"And mighty glad I am to overtake you fellows," said Paul Cotter, +"particularly at this time." + +He ran for the shelter just as the forest began to moan, and great drops +of rain rushed down upon them. He was inside in a moment, and each gave +his hand a firm grasp. + +"We're all here now," said Henry. + +"All here and ready for the great work," said Shif'less Sol, his tranquil +face illumined again with that look of supreme exaltation. + +Then the storm burst. The skies opened and dropped down floods of water. +They heard it beating on the leaves and thatch overhead, and some came +through, falling upon them but they paid no heed. They sat placidly until +the rush and roar passed, and then Henry said to the others: + +"We're to stick to the task that we've set ourselves through thick and +through thin, through everything?" + +"Yes! Yes!" + +"If one falls, the four that are left keep on?" + +"Yes! yes!" + +"If three fall and only two are left, these must not flinch." + +"Yes! yes!" + +"If four go down and only one is left, then he whoever he may be, must go +on and win alone?" + +"Yes! yes!" came forth with deep emphasis. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A FOREST ENVOY + + +A group of men were seated in a pleasant valley, where the golden beams of +the sun sifted in myriads through the green leaves. They were about fifty +in number and all were white. Most of them were dressed in Old World +fashion, doublets, knee breeches, hose, and cocked hats. Nearly all were +dark; olive faces, black hair, and black pointed beards, but now and then +one had fair hair, and eyes of a cold, pale blue. Manner, speech, looks, +and dress, alike differentiated them from the borderers. They were not the +kind of men whom one would expect to find in these lonely woods in the +heart of North America. + +The leader of the company--and obviously he was such--was one of the few +who belonged to the blonde type. His eyes were of the chilly, metallic +blue, and his hair, long and fair, curled at the ends. His dress, of some +fine, black cloth, was scrupulously neat and clean, and a silver-hilted +small sword swung it his belt. He was not more than thirty. + +The fair man was leaning lazily but gracefully against the trunk of a +tree, and he talked in a manner that seemed indolent and careless, but +which was neither to a youth in buckskins who sat opposite him, +a striking contrast in appearance. This youth was undeniably of the +Anglo-Saxon type, large and well-built, with a broad, full forehead, but +with eyes set too close together. He was tanned almost to the darkness of +an Indian. + +"You tell me, Senor Wyatt," said Don Francisco Alvarez, the leader of the +Spanish band, "that the new settlers in Kaintock[A] have twice driven off +the allied tribes, and that, if they are left alone another year or two, +they will go down so deep in the soil that they can never be uprooted. +Is it not so?" + +"It is so," replied Braxton Wyatt, the renegade. "The tribes have failed +twice in a great effort. Every man among these settlers is a daring and +skillful fighter, and many of the boys--and many of the women, too. But if +white troops and cannon are sent against them their forts must fall." + +The Spaniard was idly whipping the grass stems with a little switch. Now +he narrowed his metallic, blue eyes, and gazed directly into those of +Braxton Wyatt. + +"And you, Senor Wyatt?" he said, speaking his slow, precise English. +"Nothing premeditated is done without a motive. You are of these people +who live in Kaintock, their blood is your blood; why then do you wish to +have them destroyed?" + +A deep flush broke its way through the brown tan on the face of Braxton +Wyatt, and his eyes fell before the cold gaze of the Spaniard. But he +raised them again in a moment. Braxton Wyatt was not a coward, and he +never permitted a guilty conscience to last longer than a throb or two. + +"I did belong to them," he replied, "but my tastes led me away. I have +felt that all this mighty valley should belong to the Indians who have +inhabited it so long, but, if the white people come, it should be those +who are true and loyal to their kings, not these rebels of the colonies." + +Francisco Alvarez smiled cynically, and once more surveyed Braxton Wyatt, +with a rapid, measuring glance. + +"You speak my sentiments, Senor Wyatt," he said, "and you speak them in a +language that I scarcely expected." + +"I had a schoolmaster even in the wilderness," said Braxton Wyatt. "And I +may tell you, too, as proof of my faith that I would be hanged at once +should I return to the settlements." + +"I do not doubt your faith. I was merely curious about your motives. I am +sure also that you can be of great help to us." + +He spoke in a patronizing manner, and Braxton Wyatt moved slightly in +anger, but restrained his speech. + +"I may say," continued the Spaniard, "that His Excellency Bernardo Galvez, +His Most Catholic Majesty's Governor of his loyal province of Louisiana, +has been stirred by the word that comes to him of these new settlements of +the rebel Americans in the land of the Ohio. The province of Louisiana is +vast, and it may be that it includes the country on either side of the +Ohio. The French, our predecessors, claimed it, and now that all the +colonists east of the mountains are busy fighting their king, it may be +easy to take it from them, as one would snip off a skirt with a pair of +scissors. That is why I and this faithful band are so far north in these +woods." + +Braxton Wyatt nodded. + +"And a wise thing, too," he said. "I am strong with the tribes. The great +chief, Yellow Panther, of the Miamis and the great chief, Red Eagle, of +the Shawnees are both my friends. I know how they feel. The Spanish in New +Orleans are far away. Their settlements do not spread. They come rather to +hunt and trade. But the Americans push farther and farther. They build +their homes and they never go back. Do you wonder then that the warriors +wish your help?" + +Francisco Alvarez smiled again. It was a cold but satisfied smile and he +rubbed one white hand over the other. + +"Your logic is good," he said, "and these reasons have occurred to me, +also, but my master, Bernardo Galvez, the Governor, is troubled. We love +not England and there is a party among us--a party at present in +power--which wishes to help the Americans in order that we may damage +England, but I, if I could choose the way would have no part in it. As +surely as we help the rebels we will also create rebels against +ourselves." + +"You are far from New Orleans," said Braxton Wyatt. "It would take long +for a messenger to go and come, and meanwhile you could act as you think +best." + +"It is so," said the Spaniard. "Our presence here is unknown to all save +the chiefs and yourself. In this wilderness, a thousand miles from his +superior, one must act according to his judgment, and I should like to see +these rebel settlements crushed." + +He spoke to himself rather than to Wyatt, and again his eyes narrowed. +Blue eyes are generally warm and sympathetic, but his were of the cold, +metallic shade that can express cruelty so well. He plucked, too, at his +short, light beard, and Braxton Wyatt read his thoughts. The renegade felt +a thrill of satisfaction. Here was a man who could be useful. + +"How far is it from this place to the land of the Miamis and the +Shawnees?" asked Alvarez. + +"It must be six or seven hundred miles, but bands of both tribes are now +hunting much farther west. One Shawnee party that I know of is even now +west of the Mississippi." + +Francisco Alvarez, frowned slightly. + +"It is a huge country," he said. "These great distances annoy me. Still, +one must travel them. Ah, what is it now?" + +He was looking at Braxton Wyatt, as he spoke, and he saw a sudden change +appear upon his face, a look of recognition and then of mingled hate and +rage. The renegade was staring Northward, and the eyes of Alvarez followed +his. + +The Spaniard saw a man or rather a youth approaching, a straight, slender, +but tall and compact figure, and a face uncommon in the wilderness, fine, +delicate, with the eyes of a dreamer, and seer, but never weak. The youth +came on steadily, straight coward the Spanish camp. + +"Paul Cotter!" exclaimed Braxton Wyatt. "How under the sun did he come +here!" + +"Some one you know?" said Alvarez who heard the words. + +"Yes, from the settlements of which we speak," replied Wyatt quickly and +in a low tone. He had no time to add more, because Paul was now in the +Spanish camp, and was gravely saluting the leader, whom he had recognized +instantly to be such by his dress and manner. Francisco Alvarez rose to +his feet, and politely returned the salute. He saw at once a quality in +the stranger that was not wholly of the wilderness. Braxton Wyatt nodded, +but Paul took no notice whatever of him. A flush broke again through the +tan of the renegade's face. + +"Be seated," said Alvarez, and Paul sat down on a little grassy knoll. + +"You are Captain Francisco Alvarez of the Spanish forces at New Orleans?" + +"You have me truly," replied the Spaniard smiling and shrugging his +shoulders, "although I cannot surmise how you became aware of my presence +here. But the domains of my master, the king, extend far, and his servants +must travel far, also, to do his will." + +Paul understood the implication in his words, but he, too, had the gift of +language and diplomacy, and he did not reply to it. Stirred by deep +curiosity, the Spanish soldiers were gathering a little nearer, but +Alvarez waved back all but Wyatt. + +"I am glad to find you here, Captain Alvarez," said Paul with a gravity +beyond his years; indeed, as he spoke, his face was lighted up by that +same singular look of exaltation that had passed more than once over the +face of the shiftless one. "And I am glad because I have come for a +reason, one of the greatest of all reasons. I want to say something, not +for myself, but for others." + +"Ah, an ambassador, I see," said Francisco Alvarez with a light touch of +irony. + +But Paul took no notice of the satire. He was far too much in earnest, and +he resumed in tones impressive in their solemnity: + +"I am from one of the little white villages in the Kentucky woods far to +the eastward. There we have fought the wilderness and twice we have driven +back strong forces of the allied tribes, although they came with great +resolution and were helped moreover by treachery." + +Braxton Wyatt moved angrily and was about to speak, but Paul, never +glancing in his direction, went on steadily: + +"These settlements cannot be uprooted now. They may be damaged. They may +be made to suffer great loss and grief, but the vanguard of our people +will never turn back. Neither warrior nor king can withstand it." + +Now Paul's look was wholly that of the prophet. As he said the last words, +"neither warrior nor king can withstand it" his face was transfigured. He +did not see the Spaniard before him, nor Braxton Wyatt, the renegade, nor +the surrounding woods, but he saw instead great states and mighty cities. + +The Spaniard, despite his displeasure, was impressed by the words of the +youth, but he took hold of himself bodily, as it were, and shook off the +spell. A challenging light sprang into his cold blue eyes. + +"I do not know so much about warriors," he said, "but kings may be and are +able to do what they will. If my master should choose to put forth his +strength, even to send his far-extended arm into these woods, to what +would your tiny settlements amount? A pinch of sand before a puff of wind. +Whiff! You are gone. Nor could your people east of the mountains help you, +because they, on bended knee, will soon be receiving their own lesson from +the King of England." + +Francisco Alvarez snapped his fingers, as if Paul and his people were +annihilated by a single derisive gesture. Paul reddened and a dangerous +flash came into his eyes. But the natural diplomatist in him took control, +and he replied with the utmost calmness. + +"It may be so, but It is not a question that should arise. The King of +Spain is at peace with us. We even hear, deep in the woods as we are, that +he may take our part against England. France already is helping us. So I +have come to ask you to take no share in plots against us, not to listen +to evil counsels, and not to turn ear to traitors, who, having been +traitors to one people, can readily be traitors to another." + +Braxton Wyatt leaped to his feet, his face blazing with wrath, and his +hand flew to the hilt of the knife at his belt. + +"Now this is more than I will stand!" he exclaimed, "you cannot ignore me, +Paul Cotter, until such time you choose, and then call me foul names!" + +The Spaniard smiled. The sight of Braxton Wyatt's wrath pleased him, but +he put out his hand in a detaining gesture. + +"Sit down!" he said in a tone so sharp that Wyatt obeyed. "This is no time +for personal quarrels. As I see it, an embassy has come to us and we must +discuss matters of state. Is it not so, Senor, Senor--" + +"Cotter! Paul Cotter is my name." + +Paul felt the sneer in the Spaniard's last words, but he hid his +resentment. + +"Then your proposition is this," continued Alvarez, "that I and my men +have nothing to do with the Indians, that we make no treaty, no agreement +with them, that we abandon this country and go back to New Orleans. This +you propose despite the fact that the region in which we now are belongs +to Spain." + +"I would not put it in quite that fashion," replied Paul calmly. +"I suggest instead that you be our friend. It is natural for the white +races to stand together. I suggest that you send away, also, the messenger +of the tribes who comes seeking your help to slaughter women and children." + +Braxton Wyatt half rose, but again he was put down by the restraining +gesture of Francisco Alvarez. + +"No personal quarrels, as I stated before," said the Spaniard, "but to +you, Senor Cotter, I wish to say that I have heard your words, but it +seems to me they are without weight. I do not agree with you that the +settlements of the Americans cannot be uprooted. Nor am I sure that your +title to Kaintock is good. It was claimed in the beginning by France, and +justly, but a great war gave it by might though not by right to England. +Now Spain has succeeded to France. Here, throughout all this vast region, +there is none to dispute her title. To the east of the Mississippi great +changes are going on, and it may be that Kaintock, also, will revert to my +master, the king." + +He waved his hand in a gesture of finality, and a look of satisfaction +came into Braxton Wyatt's eyes. The renegade glanced triumphantly at Paul, +but Paul's face remained calm. + +"You would not proceed to any act of hostility in conjunction with the +tribes, when Spain and the colonies are at peace?" said Paul to the +Spaniard. + +Francisco Alvarez frowned, and assumed a haughty look. + +"I make neither promises nor prophecies," he said, "I have spoken +courteously to you, Senor Cotter, although you are a trespasser on the +Spanish domain. I have given you the hospitality of our camp, but I cannot +answer questions pertaining to the policy of my government." + +Paul, for the first time, showed asperity. He, too, drew himself up with a +degree of haughtiness, and he looked Don Francisco Alvarez squarely in the +eyes, as he replied: + +"I did not come here to ask questions. I came merely to say that our +nations are at peace, and to urge you not to help savages in a war upon +white people." + +"I do not approve of rebels," said Alvarez. + +Paul was silent. He felt instinctively that his mission had failed. +Something cold and cruel about the Spaniard repelled him, and he believed, +too, that Braxton Wyatt had not been without a sinister influence. + +Alvarez arose and walked over to his camp-fire. Braxton Wyatt followed him +and whispered rapidly to the Spaniard. Paul, persistent and always +hopeful, was putting down his anger and trying to think of other effective +words that he might use. But none would come into his head, and he, too, +rose. + +"I am sorry that we cannot agree. Captain Alvarez," he said with the grave +courtesy that became him so well, "and therefore I will bid you good day." + +A thin smile passed over the face of the Spaniard and the blue eyes shed a +momentary, metallic gleam. + +"I pray you not to be in haste, Senor Cotter," he said. "Be our guest for +a while." + +"I must go," replied Paul, "although I thank you for the courtesy." + +"But we cannot part with you now," said the Spaniard, "you are on Spanish +soil. Others of your kind may be near, also, and you and they have come, +uninvited. I would know more about it." + +"You mean that you will detain me?" said Paul in surprise. + +The Spaniard delicately stroked his pointed beard. + +"Perhaps that is the word," he replied. "As I said, you have trespassed +upon our domain, and I must hold you, for a time, at least. I know not +what plot is afoot" + +"As a prisoner?" + +"If you wish to call it so." + +"And yet there is no war between your country and mine!" + +The Spaniard delicately stroked his pointed beard again. + +Paul looked at him accusingly, and Francisco Alvarez unable to sustain his +straight gaze, turned his eyes aside. But Braxton Wyatt's face was full of +triumph, although he kept silent. + +Paul thought rapidly. It seemed to him a traitorous design and he did not +doubt that Wyatt had instigated it, but he must submit at present. He was +powerless inside a ring of fifty soldiers. Without a word, he sat down +again on the little grassy knoll and it pleased Alvarez to affect a great +politeness, and to play with his prisoner as a cat with a mouse. He +insisted that he eat and he made his men bring him the tenderest of food, +deer meat and wild turkey, and fish, freshly caught. Finally he opened a +flask and poured wine in a small silver cup. + +"It is the wine of Xeres, Senor Cotter," he said, "and you can judge how +precious it is, as it must be a full five thousand miles from its +birthplace." + +He handed the little cup in grandiose manner to Paul, and Paul, meeting +his humor, accepted it in like fashion. He had not tasted wine often in +his life and he found it a strong fluid, but, in this crisis, it +strengthened him and put a new sparkle in his blood. + +"Thanks," he said as he politely returned the empty cup, and resumed his +seat on the knoll. Then Alvarez walked aside, and talked again in whispers +with the renegade. + +Wyatt urged that Paul be held indefinitely. He would not talk at first, +but they must get from him the fullest details about the settlements in +Kentucky, the weak points, where to attack and when. If the settlements +were left alone they would certainly spread all over Kentucky and in time +across the Mississippi into the Spanish domain. Spain was far away, and +she could not drive them back. But the Spaniards could urge on the tribes +again, and with a hidden hand, send them arms and ammunition. White men +with cannon could even join the warriors, and Spain might convincingly say +that she knew nothing of if. + +The words of the renegade pleased Francisco Alvarez. Deep down in his +crafty heart he loved intrigue and cunning. + +"Yes, we'll hold him," he said. "He is a trespasser here, although I will +admit that he is not the kind of person that I expected to find in the +heart of this vast wilderness." + +He glanced at Paul, who was sitting on the knoll, calm and apparently +unconcerned, his fine features at rest, his blue eyes lazily regarding the +forest. The blue of Paul's eyes was different from the blue of the eyes of +Alvarez. The blue of his was deep, warm, and sympathetic. + +"Is it likely that Cotter is alone?" Alvarez asked of Wyatt. + +"Not at all," replied the renegade. "He has friends, and I warn you that +they are able and dangerous. We must be on our watch against them." + +"What friends?" asked the Spaniard incredulously. + +"There is a group. They are five. Where one of them is, the other four are +not likely to be far away. There is Cotter's comrade, Henry Ware, a little +older, and larger and stronger, wonderful in the woods! He surpasses the +Indians themselves in cunning and craft. Then comes Sol Hyde, whom they +call the shiftless one, but swift and cunning, and much to be dreaded. +Look out for him when he is pretending to be most harmless. And then Tom +Ross, who has been, a hunter and guide all his life, and the one they call +Long Jim, the swiftest runner in the wilderness. Oh, I know them all!" + +"Perhaps you have had cause to know them well," said the Spaniard in a +sardonic tone--he was a keen reader of character, and he understood +Braxton Wyatt. + +But Braxton Wyatt ignored the taunt in his anxiety. + +"They must not be taken too lightly," he said. "They are somewhere in +these woods, and, Captain, I warn you once more against them." + +The Spaniard smiled in his superior way, and, turning to his men, began to +give directions for the camp that night. Sunset was not far away, and they +would remain in the glade. His was too strong a force to fear attack in +that isolated region, but Alvarez posted sentinels, and ordered the others +to sleep, when the time came, in a wide ring about the fire. Within the +ring he and Paul and Wyatt sat, and the Spaniard, maintaining his light, +ironic humor, talked much. Paul, if addressed directly by Alvarez, always +answered, but he persistently ignored the renegade. Such a being filled +him with horror, and once, when Wyatt gave him a look of deadly hate, Paul +shot back one of his own, fully a match for it. But that was all. + +Night came on fast. The red sun shot down. Darkness fell upon the forest, +and swept up to the circling rim of the camp fire. Chill came into the +air. The Spaniards shivered and crept a little nearer to the coals. Talk +ceased, and, out of the illimitable forest, came the low, moaning sound of +the wind among the leaves. The great stars sprang out, and shone with a +thin, pale light on the wilderness. + +Francisco Alvarez was a brave man, but he was born on sunny plains where +he basked in warmth and the eye ranged far. Now, despite himself, he felt +a chill that was uncanny. The forest, thick and black, spread away, he +knew, for hundreds of miles, and neither city nor town broke it. A fervent +imagination leaped up and peopled it with weird beings. Nor would +imagination go down before will and knowledge. Boughs twisted themselves +into fantastic, hideous shapes, and the moan of the wind was certainly +like the cry of a soul in torment. + +Don Francisco Alvarez shivered and the shiver became a shudder. He looked +across the fire at his prisoner, but Paul seemed unconscious of the forest +and the night, and the demon spell of the two. The lad sat immovable. Upon +his face was the dreamy, mystic look that so often came there. He seemed +to be gazing far beyond the Spaniard and the renegade into some greater +future. + +Francisco Alvarez, brave man though he was, felt awe. He rose impatiently, +kicked a coal deeper into the fire, looked once more at Paul, who was yet +silent, and spoke sharply to the sentinels. Then he returned to his place, +and said to Paul: + +"We offer you the hospitality of the forest and an extra blanket if you +wish it." + +"It's a hospitality to which I'm used," replied Paul, "and I don't need +the extra blanket, although I thank you for the offer." + +He took his own blanket from the little roll at his back, wrapped himself +in it, pillowed his head on the knoll, and closed his eyes. Francisco +Alvarez looked at him for some minutes, and could not tell whether he was +sleeping or waking, but he thought that he slept. His long, regular +breathing and the expression of his face, as peaceful as that of a little +child, indicated It. + +The night grew chillier. The great stars remained pale and cold, and the +forest continued to whine, as that strange, wandering breeze slipped +through the leaves. Francisco Alvarez of the sunny plains wished that it +would stop. It got upon his nerves, and the feeling it gave him was +singularly like that of an evil conscience. He saw his men fall to sleep +one by one, and he heard their heavy breathing. Braxton Wyatt also wrapped +himself in his blanket and soon slumbered. The fire sank, the coals +crumbled, and with soft little hisses, fell together. The circling rim of +darkness crept up closer and closer, and the trunks of the trees became +ghostly in the shadows. + +Alvarez saw his sentinels at either side of the camp, to right and left, +walking back and forth, and he knew also that they would watch well. Time +passed. The night darkened and then a wan moon came out, casting a +ghostly, gray shadow over the measureless black forest. The great stars, +pale and cold, danced in a dusky blue. Faint moans came out of the depths +of the wilderness, as a stray wind wandered here and there among the +leaves. Francisco Alvarez, resolute and self contained though he was, +could not sleep. He had taken a bold step in holding the messenger of +peace, and, although one might do much a thousand wilderness miles from +the seat of his authority, he was nevertheless anxious to have the full +support of Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana. + +Royalist to the marrow, he wished the colonists to be defeated by their +mother country, and he wished, moreover, that Spain might make secure a +title to all the immense regions in the valley. If he could skillfully +commit Spain to a quarrel with the settlers much might be done for the +cause in which his heart was enlisted. He foresaw the truth of Paul's +warning that in a little while nothing could uproot the settlers in +Kentucky. A blow at them, if it would destroy, must fall quickly, and he +meant that the blow should be given. + +His anxiety weighed heavily upon him and the wilderness at night grew more +uncanny. Sleep refused to come. The coals sank lower. One by one they +gleamed with the last fitful sparks of dying fire and then went out. The +two sentinels, one to the right and one to the left, had sat down now upon +fallen logs, but Alvarez knew that they were still watching with +care--they would not dare to do otherwise. All the rest but Alvarez slept. + +The Spaniard looked at Braxton Wyatt as he lay in his blanket, one arm +under his head, and his lip curled. He despised him, and yet he could be +very useful. He would have to work with him and he must treat him at least +with superficial politeness. Then he looked at the prisoner. Paul, too, +slept soundly, his fine face thrown into relief in the wan moonlight, +every sensitive feature revealed. Alvarez wondered again that he should +find a youth of such classic countenance and cultivated mind in the deep +forest. + +The wandering breeze ceased, and the wilderness fell into a silence so +deep and heavy that it preyed upon the nerves of the Spaniard. Then, out +of the stillness came a long, plaintive note, wailing, but musical, full +of a quality that made it seem to Alvarez weird and ominous. + +"Only the howl of a wolf," muttered the Spaniard, who recognized the +long-drawn cry. But it made him shiver a little, nevertheless. He alone +was awake, except the sentinels, and he felt like a tiny, lost speck in +all the vast wilderness. A second time came the cry of the wolf, and then +it was repeated a third and a fourth time. After the fourth it ceased. + +The four cries were so distinct, so equal in length, and repeated at such +regular intervals that they seemed to Francisco Alvarez like set notes. He +listened intently, but they did not come again. He glanced at the prisoner +but Paul had not stirred, the moon's rays illuminating his face with a +pale light. The renegade, too, slept soundly. + +Alvarez wrapped himself in his blanket after the fashion of the others, +and lay down, but still sleep would not come. He knew that it was far in +the night and he wished to be rested and fresh for the next day, but he +lay awake, nevertheless. A half hour passed, and then came that plaintive +cry of the wolf again. As before, it seemed to be wonderfully distinct and +full of character, but it was nearer now. Francisco Alvarez raised +himself on his elbow, and heard it a second and then a third and fourth +time. After that only the heavy silence of the forest. + +"The same as before," murmured the Spaniard to himself. "The wolf howled +four times. What a coincidence! Bah, I'm becoming a superstitious fool!" + +He resolutely closed his eyes and sought slumber once more. It was far +past midnight now, and weary nature began at last her task. His nerves +were soothed. A soft breeze fanned his eyelids with drowsy wing, the +forest wavered, swam away, and he slept. + +Red dawn was coming when Francisco Alvarez awoke. The fire was dead and +cold, and the men around it yet slumbered. The two sentinels, one to the +right and one to the left, still sat on the logs, backs toward him. He +took one glance to see if the prisoner, too, slept, and then he leaped to +his feet with a cry. The prisoner was not there! Nor was he anywhere in +the camp. + +"Up! up! you rascals!" shouted the Spaniard. "The boy is gone! escaped. +Luiz, Pedro, in what manner have you watched!" + +He rushed to the sentinel on the right, Luiz, and struck him sharply +across the back with the flat of his sword. + +"Wretch!" he cried, "you have slept!" and he struck him again. + +Luiz did not stir, even under the sharp blow. He remained, sitting on the +log, back to his chief, shoulders bent forward, as if he were in a +slumber too profound to be disturbed by anything short of a crash of +thunder in his ear. Alvarez, furious with anger, seized him by the +shoulder and dragged him back. Then he uttered another cry, in which rage +and surprise were mingled in equal portions. But Luiz, the sentinel, still +said nothing. He could not. A gag was fixed firmly in his mouth, his arms +were bound to his side, his legs to the tree on which he sat, and his +rifle had been left standing between his knees and against his shoulder, +as if held by one who watched. + +The unfortunate sentinel gazed up at his chief with wide-open, appealing +eyes, and, leaving him with the men, who were now crowding around he ran +to the other sentinel. Pedro, only to find him gagged and bound, exactly +like his comrade. It was some minutes before either could speak, after +they were cut loose and their gags removed, and then their tales were the +same. + +"I watched. I watched well, Captain," said Luiz, "by the Holy Virgin I +swear it! Never in this whole terrible night, not for a moment, have my +eyes closed. I saw nothing, I heard nothing but a wolf howling in the +forest, and then, long after midnight, I was suddenly seized from behind +by powerful hands. I could not move, so strong were they. I was gagged and +bound and I could see only the phantom figures of the men who did it. I +know no more." + +Pedro, with many supplications, repeated the tale, and Francisco Alvarez +was forced to believe them, although he cursed them for carelessness, and +promised them punishment. Braxton Wyatt had remained silent, although his +face showed deep disappointment. Presently, when the turmoil had died +down, he said in a low voice to Alvarez: + +"What was it that the sentinel said about hearing the howl of a wolf?" + +"I heard it myself," replied Alvarez. "It was about midnight, when a wolf +to the north howled four times. An hour or so later I heard it again, +somewhat nearer and somewhat to the west, when it howled four times as +before." + +"Ah!" said Braxton Wyatt. + +It was a short exclamation, but it was so full of significance that the +Spaniard in surprise, asked him what he meant. + +"Four cries," replied the renegade, "and he had four friends, of whom I +told you to beware. I told you what they were, what cunning and skill they +have, but you would not believe me and you must now! Cotter heard the four +cries. He was not asleep and he understood!" + +Braxton Wyatt, despite his annoyance at Paul's escape, felt a moment of +triumph. His warning had come true. He had been wiser than this Spaniard +who had patronised and insulted him. + +"We will deal with these people yet," said Francisco Alvarez angrily as he +turned away. + +"I hope so," replied Braxton Wyatt. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote A: An early French and Spanish name for Kentucky.] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +AN INVISIBLE CHASE + + +Deep in a shadowed glade sat the five, eating a quiet breakfast, and +talking in low tones of satisfaction. + +"I knew that you would come," said Paul, "and when I heard the four cries +of the wolf I knew, too, that all four of you were there. When you sent +the call Braxton Wyatt, who alone might have suspected, was asleep. The +Spanish commander was awake, and he was troubled, but he did not know +why." + +"Wa'al, I guess he knows now," said Shif'less Sol with a silent but deep +laugh. "Ef he's the kind o' man you say he is, Paul, an' I guess he is--he +needed our teachin' him a lesson. I hate a man who knows too much, who is +too almighty certain, an' I guess the Spaniard is one o' that kind. Think +o' him comin' out here in the woods, breakin' faith, so to speak, an' +holdin' you, Paul. Ef I wuz to go over to Europe, which I ain't ever goin' +to do--an' wuz to light down in one o' them big cities, Paris or London, +do you think I'd tell the fellers in the streets that I knowed more about +their town than they did?" + +"No, Sol," said Paul, "you're too wise a man ever to do such a thing." + +"I should hope I wuz," said Sol emphatically. "Jest think o' me stoppin' a +lot o' French fellers in the streets o' Paris, me jest happened in from +the woods fur the fust time, an' sayin' to them: 'Here, Bob, be keerful +how you cross the street thar, it's a right bad spot fur wagons, an' you'd +shorely git run over ef you tried it,' or 'Now, Dick, that thar is the +wrong street that you're takin', ef you foller it you'll land a full mile +from your cabin.'" + +"But Frenchmen are not named Bob and Dick," said Paul with a smile. + +"Wa'al ef they ain't they ought to be," said the shiftless one with +conviction. "Why they want to call theirselves by all them long names +nobody can pronounce, when there are a lot o' good, nice, short, handy +names like Dick, an' Jim, an' Bill, an' Bob, an' Hank, layin' 'roun' loose +an' jest beggin' to be used, is more'n I kin understand." + +"We must soon decide what to do," said Henry. "If the Spanish captain +concludes to help the Indians, and with Braxton Wyatt at his elbow I think +he is likely to do it, our people in Kentucky will again be in great +danger. We must drive the Spaniards back to New Orleans." + +"I agree with you," said Paul, "but how is it to be done?" + +"Mebbe we kin shoo 'em back, skeer 'em, so to speak," said Shif'less Sol. +"We're jest bound to keep Spain out o' this country." + +"It is true," said Paul. "Great things grow out of little ones. Such a +land as this is sure to have a great population some day and what we five +do now, obscure and few as we are, may help to decide what that population +is to be." + +As Paul spoke, his comrades and the shadowed glen floated away, and the +look of seer came upon him. Again he saw great towns and a nation. The +others regarded him with a little awe. The spiritual, or rather prophetic, +quality in Paul always had their deep respect. + +"Paul shorely does take mighty long looks ahead," whispered Shif'less Sol +to Henry, "an' sometimes I can't follow him clean to the end. I mostly +drop by the way. I like to live this very minute, an' I'm pow'ful glad to +be alive right now. But I'm with him clean to the finish o' our big job." + +Henry nodded and presently he and the shiftless one went away through the +woods. Paul, Ross, and Long Jim remained lying at ease in the forest--Paul +had learned the great wilderness lesson of patience--and about noon the +two returned. They had been spying upon the Spanish camp, and they +reported that Alvarez and his men had not moved. + +"They seem to be waiting for something," said Henry. "Braxton Wyatt is +still with them, and they have posted more sentinels in a wider circle. I +don't believe they will move camp for several days. So long as they keep +theirs there, we'll keep ours here." + +"O' course," said the shiftless one. "We must keep the watch." + +Several days passed and there was little to do. One or another of the +five at times crept close to the Spanish camp, and always reported that +the men there were lounging at their ease and still waiting. Now and then +the Spaniards hunted in detachments, usually guided by Braxton Wyatt, and +brought in both deer and buffalo. On the fourth day Henry and Paul also +went hunting. + +"The country west of here," said Henry, "opens out into a big prairie, and +we may see something worth seeing." + +Paul did not ask what it was, content to go and see, and the two, rifle on +shoulder, slipped away through the woods, taking a direct, western course. + +Paul noticed that the country soon became much less hilly, and that the +forest thinned. After a while hills and forest ceased altogether and the +two stood upon the edge of a wide sweep of gently rolling, open country, +extending so far that it met the horizon. + +"Look," said Henry. "A great prairie!" + +"And look what's on it!" exclaimed Paul. + +Henry laughed and glanced at his comrade's pleased face. As far as the eye +could reach the prairie was covered with a multitude of great, dark +animals, grazing on the short, sweet grass. Near by these animals, as Paul +saw, were a few feet apart, but further on they seemed to blend into one +solid, black, but heaving mass. + +"A real buffalo herd," said Henry. + +Paul had seen buffaloes often in Kentucky, but there they were usually in +small groups of a dozen or so, owing to the wooded nature of the country, +and now he looked for the first time upon a great herd, twenty thousand, +thirty thousand, maybe more--one could not calculate. The spectacle +appealed greatly to his imaginative temperament. + +"What a grand sight!" he said. + +"Yes," said Henry, "it is wonderful, but, Paul, this is nothing to what +you can see on the great plains. When I was a captive with the +northwestern Indians I've seen a herd that was passing our party all day, +and it was also so wide you could not see across it." + +They stood there some time looking. The huge, savage bulls were on the +outskirts of the herd, and just beyond them at the fringe of the forest +were snarling timber wolves, waiting for a chance to drag down some +careless calf, or a bull weakened to the last degree by old age. + +As the two youths looked they heard a shot and saw a movement among the +buffaloes. Another shot followed and then a half dozen. The portion of the +herd near by seemed suddenly to contract and to roll in upon itself. The +waiting wolves disappeared in the woods, and snorts of terror arose from +the herd. + +"There they are! I see them!" exclaimed Paul. "It is the Spaniards, sure +enough!" + +Five or six men in the Spanish military attire burst from the forest, not +more than a hundred yards away, and continued to fire as fast as they +could into the herd. + +"How foolish!" exclaimed Henry. "Either they are wasting their shots or if +they don't waste them they are killing far more buffaloes than they can +use!" + +The boys withdrew into a thicket, as they did not wish to be seen by the +Spaniards, and watched closely. The soldiers continued to reload and fire +and uttered shouts of joy whenever a buffalo fell. Transported by +excitement they scattered, and one man ran down near Paul and Henry, +detaching himself unconsciously from the rest of his comrades. + +This Spaniard was young and athletic, and he fired at a huge bull. Had he +been an experienced hunter, he would have known better, as the bull was +too big and tough to eat, and he was also one of the savage guardians of +the herd. Moreover, the Spaniards were armed mostly with muskets, a weapon +far inferior to the Kentucky rifle. + +This great bull stung in the flank, but stung only, uttered a roar of +pain, and, sharp horns down, charged directly upon the young Spaniard. He +was a terrifying sight as he tore up the grass of the prairie, his red +eyes flaming. The Spaniard, appalled, dropped his musket and ran for the +woods, the great beast thundering at his heels, and his hot breath, in +fancy at least, upon his back. Both Paul and Henry at that instant +recognized him. It was one of the unfortunate sentinels. Luiz. + +"I'll save him," said Henry, "but keep back, Paul! Don't let him see you!" + +The Spaniard was about to reach the edge of the wood, but another jump +would bring the raging buffalo upon him. His foot caught among some roots +and with a despairing cry he fell upon his face. But as he struck the +ground there was a sharp, lashing report, far different from the dull boom +of a musket, and the great animal suddenly ploughed forward on his head. +So violent was his plunge, as he was stricken in mid-charge, that his neck +was broken, and, after his crashing fall, he lay quite still. + +The young Spaniard, Luiz, sprang to his feet unharmed, and he was +confronted by a figure that startled him, the figure of a very tall and +powerful youth, clad wholly in deerskin, leaning on a long, slender +barreled Kentucky rifle, and looking at him contemplatively. So sudden was +his appearance and so fixed his gaze that Luiz, although joyful over his +escape from death, was startled and awed. His adventure of a few nights +before when he was seized, bound, and gagged by unseen but powerful hands +had left him shaken, and now his brain was whirling. + +The young Spaniard stared at the figure, which neither moved nor spoke, +but which returned his gaze with a fixed look. Was it a spirit, or was it +really one of the Americans? But whatever it was, it had, beyond a doubt, +saved his life, and deep down in his Spanish heart he was not ungrateful. + +"Thanks, Senor!" he stammered. "Your shot--it came just in time!" + +The apparition spoke, but only a few words. + +"We are your friends, not your enemies, don't forget," it said, and the +startled Luiz rubbed his eyes. The figure of the great youth was gone. It +had been there and then it was not there, and only some bushes, waving +slightly, told where it had been. He regained his musket, and, still +bewildered, rejoined his comrades to tell them a story that they did not +more than half believe. + +Henry, laughing a little, returned to Paul. It had been a simple trick. He +had merely darted away among the bushes, while Luiz was still in a daze. + +"I did not want to see the man killed," he said, "and maybe we have sowed +a good seed, that will grow up in time, and produce something." + +"It may be," added Paul. + +They went a little farther into the forest and watched the Spaniards +finish their hunt, gather up as much of their game as they could carry, +and depart. When they were well out of sight, Henry and Paul went to a +slain cow that the soldiers had neglected, cut out some of the choicest +portions, and took the way to their own camp. + +"I think the Spaniards are likely to be disturbed over what has happened," +said Henry. + +In fact, the shiftless one, who was the scout the following night, +returned with a story that the Spanish camp was greatly agitated. Braxton +Wyatt and Alvarez were positive that the five were still lingering +somewhere near, but the uneducated soldiers were not sure that a spirit +was not lurking in the wilderness. It might be a beneficent spirit, as it +had saved Luiz, but, on the other hand, it had taken away the American +prisoner, and they were afraid of the unknown and mysterious. These vast, +dark woods were so different from the open and sunny plains of Spain, +where a man knew what to expect, that they were inspired with awe. + +Yet Alvarez would not move, so Shif'less Sol reported. He seemed to be +still waiting for something, and on the following night Henry, Paul, and +Shif'less Sol went forth to watch the Spanish camp again. + +"I've a feelin' in me," said the shiftless one, "that somethin' is goin' +to happen to-night. I often have these feelin's, omens some people call +'em, min'-readin' other people say. I notice that I gena'lly have 'em jest +about when all the circumstances show that things are comm' to a head, +jest ez ef Paul here wuz to feel along about 6 or 7 o'clock in the +afternoon that sundown couldn't be fur away. You can't beat it. Now when +I've gone fifteen or eighteen hours without food I have a feelin'--an' +it's a strong one, too--that I'm goin' to be hungry, an' I'm sca'cely ever +mistook, jest ez I've got a feelin' when the skies are filled with big +black clouds that it's liable to rain purty soon. I tell you, Paul, it's a +great thing to have this here power you call second sight." + +The three walked steadily on in Indian file through the forest, their +trained feet making no sound among the trunks and brushes. The night was +dark, just suited to their purpose, and clouds floated up to dim the +skies. No stars came out, and the moon was hidden. By and bye the wind +rose, and dashes of rain were whipped into their faces. + +But the three did not mind. Such things as these had become trifles to +them long since. Henry led with sure step, Shif'less Sol came next, and +Paul brought up the rear. Henry stopped after a while, and sank down +among the bushes. The other two did likewise, and, after a little pause in +which they heard nothing, they began to creep forward, taking the utmost +care to make not even the slightest sound. They saw presently through the +trees and bushes a faint red shade that grew fast to a glow and then to a +glare. + +Henry stopped, sank lower, and beckoned to his comrades. They crept to his +side and looked over a steep little cliff directly upon the Spanish camp. +Most of the soldiers were grouped about a large camp fire, and Francisco +Alvarez was among them in a place of honor. + +Hidden in the deep shrubbery the three occupied points of vantage, and, +while secure from observation themselves, they could easily see all that +passed in the glade. Several tents had been set, although the flaps were +wide open and within one of these sat Francisco Alvarez in all the +gorgeous attire of a Spanish officer, most fastidious in his taste. The +gold on his uniform glittered, the lace on his cuffs was snowy and fresh, +and the polished hilt of his small sword gleamed in the firelight. He had +the air of one who expected distinguished guests. + +"Now I wonder what has become of Braxton Wyatt," whispered Paul. Nowhere +could he see a sign of the renegade. + +"He is coming," whispered Henry, who had what Shif'less Sol would have +called an intuition. + +Two of the Spaniards heaped more wood upon the fire. The logs crackled +and blazed merrily, casting long tongues of flame across the glade, and +sending a grateful heat into the veins of the warm-blooded Southerners. +The flurries of rain ceased, and the skies brightened a little. A star or +two peeped out. + +"Ah!" said Henry in the lowest of whispers, "here they come!" + +The bushes at the far side of the glade parted and three figures came into +the open. They took but two or three steps forward and then stopped full +in the blaze of the firelight, where every feature showed like carving in +the red glow. + +The hidden watchers recognized at once the three who had come. They were +Braxton Wyatt, Yellow Panther the Miami chief, and Red Eagle the Shawnee +chief. Paul repressed a little cry of amazement that he should see the two +Indian leaders so far from the territory of their tribes. They must intend +much to come such a journey. + +Braxton Wyatt stepped back a little, as if having performed his function +of guide he would now remain awhile in the background, but the two great +chiefs stood motionless, side by side, magnificent specimens of savage +life, bronze of skin, tall of figure, powerful of chest, thin, eagle-like +faces, and defiant scalp-locks waving above. The imaginative Paul, seeing +how well they fitted into the wilderness scene, was forced to admire. The +firelight flickered and blazed over them, but they were immovable in all +their savage dignity. Henry put his hand upon Paul's shoulder, and pressed +gently. It was an intimation to look with all his eyes and listen with +all attention. But Paul did not need the hint. + +Francisco Alvarez also was impressed. He loved the towns and luxury, but +he had acuteness and perception, and he knew that these were strong men of +their kind, men with whom he must deal according to the courtesy of the +woods. He rose from his tent, bowed to them, and walked forward. He +himself was a splendid figure in his gorgeous uniform, and his carriage +was marked by dignity. + +"Now see them salute," whispered the shiftless one in Paul's ear. + +Braxton Wyatt stepped forward again, produced a pipe with a beautifully +carved horn handle, and filled it carefully with tobacco, which he lighted +with a coal from the fire. Then he handed it to Red Eagle, who was the +older of the chiefs, and Red Eagle gravely took a half dozen whiffs. Then +he passed it to Yellow Panther, who did likewise, and the chief in his +turn handed it to the Spanish commander. Alvarez smoked gravely for a half +minute, and then Braxton Wyatt took the pipe. + +"Now for the big confab," whispered Sol. + +Fine buffalo robes were spread before the fire, and the three leaders and +Braxton Wyatt sat upon them. All others kept at a respectful distance. The +four began to talk and, although only an occasional word reached the +watching three, they knew too well their subject of converse. It was the +great conspiracy to draw the Spanish from Louisiana into an attack upon +the infant settlements, upon the ground that they were or would be +interlopers. It was cannon that the assailants needed to smash the block +houses, and cannon in abundance could be brought on the great rivers from +New Orleans. + +The watchers presently saw Braxton Wyatt take a small parcel from the +inside of his deerskin hunting shirt. He unfolded the parcel and the +watchers could see that it consisted of large pieces of the finest, tanned +deerskin. + +"Maps," said Paul intuitively. "That scoundrel, Braxton Wyatt, has made +them for the aid of the Spanish, and to disclose all our weak points!" + +The fire blazed higher and they could see that on the white deerskin were +drawn lines in colored pigment, and the rest they guessed. It was true +enough. Braxton Wyatt, no mean draughtsman, had drawn, with the most +elaborate care and attention to detail, maps on a large scale of every one +of the infant settlements. There was nothing about Wareville in particular +that he did not show, and he also designated all the rivers, hills, and +valleys as far as they were known. With such aid a Spanish force, backed +by cannon and the warriors, must triumph over every post in Kentucky. + +"I never thought of this," whispered Paul. Henry merely pressed his +shoulder again to indicate that they were ready to deal with it, if man +could. + +The three watchers remained there more than an hour, and Alvarez, Wyatt, +and the chiefs still discussed the maps with every appearance of +agreement, bending their heads over them, and now and then disclosing +eager faces, as they lifted them in the firelight. + +"Alvarez wants to help them," whispered Paul. "He hates us, and, if he +can, he will commit the Governor of Louisiana to the Indian alliance." + +"Beyond a doubt," replied Henry, "and so it's not worth while for us to +wait here any longer." + +They slid away in the dark and returned to their own camp. There Long Jim +and Tom Ross were placidly awaiting them, and they were not at all +surprised at the news. Then the five held another of their conferences. + +"I think it likely," said Paul, "that Alvarez will go back at once to New +Orleans. He will tell the Governor there that armed bands of Americans are +trespassing upon Spanish territory and that they must be driven off. He +will come back with cannon and a powerful force to do the driving. That +means war, of course, and an attack upon us in Kentucky. How will the +Governor of New Orleans know whether the fighting is on Spanish territory +or not? And even if Alvarez overstepped the limits he could say that he +was attacked first." + +"Of course," said Henry, "and it means that we must follow Alvarez all the +way to New Orleans if necessary, and it may be that we shall have to carry +the message of the Kentuckians to Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish Governor +General himself." + +"We're ready," said Shif'less Sol lazily. "I wouldn't mind seein' that +furrin town. I saw a town once when I wuz a little boy. It wuz Baltimore, +an' a pow'ful big place it wuz, most nigh set my head to swimmin'. I +heard tell that ez many ez eight or ten thousand people lived thar. Sounds +impossible but some o' 'em swore it wuz true." + +"We'll prepare at once for the journey," said Henry. + +All set to work. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +TAKING A "GALLEON" + + +Henry and Shif'less Sol spied upon the Spanish camp again the next day, +and returned with news that the two chiefs had departed, but that Braxton +Wyatt had remained, evidently intending to accompany Alvarez to New +Orleans, where they were sure the Spanish leader now intended going. + +"I think, too," said Henry, "that they will break up camp in the morning +and march. I believe that they came up on the Mississippi, and will return +the same way." + +"Then they have boats," said Paul in dismay, "and we have none." + +"But we can get one," said Henry significantly. + +"If you want a thing, jest go an' git it," said Shif'less Sol. "I remember +once when I wuz a leetle bit o' a boy back in the East, I hankered +terribly after some hickory nuts that I knowed wuz in a grove about a mile +from our house. I suffered days an' days o' anguish fur them hickory nuts, +wishin' mighty bad all the time that I had 'em. At the end o' two weeks I +walked over an' got 'em, an' my sufferin' stopped off short." + +"That's just what we mean to do about our boat, step over and get it," +said Henry laughing. But he did not divulge his plan and the others were +content to wait for the event. + +As Henry had predicted, the Spanish camp broke up the following morning, +and Alvarez and his force took up a march almost due eastward. They +traveled in an easy fashion, and showed no signs of apprehension, Alvarez +deeming that fifty well-armed men were not in any danger from wandering +tribes. He did not know that five resolute borderers were following +closely behind him, even looking into his camp at night, and knowing every +important thing that he did. Braxton Wyatt may have suspected it, but he +said nothing, aware that it could not be prevented. + +The five were well prepared. They carried a large supply of ammunition, a +blanket each, and jerked meat. If their food supplies gave out there was +the forest swarming with game, and they knew that it swarmed in the same +fashion all the way down to New Orleans. They would camp at sunset three +or four miles from the Spaniards, keeping watch the night through, and in +the morning it was easy enough to take up the trail of Alvarez and his +men, which, to their experienced eyes, was like a high road leading +through the forest. + +One evening just as the sun was setting Henry parted some twining bushes +and looked over a cliff. The others came to his side and they, too, looked +as he was looking. + +At their very feet lay the mighty Mississippi. They had seen it before, +but it was never so impressive as now. Great at any time it was in spring +flood, rolling a vast, yellow current down toward the Gulf. The waters +overflowed on the low, eastern shore, and it was so far across that they +could not see the further bank in the shadowed evening. The setting sun, +nevertheless, lighted up the middle of the current with blood-red gleams, +and the five gazed with a certain awe at the mighty stream, as it flowed +ever onward. It was the highly imaginative Paul who was impressed the +most. + +"We know where it goes to," he said, "but I wonder where it comes from." + +Henry waved his hand vaguely toward the North. + +"Up there somewhere," he said, "a thousand miles from here, or maybe two +thousand. Nobody can tell." + +Paul did not say anything more, but continued to gaze at the vast, yellow +current of the Mississippi, coming out of the unknown regions of the far +north and flowing into lands of the far south, almost as mysterious and, +vague, once belonging to France but now owning the lordship of Spain. It +was the homely language of Shif'less Sol that recalled him from his +dreams. + +"It's purty big out thar, an' looks ez if you couldn't tamper with +it--this here river stands no foolin'--but do you know, Paul, water's +pow'ful friendly. It's always travelin' about, always on the move. Land +stands still, it's always thar, an' never sees nothin' new, but water +jest keeps a' movin', seein' new countries, here to-day, somewhar else +to-morrow, lavin' new banks, breathin' new air, floatin' peacefully on to +new people, gatherin' in their talk an' ways. + +"Jest think! This river comes out o' we don't know whar, sees all the +wilderness, whispers to the bars and buffaloes an' Injun tribes ez it goes +by, takes a look at us standin' here on the bank, an', after wonderin' +what we're about, slips on down hundreds o' miles to Louisianny, gazin' at +the French thar on the bank at New Orleans, an' then shoots out into the +sea." + +"Thar to be lost," said the unpoetical Long Jim. + +"Not to be lost, never to be lost, Jim," said Shif'less Sol earnestly. +"That Missip. water is still thar in the sea, an' it goes slippin' an' +slidin' along with the salt clean to all them old continents. It takes a +look in at England, that's fightin' us in the East, an' if the English +could understand the water's language it might tell 'em a lot o' things +that wuz wuth their knowin'. An' then it goes on to Spain an' France an' +Germany, whar they talk all them useless tongues, an' after a while it +takes a whirl clean 'roun' Africa an' Asia, an' sees goodness knows what, +an' then goes slippin' off to see islands in oceans that I ain't ever +heard tell on. Jumpin' Jehoshaphat but ain't that a movin' an' stirrin' +life fur ye!" + +Sol drew a deep breath and Paul looked at him with shining eyes. + +"You've said a good deal of what I was thinking, Sol," he said, "but for +which I couldn't find words." + +"We're likely to travel with the river for a while," said Tom Ross, "an' +we must purvide a way." + +"We'll do it soon," said Henry. + +They camped that night in a dense grove near the bank but they built no +fire. After midnight Henry and Shif'less Sol slipped away and went +northward. + +"'Bout four miles on we'll strike them Spaniards," said the shiftless one. + +It was a close calculation, as at the end of the four miles they saw the +light of a fire flaring through the trees and bushes and knew that they +had come upon Alvarez and his men. Their camp lay on rather low ground +beside a little bay of the Mississippi, and the keen eyes of the two +woodsmen saw at once that the force of Alvarez had been increased. + +"He's got about seventy men whar he had about fifty afore," said Shif'less +Sol as they crept nearer. + +"They came on boats as I thought," replied Henry, "and he left a +detachment here with the boats, while he went across country. Maybe he was +on an exploring expedition or something of that kind, when Braxton Wyatt +overtook him with his proposition." + +Sol looked at Henry and Henry looked at Sol. A ray of moonlight fell upon +their tanned and stern faces. Then as they looked a twinkle appeared in +the eye of each. The twinkle deepened and the two broke simultaneously +into a soundless laugh. + +"We want one of those boats," said Henry. + +"We shorely do," said Shif'less Sol. + +"We need it in the course of our duty," said Henry. + +"We jest can't git along without it," said Shif'less Sol. + +"It will be much easier floating down the middle of the Mississippi in a +boat than it will be walking along the bank all the way." + +"It will shorely save the feet, an' give a feller time to think, while the +current's doin' the work. It jest suits a lazy man like me." + +Again they broke simultaneously into a laugh that contained no sound, but +which was full of mirth. + +"It's taking what doesn't belong to us, and we are not at war with the +Spanish," said Henry. + +"They tried to hold Paul a prisoner, and they're not at war with us," +rejoined Sol. "We've got a right to hit back. Besides, we're doin' it to +save a war, and we're only borrowin' their boat fur their own good." + +The two, without further ado, made a circuit around the Spanish camp, +coming down on the northern side. There fortunately for them the trees and +bushes were thick to the water's edge, and the shore was very low. In +fact, the river, owing to the flood, overlapped the bushes. + +They redoubled their caution, using every art and device of woodcraft to +approach without noise. They could see the flare of the camp fire beyond +the bushes, and now and then they caught sight of a sentinel's head. They +felt amply justified in this attempt, for Alvarez had not only held Paul a +prisoner, but was plotting with the Indian chiefs to slay all the white +people in Kentucky. + +"Here are the boats," whispered Henry. + +There they were, eight in number, large, strong boats, every one with +several pairs of oars, and tied with ropes to the bushes. + +The eyes of Shif'less Sol watered as he gazed. + +"They look pow'ful good to a lazy man," he said, "I could shorely sleep +mighty comf'table in one o' them while Jim Hart wuz pullin' at the oars." + +"I think the small one at the end nearest to us would just suit our +party," said Henry; "although it has more, it could be handled easily with +a single pair of oars." + +"Shorely!" said Shif'less Sol, "but how to git away with it is now the +question." + +It was indeed a problem, vexing and likewise dangerous. A sentinel, musket +on shoulder, walked up and down in front of the Spanish navy, and he +seemed to be very wide awake. Moreover, two men slept in each boat. + +"We must get that sentinel somehow," said Henry, "not to hurt him, but to +see that he doesn't talk for the next half hour or so." + +"What's your idea?" asked the shiftless one. + +Henry whispered to him rapidly and Sol grinned with satisfaction. + +"Good enough," said the shiftless one. "It'll work," and he crept away +from Henry deep in the bushes a little west of the sentinel. A moment or +two later the Spaniard on watch was startled by a sharp, warning hiss +from the edge of the thicket. He knew very well what made it--a +rattlesnake, a thing that he loathed and feared. He certainly did not want +such a deadly reptile sliding through the grass on his feet, and, clubbing +his musket, he walked forward, looking intently for the venomous thing. He +did not see it at first and all his faculties became absorbed in the +search. Holding the clubbed musket ready for an instant blow he peered +into the grass and short bushes. He was a Spaniard not without courage, +but he was oppressed by the night, the wilderness, the huge river flowing +by, and his feeling that he was far, very far, from Spain. Under the +circumstances, the poisonous hiss inspired him with an intense dread and +he was eager to slay. He leaned a little farther, swinging the musket butt +back and forth, ready for a quick blow when he should see the target. + +He did not hear a light step behind him, but he did feel a powerful arm +grasp him around the waist, pinning his own arms to his side, while a hand +was clasped over his mouth, checking the ready cry that could not pass his +lips. Then before his starting eyes a figure rose out of the bushes whence +the hiss had come. It was not that of a rattlesnake, but that of a man, a +tall man with powerful shoulders, blue eyes, and yellow hair, undoubtedly +one of the ferocious Americans. + +The sentinel felt that his hour had come, and he began to patter his +prayers in his throat, but the two Americans, the one before him, and the +one who had grasped him from behind, did not slay him at once. Instead +they said words together in their harsh tongue. Then they tore pieces from +the sentinel's clothing, made a wad of it and pressed it into his mouth. +They also tied a strip from the same clothing over his mouth and behind +his head, and, still despoiling his clothing, they bound him hand and foot +and laid him in the bushes, where he was invisible to his comrades and +could only see a sky in which a few dim stars danced. But on the whole he +was glad. They had not killed him as he had expected, and the gag in his +mouth was soft. Moreover, his comrades would surely find him in time and +release him. + +Henry and Shif'less Sol turned away and smiled again at each other. + +"Not much trouble, that," whispered the shiftless one. "He wuz shorely a +skeered Spaniard ef I kin read a man's face. Guess he wuz glad to get off +ez easy ez he did. Now fur the boat!" + +"Here we are," said Henry. "We must pitch out the two men sleeping in +it--you take one and I'll take the other--and then we must seize the oars +and pull like mad, because the whole camp will be up." + +The boat was tied with a rope to a stout sapling and two Spanish soldiers +slumbered in great peace inside. The oars lay beside them. Henry cut the +rope with one sweep of his long-bladed hunting-knife, and then he and +Shif'less Sol sprang into the boat. Each seized a man by the shoulders and +lifted him in his powerful arms. It was a chance that one of the sleepers +was Luiz, and, when he was snatched suddenly from blissful dreams to +somber fact, he opened his eyes to see bending over him the same grave, +tanned being who had rescued him from the raging buffalo. + +But it was not a beneficent spirit, because Luiz was tossed bodily the +next moment into three feet of muddy water. He uttered a cry of terror and +despair as he went down, and another Spaniard uttered a similar cry at the +same moment. Both cries were cut off short by mouthfuls of the +Mississippi, but the two Spaniards came up a moment later, and began to +wade hastily to the shore. Each cast a frightened glance behind him, and +saw their boat disappearing on the river's bosom, carrying the two evil +spirits with it. + +"I shorely enjoyed that," said Shif'less Sol, as the oars bent beneath his +powerful stroke. "That Spaniard's face as he woke up an' found hisself +whirled out into the Mississippi wuz the funniest thing I ever seed, an' I +had the fun, too, without hurting him. It ain't often, Paul, that you kin +do what you need to do an' be full o' laugh, too, an' so when the time +comes I make the most o' it." + +"It was worth seeing," said Henry, "and we've been in great luck, too. +There, hear 'em! They've got the water out of their mouths and are giving +tongue again! Pull, Sol! Pull!" + +Loud shouts came from the sentinels who had risen from their bath and it +was followed by cries in the Spanish camp. Torches flared, there was the +sound of running footsteps, and dusky figures appeared at the river's +bank. + +"Pull, Sol! Pull!" exhorted Henry again. "We're not yet out of range!" + +Shots were fired and bullets pattered on the water but none reached the +boat. They heard angry cries, imprecations, and they saw one figure +apparently giving commands, which they were sure was that of Francisco +Alvarez. + +"Now if they had our Kentucky rifles and real marksmen," said Shif'less +Sol, "they could pick you an' me off without any trouble. Thar's light +enough. But with them old bell-mouthed muskets they can't do much. No, +Henry, we're bold pirates on the high seas an' we've been an' took a +Spanish gall-yun--ain't that what they call their treasure ships? 'Pears +to me, Henry, I kinder like bein' a pirate, 'specially when you do the +takin', an' ain't took yourself." + +"That's so," laughed Henry, "but we'd better keep pulling, Sol, with all +our might. They're sure to pursue, and, as they have plenty of men for the +oars we need all the start that we can get." + +They were well out in the middle of the stream now, and the deep, powerful +current of the Mississippi was aiding them greatly, but both glanced back. +The shore was lined with men and another volley was fired. All the bullets +fell short, and Shif'less Sol laughed contemptuously. + +"Now they are beginnin' the pursuit," he said. + +Four boats had been cut loose, and, filled with Spaniards, they were +pushed from the bank. Henry turned the prow of their own boat until it +bore in a slanting direction toward the eastern shore. + +"What's your plan?" asked the shiftless one. + +"The river, you know, has overflowed on the eastern shore over there for +three or four miles; we must lose ourselves in the forest on that side." + +"An' let 'em pass us?" + +"That's just it. We want 'em to go on ahead of us to Louisiana, while we +follow. Besides we've got to pick up Paul and Jim and Tom." + +Shouts arose from the pursuers and more shots were fired, but they were +still beyond the range of the Spanish muskets and the two were untouched. +They were not even alarmed. + +"There's a lot of confusion in the boats," said Henry, who looked back +again with a critical eye, "and as they don't pull together they're not +gaining. The night is also growing darker and that helps us, too. Keep it +up, Sol!" + +"All right," said the shiftless one, increasing his stroke. "It's fine to +be a pirate, Henry. Wonder why I never tried it afore! But I believe I'll +always be a pirate at night when you've got more chance to git away." + +"You're right as usual, Sol," said Henry as he, too, increased his stroke. + +They pulled away for some time without further words, and the pursuers, +also, settled into silence save for an encouraging shout now and then to +the rowers. Henry thought that he discerned both Alvarez and Braxton +Wyatt in the foremost boat and he could imagine the rage and chagrin of +both. + +"I believe they're gaining," he said presently to Sol. + +"Yes," replied the shiftless one, "that big boat thar is creepin' up." + +"Crack!" came a report and a bullet embedded itself in the stout wood of +their own boat. Both recognized the report. It was not that of a Spanish +musket, but the lashing fire of a Kentucky rifle like their own. + +"That was Braxton Wyatt," said Henry. "I thought I could make him out in +that boat. He's got a rifle that reaches and he's a danger." + +"Why don't you talk back?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"I will," replied Henry. "We're not at war with Spain, but we are surely +at war with Braxton Wyatt. I think the second man in the boat is Braxton. +Hold her steady just a second, Sol." + +Henry shipped his oars, knelt a moment, and up went the long, slender +barrel of his Kentucky rifle. As he looked down the sight he was sure that +the man at whom he was aiming was Braxton Wyatt, and he was sure, +moreover, that he would not miss. But a feeling for which he could not +account made him deflect slightly the muzzle of his weapon. + +Braxton Wyatt richly deserved death for crimes already done and he would +be, as long as he lived, a deadly menace to the border. But Henry felt +that he could not be both judge and executioner. He and Braxton Wyatt had +been young boys together. So, when he deflected the muzzle of his rifle, +it was to turn the bullet from his heart to his arm. + +The rifle flashed, the sharp report echoed over the flowing waters, and a +cry of pain came from the pursuing boat, which quickly slackened its +speed. + +"I hit him in the arm only," said Henry. + +Shif'less Sol glanced at his comrade and he understood, but he made no +criticism. + +"Ef you've stung him in the arm," he said, "it ain't likely that he kin +use that rifle o' his ag'in, an' I notice, too, since you shot that them +oarsmen ain't burnin' up with zeal. Now you row, Henry, while I plunk a +bullet in among 'em, an' they'll burn less than ever." + +Shif'less Sol fired. He did not shoot to kill, but his bullet whistled +unpleasantly near the heads of the rowers, and, as he had predicted, they +rapidly lost zeal. The captured boat slid swiftly ahead. + +"Here we are among the trees," said Henry. "Now, Sol, keep on rowing and +I'll look out that we don't run into anything." + +The swollen waters rose far up on the trunks of the trees, which grew +thickly here, and Sol rowed slowly, making no noise save a slight ripple, +while Henry pushed the prow of the boat away from the trunks and the +bushes. It was very dark here and in a few minutes the pursuing boats were +shut out of sight. + +"Thar ain't eyes enough in that Spanish camp to find us now," said +Shif'less Sol. + +But they rowed deeper and deeper into the forest, and then, in a cluster +of trees where they could not be seen ten feet away, they stopped and +listened. Not a sound but the lapping of the water came to their ears. + +"We'll take a good rest and then row Northward, still keeping in the +forest," said Henry. + +They shipped their oars and drew long, deep breaths of relief and +satisfaction. + +"Henry," said Shif'less Sol presently in a tone of great exultation, "have +you noticed that this is a shore enough gall-yun that we've took? We +didn't know it, but we jest boarded and sailed away with a real treasure +ship. Look!" + +He opened a locker and took out two fine ornamented guns. + +"What are these?" he said. + +"Why, those are fowling pieces," replied Henry, "and they are of the very +best English make. We'll certainly borrow those, Sol." + +"Yes, an' this end o' the locker is full o' powder an' shot fur 'em. +Thar's no lack o' ammunition, an' look here, Henry, at these!" + +He took out of another locker three beautiful rapiers with polished hilts +and decorated scabbards. + +"Spaniards like sech tools ez these," continued the shiftless one, "an' +they're mighty purty to look at, but ez fur me give me my good old +Kentucky rifle. At a hundred yards what chance would them things have +ag'in me?" + +"We'll borrow them, too," said Henry. "We may have a use for them later +on. They're weapons that never have to be reloaded." + +Sol drew forth one of the small swords and held it up. A shaft of +moonlight fell across the blade, and showed the keen edge. + +"They're such fine weepins they must hev belonged to that thar Spanish +commander hisself," he said. "After all, a thing like this mightn't be bad +when you come to it right close. Mebbe Paul could handle it. You know Mr. +Pennypacker used to teach him how to swing the sword. This is how it goes: +Ah, ha! Sa ha! touched you thar! How's that my hearty!" + +Shif'less Sol lunged at the night air, slashed, cut, swept his sword +around in circles, and then laughed again. But none of his exclamations +was uttered above a whisper. Henry was forced to smile. + +"Put it down, Sol," he said, "and let's see what else we've got. It may be +that we've taken Alvarez's own private boat." + +Sol opened the locker again, and held up a curiously shaped stone jug, +which he contemplated for a few moments. Then he took out the stopper, +smelled the contents, and looked appreciatively at his comrade. + +"Henry," he said, "I'm going to risk it." + +"It's no risk." + +Sol turned the jug up to his lips, took a mouthful, which he held for a +moment or two, and then swallowed. After waiting a half minute he uttered +a deep sigh of content, and rubbed his chest. + +"It tasted good all the way down, Henry," he said. "Here's something writ +over the label, but I guess it's Spanish, another o' them useless +tongues, an' so it tells nothin'." + +"Put it back," said Henry. "It's some of those fancy liquors, but we'll +keep it for times when we're wet or cold or tired out." + +"All right," said Sol, "an' here's three more little jugs like it." + +"What else do you find?" asked Henry. + +"Oh, look at these, will you!" exclaimed Sol, holding up two splendid +double barreled duelling pistols of Spanish make. + +"Now I'm sure that this is the boat of Alvarez himself," said Henry. "Such +fine things as these could belong only to the Commander. Those are +duelling pistols, Sol, but they can be made mighty useful, too, for our +defense in case of a pinch. We'll keep them, too." + +The shiftless one put them back and opening another locker uttered a +little cry of delight. + +"A hull carpenter shop!" he exclaimed. "Jest look, Henry! A fine axe, +hammers an' hatchets, an' saws an' augers an' a lot o' other things +pow'ful useful to fellers like us that have to cut an' bore their own way +out here in the woods. This is shorely one o' them gall-yuns that Paul +tells us about, an' I guess we're about ez highfalutin' an lucky pirates +ez any o' them." + +"You're right, Sol," said Henry. "This boat is a great find, and it's +lawful prize as they began the war upon us by seizing Paul. Keep on +looking, Sol." + +"Here's some beautiful blankets," continued the shiftless one. "Guess they +were made to trade with the Injuns. But it's more'n likely that this here +most gorg-y-us one will, on occasions, shelter, warm, purtect an' +otherwise care fur the deservin' body o' one Solomon Hyde, a highly +valooable citizen o' the new country they call Kentucky. An' say, Henry, +what do you call this?" + +His voice took a rapidly rising inflection, as he held up a glittering +garment, puffed with magnificent lace. + +"That," said Henry, "is what they call a doublet, and I should say that it +is the finest one belonging to Captain Alvarez. Oh, won't he be angry!" + +Sol slipped off his hunting shirt, and slipped on the doublet. + +"It's a little tight in the shoulders," he said, "but I could wear it in a +pinch, that is, I guess I'd hev to wear it in a pinch. Say, Henry, ain't I +a beauty?" + +He stood up in the boat and turned slowly around and around, his arms +extended and the doublet glittering. Henry leaned against the side of the +boat and laughed. + +"It doesn't suit you, Sol," he replied, "you're a fine looking man, but +it's in your own way, not the Spanish way." + +Sol took off the garment, folded it up carefully, and put it back in the +locker. + +"Anyway, I'm goin' to claim it," he said. "I want it to make Jim Hart +jealous. An', Henry, thar's a lot more things here, a little tent all +rolled up, some bottles o' medicine, some more clothes, two big bottles +o' brandy, and a whole lot o' house-keepin' truck, like pins an' needles +an' thread, an' them things that kin be pow'ful useful to us on a long +journey. An' jumpin' Jehoshaphat, Henry, here's a little bag o' silver an' +gold!" + +"Put that back!" said Henry hastily. "Put it back, Sol! Their goods we'll +borrow as fair spoil, but we won't touch their money. Put it back and none +of us will ever take that bag out again." + +"You're right, Henry," said Sol soberly. "I wouldn't handle a single coin +in that bag thar. Here she goes right under the bottom o' everything in +this locker, an' thar she'll stay. But, Henry, our gall-yun is the biggest +find we ever made in our lives. I never dreamed o' travelin' in sech style +an' comfort down the Mississippi." + +"Do you think it's going to grow lighter?" asked Henry. + +"No," replied Sol decidedly. "It's been a shy kind o' moon to-night, an' +it's a gittin' so much shyer that it's plumb afraid to show its face. In +three minutes it will hide behind a big cloud that's edgin' up over thar, +an' we won't see it no more to-night." + +"Then we'll pull down to the edge of the woods and see if the Spaniards +have given up the chase." + +"An' be keerful not to run into any snags or sech like. We don't want to +wreck a magnificent gall-yun like this when we've got her." + +They had been lying in the flooded forest about two hours, and now they +pulled very cautiously toward the main stream. It was a large boat for +two men, however strong, to handle, but they got through without colliding +with snag or tree trunk, or making any noise that could be heard a dozen +yards away. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +ON THE GREAT RIVER + + +They remained just within the edge of the forest, but, despite the lack of +moonlight, they could see far over the surface of the river. It seemed to +be an absolutely clean sweep of waters, as free from boats as if man had +never come, but, after long looking, Henry thought that he could detect a +half dozen specks moving southward. It was only for a moment, and then the +specks were gone. + +"I'm sure it was the Spanish boats," said Henry, "and I think they've +given up the hunt." + +"More'n likely," said Sol, "an' I guess it's about time fur us to pull +across an' pick up Paul an' Tom an' Jim. They'll wonder what hez become o' +us. An' say, Henry, won't they be s'prised to see us come proudly sailin' +into port in our gran' big gall-yun, all loaded down with arms an' +supplies an' treasures that we hev captured?" + +Sol spoke in a tone of deep content, and Henry replied in the same tone: + +"If they don't they've changed mightily since we left 'em." + +Both, in truth, were pervaded with satisfaction. They felt that they had +never done a better night's work. They had a splendid boat filled with the +most useful supplies. As Sol truthfully said, it was one thing to walk a +thousand miles through the woods to New Orleans and another to float down +on the current in a comfortable boat. They had cause for their deep +satisfaction. + +They pulled with strong, steady strokes across the Mississippi, taking a +diagonal course, and they stopped now and then to look for a possible +enemy. But they saw nothing, and at last their boat touched the western +shore. Here Sol uttered their favorite signal, the cry of the wolf, and it +was quickly answered from the brush. + +"They're all right," said Henry, and presently they heard the light +footsteps of the three coming fast. + +"Here, Paul, here we are!" called out Sol a few moments later, "an' min', +Paul, that your moccasins are clean. We don't allow no dirty footsteps on +this magnificent, silver-plated gall-yun o' ours, an' ez fur Jim Hart, ef +the Mississippi wuzn't so muddy I'd make him take a bath afore he come +aboard." + +Henry and the shiftless one certainly enjoyed the surprise of their +comrades who stood staring. + +"I suppose you cut her out, took her from the Spaniards?" said Paul. + +"We shorely did," replied Sol, "an', Paul, she's a shore enough gall-yun, +one o' the kind you told us them Spaniards had, 'cause she's full o' good +things. Jest come on board an' look." + +The three were quickly on the boat and they followed Sol with surprise and +delight, as he showed them their new treasures one by one. + +"You've named her right, Sol," said Paul. "She is a galleon to us, sure +enough, and that's what we'll call her, 'The Galleon.' When we have time, +Sol, you and I will cut that name on her with our knives." + +They tied their boat to a sapling and kept the oars and themselves aboard. +Tom Ross volunteered to keep the watch for the few hours that were left of +the night. The others disposed themselves comfortably in the boat, wrapped +their bodies in the beautiful new Spanish blankets, and were soon sound +asleep. + +Tom sat in the prow of the boat, his rifle across his knees, and his keen +hunting knife by his side. At the first sign of danger from shore he could +cut the rope with a single slash of his knife and push the boat far out +into the current. + +But there was no indication of danger nor did the indefinable sixth sense, +that came of long habit and training, warn him of any. Instead, it +remained a peaceful night, though dark, and Tom looked contemplatively at +his comrades. He was the oldest of the little party and a man of few +words, but he was deeply attached to his four faithful comrades. Silently +he gave thanks that his lot was cast with those whom he liked so well. + +The night passed away and up came a beautiful dawn of rose and gold. Tom +Ross awakened his comrades. + +"The day is here," he said, "an' we must be up an' doin' ef we're goin' to +keep on the trail o' them Spanish fellers." + +"All right," said Shif'less Sol, opening his eyes. "Jim Hart, is my +breakfus ready? Ef so, you kin jest bring it to me while I'm layin' here +an' I'll eat it in bed." + +"Your breakfus ready!" replied Jim Hart indignantly. "What sort uv +nonsense are you talkin' now, Sol Hyde?" + +"Why, ain't you the ship's cook?" said Sol in a hurt tone, "an' oughtn't +you to be proud o' bein' head cook on a splendiferous new gall-yun like +this? I'd a-thought, Jim, you'd be so full o' enthusiasm over bein' +promoted that you'd have had ready fur us the grandest breakfus that wuz +ever cooked by a mortal man fur mortal men. It wuz sech a fine chance fur +you." + +"I think we can risk a fire," said Henry. "The Spaniards are far out of +sight, and warm food will be good for us." + +After they had eaten, Henry poured a few drops of the Spanish liquor for +each in a small silver cup that he found in one of the lockers. + +"That will hearten us up," he said, but directly after they drank it Paul, +who had been making an exploration of his own on the boat, uttered a cry +of joy. + +"Coffee!" he said, as he dragged a bag from under a seat, "and here is a +pot to boil it in." + +"More treasures," said Sol gleefully. "That wuz shorely a good night's +work you an' me done, Henry!" + +There was nothing to do but boil a pot of the coffee then and there, and +each had a long, delicious drink. Coffee and tea were so rare in the +wilderness that they were valued like precious treasures. Then they packed +their things and started, pulling out into the middle of the stream and +giving the current only a little assistance with the oars. + +"One thing is shore," said Shif'less Sol, lolling luxuriously on a locker, +"that Spanish gang can't git away from us. All we've got to do is to float +along ez easy ez you please, an' we'll find 'em right in the middle o' the +road." + +"It does beat walkin'," said Jim Hart, with equal content, "but this is +shorely a pow'ful big river. I never seed so much muddy water afore in my +life." + +"It's a good river, a kind river," said Paul, "because it's taking us +right to its bosom, and carrying us on where we want to go with but little +trouble to us." + +It was to Paul, the most imaginative of them all, to whom the mighty river +made the greatest appeal. It seemed beneficent and kindly to him, a friend +in need. Nature, Paul thought, had often come to their assistance, +watching over them, as it were, and helping them when they were weakest. +And, in truth, what they saw that morning was enough to inspire a bold +young wilderness rover. + +The river turned from yellow to a lighter tint in the brilliant sunlight. +Little waves raised by the wind ran across the slowly-flowing current. As +far as they could see the stream extended to eastward, carried by the +flood deep into the forest. The air was crisp, with the sparkle of spring, +and all the adventurers rejoiced. + +Now and then great flocks of wild fowl, ducks and geese, flew over the +river, and they were so little used to man that more than once they passed +close to the boat. + +"The Spaniards are too far away to hear," said Henry, "and the next time +any wild ducks come near I'm going to try one of these fowling pieces. We +need fresh ducks, anyway." + +He took out a fowling piece, loaded it carefully with the powder and shot +that the locker furnished in abundance and waited his time. By and by a +flock of wild ducks flew near and Henry fired into the midst of them. +Three lay floating on the water after the shot, and when they took them in +Long Jim Hart, a master on all such subjects, pronounced them to be of a +highly edible variety. + +Paul, meanwhile, took out one of the small swords and examined it +critically. + +"It is certainly a fine one," he said, "I suppose it's what they call a +Toledo blade in Spain, the finest that they make." + +"Could you do much with it, Paul?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"I could," replied Paul confidently. "Mr. Pennypacker served in the great +French war. He was at the taking of Quebec, and he learned the use of the +sword from good masters. He's taught me all the tricks." + +"Maybe, then," said Sol laughing, "you'll have to fight Alvarez with one +o' them stickers. Ef sech a combat is on it'll fall to you, Paul. The rest +of us are handier with rifle an' knife." + +"It's never likely to happen," said Paul. + +The morning passed peacefully on, and the glory of the heavens was +undimmed. The river was a vast, murmuring stream, and the five voyagers +felt that, for the present, their task was an easy one. A single man at +the oars was sufficient to keep the boat moving as fast as they wished, +and the rest occupied themselves with details that might provide for a +future need. + +Paul brought out one of the beautiful small swords again, and fenced +vigorously with an imaginary antagonist. Jim Hart took a captured needle +and thread and began to mend a rent in his attire. Henry lifted the folded +tent from the locker and looked carefully at the cloth. + +"I think that with this and a pole or two we might fix up a sail if we +needed it," he said. "We don't know anything about sails, but we can learn +by trying." + +Tom Ross was at the oars, but Shif'less Sol lay back on a locker, closed +his eyes, and said: + +"Jest wake me up, when we git to New Or-lee-yuns. I could lay here an' +sleep forever, the boat rockin' me to sleep like a cradle." + +They saw nothing of the Spanish force, but they knew that such a flotilla +could not evade them. Having no reason to hide, the Spaniards would not +seek to conceal so many boats in the flooded forest. Hence the five felt +perfectly easy on that point. About noon they ran their own boat among the +trees until they reached dry land. Here they lighted a fire and cooked +their ducks, which they found delicious, and then resumed their leisurely +journey. + +The afternoon was as peaceful as the morning, but it seemed to the +sensitive imagination of Paul that the wilderness aspect of everything was +deepening. The great flooded river broadened until the line of water and +horizon met, and Paul could easily fancy that they were floating on a +boundless sea. An uncommonly red sun was setting and here and there the +bubbles were touched with fire. Far in the west dark shadows were stealing +up. + +"Look," Henry suddenly exclaimed, "I think that the Spanish have gone into +camp for the night!" + +He pointed down the stream and toward the western shore, where a thin +spire of smoke was rising. + +"It's that, certain," said Tom Ross, "an' I guess we'd better make fur +camp, too." + +They pulled toward the eastern shore, in order that the river might be +between them and the Spaniards during the night and soon reached a grove +which stood many feet deep in the water. As they passed under the shelter +of the boughs they took another long look toward the spire of smoke. +Henry, who had the keenest eyes of all, was able to make out the dim +outline of boats tied to the bank, and any lingering doubt that the +Spaniards might not be there was dispelled. + +"When they start in the morning we'll start, too," said Henry. + +Then they pushed their boat further back into the grove. Night was coming +fast. The sun sank in the bosom of the river, the water turned from yellow +to red and then to black, and the earth lay in darkness. + +"I think we'd better tie up here and eat cold food," said Henry. + +"An' then sleep," said Shif'less Sol. "That wuz a mighty comf'table +Spanish blanket I had last night an', Jim Hart, I want to tell you that if +you move 'roun' to-night, while you're watchin', please step awful easy, +an' be keerful not to wake me 'cause I'm a light sleeper. I don't like to +be waked up either early or late in the night. Tain't good fur the health. +Makes a feller grow old afore his time." + +"Sol," said Henry, who was captain by fitness and universal consent, +"you'll take the watch until about one o'clock in the morning and then +Paul will relieve you." + +Jim Hart doubled up his long form with silent laughter, and smote his knee +violently with the palm of his right hand. + +"Oh, yes, Sol Hyde," he said, "I'll step lightly, that is, ef I happen to +be walkin' 'roun' in my sleep, an' I'll take care not to wake you too +suddenly, Sol Hyde. I wouldn't do it for anything. I don't want to stunt +your growth, an' you already sech a feeble, delicate sort o' creetur, not +able to take nourishment 'ceptin' from a spoon." + +"Thar ain't no reward in this world fur a good man," said the shiftless +one in a resigned tone. + +They ate quickly, and, as usual, those who did not have to watch wrapped +themselves in their blankets and with equal quickness fell asleep. +Shif'less Sol took his place in the prow of the boat, and his attitude was +much like that of Tom Ross the night before, only lazier and more +graceful. Sol was a fine figure of a young man, drooped in a luxurious and +reclining attitude, his shoulder against the side of the boat, and a roll +of two blankets against his back. His eyes were half closed, and a stray +observer, had there been any, might have thought that he was either asleep +or dreaming. + +But the shiftless one, fit son of the wilderness, was never more awake in +his life. The eyes, looking from under the lowered lids, pierced the +forest like those of a cat. He saw and noted every tree trunk within the +range of human vision, and no piece of floating debris on the surface of +the flooded river escaped his attention. His sharp ears heard, too, every +sound in the grove, the rustle of a stray breeze through the new leaves, +or the splash of a fish, as it leaped from the water and sank back again. + +The hours dragged after one another, one by one, but Shif'less Sol was not +unhappy. He was really quite willing to keep the watch, and, as Tom Ross +had done, he regarded his sleeping comrades with pride, and all the warmth +of good fellowship. + +The night was dark, like its predecessor. The moon's rays fell only in +uneven streaks, and revealed a singular scene, a forest standing knee +deep, as it were, in water. + +Shif'less Sol presently took one of the blankets and wrapped it around his +shoulders. A cold damp pervaded the atmosphere, and a fog began to rise +from the river. The shiftless one was a cautious man and he knew the +danger of chills and fever. His comrades were already well wrapped, but he +stepped softly over and drew Paul's blanket a little closer around his +neck. Then he resumed his seat, maintaining his silence. + +Shif'less Sol did not like the rising of the river fog. It was thick and +cold, it might be unhealthy, and it hid the view. His circle of vision +steadily narrowed. Tree trunks became ghostly, and then were gone. The +water, seen through the fog, had a pallid, unpleasant color. Eye became of +little use, and it was ear upon which the sentinel must depend. + +Shif'less Sol judged that it was about midnight, and he became troubled. +The sixth sense, that comes of acute natural perceptions fortified by long +habit, was giving him warning. It seemed to him that he felt the approach +of something. He raised himself up a little higher and stared anxiously +into the thick mass of white fog. He could make out nothing but a little +patch of water and a few ghostly tree trunks near by. Even the stern of +the boat was half hidden by the fog. + +"Wa'al," thought the shiftless one philosophically, "ef it's hard fur me +to find anything it'll be hard fur anything to find us." + +But his troubled mind would not be quiet. Philosophy was not a sufficient +reply to the warning of the sixth sense, and, leaning far over the edge of +the boat, he listened with ears long trained to every sound of the +wilderness. He heard only the stray murmur of the wind among the +leaves--and was that a ripple in the water? He strained his ears and +decided that it was either a ripple or the splash of a fish, and he sank +back again in his seat. + +Although he had resumed his old position, the shiftless one was not +satisfied. The feeling of apprehension, like a mysterious mental signal, +was not effaced. That thick, whitish fog was surcharged with an alien +quality, and slowly he raised himself up once more. Hark! was it the +ripple again? He rose half to his feet, and instantly his eye caught a +glimpse of something brown upon the edge of the boat. It was a human hand, +the brown, powerful hand of a savage. + +The glance of Shif'less Sol followed the hand and saw a brown face +emerging from the water and fog. Quick as a flash he fired. There was a +terrible, unearthly cry, the hand slipped from the boat and the head sank +from view. + +"Up! up! boys!" cried Sol in thunderous tones. "We're attacked by swimmin' +savages!" + +He snatched up one of the double-barreled pistols and fired at another +head on the water. The others were awake in an instant and rose up, rifles +in hand. But they saw only a splash of blood on the stream that was gone +in a moment, then the thick, whitish fog closed in again, and after that +silence! But they knew Sol too well to doubt him, and the momentary red +splash would have converted even the ignorant. + +"Lie low!" exclaimed Henry. "Everybody down behind the sides of the boat! +They may fire at any time!" + +The boat was built of thick timber, through which no bullet of that time +could go, and they crouched down, merely peeping over the edges and +presenting scarcely any target. They had their own rifles and the extra +fowling pieces and pistols were made ready, also. + +But nothing came from the great pall of whitish fog, and the silence was +chilly and heavy. It was the most uncanny thing in all Paul's experience. +Beyond a doubt they were surrounded by savage enemies, but from which side +they would come, and when, nobody could tell until they were at the very +side of the boat. + +"How many did you see, Sol?" whispered Henry. + +"Only two, but one of 'em won't ever attack us again." + +"The others must be near by in their canoes, and the swimmers may have +been scouts and skirmishers. They know where we are, but we don't know +where they are." + +"That's so," said Shif'less Sol, "an' it gives 'em an advantage." + +"Which, perhaps, we can take from 'em by moving our own boat." + +Henry was about to put his plan into action, but they heard a light splash +in the water to the west, and another to the north. Spots of piercing red +light appeared in the fog, and many rifles cracked. Fortunately, all had +thrown themselves down, and the bullets spent themselves in the wood of +the boat's side. Henry and Sol and Tom fired back at the flashes, but more +rifle shots came out of the fog, and those on the boat had no way of +telling whether any of their bullets had hit. + +"I think we'd better hold our fire," whispered Henry between rifle shots. +"It's wasting bullets to shoot at a fog." + +The others nodded and waited. A long cry, quavering at first, and then +rising to a fierce top note to die away later in a ferocious, wolfish +whine came through the fog. It was uttered by many throats, and in the +uncanny, whitish gloom it seemed to be on all sides of them. Then shouts +and shots both ceased and the heavy silence came again. + +"Now is our time," whispered Henry. "Paul, steer southward. Jim, you and +Tom row, and Sol and I will be ready with the guns. Keep your heads down +as low as you can." + +Jim Hart and Tom Ross took the oars, pulling them through the water with +extreme caution and slowness. All knew that sharp ears were listening in +the flooded forest, and the splash of oars would bring the war canoes at +once. But they were determined that the fog which was such a help to +their enemies should be an equal help to them also. + +Slowly the heavy boat crept through the water. Paul, at the tiller, +steered with judgment and craft, and his was no light task. Now and then +low boughs were lapped in the water and bushes submerged to their tops +grew in the way. To become tangled in them might be fatal and to scrape +against them would be a signal to their enemies, but Paul steered clear +every time. + +They had gone perhaps fifty yards when Henry gave a signal to stop and Jim +and Tom rested on their oars. Then they heard a burst of firing behind +them, and a smile of saturnine triumph spread slowly but completely over +the face of Shif'less Sol. + +"They're shootin' at the place whar we wuz, an' whar we ain't now," he +whispered to Henry. + +"Yes," Henry whispered back, "they haven't found out yet that we've left, +but they are likely to do it pretty soon. I hope now that this fog will +hang on just as thick as it can. Start up again, boys." + +"'Twould be funny," whispered Sol, "ef the savages should find us an' +chase us right into the bosoms o' the Spaniards." + +"Yes," replied Henry, "and for that reason I think we'd better bend around +a circle and then go up stream. I'll tell Paul to steer that way." + +They went on again, creeping through the white darkness; fifty yards or so +at a time, and then a pause to listen. Henry judged that they were about a +half mile from their original anchorage, when the solemn note of an owl +arose, to be answered by a similar note from another point. + +"They've discovered our departure," he whispered, "and they're telling it +to each other. I imagine that their war canoes will now come in a kind of +half circle toward the center of the river. They'll guess that we won't +retreat toward the land, because then we might be hemmed in." + +"No doubt of it," replied Sol, "and I think we'd better pull off toward +the north now. Mebbe we kin give 'em the slip." + +Henry gave the word and Paul steered the boat in the chosen course. The +forest grew thinner, showing that they were approaching the true stream, +but the fog held fast. After a hundred yards or so they stopped again, and +then they distinctly heard the sound of paddles to their right. It was not +a great splash, but they knew it well. Paul, at the tiller, fancied that +he could see the faces of the savages bending over their paddles. They +were eager, he knew, for their prey, and either chance or instinct had +brought them through the white pall in the right course. + +The uncertainty, the fog, and the great mysterious river weighed upon +Paul. He wished, for a moment, that the vapors might lift, and then they +could fight their enemies face to face. He glanced at his own comrades and +they had taken on an unearthly look. Their forms became gigantic and +unreal in the white darkness. As Henry leaned forward to listen better +his figure was distorted like that of a misshapen giant. + +"Steer straight toward the north, Paul," he whispered. "We must shake them +off somehow or other." + +Silently the boat slid through the water but they heard again those signal +cries, the hoots of the owl and now they were much nearer. + +"They must have guessed our course," whispered Henry, "or perhaps they +have heard the splash of an oar now and then. Stop, boys, and let's see if +we can hear their canoes." + +Their boat lay under the thick, spreading boughs of some oaks. Paul could +see the branches and twigs showing overhead through the white fog like +lace work, but everything else was invisible twenty feet away. All heard, +however, now and then the faint splash, splash of paddles, perhaps a +hundred yards distant. Henry tried to tell from the sounds how many war +canoes might be in the party, and he hazarded a wild guess of twenty. As +he listened, the splash grew a little louder. Obviously the canoes were +keeping on the right course. Shif'less Sol wet his finger and held it up. +When he took it down he whispered in some alarm to Henry: + +"The wind has begun to blow, an' it's shore to rise. It'll blow the fog +away, an' we'll lay in plain sight o' all o' them savages." + +Henry's instinct for generalship rose at once and he saw a plan. + +"We must keep on for midstream," he said. "We know what direction that +is, and, out in open water, we'd have one advantage even over their +numbers. Theirs are only light canoes, while ours is a big strong boat +that will shelter us from any bullet. Pull away, boys! I'll help Sol keep +up the watch." + +The boat once more resumed its progress toward the main current. The wind, +as Sol had predicted, rapidly grew stronger. The deep curtain of fog began +to thin and lighten. Suddenly a canoe appeared through it and then a +second. + +A bullet, fired from the first canoe, whizzed dangerously near the head of +Shif'less Sol. He replied instantly, but the light was so uncertain and +tricky that he missed the savage at whom he had aimed. The heavy bullet +instead ploughed through the side and bottom of the bark canoe, which +rapidly filled and sank, leaving its occupants struggling in the water. A +bullet had come from the second canoe, also, but it flew wild, and then +the whitish fog, thick and impenetrable, caught by a contrary current of +wind, closed in again. + +"Did you hit anything, Sol?" asked Henry. + +"Only a canoe, but I busted it all up, an' they're swimmin' from tree to +tree until they get to the bank." + +"Now, boys, pull with all your might!" exclaimed Henry, "and, Paul, you +steer us clear of trees, brush, logs, and snags. They know where we are +and we must get out into the stream, where there's a chance for our +escape." + +Then ensued a flight and running combat in a tricky fog that lifted and +closed down over and over again. Henry put down his oars presently and +took up his rifle, but Jim Hart and Tom Ross continued to pull, and Paul +kept a steady hand on the tiller. + +Paul's task was the most trying of all. Highly sensitive and imaginative, +this battle rolling along in alternate dusky light and white obscurity, +was to him uncanny and unreal. He saw pink dots of rifle fire in the fog, +he caught glimpses now and then of brown, savage faces or the prow of a +canoe, and then the heavy fog would come down like a blanket again, +shutting out everything. + +Paul's hand trembled. Every nerve in him was jumping, but he resolutely +steered the boat while the others rowed and fought. Once he barely grazed +a snag and he shivered, knowing how one of these terrible obstructions +could rip the bottom out of a boat. But soon the trees and bushes almost +disappeared. They were coming into open water. The fog, too, ceased to +close down, and the wind began to blow steadily out of the north. Banks +and streamers of white vapor rolled away toward the south. In a few +minutes it would all be gone. Out of the mists behind them rose the shapes +of war canoes not far away, and the fierce triumphant yell that swept far +over the river sent a chill to Paul's very marrow. Once again rose the +rifle fire, and it was now a rapid and steady crackle, but the bullets +thudded in vain on the thick sides of "The Galleon." + +All except Paul now pulled desperately for the middle of the stream, while +he, bending as low as he could, still kept a steady hand on the tiller. +The triumphant shout behind them rose again, and the great stream gave it +back in a weird echo. Paul suddenly uttered a gasp of despair. Directly in +front of them, not thirty yards away, was a large war canoe, crowded with +a dozen savages while behind them came the horde. + +"What is it, Paul?" asked Henry. + +"A big canoe in front of us full of warriors. We're cut off! No, we're +not! I have it! Bend low! bend low, you fellows, and pull with all the +might that's in you!" + +Paul had an inspiration, and his blood was leaping. The rifle shots still +rattled behind them, but, as usual, the bullets buried themselves in the +wood with a sigh, doing no harm. Four pairs of powerful arms and four +powerful shoulders bent suddenly to their task with new strength and +vigor. Paul's words had been electric, thrilling, and every one felt their +impulse instantly. The prow of the heavy boat cut swiftly through the +water, and Paul bent still lower to escape the rifle-shots. No need for +him to choose his course now! The boat was already sent upon its errand. + +A wild shout of alarm rose from the war canoe, and the next instant the +prow of "The Galleon" struck it squarely in the middle. There were more +shouts of alarm or pain, a crunching, ripping and breaking of wood, and +then "The Galleon," after its momentary check, went on. The war canoe had +been cut in two, and its late occupants were swimming for their lives. +Not in vain had Paul read in an old Roman history of the battles between +the fleets when galley cut down galley. + +Henry, although he did not look up, knew at once what had happened, and he +could not restrain admiration and praise. + +"Good for you, Paul!" he cried. "You took us right over the war canoe and +that's what's likely to save us!" + +Henry was right. The other canoes, appalled by the disaster, and busy, +too, in picking up the derelicts, hung back. Henry and Shif'less Sol took +advantage of the opportunity, and sent bullet after bullet among them, +aiming more particularly at the light bark canoes. Three filled and began +to sink and their occupants had to be rescued. The utmost confusion and +consternation reigned in the savage fleet, and the distance between it and +"The Galleon" widened rapidly as the latter bore in a diagonal course +across the Mississippi. + +"They've had all they want," said Henry, as he laid down his rifle and +took up the oars again, "but it's this big heavy boat that's saved us. +She's been a regular floating fort." + +"We took our gall-yun just in time," said Shif'less Sol jubilantly, "an' +she is shore the greatest warship that ever floated on these waters. Oh, +she's a fine boat, a beautiful boat, the reg'lar King o' the seas!" + +"Queen, you mean," said Paul, who felt the reaction. + +"No, King it is," replied Sol stoutly. "A boat that carries travelers may +be a she, but shorely one that fights like this is a he." + +The fog was gone, save for occasional wisps of white mist, but the day had +not yet come, and the night was by no means light. When they looked back +again they could not see any of the Indian canoes. Apparently they had +retreated into the flooded forest. Henry and Sol held a consultation. + +"It's hard to pull up stream," said Henry, "and we'd exhaust ourselves +doing it. Besides, if the Indians chose to renew the pursuit, that would +cut us off from our own purpose. We must drop down the river toward the +Spanish camp." + +"You're always right, Henry," said the shiftless one with conviction. "The +Spaniards o' course, know nothin' about our fight, ez they wuz much too +fur off to hear the shots, an', ez we go down that way, the savages likely +will think that we belong to the party, which is too strong for them to +attack. This must be some band that Braxton Wyatt don't know nothin' +about. Maybe it's a gang o' southern Indians that's come away up here in +canoes." + +The boat swung close to the western shore, which was overhung throughout +by heavy forests, and then dropped silently down until it came within two +miles of the Spanish camp. There, in a particularly dark cove, they tied +up to a tree, and drew mighty breaths of relief. Both Henry and Paul felt +an intense gladness. Despite all the dangers and hardships through which +they had gone, they were but boys. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +BATTLE AND STORM + + +It was yet dark, in fact much darker than it had been just after the fog +lifted, and the dawn was a full three hours away. Although the flooded +area of forest on the western shore was much less than on the eastern, it +was sufficient to furnish ample concealment for the boat, and, when they +tied up amid dense foliage, they could not see the main stream behind +them. + +Jim Hart laid down his oars, stood up, and carefully cracked his joints. + +"I _am_ tired," he said. "Never wuz I so tired afore in my life." + +"But, Jim," said Shif'less Sol, "Think what a pow'ful lively naval battle +you hev been through. Ef you ever git a wife--which I doubt, 'cause you +ain't beautiful, Jim--you kin tell her how once you rowed right over a +great Injun warship. Mebbe, Jim, she'll believe all them fancy details +you'll stick on to it." + +"I know I ain't beautiful," said Long Jim thoughtfully, "an' I don't know +ez I want to be, but ef any woman wuz to marry me she'd most likely +believe whatever I told her, bein' ez I hev a truthful countenance, but +ez fur you, Sol, anybody kin tell by lookin' at you that ef you wuz to +ketch in this river a little cat-fish six inches long you'd tell them that +didn't know that it wuz a whale." + +"Seems to me," said Tom Ross, "that I wuz waked up kinder suddint a few +hours ago. I wuz in the middle uv a most bee-yu-ti-ful nap, and I know +right whar I stopped it. I'm goin' back an' pick up that nap at the exact +place whar I left off." + +Without another word he pulled his blanket over him and stretched himself +on a seat. In a minute or two he was sound asleep. Tom Ross was a veteran +campaigner. He not only knew what to do, but he could and would do it. + +"Paul, you and Jim follow him," said Henry, "I'll keep what's left of the +watch with Sol." + +Jim was treading the easy path of slumber in five minutes, but it took +Paul at least ten to pass through the gates. Henry and Sol sat in the +boat, silent but watchful. + +"We're between two fires," whispered Henry at last. "I don't think that +war party will give up just yet, and maybe we'd better stick here in the +woods for a while, on the chance that they think we belong to the Spanish +force and have rejoined it." + +"We've got to stay in hidin' fur a spell, that's shore," said Shif'less +Sol. "We might stick here all day. We kin overtake the Spaniards any time, +cause we have only one road to foller an' that's the river." + +Henry nodded and they settled back to the watch and silence. Their three +comrades stretched on seats, lockers, or the boat's bottom, slept +soundly, and they could hear their regular breathing. But they heard +nothing else save the light lapping of the water against the tree trunks. + +Dawn came, golden and beautiful. Tom Ross opened his eyes. + +"Anything happened?" he asked. + +"No," replied Henry, "and we are not going to move yet. Sleep on." + +Tom closed his eyes again, and in a minute was back in the pleasant land +of slumber. The other two did not awake and Henry and Sol still did not +stir. From the leafy arbor in which "The Galleon" was moored, they were +intently watching the surface of the river. An hour passed and the sun +rose higher and higher, flooding the surface of the great stream with +golden beams. + +"Do you see anything, Henry?" asked Sol. + +"Yes, I think there's a canoe among the trees on the opposite shore." + +"I reckoned that I saw it, too, but I wuzn't certain. Must be a scout +canoe." + +"Do you see anything to the southward, Sol?" + +"I reckoned that I saw somethin' thar, too, an' I took it fur smoke." + +"The Spanish camp, of course." + +"O' course." + +"And I think the Indians are spying upon it. They are quite sure now that +we were a part of the Spanish force." + +"They think they know it, an' they'll hang 'roun' until to-night, when +they're more'n likely to shoot into the Spanish camp." + +"Which won't hurt us, Sol." + +"Not a leetle bit. We kin sing all the time, 'dog eat dog, go it one, go +it tother.'" + +"Instead of singing," said Henry smiling, "we can put in most of the time +sleeping." + +"Both please me," said Shif'less Sol, rubbing his hands gleefully. + +Everything befell as they thought it would. Other canoes appeared at the +edge of the wood on the far shore, but on every occasion further down the +river. There was no doubt in the minds of the watchful observers aboard +"The Galleon" that they were spying upon the Spanish camp and meditated an +attack at night. It was equally certain that the Spaniards knew nothing of +the Indians' presence. All the five were now awake and they rejoiced at +the prospect. + +"I see an easy day comin' to me," said Shif'less Sol luxuriously. "'Tain't +often that a lazy man like me kin hev sech a good time an' I'm goin' to +make the most o' it." + +"I think," said Henry, "that while the Indians are busy with the Spaniards +we'd better try to fix up that sail. We don't need a tent and we do need a +sail. Some time or other, when we get in a pinch, the sail might do the +pulling, leaving the rowers free to use their rifles." + +"Jest ez I might hev expected," said Sol in a tone of disgust. "All ready +for rest, fixed fur it most bee-yu-ti-ful-ly, an' told instead that I +must go to work. This world shorely ain't kind to a good man." + +Once more the staunch ship, "The Galleon," proved herself to be a treasure +house. They found in the lockers plenty of rope and stout cord, and they +cut in the forest a stout young sapling which they made of the right +length, peeled off the bark, and adjusted in rude fashion, as a mast. They +also made a boom and then rigged a single sail, somewhat after the fashion +of the cat-boat of the present day. + +This would have been an impossible task to them, had not "The Galleon" +been so well provided with axes, saws, hammers, other valuable tools, and +cord and nails. The mast could be taken down in an emergency, but they +were all of the opinion that the sail would draw, and draw well. It might +not always be easy to control it, but "The Galleon" was built in Spanish +fashion, heavy, deep, and square, and it would take a great deal to make +her capsize. + +While the others worked one watched, and the boats of the Indians were +seen again at the edge of the far forest. The last time they saw them they +were so far down that they were almost opposite the point where the +Spaniards lay, which indicated two things to them, first the certainty +that Alvarez had not moved, and second that "The Galleon" and her crew +were absolutely safe for the time being, where they lay. + +"I suppose that Alvarez is in no hurry and decided to take a day of rest," +said Henry. + +They finished their own labors late in the afternoon and contemplated the +mast and sail with pride. + +"Now that it's done, I'm glad that it hez been done," said Shif'less Sol. +"It'll save me a lot o' work hereafter. It would be jest like you fellers +to make me git callous spots all over the inside o' my hands, when the +hide on Jim Hart's is already so thick it wouldn't hurt him to do all his +rowin' an' mine, too." + +"I jest love to see you work, Sol," said Long Jim Hart. "I can't enjoy my +rest real good, 'less at the same time I'm layin' on my back watchin' you +heavin' away." + +Nevertheless, all took a long rest though maintaining a vigilant watch, +and, with pleasure, they saw a dark night come on. When the twilight was +completely gone they steered once more for the main stream, not using +their sail yet, because of the boughs and bushes. + +"We've got to keep in the edge of the forest," whispered Henry, and in +that manner they crept cautiously southward. After a while they stopped +suddenly and all exclaimed together. They distinctly heard the sound of +rifle shots straight toward the south and perhaps a mile away. + +"The savages hev attacked," said Shif'less Sol in a whisper. "Go it, +Spaniard, go it, Injun, one may lick and tother may lick, but whether one +may lick tother or tother lick which. I don't care." + +They pulled a little nearer to the last line of trees in the water and +there off to the south they saw the little pinkish dots that marked the +rifle and musket fire. It was too far away for them to see anything else, +but they heard distinctly the intermittent crackle of the shots. + +"Neither will win," said Henry. "The Spaniards are too strong to be +defeated, but they won't venture the unknown terrors of the river at +night. The Indians, who are in their canoes, will draw off when they find +they are not doing much harm." + +"Wish we could put up that sail," said Shif'less Sol, who was still at the +oars. "I'm shore gittin' a callous lump in the pa'm o' my hand." + +"It wouldn't do, Sol," said Henry. "We're going to run past a battle, and +we mean to lie as low as possible." + +Paul again steered, Henry sat, rifle in hand, and the others rowed. They +took a diagonal course across the stream once more, but this time toward +the eastern shore. They advanced slowly, hugging the dark. Fortunately +there was no moon and the dusk came close up to the boat. + +"That's a right noisy fight," said Shif'less Sol, looking toward the +south, where pink and red spots of flame still appeared in the dark and +the rattling fire of rifle and musket grew louder. + +"More noise than anything else," said Tom Ross, "but it keeps 'em pow'ful +busy an' that's a good thing fur us." + +They were now near the flooded forest on the eastern shore, and they moved +slowly along in its shadow, still watching the distant battle. It +lightened a little, the rim of a moon came out, and they saw toward the +western bank the dark silhouettes of canoes moving back and forth on the +water. Flashes came from the canoes and returning flashes came from the +bank. + +"Go it, Spaniard, go it, Injun, go it, one, go it, tother," muttered +Shif'less Sol again. + +"The Galleon" slowly passed by in the darkness. The pink and red dots went +out and the sound of the rifle fire died behind hem. They could neither +see nor hear anything more of the battle, and all were of the opinion that +it would soon cease by a sort of mutual agreement of the contestants. + +Paul once more turned the head of the boat toward the middle of the +stream, and she swung gaily into the current, where her speed soon +increased greatly. + +"We can fix up our mast and hoist our sail now," said Henry. "Since there +is nobody to look, it won't hurt us to make speed for a while." + +It required some time and exertion to put the mast in place and then they +unfurled the sail. They were rather clumsy about it from lack of +experience, but the tent cloth filled with the north wind, and "The +Galleon" leaped forward in the water, her broad nose parting the stream +swiftly, while the youthful hearts of Henry and Paul swelled with +exultation. + +Shif'less Sol drew in his oars and bestowed upon the sail a look of deep +approval. + +"That's the most glorious sight that hez met the eyes o' a tired man in a +year," he said. "Blow, Mr. Wind, blow! an' let me rest." + +The others also rested, but Sol and Henry put all their attention upon the +boom and sail. They did not intend to be wrecked by ignorance or any +sudden flaw in the wind. The breeze, however, was steady and strong, and +"The Galleon" continued to move gallantly before it. + +They sailed for three or four hours and during the latter part of the time +they coasted along the western bank. There they came to the mouth of a +small river, thickly lined on both shores with gigantic trees. + +"I think we'd better take down our sail and run up this," said Henry. "We +can go back some distance and hide close to the bank. The Spaniards of +course will not dream of coming up it, and we can stay here until they go +by." + +"A safe and pleasant haven as long as it is needed," said Paul. + +They took down the sail and pulled at least a mile up the little river. +There they tied close to the bank, and, happy over their success, sought +sleep, all except the watch, the night passing without disturbance. + +The day came, again unclouded and beautiful, and the five regarded it, the +boat, and themselves with a great deal of satisfaction. + +"I'm thinkin' that our treasure ship, the gall-yun, ought to hev the most +credit," said Shif'less Sol. "She brought us past all them warrin' people +in great style. Without her we'd hev a hard time, follerin' the Spaniards +to New Or-lee-yuns." + +After breakfast they remained awhile in the boat, content to lie still and +await events. Everywhere around them was the deep forest, oak, hickory, +chestnut, maple, elm, and all the other noble trees that flourish in the +great valley. Just above them was a low point in the hank of the little +river and they could see that it was trodden by many feet. + +"Game comes down to drink thar," said Shif'less Sol. + +"Lie still and let's see," said Paul. The boat was almost hidden in the +thick foliage that overhung the river, and nobody on it stirred. Two deer +presently walked gingerly to the water, drank daintily, and then walked as +gingerly away. Soon a black bear followed them and shambled to the water's +edge. He looked up and down the stream, but he saw nothing and the wind +blowing from him toward the boat brought no dread odor to his sensitive +nostrils. He drank, wrinkled his face in a comical manner, scratched +himself with his left paw, and then shambled away. Shif'less Sol laughed. + +"I'd hev to be hard pushed afore I shot that feller," he said. "Ain't the +black bear a comic chap when he tries to be. I declare I hev a real feller +feelin' fur him. I couldn't ever feel that way toward a panther. They +always look mean an' they always are mean, but I could hobnob right along +with a jolly, fat black bear." + +"Yes," said Paul, looking dreamily far into the future. "It's a pity they +have to go." + +"Hev to go, what do you mean, Paul?" interrupted Long Jim Hart, as he +cracked a joint or two. + +"Why," replied Paul, "all this country will be settled up some day, and +how can bears and panthers and buffaloes roam wild on farms?" + +Long Jim looked at him with eyes slowly widening in wonder. + +"Paul," he exclaimed, "you do say the beatinest things sometimes! Now what +do you mean by sayin' that all this country will be settled up? Why, thar +ain't enough people in the world fur that, an' thar won't never be." + +"Yes there will be, Jim," said Paul decisively, "although it will not +occur in your time." + +"Not if I lived to be a hundred years old, Paul, or mebbe a hundred an' +twenty, 'cause I'm a pow'ful healthy man?" + +"No, not if you lived to be a hundred and twenty." + +Long Jim heaved a deep sigh of relief--he had the true soul of the +woodsman. + +"That's mighty relievin' an' soothin'," he said. "Think uv havin' to walk +every day through cleared ground! Think uv lookin' every day fur a +bee-yu-ti-ful sky only to see cabin-smoke! Think uv drawin' your sights on +what you fust take to be a fine buffalo, an' then find out is only your +neighbor's old cow! Think uv your goin' off to a river to trap beaver, an' +findin' nothin' thar but a saw-mill! Think uv your havin' to meet mornin' +an' evenin' all kinds uv people that you don't care nothin' about! Think +uv your goin' out on a great huntin' expedition only to find all them +noble trees cut down a thousan' miles every way, an' nothin' wanderin' +around thar but old lame horses an' gruntin' pigs! I'm plum' thankful that +I'm livin' at the time I do, when thar's lots uv countries you don't know +nothin' about, an' lots uv fun guessin' what they are, an' mostly guessin' +wrong. An' I'm glad too that I didn't live in them old days that Sol tells +about, when people had to build walls around theirselves in towns, an' wuz +afraid to go out in the woods an' hunt bear an' buffalo like men!" + +Jim Hart, after this speech, so long for him, stopped for want of breath, +and Shif'less Sol, regarding him with a look of deep sympathy, held out a +brown and sinewy hand. + +"Jim Hart," he said, "shake. I'll be proud to hev you do it. You ain't no +beauty, Jim, an' somehow you an' me are kinder disputatious now an' then, +but you are lettin' flow at this minute a solid stream o' wisdom, a +fountain, ez Paul would say in his highfalutin' way, at which everybody +ought to drink." + +Jim Hart also reached out a brown and sinewy hand and the two met in a +powerful and friendly clasp. + +"I'm like Jim," continued Shif'less Sol. "'Tain't what you git that makes +you happy, but thar's a heap in bein' suited. I'm glad I'm livin' when I +am, an' whar I am. Me an' things suit each other. What Paul says may come +true, but it won't bust my heart, 'cause I won't be here to see it." + +An hour or so later Henry and Sol went through the woods and watched for +the Spanish fleet. They saw it presently moving in single file down the +Mississippi, and showing, so far as they could judge, no signs of damage. + +"Twas ez we guessed last night it would be, a dogfall," said Shif'less +Sol, "lots o' noise and not much done. Now that Injun crowd hez drawed off +to the east, an' I think we've seed the last o' them, while the Spaniards, +thinkin' they've had enough o' excitement, will keep straight on to New +Or-lee-yuns." + +"I've no doubt you're right," said Henry, "and we'll follow to-night. +We'll let them take a good start." + +They watched the little fleet until it passed out of sight down the river +and then returned to their own boat. There they devoted the day to further +preparations for a long journey. As game was close at hand in such +abundance, they shot two deer and took the meat on board. They also +undertook to provide shelter, as this was the period of the spring rains +and they did not wish to be drenched or have their stores damaged. +Fortunately they found a tarpaulin in one of the lockers and, taking this +and the two deerskins, they united all in a larger covering which they +could spread over nearly the whole boat. This all considered a highly +important task, and they meant to enlarge the tarpaulin still more as +they killed more deer. Meanwhile they let it lie in the sun, in order that +the deerskins might dry. + +Their tasks occupied them until about 10 o'clock at night and then they +decided to start again, thinking that night traveling would be safer for a +day or two. They rowed down the river until they entered the Mississippi, +and then they set their sail again. + +No other human beings were afloat on the river, at least not within the +range of their vision, but there was a plenty of floating trees and other +debris brought down by the spring flood. Careful steering was necessary, +but they went on without any accident. Shif'less Sol, however, gazed up at +the moon with an unquiet eye. + +"She looks too soft an' fleecy," he said, speaking of the moon. "When +she's peepin' through them lacy-lookin' clouds it means that trouble is +about to stir." + +"We'll keep a watch," said Henry. + +They continued until midnight and Sol's troubles still kept off, but about +that time all noticed a sudden increase of the breeze, accompanied by an +equal increase of dampness. + +"Something like a storm is coming and you were right, Sol," said Henry. +"Now, I wish we knew a lot about sailing." + +"But as we don't," said Paul, "I think we'd better take in our sail at +once." + +They quickly did so and their precaution was wise. The wind, blowing out +of the north, began to shriek, and the boat, even without the aid of a +sail, leaped forward. Driving clouds suddenly shut out the moon, and the +yellow waters of the giant stream, lashed by the wind, began to heave and +surge in waves like those of the sea. The treasure ship, "The Galleon," +pitched and rocked like a real galleon in the long swells of the Pacific, +but the five knew that she was perfectly safe. The broad, square Spanish +boat could not be swamped. + +"Thank God, we've taken in that sail," said Henry. "We're going to have a +night of it! Do you think we'd better pull for the shore?" + +"Not now," replied Shif'less Sol, "the wind's risin' too fast, an' we'd +hit a tree or a snag, shore. Better keep ez nearly in the middle o' the +river ez we kin!" + +The soundness of Sol's judgment became apparent at once. The shriek of the +wind rose to a scream and then a roar. The night became pitchy dark. They +could see nothing around them but a narrow circle of muddy waters heaving +violently. Under the far horizon in the south and west, low, sullen +thunder began to mutter. Suddenly the sky parted before a tremendous flash +of lightning that blazed for a moment across the heavens and then went +out, leaving the night darker than before. But in that moment they caught +a vivid glimpse of the flooded forest, the great waste of troubled waters, +and all the vast desolation about them. It was weird and uncanny to the +last degree, and despite all the dangers and hardships through which they +had passed on land, the five steadied their nerves only with supreme +efforts of the will. + +"We've forgot the covering for our boat," exclaimed Henry. "Paul, keep her +steady, while the rest of you help me." + +It required the strength of four to spread the tarpaulin in the wind and +make it all secure, but they were a strong four and the task was quickly +done. Meanwhile the turbulence of air and water were increasing. The waves +on the river rose higher and higher and the wind drove the foam in their +faces. The thunder, no longer a mutter, became one terrific peal after +another, and the lightning burned across the great stream in flash after +flash. + +"I sp'ose it's jest the same ez bein' at sea," said Sol between crashes. +"I don't know much choice between bein' drowned in the Mississippi, which +I know is muddy, an' the sea, which they say is salt." + +"No danger of either!" said Paul cheerfully, "but I'm glad this is such a +wide river. So long as we can keep the boat straight there is not much +risk of being driven into anything." + +Then everyone jumped suddenly to his feet. There was a tremendous crash of +thunder louder than all the rest, and the whole river swam for a moment in +a burning glare. The lightning seemed to have struck upon the surface of +the water not far from them. Then, when the lightning and the thunder +passed, they heard only the wind and saw only the darkness. + +"This ain't so easy ez it looked," said Shif'less Sol in a plaintive +tone. "It's nice ridin' on a boat, but if the lightning should strike 'The +Gall-yun,' whar are we? I'd a heap rather be on the land." + +"That must have been its climax," said Paul, "and if so look out for the +rain." + +Paul was right. The lightning began to decline in intensity and the +thunder sank in volume. The wind died rapidly. Yet there was no increase +of light, and presently they heard afar a rushing sound. Great drops beat +like hail upon their tarpaulin, and all except the man who was steering +snuggled to cover. The steersman happened to be Shif'less Sol this time, +and he wrapped one of the new Spanish blankets tightly around him from +heel to throat. + +"Now let it come," murmured the indomitable man. + +It took him at his word and it came with a sweep and a roar. The heavens +opened and a deluge fell out. The thunder and lightning ceased entirely +and from the black skies the rain poured in amazing quantities. Now and +then all except the steersman were forced to bail out the boat, but mostly +they kept to cover under their tarpaulin, which was a good one. + +Shif'less Sol held the good ship "The Galleon," in the middle of the +current, and all the time he strained his eyes ahead for floating debris +and particularly for the terrible snags which were such a danger in the +early Mississippi. Keen as were his eyes, he could see little ahead of him +but the black water, now beaten into a comparatively smooth plain by the +steady rain. + +Shif'less Sol had taken off his cap and the rain drove steadily on the +back of his head; but his body, thanks to the thick blanket wrapped so +tightly around his neck, remained dry. + +Shif'less Sol was not uncomfortable. Neither was he alarmed or unhappy. +There was a strain of chivalry and romance in his forest-bred soul, and +the situation appealed to him. He was in a strong boat, his four faithful +comrades were with him, and he was piercing a new mystery, that of a vast +and unknown river. The spirit that has always driven on the great +explorers and adventurers thrilled in every nerve of Solomon Hyde, +nicknamed the Shiftless One, but not at all deserving the title. + +The boat went steadily on in the blackness and the rain, and Sol's soul +swelled jubilantly within him. He could see perhaps thirty or forty feet +ahead of him over the smooth plain of black water, and at an equal +distance to right and left the black wall rose, also. So far as feeling +went, the land might be a thousand miles away, and he was glad of it. + +"Which sea are we ploughin' through now, Paul?" he said. "Is it the +Atlantic or the Pacific or one I ain't heard tell of a-tall, a-tall? But +which ever it is, I'm Christopher Columbus the second, on my way to +discover a new continent bigger than all the others put together! Jumpin' +Jehoshaphat! but that was a narrow escape! It made my flesh creep!" + +Sol had shifted the boat in her course, just in time to escape an ominous +snag, but in a moment his joyousness came back, and without giving Paul +time to answer, he continued: + +"A boat goin' down stream on a river is shorely the right way o' travelin' +fur a lazy man like me. I wish it wuz all like this!" + +The violence of the rain abated somewhat in an hour or so, but it +continued to come down for a long time. Far after midnight the clouds +began to part. A damp patch of sky showed, but it was clear sky +nevertheless and soon it broadened. + +The flooded world rose up before the five voyagers, the vast river, still +black in the night light, floating trees, perhaps rooted up by the stream +from shores thousands of miles to the north and west, the low dim outline +of forest to right and left, and all around them an immense desolation. +Everything to other minds would have been gigantic, somber, and menacing. +Gigantic it was to the five, but neither somber nor menacing. Instead it +told them of safety and comfort and it was, at all times, full of a varied +and supreme interest. + +As soon as the light was strong enough for them to find a suitable place +they pulled the boat among the trees on the western shore and tied it up +securely. Here they made a critical examination and found that none of +their precious goods had suffered a wetting. Powder, provisions, clothing, +all were dry and every one except the watch went to sleep with a sound +conscience. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE LONE VOYAGER + + +Henry Ware awoke, rubbed his eyes, and looked through the tree trunks at +the Mississippi, now wider than ever. + +"What do you see, Tom?" he asked of Tom Ross, who had kept the watch. + +"Nothin' but a black speck fur across thar. It come into sight only a +minute ago. Fust I thought it wuz a shadder, then I thought it wuz a +floatin' log, an' now I do believe it's a canoe. What do you make uv it, +Henry?" + +Henry looked long. + +"It is a canoe," said he at last, "and there's a man in it. They're +floating with the stream down our way." + +"You're right," said Tom Ross, "an' ef I ain't mistook that man an' that +canoe are in trouble. Half the time he's paddlin', half the time he's +bailin' her out, an' all the time he's making a desperate effort to git to +land." + +The others were now up and awake, and they gazed with intense interest. + +"It's a white man in the canoe ez shore ez I'm a livin' sinner!" exclaimed +Shif'less Sol. + +"And it's a question," added Henry, "whether his canoe gets to the bank or +the bottom of the river first." + +"It's a white man and we must save him!" cried Paul, his generous boy's +heart stirred to the utmost. + +They quickly untied their boat and pulled with great strokes toward the +sinking canoe and its lone occupant. They were alongside in a few minutes +and Henry threw a rope to the man, who caught it with a skillful hand, and +tied his frail craft stoutly to the side of the strong "Galleon." Then, as +Paul reached a friendly hand down to him he sprang on board, exclaiming at +the same time in a deep voice: "May the blessing of Heaven rest upon you, +my children." + +The five were startled at the face and appearance of the man who came upon +their boat. They had never thought of encountering such a figure in the +wilderness. He was of middle age, tall, well-built, and remarkably +straight, but his shaven face was thin and ascetic, and the look in his +eyes was one of extraordinary benevolence. Moreover, it had the peculiar +quality of seeming to gaze far into the future, as it were, at something +glorious and beautiful. His dress was a strange mixture. He wore deerskin +leggins and moccasins, but his body was clothed in a long, loose garment +of black cloth and on his head was a square cap of black felt. A small +white crucifix suspended by a thin chain from his neck lay upon his breast +and gleamed upon the black cloth. + +Every one of the five instantly felt veneration and respect for the +stranger and Paul murmured, "A priest." The others heard him and +understood. They were all Protestants, but in the deep wilderness +religious hatred and jealousy had little hold; upon them none at all. + +"Bless you, my sons," repeated the man in his deep, benevolent voice, and +then he continued in a lighter tone, speaking almost perfect English, "I +do believe that if you had not appeared when you did I and my canoe should +have both gone to the bottom of this very deep river. I am a fair swimmer, +but I doubt if I could have gained the land." + +"We are glad, father," said Paul respectfully, "that we had the privilege +to be present and help at such a time." + +The priest looked at Paul and smiled. He liked his refined and sensitive +face and his correct language and accent. + +"I should fancy, my young friend," he said, still smiling, "that the debt +of gratitude is wholly mine. I am Pierre Montigny, and, as you perhaps +surmise, a Frenchman and priest of the Holy Church, sent to the New World +to convert and save the heathen. I belong to the mission at New Orleans, +but I have been on a trip, to a tribe called the Osage, west of the Great +River. Last night my canoe was damaged by the fierce storm and I started +forth rather rashly this morning, not realizing the extent to which the +canoe had suffered. You have seen and taken a part in the rest." + +"You were going back to New Orleans alone, and in a little canoe?" said +Paul. + +"Oh, yes," replied Father Montigny, as if he were speaking of trifles. "I +always go alone, and my canoe isn't so very little, as you see. I carry in +it a change or clothing, provisions, and gifts for the Indians." + +"But no arms," said Henry who had been looking into the canoe. + +"No arms, of course," replied Father Montigny. + +"You are a brave man! About the bravest I ever saw!" burst out Tom Ross, +he of few words. + +Father Montigny merely smiled again. + +"Oh, no," he said, "I have many brethren who do likewise, and there are as +many different kinds of bravery as there are different kinds of life. You, +I fancy, are brave, too, though I take it from appearances that you +sometimes fight with arms." + +"We have to do it, Father Montigny," said Paul in an apologetic tone. + +The priest made no further comment and, taking him to the shore, with much +difficulty they built a fire, at which they prepared him warm food while +he dried his clothing. They had no hesitation in telling him of their +errand and of the presence of Alvarez and his force on the river. Father +Montigny sighed. + +"It is a matter of great regret," he said, "that Louisiana has passed from +the hands of my nation into those of Spain. France is now allied with your +colonies, but Spain holds aloof. She fears you and perhaps with reason. +Every country, if its people be healthy and vigorous, must ultimately be +owned by those who live upon it." + +"Do you know this Alvarez?" asked Henry. + +"Yes, a man of imperious and violent temper, one who, with all his +courage, does not recognize the new forces at work in the world. He thinks +that Spain is still the greatest of nations, and that the outposts of your +race, who have reached the backwoods, are nothing. It is we who travel in +the great forests who recognize the strength of the plant that is yet so +young and tender." + +The priest sighed again and a shade of emotion passed over his singularly +fine face. + +"Alvarez would be glad to commit the Spanish forces in America to the +cause of your enemies," he resumed, "and he is bold enough to do any +violent deed at this distance to achieve that end. In fact, he is already +allied with the renegade and the Indians against you and began war when he +seized one of you. Perhaps it is just as well that you are going to New +Orleans, since Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish Governor, is a man of +different temper, young, enthusiastic, and ready, I think, to listen to +you." + +While the priest was talking by the fireside Shif'less Sol, Long Jim, and +Tom Ross slipped away. They hauled his canoe out on dry land, and with the +tools that they had found on "The Galleon" quickly made it as good as +ever. They also quietly put some of their own stores in the canoe, and +then returned it to the water. + +"O' course, he won't go comf'tably with us in our boat to New +Or-lee-yuns," said Shif'less Sol. "He'll stick to his canoe an' stop to +preach to Injuns who mebbe will torture him to death, but he has my +respeck an' ef I kin do anything fur him I want to do it." + +"So would I," said Jim Hart heartily. "I'm a pow'ful good cook ez you +know, Sol, bein' ez you've et in your time more'n a hundred thousand +pounds uv my victuals, an' I'd like to cook him all the buffaler an' deer +steak he could eat between here an' New Or-lee-yuns, no matter how long he +wuz on the way." + +"An' me," said Tom Ross simply, wishing to add his mite, "I'd like to be +on hand when any Injun tried to hurt him. That Injun would think he'd been +struck by seven different kinds uv lightnin', all at the same time." + +The fire was built on a hillock that rose above the flood. It had been +kindled with the greatest difficulty, even by such experienced woodsmen as +the five, but, once well started, it consumed the damp brush and +spluttered and blazed merrily. Gradually a great bed of coals formed and +threw out a temperate, grateful heat. All were glad enough, after the +storm and the cold and the wet, to sit around it and to feel the glow upon +their faces. It warmed the blood. + +The hill formed an island in the flood and "The Galleon" and the canoe +were tied to trees only thirty or forty feet away. Far to the west +extended the great sweep of the river and around them the flooded forest +was still dripping with the night's rain. + +"I think I'm willin' to rest a while," said Shif'less Sol. "That wuz a +pow'ful lively time we had last night, but thar wuz enough o' it an' I'd +like to lay by to-day, now that our friend's canoe hez been fixed." + +Father Montigny glanced up in surprise. + +"My canoe repaired!" he said. "I don't understand." + +"'Twas only a little job fur fellers like us," said the shiftless one. +"She's all done, an' your canoe, ez good ez new, is tied up thar alongside +o' our 'Gall-yun.'" + +"You are very good to me," said the priest raising his hands slightly in +the manner of benediction, "and I suggest, since we have a comfortable +place here, that we remain on this little island until to-morrow. Do you +know what day it is?" + +"No," replied Paul, "to tell you the truth, Father Montigny, we've been +through so much and we've had to think so hard of other things that we've +lost count of the days. I'd scarcely know how to guess at it." + +"It's the Holy Sabbath," said Father Montigny. "You, I have no doubt, +belong to a church other than mine, but the wilderness teaches us that +we're merely traveling by different roads to the same place. We six are +alone upon this little spot of ground in a great river flowing through a +vast desolation. Surely we can be comrades, too, and give thanks together +for the mercy that is taking us through such great dangers and +hardships." + +"We're like Noah and his family after the ark landed," whispered Shif'less +Sol to Henry, in a tone that was far from irreverence. But Paul said +aloud: + +"I'm sure that we're all in agreement upon that point, Father Montigny. We +do not have to hasten and we'll remain here on the island in a manner +proper to the day." + +Father Montigny glanced at the five in turn and the rare, beautiful smile +lighted up his face. He read every thought of theirs in their open +countenances, and he knew that they were in thorough accord with him. But +Paul, as usual, appealed to him most of all--the deeply spiritual quality +in the lad was evident to the priest and reader of men. + +Father Montigny took a little leather-bound book from under his black robe +and stood up. The others stood up also. Then the priest read a prayer. It +was in Latin and the five--Paul included--did not understand a word of it, +but not a particle of its solemnity and effect was lost on that account. + +It was to Paul, in many ways, the most impressive scene in which he had +ever taken part, the noble, inspired face of the priest, the solemn words, +and no other sound except the peaceful murmur made by the flowing of the +great river. They seemed as much alone on their little hill as if they +stood on a coral island in the south seas. + +Nature was in unison with the rite. A brilliant sun came out, the dripping +trees dried fast, and, under the blue sky, the yellow of the river took +on a lighter hue. + +After the prayer they resumed their seats by the fire, which they left at +intervals only to get something from the boat or to bring the dryest wood +that they could find for the replenishing of the fire. Paul and Shif'less +Sol went together on one of the trips for firewood. + +"He is shorely a good man," said the shiftless one nodding in the +direction of the priest, "but don't you think, Paul, he's undertook a +mighty big job, tryin' to convert Injuns?" + +"Undoubtedly," replied Paul, "but that is the purpose to which he has +devoted his life. He does good, but it seems a pity to me too, Sol, that +he goes on such missions. In the end he'll find martyrdom among some cruel +tribe, and he knows it." + +While Father Montigny, like others of his kind, expected martyrdom and +willingly risked it, his spirits were darkened by no shadow now. Not one +of the five was more cheerful than he, and he gave them all the news at +his command. + +"And I am glad," he continued, "that you are going to New Orleans. You are +really messengers of peace and, unofficial heralds though you are, you may +save more than one nation from great trouble." + +The five were deeply gratified by his words. If they had needed any +encouragement in their self-chosen task they would have received it now. + +"Since you are returning to New Orleans, Father Montigny," said Paul, +"why don't you go with us in our big boat? It is far safer and more +comfortable than a canoe." + +Father Montigny shook his head. + +"It is a kind offer," he replied, "but I cannot accept it. I leave you +to-morrow at the mouth of a river on our right as we descend. There is a +small village of peaceful Indians several miles up that stream and I wish +to stay with them a day or two. I and my canoe have traveled many +thousands of miles together and we will continue." + +They would have repeated the offer, but they saw that he was not to be +moved and they talked of other things. The rest was, in truth, welcome to +all, as the labors and dangers of the night had been a severe strain upon +their nerves and strength, and they luxuriated before the fire while the +peaceful day passed. Henry noticed that the water was still rising, and +that the mass of floating debris was also increasing. + +"It's been a tremendous rain," he said, "and it's extended far up. It must +have been raining on all the great rivers that run into the Mississippi on +either side, away off there in the north. It's going to be a mighty big +flood, and this hill itself will go under." + +"You're right," said Shif'less Sol. "It's a mighty big river any time but +is shorely gittin' to be like a sea now." + +They walked back to the little party by the fire. The day had considerable +coolness in it after the rain, and the warmth was still welcome. Little +was left for them to do and they still luxuriated in rest. Like all +woodsmen in those times who were compelled to endure long and most +strenuous periods of toil and danger, they knew how to do nothing when the +time came, and let Nature recuperate the tired faculties. + +The brilliant sun shone on the river, the muddy waters were gilded with +gold. The east turned to rose, then to red, and after that came the +shadows. The mellow voice of the priest was lifted in a solemn Latin hymn. +His song carried far over the darkening waters, and Paul, under its +influence, felt more deeply than ever the immense majesty of the scene. +Red light from the sunken sun still lingered over the longest of rivers, +but the shadows now covered all the eastern shore. Through the increasing +night the firelight on the little island twinkled like a beacon, but for +the time being, they were careless who saw it. + +The hymn died away in a last long echo, the red light was wholly gone, +darkness was over everything, and they prepared for a long night of sleep. +The next morning they started together, the big boat and the little canoe. +Every one of the five offered to paddle the canoe for Father Montigny as +far as they were going together, but he smilingly declined. + +"No," he said, "my good canoe and I have been closely associated too long +to be separated now, nor must I be spoiled. I see that you have put fresh +stores in the canoe, and I accept them. You have good hearts, as I knew +when I first saw you." + +The five would not put up their sail while they were in company, and "The +Galleon" and the canoe drifted together until they reached the mouth of +the river up which the peaceful Indian village lay. There Father Montigny +gave them his blessing and bade them farewell. They held their own boat in +the current while they watched him paddle with strong arms up the +tributary stream. He stopped at the first curve, lifted his paddle in a +last salute, which they returned with their own lifted oars, and then he +passed out of sight. + +"We may never see him again," said Paul--but Paul could not read the +future. + +Then they set their sail, swung into the middle of the stream and swept +forward on their great journey. But the meeting with the priest had a +strong influence upon every one of them. + +"He is sure to suffer a violent death some time or other," said Paul, "and +he knows it, but it never mikes him gloomy. There are other French priests +like him, too, boys, going thousands of miles, alone and unarmed, over +this vast continent." + +"'Pears to me that we are wrong when we talk about the French bein' +dancin' masters an' sech like," said Shif'less Sol. "My father fit in the +great French war up thar along the Canady line an' in Canady, an' he says +the French wuz ez good fighters ez anybody. Besides, they took naterally +to the woods, makin' fust rate scouts an' hunters, an' ef that ain't proof +o' the stuff that's in people, nothin' is." + +This day upon the waters was one of unbroken peace. The flood, as Henry +had predicted, continued to rise, spreading far into the woods and out of +sight. Now and then some portion of the shore, eaten into continually by +the powerful stream, would give way and fall with a sticky sigh into the +river. Uprooted trees floated in the current or became wedged in the +forest. But the sunlight remained undimmed and they began to grow familiar +with the river. It was a friend now, bearing them whither they would go. + +About noon they saw two deer marooned on an island made by the flood, and +they shot one of them for the sake of the fresh meat. + +Now ensued a long journey, unbroken by danger, but full of interest. They +came near enough once or twice to ascertain that the Spanish force was +just ahead of them, but they saw no chance to secure the precious maps and +plans or interfere in any other way with the dangerous project of Alvarez, +and they waited patiently. + +The flood began to subside, but it was a mighty river yet, and would still +be so when all the flood was gone. They passed the mouths of great rivers +to right and to left, but they did not know their names, nor whence they +came. The air grew much warmer and they were very glad indeed now that +they had the sail, which, allied with the current, carried them on as fast +as they wished. + +Shif'less Sol lay lazily under the sail, his limbs relaxed, and his face a +picture of content. + +"I could float on an' on forever," he said sleepily, "an' I don't care how +long it takes to git to New Or-lee-yuns. I think I'm goin' to like that +place. I saw a trapper once who had been thar, an' he said you could be +jest ez lazy an' sleepy ez you wished an' nobody would blame you--they +kinder look upon it ez the right thing, an' that suits me. He said them +Spaniards an' French had orange trees about. You could lay in your bed, +reach a han' out o' the window, pull an orange off the tree, suck it, an' +then go back to sleep without ever havin' disturbed the cover. I never +seed an orange, but I know it's nice." + +The same day they rowed the boat a few miles up a small but deep and very +clear river that emptied into the Mississippi from the east. Their object +was to fish, the greater river itself being too muddy for the succulent +kind that they wished. The incomparable "Galleon" had also been supplied +with fishing tackle, and in a short time they caught a splendid supply of +black bass and perch, which proved to be very fine and toothsome. As their +boat floated back from the smaller stream into the Mississippi, Shif'less +Sol heaved a deep sigh. + +"What's the matter, Sol?" asked Paul. + +"I wuz thinkin' o' Christopher Columbus," replied Shif'less Sol. "Ef it +wuzn't that I'd be dead now, I wish I'd been with him. I do enjoy sailin' +on an' discoverin' lands an' waters that ain't yet got no name to 'em. It +looks funny to me that we wuzn't discovered sooner, when we've always been +here, but Columbus has all my respeck an' admiration 'cause he done it +when the others didn't." + +"That shorely wuz a man," said Tom Ross, his eyes lighting up. "I've heard +the tale how he kep' tryin' an' tryin' to git a ship, an' couldn't, an' +at last the Spanish lady pulled off her earrings an' finger rings an' +bracelets an' said: 'Here, Chris, these, these are my jewels, take 'em, +trade 'em fur the best ship thar is in the market, an' discover Ameriky.' +An' then he got his ship, an' kep' sailin' on an' on, an' the sailors they +began to git skeered an' then more skeered. They're afraid they're goin' +to drop off on the other side uv the world an' they go to Chris an' say: +'Thar ain't no sech continent ez Ameriky an' we ain't goin' to discover +it. We're goin' to turn right 'round an' go straight back to Spain.' + +"Chris says in the knowin'est manner like a father talkin' to his child. +'Thar is sech a continent ez Ameriky, an' it's a big one, too. It's layin' +over thar straight to the west, an' it's full uv big lakes an' big rivers +an' big mountains an' red Injuns that fight with bows an' arrers, and +b'ars an' buffalers an' deer an' panthers an' all things fine, jest +waitin' fur us. Thar's whar we're goin'.' And the sailors say more uppish +than ever: No, we ain't, we ain't goin' to discover Ameriky, thar ain't no +sech place, we're goin' right back to Spain.' Then a kinder funny look +comes into Chris's eye. He reaches fur his long rifle, an' he draws a bead +on the foremost uv them sailors, the feller that speaks fur 'em all, an' +he says, droppin' that fatherly manner an' speakin' up sharp an' snappy: +'I reckin we're either goin' to discover Ameriky, or go right back to +Spain, which is it?' + +"An' that foremost sailor, the one that speaks fur 'em all, sees the funny +look in Chris's eye, an' he thinks, too, he kin see clean down the barrel +uv that long rifle to whar the bullet is layin', an' he answers right off: +'We're goin' to discover Ameriky'; an' shore enough they did, this fine, +big continent, full uv big lakes an' big rivers an' big mountains an' red +Injuns that fight with bows an' arrers an' b'ars and buffalers an' deer +an' panthers an' all things fine." + +"I didn't know Tom Ross had sech a gift o' gab," said Shif'less Sol. "He +stirs me all up, he makes me want to hev some lady buy a ship fur me an' +start me out to discoverin' continents. Do you think, Paul, thar's any +lady who would sell her earrings an' finger rings fur me ez that Spanish +one did fur Columbus?" + +"But think, Sol, what a chance you've got whether there is or not," said +Henry Ware. "America is discovered but not much of it is explored. There's +enough here to keep you roaming about for the next fifty or sixty years." + +"That's so," said the shiftless one brightening up. "What am I growlin' +about, when here's a river, mebbe ten thousand miles long that we know +next to nothin' 'bout, an' buffalers an' b'ars an' panthers an' deer to +shoot, an' red Injuns to fight ez long ez I live. After all, we're shorely +mighty lucky to live at the time we do, ez I've said before. Do you think +thar'll ever be any times hereafter as interestin' ez ourn, Paul?" + +"I can't say," replied Paul with a smile, "but they're not likely to be as +interesting to us." + +They went on their way, and the air became still warmer. Moreover, it +grew heavy and oppressive, and the spring rains were resumed with great +violence. They had worked meanwhile on their tarpaulin, enlarging and +strengthening it with skins which they had allowed to dry on the boat, and +they rested, sheltered and secure, as they floated along. + +Although Frenchmen had gone up and down the river long before, they felt +like genuine explorers. So little was known of the mighty stream that they +regarded every stretch and turn with keen interest. It was not beautiful +now, a vast, brown flood flowing between low and changing shores, but in +its size and loneliness it had a majesty peculiarly its own. + +Wild geese and wild ducks flew over the river in abundance, and they were +so little used to man that often they passed near "The Galleon." The +fowling pieces proved useful again, as the five were able to sit in +comfort on their boat and shoot geese and ducks for their needs. Some were +of kinds that they had never seen before, but all proved to be good +eating, and they were welcome. + +Jim Hart also exercised his ingenuity in a very useful manner. In the prow +of the boat, but under the tarpaulin, he spread a layer of mud about two +inches thick. Protected from the rain, it soon dried, forming a hard, +impervious, brick-like covering for the bottom of the boat, and upon this +he built a small smothered fire of dry sticks, a supply of which they kept +in the boat. Here Jim, with all the skill and delicacy of a gastronomic +artist, would cook their wild ducks and wild geese, and, considering the +limited area and resources for the exercise of his favorite occupation, +he did extremely well. Nor was it any longer necessary for them to run in +to the shore and worry in the dripping forest with wet wood. + +"It ain't like that stove we built the time we wuz on the ha'nted islan'," +Long Jim would say, "but it's a heap sight better than nothin." + +"It shorely is," said Shif'less Sol. "You ain't much account for anything, +Jim, but you kin cook a leetle bit." + +Long Jim smiled contentedly. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE CHATEAU OF BEAULIEU + + +They noticed one day a high bluff shooting up on the eastern bank and +running along for some distance. It was clothed in dense green forest, and +it was rather a welcome break in the monotony of the low shores. + +"A big city will be built there some day," said the prophetic Paul.[B] + +"Now, Paul, why in tarnation do you say that?" exclaimed Tom Ross. + +"Why, because it's such a good place. It's a high hill on a great river so +well suited to navigation, and it has a vast, rich country behind it." + +But Tom Ross shook his head. + +"Seems to me, Paul," he said, "that you're bitin' off a lot more'n you can +chaw. Things that are to happen a hundred years from now ain't never +happenin' fur me." + +But Paul merely smiled and held to his opinion. + +On the following day they tied up at a point, where the river began a +sharp and wide curve around a long, narrow peninsula. It was just about +dark when they stopped and, as usual, they were able to run the boat into +dense foliage at the margin, where not even the keenest eye could see it. + +"We've got plenty of goose and duck left over from dinner," said Henry, +"so I'm thinking, Jim, that you'd better not light the fire on your bricks +to-night." + +"All right," replied Jim, "I don't mind restin'. I feel about ez lazy ez +Sol Hyde looks." + +But Henry Ware had another and more important thing in mind. His was the +keenest eye of them all, and just before landing he had noticed to the +southward and on the other side of the peninsula a faint, dark line +against the edge of the sunset. Few, even with an eye good enough to see +it, would have taken it for anything but a wisp of cloud, but the physical +sense of Henry Ware, so acute that it bordered upon intuition, was not +deceived. + +"Sol," he said after they had eaten a little, "let's walk across this neck +of land and explore a bit." + +"It's a dark night to be traveling," said Paul. But Henry only laughed. +Tom Ross may have had his suspicions, but he did not deem it worth while +to say anything. He knew that Henry and Shif'less Sol were quite competent +to achieve any task that they might be undertaking. + +Henry and Sol strolled carelessly into the bush, but before they had gone +a dozen steps their whole manner changed. Each became eager and alert. + +"What is it, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol. "What have you seed?" + +"Smoke! the smoke of a camp fire and it's on the other side of this neck. +I think it's the camp of Alvarez. He must have been going more slowly than +we thought." + +"We'll soon find out," said Shif'less Sol, as they advanced. + +But the task was not as easy as they had thought. The peninsula was very +low and the greater part of it had been overflowed recently. Their feet, +no matter how lightly they stepped, sank in the mire, and when they pulled +them out again the mud emitted a sticky sigh. An owl perched in a tree, +high above the marsh, began to hoot dismally, and Shif'less Sol uttered a +growl. + +"I wish we had the big, dry woods o' Kentucky to go through," he whispered +to Henry. "I ain't much o' a mud-crawler." + +"But as we haven't got those big, dry woods," Henry whispered back, "we'll +have to crawl, creep, or walk through the mud." + +It was about two miles across the neck, and as they went very slowly for +fear of making noise, it took them a full hour to reach the other side, or +to come near enough to see what might be there. Then they found that +Henry's belief, or rather intuition, was right. + +They could see quite well from the dense covert. All the Spanish boats +were tied up at the shore and two or three fires had been built for the +purposes of cooking. The soldiers in their picturesque costumes lounged +about. The hum of conversation and now and then a laugh arose. + +Henry soon marked Francisco Alvarez. The Spanish leader sat on a little +heap of boughs on the highest and dryest spot in the camp, and all who +approached him did so with every sign of respect--if they spoke it was hat +in hand. + +The firelight fell in a red blaze across the face of Francisco Alvarez and +revealed every feature in minute detail to the keen eyes in the covert. It +was a thin, haughty face, clear-cut and cruel, but just now it's air was +that of satisfaction, as if in the opinion of Francisco Alvarez all things +were going well with his plans. Henry believed that he could guess his +thoughts. "He thinks that the Spanish are already committed against us and +that he and Braxton Wyatt with a force of Spaniards and the tribes will +yet destroy our settlements in Kentucky." + +Thinking of Braxton Wyatt he looked for him and, as he looked, the +renegade came from a point near the shore toward the commander. It was +evident that Wyatt had been faring well. His frontier dress had been +partly replaced with gay Spanish garments. He now wore a cap with a +feather in it, and a velvet doublet. He, too, had a most complacent look. + +Wyatt approached Alvarez and the commander courteously invited him to a +seat on the hillock near him. When he took the seat a soldier brought the +renegade a cup of wine, and he drank, first lifting the cup toward Alvarez +as if he drank a toast to the success of the alliance. There could be no +doubt about the perfect understanding of the two; and Henry's anger rose. +It was impossible to set a limit to what a ruthless and determined man +like Francisco Alvarez might do. + +Wyatt rose presently after a nod to the commander and walked among the +soldiers. He seemed to have no particular object in view and his +strollings brought him near to the edge of the swampy forest. + +"Perhaps he's spying about, and will come into the woods where we are," +whispered Henry. "Maybe he has those maps and plans upon him, and it would +be a great thing to get them. I don't believe he could make a new set +soon." + +"It's a risky thing to try," said Shif'less Sol, "but ef he comes in here, +an' you think it the best thing to do, I'm ready to help." + +The two crouched a little lower and remained breathless. Braxton Wyatt +strolled on. He was making a sort of vague inspection of the camp, but he +was really thinking more about the great triumph that he saw ahead. Since +he had turned renegade, leaving his own white race to join the Indians, a +thing that was sometimes done, he had been stung by many defeats and he +wished a great revenge that would pour oil upon all these wounds. + +A bad nature grows worse with failure. Seeking to injure his former people +and failing at every turn, Braxton Wyatt hated them more and more all the +time. His wrath was particularly directed against the five who had been +such great instruments in sending his careful plans astray. His scheme +with the Indian league had failed chiefly through them, but he felt that +he could now come with a Spanish force that would prove irresistible. That +was why he glowed with internal warmth and pride. The settlements would be +destroyed and he, in fact, would be the destroyer. + +Braxton Wyatt entered the edge of the woods, still occupied with the cruel +triumph that was to be his. He did not notice that the foliage was +gradually shutting out the firelight. Presently he saw, or believed that +he saw, a shadowy but terrible figure. It was the figure of the one whom +he dreaded most on earth. + +It was but a glimpse of a form, seen through the bushes, but Wyatt's blood +turned cold in every vein. He uttered a half-choked cry, and running back +through the bushes, sprang into the firelight. Two or three Spanish +soldiers looked at him in amazement, but he was not a coward, and he had +pride of a kind. As soon as he leaped back into the firelight he felt that +he had made a fool of himself. Henry Ware could not have been there--he +and his comrades had been left behind long ago. Coming suddenly out of his +thoughts, he had been deceived in the dark by a bush and imagination had +done the rest. Yes, it was only fancy! + +"A rattlesnake! I nearly trod on him," he said in broken Spanish words +that he had picked up, and then walked in as careless a manner as he could +assume toward the mound where Francisco Alvarez sat. But he could not +wholly control himself--the shock had been too great--and his body yet +trembled. He did not know it, but the pallor of his face showed through +the tan, and Alvarez noticed it. + +"You have had a fright, Senor Wyatt," he said in his precise, cold +English. "What is it?" + +"Not a fright," replied Wyatt in tones that he sought to make indifferent, +"but a start. I nearly trod on a rattlesnake that lay coiled ready to +strike, and I got away just in time." + +The Spaniard regarded him with a penetrating look, but the chilly blue +eyes expressed nothing. Yet Francisco Alvarez thought that a bold woodsman +like Braxton Wyatt would not show so much fear after a harmless passage +with any kind of a snake. + +"Do you think the five, the party that you said were so much to be +dreaded, are still following us?" he asked presently. + +The pallor showed again for a moment through the tan in Braxton Wyatt's +face, but he answered again as carelessly as he could: + +"It may be. I hate them, but I do not deny that they are bold and +resourceful. They have a good boat, and they may follow; but what harm +could they do?" + +"As I told you, they might go before Bernardo Galvez, our Governor General +at New Orleans, and spoil the pretty plan that you and I have formed. +Galvez is--as he calls himself--a Liberal. He would help these rebels and +fight England. How can a Spaniard lend himself to the cause of Republican +rebels and injure monarchy? Cannot he foresee, cannot he look ahead a +little and tell what rebel success means? It would in the end be as great +a blow to Spain as to England. If Kaintock is permitted to grow she will +threaten Louisiana. These men in their buckskins are daring and dangerous +and we must attend to them!" + +The Spaniard clenched his hands in anger, and the blue light of his eyes +was singularly cruel. + +"Galvez is a fool," he continued. "He is not allowing the English to trade +at New Orleans, but he is giving the American rebels full chance. He his +allowed one, Pollock, Oliver Pollock, to establish a base there. This +Pollock has formed a company of New York, Philadelphia, and Boston +merchants, and they are sending arms and ammunition in fleets of canoes up +the Mississippi and then up the Ohio to Fort Pitt, where they are unloaded +and then taken eastward by land for the use of the rebels. A fleet of +these canoes is to start about the time we arrive in New Orleans." + +"We might meet it," suggested Braxton Wyatt, "and say that it attacked +us." + +The Spaniard smiled. + +"The idea is not bad," he said, "and it could be done. We could sink their +whole fleet of canoes with the pretty little cannon that we carry, and we +could prove that they began the attack. But I do not choose to run the +risk of compromising myself just yet. There is a more glorious enterprise +afoot. Hark you, Senor Wyatt." + +Braxton Wyatt leaned forward and listened attentively. Francisco Alvarez +had drank of wine that evening, and his blood was warm. He, too, dreamed +a great dream. + +"You are a man of discretion and you have helped me. I speak to you as one +devoted to my cause. If you should but breathe what I say to another I +would first swear that it was a lie, and then deliver you to these five +gentlemen, former friends of yours, who would tear you in pieces." + +Braxton Wyatt shivered again, and the Spaniard, seeing the shiver, laughed +and was convinced. + +"Why should I betray you?" said the renegade. "I have no motive to do so +and every possible motive to keep faith." + +"I know it," replied Alvarez, "and that is why I speak. It is to your +interest to be faithful to me and when my enterprise succeeds, as it +certainly will, you shall have your proper share of the reward. Bernardo +Galvez, as you know, is the Governor General of Louisiana, and his father +is the Viceroy of Mexico. They are powerful, very powerful, and I am only +a commander of troops under the son, but I, too, am powerful. My family is +one of the first in Spain. It sits upon the very steps of the throne and +more than once royal blood has entered our veins. I was a favorite at the +court and I have many friends there. The King might be persuaded that +Bernardo Galvez is not a fit representative of the royal interests in +Louisiana." + +Francisco Alvarez leaned a little forward and his blue eyes, usually so +chill, sparkled now with fire. He was speaking of what lay next to his +heart. Braxton Wyatt, full of shrewdness and perception, understood at +once. + +"Bernardo Galvez might give way as Governor General of Louisiana," said +the renegade, "to be succeeded by a better man, one who had the real +interests of Spain at heart, one who would refuse to give the slightest +aid to rebels, rebels who would strike against a throne!" + +The Spaniard looked pleased. + +"I see that you are a man of penetration, Senor Wyatt," he said, "and I am +fortunate in having you as a lieutenant. You have divined my thought. I +work, not for the interests of a man whose name has been mentioned by +neither of us, but for the true interests of Spain and the divine right of +kings. What is this miserable Kaintock which is springing up? We will +crush it out as you would have crushed the rattlesnake! The people of New +Orleans and Louisiana hate rebels! Why should they not? It is the rebels +who in time will take Louisiana from us if they can, not England." + +Braxton Wyatt smiled. He was delighted to the very center of his cunning +heart. His plans and those of Alvarez marched well together. Each +strengthened the other. + +"I am with you to the end," he said. + +"The end will be a glorious triumph," said the Spaniard in emphatic tones. + +Meanwhile Henry and Shif'less Sol still lay in the thicket. Their project +to seize Braxton Wyatt and strip him of the maps and plans had been +defeated. Henry knew that the renegade had caught a glimpse of him in the +dusk and among the thick bushes and he expected an immediate alarm. But +when Wyatt raised none, he and Sol lingered. They saw the renegade go to +the Spaniard's side on the little mound, and they saw the two talk long +and earnestly, but, of course, they could not understand a word of what +was said. + +"They look mighty pleased with one another," whispered Shif'less Sol, "so +it's bound to mean that they're up to the worst sort o' mischief." + +"Yes," replied Henry, "and that mischief is sure to be aimed at our +people." + +They waited about a half hour longer and then picked their way back +through the marsh to their own side of the peninsula. + +It was now very late and Paul and Jim Hart were sound asleep in the boat, +but Tom Ross was keeping vigilant guard. + +"Wuz it them?" he asked. + +"Yes," replied Henry. "They're camped on the other side of this neck, and +Braxton Wyatt is still with them. There's big mischief afoot and we've got +to keep on following, waiting our chance, which, I think, will come." + +They did not start until noon the next day, in order to give the Spaniards +a longer lead, and they rounded the neck of land very slowly lest they run +into a trap. But when the river lay straight before them again they beheld +nothing. They passed the point where the Spaniards had camped and saw the +dead coals of their fires, but they did not stop, continuing instead +their steady progress down stream. + +It now grew hot upon the water. They had come many hundreds of miles since +the start, and they were in a warmer climate. The character of the +vegetation was changing. The cypress and the magnolia became frequent on +the banks, and now and then they saw great, drooping live oaks. The soil +seemed to grow softer and the water was more deeply permeated with mud. +Although the flood was gone, the river spread out in places to a vast +width, and even at its narrowest it was a gigantic stream. Other great, +lazy rivers poured in their volume from east and west. Narrow, deep +inlets, half-hidden in vegetation, extended from either side. There were +bayous, although the five had not yet heard the name, and many of them +swarmed with fish. + +The warm air was heavy and languorous and now Shif'less Sol confessed. + +"I'm gittin' too much o' it, even fur a lazy man," he said. "'Pears to me +I'm always wantin' to sleep. Now, I like about sixteen hours sleepin' out +o' the twenty-four, but when it comes to keepin' awake jest long enough to +eat three meals a day I ain't in favor o' it." + +"It must be a rich country, though," said Tom Ross. "No wonder them +Spaniards want to keep it." + +That day they passed at some distance three canoes containing Indians, but +the canoes showed no wish to come near and investigate. Henry said that +the Indians in them looked sprawling and dirty, unlike the alert, +clean-limbed natives of the North. + +"They probably belong," said Paul, "to the Natchez tribe who were beaten +into submission long ago by the French, and who doubtless lack energy +anyhow." + +The Indian canoes went lazily on, and soon were lost to sight. Now a +serious problem arose. They were approaching the settled parts of +Louisiana. It is true, it was only the thinnest fringe of white people +extending along either shore of the river a short distance above New +Orleans, but they were coming to a region in which they would be noticed, +and they might have to explain their presence before they wished to do so. +Nor had they found any opportunity to capture Braxton Wyatt and his maps +and plans. Nevertheless, they hung so closely on the trail of Alvarez that +every night and morning they could see the smoke of his camp fire. + +They stopped one evening in a cove of the river, sheltered by great +mournful cypresses, and Henry and Shif'less Sol went out again to +scrutinize the Spanish camp. They returned before midnight with unusual +news. Alvarez with his whole force had turned from the Mississippi and had +gone up a bayou about four miles. There he had landed some of his small +cannon and stores at a rude wharf, and showed all the signs of making a +stay, but whether short or long they could not tell. + +"Alvarez must have a place, a plantation, I believe they call it, near +here," said Paul intuitively, "and he's going to stop at it. As he wants +to get Spain into a war with us he could plot a lot of mischief in a house +of his own away from New Orleans." + +"Of course, that's it," said Henry with conviction. "Now if we could only +capture Braxton Wyatt and then carry off the fellow and his maps and plans +with us, it would be a great stroke. It might make Alvarez quit his wicked +plot." + +Henry and Shif'less Sol slept briefly, and rising before daylight, went +forth to investigate again. When they arrived at the edge of the bayou, +they saw that the work of removal had been resumed already. All the boats +had been tied up securely, and a mongrel lot of new men had joined the +Spanish force, shiftless and half-civilized Houma and Natchez Indians, +coal black negroes, some from the West Indies and some from Africa, +Acadians, and fierce-looking adventurers from Europe. Most of them seemed +to be laborers, however, and they worked with the arms and baggage taken +from the boats. Among these laborers were several stalwart negro women +with blazing red handkerchiefs tied around their heads. + +Alvarez came off one of the boats, followed by Braxton Wyatt. The Spanish +commander had attired himself with great care, and he was a really +splendid figure in his glittering uniform and plumed hat. His gold-hilted +small sword swung by his side. He bore himself as a lord proprietor, and +in fact he was such at this moment. He was about to go, surrounded by his +retainers, to his own house on a huge grant of land made to him by the +Spanish King--Spanish kings granted lands very freely in America to +favorites, and the relatives of favorites. + +Braxton Wyatt also showed pride. Was he not the most trusted friend of an +able man who was dreaming a great dream, a dream that would come true? The +last remnants of his border attire had disappeared and he, too, was +dressed wholly as a Spanish officer, though by no means so splendidly as +his chief. + +Alvarez addressed a few words to a man in civilian attire, evidently his +overseer, a dark, heavy West India Spaniard who carried a pistol in his +sash, and then advanced through the rabble, which quickly fell back on +either side to let him pass. + +Horses were in waiting for Alvarez, Wyatt, and several others, and +mounting, they rode off, Henry and Shif'less Sol watching from the bush as +well as they could, and following. The way of the officers led through a +great plantation but partially redeemed from the ancient forest. Cane and +grain fields were on either side of the path, and presently they +approached a large house of only one story, built of wood, and surrounded +by a wide veranda supported with posts at regular intervals. This house +was built around a court in the center of which was a clear pool. + +Henry and the shiftless one saw Alvarez and his company dismount and enter +the house. They noticed others who approached on foot, but who did not +enter, obviously men who did not dare to enter unless asked. Among them +was a thin, middle-aged Natchez Indian, whose extraordinary, feline face +had won for him the name of The Cat. Henry particularly observed this man, +whose manner was in accordance with his appearance and name. Like those +they had seen in the canoes he had a hangdog, shiftless look, different +from the bold warrior of the more northerly forests. + +The two did not remain long. So many people were about that they were +likely to be seen, and they returned through the forest to the cypress +cove in which "The Galleon" lay hidden. Here, it was agreed that they +should go forth later in the day on another tour of inspection, +re-inforced by Tom Ross, while Long Jim and Paul should remain to guard +the boat and their precious stores. + +When the three had gone, Long Jim sat on the edge of the boat and looked +around at the sluggish waters of the bayou, the sad cypresses, and the +drooping live oaks. An ugly water snake twined its slimy length just +within the edge of the bayou, and the odor of the still forest about them +was heavy and oppressive. + +Long Jim took a long, comprehensive look, and then heaved a deep sigh. + +"What's the matter?" asked Paul. + +"I don't think the country and the climate agree with me," replied Long +Jim lugubriously. "I wuz never so fur south afore, an' I'm a delicate +plant, I am. I need the snow and the north wind to keep me fresh an' +bloomin'. All this gits on me. My lungs don't feel clean. I'm longin' fur +them big, fine woods up in our country, whar you may run agin a b'ar, but +whar you ain't likely to step on a snake afore you see it." + +"Give me the temperate climate, too," said Paul, "but we've come on a +great errand, Jim, and we've come a long way. It's good, too, to see new +things." + +"So it is, but I don't like to set here waitin' in this swamp. Think I'll +stretch my legs a little on the bank thar, ef it's firm enough to hold me +up, though I do have an abidin' distrust uv most uv the land hereabouts." + +Jim leaped upon the bank which upheld him, and stretched his long legs +with obvious relief. + +"A boat's mighty easy," he said, "but now an' then walkin's good." + +He strode up and down two or three times and then he stopped. He had heard +a sound, faint, it is true, but enough to arrest the attention of Long +Jim. Then he went on with a look of disgust. It was surely one of those +snakes again! + +He was about to pass a great cypress when a pair of long, brown arms +reached out and grasped him by the throat. Long Jim was a strong man and, +despite his early advantage, it would have gone hard with the owner of the +arms, none other than The Cat himself, but three or four men, springing +from the covert, threw themselves upon him. + +Paul heard the first sounds of the contest and sprang up. He saw Long Jim +struggling in the grasp of many hands, and snatching at the first weapon +that lay near, he sprang to the bank, rushing to the assistance of his +comrade. + +A shout of derisive laughter greeted Paul. Long Jim had been thrown down +and held fast and the lad was confronted by none other than Alvarez +himself, while Braxton Wyatt, smiling in malignant triumph, stood just +behind him. + +"Well, my young man of Kaintock," said Francisco Alvarez in his precise +English, "we have taken you and at least one of your brother thieves. In +good time we'll have the others, too. It was an evil day when you ventured +on my plantation so near such a wonderful tracker as The Cat. Why, he +detected them instinctively when your comrades ventured near us!" + +The eyes of the stooping Natchez Indian flashed at the compliment but, in +a moment, he resumed his immobility. All the blood rushed to Paul's face, +and he could not contain his anger. + +"Thief! how dare you call me a thief!" he said. + +"This is my boat before me," replied Alvarez. "You stole it." + +"Not so," replied Paul. "We captured it. You seized and held me a prisoner +when I came to your camp on a friendly mission, and we took it in fair +reprisal and for a good purpose. Moreover, you are plotting with that vile +renegade there to destroy our people in Kentucky!" + +"You are a thief," repeated Francisco Alvarez calmly, "you stole my boat. +Why, the very sword that you hold in your hand is mine, stolen from me." + +Paul glanced down. In his haste and excitement he had snatched up one of +the beautiful small swords when he leaped from the boat, but he had been +unconscious of it. He was yet free and he held a sword in his hand. One of +the men who was holding Jim Hart suddenly kicked him to make him keep +quiet, and Paul's wrath blazed up under the double incentive of the blow +and the sneering face of Francisco Alvarez. + +The lad rushed forward, sword in hand, and one of the soldiers raised his +musket. Alvarez pushed the weapon down. + +"Since this young rebel wants to fight, and has a stolen sword of mine in +his hand," he said, "he can fight with me. I will give him that honor." + +So speaking Alvarez drew his own sword and held up the blade to the light +until it glittered. A shout of approval arose from the soldiers, but Long +Jim cried out: + +"It ain't fair! It ain't right to take one uv your kind uv weepins an' +attack him! It's murder! Let me loose an' I'll fight you with rifles." + +"Have you got that ruffian securely bound?" asked Alvarez. + +"Yes," replied one of his men. + +"Then I'll teach this youth a lesson, as I said." + +Paul had stopped in his rush, and suddenly he became cool and collected. + +"Don't you be afraid for me, Jim," he said. "I can take care of myself, +and I'll fight him." + +Alvarez laughed derisively and the others echoed the laugh of their +master, but Paul held up his own sword, also, until it glittered in the +light. Every nerve and muscle became taut, and the blood went back from +his brain, leaving it cool and clear. + +"Come on," he said to Alvarez. "I'm ready." + +They stood in a level glade, and the two faced each other, the sunshine +lighting up all the area enclosed by the cypresses. Around them stood +Braxton Wyatt and the followers of Alvarez. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote B: It is probable that the bluff, indicated by Paul, is the one +on which the present city of Memphis stands.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +PAUL AND THE SPANIARD + + +Francisco Alvarez never suffered from the vice of humility. While he was +planning to make himself Governor General of Louisiana he thought also +that the selection was a most admirable one. Nor would he have +condescended now to cross a blade with this boy from the backwoods, but +his pride had been bitterly hurt by the deeds of Paul and his comrades. +Such presumption must be punished, and the punishment must be of a +humiliating kind. + +The Spaniard took the point of his sword between his thumb and forefinger +and bent the blade a little. The steel was flexible and true. Then he put +himself on guard, and physically he was a splendid figure of a man, tall, +compact, and obviously skilled with his weapon. + +Long Jim Hart writhed again in his bonds. His heart yearned over Paul, his +young comrade. + +"Stop it! stop it!" he cried. "It's murder, I say, fur a man used to them +weepins to set upon a boy." + +"Shall we gag this fellow, Captain?" asked Braxton Wyatt, who enjoyed the +scene. + +"No," replied Alvarez, scornfully. "Let him make as much noise as he +pleases." + +Paul heard Long Jim's second protest, but now he did not answer. He was +intently watching Alvarez. He had read the look in the eye of the Spanish +leader, and he knew that Alvarez not only intended to punish him, but also +to make that process as mortifying as possible. But Paul was yet unafraid. +Although not as large and powerful as Henry, he was nevertheless a very +strong youth, used to the open air and exercise, and wonderfully flexible +and alert. He held the sword lightly but firmly with the point well +forward, ready for any movement by his antagonist. + +Alvarez came a step nearer. His sword flashed, but Paul dextrously caught +the stroke upon his own weapon, and the blade glanced off, ringing. +Alvarez was surprised. He had seen from Paul's position and the manner in +which he held his weapon that he knew something about the sword, but he +was not prepared for such a skillful parry. + +"Good, Paul! Good!" cried Long Jim, a sudden hope bounding up in his +heart. "Go in! Trim him! Slice off his mustache for him!" + +Alvarez was stung by the taunt. Braxton Wyatt made an angry movement +toward Long Jim, but the Spaniard again waved him back. His own pride +would not permit him to silence the taunter in such a way. No, he would +silence him in another manner. But the cry of Long Jim had its effect upon +Paul, too. It aroused him to a supreme effort. He leaped forward +suddenly, thrust quick as lightning, and then leaped away. The Spaniard +had parried, but the blade nevertheless cut the cloth of his brilliant +coat, making a long gash. The cut was not in the flesh, only in the cloth, +but Alvarez was stung by it and the sting became the more bitter when Long +Jim cried out: + +"Hooray, Paul! That wuz somethin' like! He thought he wuz goin' to murder +you, but he ain't!" + +Alvarez, furious, rushed in and Paul, keen of eye and alert of muscle, +fought on the defensive. Lucky for him now that he remembered all the +lessons taught to him by the old soldier of the great French and Indian +war, and lucky for him, too, that he had lived such a temperate life! +Steel met steel and the ringing sound filled the little glade. The others +were silent, leaning a little forward, lips slightly apart. A new element +of uncertainty had come into the combat, and even Braxton Wyatt shared in +the excitement that had been aroused by it. + +Alvarez uttered a cry of satisfaction and then stepped back. Paul stood +still while the blood came slowly from a cut across his left arm and dyed +his sleeve. He had thrown out the arm just in time to ward off a thrust at +his heart, but he received a slash in its place. The pain was considerable +but Paul scarcely felt it; his mind was too intent on the crisis, and his +head was yet clear and cool. + +"Never you mind, Paul! Never you mind!" cried Long Jim. "'Twas only a +lucky sweep uv his! you'll git him yet." + +Paul gave his informal second a smile of confidence, for second he was +with his encouraging tongue, even though bound and helpless otherwise. + +Paul suddenly rushed in, struck swiftly, and, although the blow was +parried, he thrust again so quickly that his blade passed inside the guard +of Alvarez, pierced through his doublet, and wounded him in the side. Mad +with pain and rage Alvarez struck furiously, but Paul caught the blow so +skillfully that the Spaniard's sword broke in his hand. + +Long Jim shouted with delight. + +"You've beat him, Paul! you've beat him!" he cried. "Go in now and trim +his mustache right off his face!" + +Braxton Wyatt struck him a blow on the cheek. + +"Shut up, will you!" he cried. + +Paul, sword in hand, turned away. He would not cut down an unarmed man, +and some strain of chivalry hidden beneath the Spaniard's ambition and +cruelty recognized the boy's nobility. He stepped aside and rebuked +Braxton Wyatt for striking Long Jim. Then he took off his doublet and one +of the men bound up his wound, which was painful but not at all dangerous. +His heart was full of rage and chagrin, but he did not show either. + +"You have done well with the sword," he said to Paul, "I admit it, and I +am in a position to know. But you must surrender it, and come as my +prisoner. Your sword can be no defense against the bullets of my +soldiers." + +Paul yielded his weapon. It would have been folly to resist when the +soldiers stood close by, loaded guns in hand, but he felt, nevertheless, a +deep satisfaction. He had performed a deed of valor, worthy of Shif'less +Sol or Henry, and he proudly took his place by the side of the other +prisoner, Long Jim. The wound in his arm had already stopped bleeding. + +"I didn't know it was in you, Paul," whispered Long Jim, "but I never had +anything in my life do me more good. A lot uv wicked hopes wuz +disapp'inted when you give him that slash in the side, an' then broke his +sword." + +"I did better than I expected," replied Paul briefly, "but the result is +not likely to endear us to Captain Alvarez." + +"Ef I'd been keepin' the right kind uv a watch," said Long Jim, "this +wouldn't have happened. We could a' got 'The Gall-yun' out in the stream +an' away." + +"No, Jim," replied Paul, "it was no fault of yours. Cunning was at work. +They had located us in some manner and they prepared a surprise." + +Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt went on ahead. Paul and Jim followed in the +midst of a strong guard of soldiers. The road led again through corn and +grain fields where cultivation was making a struggle against the +luxuriance of a semi-tropical wilderness, although with small success, as +yet. + +A stooping figure with a hideous, feline face shambled up by the side of +Paul, and purposely struck his elbow against the wound upon his arm. It +was The Cat, but Paul, whose arms had been left unbound, whirled, without +hesitation, and struck the Natchez in the face. + +The Cat staggered but he promptly drew a knife and Paul might have been +slain, but a soldier knocked the knife from the Indian's hand and rebuked +him severely. The soldier was Luiz, a Spaniard of height and strength. He +had fared badly at the hands of the five, but his life had also been saved +by one of them, and he was not ungrateful. He did not mean that these two +prisoners should be treated any worse than the captain ordered. He +compelled The Cat to fall back, and he smiled pleasantly at Paul and Long +Jim. + +"I'll take it that we've got one friend in this crowd," said Long Jim. + +"Yes," said Paul, "and we'll need all we can get. Alvarez seems to have a +big place here, a sort of feudal estate." + +It seemed to Paul that he had come into another world; the difference +between this and Kentucky was so enormous. There, in the little +settlements, every man spoke his mind and the life was all freedom. Here, +fear and suspicion abounded, there were degrees of importance, and Alvarez +was an autocrat who could make or mar as he pleased. It was an atmosphere +heavy to Paul's lungs, and, like Long Jim, he longed for the great forests +of the Ohio River country. Behind the chateau were some low, heavy out +buildings of logs, and Paul and Long Jim were thrust into one of these, +the door being fastened behind them with a huge padlock. Alvarez detailed +Luiz, who seemed to rank a little above his fellows, and three others to +keep watch and then, feeling that he held his prisoners securely, the +commander went into the chateau. But he stopped at the door and ordered +that a gold coin and as much rum as he could drink should be given to The +Cat. + +"It was due to his wonderful instinct and cunning," he said, "that we +captured these fellows and recovered my boat. It was an important +achievement." + +Braxton Wyatt looked with intense interest at the chateau, which was +unlike anything that he had ever seen before. It was a strange compound of +luxury and roughness. The walls were of wood, often ill-hewn, but several +pieces of beautifully-woven tapestry hung upon them. Some of the floors +were entirely bare, others were covered partly by Eastern rugs. Carved and +curved weapons of many lands adorned the walls, and in one room were a +mandolin and guitar. + +Alvarez led the way to an inner court or patio, waving back all except +Braxton Wyatt. The patio was large, with little beds of flowers in the +corners, and a pool of pure, fresh water in the center. The pool was fed +by a little stream that ran from a brook near the chateau, and it was +drained by a similar stream. + +The patio was enclosed by a narrow, interior veranda, and the veranda held +deep cane chairs, one of which Alvarez took, waving Braxton Wyatt to +another. + +The Spanish commander with a great air of relief and luxury leaned back in +his cane chair. He loved the south and the sunshine to which he was born, +and, although bold and hardy, he had little liking for the great, cold +forests of the North. He clapped his hand and a servant brought glasses +and wine. Alvarez filled the glasses himself and handed the first +courteously to Wyatt. + +"Drink," he said, "I am glad that expedition is over. The Governor General +wished me to go, to explore, to make treaties, and to secure our title, +but the wilderness, though interesting, grows monotonous." + +"It is comfortable here," said Braxton Wyatt, stretching himself in the +great cane chair. He was entirely recovered from his own wound and he +appreciated the luxury of the place. + +"Yes, it is indeed grateful to the tired body and limbs. I could feel a +complete sense of rest and victory, if it were not for the sting of the +wound that boy gave me. Who could have thought that I should be defeated +with the sword by a boy from the woods of Kaintock?" + +The Spaniard frowned and narrowed his cruel blue eyes. Braxton Wyatt +murmured some words of sympathy, but in his heart he was not sorry because +of the incident. He thought that Alvarez at times had patronized him too +much, had assumed too lofty an air, and he was willing to see him suffer +mortification. Moreover, he could use the hurt pride of Alvarez as an +additional incitement against the five whom he hated. + +"You told me once," said Alvarez "that the three comrades of the two, the +three whom we have not captured, are much to be dreaded, and we have had +proof of it?" + +"It is so." + +"But what can they do now?" + +"But little," answered the renegade. "It was farther north in the great +wilderness, where they are so much at home, that they could do us harm. +Here within the fringe of the French and Spanish settlements, they will be +hampered too much." + +"Yes, I should think so," said Alvarez thoughtfully. "As you perhaps +surmise, I am going to stay here indefinitely, Wyatt. This place of mine, +Beaulieu, I call it, is at a suitable distance from New Orleans and I am +an absolute monarch while I remain. Here, on the border, I am as a +military commander, practically lord of life and death, and on one excuse +or another I can hold the troops as long as I please." + +"Which seems to me to be very convenient for all our plans," said Braxton +Wyatt. + +The Spaniard smiled, but speedily contracted his brows again. The cut that +Paul had given him was hurting. + +"I should like to punish that boy in some spectacular manner," he said. "I +should want him to be humiliated in the presence of others as I was." + +Suddenly he raised his head, which he had bent in thought, and his lips +curled in laughter under his yellow mustache. + +"I have it!" he exclaimed. "An idea! Since young Kaintock can use the +sword I shall give him a chance to do it again! Oh, I shall give him every +opportunity!" + +Then he leaned over and spoke in lower tones to Braxton Wyatt. The +renegade's eyes lighted up with delight. + +"The very thing!" he exclaimed. "I'd have it done at once!" + +Paul and Long Jim Hart meanwhile were resting in their log prison. Jim's +arms had been unbound and, after rubbing them freely, he said that the +circulation was restored. Then the two turned their attention to their +prison. Paul surmised that it had been built as a tool house or store +house, but at present it was empty save for himself and his comrade, Long +Jim. + +The only light came from two little windows made merely by cutting out a +section of log and quite too small to admit a human body. They tried the +door but it was so strong that they could not shake it. Then Long Jim lay +calmly down on the floor. + +"Paul," he said, "I don't believe I wuz ever fastened up in sech a little +place ez this afore. Ef I stretch out my legs my feet will hit the wall +over thar, an' the place is so close an' hot I don't breathe good." + +"We'll have to stand it for a while," said Paul philosophically. + +"That's so," said Long Jim, "I don't s'pose they mean to murder us ez +we're not at real war with the Spaniards, so I wonder what they mean to +do." + +Paul shook his head. But he understood better than Long Jim the dangers of +their situation. He knew the temper and character of Alvarez, and he knew, +too, that at this distant chateau he was omnipotent. Alvarez was bent on +making war upon the settlers in Kentucky, and nothing would stop him. + +"Henry an' Sol an' Tom are free," said Long Jim. "They'll git us out, +shore." + +They remained a long time undisturbed, and the air in the room was so +close and hot that both became languorous and sleepy. Nor was there any +sound except the droning of some flies overhead and this added to the +heaviness. Paul finally rose and gazed through the little windows, but he +saw only an empty field and the edge of the forest. Save for this glimpse +of green they were completely cut off from the world. He sat down again on +the floor and composed his figure as comfortably as he could. + +"How long do you think we hev been in here, Paul?" asked Long Jim. + +"About four hours." + +"Four hours! why, I thought it wuz four months. Paul, I don't believe I +could stand this more'n a week, no matter ef they fed me upon the finest +things in the land. At the end uv a week I'd turn right over an' die, an' +when they examined me to see the cause uv my death, they'd find that my +heart wuz broke in two, right squar' down the middle." + +"They say that some wild animals die in captivity, and you might call it +of a broken heart." + +"I'm one uv them kind. I like lots uv room. I want it to be clean woods +an' prairie runnin' a thousan' miles from me in every direction. An' I +don't want too many people trampin' 'roun' in them woods either, save +Injuns to keep you lookin' lively, an' mebbe twenty or thirty white men +purty well scattered. I reckon I'd call that my estate, Paul, an' I'd want +it swarmin' with b'ars an' buffaler an' deer, an' all kinds uv big an' +little game. Then I'd want a couple uv good rifles, one to take the place +uv tother when it went bad, an' a couple uv huts p'raps three or four +hundred miles apart to sleep in, when the weather wuz too tarnation bad, +lots uv ammunition an', Paul, I'd be happy on that thar estate uv mine." + +"Aren't you a little bit grasping, Jim?" asked Paul. + +"Me, graspin'," replied Long Jim in a surprise. "What makes you ask sech a +foolish question, Paul? Why, all I ask is to range ez fur an' ez long ez I +like an' not to be bothered by no interlopers. I don't want to crowd +nobody, an' I don't want nobody to crowd me. But, Paul, ef a feller could +do that fur about a thousand years wouldn't it be a life wuth livin'? Just +think uv all the deer hunts an' buffaler hunts an' b'ar hunts you could +hev! An' the long beaver trappin' trips, you could go on? An' the new +rivers an' new mountings you could find! The Injuns has the right idea +about Heaven, Paul. They make it the happy huntin' grounds. Them huntin' +grounds o' theirs run ten million miles in every direction. You couldn't +ever come to any end. No matter how fur you went you'd see oceans uv +green trees ahead uv you, an' on one side uv you prairies covered with +buffaler herds so big that they'd be a week passin' you, an' then they'd +still be passin'." + +Long Jim heaved a deep sigh and was silent for a while. Paul, too, was +silent. At last Long Jim said: + +"I s'pose it don't pay, Paul, to be drawin' sech splendiferous pictures uv +what ain't. Now I've gone an' made myself onhappy, talkin' uv them +glorious huntin' grounds that stretch away without end, when here we are +in this hot box so narrer I can't straighten out my legs. Besides, I'm +gittin' pow'ful hungry. I wonder ef they mean to starve us to death. +Strikes me that's an awful mean way uv killin' a man. He not only dies but +he's so terrible hungry sech a long time." + +But Long Jim's forebodings were not fulfilled. When the light that came +through the little windows began to grow dusky, the door was thrown open +and Luiz and another man entered with food and water. Luiz could not speak +English, but he could make pantomime, and in that dumb but suggestive way +he invited them to partake freely. Long Jim's good humor returned. + +"Don't keer ef I do, Mr. Spaniard," he said jovially. "It's a failin' uv +mine to want to eat whenever I'm hungry, an' since you're invitin', why, +I'll jest accept." + +The door was left open while Luiz and the soldier were inside, but +several other soldiers were on guard at the opening, and there was no +chance for a dash. But fresh air came in, the cooler air of the evening, +and Paul and Long Jim were greatly relieved. Yet Jim Hart cast many a +longing glance at the open door. Outside was the wide world, and his place +was there. Darkness was coming, but darkness would have no terrors for +Long Jim, if only there were no walls about him. + +When hunger and thirst were satisfied, Luiz and his comrade fell back +respectfully. A tall figure, followed by a man bearing a torch, entered +the doorway. + +The man was Francisco Alvarez, but neither Paul nor Long Jim rose, Paul +because he disliked the Spaniard and considered him a bitter enemy of his +people, Long Jim because he saw no reason why he should rise for anybody. + +Alvarez looked down at them and the sight of the two caused him a mixture +of anger and triumph. His wound still stung, but at the bottom of his +heart was a feeling that he had deserved it. In the presence of his own +retainers, and with all the circumstances in his favor, he had sought to +humiliate a boy. But this faint feeling was not enough to induce +corresponding action. He was also something of a statesman, and he saw the +power behind these two who had come out of the woods. They were foresters, +they wore the tanned skin of the deer, but they belonged to the soil; they +were natives, while he, in all his brilliant uniform and gold lace, was a +foreigner, merely the long, extended arm of a power four thousand miles +away. The two were but a vanguard, others would come and yet others in a +volume, always increasing. The only possibility of saving Louisiana was to +cut off the stream at the fountain head, while it was yet a thin and +trickling rill, and he, Francisco Alvarez, was the man for the deed. + +It was because such thoughts as these were passing through his head that +he did not speak for at least a minute, but stood steadily regarding Paul +and Long Jim. He knew instinctively that it was Paul to whom he must +speak, the boy with the thoughtful, dreamy eye, who, like himself, would +gaze far into the future. + +"Where are your comrades?" he asked, "the other three who helped you to +steal my boat?" + +"Captured it, you mean," replied Paul, calmly. "So long as you use the +words 'steal' and 'thief,' you can talk to the air. I've nothing to say." + +"Nor me either, Paul," said Long Jim, "I can't remember another time in my +life when I felt so little like talkin'." + +Long Jim leaned his head against the wall and half closed his eyes. His +manner expressed the utmost indifference. Alvarez frowned, but he +remembered that they were wholly in his power and he had plans. + +"I'll change the words," he said, "but I repeat the question. Where are +your comrades?" + +"I don't know," replied Paul, and feeling a sudden happy thrill of +defiance he added: "They are probably somewhere arranging the details of +our rescue." + +Alvarez frowned again. + +"That is impossible," he said. "Perhaps you do not know your position. You +are not at New Orleans. Here I am both the civil and military chief and +this is my own place. I can put you to death as brigands or guerillas, +caught red-handed upon Spanish soil." + +"Both charges, you know, are false," said Paul, "you know, too, that we +have come to defeat, if we can, a conspiracy between you and Braxton +Wyatt, a renegade whose life is doubly forfeit to his people. He carries +plans, maps, and full information of our settlements in Kentucky, and he +expects that you will go with many soldiers and cannon to help him and the +tribes destroy us. What plans you and he have beyond this I do not know, +but these, my friends and I hope to defeat, and we feel we could not be +engaged in a greater or holier task." + +Paul spoke with great fire and eloquence. His soul was revealed in his +eyes, and Alvarez felt that he was in touch with a mind of no common +order. + +"Imagination!" said the Spaniard trying to laugh the impression away. "I +find in Senor Wyatt a pleasant and intelligent assistant. He understands +the rights of the King of Spain in these vast regions, and has a due +regard for them. You and your comrades are outlaws, subject to the penalty +of death and I hold you in my hand. Yet I am disposed to be generous. +Give me your oath that you and your comrade here and the three in the +woods will go back to Kaintock at once and remain there, and I will +release you." + +Paul regarded him steadily. Bold man as he was, the Spaniard's eyes fell +at last. + +"We can give no such promise," said Paul. "I think that the reasons why we +should go on to New Orleans are exceedingly strong." + +"Ez fur me," said Long Jim, "I ain't ever been fond uv goin' back on my +own tracks until I git good an' ready." + +"I merely came here to give you a chance," said Alvarez, still addressing +himself to Paul. "Do you think that a few woodsmen can stand in the path +of Spain? Do you think that a great ancient monarchy can be held back by +stray settlers?" + +"You seem to be afraid of it yourself," said Paul who was regarding him +closely. + +A flush, despite himself, came into the Spaniard's cheeks, and it was +partly of anger because a boy had read his mind so well. It was not a +thing to be endured. + +"I repeat that I came merely to give you a chance," he said. "Whatever you +may suffer you can now bear in mind that you are the cause of it. Come, +Luiz, I have wasted too much time." + +He walked out followed by the soldier, but Francisco Alvarez had known +before entering the prison that his offer would be declined. He merely +wished to clear away any light burden that might rest on his conscience, +before proceeding with another plan that he had in mind. + +Paul and Jim did not say a word until the door was fastened and they were +left to the darkness. Then it was Jim who unburdened himself. + +"Paul," he said, "did you ever see a panther gittin' ready to jump? Notice +how his eyes turn a yellery-green, 'cause he thinks he's goin' to git what +he wants right away? Notice how his mouth is slobberin' 'cause he thinks +he's goin' to hev his dinner on the spot. Notice how his body is drawed +up, an' his tail is slowly movin' side to side, 'cause he thinks he's +goin' to sink his claws in tender flesh the next second! Wa'al that +panther makes me think uv this here Spaniard, Alvarez. I think we kin look +fur jest about ez much kindness an' gentlin' from him ez a fawn could +expect from a hungry panther." + +"You are certainly right, Jim," said Paul. + +"Uv course! Ef I didn't know thar wuz so many soldiers about, I'd send a +whoop through one uv them little winders thar, an' bring Henry, Tom, an' +Sol here to let us out." + +"As we can't do that, Jim," said Paul, "I think I'll go to sleep." + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A BARBARIC ORDEAL + + +When Paul awoke the next morning just after daylight, he did not feel very +good. Accustomed all his life to fresh air and infinite spaces, the close, +hot little log house oppressed him. His head felt heavy and his lungs +choked. Jim felt likewise and made audible complaint, but the door was +soon opened, and again it was Luiz and a comrade with food. + +"Luiz, you ain't no beauty an' you can't talk a real decent language," +said Long Jim, "but I'm pow'ful glad to see you." + +The words were foreign to Luiz, but he understood Long Jim's tone. He +smiled and showed his white teeth, but when his glance fell upon Paul he +became sad. Then he looked quickly away. He did not wish either Paul or +his comrade to read anything in that glance. Luiz did not have a bad heart +and he was troubled. + +When they had eaten their breakfast, Luiz put his hand on Paul's shoulder, +and pointed to the door, beckoning also to Long Jim. His manner indicated +plainly that they were to leave the prison. + +"All right, pardner," said Long Jim. "You won't have to git no pole to +pry me out uv this place." + +Luiz led the way and the two followed gladly. The air was crisper and +fresher than usual, and to both of them it felt divine. They inhaled deep +breaths, and thought that the world had never looked so beautiful. What a +golden sunrise! What a blue sky! What magnificent green woods off there +under the horizon! They felt strength and courage rushing back in a flood. + +"Which way now, Mr. Spaniard?" said Long Jim. "Has your captain repented, +an' does he want to give us the finest rooms in his house? I can't say +that we liked the tavern he made us stop at last night." + +Luiz shook his head, either to signify that he did not understand or that +there was no reply, and led the way down a narrow path shut in on either +side with magnolias and cypresses. The little group of soldiers enclosed +Paul and Long Jim, but all their glances were for the boy, none for the +man. + +The enclosed path led on for two or three hundred yards. Paul now and then +caught glimpses through the trees of the chateau or a passing face, and he +heard a low murmur that seemed to be the hum of many voices. + +The path ended presently at a gate in a high board wall, and both gate and +wall were thick and strong Here a Spaniard dressed like a minor officer +was waiting, and began to unlock the gate. + +"Now what under the sun can they be about?" asked Long Jim, to whom all +this seemed very strange. "Are they goin' to tie us up in a pen?" + +The heavy gate was unlocked and swung open a foot or so. Two soldiers +suddenly seized Long Jim and pulled him back, while another thrust Paul +into the open space. The officer put in his hand a sword--the very one +with which he had wounded Alvarez, Paul's fingers closing mechanically +over the hilt. Then they shoved Paul inside, and quickly closed and locked +the gate behind him. But the last look that Luiz had bent upon the boy was +one of pity and sympathy. + +Paul staggered with the force of the push that the men had given him, and +for a moment or two he was dazed, but eye and brain alike cleared as a +great shout arose. Then he beheld an extraordinary scene. + +The boy stood within a ring fence enclosing a circular space perhaps +thirty yards across, free from grass, and trodden hard. The fence was of +boards only about half way around, the rest of it being made of strong +parallel bars about two feet apart and fastened to posts. At the far side +a rude log stable seemed to open into it. The place might have been +intended as a breaking ground for horses but Paul did not have time to +think. + +Facing him just outside the fence and sitting on a hastily constructed +wooden seat was Francisco Alvarez, still in his finest uniform. Beside him +was Braxton Wyatt, also in a Spanish uniform, and all about them on either +side, wherever the fence was made of parallel bars and open to see, +clustered the mob, soldiers, laborers, servants, white faces, black faces, +yellow faces, brown faces, straight hair, curly hair, and kinky hair, +French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Indians, negroes, and many mixtures, every +one eager and tense, and every eye bent upon Paul who stood, back to the +gate, holding the sword in his hand, but unconscious that he held it. + +What was this mummery? Why was he a spectacle for that mob? All the blood +rushed to Paul's head and the little pulses in his temples began to beat +like hammers. He looked at Alvarez, but the Spaniard had turned his face +into a stony mask, and he could read no meaning there. Then he looked at +Braxton Wyatt, and the renegade's countenance plainly expressed malignity +and triumph. + +The great shout that greeted the entrance of Paul died away to a silence +so heavy that it seemed ominous. Then Francisco Alvarez looked toward the +wooden building, at the far side of the ring, and raised his hand. A gate +there was thrown open, and a man, sword in hand, strolled lazily out. +Again a tremendous shout arose, and the mob pressed closer to the bars, +those in front sitting on the grass and those behind standing up in order +that they might look over them. + +Francisco Alvarez raised his hand a second time, and instantly there was +silence once more. He was like a feudal lord dispensing justice in the +open air before all his retainers. + +"Kaintock," he called in a loud voice, "since you are so expert with the +sword, we give you another chance to display your skill. Defend yourself +from this champion." + +Again the approving shout of the mob arose, and Paul looked across the +ring, where the swordsman had come forth. + +The man was of great size, and his whole appearance reminded Paul of the +ancient gladiators of whom he had read. He seemed to be a West Indian of +Spanish descent, very dark and with immense shoulders. He wore a red +shirt, which added to his strange and savage appearance. He carried in his +hand a long sword, much longer than Paul's and when he faced the lad he +suddenly grasped the hilt of his weapon in both hands and twirled it about +until it made a glittering circle. The crowd set up a shout, but Paul felt +chilled through and through. + +"I have no quarrel with this man," he called to Alvarez, "and I will not +fight him." + +"You have no choice," replied Alvarez, and the more savage in the crowd, +who wished to see barbaric sport, shouted their approval. But some were +silent. Long Jim struggled with four men, and exclaimed, "It's murder! +He's only a boy!" But the four held him fast. + +The swordsman, grinning in the certainty of easy triumph, advanced upon +Paul. + +Now Paul understood. He was there to furnish sport, terrible, deadly +sport, and he must fight if he would save himself. As Alvarez truly said, +no choice was left to him. If he sprang for the barrier they would thrust +him back, and that was not a thing to be endured. + +Francisco Alvarez, spurred on by the sting of his wound, and urged, too, +by Braxton Wyatt, who was mad for the deed the moment he heard of it, had +done this wicked thing. The strain of cruelty in his nature, inherited +perhaps, from far-off ancestors who had looked upon pitiless games in the +arena in the Roman cities in Spain, was completely in control. + +"It is better than I thought," he said to Braxton Wyatt. "The ring serves +the purpose well. We shall have some royal sport if Kaintock will but +fight." + +"He will fight," said Braxton Wyatt. + +The swordsman advanced upon Paul and thrust with his shining blade. Paul +felt intuitively that he was a master of the weapon, reinforced, too, by +enormous strength. He, a boy, would have but little chance. Yet he parried +the thrust and replied with one of his own that flashed dangerously near +the man's side. The crowd again shouted approval, but as before some were +silent. Long Jim made another effort to drag himself loose, but he could +not. The men held him. Nevertheless, he repeated his cry: "It's murder! +He's only a boy!" + +The rapid interchange of thrust and parry followed, and the swordsman grew +angry. He was there not only to furnish sport, but to have it also for +himself. He did not like to be held back by one over whom he had thought +victory so easy. Suddenly he exerted his full strength and broke through +Paul's guard. The lad felt his left shoulder and arm seared as if by a +great flame, and, with a cry that he could not repress, he dropped back. + +The swordsman, too, stepped back, sure now of his triumph. The shout came +from the crowd once more, but only from a part of it, and brave, faithful +Long Jim closed his eyes that he might not see what would follow. + +The elated swordsman held up his weapon as one would a banner. It was a +broad blade like a cutlass and it glittered in the brilliant sunlight. The +next moment there was the sound of a shot, the man uttered a cry of pain, +although himself untouched, and the sword, broken in several pieces, fell +to the ground. It had been shot from his hand with a rifle bullet. + +Long Jim, opening his eyes, uttered a cry of joy and Henry Ware, smoking +rifle in hand, pressed his way through the crowd, which he had entered +unnoticed in the excitement. + +Francisco Alvarez sprang to his feet in anger. Not for some moments did he +see the figure of the one who fired the shot, and even then he did not +know who it was. But Braxton Wyatt knew Henry Ware at once, and he was +resolved that he should not escape. + +"Seize him! seize him!" cried the renegade. "He is the most dangerous of +them all!" + +But Henry offered no resistance, as the soldiers rushed toward him, +quietly surrendering his rifle. Tom Ross, who was behind him, angrily +threw back the crowd and would have fought, but Henry said: "Give up, +Tom, it's best for the present." + +Henry's eyes were upon his comrade who had been subjected to such +treatment. Paul stood erect, but there were stains on his shoulder, and he +was pale and weak. + +"Look to him," said Henry threateningly to Francisco Alvarez who was +approaching. "It is an outrage of which the Governor General of Louisiana +shall know." + +Alvarez flushed. He felt now slight prickings of the conscience and of +apprehension. It was indeed a wicked deed that he had done, but he had no +mind to be bearded by another from Kaintock. + +"He will receive the proper attention," he said, "but you are my prisoner, +and so is this man who has just been taken with you. I tell you, too, that +I am in supreme command here, and I take the responsibility for all my +acts." + +Braxton Wyatt had crowded near, but Henry and Tom refused to notice him. +Luiz went into the ring and led Paul away, binding up his shoulder where +the flesh was cut, although the hurt was not serious. "Take their arms and +put them all in the same prison," said Alvarez to one of his officers and +the four were escorted to the log house which Paul and Long Jim had left +not long before. + +"Our plan has been marked by some success after all," said Alvarez to +Braxton Wyatt. "It has drawn two more into our hands." + +"There is a fifth," said Braxton Wyatt. "The one they call Shif'less Sol, +and we have not got him. As long as a single one of them is free we are in +danger." + +The Spaniard laughed. + +"You exaggerate their powers," he said. "We have nothing to fear from one +wandering hunter." + +"But this man, Shif'less Sol, is full of cunning," said Braxton Wyatt. + +The Spaniard's only reply was to hold his head a little higher. It was his +plan now to assume his haughtiest manner. The little fear that he had done +wrong, that his act in forcing Paul into the ring against a professional +swordsman, a gladiator as it were, was mediaeval, and that harm might come +to him from it, clung to him. But pride bade him never to show it. + +As he and Braxton Wyatt went into the Chateau of Beaulieu, the doors of +the log prison closed upon the four comrades. Paul, under the care of +Luiz, reached it first but the others were just behind. Paul sat on the +floor and leaned against the wall. The others bent tenderly over him. But +Paul looked up at them and smiled. + +"It isn't much," he said. "The sword only grazed me. My clothing saved me +from a bad cut. But I wish you boys, whatever happens, would remember that +Spaniard, Luiz. He's been kind to me." + +"We'll do it," said Henry. "I don't know what will come of all this, Paul, +but I feel sure that we'll succeed." + +"Of course," said Paul, "but you came just in time, and that was a great +shot of yours." + +"We were in the woods," said Henry, "and we saw the crowd gathering. We +knew some mischief was afoot, and they were so eager on it that we came up +unnoticed. I wanted Tom to stay back, but he was afraid he would be +needed." + +"And Shif'less Sol?" said Paul. "Where is he?" + +Henry laughed. + +"The shiftless one is about the shiftiest man in the wilderness," he +replied. "Do you suppose that he would ever walk into a trap, when there +was nothing inside the trap worth the risk? Didn't he know that Tom and I +were sufficient for any task that might be ahead of us this morning?" + +Paul laughed, too, and the others were glad to see the color coming back +into his face. + +"Good old Sol," he said, "I'm glad he didn't come too. He's somewhere out +there in the woods, and he's the one link between us and Kentucky. We'll +be sure to hear from him." + +They talked of their plans, but for the time, they could see no way. +Shif'less Sol might go on alone to New Orleans, but it needed the presence +of the five to be convincing. + +"He wouldn't go anyhow," said Paul. "Sol would never leave us here." + +Luiz brought them food and water at noon, and then they were left again to +themselves. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE SPANIARD'S OFFER + + +The afternoon passed without incident in the log prison save another and +very welcome visit from Luiz, who brought water and some cloth bandages to +be used on Paul's shoulder. Henry and Long Jim, familiar with hurts, +dressed it carefully and skillfully. Paul's healthy blood would quickly do +the rest. + +"It will be stiff a little for three or four days," said Henry, "but +you'll forget in a week that you ever had it." + +Then he turned to Luiz. + +"We'd like to thank you," he said, "I know you don't understand our words, +but maybe you take our meaning." + +Luiz nodded violently, smiled at the boy, and then held out his hand in +quite an American fashion. His face expressed not only understanding but +gratitude as well. Henry, of the acute eye and retentive mind, took a +second look. Then he remembered. + +"The man whom the buffalo was about to gore and run over!" he exclaimed. +"Well, I am glad I was there to help you, and it seems that a lucky chance +has made us a friend." + +He took the proffered hand and shook it heartily. When Luiz had gone he +explained to the others. + +"He is surely a friend," he said, "and we have certainly had a piece of +good fortune." + +But Long Jim instantly demurred. + +"Henry," he said, "you're a smart fellow, but you're talkin' real foolish. +It wuz your good heart that done it. Ef it hadn't told you to help him +when that mad bull wuz about to run over him an' gore him an' trample him +clean out uv sight in the earth, he wouldn't a-been here now, grinnin' at +you an' with the gratitude oozin' out uv him all over." + +Just before the sunset the door was opened again and Braxton Wyatt thrust +in his hateful face. Behind him stood four Spanish soldiers. + +"I hope you are enjoying yourselves," he said with irony. + +"We'd rather be here, as we are, than be in your place, having done what +you have done," exclaimed Paul passionately. + +Wyatt paled a little, but instantly recovered himself. + +"A bear can growl a lot when it's in a trap but growling doesn't help it +out," he said airily. + +"We kin do more than growl. We've got sharp teeth, too, ez you ought to +know," said Tom Ross, the man of few words. + +"I'll admit that you have had some successes in the past," said Wyatt, +smiling maliciously, "but your time is done. We are the victors, and +you'll never get out of this." + +The four as if by common consent turned their backs upon him and did not +utter another word. The renegade understood the contempt expressed by +those four silent backs, and the willful flush broke through the tan of +his face. He had never hated them more bitterly. + +"Come you, Henry Ware," he said roughly, "Captain Alvarez wishes to ask +you some questions." + +"I wouldn't go, Henry," said Long Jim. "I wouldn't hev a word to say to +that Spaniard or to this white Injun either." + +"He will go, whether willingly or unwillingly," said Braxton Wyatt. "I've +men enough here to drag him." + +"I will go willingly, Jim," said Henry addressing himself to his comrade +rather than to the renegade. "It cannot do any harm, and it may help." + +"Yes, it is wiser," said Paul. + +"So long, boys," said Henry. "I'll be back pretty soon." + +He stepped out, calmly ignoring the existence of Braxton Wyatt, and placed +himself in the center of the little group of soldiers. His manner +indicated clearly that he would make no attempt to escape, and, armed +though the four soldiers were, and unarmed though their captive was, they +breathed four simultaneous sighs of relief. Henry Ware, boy though he was, +with his great height and powerful shoulders, chest, and limbs, was a +truly formidable figure. + +Braxton Wyatt turned the key noisily in the huge padlock that held the +door. + +"There," he said, "I think we've got that cattle securely fastened in the +pen!" + +Henry knew that the insulting words were intended for his ear, but he gave +no sign of hearing them. He stood expressionless, awaiting the word to the +soldiers to march. Braxton Wyatt quickly gave it. He was angrier than +ever, because he could not stir Henry Ware, whom he hated most of all, to +open anger. + +The march led straight to the Chateau of Beaulieu, across well-trimmed +sward, and Henry's alert eye took in everything, the pretentious house, so +unlike anything erected by his own people in Kentucky, the low +outbuildings, and the occasional gleam of a uniform. + +But Henry did not observe at this moment with any eye to the escape of +himself and his comrades. His condition of mind was spiritual and he felt +a satisfaction for which he could not have accounted if he had tried. He +felt sure that his friends and he would escape. He did not doubt it even +now, when only one of the five was free in the woods out there. The spring +sun was setting in great clouds of red and gold fire, a pleasant coolness +was coming over the heated landscape, and every building, fence, and tree +was touched by a soft but vivid light. + +Braxton led the way into the house and into a great room, where Francisco +Alvarez sat in a high chair, keeping state like a feudal lord. He waved +his hand and the soldiers withdrew. Then he said to Braxton Wyatt: + +"I wish to speak alone, absolutely alone, to Senor Ware, and I must ask +you to leave us for a little while." + +Braxton turned on his heel, his anger but half concealed, and the Spaniard +smiled to himself, Francisco Alvarez was a wily man, a reader of the minds +of others, and he did not object to the present displeasure of Wyatt. + +But he said nothing until the renegade was gone. Henry, meanwhile, had +quietly taken his seat in a cane chair. He was not of any mind to stand in +the presence of this man who bore himself as if he were master of +everything by right divine. + +Francisco Alvarez observed the act and understood its meaning. He smiled +again to himself. He had not misjudged the youth, and it confirmed him in +the plan that had come suddenly into his cunning mind. + +"Senor Ware," he said, veiling his voice and speaking with a velvety +courtesy that was unusual in him, "I have brought you here to tell you +first that I repent my act to-day, by which I placed your comrade's life +in seeming danger. I was hasty, but I had been goaded greatly, and it may +be, too, that I was influenced by the sinister advice of one who hates you +and your friends in a manner almost beyond belief. Besides, the swordsman +had orders not to slay." + +Henry Ware looked at him in great surprise. Five minutes ago he would not +have dreamed it possible that he could hear such a speech in such a tone +from Francisco Alvarez. He waited to see what it meant. Alvarez regarded +him in a sort of kindly contemplation, as a man would look upon a youth +for whom he had benevolent plans. + +"We have been enemies so far," he resumed in his winning tone, "you and +your comrades against myself and my people. But I have learned one thing, +and I am confirmed in it by the opinion of others; boy as you are, you are +the strongest and most dangerous of the five who oppose me; you are the +leader." + +The words, although true, were those of compliment and flattery, and Henry +felt the touch of poison in the silky tone. He stiffened himself slightly +as if he would resist a danger, unknown as yet, but all the more to be +dreaded on that account. He still remained silent. + +"Yes, you are the strongest and the one most to be feared," continued +Alvarez musingly, "I am not saying it to flatter you, but because it is a +matter that I have weighed well for reasons pertaining to statecraft. +There sentiment or personal liking cannot count. I have plans, large +plans, in regard to this country. I suppose that every ambitious man who +comes here has them. How can he help it when he sees so vast and fertile a +land inhabited only by savages? My plan, I believe, is right, in +accordance with probability and justice. You, Senor Ware, are a +representative of a race that has crossed the mountains into a new +region. You have there, in Kaintock, thin and feeble settlements that must +soon be crushed." + +Henry spoke for the first time, but he showed no excitement, although his +heart had begun to beat faster. + +"I think you are wrong, Captain Alvarez," he said. "The settlements in +Kentucky have already driven back some formidable forays, and they grow +stronger every day." + +"Forays of savages only. What could they do if a force of white men, a +powerful force, armed with cannon came?" + +"But will they come?" asked Henry pointedly. + +"Ah, I see you are clever," said Alvarez, still smiling. "You and the +other youth, Cotter, are educated, and you must realize the truth of what +I say. Yes, that force will come. Your Eastern colonies are about to be +defeated by the King of England. You are rebels, and there is no place for +defeated rebels but the depths of the wilderness. Spain has been +coquetting with these colonies, but she will come back to the side of the +English monarchy where she belongs. The monarchies must stand together +against all rebels." + +"How do you know that Spain will help England to fight us?" asked Henry. + +Alvarez smiled once more, but the smile now, instead of being merely +winning, was superior. + +"It is a long distance from here to Europe," he replied, "but news may +come even into the depths of the woods. I have many friends in Spain, +friends near the court, who inform me whenever the wind changes." + +Henry did not like that superior smile. It was a mistake of Francisco +Alvarez, a mistake that many strong men make, to assume a patronizing +manner even for a moment in the presence of another who was also strong. +Henry's intuition at once put him on guard at all points. + +"I have heard," he said, "that Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish Governor +General at New Orleans, is no friend of the British power. But why do you +discuss these things with me or tell me of them?" + +"It is because I have considered you and recognize your worth," replied +Alvarez slowly. "Why rush on to destruction with the foolish rebels? No, +do not speak! Pay good heed to what I say. There is more passing on this +continent than you think. Great events are about to occur. I do not speak +merely of the war between the rebels--or, if you prefer it, the +Americans--and the English, but of another change. + +"Spain is seated at New Orleans near the mouth of the Mississippi, which +flows through a larger area of fertile and temperate country than any +other river in the world. The waters of hundreds of navigable streams +converge there, and it must become the rival of London and Paris. What can +Quebec, Boston, New York, or Charleston be to New Orleans? Can Spain give +up such a site and such a vast and fertile territory as Louisiana? Never! +And here is the greatest opportunity in the world for strong men! Come +with me! Bring your friends with you! We need such as you! I offer you a +career that could not even enter your dreams in the woods of Kaintock!" + +A deep, red flush overspread Henry's face. + +"Do you think that we could fight against our own people," he exclaimed. +"Do you think that we are made of such stuff as that miserable renegade, +Braxton Wyatt?" + +Alvarez did not flinch. His words had been delivered with extraordinary +emphasis, and they carried the ring of his own conviction. His great plan +possessed him, and he saw before him an instrument of which he could make +good use. + +"I do not ask you to go against your own people," he replied. "Remain in +Louisiana. Great work can be found here for you and your friends. And +where Kaintock is concerned another way could be made. It is far from the +Eastern colonies, divided by mountains, the forest, and Indians. Where +could they find a better friend to whom to turn than the King of Spain? +And they will surely need a powerful friend!" + +Henry gazed at him in amazement, and yet he felt a certain respect for the +scope and largeness of the man's plan, repellent though the plan was to +him. He saw that Alvarez was not an ordinary man, that he was one with +whom the people for whom he cared would have to reckon. But he was not +afraid, nor was he tempted for a moment by the promise of a glittering +future that Alvarez held out to him. He felt an immense indignation, but +he was still master of himself, and he replied quietly. + +"I could not leave my own people, nor would any of my comrades. The air of +Louisiana does not suit us. We are accustomed to a colder climate. We +feel, too, that Kaintock can take care of herself. Nor is it sure that the +Eastern colonies will be crushed by the King. But, should they be, +Kentucky would never desert them to join Spain." + +Alvarez frowned, and his temper began to rise. Henry was showing more +finesse and more knowledge of the world and its events than he had thought +possible in one just come out of the woods. + +"By entering my service, by becoming a lieutenant of mine, you have all to +gain and nothing to lose," he said, resuming his customary tone of +superiority. + +Henry instantly felt the change of manner and resented it. + +"I could not dream of accepting such an offer," he said, "but, if I +should, I'd merely take the place that you've already given to Braxton +Wyatt, a renegade. He thinks it is his, and you have made him think it is +his. If you do not keep faith with him how could I believe that you would +keep faith with me?" + +The dark blood of anger flushed the Spaniard's face. He half rose from his +seat and then sat down again. + +"I have made you an offer," he said, "one that any youth or young man +should be proud to accept, and you insult me by saying that you doubt my +faith. You are a child, a backwoodsman, and an ignorant fellow!" + +"I am not ignorant about some things of importance," replied Henry calmly, +"but, if I were low enough to be tempted by your offer, I should still be +wise enough to know that a man who plots against his own superior officer +could not be trusted by me." "What do you mean?" asked Alvarez, paling for +a moment. + +"Is it not true that by fair or foul means you expect shortly to succeed +Bernardo Galvez as Governor General of Louisiana?" + +The Spaniard's hand flew to his sword hilt. Such things as these were not +to be known by everybody. But Henry met his gaze steadily, and the hand +fell away from the sword-hilt. He had gone too far already. He was sorry +that he had turned the professional swordsman loose on Paul--it had been +an unwise deed--and another act of violence in a single day was unworthy a +man of his self-control. No, a new and better plan came suddenly into his +mind. + +The two sat for a few moments gazing steadily at each other. Alvarez was +in the higher chair, and that gave him the physical advantage, but the +look of the fearless youth was like the sharp sword that cuts scornfully +through the maze and web of intrigue and trickery. Alvarez was forced to +turn his gaze aside, and his soul was full of tumult and anger because he +had to yield. The new plan that he had conceived in regard to this daring +boy now seemed a peculiarly happy thought. Henry's pride and spirit must +be broken, and he, Francisco Alvarez, was the man for the task. + +He clapped his hands and a soldier entered. He sent a message by him and +several more came, accompanied by Braxton Wyatt. Alvarez motioned Wyatt to +a seat. + +"Senor Wyatt," he said in his slow, precise English, "I have been having a +talk with your friend, your former friend here, and I find him to be as +unworthy as you have described him to be. I offered only kindness to +himself and his friends. I chose to believe that they had been merely +foolish, misled by ignorance, but his reply has been only to insult me and +to blacken you." + +The renegade did not seek to conceal the joy that shone in his eyes. He +had been in fear when he was sent out of the hall, in fear lest Alvarez +had some plan by which he would suffer, and now it was obvious that +nothing had been changed. + +"It is his character," said Wyatt. "He is vicious and the truth has never +been in him." + +Henry did not know what all this talk meant, but he refused to notice +Braxton Wyatt. His manner indicated that the renegade had ceased to exist, +and it made Wyatt furious. + +"You tell the truth," continued Alvarez, "but he is dangerous, too, as you +told me, a strong, wily fellow, and I shall not take any chances on his +escape. See, I am providing against it." + +A soldier entered, bearing balls and chain, and Alvarez pointed to Henry. +The youth sprang to his feet. He knew that this was intended as an +indignity, and his mind rebelled. + +"Put them on him," said Alvarez, and the soldiers approached. Henry hurled +the first back and then the second, but the others were about to fling +themselves upon him in a heap, when a voice from the door cried: + +"Stop!" + +It was not a loud voice, but one full of dignity and command, and the +soldiers instantly fell back. + +A tall man, robed in black, and with a thin face, smoothly shaven and +austere, stood in the doorway. The eyes, usually benevolent and kindly, +sparkled with indignation, and one hand was uplifted in rebuke. + +"Father Montigny!" said Henry, under his breath. + +"Who says 'stop!' here, where I command?" Alvarez exclaimed, and then he +paled at sight of the priest. The Spaniard was a bold man, but he wished +no conflict with Holy Church. + +"I said 'stop,'" replied the priest with calm dignity, advancing into the +room. "Francisco Alvarez, you were about to perform a deed unworthy of +yourself, one that you would have cause to regret. There is no war between +Louisiana and Kaintock. What right have you to put this youth in chains?" + +He took a step further, and the rebuking hand was still uplifted. The +soldiers shrank back and more than one crossed himself. Yet they were +relieved, as Father Montigny had interfered with a task that they did not +like. + +"I have the utmost respect for Holy Church," replied Alvarez, though it +cost him an effort to utter the words, "but I am in command here and all +military affairs fall under my jurisdiction. This young man is a dangerous +spy and plotter from Kaintock, one who has used force against us. He and +his comrades seized one of our boats and that was an act of war." + +"He is a good youth," said Father Montigny. "He and his comrades did me a +great service. I know that his motives are good, and I will not see him +treated in such barbarous fashion." + +The face of Alvarez darkened. This was more than he could stand. + +"I am the judge in these matters," he replied, "and I tell you, Father +Montigny, that you must not interfere. Your order, the Capuchins, are in +power now at New Orleans, as I know, but the Jesuits may come back. I +should favor their returning." + +"It is not a question of Capuchin or Jesuit," replied Father Montigny +sternly, "and you, Francisco Alvarez, should know it. It is a question of +you and what you are doing here. You need not make any threats against me. +I care for none of them, but Bernardo Galvez, the Governor General at New +Orleans, shall know of what is passing at Beaulieu." + +The face of Alvarez contracted into a terrible frown. Nevertheless he +feared the unarmed priest. He was helpless against him and he feared, +too, that if he persisted Father Montigny would quickly learn of other and +deeper matters. He broke into a short and by no means hearty laugh. + +"Perhaps I was going rather far," he said, "but this youth has provoked me +beyond endurance. Take away those things, Gaspar." + +The Spaniard whom he indicated took the irons, and Henry sat down again in +his chair. The threatened ignominy had stung him deeply and he said under +his breath: "I thank you, Father Montigny." Then Alvarez ordered Henry to +be taken away, also. + +Henry arose without resistance, and walked from the hall with the +soldiers. As he passed, Father Montigny put his hand on his shoulder and +said: "I am your friend, my son." + +Henry said nothing but gave him a look of deep gratitude as he walked +proudly out. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE SHADOW IN THE FOREST + + +Luiz and his comrades escorted Henry back to the prison, and the +expressive face of Luiz showed pleasure. He made a vigorous pantomime and +spoke words in Spanish. + +"Yes, I understand your meaning if not your language, my friend," said +Henry, "and I thank you. I am glad to know that I have your good will." + +When the door of his prison was thrown open and Henry was then shut in +again with his comrades they looked at him expectantly. + +"Well?" said Paul. + +"What happened?" said Long Jim. + +"Anything to tell?" said Tom Ross. + +"How's your shoulder, Paul?" asked Henry. + +"Fast getting well," replied Paul, who knew that his comrade would speak +in his own good time. + +Henry sat on the floor and leaned against the wall in as comfortable a +position as he could assume. Then he looked rather humorously at his +comrades. + +"Alvarez wanted to bribe me," he said. + +"To bribe you? What do you mean?" + +"Yes, to bribe me--and all of us together. He wanted us to serve him here +in Louisiana, and help him in an attempt to bring over Kentucky to Spain." + +"That is, he wanted to make Braxton Wyatts out of us?" said Paul. + +"You put it exactly right, Paul," said Henry, "I laughed at him, and +called him by the names that belonged to him. He brought in Braxton Wyatt +and the soldiers and ordered me to be put in irons, there in his +presence." + +"What!" exclaimed Paul, "did he dare that, too?" + +"Yes. His object, of course, was to humiliate me--and all of us. It was +stopped by one who came in at the right moment. You couldn't guess who it +was." + +"It must a-been Shif'less Sol," said Long Jim, whose mind ran to physical +deeds. "I guess he sent a bullet right into the middle uv that rascal +crew. Sol's the boy to be right on the spot when he's needed." + +Henry laughed. + +"No, Jim," he said. "That's a pretty wild guess. It was none other than +Father Montigny, the man whom we helped. He paid us back sooner than we +thought. You ought to have seen him, Paul. He looked like an avenging +angel. He stood there, a single, unarmed man, and they were afraid of him. +I could see fear on every one of their faces." + +Paul's vivid imagination instantly painted the whole scene. It appealed to +him with tremendous power. It was the triumph of mind and character over +force and wickedness. + +"I can see Father Montigny now," he said. "A man who always does right and +has no fear whatever of death, is afraid of nothing, either in this world +or the world to come." + +"Which gives him a pow'ful sight uv freedom," said Long Jim. + +"When he told them to stop they took away their balls and chain," said +Henry, "and sent me back here. Alvarez realized that he had gone too far, +but I think that he fears Father Montigny for other reasons, too. The +priest may put the Governor General on his guard." + +"So we ain't alone," said Long Jim musingly. "Curious how you git help +when you ain't expectin' it. The wicked hev it their way fur a while, an' +then they don't. They don't ever seem able to finish up their work. +Sometimes I think the right is jest like a river flowin' on in its nateral +channel, an' boun' to git to the sea after a while, no matter what +happens. The wrong is all them dams, an' san' bars an' snags, and brush +an' drift-wood that people an' chance pile up in the way. They do choke up +the waters, an' send 'em around in other channels, an' make a heap uv +trouble, but by and by them waters git to the sea jest the same." + +"I hope so, Jim," said Paul. + +"Now thar ain't no doubt uv what I say," said Long Jim. "Take this case uv +ourn. Jest when we need it most fur a thousand miles uv river travel we +git a bee-yu-ti-ful boat, all fitted up with everything we want. Jest when +that Spaniard gits his paws on us, he don't git his paws on one uv us, an' +that's Shif'less Sol out thar in the woods. An' so long ez Shif'less Sol +is free out thar in the woods we're mighty nigh free ourselves. Then, when +this same Spaniard is ready to load irons on Henry in a way that no +free-born man kin stand, in pops a priest who likes us--an' we don't +belong to his church either--an' puts a stop to the whole thing." + +While they were talking Francisco Alvarez also was busy with a kindred +theme, as he entertained a guest. That guest was Father Montigny, to whom +he had made up his mind to be courteous, although he would not condescend +to any further apology. He ordered that the priest should receive food and +attention, and that men should look after and replenish his canoe which +was now tied in the bayou. After all these orders were given, Alvarez sat +in the great room of Beaulieu and smoked the cigarro of his time. + +There was a bitter drop in the well of his satisfaction. The coming of the +priest had been unforeseen and unfortunate. He knew Father Montigny, and +Father Montigny knew him. Now how much did Father Montigny know of his +plans? That was the important question. + +While he was yet speaking, Father Montigny, whom a very little of rest and +food always sufficed, entered the room, his manner full of austerity. +Francisco Alvarez rose, all blandness and courtesy. + +"Be seated, Father," he said. "It is a poor place that we have here, but +we give you of our best. Who would deserve it more than you, a man of such +long travels and such great hardships in the holiest of all causes?" + +The face of the priest did not relax. He sat down upon one of the cane +chairs and gazed sternly at Alvarez. Truly, it is a terrible thing to meet +the accusing gaze of a man who fears neither torture, nor death, nor the +world to come! The accusation is likely to be true. Alvarez looked away. +Twice within one day he who, with reason, thought himself so courageous +had been forced to yield to the gaze of another, and his heart was full of +angry rebellion. But he knew that knowledge and power dwelt under the +simple black robe of this man. + +"It seems," said Father Montigny, and there was a slight touch of irony in +his tone, "that I came at the right moment." + +Francisco Alvarez compelled his face to smile, though his heart was +raging. + +"I have already apologized, Father Montigny," he said, "for what I was +about to do. And yet the phrase 'about to do' is wrong. Even if you had +not come I should have repented of myself, and sent away the irons. I can +repeat, too, in my defense that I was provoked beyond endurance by this +youth's insolence." + +His tone was silky, light, indolent, as if he would dismiss a trifle about +which too much had been said already. It might have been convincing to any +other man, but he felt the stern, reproving gaze of Father Montigny still +fixed upon him. + +"And what of the ring and the professional swordsman?" said the priest. +"Are you to turn a youth to a gladiator, even as the blessed martyrs were +given to the lions and tigers by the Roman pagans! What of that, Francisco +Alvarez? Are such deeds to be done, here, in our day, in Louisiana, and to +pass unchallenged?" + +The priest's voice rose and it cut like the sharp edge of a knife. Never +since his boyhood had Francisco Alvarez flushed more deeply, and he moved +uneasily on his cane chair. + +"You give it a name that does not belong to it," he said. "It was play, or +not much more. Romildo, the swordsman, had orders not to hurt him much." + +"That may or may not be true, Francisco Alvarez," said the priest, +speaking slowly and precisely. "But I have more to ask you. What of this +plot of yours to set the Indian tribes and a Spanish force with cannon +upon Kaintock? What of your plan to become Governor General in place of +Galvez? What of your intention to make distant war upon the rebel colonies +and therefore commit Spain to an alliance with England? Answer me, +Francisco Alvarez. What of these things?" + +The priest rose from his seat, as he spoke, and lifted that stern, +accusing finger. Alvarez was as still as if struck by lightning. His great +plan known to this man, this man who feared not even torture, or death, +or the world to come! He shrank visibly both mentally and physically, but +then his courage came back under the spur of dreadful necessity. + +"A priest can take great liberties," he said. "Sometimes I think it +scarcely fair that you of the Book may denounce us of the sword and that +we may say nothing in return, although we may be right and you may be +wrong. It is sufficient now for me to tell you that I do not know what you +are talking about. I, the Governor General! Any man may dream of that! I +have done so, and I have no doubt that many others have done the same. I +favor, too, an alliance with England, as do nearly all the Spanish +officers in Louisiana, but I am a faithful servant of His Majesty, the +King, and though I may hold my opinions, I know of no plot, either against +Bernardo Galvez or to make a war upon Kaintock." + +"I have heard you, Francisco Alvarez," said the priest, "but it is for +your actions to prove the truth of your words. See to it, also, that there +is no further cruelty practised against these men from Kaintock." + +"They are my prisoners," replied Alvarez, "and I mean to hold them. There +you cannot interfere, Father Montigny. They were taken in arms against us +upon our soil of Louisiana, and that they are my prisoners even you cannot +dispute." + +"No," replied Father Montigny, "I do not dispute it; at least not for the +present. But if they are held as prisoners they should be sent to Bernardo +Galvez at New Orleans, and not be retained here." + +He walked out without waiting for an answer, and Francisco Alvarez was +glad to see him go. Five minutes later the Spaniard sent for Braxton Wyatt +and the two remained long in consultation. + +Meanwhile, something was stirring in the forest not far from Beaulieu. It +was a forest of magnolia, willow, and cypress, and of oaks, from which +hung great solemn festoons of moss. A deep still bayou cut across it, and +here and there were pools of stagnant water, in which coiling black forms +swam. + +Night was deepening over the wilderness upon which the estate of Beaulieu +had made only a scratch. Pale moonlight fell over the drooping green +forest and across the deep waters of the bayou. The something that had +stirred resolved itself into the shadowy figure of a man who came out of +the heart of the forest toward its edge. He walked with a singularly agile +step. His moccasined feet made no noise when they touched the ground and +the bushes seemed to part for the passage of his body. + +When the man reached the edge of the forest next to the Chateau of +Beaulieu, he paused for a long time, standing in the shadow of the trees. +Always he looked fixedly at a single building, the log hut, in which +Alvarez held his four prisoners from Kaintock. While he stood there, stray +rays of moonlight coming through the cypresses fell upon him, revealing a +tanned face, yellow hair, and a tall, athletic form. He did not look like +a Spaniard or an Acadian, or one of the Frenchmen who had emigrated from +Canada, or any kind of a West Indian. His was certainly an alien presence +in those regions. + +The moon slid back behind a cloud, the silver rays failed, and the figure +of the man became more indistinct, almost a shadow, thin and impalpable. +Then he bent far over in a stooping position, passed rapidly through a +patch of scrub bushes, and came much nearer to the log prison. + +At the edge of the bushes he stopped again and watched the prison for at +least a minute. Two soldiers were on watch in front of it before the +single door, two soldiers in Spanish uniform, who were suffering from +tedium, and who were quite sure, anyway that unarmed prisoners could not +escape from a one-room building of logs with but a single door, secured by +a huge, oak shutter, and two windows, each too small to admit the passage +of a boy's or man's body. + +The two soldiers slouched in their walk, and presently, when their beats +met before the door, they let the butts of their guns rest on the ground, +and exchanged pleasant talk about pretty, dark girls that they had known +in far-away Spain. One boldly lighted a cigarrito and the other encouraged +by his example did likewise. Hark, what was that? "A lizard in the grass," +said Carlos. "Yes, certainly," said Juan. They continued to smoke their +cigarritos blissfully, and talk of the pretty, dark girls that they had +known in far-away Spain. + +As they smoked and talked, and found smoke, talk and company pleasant, +they did not see a shadow glide swiftly from the bushes and pass to the +rear of the log prison that they were guarding so well. Nor could they +see the shadow, since the building was now between them, resolve itself +again into the figure of a man, who stood upright against the wall, his +face at one of the little slits of windows. + +Their own talk was so pleasant, and the sound of their voices was such a +cure for lonesomeness on a dark night, that they did not hear the man at +the little slit of a window utter a faint warning hiss. Nor did they hear +something a moment later fall with a slight metalic sound on the bark +floor of the prison. The sound was repeated in an instant, but still they +did not hear it, and then the figure of a man, melting back to a shadow, +glided away from the house and into the bushes and thence to the forest, +where it was lost. + +Carlos and Juan chatted until their cigarritos were smoked out. Then they +shouldered their muskets and continued the watch that seemed to them so +easy. How could unarmed men escape through such a thickness of logs? The +shadow in the forest was lost to the sight of any possible Spaniard, but +not to the sight of another shadow that arose from the bushes and flitted +after it. The two shadows were now deep in the forest, but the second hung +close on the first, making no noise, and sinking quickly to the ground, +when the other looked back. + +This second shadow, as it passed through a partially open space, also +revealed itself in the moonlight as a man, but a man ghastly and terrible +in appearance. He had a hideous, feline face, and he was naked, save a +breech-cloth at the waist. He carried but a single weapon, a knife in his +ready hand, but the eyes were those of the most utter savage expecting a +speedy prey. + +The first shadow reached a little grove free from undergrowth and stopped. +He was about to lie down, rifle by his side, and seek sleep, but his ear, +attuned to the wilderness, caught a faint sound. It was not the wind among +the leaves, nor the gliding of a snake nor the chirp of an insect, but a +sound that was not a part of the night harmony. The sensitive ear had +given him warning, as the instinct of an animal warns that an enemy has +come. + +The first shadow slid from the grove and into the undergrowth, sank low, +and, waiting, caught sight of the second shadow, the man who pursued. He +saw the naked figure, the feline face, and the ready knife in hand. The +skill and wonderful forest intuition of the second man had been matched by +those of the first. + +The pursued, when he caught that glimpse of his pursuer, laid his rifle +carefully on the earth, because he did not wish a shot to be heard, and +drew his own knife. Slight as was the sound that he made the other heard +it, turned in a flash, and the two sprang at each other. + +The moonlight streamed for a moment along their knife blades and then they +struck. One stepped back, and remained standing upright. The other swayed +a moment and then fell without a sound, lying upon his back. + +He who lay staring with sightless eyes up at the moon was the man with the +feline face and the body naked save for the cloth at the waist. The other, +unharmed, stood, looking at him a moment or two, and then plunged deeper +into the forest. + +Morning dawned. The sun swung up through a terrace of rosy clouds, and +Luiz brought the four their breakfast, _callas tous chauds_, other food of +La Louisiane, and milk and coffee. They ate and drank with a great +appetite, and it seemed to Luiz that they were quite cheerful, for which +he was truly glad, because one of these men had saved his life, and the +wounded youth who made an especial appeal to him had been subjected to +barbarous treatment. But Paul could use his injured arm already. His blood +was so healthy that the scratch of the sword healed fast. + +Two or three hours later Francisco Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt entered the +prison. The renegade was not above showing by his looks that he rejoiced +in his triumph over his enemies, but the face of Alvarez was without +expression. + +"I have come to tell you," said the Spaniard, "that you will be held here +subject to my will. But you will not be treated badly. At such time as I +think fit you may be taken to New Orleans." + +"It seems that the words of Father Montigny were not to be despised," said +Henry maliciously. + +"Father Montigny disposes of nothing here," said Alvarez. "This is to be +done because I think it best." + +Then he and Wyatt went out, but that afternoon when Alvarez was sitting in +the cool shadow of the pillared portico, there came to him a man, dusty, +and riding fast, who delivered to him a document sealed with red seals, +and important in appearance. + +When Alvarez read the paper he frowned, and then cursed under his breath. +It was written in plain letters and its meaning was plain, also. It stated +that Bernardo Galvez, the Governor General at New Orleans, had learned +that his brave and loyal captain, Don Francisco Louis Philip Ferdinand +Alvarez, held in his possession four prisoners from Kaintock, persons of +daring, whose presence in Louisiana might be of great significance. +Therefore His Excellency, Bernardo Galvez, Governor General of Louisiana, +commanded his trusty and loyal captain, Don Francisco Louis Philip +Ferdinand Alvarez, to bring the aforesaid four prisoners, from Kaintock, +to New Orleans at once. + +"At once!" repeated Alvarez angrily to himself. "That means not next week +but now, and I am compelled to obey. To refuse or to evade would make a +breach too soon." + +He sent for Braxton Wyatt and told him of the letter. The renegade was +startled, but he counseled immediate obedience from motives of policy. + +"How could Galvez have known?" said Alvarez. "How could the news have +reached New Orleans so soon?" + +"Perhaps the priest has told," suggested Wyatt. + +"No, that is impossible. He came from up river, and I am glad to say that +he left again in his canoe this morning. Those Capuchins to whom he +belongs shall be well punished, if I gain the power in Louisiana. They +shall be expelled, every one of them, from New Orleans, and their old +rivals, the Jesuits, shall take their place. It's one of the first things +that I mean to do." + +"It would be a wise thing to do," said Braxton Wyatt. He cared nothing for +either Capuchin or Jesuit, but he hated and feared Father Montigny, and +would be glad to know that he was driven from the country. + +"We must start in the morning," said Alvarez. "It will not take us long to +reach New Orleans by the river, and I can spin a tale that will lull the +suspicions of Galvez." + +"You can prove many things by me," said Braxton Wyatt significantly. + +"Yes, Senor Wyatt, you are a good lieutenant," said Alvarez, and he meant +it. "We will make our preparations to-night and start with a strong force +in the morning. We need not bring the prisoners forth until we are ready." + +Alvarez, slept peacefully that night. He had recovered his spirits, shaken +by the arrival of the King's messenger. Aided by the dexterous renegade, +Braxton Wyatt, he would soon persuade Bernardo Galvez that he had acted +for the best in the matter of the men from Kaintock. + +He rose early the next morning and, as a mark of signal favor, invited +Braxton Wyatt to take breakfast with him. While they sat together Luiz +came in with a long face. + +"Now what is it, my brave Luiz?" said Alvarez, who was in an exceeding +good humor, "why this saturnine countenance?" + +"I beg to report, your Excellency," said Luiz, "that the Natchez Indian +whom they call The Cat had been found dead in the forest, of a knife +thrust that came out behind the shoulder." + +"That is bad," said Alvarez. "Have they found out who did it?" + +"No, Your Excellency. There were some signs of a struggle, and a few +traces of foot-steps, but the trail was gone before they had followed it a +dozen yards." + +"We have lost a good man," said Alvarez, "a matchless spy and trailer, but +it cannot be helped. I suppose it was a quarrel with some savage like +himself. I would investigate the matter, but we have not time now. Come, +Luiz, we will take out the prisoners, and then to the boats." + +He led the way across the grass to the log house,--two sentinels, again it +was Carlos and Juan--walked up and down in front of it--and the Spanish +captain was pleased at their vigilance. He gave them a very good morning +as they saluted respectfully. + +"Unlock the door, Luiz," he said. "This is a strong prison and a close +one. I've no doubt our gallants from Kaintock, where there is much room, +will be glad to be outside again." + +Luiz inserted the huge iron key, turned it in the lock, and threw wide the +door. Alvarez looked in, and then uttered a cry so charged with rage that +even Braxton Wyatt was startled. He pressed close up to his chief and +gazed over his shoulder. + +The prison was empty! + +"What does this mean?" shouted Alvarez at the trembling sentinels. "The +prisoners have escaped! Idiots! Blind men! What have you been doing? Have +you helped them yourselves? If it is so, both of you shall be shot!" + +The unfortunates, Carlos and Juan, stared at the empty prison and crossed +themselves. "Witchcraft," muttered Carlos, the readier of the two. "We +have watched faithfully all night, my captain. We saw nothing, we heard +nothing, and the door was locked, as you behold. We are honest men and we +have been faithful!" + +Braxton Wyatt pointed to the dark corner of the prison. + +"See," he said, "that is how they went." + +Heaped against the wall was a pile of dirt, and in its place a hole large +enough to admit a man's body led under the logs. The Spaniard cried out in +rage again. + +"We see how they have gone!" he exclaimed, "but in what way did they do +it? Who has helped them!" + +Braxton Wyatt examined the tunnel. The bottom logs of the cabin rested +squarely upon the ground, after the primitive fashion. The floor was of +bark, and a section of this had been lifted. The prisoners had then dug +their hole under the log. + +"It was done with metal tools of some kind," said Wyatt. "But they had +nothing when we locked them in here. I can swear to that, as I was one of +those who searched them well." + +"Then they must have had help!" exclaimed Alvarez, and again he turned +fiercely upon the sentinels, but Braxton Wyatt intervened. He was glad +that he could patronize Alvarez at least once and show himself to be the +superior in discernment. + +"These men, Your Excellency, of whom I told you to beware, were five," he +said. "We captured four, therefore one was left, and I said beware of him, +even alone. He is a fellow of great cunning and skill who would try +anything. He has come for his comrades, and he has taken them away with +him." + +"It must be as you say," said Alvarez, seeking now to hide his anger. He +was not sorry on the whole that the sentinels were obviously innocent, as +he needed as many adherents as he could keep, in order to carry out his +great plan. + +"Knowing that the window was too small to admit them, we watched only the +front where the door is, Your Excellency," said Carlos, still trembling. +"Who would have dreamed that these men of Kaintock were magicians, that +without picks or shovels they could burrow under the earth and be gone +like ghosts." + +"Begone yourselves!" exclaimed Alvarez. "Get ready for the boats at +once!" + +Carlos and Juan fled away, glad to escape the sight of their master. + +"Now that they have escaped, what do you think they will do?" asked +Alvarez of Wyatt. + +"They will go to New Orleans," replied the renegade promptly, "and appear +before Bernardo Galvez to denounce you." + +"Then our own start must not be delayed a moment!" exclaimed Alvarez. + +In an hour he and his force were ready to embark. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE WHITE STALLION + + +Shif'less Sol led the way through the forest and four ghostly figures +followed in single file. They made no noise as they passed among the +cypresses and magnolias, and oaks of the drooping foliage. No one spoke, +but the leader laughed more than once in his throat, a laugh which never +passed the lips, but which was full of satisfaction nevertheless. He felt +that he, Solomon Hyde, nicknamed the shiftless one, had not lived in vain. +He had achieved the greatest triumph of a life already crowded with +dangers and deeds. To use the phrase of a later day, it was his crowded +hour, and his four comrades gave him all the honor and glory of it. + +They came presently to a still, dark channel of water, the bayou, and +stopped on its bank. A light wind had risen, and as it blew among the +cypresses and magnolias and oaks of the drooping foliage, it blew the song +of the triumph of Shif'less Sol. The moonlight fell on his face now and as +his features drew into a smile he, at last, permitted himself to laugh +outright. + +"It was wonderful, Sol," said Henry. "We always knew that you were near +us, and we knew, too, that because you were near us we were near to +freedom." + +He stepped forward, grasped the hand of the shiftless one, and gave it a +fervent shake. Paul at once did the same, then followed Long Jim and Tom +Ross. Shif'less Sol's face became beatific. He had received his silent +tribute and it was enough. The flavor of it would be with him all the rest +of his life. + +"What did you fellers think?" he asked, "when them two big knives came +fallin' down on the floor. I'd hev called to you, but I wuz afeard I'd +stir up them two sentinels on the other side of the house." + +"We knew it was you, Sol," replied Paul, "and we knew then that our escape +was certain. Where did you get the knives?" + +"I stole them from a tool house," replied Sol with pride. "I guess they +use 'em to cut cane with, or something like that." + +"We certainly cut dirt with 'em at a great rate," said Henry, "and here we +are free, the five of us together again, but without arms except the two +knives you threw to us." + +The moonlight was deepening and the shiftless one stood in the center of +it. His figure seemed suddenly to swell and the calm, victorious light of +the supreme conqueror came into his eyes. + +"Boys," he said, and his voice was even and precise, as a victor's should +be, "when I undertook this here job o' settin' us on our feet agin, I +undertook to do it all. I not only meant to put us on our feet, but to git +us ready fur runnin', too. Boys, I hev took 'The Gall-yun' from the +Spaniards ag'in an' she's waitin' fur us." + +"What! what!" they cried in chorus. "You don't mean it, Sol?" + +"I shorely do mean it. All the boats that they expect to use to-day wuz +anchored in the bi-yoo or hay-yoo or whatever they call it. 'The +Gall-yun,' our gall-yun, wuz at the end o' the line nearest to the big +river. Nobody wuz on board, but she wuz tied to the boat next to her. I +slipped on her--it was pow'ful dark then an' the Spaniards wuz keepin' a +slip-shod watch, anyhow--cut the rope an' floated her down the stream, +where I've tied her up under sech thick brush that nobody 'cept ourselves +is likely to find her. She'll be thar, waitin' fur us, an' don't you doubt +it. An' fellers all our rifles an' ammunition an' things are on her. It +wuz the captain's boat, an' I s'pose he thought he might ez well hev them +trophies, an' use 'em." + +"Is this really true, Sol?" exclaimed Paul, although he did not doubt. + +"Gospel truth. We're jest ez well off ez we wuz afore we wuz captured. I +don't think, either, them Spaniards will miss 'The Gall-yun' until +mornin'. So we kin be up an' away with somethin' o' a start." + +"Lead on, Sol," said Henry. + +Sol led, and resumed the noiseless Indian file. They found the good ship, +"The Galleon," under the overhanging bushes where Sol had left her, and +rejoicingly they took possession again of the boat, their arms, and +supplies. + +"Now for New Orleans and the Governor General," said Paul, as they pushed +out into the bayou. There was no current here, but their powerful arms at +the oars soon sent the boat into the Mississippi. There they set the sail +which had been left unchanged, and as a good wind caught it they went on +at a quickening pace. Wind, current, and oars combined made the low banks +pass swiftly by. + +It was now the darkest hour and all things were veiled. Each felt a great +satisfaction. They had the courage, after such a great and skillful +escape, to attempt anything. + +"It's only lately that I've been gittin' friendly with the Missip," said +Shif'less Sol. "It's a pow'ful big river an' a new one, but me an' this +river are already jest like brothers. It ought all to belong to us people +o' Kentucky. When we git to be a great big settled country, hev we got to +float everything down it, right in among the Spaniards or the French, an' +they able to stop us ef they want to? 'Pears to me thar oughtn't to be +anything but a string o' free countries all along the length o' this big +river." + +"I think that is what is likely to happen," said Paul looking into the +future, as he did so often. "We'll always be pressing down, and we can't +help it." + +"Anyhow," resumed Shif'less Sol, "I'm glad that we've left that thar place +o' Booly, or Bee-yu-ly, or whatever they call it. Funny these furrin' +people can't pronounce names like they spell. Now we Americans, an' the +English, who use our language, call words jest ez they are, but you never +know what a Frenchman or a Spaniard is goin' to make out o' 'em." + +They made good progress throughout the day, and saw no sign of the +flotilla of Alvarez which they had feared might overtake them. They were +agreed that it would be wise for them to reach New Orleans first, and +hence they went boldly forward into the country that they regarded as that +of the enemy, confident of their fortune. + +The river widened and narrowed frequently, but always it was very deep. It +was not beautiful here, but the vast current flowing between low shores +had a somber majesty all its own. Its effect upon the imagination of every +one of them was heightened by the knowledge that the stream had come an +immeasurable distance, from unknown regions, and that in the coming it had +gathered into itself innumerable other rivers, most of which also had come +from lands of mystery. + +They stopped one morning in the mouth of a clear creek that flowed into +the Mississippi, and decided to spend the day in making repairs, a general +cleaning-up, and a search for fresh food. It was the universal opinion +that they would profit more by such a halt than by pushing on regardless +of everything. + +It was a beautiful spot in which they lay. They had gone about a hundred +yards up the creek, and its waters here, about thirty feet across and five +or six feet deep, were perfectly transparent. But this silver stream the +moment it entered the Mississippi was lost in the great, brown current, +swallowed up in an instant by the giant river. + +The banks of the creek were low and on either side brilliant wild flowers +grew to the very water's edge. Ferns, lilies, and other plants of deeper +hues, were massed in great beds that ran from the creek edges back to the +forest. Tall birds on immensely long and slender legs stood in the +shallower water and now and then as quick as a flash of lightning darted +down a hooked bill. Invariably the bill came up with a fish struggling in +its grasp. + +Beautiful flamingoes hovered about the bank and many birds of brilliant +plumage darted from tree to tree. Few of these sang, except the mocking +bird, which gave forth an incessant mellow note. But it was a scene of +uncommon peace and beauty and all felt its influence. + +Henry looked at the creek and the forest through which it came with an +appreciative eye. He knew because the waters of the creek were clear that +it must flow through hard, firm ground, and he was thinking at that moment +of a plan which he intended to carry out later. + +Their first work was with the boat. In its long voyage on the river it had +gathered mud and other objects on its bottom. This they could see +perfectly now that it lay in the clear water, and Shif'less Sol and Jim +Hart volunteered to scrape it with two of the shovels that were contained +in the invaluable store house of "The Galleon." + +Their offer was accepted, and taking off their clothing, they sprang into +the water. Once a huge cat fish from the Mississippi, unused to man, +brushed against Long Jim's leg, its horn raking him slightly. With a shout +Long Jim sprang almost out of the water and clambered up the side of the +boat. + +"Somethin' big bit me!" he cried. "It took one uv my legs with him!" + +"It's only a scared cat fish and you still have two legs, Jim," replied +Henry laughing boyishly, because a boy he was in spite of his size and +experience. + +Jim looked down, and a great smile of delight unfolded like a fan across +his face from side to side. + +"Guess you're right, Henry," he said, "an' I am still all in one piece." + +He sprang back into the water, and he and Sol soon finished their task. +After that it was arranged that Sol, Jim, and Tom should give a thorough +furbishing to the boat's interior, wash and dry their spare clothing and +bedding, while Henry and Paul went on a hunt for a deer to replenish their +larder. + +"You see, Paul," said Henry, "the waters of this creek are quite clear, +which means that it comes through good, hard ground. It's likely that it +isn't far back to one of the little prairies which I've heard are common +in this part of Louisiana, and in a wild country like this where there's a +prairie there's pretty likely to be deer." + +The logic seemed good to Paul. At any rate he was willing enough to go on +a hunt, stretch his legs, and see a new region. Saying that they should +probably be gone all day they started at once, leaving the others +absorbed in the task of housecleaning. + +They reached solid ground not far from the creek's edge and walked along +briskly, following the course of the stream back toward its source. The +soil was black and deep and the forest magnificent. Great beeches and +hickories were mingled with the willows and live oaks and cypresses, and +the foliage was thick, green, and beautiful. The birds seemed innumerable, +and now and then flocks of wild fowl rose with a whir from the creek's +edge. Keen, penetrating odors of forest and wild flower came to their +nostrils. + +Both boys threw up their heads, inhaled the odors, and thrilled in every +fiber. They were very young, care could never stay with them long and now +they felt only the sheer, pure delight of living. They looked back. The +forest had already shut out their boat, and one who did not know would not +have dreamed that the longest river in the world was only a mile or two +away. They were alone in the wilderness and they did not care. They were +sufficient, for the moment, each to the other. + +As they advanced, the creek narrowed and the forest thickened. The trees +not only grew closer together, but there was a vast mass and network of +trailing vines, extended from trunk to trunk and bough to bough. One huge +oak in the very center of an intricate maze of vines was drawn far over +and its boughs were twisted into strange, distorted shapes. It was obvious +to both that the vines, singly so feeble, collectively so powerful, had +done it, and they stood a moment or two wondering at this proof of the +power of united and unceasing effort. + +They went a mile or so further on, and Henry led the way toward the left +and from the creek. An instinct or the lay of the land, perhaps, warned +him that the open country was in that direction. The trees, had begun to +thin already, and in another mile they came out upon a beautiful little +rolling prairie. It was quite clear of trees; grass, mingled with wild +flowers, grew high upon it, and at the far edge they saw the figures of +animals grazing. + +"Deer!" exclaimed Paul. "There they are, Henry! Just waiting for us!" + +Henry took a long and keen look, then shook his head. + +"No, not deer, Paul," he said. "Now guess what they are." + +"They can't be buffaloes," replied Paul. "I think, Henry, I'm right; +they're deer." + +"No," said Henry, "they're horses." + +"Horses! Why there are no plantations hereabouts!" + +"Not tame horses. Wild horses. Descendants of the horses that the +Spaniards brought to Mexico two or three hundreds ago." + +"And which have been spreading northward ever since," continued Paul, +alive with interest. "Let's try to get a near look at them, Henry." + +"I'm with you," said Henry. + +Full of boyish curiosity they went around the prairie, keeping in the edge +of the woods until they came much nearer to the herd of wild horses, +which numbered about thirty. As a considerable wind was blowing their odor +away from the animals, they could approach very closely without their +presence being suspected. + +The horses were clean limbed and well-shaped, and all except one were +small and dark of color. But that one was a noticeable exception. He was +almost pure white, far larger than the others, and he had a great flowing +white mane and tail. + +The herd grazed in a bunch, but the magnificent white stallion stood apart +on the side next to the woods. He, too, grazed at intervals, but most of +the time he stood, head erect like a sentinel or rather a leader. It +seemed to both the boys that his whole attitude was full of spirit and +majesty, the vast freedom of the wilderness. He carried, too, the +responsibility for the whole herd and he knew it. + +"A prairie King," whispered Paul. "Wouldn't I like to catch such a +splendid animal, Henry, and ride him into New Orleans!" + +"No you wouldn't, Paul," replied Henry, "That stallion wasn't made to be +ridden by anybody. Look. Paul, look!" + +Henry's last word rose to an excited whisper, and Paul's gaze quickly +followed his pointing finger. Even then he would not have seen anything +had he not looked long and carefully. At last he made out a long, tawny +shape on a low-lying bough of a tree at the very edge of the forest. The +shape was flattened against the bough and almost blended with it. + +"A panther!" whispered Paul. + +Henry nodded. It was, in fact, a large specimen of the panther or southern +cougar, and Henry whispered again: + +"See what he is after!" + +A small colt from the herd had wandered dangerously near to the forest and +the bough on which the cougar lay, watching him with the yellow, famished +eyes of the great, hungry cat. + +"Shoot him, Henry! Shoot him!" whispered Paul. "You can reach him with a +bullet from here. Don't let him kill the poor, little colt!" + +"I'd do it if it were needed," replied Henry, "but I don't think it will +be. See, Paul, the Prairie King suspects!" + +The great white stallion raised his head a little higher. It may be that +he caught a glimpse of the tawny form and yellow, hungry eyes amid the +foliage of the bough, or it may be that a sudden flaw in the wind brought +to his nostrils the pungent odor of the big cat. He reared and stamped, +the startled colt turned away, and the cougar, afraid that he was about to +lose his chance, sprang. + +A yellow compact mass, bristling with sharp, white teeth and long, hooked +claws shot through the air, but the distance was too great. The colt had +turned just in time, and the cougar fell short. He gathered himself +instantly for another spring, but quick as he was, he was not quick +enough. + +The boys heard a fierce neigh, and the great stallion, wild with rage, +launched himself upon the cougar. Agile and powerful though the great cat +was, the sharp hoofs trampled him down. Taken at a disadvantage, just at +the moment when his first spring had spent itself, he was no match for the +protector of the herd. No bone could resist the impact of those heavy +terrible hoofs. No skull was thick enough to save. The cougar squealed, +clawed, and bit wildly, but in an incredibly quick space he was trampled +to death and lay quite still. The boys believed that every bone in him +must have been broken. + +The herd had run some distance away in fright at the cougar's leap, but +while the swift combat lasted it stood looking on. Now the stallion, after +a last look at the slain robber, turned and walked away in triumph to the +herd that he had protected so well. It seemed to the glorified fancy of +the boys that he held his head higher than ever, and that his great mane +and tail flowed away in new ripples. He stalked proudly at the head of the +herd down to the other side of the prairie, where they went placidly on +with their grazing. + +"That is certainly one thing that turned out right," said Paul in a +gratified tone. + +"The hoofs of a powerful and enraged wild stallion are a terrible thing," +said Henry. "Even a deer, which is far smaller, can kill a man with its +hoofs. But if you'll look again, Paul, you'll see that a new danger +threatens our king of horses." + +Paul followed Henry's gaze, and he distinctly saw two or three human +figures at the edge of the wood. These figures were hidden from the horses +by a swell of the prairies, and, as in the case of the cougar, the wind +blew their odor away. "Indians?" asked Paul. + +"I can't tell at this distance," replied Henry, "but it's more likely that +they belong to the party of Alvarez, and perhaps they know that wild +horses frequent this prairie and others hereabouts. See what they are +doing!" + +Paul saw well enough, One man carrying on his arm a coll of rope, the +lariat of Mexico, lay down in the long grass which completely hid him, but +both Henry and Paul knew that he was creeping forward inch by inch toward +the beautiful stallion that was grazing not ten yards from the woods. + +"When he comes close enough, if he can do so before the horse takes the +alarm," said Henry, "he will throw the rope and catch the horse by the +neck in the running noose at the end." + +"But the horse will take alarm," said Paul hopefully. + +"I don't know," said Henry. "He may think in his horse mind that one enemy +in one day is as much as he has need to dread." + +It seemed that Henry was right. Exultant in his victory over the cougar, +the Prairie King had relaxed his vigilance. More often now his head was +down, cropping the grass like the rest of the herd. Henry and Paul +believed that they could see the grass rippling as the new and more +cunning enemy crept forward. But it was only agile fancy--they were too +far away. + +"What ever happens it's bound to happen soon," said Henry. + +Even as he spoke the man in the grass sprang to his feet, threw forth his +right arm, and the rope shot out like a snake uncoiling itself as it +sprang. Both Paul and Henry felt a pang when they saw the loop enclose the +neck of the noble horse, while the man himself and his comrades uttered +loud shouts of exultation. + +"He has caught him!" exclaimed Paul sadly. + +"Yes," said Henry, "and I'm sorry, but it was a wonderful feat of skill +and patience!" + +The frightened herd ran away, and the white stallion reared and struggled, +his great eyes red and distended with rage and astonishment. Two men ran +forward and seized the rope which their comrade had thrown so skillfully. +Then the three pulled hard. + +But the quarry was too magnificent. They had miscalculated the white +stallion's strength. Caught by the neck, he dragged, nevertheless, all +three over the prairie, and then, suddenly making a mighty lunge, tore the +rope from their grasp, leaving them thrown headlong to the earth. Away he +went, the long rope flying out behind him like a streamer. + +Doubtless some failure of the noose to draw tightly around his neck had +saved the horse, and this was proved when the rope catching in a bush +slipped off over his head as he struggled again. Then the stallion, by +chance, or because his horse's mind inclined him to it, uttered a long, +shrill neigh of triumph, kicked his heels high in the air, and galloped +away, his flowing tail streaming out behind him, a banner of triumph. + +"He's won again," said Henry in a tone of gladness. "I told you that horse +wasn't made ever to be ridden." + +"But he has to struggle continually for life and freedom," said Paul. + +"Just the same as we do," rejoined Henry. "See those fellows are picking +themselves up; but they've been slow about it." + +"I don't blame them. I fancy they suffered some pretty severe bruises when +the horse jerked them down. Paul, I think I can make out two white faces +in that party, which almost certainly means that they are the men of +Alvarez. And it says to us that we ought to hurry." + +"But not without our deer, I hope," said Paul. They gave one last look at +the far edge of the prairie, where they could still dimly see the white +stallion, now keeping well away from the woods. + +"I don't think anything will get him," said Henry, "and I hope not. Just +as we do, he loves to be free." + +They, too, re-entered the woods and were fortunate enough to find a deer +quickly. Henry was willing to risk the chance of the shot being heard by +their enemies and his bullet brought it down. Then they cut up the body +and took it back to the boat, where they told all that had occurred. The +others agreed that if Alvarez and his men were in the vicinity they ought +to leave at once, and, transferring the drying clothes from the bank to +the boat, they entered the Mississippi once more and set sail down its +stream. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +NEW ORLEANS + + +They sailed and rowed steadily on for several days. Once or twice they saw +canoes or boats containing white men, who regarded them curiously, but +none approached. They inferred that they were now very near New Orleans, +and all the five were alert with anticipation. Besides the accomplishment +of their great task, they were about to visit a metropolis, a seat of +government, a city of eight or ten thousand people, commanding the road to +the heart of the North American continent, swarming with many races, and +destined, as all the world then believed, to be the largest place in +either America. It is no wonder that the bosoms of the five throbbed with +curiosity, and that they looked forward to strange and varied sights. + +"Now, Jim," said Shif'less Sol in a warning tone to Long Jim, "I've got +advice to give you. I wuz in a big town once. I told you about that time I +went to Baltimore when I wuz a little boy, an' so I'm fit to tell you how +to behave. New Or-lee-yuns ain't like the woods, Jim. Don't you be too +handy with your gun. Ef you see a man follerin' along behind you ez ef he +wuz trailin' you, don't you up an' take a shot at him. Like ez not he's +about his business, only it happens to be in the same direction that +you're goin'. An', Jim, don't you go to gittin' dizzy, through seein' so +many people about. Mebbe you don't think thar will be sech a crowd, but +you'll believe it when you see it." + +"Sol Hyde," rejoined Long Jim indignantly, "I'm sorry New Or-lee-yuns +ain't right at the sea, 'cause the sea is salt, so I've heard, an' then ef +I wuz to dip you in it three or four times it would do you a pow'ful lot +uv good. Salt is shorely mighty helpful in the curin' up uv fresh things." + +"There goes another of those canoes," said Paul, "but I can't tell whether +it's a white man or an Indian in it." + +"It's a white man," said Henry, "but I fancy it's a West Indian Frenchman +or Spaniard. I've heard that some of them are as dark as Indians." + +"Time to think 'bout tyin' up for the dark," said Tom Ross. "We might go +on all night, but we need to save our strength fur to-morrow. What do you +say to that little cove over thar on the west bank, Henry?" + +"Looks as if it would be the right place," replied Henry, "and it is +certainly time to stop. The sun seems to go down faster here than it does +In Kentucky." + +The twilight was spreading swiftly over the arch from west to east as they +entered the cove and tied "The Galleon" to a live oak. Paul leaped +joyfully ashore, glad to stretch his limbs again. The others quickly +followed, and they set about gathering wood to build a fire. They were out +of the Indian country now and they had no need to be cautious. + +Paul bestirred himself looking for brushwood. Presently he found at the +edge of the water a dead bough which was long enough to be broken into +several sticks of convenient length. He picked it up, and for the purpose +of breaking it brought it down heavily on a large brown log lying in the +mud near the water. + +To Paul's amazement and horror, the big brown log got into action at +either end. One end, in the shape of a tail, whipped around at him, barely +missing him, and the other end, splitting itself horizontally in half, +revealed huge jaws lined with terrible teeth. Paul sprang back with a cry, +and Henry, who was near, rifle in hand, fired a ball into the monster's +brain. The big brown log, that was no log, turned partially over and died. + +"An alligator," said Henry, "I've heard of them, but this is the first +that I've ever seen." + +"I've heard of them, too," said Paul, "but I never thought I'd walk almost +into the mouth of one without knowing it." + +Shif'less Sol had his grievance, too. "Now that's another o' the ways o' +this here southern country!" he exclaimed in a pained tone, "A big, +hungry, wild animal, tryin' to pass itself off ez, an old dead log. Up in +Kentucky, a good honest bear, or even a sneakin' panther, would be +ashamed to look you in the face after tryin' to play sech a low-down +trick on a man." + +"It is certainly a hideous brute," said Paul. + +"I'm thinkin' that we'd better build our fire big," said Long Jim. "I +don't want to wake up in the mornin' an' find myself devoured by an +alligator, jest when I wuz about to reach the great town uv New +Or-lee-yuns." + +But they were not molested that night by either man or animal, and the +next day, watchful and surcharged with interest, they approached New +Orleans, which was bulking so large to them. The river looped out into a +crescent and narrowed greatly. As they came to the city, the Mississippi +did not seem to them to be more than a third of a mile wide, but they knew +that it was extremely deep. + +But there, snugly within the crescent, lay New Orleans, a town enclosed +within palisaded fortifications that faced the levee for about a thousand +yards, and that ran back perhaps half as far. The levee was lined with +vessels. Already New Orleans was famous for shipping, and they saw the +flags of many nations. Schooners there were and brigs and brigantines, and +barks and barkentines, and other craft from Europe and the West Indies and +South America. Near the shore was a great, high ship, from which the red +and yellow flag of Spain fluttered in more than one place, while the +muzzles of cannon protruded from her wooden sides. + +"That's an armed galleon," said Paul. + +"She's a big ship an' she's got lots o' men on her," said Shif'less Sol, +"but I wouldn't trade our gall-yun fur her." + +"No, our boat suits us best," said Henry. + +They saw about them on the river many small craft like their own, ships, +boats, canoes, barges, dug-outs, and other kinds, manned by white men, red +men, yellow men, and brown men. They heard strange cries in foreign +tongues, and now and then the sound of a trumpet blown at one of the forts +in the palisaded wall. Officers in brilliant uniforms appeared on the +levee. + +The eyes of Long Jim Hart opened wider and wider. + +"It shorely is a big town," he said. "Sol, I'd been thinkin' that you an' +Paul wuz tellin' a good deal that ain't, but I reckon it's the truth. The +world has a lot more people than I thought it had. I'm pow'ful glad I +came." + +They turned "The Galleon" toward the levee, and an officer in a boat +pulled by four uniformed oarsmen hailed them in Spanish, which none of +them understood. + +"Must be a harbor master or something of that kind," said Henry. + +They brought "The Galleon" to a stop, and the other boat came alongside. +The officer in the bow was a Catalan, richly dressed, and small, but with +a thin, alert face. He looked at the five with as much curiosity as they +looked at him. Secretly he admired their splendid shoulders and chests, +and their obvious strength. He was acute enough, too, to guess whence +they came. Lieutenant Diego Bernal had not been two years in New Orleans +for nothing. + +"You come from Kaintock?" he said in fair and not unfriendly English. + +"Yes," replied Henry, "we are all the way from Kentucky, and we have an +important message for the Governor General, Bernardo Galvez. Can you tell +us how to reach him?" + +Lieutenant Diego Bernal glanced at "The Galleon," which was obviously of +Spanish build, but he was a shrewd officer who would make his way in the +world and he knew that many strange things passed inspection in this great +Franco-Spanish metropolis of New Orleans. + +"His Excellency, the Governor General," he replied, "is now at his house +at the corner of Toulouse street and Rue de la Levee, but it is too late +for you to see him to-day. To-morrow morning you may secure audience with +him if you have the important message that you say." + +The five disregarded the ironical tone in his voice. They were good enough +judges of character to surmise that Lieutenant Diego Bernal, whose name +and career were unknown to them, did not care a particle how they had come +into possession of the boat which was so obviously of Spanish build. There +was no advantage to him in asking too many questions, and he calmly waved +them to a landing. + +They pulled in and tied their boat to the levee, while men and women, +white, yellow, brown, and black, and all the colors between, stood about +and looked at the giants from Kaintock, where people were reported to be +of such extraordinary size and ferocity, and where they certainly were, as +their own eyes could tell them, of uncommon height and strength, even boys +such as they saw Henry and Paul to be. + +While the five were engaged in this task, _rabbais_, or peddling +merchants, some Provencals and some Catalans came to sell them goods, +which they carried in coffin-shaped vehicles pushed before them. They had +wares, mostly small articles from Spain and France and the West Indies. +Colored women carrying immense cans of milk or coffee on their heads +passed by or lingered in hope of a sale. Others were calling for sale +_callas_ and cakes _tous chauds_ in monotonous, drawling voices. +Negresses, also, were trying to sell _belles chandelles_, which were dirty +candles made from green myrtle wax, the chief light then sold in the city. + +The five understood the gestures of this rabble, although not their words, +and waved them away, not caring to buy anything. + +"Keep cool, Jim! keep cool!" said Shif'less Sol. "Don't shoot. They don't +want to kill you; they jest want to rob you." + +"Depends on what they want to rob me uv," replied Long Jim with a grin. "I +never had more'n ten shillin's at one time in my life, an' I've got a +purty strong grip on my rifle an' the clothes that I hev on." + +"I think we'd better go ashore an' do a little scoutin'," said Tom Ross. +"It's always well to know the groun' on which you're goin' to act." + +"No doubt of it, Tom," said Henry, "and we'll all go together." + +They had a little money of English coinage which was taken readily in +cosmopolitan New Orleans, and with two shillings they hired a levee +watchman, whom they judged they could trust, to look after "The Galleon." +Then, rifle on shoulder, they entered the fortified city by the gate +called _Chemin des Tchoupitoulas_. Spain, officially at least, was the +friend of the colonies and the enemy of England, and the sentinels at the +gate readily passed them after a few questions. + +Here they asked again for the Governor General, Bernardo Galvez, and the +statement of Lieutenant Diego Bernal that he could not be seen was +confirmed. He had arrived only a few hours before from a two days' +expedition down the river, and was now immersed in important papers that +had awaited his coming. + +They saw the Governor General's house, a one-story building fronting the +river with a gallery on one side, gardens on the other, and kitchen and +outbuildings behind. They looked longingly at it, as they desired very +much to see Bernardo Galvez at once. But presently they passed on into the +Place d'Armes, a wide open space used as a review ground. At the very +moment they entered it a company of Spanish soldiers were going through +their evolutions, and, after the fashion of to-day, children and their +dark-faced nurses were watching them. The five did not think much of the +soldiers, who seemed to them to be dwarfed and without zeal. + +"Ef ever Kentucky comes down the long river," said Shif'less Sol, "it will +take bigger men than these to hold her back." + +Paul's gaze wandered from the soldiers, and he saw in a corner of the +Place d'Armes a great wooden gallows that made him shudder. It was a +gallows very often used, too, and any one could have pointed out to Paul +the spot in the middle of the Place d'Armes where five gallant French +gentlemen, among the best citizens of New Orleans, had been shot not long +before for planning to throw off the rule of Spain and make Louisiana a +free republic. + +They strolled on, still filled with curiosity and gratifying it. They saw +many buildings that surpassed anything hitherto in their experience, the +brick parish church, on the site of which the Cathedral of St. Louis was +afterwards built, the arsenal, the jail, and the house of the Capuchins, +who had lately triumphed over the Jesuits. The largest building of all +that they saw was the convent of the Ursuline Nuns, standing in the city +square on the river front, and this was, in fact, the largest building in +New Orleans. + +While there were many houses of brick, the cheaper were of cypress wood, +and the sidewalks were only four or five feet wide, with a wooden drain +for a gutter. There was no paving of the streets, which, now deep in dust, +would turn to quagmires when the rain came. At long intervals were wooden +posts with projecting arms from which hung oil lamps, to be lighted when +nightfall came. + +Long Jim uttered an exclamation of disgust, and gripped his nose firmly +between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. + +"I never smelt sech smells afore in all my life," he said, pointing to the +heaps of garbage scattered about. "A big town like this here is pow'ful +interestin', but it ain't clean. Paul, remember them great forests up thar +in Kentucky an' across the Ohio! Remember how clean an' nice the ground +is! Remember all them big, fine, friendly trees, millions an' millions uv +'em! Remember all them nice little springs uv clean, cold water, clear +enough to be lookin' glasses, one, an' sometimes more, every three or four +hundred yards! Remember all them nice smells uv the wild flowers, an' the +trees, an' the grass, an' me settin' at the foot uv the biggest tree uv +'em all, cookin' on a roarin' fire, fat, juicy buffaler an' deer steaks +fur you fellers!" + +"I remember," replied Paul smiling. "I remember it all, and I do believe, +Jim, that you are homesick for the woods." + +"Not homesick eggzackly, but I jest want to say that a big town like this +kin be mighty interestin', but after I've seed it, give me back our own +clean woods." + +"I believe I agree with you, Jim," said Paul thoughtfully. + +They strolled back into the Place d'Armes, where the review was still in +progress, and where more people were gathering. The women were +bare-headed, and generally wore a short round skirt, and long basque like +overgarments, the two invariably of different, but bright, colors. All of +them wore much ribbon and jewelry, but, as a rule, they were too dark of +countenance to suit the ideas of the five concerning feminine beauty. At +rare intervals, however, they saw a girl with light hair and light eyes +and light complexion, and all these were really handsome. + +"Those, I imagine, are French," said Paul. "We've got into the habit of +thinking of the French as always dark, but many of them are fair. I've +heard our school teacher, Mr. Pennypacker, say so often, and he ought to +know. For the matter of that, some of the Spaniards are light, too." + +"Yes, thar's Alvarez," said Shif'less Sol. "He's light, an' that's one +reason why I mistrusted him the first time I saw him. It looks more +nateral fur a Spaniard to be dark." + +As they stood in the Place d'Armes looking at the sights, the five +themselves began to attract much attention. Their height and strength, +their long, sender barreled rifles, and their deerskin attire made them +highly picturesque figures. The motley population of New Orleans was used +to all kinds of people, armed or unarmed, but generally armed. These, +however, were different. They bore themselves with dignity, there was +about them an air of absolute simplicity and honesty, and they kept close +together in a manner that indicated a faithful brotherhood, closer even +than the brotherhood of blood. They seemed to come from another world than +that which furnished so many desperate adventurers and former galley +slaves to New Orleans. + +Henry noticed the attention that they were attracting, and he did not like +it. + +"Perhaps, boys, we'd better go back to our boat," he said. + +But before any one could answer he was tapped lightly on the arm and, +turning about, he saw the small, trim figure of Lieutenant Diego Bernal, +who had been the first man to greet them as they entered New Orleans. + +"We met on the water, as you know," said the little lieutenant, smiling in +a friendly manner. "My name is Bernal, Diego Bernal, and I am a lieutenant +in the service of our most excellent Governor General, Bernardo Galvez." + +His manner was polite, and Henry met him half way. He had nothing to +conceal, and he gave him the names of his comrades and himself. Lieutenant +Bernal all the time was regarding them shrewdly. + +"It is evident that you are mighty men despite the youth of some of you," +he said, "and I begin to suspect it from other facts also." + +"What other facts?" asked Henry. + +"Now, there is the matter of your boat," replied the lieutenant jauntily. +"I had a belief, wrong no doubt, that she was of Spanish build. I also +seemed to have a recollection, wrong, too, no doubt, that I had once seen +Francisco Alvarez, the chief of our captains, aboard that boat and bearing +himself in a manner that indicated ownership. I am wrong, no doubt. My +impressions are often false and my memory always weak. Gladly would I +stand correction. Gladly would I be convinced that I am misled by some +fancied resemblance." + +"Them's pow'ful big words," said Long Jim. + +Henry, who was always the leader of the five when they were together, +looked into the eyes of Diego Bernal, and he seemed to see there the +curious contraction that is called a wink. He gave judgment at once +concerning Diego Bernal. + +"I take it," he said by way of reply, "that you are no great friend of the +captain, Francisco Alvarez?" + +"If a higher officer rebukes you unjustly and sneers at a commander whom +you respect and like, is it calculated to promote friendship?" + +The gaze of the two met again, and Henry understood. + +"I see what your choice would be if you were compelled to choose between +Bernardo Galvez and Francisco Alvarez," he said. "It may be that you will +have to make such a choice, and I will tell you, too, that the boat did +belong to the Captain Alvarez. We took it from him because, first, he made +an outrageous attack upon us; secondly, he is plotting to set all the +Indian tribes upon us in Kentucky, aided with Spanish soldiers and Spanish +guns, and, thirdly, he hopes to become Governor General of Louisiana, and +commit Spain to an alliance with England in the war upon the Americans." + +Henry spoke boldly and earnestly, and the others nodded assent. + +Lieutenant Diego Bernal, a trim, dandified little man, drew forth from the +pocket of his waistcoat a small gold snuff box and delicately took a pinch +of snuff, a habit to which the five were unaccustomed. + +"Speak it low, my friend," he said deliberately. "All this, if it be true, +is great news, and you do right in coming to New Orleans to see Bernardo +Galvez. Can you prove it when you see the Governor General?" + +"We can give proofs," replied Henry guardedly. + +"It is well, and I am pleased that I have met you. Know then that I am the +enemy of Francisco Alvarez, and that I may aid you. Who can tell? It is +well for strangers to have friends in New Orleans. I have an impression +that I have some influence. I am usually wrong and my memory is always +weak, but this particular impression persists, nevertheless." + +Long Jim opened his mouth in wonder. + +"'Pears strange to me," he said, "that a furrin man kin pick more big +words out uv our language, an' rope 'em together than we kin." + +Lieutenant Diego Bernal smiled. He was pleased. + +"I learned English when I was a boy," he said, "and now it serves me well. +I would hear more of your news, gentlemen, but for the present I wish to +offer you refreshments. Come with me, if you please." + +He led the way into a low building of brick, an inn fashioned after the +manner of those in France. + +They entered the public room, which was large and square, with a fairly +clean, sanded floor, and many men about drinking liquors unknown to the +five. + +They took seats at a table in a rather retired corner, and gazed with +interest at the variegated crowd. Many of the men wore great, gold rings +in their ears, something entirely new to the five, and others were +tattooed in strange designs. They drank deep and swore much and loudly in +strange tongues. Also, they smoked cigarros, cigarritos, and pipes, and +there was scarcely one present who did not have either knife or pistol or +both at belt. + +"Undoubtedly there is more than one pirate from the Gulf or the Caribbean +among them," said Lieutenant Bernal, "but the pirates perhaps are not the +worst. Louisiana and New Orleans can supply many a desperate villain of +their own." + +"Sent by Europe!" said Paul. + +"Truly so. An old country always seeks to disgorge such people upon a new +one. But Monsieur Gilibert, the proprietor of this inn, on the whole, +maintains good order among his customers. As you can now see, Monsieur +Gilibert is a man of parts." + +The proprietor, wearing a cook's cap and white apron, emerged that moment +from his kitchen. He was not above supervising, and even doing his own +cooking, and, because of it, his inn had acquired a great reputation for +excellence of food, as well as drink. + +Many of the French in New Orleans were Provencals, but Monsieur Gilibert +was from the North of France, a huge, flaxen-haired man with a large +square chin, and a fearless countenance. His blue eye roved around the +room and lighted upon the five and their host, Lieutenant Diego Bernal, at +the secluded table. He noted that every one of the five had a long rifle +leaning by his chair, and he shrewdly surmised that they were from the +wilderness of the far North. + +Monsieur Francois Eugene Gilibert did not love the Spanish, although he +did like Lieutenant Diego Bernal, who was a Catalan and therefore, in the +opinion of Monsieur Gilibert, almost a Frenchman. Neither did he like the +passing of New Orleans from the French into the hands of the Spanish, +although trade was as good as ever at his Inn of Henri Quatre, despite the +narrow Spanish rule, which was not to his taste. It was perhaps one half +his love of freedom and one-half his objection to the rule of Spain that +made him look with friendly eyes upon any far wanderers from Kaintock. + +He strolled to the table and greeted Lieutenant Bernal, who returned his +greeting pleasantly and gave the names of the five. + +"They come from Kaintock," said the lieutenant, significantly, "and they +do not like Francisco Alvarez." + +"Ah," said Monsieur Gilibert, who also spoke English. "I do not love that +man Alvarez. He is the enemy of the French." + +"Not more than he is of Kaintock," said the Lieutenant. Then he turned to +the five and said: + +"I did not bring you here merely to hear words. I wish something to drink +for my friends, kind Monsieur Gilibert. The inn has rum of both New +England and Barbadoes, Spanish and French wines. Now what shall it be?" + +He turned to the five, and as they answered, one by one, the eyes of the +young Spanish lieutenant opened wider and wider in astonishment. They had +never tasted rum and were quite sure they would not care for it. Wine they +knew, almost as little about, using that they had found on "The Galleon" +chiefly as a medicine, and they ended, one and all, by choosing a mild +West Indian drink, a kind of orange water. Lieutenant Bernal reached over +and with his two hands felt gingerly of Henry's mighty right arm. + +"Do you mean to tell me," he said, "that such a muscle and such a body +have been built up and nourished by things as mild as orange water?" + +"Not orange water, but plain water," replied Henry laughing. "But in +Maryland where I was born, and in Kentucky, where I've been growing up, +the water is very good, clear, pure, and cold." + +"Will you kindly stand up a moment?" said the lieutenant. + +Henry promptly stood up and then Lieutenant Diego Bernal, standing by the +side of him, was about a head the shorter. Then the young lieutenant made +a wry face. + +"And I have drunk wine all my life," he said plaintively, "and he has +drunk only water!" + +The two sat down again, and the others laughed. Their talk and actions had +attracted the attention of a number in the room, and a large man with +great gold bands in his ears, rose and sauntered over toward them. He was +a dark fellow, evidently a West Indian Spaniard with a dash of Carib. + +"I have drunk rum and wine and all other liquors all my life," he said, +"but I am neither little nor weak." + +His tone was truculent, and his flushed face indicated that he had already +taken too much. + +"Go away, Menocal," said Monsieur Gilibert, in a voice half soothing, half +warning. "I do not wish my guests to be annoyed." + +But Menocal would not turn away. He put his hand upon Henry's shoulder. + +"This is a great youth," he said. "They grow large in the new country to +the north that they call Kaintock, but I, Alonzo Menocal of Santo Domingo, +am the stronger. Stand up, thou youth of Kaintock, by the side of me!" + +Henry promptly stood up again, and the young giant towered above Alonzo +Menocal of Santo Domingo, tall though the West Indian was. Moreover he had +greater breadth of shoulder and a deeper chest. + +"Ha, thou Kaintock!" exclaimed Menocal, "thou art the taller and the +larger, but I am the stronger, as I shall quickly prove!" + +The size of Henry acted as an irritant upon Menocal, already flushed with +intoxicants, and he seized the youth by the waist in an attempt to hurl +him to the floor and thus prove his superior strength. Henry, with an +instant, powerful effort, threw oft the encircling arms, seized the West +Indian by both shoulders, and made use of a trick that Shif'less Sol had +taught him. + +He thrust the man backward with a mighty shove, put out his foot, and +Menocal went over it. But the West Indian did not touch the floor. Henry +caught him by the neck and waist, and, with a great heave, lifted him high +above his head. He held him there a moment, and then said gravely to +Monsieur Francois Eugene Gilibert: + +"Shall I cast him through yonder window, or put him back in the chair in +which he was sitting before he came to us uninvited?" + +Monsieur Gilibert looked longingly at the window--he was a man of strength +and dexterity himself--and he admired great strength and great dexterity +in others--but motives of prudence and humanity prevailed. + +"Put him back in his chair," he said. + +Henry walked all the way across the room and gently put the half-stunned +man in a sitting position in his chair. A roar of applause shook the room +at this remarkable performance, and Monsieur Gilibert was not the slackest +among those who cheered. Never before had the Inn of Henri Quatre +witnessed such an extraordinary feat of strength. Lieutenant Diego Bernal +sprang to his feet and again seized Henry's right hand in both of his. + +"Senor," he exclaimed, "it is an honor to me to deem myself your friend!" + +Alonzo Menocal arose from his chair and came across the room. Paul's hand +moved to the butt of the pistol in his belt, but the intentions of the +West Indian were not hostile. + +"Thou hast conquered," he said to Henry in his queer thee- and +thou-English. "Thou art not only the taller and the larger, but also the +stronger and the more skillful. It is the first time that Alonzo Menocal +was ever picked up, carried across a room, and put down in his chair, as a +mother puts her baby to bed." + +He put out his hand in quite an American fashion, and Henry shook it, glad +that the man was good-natured. More applause greeted this act of +friendship by the two and, taking advantage of it, the five went out, +accompanied by Lieutenant Bernal, all in great good humor. + +Night was coming on, and they felt that it was time to return to "The +Galleon." A man was already lighting the smoking oil lamps that hung from +the wooden arms of the posts, and from one of the forts a sentinel was +calling the hour. + +New Orleans looked better under the softening hue of the twilight. Many of +the asperities that go as a matter of course with newness were hidden, but +the smells remained. + +"Wish I could sleep in the woods to-night, with nuthin' but trees runnin' +away at least ten miles in every direction," said Long Jim. + +"It will be all right in our boat on the river," said Paul. + +"I think I shall go with you as far as your boat," said Lieutenant Bernal. + +"You're welcome. Come on," said Henry, confident of his friendship. + +The five and the lieutenant walked swiftly toward the Mississippi. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +BEFORE BERNARDO GALVEZ + + +It took only a few minutes to reach the banks of the stream, and they saw +at once that an event was occurring. New Orleans could rejoice, if she +choose, in honor of an important arrival. + +A fleet of a dozen large boats swung from the middle of the stream and +made for the levee. In the boats were men in uniform. + +"I have an impression, though my impressions are often wrong and my memory +always weak, that yonder cavalier who sits haughtily in the boat as if he +were sole proprietor of the Mississippi, is your good friend, Don +Francisco Alvarez," said Lieutenant Bernal in his mincing way. + +They had all recognized Alvarez, and they expected quick trouble. As it +was bound to come they had no objection to its coming at once. The boat of +Alvarez made the landing and as he sprang out he was followed by Braxton +Wyatt, also in the uniform of a Spanish officer. The eyes of the Captain +instantly caught sight of "The Galleon," then of the five, and then of +Lieutenant Diego Bernal standing near the Americans. + +"Men," he cried to some of his soldiers who had landed. "Seize this boat +at once! It is my property, taken from me by these American thieves!" + +The soldiers moved to obey, but the little Catalan, Lieutenant Diego +Bernal stepped forward. Never was he more mincing, and it is likely that +he never felt more satisfaction than he did now at the role that he was +about to play. + +"Gently! Gently! my good captain," he said. "I am a port officer and boats +cannot be seized at will in His Most Catholic Majesty's city of New +Orleans." + +His manner stung Alvarez, who replied hotly: + +"I repeat, it is my boat! It was stolen from me by these thieves from +Kaintock!" + +"But that must be proved," and the lieutenant's voice was very soft and +silky. "The law is still administered in the City of New Orleans. And let +me assure you, my good captain, that the matter of the boat is a trifle. +What really concerns is your delay in coming to New Orleans with your +American captives, whom you held at your place of Beaulieu. His +Excellency, the Governor General, Don Bernardo Galvez, is very much afraid +that you have involved Spain in serious difficulties with a friendly +people." + +Alvarez looked fiercely at Bernal. How much did this man know? But the +little lieutenant merely stroked his mustache, and his face was +expressionless. + +"If explanations are due," said Alvarez, "I shall make them to Don +Bernardo." + +"Very good! very good!" murmured the lieutenant. "I am quite sure that +Don Bernardo will be greatly pleased." + +Alvarez turned angrily, gave some orders to his men, and then stalked away +followed by Wyatt and two others. The renegade had never spoken a word, +but he and the five had exchanged some threatening glances. + +Alvarez and Bernal had spoken in Spanish, but Henry and the others +surmised the import of their words. They knew, too, by the manner of +Alvarez that the little triumph had been with Bernal. + +"He wanted the boat, did he not?" said Henry. + +"Yes," replied the lieutenant, "but you can sleep in it to-night. I warn +you, however, to see Bernardo Galvez in the morning as soon as you can. +After all, you are Americans and foreigners, while Alvarez is a Spaniard +and one of us. You will have much to overcome." + +They perceived the truth of his suggestion and thanked him. He gave them a +friendly good night and went away. The five went on board "The Galleon" +and prepared for sleep, having dismissed their watchman with ample pay. + +As the boat was securely tied there was no need to keep a watch and all +prepared for the night. But they did not go to sleep yet, although they +did not talk, every one being occupied with his own thoughts. + +Paul sat at the stern of the boat leaning against the side, and his eyes +were on New Orleans, where he saw the formless shapes of buildings and +twinkling lights here and there. The city, in a way, attracted him and, +in another way, it repelled him. It interested him, but he had no desire +to live there. It was a port, a gate, as it were, opening into the vast +old world, to which belonged the centuries, and of which he had read and +thought so much, but the single taste of it turned Paul's heart with a +stronger affection than ever toward the New World to which he belonged. +The great forests of the north seemed clean and fresh to him as they had +seemed to Jim. There, at least, a man could know who were his friends and +who were his enemies. + +He saw boats passing on the turbid, brown current of the Mississippi and +he heard snatches of strange, foreign songs. The night had fully come and +heavy darkness hung over land and water, but New Orleans did not sleep. +The smugglers, the adventurers, the former galley slaves, the riff-raff of +Europe, and the mixed bloods of the West Indies were abroad in pursuit of +either business or pleasure, each equally favored by the dusk. + +Shif'less Sol and Long Jim were already asleep, but Paul was restless and +slumber would not come. Henry, too, was wakeful, and Paul at last +suggested that they walk in the city. Henry accepted, and with a word to +Tom Ross they sprang ashore. + +New Orleans was even more interesting to them by night than by day, as it +had now a peculiarly uncanny look added to its other qualities. The night +was close, heavy, and warm, and the brown current of the river showed but +dismally through it. Lights were still moving on the Mississippi, but the +boats that bore them were invisible. From the side of the river pleasant +odors came to their nostrils, the clean, sweet scents of vast, undefiled +woods and prairies, the flavor of a wind blowing over wild flowers, but +from the side of the city the smells were as variegated and repellent as +ever. + +Nevertheless the two youths turned into the city, lit faintly by the +flaring oil lanterns, and walked along through one street and another +seeing what they could see. The night life was active and much of it was +sodden. Oaths played a great part in the talk they heard and intoxication +was a prevalent note. Sounds of strife, either without or within, arose +now and then, but Henry and Paul, wishing to keep clear of all trouble, +never stayed to see the result. They more than suspected that knives shone +too often in these orgies. + +They stopped a few moments by the old church in front of the Place +d'Armes. The church was flanked on one side by a low brick building, very +white with roof of red and yellow tiles, while to the left of the church +stood a villa-like house half hidden among the trees. They admired the +effect of the moonlight on the tiles, and then, passing through the wooden +fence that enclosed it, they entered the deserted Place d'Armes. + +"I can breathe better here," said Henry. "I know that I shall never be +fond of towns." + +But the imaginative Paul shuddered. + +"Look," he said, "the gallows!" + +He pointed to the huge gallows that stood in the Place d'Armes, ready for +frequent use. The moonlight had now grown dim. In its wavering beams the +gallows rose to immense proportions and seemed also to take on the +semblance of life. It reached out its long wooden arm as if to grasp Paul +and with another shudder he turned his back to it. + +The two continued down one side of the Place d'Armes in the shade of +magnolias and cypresses that drooped over the wooden fence. As they passed +they heard the sound of a shot. + +"Somebody in the city fighting with a rifle or pistol instead of a knife," +said Paul. + +But Henry stood motionless and silent for a moment or two. He had +distinctly felt the rush of air on his face as a bullet passed by. He was +seeking to see whence the shot had come and he thought he caught a glimpse +of a figure among the cypresses. + +"No, Paul," he exclaimed, "that shot was aimed at me!" + +He sprang over the wooden fence and was followed by Paul. They searched +diligently among the trees but found nothing. Then they looked at each +other, and each read the same opinion in the other's eyes. + +"It was either Braxton Wyatt or somebody else in the service of Alvarez," +said Henry. + +"Yes," said Paul, nodding assent, "and I think that 'The Galleon' is a +much safer place for us at night than the City of New Orleans." + +"That is true," said Henry, "and it is not worth while for us to make a +complaint about being shot at. We cannot prove anything, and New Orleans +is too turbulent a place to pay attention to a stray rifle or pistol shot +at night." + +They were back at the boat in a few minutes. Shif'less Sol and Long Jim +still slept soundly, but Tom Ross was awake. They told him briefly what +had occurred, and Tom shook his head sagely. + +"Better stay on the boat ez long ez we kin keep it," he said. "Ez fur me, +I'd rather be shot at by Injuns in the woods uv Kentucky than be hevin' +white men drawin' beads on me here in a town. It looks more nateral. Uv +course it wuz Braxton Wyatt or some other tool uv that wicked Spaniard, +Alvarez." + +Early the next morning the five, after hiring the same watchman to care +again for their boat, went to the house of the Governor General, the +large, low building at the corner of Toulouse Street and Rue de la Levee. +Early as they were they were not the first to arrive. + +A tall man, neatly dressed in a fine brown suit with fine, snow-white, +puffed linen, silver-buckled shoes, and hair, tied in a powdered queue, +stood on the veranda. He had a frank, open face, and the rive knew at once +that he was an American. Had not his appearance proclaimed his +nationality, his speech would have done it for him. + +"Good morning," he exclaimed, cheerily, "you are the gentlemen from +Kentucky who arrived yesterday? Yes, you must be! All New Orleans has +heard of the feat of strength and dexterity, performed by one of you last +night in Monsieur Gilibert's Inn of Henri Quatre! And he who did it could +be none other than you, my friend!" + +He looked fixedly and admiringly at Henry, and the youth blushed under his +tan. + +"It was merely done to stop an annoyance," he said. "I did not mean to +make any display." + +The prepossessing stranger laughed. + +"Doubtless," he said, "but you have received a great advertisement, +nevertheless. Some rumor concerning the cause of your visit has also +spread in New Orleans, and for this reason I am here to meet you at the +door of the Governor General." + +The five looked at him inquiringly. He smiled, and they liked him better +than ever. + +"I don't mean to make a mystery of anything," he said. "My name is +Pollock, Oliver Pollock." + +"Ah," exclaimed Paul, his face alight, "you are the head of the company of +Philadelphia, New York and Boston merchants that is sending arms from New +Orleans up the Mississippi and Ohio to Pittsburg, where they are landed +and taken across the country for the use of our hard-pressed brethren in +the east!" + +The shrewd merchant's eyes twinkled. + +"I see, my young friend," he said to Paul, "that you are alert, even if +you have just come out of the wilderness. Yes, I am that man, and I am +proud to be the head of such a company. I tell you, too, that you have +come at the right time. The English, as you know, are forbidden for the +present to trade at New Orleans, while we are unrestricted. But England +is powerful, far more powerful than Spain, and she is pushing hard for +the privilege. If she gets it we shall he hit in a vital spot. Moreover, +an exceedingly strong faction here, one with great influence, is striving +continually to help England and to crush us." + +"Alvarez!" exclaimed Henry and Paul together. + +"Yes, Alvarez! We must not underrate his strength and cunning, but if he +is engaged in plotting, in actual treason, or what is very near it, your +coming may help us to prove it and thus strengthen the hand of Bernardo +Galvez, who is our friend." + +"There is no doubt of the fact!" said Henry earnestly. "He is planning to +make himself Governor General in place of Galvez!" + +"Ah, but to prove it! to prove it! You are strangers and foreigners, and +Alvarez is before you here. No, don't blame yourselves, you could not help +it. But he is the commander of the Spanish forces in Northern Louisiana. +He came, summoned urgently on the King's business, and he gained access to +Bernardo Galvez last night. Oh, he's a shrewd man, and a cunning one, and +we know not what plausible tale he may have poured out to the Governor +General. But come, the sentinel here wishes to know our business and I +shall go in with you, if I may." + +"Of course," said Henry. "We thank you for your aid." + +They saw in a moment how valuable this help could be as Mr. Pollock spoke +rapidly in Spanish to one of the sentinels, who seemed impressed, and who +quickly disappeared within the house. They spent some anxious minutes in +waiting, but the sentinel returned in a few minutes with word that they +would be received. + +"That is good," said Mr. Pollock to the five. "It is well to strike before +the blow of Alvarez sinks in too deeply." + +They entered an ante-chamber furnished with a splendor that the +Kentuckians had never seen before. There were pictures and the arms of +Spain upon the walls, and rich heavy rugs upon the floor. The sentinel +said something in Spanish to Mr. Pollock and the merchant laughed. + +"He makes the polite request," said Mr. Pollock, "that you leave your +rifles here. Ah, you see that the fame of the Kentucky rifle has already +reached New Orleans. They will be perfectly safe, I assure you." + +The five leaned their rifles in a row against the wall, long, +slender-barreled weapons, which were destined to make one day an +unparalleled record before this very city of New Orleans. + +A wide door was thrown open and an attendant dressed in gorgeous Spanish +livery announced their names as they entered a large room furnished with +as great a degree of state as could be reproduced at that time in New +Orleans. An armed soldier stood on either side of the door, and, at the +far end of the room, sitting in a great chair on a slightly raised +platform, was a handsome, youngish man in the uniform of a Spanish +colonel. He had a strong, open countenance, and the five knew that it was +Bernardo Galvez, the Governor General of Louisiana. The favorable +impression of him that they had received from reports was confirmed by his +appearance. + +Bernardo Galvez rose with punctilious courtesy and saluted Oliver Pollock, +who introduced in turn the five, to every one of whom the Governor General +gave a bow and a friendly word. Like all others in New Orleans who had +seen them, he bestowed an admiring look upon their size, their +straightness, and above all, the extraordinary air of independence and +resolution that characterized every one of them, indicated, not by the +words they said or the things they did, but by an atmosphere they created, +something that cannot be described. They had never been in such a room +before, one containing so much of the splendor of old Europe, but they +were not awed in the least by it, and Bernardo Galvez knew it. + +Oliver Pollock, the shrewd merchant and patriot, man of affairs, and judge +of his kind, observed them closely and, observing, he felt a great thrill +of satisfaction. The five, boys though two of them were, had felt the vast +importance of their mission and, now that they had come, he too, felt it. +It was a most critical and delicate moment for the struggling young +nation. He knew much of Francisco Alvarez, and he surmised more. + +"I have heard of you," said the Governor General to the five, and his +tones became judicial and severe, as became the ruler of a million square +miles of fertile territory belonging to His Most Catholic Majesty, the +King of Spain. "You are the subject of formal complaint made by the +captain of our forces in the North, Don Francisco Alvarez." + +It was now Paul, the scholar, youth of imagination, and future statesman, +who responded and it seemed fitting to all that he should do so. + +"Will Your Excellency state the complaint against us?" he asked in a grave +and manly way. + +"I will leave it to Don Francisco to state it," replied Bernardo Galvez. +"I expected that you would be here this morning, so I have chosen to +confront you with him. Each side shall tell its story." + +This seemed fair, and the five, who had been waved to seats by a great +window with Mr. Pollock, made no protest. There they sat in silence for a +few minutes, while the Governor General dictated to a secretary who sat at +a little table by his side and who wrote with a goose-quill. + +The wide door was at length thrown open again, and the usher announced Don +Francisco and his aide, Senor Braxton Wyatt. The five were amazed and +indignant at the assurance of the renegade, but they said nothing. + +Alvarez walked into the room, cool, dignified, and austere, but his manner +was not calculated to ruffle his superior officer. It seemed rather to +indicate a confidence that the Governor General would punish as was +fitting the impertinence of the intruders from Kaintock. He bestowed only +a single glance upon them, as if his victory over such insignificant +opponents were already assured. The blood slowly rose to the faces of +Paul and Henry, but they were about to witness an extraordinary exhibition +of Spanish pliancy and dexterity. + +Braxton Wyatt was as thoroughly the Spaniard as clothes could make him, +which was not thorough at all, and he imitated his leader even to the +supercilious glance at the Kentuckians and the following look of assured +victory. The five took no notice of him. + +Alvarez gave to the Governor General a military salute, which Galvez +returned in like fashion. Then the captain sat down in a chair near the +Governor General, and the latter said, maintaining his judicial tone: + +"Those against whom you made the complaint last night are here, Don +Francisco. Will you state again the charges? It is but fair that they +should hear and make reply, if they can." + +He spoke in English that the five might understand, and Alvarez replied in +the same language. + +"Your Excellency," he said, and his tone seemed frank, open, and +convincing--the five were amazed that he could have such a truthful look +and manner of injured innocence--"you know that I have been a most +faithful guardian of the interests of our master, the King. I have done +long and hard service in the far north, in a wilderness infested by +hostile savages." + +"No one doubts your courage and endurance, Don Francisco," said Bernardo +Galvez. + +"My devotion to Spain is the great passion of my life," continued Alvarez +in a gratified tone. + +"You know how jealously I have sought to guard against incursions from +Kaintock. The settlements of the Americans there are but two or three year +old, yet these people press already upon the Mississippi and threaten His +Majesty's territory of Louisiana." + +"I think that we wander a little from the subject," said Galvez, "It would +be better to state the core of your complaint." + +Alvarez made a deprecating gesture. + +"I deemed the preamble necessary to a full understanding of what has +followed," he said. "When I tell of Kaintock I tell what these men are. +Suffice it now to say that, of their own accord and by their own hands, +they have made war upon Spain. They have stolen away a boat of mine, +loaded with arms and stores, they have fired upon His Majesty's subjects, +and one of them has slain a Natchez trailer, a faithful, valuable man in +my service." + +When Alvarez spoke of The Cat, he pointed at Shif'less Sol--he was acting +on a hint of Wyatt's. The look of Alvarez followed the accusing finger, +but the shiftless one rose undaunted. + +"That part of what he tells is true," said Shif'less Sol. "I slew that +Injun--an' a meaner face I never saw in fa'r fight. He slipped upon me in +the dark to murder me, an' thar wuzn't nothin' else left fur me to do." + +Freed of his speech and his wrath, the shiftless one sat down again. +Alvarez and the renegade gave him looks of sneering incredulity, but the +look of Bernardo Galvez was one of interest and surprise. + +"What of the other charges?" he asked, turning to Paul, the spokesman. + +The gift of imagination often implies the orator's tongue and Paul had an +inspired moment. He stood up, his cheeks flushing and his eyes alight, as +they always were when he was deeply moved. + +"It is true," he said, "that we took a boat belonging to Captain Alvarez, +but it was because he forced us to do it. It is he who first made war upon +Kentucky, not we upon Spain. I went into his camp upon a peaceful mission. +He seized and held me a prisoner. I was rescued by my comrades, although +they inflicted no harm upon any of the men of Captain Alvarez. He has +sought in every way to destroy us, and because he was the beginner of +violence and because he is planning a great treason and war upon Kentucky, +we took his boat and have come to New Orleans for the sole purpose of +appearing before you." + +Alvarez burst into a sneering laugh and Braxton Wyatt, as a matter of +course, imitated him, but Bernardo Galvez asked in a grave tone: + +"What do you mean by a great treason? No, Don Francisco, wait! Let him +speak! It is their right." + +"I mean," said Paul boldly, "that he expects to become Governor General of +Louisiana in your place. It is not the policy of Spain to attack us. Yet +Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, the head chiefs of the powerful Shawnee and +Miami nations were in his camp, and he has agreed to help them with +Spanish soldiers and Spanish cannon in a raid upon Kentucky." + +"This is an extraordinary statement," said Bernardo Galvez. "Your proof?" + +"Yes, your proof!" sneered Alvarez, and Braxton Wyatt sneered, too. + +"This man," said Paul, pointing to the renegade, "is from Kentucky. We +were boys together but he deserted the white people, his own people, to go +with the red. He has continually urged the Indian attack upon us and he +has brought to Captain Alvarez complete maps of every settlement in +Kentucky, Wareville, Marlowe, Lexington, Harrodsburg, and all the others. +Why is he here! Why has he come to New Orleans, if not to bind the red +chiefs and Captain Alvarez together in such an enterprise?" + +Alvarez again burst into a laugh, ironical and taunting. Paul flushed +deeply. + +"I know," he exclaimed, "that we cannot bring you absolute proofs, but it +is true, nevertheless. The Indian chiefs, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle, +have his agreement made without any authority from you, and there are the +maps." + +"A map does not necessarily mean war," said Alvarez, "even if they should +exist, and they do not exist. I took these people, arms in hand, upon His +Majesty's soil, and it was my intention to bring them to New Orleans for +examination and punishment by you." + +"Doubtless it is so," said Bernardo Galvez, "but you were in no hurry to +perform the mission. I was forced to send a message to you at Beaulieu to +come to New Orleans with your prisoners, but it seems they have escaped +and come of their own accord." + +"And I may state, your Excellency," said Henry Ware rising, "that while my +comrade, Paul Cotter, was a prisoner at Beaulieu, he was forced into a +ring and a professional swordsman was set upon him. That, Captain Alvarez +cannot deny. It was witnessed by too many people." + +Bernardo Galvez gave Alvarez a surprised and stern look. The captain +winced, but it was only for a moment. + +"Is this true, Don Francisco?" asked the Governor General gravely. "Did +you do this thing?" + +Alvarez made a gesture as if It were true, but yet a trifle. + +"I confess, Your Excellency," he said. "I had forgotten the circumstance, +but, since I am reminded of it, I will not deny. The thing seems much +worse in the telling than it was in the happening. The young man had shown +great skill with the sword--he had disarmed me in a little encounter; I +admit that, too--and we wished to test his agility and courage against a +master, who was instructed not to hurt him seriously under any +circumstances." + +He spoke rapidly and lightly, almost convincingly. But Henry Ware +interrupted. + +"His object," he said, "was to have Paul Cotter killed." + +Bernardo Galvez looked from one to the other and back again. It was the +word of a stranger and a foreigner against that of a Spanish captain in +his service, a man of noble lineage, and with powerful friends at the +Court of Madrid. But the seeds of doubt had been sown nevertheless. The +youth, Paul, and his comrade Henry, also, had spoken with singular +earnestness. Moreover, Francisco Alvarez was an ambitious man, and +Bernardo Galvez also believed him to be unscrupulous. If he aimed at the +place of Governor General and the commitment of Spain to an alliance with +England, it was a daring thing to do. + +Bernardo Galvez was sorely troubled and he looked from Alvarez to the five +and then back again. Alvarez sat smiling. His look was that of one who was +right, who knew that he was right, and who knew that others knew it. +Oliver Pollock sitting by the big window, close to the five, was also +watching shrewdly in order that he might draw from all this coil some +capital for the patriot cause. + +"In any event," said Bernardo Galvez at last, speaking slowly, as if he +carefully considered each word, "you were wrong, Don Francisco, to expose +this youth to such an encounter. If, as you say, it was merely a little +sport, then the sport was ill-chosen and ill-timed. Whether that or +another was your purpose, it reflects upon your judgment and sense of +humanity." + +He paused, and Alvarez flushed darkly, but he was still master of his +supple self. + +"Your words are none too severe, Your Excellency," he said. "I did indeed +do a foolish thing. It was a thoughtless impulse." + +"But," resumed Galvez, as if Alvarez had not spoken, "you are an officer +high in the service of His Majesty, and these who accuse you are strangers +belonging to another race. They do not bring the proof of their charges, +and the fact that they have violently seized and put to their own use the +property of Spain cannot be denied, as the boat is now anchored at the +levee." + +Francisco Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt lifted their chins in triumph and the +five were downcast. But the face of Oliver Pollock, the shrewd merchant +and far-seeing judge of affairs and men, showed nothing. + +"Therefore," continued the Governor General, "the boat must be returned at +once to Don Francisco, and for the present those who seized it must be the +prisoners of Spain." + +Paul was about to spring up in protest, but Henry's hand on his arm held +him down. Oliver Pollock, too, gave him a warning glance. Yet the +triumphant looks of the Spanish captain and the renegade were hard to +bear. + +"On the other hand," continued the Governor General, still weighing his +words, "the actions of Don Francisco have not been beyond rebuke. He seems +to have regarded those from Kaintock as the prisoners of himself and not +of Spain. He made no report of these matters to me, his superior officer, +and he has lingered at his place of Beaulieu as if he were subject to no +orders save those of his own will." + +Alvarez again flushed and raised his hand in protest, but Bernardo Galvez +went on, disregarding him: + +"Because these offenses give some color to the charges against him, it is +my order that he be relieved for the present of his command, and that he +do not depart, under any circumstance, from the City of New Orleans until +he receive further instructions." + +Alvarez, sprang up in anger, but a commanding gesture from the Governor +General waved him down in silence. + +"I do not wish to hear any protests, Don Francisco," he said, "but I do +intend to look further into these matters." + +"If we have not won, neither has the Spaniard," whispered Henry in Paul's +ear. + +Oliver Pollock glanced out of the big window and the turning of his head +hid the twinkle in his eye. Yes, these were very delicate matters, and two +great nations and another that hoped to be great, too, were involved, but +one might make progress nevertheless. + +Bernardo Galvez spoke to his secretary, who left the room, but returned in +a few minutes with no less a personage than Lieutenant Diego Bernal, +mincing, scrupulously dressed, but very alert of eye. + +"You will take six soldiers," said the Governor General to him, "and +escort these five to the fortress. Treat them well, but hold them until +further orders." + +Oliver Pollock gave a nod to Henry. It said plainly, "go without protest." +Henry and his comrades rose and followed Lieutenant Bernal from the +Governor General's house. Thence they went to one of the forts in the wall +that surrounded the town. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +IN PRISON + + +Their fortress prison was built of brick, but it was not a particularly +somber place. They were all put in one large room which had two windows +barred with iron; but plenty of air came in at the windows, and the place, +though bare, was clean. + +"Well," said Lieutenant Bernal, when they were inside, "tell me all that +occurred before Bernardo Galvez." + +Paul was again the spokesman telling everything that was said as literally +as he could. + +"I have an impression," said Lieutenant Bernal, "although my impressions +are usually wrong and my memory is always weak, that you have scored, at +least partially. You have sowed the fertile crop of suspicion in the mind +of Bernardo Galvez. He has shown that by making Francisco Alvarez +virtually a prisoner, also, and you have a powerful advocate in the Senor +Pollock, the great merchant, and I may add the great diplomat, also." + +"How long do you think we will be kept in here?" asked Shif'less Sol, +looking around at the room, which, though wide, was by no means so wide as +the forests of Kentucky. + +"I do not know," replied the lieutenant, smiling--he understood the look +of the shiftless one, "but you shall not be ill-treated, and do not feel +that any disgrace lies upon you. This is a military prison. Good men have +been confined here; I myself, for instance, because of some little breach +of military discipline magnified by my officers into a fault. Oh, you +shall not suffer!" + +He bustled about cheerily. He had food and drink brought to them, and then +he departed, volunteering to see that their private property on "The +Galleon" was saved and brought to them. + +No one spoke for a little while after his going, and then the silence was +broken by a long, dismal sigh. It was drawn up from the depths of Long +Jim's chest. + +"Are you sick, Jim?" asked Henry. + +"Yes, Henry," replied Jim in a melancholy tone, "I'm sick; sick uv all +this jawin', sick uv seein' things pulled here, an' then pulled yonder, +sick uv hearin' people lyin', knowin' that they're lyin', and knowin' that +other people know that they're lyin'." + +"Why, Jim," said Paul, who had a twinkle in his eye, "that's diplomacy, +and the man who practises it is called a diplomatist or diplomat. It's +considered a great accomplishment." + +"It ain't so considered by me, an' I'm bein' heard from," said Long Jim +with great emphasis. "Them dy-plo-may-tists or dy-plo-maws may reckon +theirselves pow'ful big boys, but I've got another an' better name fur +'em, and it's spelled with jest four letters, uv which the furst is l an' +the last is r, an' them that comes in between are i an' a, with the i +first. Why, Paul, it makes me plum' sick, all these goin's on. In a big +town like this, full uv Spaniards an' Frenchmen an' Injuns an' niggers an' +mixed breeds, an' the Lord knows what, you can never tell nuth'in' 'bout +nobody, 'cept that he says what he don't believe, an' that he ain't what +he is. + +"I guess I'm in love more with the big woods than ever. Thar things is +what they is. A buffaler don't pretend to be a b'ar. He'd be ashamed to be +caught tryin' to play sech a trick, an' a b'ar has the same respect fur +hisself; he'd never dream uv sayin' in his b'ar language, 'Look at me, +admire me, see what a fine big buffaler I am!' An' I've a lot uv respeck +fur the Injun, too. He's an Injun an' he don't say he ain't. He don't come +sneakin' along claimin' that he's an old friend uv the family, he jest up +an' lets drive his tomahawk at your head, ef he gits the chance, an' makes +no bones 'bout it. I'd a heap ruther be killed by a good honest Injun who +wuz pantin' fur my blood an' didn't pretend that he wuzn't pantin', than +be done to death down here, in some cur'us, unbeknown, hole-in-the-dark +way, by a furrin' man who couldn't speak a real word of the decent English +language, but who wuz tryin' to let on all the time that he hated to do +it." + +Long Jim stopped, breathing hard with his long speech and anger. Shif'less +Sol rose, walked across the room, and solemnly held out his hand to his +comrade. + +"Jim," he said, "you don't often talk sense, but you're talkin' a heap o' +it now. Shake." + +Long Jim shook and added with a grin: + +"When me an' you agree, Sol, 'bout anythin', it's shorely right." + +Then they fell silent for a while, each thinking in his own way of what +had occurred. Henry Ware walked to one of the windows and looked out for a +long while. He relished little the idea of being a prisoner for the second +time, even if the second imprisonment were a sort of courtesy affair. He +saw from the windows the roofs of houses amid green foliage and he knew +that only a few hundred yards beyond lay the great forest, which, now in +the freshest and tenderest tints of spring, rolled away unbroken, save for +the few scratches that the French or Spanish had made, for thousands of +miles, and for all he knew to the Arctic Circle itself. + +The words of Long Jim stirred the youth deeply. He did not like intrigue +and double-dealing and the ways of foreign men. Like Long Jim he longed +for the great honest forest, and he, too, had his respect for the Indian +who would tomahawk him without claiming to be a friend. He was glad, very +glad, that he had come upon so great an errand, but he would like to +cleave through the whole web of intrigue with one sturdy blow and then be +off into the forest which was calling to him with such a dearly loved +voice. + +Paul saw Henry's face and he understood its expression. He knew that it +was harder for his comrade than for himself to endure the confinement +within four walls, but he said nothing. Words would be wasted. + +Later in the day their door was opened, and Mr. Pollock came in bringing +with him a cheery breeze. + +"I've come to tell you what news there may be," he said, "and also to ask +questions. Now, sit down and make yourselves comfortable. That's right. +The cunning and ambitious Don Francisco Alvarez is in a rage. He is also +somewhat frightened. He knows that Bernardo Galvez will be busy the next +few days trying to secure the proof of the charges that you make against +him. In my opinion, Galvez believes that they are true, but, as you will +agree, he cannot act without proof." + +"But that is exactly what we lack at this time," said Henry, "and how can +we get it while we are locked up here?" + +"Just so! Just so! That is a point to which I am coming. Now, about this +renegade, this Braxton Wyatt. You say he is the man who drew the maps and +who has been the intermediary in this whole nefarious scheme. Maps could +be drawn, of course, for a purpose not wicked, but if they could be +produced, and above all if Alvarez had made any notes upon them in his own +handwriting, they would go far to help. If not proof, they would at least +be a strong indication. Now, where do you think these maps are kept?" + +"On the person of Braxton Wyatt," replied Henry promptly. + +The merchant smiled with pleasure. + +"Of course! Of course!" he said. "They belong to Wyatt and naturally he +would keep them. Naturally, also, Alvarez would want him to keep them. He +would take care that such things were not found on his own person. We must +get possession of those maps. But we must go further. This renegade has +lived among both the Shawnees and Miamis and is high in their confidence, +is it not so?" + +"Yes, both the great head-chiefs, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle, trust +him." + +"And to carry out this nefarious alliance some promise must have passed +between Alvarez and the two head chiefs. That promise had to take a +concrete form to be binding." + +"War belts," suggested Henry. + +"But a white man does not send war belts. He has another kind of token, +and he makes that token with paper, ink, and a goose quill. Yes, Alvarez +is cunning, I know, but the most cunning of all men when he enters a great +conspiracy must leave a loose end hanging about somewhere. Or, to change +my simile, there is no armor of deception so complete that there is not a +crack in it. We must find that loose end, we must find that crack, and +when we do, we can see victory just ahead of us." + +"Do you mean," said Henry, "that Alvarez has probably sent a letter to the +Northern chiefs, promising that as Governor General of Louisiana he will +help them with soldiers and cannon against us in Kentucky?" + +"I think it likely, quite likely," returned Oliver Pollock, nodding his +head to give emphasis to his words. "He had to give them something that +would bind. A conspirator must take a risk and in this case it seemed +small. The villages of those chiefs are beyond the Ohio, fifteen hundred +miles at least from here. The chance that such a letter would reappear in +New Orleans was most remote, and Alvarez, might have expected to provide +against that, too, by being Governor General within a few months. I feel +confident that there is such a letter and we must find it." + +"It's a pretty problem," said Paul. + +"I admit it," said Oliver Pollock, "but a new continent teaches one to +achieve the impossible. That is what are we to do; how, I do not yet know, +but we must do it." + +"It's important," said Henry, "that it be done soon." + +"It certainly is," said Mr. Pollock with great emphasis, "because I wish +to start North soon with a great fleet of canoes and other boats loaded +with rifles, powder, lead, blankets, medicines, and other absolutely +necessary things for our suffering brethren in the east. They are hard +pressed there, and it takes a long time to pull up the Mississippi and the +Ohio and then carry these things across four or five hundred miles of +country to our army." + +"It's shorely a wonderful thing," said Shif'less Sol, "that you kin take +boats up a big river hundreds an' hundreds o' miles into the heart o' a +continent, then bend off into another river runnin' into it that takes +you nearly over to the Atlantic. An' mebbe ef you took one o' the rivers +that runs in it on the other side you might follow it up 'till you got +purty near to the western ocean. It says to me plain ez print that we must +hev this here Mississippi all the way to its mouth. We can't stay bottled +up." + +"Sh-sh," said Mr. Pollock, warningly. "Leave that to the future. It will +adjust itself, and I think it will adjust itself in the way that we wish, +but we cannot talk of it now, while Bernardo Galvez is our good friend and +Spain inclines to our side. Of course Louisiana may be passed back to +France, but France is a better and more powerful friend than Spain can +be." + +"Do you think you can get hold of Braxton Wyatt?" asked Henry of Mr. +Pollock. + +"I shall try," replied the merchant. "Our association has agents here, and +in such times as these and in such a great emergency much may be excused. +If we can get hands upon him at a convenient moment and place we'll see +whether he has those maps about him." + +"He'll surely have them," said Henry. "But he'll stick close to Alvarez." + +"Yes, there lies the trouble," said Mr. Pollock, "but we'll do our best." + +He took his departure, and they were left again to loneliness. Several +days passed thus and they chafed terribly. Food and drink they had in +plenty, and even some English books were sent to them. But the narrow +space and the four enclosing walls were always there. Outside the spring +was deepening. All the great forest throbbed with the life of bird and +beast, but they, the highest of creation, could not walk ten paces in any +direction. + +"Jim," said Shif'less Sol to Long Jim, "there's a spring 'bout twenty +miles north o' Wareville that you an' me hev sat by many a time. Thar are +hundreds a' springs through that country, yes, thousands o' 'em, but this +one is the finest o' 'em all. It comes right out o' the side o' a rock +hill, a stream so pure that you kin see right through it same ez ef it +wuzn't thar, then it falls into a most bee-yu-ti-ful rock pool scooped out +by Natur, an' ez the pool overflows, it runs away through the grass an' +the woods in a stream 'bout two feet wide an' four inches deep. I think +that's 'bout the nicest, coldest, an' most life-givin' water in all +Kentucky. You an' me, Jim, hev gone thar many a time, hot an' tired from +the hunt, an' hev felt ez ef we had landed right on the steps o' Heaven +itself. An' the game, Jim! The game, big an' little, knowed 'bout that +spring, too. Remember that tre-men-je-ous big elk you an' me killed 'bout +two hundred yards north o' the spring. He stood most ez high ez a horse. +An' remember, Jim, when we climbed up on top o' the hill out o' which the +spring runs, we could see a long distance every way, north, south, east +an' west, over the most bee-yu-ti-ful country, an' we could go whar we +pleased. We could follow the buffaler clean to the western ocean ef we +felt like it." + +Long Jim had been sitting on the floor. Now he rose and advanced in a +threatening manner upon Shif'less Sol. + +"See here, Sol Hyde!" he exclaimed, "me an' you hev had words many a time, +but they hev always ended in smoke! They hev never gone ez fur ez this! +An' I want to tell you right here, Sol Hyde, that I kin stand a lot uv +things but I can't stand this! 'Ef you say another word about that +bee-yu-ti-ful spring, an' them bee-yu-ti-ful woods, an' that bee-yu-ti-ful +game, thar'll be a heap uv trouble, an' it'll all be fur you!" + +"Hit him anyway, Jim," said Tom Ross. "He's done filled me clean up with +discontent, and he ought to be punished." + +Shif'less Sol laughed. + +"I won't do it again, Jim," he said. "It wuz 'cause I feel ez bad about it +ez you do, an' I jest had to let off some meanness." + +Lieutenant Diego Bernal reappeared at last. He bestowed shrewd looks upon +the five and said: + +"I have an impression, though my impressions are usually false and my +memory always weak, that you are pining. You wish the liberty and the open +air of Kaintock. Your legs are long and you would stretch them." + +"You hev shore hit it, leftenant," said Tom Ross. "Sometimes I think uv +startin' off walkin' ez straight an' hard ez I kin, goin' right through +the wall thar, an' then through any house that might git in the way, an' +never to stop goin' 'till I got to Kentucky, whar a man may breathe free +an' easy." + +Lieutenant Diego Bernal laughed and daintily stroked his little mustache. + +"I understand you and you have my sympathy," he said. "We Catalans are at +heart republicans, and I am interested in this new place of yours that you +call Kaintock. But you will have to endure this fort a while longer. The +good Senor Pollock does not make progress. He cannot produce the proof of +what you charge. Yet Bernardo Galvez waits. He believes in you, and he +holds Alvarez and Wyatt in the city. He is strengthened in his opinion, +too, by gossip that has come down from Beaulieu, but that is not proof and +he cannot act upon it. But be patient. I have an impression, although my +impressions are usually false, that time is fighting for you." + +He stayed with them an hour, precise and affected, but they believed him +to be brave and true. A few days later Oliver Pollock himself came again. + +"I have not been able to get hold of Wyatt," he said. "He stays too +closely with Alvarez. I don't think that my agents are skillful enough. +Hence I decided to procure a new one and fortunately I have succeeded." + +"Who is that?" asked Henry. + +"Yourself." + +"Myself!" exclaimed Henry in astonishment. + +"No one but you," replied the merchant. "I have been able, by the use of +great influence, to secure from Bernardo Galvez your temporary release. It +is to his interest to have this plot exposed if it really exists, and +accordingly he has allowed me to borrow you. You can go forth with me if +you give your word of honor that you will not leave New Orleans or its +vicinity and will report again here." + +"Why, of course I'll go! I'll"--exclaimed Henry joyfully, and then he +stopped suddenly, looking around at his comrades. Then he added: "I don't +feel right, Mr. Pollock, to go away and leave the boys in this place." + +Up rose Tom Ross. + +"Don't you fret about us, Henry," he said. "You're goin' on a good work +an' you'll do it, too. We need to hev one uv our gang outside. Remember up +at Boo-ly, when Alvarez had us, how much better we felt 'cause he didn't +hev Sol. 'Twas a comfort to think that Sol wuz out thar in the woods." + +It was a long speech for Tom Ross, but it expressed the sentiments of them +all. Henry left with Mr. Pollock and they went to a handsome brick house +in the city. This house was store, office, and residence combined, and +several clerks were about. But these clerks did not have pale faces and +bent backs. They were mostly strong-limbed, broad-shouldered men with +tanned faces. + +"They work out of doors," said Mr. Pollock briefly. "Some are to go with +the fleet up the rivers, others have been as far as the West Indies +accumulating supplies. It is necessary for them all to be able to write +and shoot." + +Henry liked their looks, but he did not have a chance to speak to any of +them as Mr. Pollock quickly led the way Into a small inner office, where +he motioned Henry to a chair and took one himself. Henry was now within +narrower walls than those that confined him in the prison, but he felt a +huge sense of relief. He was free. If he wanted to open the door and walk +out he could do so. He expanded his great chest and took a mighty breath. +Mr. Pollock heard the suspiration, looked up, and laughed. He understood +perfectly. + +"I'd feel that way, too, if I had been in your place," he said. "Now what +we want to do is to devise some plan of trapping your friend and enemy. +Mr. Wyatt. What do you think?" + +"Once," replied Henry, "when, he was carrying war belts between the +Shawnees and Miamis we simply seized him and took them away from him. We +must do something of this kind. Where is he staying?" + +"Alvarez, has a house near the river. He is there. I know that the two are +plotting all the while, but I cannot get the proof." + +"Do Wyatt and Alvarez know that I'm out?" + +"No, neither of them." + +"That's good. I think I can surprise Braxton Wyatt. If I can get my hands +on him I'm sure that we'll find those maps. What kind of a house has +Alvarez?" + +"You can see it from that window. A pretty place, standing among the +trees." + +Henry looked, and the longer he looked the more pleased he felt. The trees +were thick around the house of Alvarez and the fact gave him an idea. + +"I think I know how to do it," he said. + +Oliver Pollock leaned forward, his shrewd face eager, and for a few +minutes the two talked low and earnestly. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE FLAW IN THE ARMOR + + +Don Francisco Alvarez was in a fairly happy frame of mind. It is true that +he could have been happier, but a revulsion from a great state of suspense +had come to him. When he had been so boldly accused in the presence of the +Governor General, cold fear had struck at his heart, despite his courage +and cunning. He knew that the seeds of suspicion had been sowed deep in +the heart of Bernardo Galvez and that the plant would grow fast in the +warm, moist air of intrigue that overhung New Orleans. + +But days had passed and nothing had happened. Moreover, the five whom he +feared so much were hard and fast in the military prison within the walls, +and no proof of their charges had been brought forth. Time, too, worked +steadily for him. It not only weakened the accusation against him, but it +also gave his powerful friends at the court of Madrid time to help him and +his ambition. That little strain of royal blood in his veins was well +worth having. He would certainly succeed to Bernardo Galvez, whether the +wait he long or short. + +He kept Braxton Wyatt with him all the time. He had learned to appreciate +the value of the renegade's unscrupulous cunning, and he was necessary, +too, in order to carry out the great alliance with the tribes which +Alvarez meant should become an accomplished fact. + +It was a pleasant house that Alvarez had within the walls, one story of +brick covered with red tiles, surrounded by piazzas, and standing in +grounds thick with magnolias, cypresses, and orange trees. In truth, the +foliage was so dense that by daylight the house was almost entirely hidden +from the city, and by night it was quite invisible unless lights chanced +to twinkle through the leaves. + +The Spaniard and Braxton Wyatt were sitting now upon the piazza drinking a +cool decoction of West Indian origin, and Alvarez was commenting upon what +he called his good fortune. + +"All things favor us, Wyatt," he said. "No proof reaches the ears of +Bernardo Galvez and the galleon, Dona Isabel, will certainly arrive next +week from Spain. If I mistake not, she will bring news welcome to me and +unwelcome to Bernardo Galvez." + +"If you become Governor General what will you do with the Kentuckians in +the fort?" asked Wyatt. + +Alvarez laughed, and it was a very unpleasant laugh to hear. + +"I do not know what I shall do with them," he said, "but I am sure of one +fact. They will never see Kaintock again. The powers of a Governor General +are very great." + +Braxton Wyatt was satisfied with the answer. His wicked heart throbbed at +the thought that the five would never more roam their beloved forests. He, +too, looked forward to the arrival of the galleon, Dona Isabel, with +welcome news. He saw how useful he was to Alvarez, and if the Spaniard +rose, he must rise with him. + +The two, after these few words, sat in silence, each occupied with his own +thoughts, which, however, were largely the same. Alvarez rose presently +and went into the house. If all things went as he wished, there were +certain letters that he would send to powerful friends in Spain, and now +was a good time to make rough drafts of them. + +Braxton Wyatt remained on the piazza. It was wonderfully cool and pleasant +there, after the heat of the day. The wind blew musically among the orange +trees, and the air was spiced with pleasant odors. Braxton Wyatt's +thoughts were pleasant, too. He liked this luxurious southern life. Though +born to the forest, and a good woodsman, he had sybaritic tastes, which +needed only opportunity to bud and bloom. + +Now, like the Arab who had the glass for sale, he was building his great +future. Alvarez would be Governor General of Louisiana, and he, Braxton +Wyatt, would be his trusted and necessary lieutenant. The five whom he +hated would be removed under the new rule from the military prison to +dungeons, where they would gradually be lost to the sight of man, never to +be heard of again. The Indians and the Spaniards with their cannon would +destroy the settlements in Kentucky, and he would become, if not the +first, at least the second man in His Most Catholic Majesty's huge +province of Louisiana. And it was not absolutely necessary to be +Spanish-born to become in time a Governor General himself. + +Time passed. It was very quiet within the belt of magnolias and cypresses +and orange trees and but little noise came from the town, the stray shout +of a reveler, a snatch of a song, and then nothing more. + +Braxton Wyatt, still filled with his dreams, arose and stepped down from +the piazza. The happy future promoted in him a certain physical activity, +and he wanted to walk among the trees. He stepped into their shadow, +strolled a rod or so, and then stopped. His acute, forest-bred ear had +brought to him a sound which was not that of the wind nor any echo of a +gay reveler's song. + +The renegade stopped. It was very dark among the trees. He could see +neither the house behind, nor the city before him. He did not hear the +sound again, but he was troubled. His pleasant thoughts were disturbed. It +was like waking from a happy dream. He turned to go back to the house and +then he saw a flitting shadow. The wicked heart of Braxton Wyatt stood +still. If he had not known that Henry Ware was safely in the military +prison he would have taken the terrible shadow for him. He knew too well +the great height, the broad shoulders, and the fierce accusing +countenance. Once he had laughed at the Shawnees and Miamis because they +had believed in ghosts. But could it be true? + +Braxton Wyatt turned back toward the house, where he might renew his +interrupted and pleasant dream, but the next instant the terrible shadow +turned itself into a reality more terrible. + +A powerful form hurled itself upon him, and he was thrown to the ground. +He looked up and met the eyes of Henry Ware, who knelt upon him. No, it +was certainly not a shadow but the most unpleasant of all facts! + +Braxton Wyatt was at first paralyzed by terror and the suddenness of the +attack. When he recovered, one hand of Henry pressed heavily upon his +mouth, while the other felt rapidly through his clothing. "Look for any +unusual thickness in his waistcoat; that is probably the place," Oliver +Pollock had said. Henry's hand in a few moments ran upon something folded +between the cloth and lining of the waistcoat. He snatched out his knife, +cut them apart and out fell several folds of fine, thin deerskin. He knew +that the prize had been secured, and he meant to keep it. + +Henry thrust the folds of deerskin in his pocket and sprang to his feet. + +"Now, you scoundrel!" he exclaimed, "tell what tale you please and we will +prove another!" + +Then the terrible reality resolved itself back into a shadow, and was +gone. Braxton Wyatt sprang to his feet, clapped his hand to his mangled +waistcoat where the precious package had been, and uttered a strangled +cry. Then he ran through the trees to the house of Alvarez. + + * * * * * + +A quarter of an hour later Oliver Pollock was sitting at his own window in +the little office and his thoughts were not happy. He wished his fleet of +supply canoes to start on the great river journey at once, but it could +not depart while such storms were threatening. Alvarez was too serious a +danger, and he must be removed. But the merchant realized that he had made +little progress. Alvarez seemed to be secure in his plot. + +There came a knock at his door, and in reply to his request to enter, a +clerk said that the young man, Mr. Ware, had returned. Mr. Pollock rose to +his feet as Henry came in. Henry carefully closed the door behind him, +advanced, and put a small package in Mr. Pollock's hand. + +"There they are!" he said, "the maps drawn up by Braxton Wyatt, and with +notes on them in handwriting, which I take to be that of Francisco +Alvarez." + +The merchant stared at first in astonishment and delight. Then he ran to +the lamp and spread out the sheets of fine, thin deerskin. He looked at +them, one by one, and laughed with delight. + +"Yes," he said, "the notes are in the handwriting of Francisco Alvarez! I +know it--I have seen it often enough--and Bernardo Galvez will know it, +too! Oh, it is a great find! a great find! It is not conclusive proof, +but it will go far toward swaying belief! How did you get them?" + +Henry had recovered from all signs of his struggle with the renegade, and +was now sitting placidly in a chair. + +"I took them," he said. "I found Braxton Wyatt in the grove around the +house of Alvarez, and I seized him. I found these in the lining of his +waistcoat." + +"You did not kill him?" + +"Oh, no. He is not hurt." + +"It is well. I did not wish any unnecessary violence, but we had a right +to seize these documents which mean so much to us and Bernardo Galvez. You +will leave them with me." + +"Of course," said Henry. "And now that this task is finished, I'll go back +to prison with my comrades." + +"It's unnecessary for you to join them there," said the merchant still +laughing in his pleasure. "I'll have them out to join you, and that +speedily, too. Go into the next room and sleep. You've earned the right to +it." + +The five, reduced to four, were sitting in their prison the next afternoon +chafing more than ever. It seemed to every one of them that those walls, +already so narrow, were still contracting. They did not even like to look +out of the window. The contrast was too painful, and they did not wish to +increase their sorrow. + +"Jim," said Shif'less Sol in plaintive tones to Long Jim Hart, "won't you +please come here, an' hold up my head?" + +"Now, Sol Hyde," said Long Jim, "what do you want me to come thar an' hold +up your head fur? Are you too lazy to hold it up fur yourself?" + +"No, Jim, I ain't too lazy to hold it up fur myself, I'm jest too weak. +Lack o' exercise an' fresh air, an' elbow room hev done fur poor Sol Hyde +at last. I'm pinin' away. Tell Henry when he comes back, ef he ever does, +that I fell into a decline. I done my best to b'ar up, but my best wuzn't +good enough." + +"Now you shut up, Sol Hyde," said Jim Hart, "or you'll hev me down real +sick with your foolish talk, ez I jest can't stand it." + +They stopped because at that moment there came unto them Lieutenant Diego +Bernal, fresh, chipper, with a few additional flounces and ruffles added +to his jaunty uniform, and a smile upon his dark, pleasant face. + +"Ah, my gallant four, who were once my gallant five," he said as he +stroked his little mustache, "I have news for you, important news. You are +even to be summoned again to the presence of His Excellency, Bernardo +Galvez, the Governor General of Louisiana, and that summons is immediate. +I have an impression, though my impressions are usually false and my +memory always weak, that the large youth, the strong youth, the splendid +youth, surnamed the Ware, who was released for the time at the +intercession of Senor Pollock, has been achieving something. This, I +think, is the reason of the sudden call to the audience with His +Excellency." + +Paul was all life at once. He sprang up, his eyes sparkling and the flush +of anticipation coming into his face. + +"Henry has succeeded!" he cried. "He has done something big! I knew he +would! He has defeated Alvarez and that wretch Wyatt!" + +The Catalan regarded Paul with admiration. He liked this enthusiasm, this +infinite trust in a comrade. The five and their faith in one another +continued to make the strongest of appeals to him. + +"I think it is even so," he said. "The young giant surnamed the Ware, must +have done a great deed, because Don Francisco Alvarez, is summoned, at the +same time, to the presence of His Excellency, the Governor General, +Bernardo Galvez, and I hear that he is in no pleasant frame of mind +because of it. Come!" + +The four went forth joyfully. Shif'less Sol was the first to put foot on +Mother Earth, and he stopped, raised his head, and opened his mouth to its +widest extent. + +"Jim," he said to Long Jim Hart, "I want to breathe it in, this outdoors +an' fresh air an' freedom, everywhar I kin, at my mouth, nose, ears, an' +eyes, too, ef they're any good at that sort o' business." + +"An' at the pores, too, Sol," said Paul. + +"What's pores?" + +"Millions and millions of fine little holes all over you." + +"Wa'll, I ain't ever seed any o' them holes, or felt 'em, but ef they're +in me I hope they're all workin' right now, drawin' the good fresh air." + +Lieutenant Diego Bernal led the way rapidly to the house of the Governor +General, and four soldiers closed up by the side of them as an escort and +guard. But the four had no thought of attempting escape. Their minds were +wholly occupied with what might occur when they were a second time in the +presence of the Governor General. + +They were taken through the anteroom and then into the large hall of +audience where the Governor General sat, as before, in the great chair +with his secretary at the little table at his right. At one side of the +room were Francisco Alvarez, and Braxton Wyatt, both frowning, and at the +other side were Oliver Pollock and Henry Ware, neither frowning at all. +Henry came forward and shook hands warmly with his comrades. + +"What is it, Henry?" whispered Paul. "What has happened?" + +"Wait," replied Henry in a similar whisper. "We must see what Bernardo +Galvez is going to do." + +The Governor General motioned the four, now the five once more, to seats, +and they noticed that the audience was marked by unusual state. Two +soldiers, as a guard, stood near one of the windows, and the secretary was +ready with his ink and goose quills to write down whatever he might be +ordered to write. Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt were visibly uneasy. Bernardo +Galvez sat upright, his face stern, his look commanding. He was every inch +of him a Governor General. + +"Gentlemen," he said speaking in precise English, "a charge was made in +this chamber some days since, a charge involving the integrity and loyalty +of a high officer in the service of Spain, Don Francisco Alvarez. This +charge was made by five men and youths from the new region called by +themselves Kentucky and known here as Kaintock, but they brought little +proof to support it." + +Francisco Alvarez moved his chair, and a look of relief came over his +face. The opening promised well. The expressions of Henry Ware and Oliver +Pollock did not change, and Bernardo Galvez continued: + +"I could not hold an officer of Spain, one high in the service, upon such +charges, when they were without sufficient support, and hence, as these +five men and boys had committed acts of violence upon Spanish soil and +against Spanish subjects, I sent them to a military prison, pending +further disclosures if there should be any, and I have held Don Francisco +Alvarez in New Orleans in order that he might clear his good name of these +charges and of certain talk that has been afloat concerning him." + +Alvarez stirred again and his expression changed slightly. The +continuation was not quite as good as the beginning. Did he not detect a +slight undertone of irony or satire in the voice of Bernardo Galvez? But +neither Henry Ware nor Oliver Pollock moved a particle. The four looked +curiously from one to another of the actors in this tense scene. + +"It was my object," resumed Bernardo Galvez, and now his tone had a +curious hard quality like steel, "to find the truth. Only in that way +could justice be done. Now I have to say that proof of these charges, not +conclusive, but incriminating nevertheless, has been found, and is in my +possession." + +Alvarez leaped from his chair. He felt as if he had received a blow of a +hammer on his temple, but he cried out: + +"It is not true! there can be no such proof!" + +"It is true," said Bernardo Galvez sternly and accusingly, "because I hold +this evidence here in my hand. The war-maps which you are charged with +having, drawn by the one Wyatt, the friend of the Indians, and annotated +in your hand, are here." + +He opened his palm and laid the strips of deerskin upon the table. Alvarez +staggered back and looked savagely at Braxton Wyatt. + +"It is true," stammered the renegade in a whisper. "I was set upon last +night by Ware! He took me by surprise and robbed me of them! I could not +help it, but I was afraid to tell you then." + +"I knew that Henry would find a way! I knew it!" Paul was murmuring to +himself. + +"What of these maps, Don Francisco Alvarez?" said the Governor General. + +The bold and flexible Spaniard quickly recovered himself. + +"Maps do not mean anything," he said. "Any military officer provides +himself with them whenever he can. He need not he at war with a country to +secure them." + +"No, not in the case of ordinary maps, but here we have plans for an +attack upon the settlements in Kaintock. I find noted by the side of one +station in your handwriting: 'Could be destroyed easily with two cannon.' +It is obvious that you have exceeded your authority. How much further you +have gone is to be seen." + +"Your Excellency, I protest against"--began Alvarez, but at that moment +the door was opened and Lieutenant Diego Bernal appeared upon the +threshold. + +"What is this interruption? How dare you?" exclaimed the Governor General. + +But the little Catalan was never more thoroughly master of himself. His +uniform was never more resplendent, and the lace at throat and sleeves +never fuller. He bore himself, too, with the utmost dignity because he +knew that he was about to make an announcement of the utmost importance. +Moreover, he was a favorite with Bernardo Galvez. + +"Your Excellency," he said, with dramatic effect, "a man has come craving +immediate audience with you. He says that his news cannot wait, and, in +order to secure entrance at once to your presence, he has given me the +purport of it. He is here now." + +A tall figure in a black robe, the face thin and austere, walked boldly +into the room. Mighty was the power of Holy Church in the colonies of +France and Spain and this priest who expected torture and death some day +feared neither Bernardo Galvez nor anybody else. + +"Father Montigny!" exclaimed every one of the five and, "Father Montigny!" +repeated Francisco Alvarez and Braxton Wyatt. Bernardo Galvez rose from +his chair and saluted the priest courteously. He knew him well. + +"What is this business, so urgent in its nature, Father," said the +Governor General. + +"I came to Beaulieu when Captain Alvarez had set the bully upon this +youth," said Father Montigny, pointing to Paul. + +"I have already acknowledged my fault there," exclaimed Alvarez. "It was +an impulse! Need I be accused of it again?" + +Father Montigny turned his gaze upon Alvarez, and the Captain, bold as he +was, feared it more than that of Bernardo Galvez. + +"That is but a preamble," continued the priest, the Governor General not +noticing the interruption, "but it caused me to take especial notice of +what might be occurring in Louisiana at the furthest limits of settlement. +I went thence among the Cherokees and Creeks and kindred tribes and I +found them stirred by a great emotion. They were preparing for the war +trail. Messengers had come from tribes in the far north, Shawnees, Miamis, +Wyandots, and others, whom they have fought for generations in the region, +lying between them, known to them as the Dark and Bloody Ground, and to +us as Kaintock." + +Francisco Alvarez suddenly paled, and looked away from the priest. + +"What was the purport of these messages?" asked Bernardo Galvez. + +"That there must be peace for the time being between the northern and +southern tribes. The northern tribes would march south and the southern +would march north. When they met they would be joined also by Spanish +soldiers with cannon, and the three forces would destroy forever the new +white settlements in Kaintock." + +The pallor of Alvarez deepened, but Oliver Pollock still sat immovable, +his expression not changing. Bernardo Galvez looked straight at Alvarez, +and there was lightning in his gaze. + +"How was this alliance formed?" asked the Governor General. "Some powerful +connection, some strong intermediary, must have drawn these warring +northern and southern tribes together. And above all why did they expect +Spanish troops and Spanish cannon?" + +"There was a letter," replied the priest in a grave, sad tone, "a letter +written by a Spanish officer, high in position and distinction. It was +sent to Red Eagle, head chief of the Shawnees, and Yellow Panther, head +chief of the Miamis. The writer said that he would soon be Governor +General of Louisiana and that Spain would then help the Indians to destroy +Kaintock." + +"It is a lie!" continued Alvarez. "There is no such letter." + +"It is no lie," continued the priest calmly. "There is such a letter. The +great chiefs, Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, as proof of the promise, sent +it south to the Cherokees and Creeks, among whom I have been. I have seen +it, I have read it, I have it, and to you, Bernardo Galvez, I now give it. +It is signed by Don Francisco Alvarez." + +Father Montigny drew a letter from his robe and handed It to the Governor +General. Francisco Alvarez fell back in his chair as if he had been struck +by a thunder-bolt. And it was little less. The letter that he had sent +into the vast Northern wilderness, and which he considered as obscure as +one leaf among millions, had come back to convict him. The one flaw in the +armor of his wild ambition had been found. He cast a baleful look at the +priest and was silent. It was not worth while now to deny anything. + +Bernardo Galvez read the letter and read it again. Then he folded it and +put it in his pocket. + +"It is enough," he said, "Francisco Alvarez, you are guilty of attempting +to usurp to yourself the powers that belong only to his Majesty, the King +of Spain. I can conceive of a man of your knowledge and craft writing such +a letter as this upon only one possibility, and that possibility has +passed. The galleon, Dona Isabel, from Spain came this morning up the +Mississippi and she brings letters from Madrid. Your friends at the court, +powerful as they are, have failed. You are not to be the Governor General +of Louisiana. I am confirmed in my appointment and you remain under my +authority." + +"What do you intend to do?" asked Alvarez. + +The words came from a dry throat, and they had a harsh, rasping sound. + +"The galleon, Dona Isabel, returns to Spain next week. You will remain a +prisoner in one of the forts until then, when you are to go to Spain on +the galleon to answer there for your acts here. The man, Wyatt, is not a +Spanish subject, but he must leave New Orleans within an hour. The five +who have been held in the fort are released from this moment. Lieutenant +Bernal, take away the prisoner." + +It was the cause of intense gratification to Lieutenant Diego Bernal that +he had been permitted to see the last and most striking part of this +drama. Francisco Alvarez had treated him with scorn more than once, and it +was not his part or that of Bernardo Galvez to insult a fallen enemy. He +merely put his hand lightly on the sleeve of Alvarez, and the prisoner, +without a word, followed him. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +NORTHWARD WITH THE FLEET + + +When Alvarez was gone, the five rose and thanked the Governor General. +They, too, did not wish to rejoice over a fallen foe, but it was the +moment of their complete triumph. Success had come better than they had +ever hoped and the great three-faced conspiracy was shattered. It was +Spanish cannon that they had dreaded and now they could not thunder +against the wooden walls in Kentucky. They crowded around the priest, too, +and shook his hand and were grateful for his timely assistance. He had +come at the most opportune of all moments. + +It was Paul who acted as spokesman for them with Bernardo Galvez. + +"Your Excellency, we came this vast distance confiding in your justice, +and we have found our confidence well placed," he said. + +Bernardo Galvez smiled. It was a moment of triumph for him, too. A bold +conspiracy against him had been crushed, and the five had been the chief +instruments in the crushing of it. Even without the aid of his good heart, +his feelings toward them would have been very kindly. + +"If New Orleans has proved inhospitable to you for a time," he said, "she +is now ready to make atonement. Your good friend, Mr. Pollock, will care +for you." + +The five withdrew with the merchant, still elated, still feeling the full +sense of victory. Mr. Pollock had been very quiet but when they reached +the open air he burst forth. + +"Lads," he said, "'tis a great task that you have done. You have saved +Kentucky--and these things are far-reaching--you may have saved all the +colonies beside. If the Mississippi had been closed to us we could not +reach our friends in the east with the supplies that they need so badly. +But I can't say more. You were surely inspired when you set out upon this +errand, and there is a tremendous debt of gratitude coming to you." + +He shook hands with them all, one by one. But Long Jim heaved a mighty +sigh of relief. + +"Is it all over, Paul?" he asked. + +"I think so, Jim. We seem to have destroyed for good and all the great +three-cornered conspiracy against us." + +"Then," said Jim, "ef it's all done I want to talk sense. I'm in favor uv +our startin' to Kentucky right away, that is, in about five minutes. Them +big woods keep callin' to me, I heard 'em callin' last night in my dreams, +an' I hear 'em callin' now when I'm awake. I've breathed indoor air long +enough. It's layin' heavy on my lungs, an' I want to put in its place air +that's swep' clean across from the Pacific Ocean an' that ain't hit not +bin' foul on the way." + +"Five minutes is too short notice, Jim," laughed Paul, "but we'll surely +start soon, though it's a tremendously long tramp through the woods and +even if we had 'The Galleon' we'd have to pull and sail against the +current." + +Oliver Pollock was watching them as they talked and his eyes gleamed, but +he said nothing until they were within his house, where he took them and +gave them refreshments. There he had a proposition to make. + +"The boat, of course, you have lost," he said, "as it belongs to Spain, +but your arms and other equipment are all in my possession--they were +given to me to keep for you. But our fleet of canoes loaded with arms and +supplies will start north in three days. Will you go on it? Not to work, +not to paddle, unless you wish, but to guide and to fight. It is no favor +that I am conferring upon you, but one that you can confer upon me if you +will. We need such as you and with you I shall feel that the fleet is +safer." + +It was a most welcome offer. They could serve the cause and themselves at +the same time. All things seemed to fall out as they wished. + +"Sir, we thank you," said Henry speaking for them all. "You do not have to +make such an offer twice." + +"Good! Good!" said Oliver Pollock. "Then the main feature of the bargain +is closed and now I must have you to know the captain of the fleet. Oh, I +think that you will agree with him famously. He will be in charge of the +navigation and the fleet, though not of you. You are to remain in your +role of free rangers." + +He clapped his hand upon a little bell on the table and one of the +stalwart, sunbrowned clerks entered. + +"Bring in Captain Colfax. I want him to make some new friends," said +Oliver Pollock, who was in the greatest of good humors. + +Captain Adam Colfax of New Hampshire, who found the climate of New Orleans +very warm, came in in a minute or two, and his was a figure to attract the +attention of anybody. Middle aged, nearly as tall as Jim Hart, red haired, +with a sharp little tuft of red whisker on his chin, and with features +that seemed to be carved out of some kind of metal, he was a combination +of the seaman and landsman, as tough and wiry as they ever grow to be. He +regarded Oliver Pollock out of twinkling little blue eyes that could be +merry or severe, as they pleased. + +"Captain Colfax," said Oliver Pollock, "These are the five from Kentucky +of whom you heard. They are to go with you on your great journey as far as +Kentucky, but they are to do as they please. They are scouts, warriors, +and free rangers. You will find them of great service." + +He introduced them one by one, and Adam Colfax gave them a hearty grip +with a hand which seemed to be made of woven steel wire. + +"Good woodsmen and good riflemen I take it," he said, "and we may need +both. I hear that the Creeks, Cherokees, and others, are feeling full of +fight. Now, I ain't looking for a fight, but if it happens to get in my +way I'm not running from it." + +"You old war horse," said Oliver Pollock, laughing, "it's your business to +get these supplies through, not to be shooting at Indians. I wish I could +go with you. It's a wonderful journey, but I have to stay here in New +Orleans. This is the gate and we must see that it is not closed. How many +canoes and boats have we now, Adam?" + +"About sixty, and they are manned by at least three hundred men. As I see +it, we can take care of ourselves." + +"Adam," said Mr. Pollock laughing, "I believe you're really looking for a +fight." + +Adam Colfax showed two rows of fine, white teeth, but said nothing. After +a little more hearty talk he went away to look after his fleet, and Mr. +Pollock made arrangements for the five to stay at his house until their +departure north. They were to occupy a single big room, and their rifles, +other arms, and general equipment were already there waiting for them. + +"I'll miss 'The Galleon,'" said Paul, "I'd like to be going back in her. I +suppose it's sentiment, but I became attached to that boat." + +"She wuz shorely comf'table," said Shif'less Sol. "I had a good time +floatin' down her on the Missip'. Now I reckon Jim here will hev to row me +or paddle me all the way back to Kaintuck." + +"Ef you wait fur me to row or paddle you, you won't ever travel more'n six +inches," said Long Jim. + +"Jest like you, Jim; you ain't got no gratitood at all fur me gittin' you +away from New Orlee-yuns." + +Paul, who had been speaking to Henry in a low tone, now turned again to +Mr. Pollock. + +"There is one more thing that we want you to do for us, if you will, Mr. +Pollock," he said. "We took the boat from Alvarez because he attacked us +first, and we put it to what we think was a good use. But it really +belonged to Spain and Bernardo Galvez. So if any wages are coming to us we +wish that you would take enough in advance and pay the Governor General +for the use of the boat and what stores we may have consumed." + +"It shall be done," said Oliver Pollock, "and I like your spirit in +wishing it to be done." + +It was a promise that he kept faithfully. + +When they reached their room they found their rifles and other arms in +perfect order. Lieutenant Diego Bernal had taken good care of them. Long +Jim picked up his rifle and handled it lovingly. + +"It feels good jest to tech it," he said. "I didn't think I could ever +like a Spaniard ez well ez I do that thar little leftenant. I'll miss him +when we go ploughin' up the river." + +They were preparing to leave the room and breathe all out of doors, as Sol +put it, when they were stopped by the entrance of Father Montigny. They +crowded around him, expressing anew the gratitude that they had shown to +him at the house of the Governor General. + +"It was really you, Father Montigny, who saved everything," said Paul. + +The priest smiled and shook his head. + +"No," he said, "It was not I, but your courage and tenacity. I had the +rare good fortune to find the letter among the Chickasaws and obtain it. +It was sent by the Shawnees and Miamis as a sort of token, a war belt as +it were. It was only a remote chance that brought it back to New Orleans, +and even then Alvarez confidently expected to be Governor General." + +"What will become of Alvarez?" asked Paul. + +"It is the plan to send him a prisoner to Spain on the galleon, Dona +Isabel, as you know, but I fear that we have not heard the last of him. He +is a man of fierce temper, and now he is wild with rage and mortification. +Moreover, he has many followers here in New Orleans. All the desperadoes, +adventurers, former galley slaves, and others of that type would have been +ready to rally around him. But I have come to tell you good-bye. I go +again in my canoe up the Mississippi." + +"Can't you stay a while in New Orleans and rest?" asked Paul--the sympathy +between Paul and the priest was strong, each having a certain spiritual +quality that was in agreement. + +"No," replied Father Montigny, "I cannot stay. You came on your task in +spite of hardships and dangers because you felt that a power urged you to +it. Farewell. We may meet again or we may not, as Heaven wills." + +They followed him to the door and when he was almost out of sight he +turned and waved his hand to them. + +The next day New Orleans, which was already deeply stirred by news of the +plot of Alvarez and its discovery, had another thrill. It was Lieutenant +Diego Bernal who told the five of it at the counting house of Oliver +Pollock. + +"Francisco Alvarez has escaped," he said. "The watch at the prison was +none too strict; it may be that some of the guards themselves were friends +of his. In any event, he is gone from the city, and his going has been +followed by the departure of many men whom New Orleans could well spare. +But whether their going now will be to our benefit I cannot tell." + +"Do you mean to say," asked Henry, "that all these men have gone away to +join Alvarez in some desperate adventure?" + +"I have an impression, although my impressions are usually false," replied +the Lieutenant, "that such is the case. The Chickasaws, the Creeks, and +other tribes of these regions are his friends because he has promised them +much. A capable officer with a hundred desperate white men at his back and +a horde of Indians might create stirring events." + +The five became very thoughtful over what he said, but when Lieutenant +Diego Bernal was taking his leave he looked at them rather enviously. + +"You five inspire me with a certain jealousy," he said. "I have an +impression, although my impressions are usually wrong and my memory always +weak, that you are strongly attached to one another, that no one ever +hesitates to risk death for the others, that you are bound together by a +hundred ties, and that you act together for the common good. Ah, that is +something like friendship, real friendship, I should like to be one of a +band like yours, but I look in vain for such a thing in New Orleans." + +"I wish that you were going with us," said Henry heartily. + +"I wish it, too. Often I long for the great forests and the free air as +you do, but my service is due here to Bernardo Galvez, who is my good +friend. But it is pleasant to see that you have triumphed so finely." + +"We may encounter great dangers yet," said Henry. + +"It is quite likely, but I have an impression, and upon this occasion at +least I am sure my impression is not wrong, that you will overcome them as +you have done before." + +When he was gone, and every one of the five felt genuine regret at his +departure, they went down to the river, where their fleet was anchored, +and were welcomed by Adam Colfax. + +"We're certainly going to-morrow," said the captain, "but nobody can tell +when we'll get to Fort Pitt." + +It was indeed a fine fleet of canoes and boats to be propelled by paddle, +oar, and sail, and it bore a most precious cargo. Eight of the larger +boats carried a twelve pound brass cannon apiece to be used if need be on +the way, but destined for that far-distant and struggling army in the +northeast. Stored in the other boats and canoes were five hundred muskets, +mostly from France, barrels of powder, scores of bars of lead, precious +medicines worth their weight in gold, blankets, cloth for uniforms and +underclothing. It was the most valuable cargo ever started up the +Mississippi and there were many strong and brave men to guard it. + +"We carry things both to kill and to cure," said Paul. + +"An' we're goin', too!" said Long Jim, heaving again that mighty sigh of +relief. "That's the big thing!" + +They started the next day at the appointed time. Henry, Paul, and Long Jim +were In one of the leading boats, and Tom Ross and Shif'less Sol were in +another near them. The population of New Orleans was on the levee to see +them go, and some wished them good luck and many wished them bad. The +majority of the French were for them, and the majority of the Spanish +against them. + +But the five, now that the time was at hand, felt only elation. The breeze +blew strong and fresh over the mighty river that came from their +beloved-forests and vast unknown regions beyond. They seemed to feel in it +some of the tang and sparkle of the north. + +"Good-bye, New Orleans," said Jim Hart, waving a long hand on a long arm; +"I'm glad I've seed you, I'm glad I've laid my weary head to rest inside +your walls fur a few nights, but I'm glad I don't stay in you, nor in any +other town. Good-bye." + +One of the brass cannon fired a salute, cannon on the fort and the +galleon, Dona Isabel, replied. Adam Colfax gave the word, and at the same +instant hundreds of oars and paddles dipped into the muddy current of the +Mississippi. The great supply fleet leaped forward as if it were one +whole, and soon New Orleans and its intrigues sank under the curve behind +them. + +Henry and Paul, although they did not have to work, pulled at the oars +with the others, and more than one man noticed how the mighty muscles of +Henry Ware's arm swelled and bunched as he made the boat leap forward. But +they did not maintain their high rate of speed long. As the rivers ran it +was a good two thousand miles to Fort Pitt, and they did not wish to +exhaust themselves on the first twenty. Long Jim at last let his oar rest +and patted Paul joyfully on the shoulder. + +"Ain't you noticed nothin', Paul?" he asked. + +"I've noticed a lot of river, and a fine little fleet on it." + +"But somethin' better than that. Look at the trees, Paul, all along on +either side, an' not a house in sight, an' not a human bein' 'cept +ourselves, not a single trail uv smoke to dirty the sky. Nothin' but the +woods ez God made 'em. I tell you, Paul, it's pow'ful fine jest to live!" + +Paul shared his enthusiasm, but his feelings went further. Beyond a doubt +they had been successful in their great journey to the south, but another +and large purpose was yet left. Their task had brought them into contact +with the world outside, and Paul devoutly hoped that the supply train +would reach Fort Pitt in time. + +The day went smoothly on. The fleet kept its formation something, like +that of an arrow, with Adam Colfax's boat the point of the arrow, and +those containing the five just behind. The river assumed a wholly +wilderness aspect. Spanish or French boats were few and they gave the +fleet a wide berth. Wild fowl swarmed once more, and they saw a bear on +the bank regarding them with a half wise, half comic countenance. + +When the sun was low the boats containing the five were turned toward the +land. There they found a cove in which the boats could be safely tied and +a fine grove in which they could cook, and which would also furnish a good +place for those who wished to sleep ashore. Henry Ware and Shif'less Sol +scouted in the country about but saw no sign of anything that might +disturb. + +All five slept on land wrapped in their blankets under the trees, and +early the next morning the journey was resumed. Progress could not be +rapid. They had to face the slow, heavy current of the Mississippi, and +now and then Henry and Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross walked through the +woods along the shore. They early established their reputations as the +best hunters and shots in the fleet, and they kept the men supplied with +game, bear, deer, and water fowl. + +Several days passed in this manner, and Henry noticed that people were +even scarcer than they had been when they were coming down. Then they had +seen a few, now not more than two or three, and these avoided them. + +"I don't believe they are really friendly to us," said Henry to Paul, "and +something to injure us may be on foot. I wish that we were beyond the last +French and Spanish settlement." + +"We are too strong to be attacked," said Paul, "I don't think we have +anything to fear." + +Henry shook his head somewhat doubtfully, but he said nothing more on the +subject at that time, and the fleet moved steadily on without event. Adam +Colfax exercised a stern discipline. There were wild men in his fleet, +adventurers, fellows who had floated about the world, but he was a match +for any of them, and those who did not respect his voice feared his ready +hand. But even these were animated by the great purpose and the thrill of +a two-thousand mile journey on unknown rivers through a vast wilderness. + +Half of the men slept ashore every night. They would build great fires, +cook their suppers, and then sit around awhile talking. Some one would +sing, and others would play strange, old tunes on accordion or guitar. +Paul heard many a snatch of song in Spanish or French or Portuguese, and +the wilderness would lend an additional charm to the melody. Adam Colfax, +stern ruler that he was, never forbade these amusements. + +"It isn't well to stop up things too tight," he would say. "Children have +got to make noise, and men are a good deal the same way. If you seal 'em +up they'll bust." + +These evening scenes always made a deep impression upon Paul. There were +the cheerful fires, lighted for cooking, and now dying down to great beds +of coals, the surrounding darkness seeming to come closer and closer, but +within it a wide circle of light in which many men sat or reclined at +ease, smoking or talking, or doing both. All were good-natured, the +weather was fair so far, the journey easy, the work not excessively hard, +and the hunters brought in fresh game in plenty. + +They passed the mouth of the bayou near which the Chateau of Beaulieu +stood, and Henry and Shif'less Sol went to see it. They found a small +detachment of Spanish soldiers sent by Bernardo Galvez in possession, but +the followers of Alvarez had disappeared. The place seemed lonely and +deserted, as the soldiers of Galvez kept close to the house, as if they +were afraid of the wilderness. + +Henry and Shif'less Sol sped back through the forest toward the river. + +"Now I wonder," said Shif'less Sol, "what could hev become o' that Spanish +feller. He wuz jest the kind, so proud he wuz, an' thinkin' so much o' +himself, to be burnin' up with hate over what has happened." + +"He has made himself an outlaw," said Henry, "and it's my opinion, Sol, +that he's somewhere in these regions. And Braxton Wyatt is with him, too. +That fellow will never rest in his plots against us. We'll hear from them +both again. They'll try for some sort of revenge." + +They rejoined the boats at noon, and three or four hours later they saw a +canoe ahead of them upon the water. It contained two occupants who graded +their speed to that of the fleet, keeping well out of rifle-shot. + +"What do you take them to be?" called out Adam Colfax to Henry. + +"Indians, I know, and spies, I think," replied Henry. + +Several of the more powerful boats moved ahead of the fleet and endeavored +to overtake the canoe, but they could not. The two Indians who occupied it +evidently had skill and powerful arms, as they maintained the distance +between themselves and their pursuers. Henry and Paul, stirred by the +interest of the chase, also seized oars and pulled hard, but the canoe +presently turned up a small tributary river, where they did not have time +to follow it, and they saw it no more. + +It was something that many might have passed as a mere incident of the +river, but Henry did not forget it. His sixth sense, the sense of danger, +as it were, had received a definite impression, and he paid heed to the +warning. + +That afternoon clouds came up for the first time. It had been very warm on +the river, but the heat and closeness did not develop into a rapid storm +of thunder and lightning as so often happens in the Mississippi valley. +Instead, the air turned colder, and a raw, drizzling rain set it. It was +then that they appreciated the comfort of their well-equipped boats. +Everybody was wrapped up and protected, and they moved steadily on. + +Henry and Shif'less Sol, as usual, went ashore later on to seek a landing +place, and a site suitable for a camp, as it was considered wise always to +give the men warm food. Presently they found a fairly well sheltered spot +near the shore, a slope surrounded by high trees, and when Adam Colfax +received the word the boats were tied to the bank. Some tents were pitched +in the opening, and with considerable difficulty the fires were lighted. A +drizzling rain still fell, but the fires finally triumphed over it, and +blazed and crackled merrily. Nevertheless, this lightness and merriment +were not communicated to the men, who shivered in the wet, drew close to +the flames, and had downcast faces. All the five were ashore and in the +shadow of the woods they held a little conference of their own, talking +with great earnestness. + +"I think," said Henry, "that we're being watched and that there is danger, +great danger. One never knows what the wilderness contains." + +"Suppose that all of us watch the night through," said Paul. + +"No," said Henry, "I think, Paul, that you ought to sleep and Long Jim +should do so, too. There are enough without you. To-morrow night will be +your turn. We shouldn't waste our resources." + +This satisfied Paul and Jim, and soon they were asleep in one of the +tents, but Henry, Shif'less Sol, and Tom Ross were in the dripping forest +outside Adam Colfax's own line of sentinels, seeking the hidden danger. +The three remained together, and they looked everywhere. They were on the +east bank and there was nothing but forest. The moon lay behind sodden +clouds, and the trees were dark and shadowy. Now and then the wind swept a +dash of rain in their faces, and the air remained raw and chill. Sharp as +were their eyes, they could not see very far into the forest, but they +could see behind them the flame of their own camp fires, a core of light +in the wilderness. + +"It might be better to put out all those fires," said Henry, "but I don't +believe Captain Colfax would hear to it. He thinks we're too strong to +fear any serious attack." + +"No," said Shif'less Sol, "he wouldn't do it, an' the men would grumble, +too. We've got to be the outside guard ourselves." + +The three kept together, continuing their steady patrol in a semi-circle +about the camp, the side of the river being guarded by the boats +themselves. The rain died to a drizzle, but the clouds remained, and the +skies were dark. Hours passed, and nearly everybody slept soundly by the +fires, but the faithful three, gliding among the wet trees and bushes, +still watched. + +They heard faint noises in the forest, the passage of the wind, or the +stir of a wild animal, and after a while they heard the long, plaintive +and weird note, with which they were so familiar, the howl of the wolf. + +It was characteristic of the three that when this faint note, almost like +the sigh of the wind among the wet trees, reached their ears, they said +nothing, but merely stopped and in the obscurity glanced at one another +with eyes of understanding. They listened patiently, and the low, +plaintive howl came again and then once more, all from different points of +the compass. There had been a time when Henry Ware was deceived for a +moment by these cries, but it was not possible now. + +"It must be a gathering of the southern tribes," he said, "and I imagine +that Braxton Wyatt is with them, giving them advice. Sol, suppose that you +go to the right and Tom to the left. I'll stay in the center, and if any +one of us sees an enemy he's to shoot at it and rouse the camp." + +The two were gone in an instant, and Henry was left alone. That instant +all the old, primeval instincts, so powerful in him, were aroused. His +sixth sense, the sense of danger, was speaking to him in a voice that he +could not but hear. There, too, was the quaver of the wolf. All the +signals of alarm were set, and he resolved that he should be the first to +see danger when It showed its head. + +The clouds piled in heavier masses in the sky, and the darkness thickened. +The wind blew lightly and its sound among the boughs and leaves was a +long, plaintive sigh that had in it a tone like the cry of a woman. The +rain came only in gusts, but when it struck it was sharp and cold. The +trees stood out, black and ill-defined, like skeletons. But the forest, +its wet, its chill, and its loneliness, had no effect upon the attuned +mind of Henry Ware. He was in his native element, and every nerve in him +thrilled with the knowledge that he would rise to meet the crisis, +whatever it might be. + +He was crouched by the side of a great oak, his form blurring with its +trunk, his eyes, now used to the darkness, searching every covert in +front--he knew that Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross would watch to right and +left. + +The cry of the wolf did not come again, save for a lone note, now much +nearer. But when its sound passed through the forest, Henry Ware's form +seemed to become a little more taut and he leaned a little further +forward. Beyond the slight bending motion he did not stir. + +He still saw nothing and heard nothing, but that voice which was his sixth +sense was calling to him more loudly than ever, and he was ready to +respond. + +In front of him, thirty yards away, lay a thicket or undergrowth, and he +watched it incessantly. It seemed to him now that he knew every bush and +briar and vine. Presently a briar moved, and then a bush, and then a +vine, but they moved against the wind, and the sharp eyes of the watcher +saw it. He sank a little lower and the muzzle of his rifle stole forward. +He made not the slightest sound, and good eyes, only a few yards away, +could not have separated his dark figure from that of the tree trunk. + +The same briar and bush moved a third time, and, as before, against the +wind. It did not escape the notice of Henry Ware. Now he saw a sharp, red +nose appear, and then the shaggy head behind it. + +The nose remained--projected and lifted in the air, a-sniff to catch the +fleeting scent of an enemy. Fancy could readily paint the ugly head of the +lank body behind it. But Henry Ware was not deceived for an instant. The +muzzle of the rifle that had been thrust forward, was raised now, and +taking swift aim, he fired. + +A wild and terrible cry swelled through the forest. An Indian warrior +sprang to his feet, casting off his guise of a wolfskin, stood perfectly +still for a moment, and then fell headlong among the wet bushes. The cry +came back in many real echoes, the shouts of the warriors who knew now +that there was to be no surprise for them. Their battle cry swelled in +volume, fierce with anger, but Henry, Shif'less Sol, and Tom Ross were +already running back upon the camp, sounding the alarm, and the men, +roused from sleep, were springing to arms. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE BATTLE OF THE BANK + + +"What is it? what is it?" cried Adam Colfax, as the three sentinels, who +were worth all the others combined, dashed into the camp. + +"An Indian army!" replied Henry Ware. "We do not yet know how strong, but +we have seen their scouts! hark to them!" + +The fierce war whoop rose and swelled through all the forest, died away, +then swelled and died again. From the dark wall of the trees came the +crackling fire of rifles. No one could be in doubt now. + +"Out with the fires! Scatter them, trample them down!" exclaimed Henry. + +He set the example, kicking the wood and embers in every direction. Adam +Colfax was not one to resent such a sudden assumption of authority, when +he saw that it meant the saving of human lives. He repeated the order and +joined in the work himself. Fortunately the fires had burned low and the +task was soon done, but not before two or three men had been hit by +bullets from the surrounding darkness. + +"Lie down, everybody!" cried Henry, and the order was obeyed at once. Then +the strange night battle in the heart of the wilderness began. The +savages, after their first attack, ceased to shout, and the voyagers on +their own part made little noise. But they knew that the assailing force +was numerous. It rimmed them on all sides save that of the river, and the +little pink and red beads of fire seemed to flash from every bush. The men +on the boats swarmed to the shore, but Adam Colfax allowed only half of +them to come, the land force at the same time falling back on the river to +meet them. He had no mind to let his communications be cut. + +As the white line fell back the red came on, and uttered again the +long-drawn, high-pitched war whoop, a cry of exultation. But it was not +repeated, as the white line withdrew only to the bank, and yielded no +more. Then both lines lay in the forest, faces invisible, but the pink and +red beads of opposing fire ran back and forth in a stream. Now and then, +even in the darkness, a bullet struck true. A groan would start in the +white line, but it would be checked at the lips, because these were men +too proud to give expression to pain. + +"They can't make much progress in this way," said Adam Colfax to Henry, +who had crept to his side. + +"They can make it terribly wearing by keeping it up all night." + +"We can withdraw to the boats entirely and row away." + +"I wouldn't do it. They're sure to have boats, too, knowing that we could +take to the water, and if we were to leave here they'd take it as a sign +of victory and follow. Then we'd have another and worse fight." + +Adam Colfax was of the same opinion. He was not in favor of yielding an +inch. + +"I think I can see some of their figures dancing about there among the +bushes," he whispered to Henry. + +"I see them, too," replied the youth, "and I think that I see white men. +They must be the desperate gang that followed Alvarez out of New Orleans." + +"No doubt of it." + +Adam Colfax presently crept down the river bank, but came back in a few +minutes. + +"Now we'll see something," he whispered to Henry, and what the cautious +leader said was quick to come true. + +The fire of both sides died for a moment, and then came a heavy crash and +a jet of fire from the river; there was a long, shrill scream as a missile +curved high over the white line and dropped in the red, where it burst, +flinging red-hot pieces of steel in a shower. It was followed instantly by +another report, another jet of fire, and another shower of metal in the +bushes. The brass twelve-pounders on the boat had opened fire, and with +shot after shot they were searching the dark thickets, whence cries of +rage now came. + +The Americans sent up shouts of triumph and redoubled their rifle fire. +Many of the more zealous were eager to creep to the thickets and turn the +defensive into the offensive, but the leaders restrained them. + +"No use to waste life in any such foolish fashion," said shrewd Adam +Colfax. "While we stay under the cannon they won't rush us, but if we +follow them into the bushes they'll have an overwhelming advantage." + +It began to lighten a little, but the wind blew stronger and very cold for +the time of the year. The red line was withdrawn further into the forest, +but it continued an intermittent fire, and now and then uttered a +challenging war whoop. The cannon every ten minutes sent a shot among +them, but whether it did any damage the Americans could not tell. The +defenders saved their bullets, firing only when there seemed to be a +chance for a hit, and thus the hours dragged their leaden weight slowly +by. + +A score of the Americans had been wounded by the rifle fire, but in most +cases the wounds were slight. Six were dead and they were taken to the +boats, where stones were tied to them and they were dropped into the +Mississippi to disappear forever. Rovers, adventurers, masterless men, +they had been, but they died in a good cause, and they were not without +mourners, as their bodies slid into the brown waters. + +Adam Colfax had coffee made on several of the boats provided with a +cooking apparatus, and it was served in the darkness to those who fought +on shore. One man had the tin cup shot from his hand as he was raising it +to his lips, but he calmly called for another, and when he had drunk it, +went on with his part of the battle. + +The hot coffee heartened them wonderfully, and the ten minute cannon shots +were good company. They grew to look for them, and so strong is habit, +that they knew almost to the second when the shot was due. It was like a +slow, steady chorus, cheering them and telling them to hold on. + +Far toward morning there was a tremendous burst of fire from the thickets, +the fierce, high-pitched war shout was repeated three times, and after +that, silence. Then the darkness sank away, and the day came in a burst of +red and gold, gilding river and forest. + +"They are gone," said Henry, "you'll find now that the woods are empty." + +Many of the voyagers rushed into the forest to discover that he spoke the +truth. Nowhere was there a sign of an enemy. No tree sheltered a warrior, +the thickets were harmless. The peaceful morning breeze had no note of +warning in its song. But when they looked more closely they saw that many +dark stains had soaked into the earth, and they knew that not all the +bullets and cannon balls had gone amiss. + +"Well, we drove them off that time," said Adam Colfax cheerfully. "They +found that they couldn't surprise us, and I guess they've concluded that +they couldn't rush us either. I fancy it's the last we'll see of 'em." + +Henry shook his head, and Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross, who were standing +by, also shook theirs. + +"We're pretty' sure that a big league of the southern tribes has been +formed," Henry said, "and there are also many white men with them, white +men who are driven by hate and revenge. They'll stick." + +"Then we've got to defend this fleet to the last," said Adam Colfax. "It's +bound to get through; and the first thing I'll have done is to cover up +our barrels of powder, so no fire or hot bullets can reach it. Those +barrels of powder are as precious as gold." + +This task was begun at once and everybody reembarked, a joyful little army +that had won a triumph and that felt able to win more if need be. The +wounded made light of their wounds and all felt new strength and courage +with the daylight. The five returned with the others to their boats. + +"Well, Jim," said Paul to Long Jim Hart, "there's trouble to be found away +from New Orleans as well as in it. Last night was not so very peaceful, +and the woods did contain danger." + +Long Jim heaved a satisfied sigh. + +"Yes, Paul," he replied, "thar wuz shorely a heap uv danger stirrin' 'bout +last night, an' thar wuz lots uv chances that some uv it would come +knockin' up ag'inst me, but, Paul, I knowed it wuz thar, I knowed it wuz +in the woods in front uv us; it wuzn't settin' by my side, talkin' soft +things to me, an' sayin' it wuz my friend. No, Paul, ef I had got killed +last night I would hev knowed, ef I knowed anythin' at all, that it wuz an +honest Injun bullet that done it, one that meant to do it, an' no +foolin'." + +The fleet resumed its passage up the river in its usual arrow formation, +with the five near the tip of the barb, but the bright promise of the +morning was deceitful. Toward noon the clouds of the night before that had +not retreated far, came back again, filing solemnly across the sky in a +long, somber procession. No air stirred. The wide, yellow river stretched +before them, a smooth, molten surface. + +The motion of the fleet became perceptibly slower. The men in that turgid +atmosphere felt languid and inert, and their hands rested but lightly on +oar and paddle. Cheerfulness gave way to depression. The voyage was far +less easy than it had seemed a few hours before. Overhead the clouds +united and drew a leaden blanket from horizon to horizon. + +"It's a storm, of course," said Henry. "Remember the one that struck us +when we were coming down the river. It's just such another." + +There was a sudden rush of hot air. Dull thunder, singularly uncanny in +its low, distant note, began to grumble. Lightning of an intense coppery +color flashed again and again across the heavens. The river began to rise +in yellow waves that crumbled and rose again. + +Some of the boats had sails, but these were quickly taken in--Adam Colfax +was no careless seaman. The fleet, nevertheless, began to heave on the +troubled water, break its formation, and fall into imminent danger of +frequent collision. The great river, usually so friendly, and, like a long +cord, uniting the green lands on either side, was now full of wrath and +fury. Burst after burst of wind, screaming ominously, swept over it, and +the waves rolled like those of the sea. Despite powerful hands on oar and +paddle, the fleet was driven about like a covey of frightened birds. +Meanwhile, the darkness increased until it was almost like night. + +Adam Colfax struggled hard. He wished to keep to the middle of the river, +and a single boat might have fought out the storm there, but the danger +was steadily increasing. Two boats, already, were in collision, and with +great difficulty were saved from sinking. + +"We'll have to make for the shore and tie up," he shouted to Henry, who +was in the boat next to him. "I think it's the most violent storm I ever +saw on the Mississippi." + +"We may find a sheltered place," Henry shouted back above the roar of the +wind. + +"There's nothing else to do," said Adam Colfax. "The eastern shore looks +the lower, and we'll go for it at once." + +He gave the signal with hand and voice, and all the boats began to pull +with their whole strength in a diagonal course toward the east bank, while +the wind shrieked in gust after gust, the thunder crashed incessantly, and +the coppery lightning flared in great saber-cuts across the sky. + +It was enough to daunt the heart of many a brave man, but Henry Ware was +not appalled. His primeval instincts had risen to the surface again. He +saw the grandeur of it rather than the weirdness and danger. Like Long +Jim, though less outspoken, he had been troubled by the intrigue, the +shiftiness, and the false seeming of New Orleans, and now his spirit +replied to the battle of the elements. He was the most active man in the +fleet. His quick hand and eye and powerful arm kept one canoe loaded with +medical stores, which had in them the saving of many lives, from going to +the bottom. The harder the wind blew and the rougher the waves grew the +higher his spirit rose to meet them. + +"Look!" he shouted to Adam Colfax, as they approached the shore, "an +opening! See it? I think it's a bayou, and if we go up that we'll be +safe!" + +Henry was right. Its mouth almost hidden by trees, the deep, still bayou +opened out before them, and ran its narrow length far back into the land. +One could not conceive a better anchorage for the small boats such as +constituted their fleet. The men, when they saw it, gave a hearty cheer +that rose above the wind. Hardy as they were, fear had entered most of +them. + +The leading boats passed into the bayou, and all the others, many +struggling hard with wind, current, and waves, followed them. The change +was immediate. They came into quarters comparatively still, but there was +a new danger. A tree, snapped through its mighty trunk by the hurricane, +fell across the bayou directly in front of them. It was lucky that no +canoe was in its way. + +"Out, men, with axes!" shouted Adam Colfax, and a dozen leaped to obey his +command. The tree was quickly cut apart and a score more dragged the two +halves up to the banks, leaving a passage once more for the fleet. This +was repeated further on, and now they began to look anxiously for more +open country. Only good fortune had saved them so far. + +The bayou ran on narrow and deep, and they pulled and paddled with all +their might, until at last they came to a place that was fringed only by +high bushes. The forest on either side was two or three hundred yards +away, and Adam Colfax, despite his stern New Hampshire nature, did not +repress a cry of joy. Here they were safe, alike from the Mississippi and +the forest. + +"Tie up!" he shouted, and the boats were soon fastened to the bushes in +parallel rows on either side of the bayou. Then they hurried to make +shelter for themselves. The supplies were already covered. The skies were +now at the darkest, a solid circle of heavy black clouds. The lightning +and thunder alike ceased, and then, borne on the swift wind, came a mighty +rain. It was so heavy, so steady, and so searching that they were put to +their utmost labor and ingenuity to keep their precious cargo dry. + +"If the rain were not so tremendously heavy I would look through the +forest to see if any enemies were about," said Henry to the leader. + +Adam Colfax glanced up at the water which was falling in sheets and +laughed, a laugh of genuine relief from a great strain. + +"Why, Henry," he said, "I don't believe that a man could keep his feet out +there in all that pelting flood long enough to go many miles. I wish I +was always as safe from attack as I feel now." + +It was certainly far more comfortable in the boats than it could possibly +be in the sodden forest, where little lakes were already forming. In +addition, night, very dark, was coming on, and no cessation of the rain +was promised. It was useless, in the face of the deluge, to attempt to +build fires on the shore, and huddling in the boats under tarpaulins, +sails, and blankets, they ate cold food. But Adam Colfax, as a precaution, +allowed a little brandy to be served to every man. + +"It's medicine in this case, boys," he said, "and you must look on it so. +I don't think you'll get any more." + +Bye and bye the rain slackened a little. Some one began a line of a song, +but it did not catch. Nobody joined in, and the singer stopped. The +atmosphere was not favorable to any kind of music. The hours passed +slowly, but it was nearly midnight when the rain ceased, and a timid moon +came out to cast a few pale rays over a soaked and dripping forest. Most +of the men were now asleep under their covers, but not one of the five +slumbered, nor did Adam Colfax and a dozen others. + +"Thank God, it's stopped at last!" said Adam Colfax devoutly--he was a +religious man, and his gratitude was not merely oral. "The clouds are +clearing away and I think we can soon see where we are." + +"Yes, it will be much lighter soon," said Henry Ware, "but in the +meantime we are about to receive a visitor. Look!" + +He pointed down the bayou toward the river. A light canoe was emerging +from the mists and shadows. It contained a single occupant, and came +straight on up the narrow channel. + +The man who sat in the canoe was tall and thin and wrapped in a dripping +black robe. His head was bare and his gray hair fell in long, straight +locks. The moonlight fell directly upon his thin, ascetic face, and +something in the eyes that Adam Colfax saw, or thought he saw, sent a +thrill through him. + +"Is it a ghost?" he asked of Henry Ware in an awed whisper. + +At that moment the moonlight shifted and fell upon something metallic that +gleamed upon the breast of the mystic visitor. + +"It is Father Montigny," said Henry. He, too, felt awe, not at any ghostly +apparition but because the priest had come suddenly at such a time. + +"What does it portend?" was his silent thought. + +Paddling with a strong hand the priest came straight toward them. The +moonlight continued to shine upon his face, and Henry thought that he read +there the impulse of a great mission. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE BATTLE OF THE BAYOU + + +The priest came directly to the boat, in which Henry Ware and Adam Colfax +were sitting--the remainder of the five were in the next boat--and held up +his hand as a sign of recognition and relief. + +"Father Montigny!" said Henry. + +"Yes, my son, it is I, and I give thanks to Heaven that I have found you +in time." + +"What is it, father?" It seemed natural that at this moment Henry should +be the spokesman for the fleet. + +"A great danger has closed upon you and all here." + +"Alvarez?" + +"Yes, he is the master spirit, but back of him are the allied tribes of +the south, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, even Osages from the west, and +others, and in addition there are two hundred desperate white men drawn +from all nations. Alvarez has promised to lead them to great spoil and +plunder. He is the buccaneer chief now and they will follow him. At +night-fall they surprised a French trading schooner tied to the shore for +safety, slaughtered those on board, and have now drawn the schooner +across the mouth of the bayou to shut you in. The vessel also carries four +bronze nine pounders which they will use against you. Outside in the +Mississippi is a great fleet of Indian war-canoes which has been above you +in the stream." + +Adam Colfax paled a little. + +"It seems," he said, "that when we thought we were pulling to safety we +were merely entering a trap." + +"It was a trap," said Henry with energy, "but we're strong enough to break +any trap into which we may fall." + +"That's so," said Adam Colfax. + +"You may ask me how I knew all this," continued the priest. "I tell you +not what I have heard, but what I have seen. I was with the Choctaws, and +I sought to dissuade them from this campaign upon which they were +marching. I told them that Alvarez was mad with ambition and +disappointment, that he had rebelled against lawful authority, that he was +an outlaw and buccaneer, and that he could not keep his promises. My words +availed nothing. I continued with them, hoping still to dissuade them and +the other bands that met them, but still I failed. + +"I was yet with the tribe when they met Alvarez and the wicked renegade, +the one Wyatt, and their men. Alvarez would have used force, he would have +driven me from the camp with heavy blows; even this, the white man who has +inherited Holy Church would have done, but the red men, born savages, +would not let him. Although they would not listen to me they let me stay, +unharmed. I witnessed, or rather heard, their attack upon you last night, +and their repulse has made them only the more eager for your destruction. +It has also united them the more firmly." + +"When do you think they will attack us, Father Montigny?" asked Henry. + +"That I cannot tell. I heard their plans, and I deemed it my duty to warn +you. A guard, one whom I have converted to our faith, let me slip away and +here I am." + +"And our debt to you is still growing," said Henry. "As for myself, I +think the attack will come to-night, when they deem us disorganized and +beaten down by the storm." + +"And so do I," said Adam Colfax. "We have no time to waste." + +"May God preserve you," said the priest. "I have no desire to witness +scenes of slaughter but I trust, for the sake of yourselves, for the sake +of Bernardo Galvez, the good Governor General of Louisiana, and for the +welfare of this region, that you may beat them off. But the contest will +be fierce and bloody." + +A young man, at the order of Adam Colfax, sounded a trumpet, a low +thrilling call that aroused the men from their brief sleep, and the word +was quickly passed that they were blockaded in the bayou, and that the +hordes were advancing to a new attack. They grumbled less now than at the +storm. Here was a danger that they knew how to meet. Battle had been a +part of all their lives, and they did not fear it. + +The moonlight increased, the forest was dripping, but there was a noise +now of bullet clinking against bullet, of the ramrod sent home in the +rifle barrel, and of men talking low. + +Adam Colfax called a conference in his boat. His best lieutenants and the +five were present. Should they await the attack or advance to meet it? In +any event, the fleet must escape from the bayou, and the nearer they were +to the river when the battle occurred the better it would be for them. + +"Ef we know thar's a danger," said Tom Ross, "the best thing fur us to do +is to go to it, an' lay hold uv it." + +The vote on Tom's suggestion was unanimous in its favor, and the fleet +once more began to move. A small force of riflemen marched on either bank +in order to uncover possible skirmishers. + +The advance was very slow and in silence save for the dip of the oars and +the paddles. The moonlight grew stronger and stronger, and they could now +see a good distance on the deep, still bayou. + +The five had remained in the leading boats and they watched closely for +sight or sound of the hostile force, but as yet eye and ear told nothing. +The trees now grew close to the water's edge and, looped heavily with +trailing vines, they presented a black wall on either side. But they had +no fear of shots from such a source, as they knew that the trusty +riflemen going in advance would clear out any skirmishers who might have +hidden themselves there. + +Paul was beside Henry. Near him was Long Jim and in the boat next to them +was Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross. At this moment, which they felt to be +heavy with import, it was good to be together. Paul in particular, Paul, +the impressionable and imaginative, looked around at the familiar figures +in the clearing moonlight, and drew strength and comfort from their near +presence. + +The dark fleet moved slowly on, cutting the deep still waters of the bayou +with almost noiseless keel. The men had ceased whispering. Now and then an +oar splashed or the water gave back the echo of a paddle's dip, but little +else was heard. All looked straight ahead. + +Suddenly they saw in the middle of the bayou, about a hundred yards before +them, a small, black shape, so low that it seemed to blend with the water. +It was an Indian canoe, the first outpost of the savage force, and its +occupant, promptly firing a rifle, raised a long, warning shout. In an +instant the woods on either side began to crackle with rifle-fire. +Skirmishers had met skirmishers, and the battle of the bayou had begun. + +"Press on! Press on! We must cut through somehow!" cried Adam Colfax, and +the American fleet moved steadily and unfalteringly on toward its goal. +They came now to the narrowest part of the bayou, and stretched across it +they saw a dark line of canoes, all crowded with Indians and the +desperadoes of Alvarez. Behind them heaved up the dark bulk of the +captured schooner. + +The battle blazed in an instant into volume and fury. Two lines of fire +facing each other were formed across the bayou, one bent upon pushing +forward, the other bent upon holding it back. These lines, moreover, +stretched far into the woods on either bank, where sharpshooters lay, and +both sides shouted at intervals as the blood in their veins grew hot. + +The dark hulk of the schooner suddenly burst into spots of flame, and the +woods and waters echoed with heavy reports. The captured nine pounders +were now helping to block the passage, but the brass twelve pounders on +the supply fleet replied. Steadily the fire of both sides grew in volume +and the lines came closer and closer together. + +The moonlight faded again and little clouds of smoke began to rise. These +clouds gradually grew bigger, then united into one heavy opaque mass that +hung over the combatants. Strips of vapor were detached from it and +floated off into the forest. A sharp, pungent odor, the smell of burnt +gunpowder, filled the nostrils of the men and added to the fire that +burned in their veins. + +This, the largest battle yet fought in the southern woods, had a somber +and unreal aspect to Paul. All around them now was the encircling +darkness. Only the area in which the battle was fought showed any light, +but here the flashes of the firing were continuous and intense. The crash +of the rifles never ceased. Now and then it rose to greater volume and +then fell again, but rising or falling it always went on, while over it +boomed the big guns answering one another in defiant notes of thunder. + +The schooner was the most formidable obstacle to the passage. It lay full +length across the narrow bayou and, even if the boats of the supply fleet +should reach it, there was little room to pass on either side. From its +decks the nine pounders were fired fast and often with precision, and the +majority of the Spaniard's desperate band found shelter there also, firing +with rifles, muskets, and pistols. Others sent bullets, also, from the +comparative security of port holes. The possession of the schooner gave +them a great advantage and they did not neglect it. Now and then they sent +up fierce yells, the war-cries of the West Indian pirates, and their +Indian allies answered them with their own long-drawn, high pitched whoop, +so full of ferocity and menace. Both looked forward to nothing less than +complete triumph. + +The space between the combatants was lighted up by the incessant flash of +the firing. Little jets of water where a missent bullet struck were +continually spouting up, and then would come a bigger one when a cannon +ball plunged into the depths of the bayou. + +Paul suddenly heard a heavy impact, a crash, as of ripping wood, and a +cry. A canoe near them had been struck by a cannon ball, and practically +broken in half. It sank in an instant, and one of the men in it, wounded +in the arm, and crippled, was sinking a second time, when Paul sprang +into the water and helped him into their own boat. But not all the wounded +were so fortunate. Some sank, to stay, and the dark night battle, far more +deadly than that of the night before, reeled to and fro. + +The combat at first had been more of a spectacle than anything else to +Paul. The extraordinary play of light and darkness, the innumerable +shadows and flashes on the surface of the bayou, the black tracery of the +forest on either bank, the red beads of flame from the rifle fire +appearing and re-appearing, made of it all a vast panorama for him. There +were the sounds, too, the piratical shout, hoarse and menacing, the Indian +whoop, shriller and with more of the wild beast's whine in it, the fierce, +sharp note of the rifle fire, steady, insistent, and full of threat, and +over it the heavy thudding of the great guns. + +It was Paul's eye and ear at first that received the deep impression, but +now the aspect of a panorama passed away and his soul was stirred with a +fierce desire to get on, to cut through the hostile line, to crush down +the opposition, and to reach the full freedom of the wide river. He began +to hate those men who opposed them, the fire of passion that battle breeds +was surely mounting to his head. Unconsciously, Paul, the scholar and +coming statesman, the grave quiet youth, began to shout and to hurl +invectives at those who presumed to hold them back. The barrel of his +rifle grew hot in his hand with constant loading and firing, but he did +not notice it. He still, at imminent risk to himself, sent his bullets +toward the dark line of Indian canoes and the flashing hulk of the ship +behind them. + +The supply fleet was beginning to suffer severely. A number of boats and +canoes had been sunk and nearly a score of men had been killed. Many more +were wounded and, despite all this loss, they had made no progress. The +fire from the bank, moreover, was beginning to sting them and to stop it +Adam Colfax landed more men. The increased force of the Americans on the +shore served the purpose but they were still unable to force the mouth of +the bayou. The schooner seemed to be fixed there and she never ceased to +send a storm of bullets and cannon balls at them. + +Adam Colfax had a slight wound in the arm, but his slow cold blood was now +at the boiling point. + +"We've got to force that schooner!" he cried. "We've got to take her, if +it has to be done with boarders! We can never get by unless we do it!" + +But the loss of life even if the attempt were a success, would be +terrible. That was apparent to everybody and Henry made a suggestion. + +"Let's concentrate our whole fire upon the ship," he said. "Mass the +cannon and the rest of us will back them up with our rifles. Maybe we can +silence her, and if we do then's the time to take her by storm." + +The supply fleet drew back and its fire died. It seemed, in truth, as if +it were beaten and that, hemmed in by fire, as it were in the narrow +bayou, it must surrender. A tremendous shout of triumph burst forth from +the men on the schooner, and the Indians took it up in a vast and shriller +but more terrible chorus. + +Then came one of those sudden and ominous silences that sometimes occur in +a battle. The fire of the Americans ceasing, that of their enemies ceased +for the moment also. But the pause was more deadly and menacing in its +stillness than all the thunder and shouting of the combat had been. It +seemed unnatural to hear again the sighing of the wind through the forest +and the quiet lap of water against the shore. The bank of smoke, no longer +increased from below, lifted, thinned, broke up into patches, and began to +float away. The moon's rays shot through the mists and vapors once more, +and lighted up the watery battlefield of the night, the schooner, the +desperate men on it, the swarms of canoes, the coppery, high-cheeked faces +of the Indians, the supply fleet packed now in a rather close mass, the +tanned faces of the men on board it, animated by the high spirit of daring +and enterprise, the wounded lying silent in the boats, and the wreckage +floating on the bayou. + +But the stillness endured for only a few moments. It was broken by the +American fleet, which seemed to draw itself together into closer and more +compact form. An order in a low tone, but sharp and precise, was carried +from boat to boat, and it seemed to strengthen the men anew, heart and +body. They straightened up, signs of exhaustion passed from their faces, +and every one made ready all the arms that he had. + +Paul, like the others, had felt the sudden silence, but perhaps most +acutely of all. His whole imaginative temperament was on fire. He knew--he +would have known, even had he not heard--that the sudden cessation of the +firing was merely preliminary, a fresh drawing of the breath as it were +for another and supreme effort. He clasped his hands to his temples, where +the pulses were beating rapidly and heavily, and his face burned as if in +a fever. But it was a fever of the mind not of the body. + +"It's a big battle, Paul," said Shif'less Sol, who had come with Tom Ross +into their boat, "but it's wuth it. The arms and other things that we +carry in these boats may be wuth millions an' millions to the people who +come after us." + +"Do you think we'll ever break through, Sol?" asked Paul. + +"Shorely," replied the shiftless one. "Henry's got the plan, and we're +goin' to cut through like a wedge druv through a log. Something's got to +give. Up, Paul, with your gun! Here she goes ag'in!" + +The battle suddenly burst forth afresh and with greater violence. All the +American twelve pounders were now in a row at the head of the fleet, and +one after another, from right to left and then from left to right and over +and over again, they began to fire with tremendous rapidity and accuracy +at the schooner. All the best gunners were around the twelve pounders. If +one fell, another took his place. Many of them were stripped to the waist, +and their own fire lighted up their tan faces and their brown sinewy arms +as they handled rammer and cannon shot. + +The fire of the cannon was supported by that of scores and scores of +rifles, and the enemy replied with furious energy. But the supply fleet +was animated now by a single purpose. The shiftless one's simile of a +wedge driven into a log was true. No attention was paid to anybody in the +hostile boats and canoes. They could fire unheeded. Every American cannon +and rifle sent its load straight at the schooner. All the upper works of +the vessel were shot away. The men of Alvarez could not live upon its +decks; they were even slain at the port holes by the terrific rifle fire; +cannon shot, grape shot, and rifle bullets searched every nook and corner +of the vessel, and her desperate crew, one by one, began to leap into the +water and make for the shores. + +A shout of exultation rose from the supply fleet, which was now slowly +moving forward. Flames suddenly burst from the schooner and ran up the +stumps of her masts and spars, reaching out long arms and laying hold at +new points. The cannon shots had also reached the inside of the ship as +fire began to spout from the port holes, and there was a steady stream of +men leaping from the schooner into the water of the bayou and making for +the land. + +The American shout of exultation was repeated, and the forest gave back +the echo. The Indians answered it with a fierce yell of defiance, and the +forest gave back that, too. + +But Adam Colfax had been watching shrewdly. + +In his daring life he had been in more than one naval battle, and when he +saw the schooner wrapped and re-wrapped in great coils and ribbons of +flame he knew what was due. Suddenly he shouted in a voice that could be +heard above the roar of the battle: + +"Back! Back, all! Back for your lives!" + +It reached the ears of everybody in the American fleet, and whether he +understood its words or not every man understood its tone. There was an +involuntary movement common to all. The fleet stopped its slow advance, +seemed to sway in another direction, and then to sit still on the water. +But all were looking at the schooner with an intense, fascinated, yet +horrified gaze. + +Nobody was left on the deck of the vessel but the dead. The huge, +intertwining coil of fiery ribbons seemed suddenly to unite in one great +glowing mass, out of which flames shot high, sputtering and crackling. +Then came an awful moment of silence, the vessel trembled, leaped from the +water, turned into a volcano of fire and with a tremendous crash blew up. + +The report was so great that it came rolling back in echo after echo, but +for a few moments there was no other sound save the echo. Then followed a +rain of burning wood, many pieces falling in the supply fleet, burning and +scorching, while others fell hissing in the forest on either shore. +Darkness, too, came over land and water. All the firing had ceased as if +by preconcerted signal, though the combatants on either side were awed by +the fate of the vessel. The smoke bank came back, too, thicker and heavier +than before, and the air was filled with the strong, pungent odor of +burnt gunpowder. + +But the schooner that had blocked the mouth of the bayou was gone forever +and the way lay open before them. Adam Colfax recovered from the shock of +the explosion. + +"On, men! On!" he roared, and the whole fleet, animated by a single +impulse, sprang forward toward the mouth of the bayou, the cannon blazing +anew the path, the gunners loading and firing, as fast as they could. But +the simile of the shiftless one had come true. The wedge, driven by +tremendous strokes, had cleft the log. + +The Indian fleet, many of the boats containing white men, too, closed in +and sought to bar the way, but they were daunted somewhat by their great +disaster, and in an instant the American fleet was upon them cutting a +path through to the free river. Boat often smashed into boat, and the +weaker, or the one with less impulse, went down. Now and then white and +red reached over and grasped each other in deadly struggle, but, whatever +happened, the supply fleet moved steadily on. + +It was to Paul a confused combat, a wild and terrible struggle, the climax +of the night-battle. White and red faces mingled before him in a blur, the +water seemed to flow in narrow, black streams between the boats and the +pall of smoke was ever growing thicker. It hung over them, black and +charged now with gases. Paul coughed violently, but he was not conscious +of it. He fired his rifle until it was too hot to hold. Then he laid it +down, and seizing an oar pulled with the energy of fever. + +When the boats containing the cannon were through and into the river, they +faced about and began firing over the heads of the others into the huddled +mass of the enemy behind. But it was only for a minute or two. Then the +last of the supply fleet; that is, the last afloat, came through, and the +gap that they had made was closed up at once by the enemy, who still hung +on their rear and who were yet shouting and firing. + +The Americans gave a great cheer, deep and full throated, but they did not +pause in their great effort. Boats swung off toward either bank of the +bayou's mouth. The skirmishers in the bushes who had done such useful work +must be taken on board. Theirs was now the most dangerous position of all, +pursued as they certainly would be by the horde of Indians and outlaws, +bent upon revenge. + +The boat containing the five was among those that touched the northern +side of the bayou's mouth, and everyone of them, rifle in hand, instantly +sprang ashore. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE DEFENSE OF THE FIVE + + +Henry Ware was the first on land, Shif'less Sol came just behind him, and +then the other three. The boat from which they had leaped, and which now +contained but two oarsmen, swung back a little into the stream, and in a +moment the darkness, closing down, shut it from view. They stood in a +patch of undergrowth and the battle still flamed around them on the bayou, +on the river, and in the woods. It was now fiercest in the forest, which +crackled with the rifle shots and the sound of singing bullets. +Innumerable jets of flame sparkled here and there, and then went out, to +be succeeded instantly by others. + +Many of the Indian canoes had been sunk by the explosion or the sweep of +the supply fleet, but it was easy for their occupants, if not seriously +wounded, to escape to the land, and they greatly increased the savage +swarm in the woods, chiefly on the north bank of the bayou. Henry and his +friends could hear their warning cries to one another, even their tread, +and they realized that their own skirmishers in the woods would be pressed +hard. Only a determined effort could hold back the horde long enough for +the men to reach the fleet. + +While they stood there, seeking the best thing to do, two skirmishers +dashed up, breathless, both slightly wounded, and exclaiming that they +were pursued by a formidable force. + +"Jump into the water!" cried Henry. "The boats are only a few yards away! +We'll hold back the savages!" + +There were two plunks, as the skirmishers sprang into the Mississippi, +sinking a moment from sight, and then, as they reappeared, swimming +swiftly for the boats. Behind them came their pursuers in a swarm, but +they were driven back by the rifle fire of the little party from Kentucky. +Another skirmisher burst through the bushes, and, helped in the same way, +sprang into the Mississippi, swimming for the boats. Then came a fourth +and a fifth and everyone escaped as the others had done. + +"It's well we came," said Henry. "This is not the least of our task. Lie +down, boys." + +They stretched themselves on the damp earth, the great, yellow river close +behind them, and the forest in front swarming with the savage force. They +had expected other men who had landed to come to their aid, but the +parties had become separated in the darkness and confusion of the battle, +and they were left alone. Nevertheless a dauntless heart beat in every +breast, and they expected to hold that neck of land, which seemed to be a +channel for the pursued, until the last fugitive was safe. + +Lying upon their faces, half supported by their elbows, they could load +and fire whenever they saw a hostile figure in front of them. Again and +again the pursuit of a skirmisher was driven back by these deadly +riflemen. Now and then a cannon shot fired from their own fleet whistled +over their heads and struck in the forest among their foes, but they paid +no attention to it. They were intent upon their own work and every faculty +was concentrated for the task. + +They had the bayou on one side and a little bay of the river on the other, +and they could not be surrounded by land. The foe was always straight +before them, in a way, eye to eye, and there they sent bullets that rarely +missed. + +A fever was in their blood, the long battle, its tremendous events, and +the new phase that it had now assumed, set every nerve to going. Certain +faculties useless for that crisis had become atrophied for the time. They +no longer heard the sounds of the cannon shots over their heads or the +shouts of the men on the boats, they saw and heard nothing but their own +battle and what lay directly in front of them. + +The position was growing more dangerous. Their searching fire had drawn +upon them an enemy always increasing in numbers. The savages converged in +front of them in a semicircle, and their fire grew heavier and heavier. +Bullets whistled over them, struck the earth about them, or clipped their +clothing. + +Another fugitive passed them and escaped, and then yet another. It was +evident that their task was not yet done, and they would not leave, +although the fire poured upon them, still increased in heat and the +bullets came in showers. + +Presently the attack seemed to veer away from them somewhat, as if the +attention of the enemy were turned elsewhere, and Paul, who was at the end +of the line, crept forward a little in the thicket. The fever was still +burning in his veins and he was anxious to see what lay in front of him. +He did not hear the warning cries of his comrades, or, if hearing, he did +not heed them. He was still burning with the desire to see what lay there +in the depths of the forest. Paul, the scholar, the thinker, the future +statesman, had become transformed. In such a surcharged atmosphere he, +too, had turned into the primitive man, the fighter, the man who looks +upon every other man not proven a friend, as his natural enemy. The +bullets had ceased for the time being to whistle above his head and to +strike up the earth about him. He became conscious once more of the cannon +shots, shrieking over him, and the crash of the rifle fire came from right +and left. + +A stick broke under Paul and he heard a shout in front of him. The shout +was so fierce, so fully charged with malice, that he sprang to his feet as +if he had been propelled by an electric shock. He stood face to face with +Don Francisco Alvarez, the plotter, the rebel, and leader of the attacking +army, a wild and terrible figure, clothes torn, bleeding from wounds, but +animated now by a savage joy. His pistol was leveled at the surprised +youth, and the next moment the deadly bullet would have been sped, but a +tall black-robed figure rose up from the bushes and threw Alvarez back. + +"Francisco Alvarez, thou hast done crime enough already!" exclaimed the +priest. + +Alvarez regained his balance, cast one look of hate at the man who had +intervened, and cried: + +"Ha! it is you, priest, who have come in my way once more! Then go the way +of martyrdom!" + +Turning his pistol he fired the bullet full into the black-robed chest, +and Father Montigny fell dying. + +Paul stood still, unable to move. Every muscle in him was paralyzed by +this deed which seemed to him not murder alone, but sacrilege. Of all the +events of that terrible night this was the worst. But a man behind Paul, +retained every faculty, alive and alert. Up rose Shif'less Sol, his honest +face ablaze with wrath. His rifle flew to his shoulder, his finger pressed +the trigger, and the soul of Don Francisco Alvarez, grandee of Spain, sped +to judgment from the darkness and obscurity of the North American +wilderness. + +"Come back, Paul! Come back!" cried Shif'less Sol, seizing the youth by +the shoulder. + +"But Father Montigny is dying!" cried Paul, falling upon his knees beside +the priest. The tears ran down his cheeks and fell upon the pale face of +the dying man. + +Paul and Father Montigny, Protestant and Catholic, young man and old, were +kindred spirits, and each had felt it from the first. In the soul of each +was the same mysticism, the same imaginative quality, the same spiritual +eye always looking into the future. It had occurred more than once to the +priest that, if he had remained outside the cloth, and had lived as other +men lived, he would have wished such a son as Paul. + +Now he smiled and opened his eyes as he saw this beloved youth of his +later days weeping over him, as he lay in the forest with his death wound. +The one face that he wished most to see beside him, as he drew his last +breath, was there. + +"Paul!" he said, "Paul, my son! Do not weep. It is the fate--in one form +or another--of all who travel in these woods--on such missions as mine. I +have long expected it--and I have often wondered that it has been delayed +so long. I escape, too, the torture--that more than one of my brethren has +suffered." + +He reached out one hand, and put it lightly upon Paul's bare head. There +it lay and Paul felt it grow cold upon him. + +"Come away, Paul," said the shiftless one gently. "The good priest is +dead. It's the livin' that need our help." + +Bullets began to whistle from the thickets. The battle converged toward +them again, and Paul knew that he was needed to help the others hold the +little neck of land so important to all. A cannon shot shrieked over his +head, and then another. Once more they were the focus of the combat. The +forest in front of them sparkled as rapidly as before with beads of +flame. + +Paul rose reluctantly and turned away. The priest lay on his back, his +face, pale and perfectly peaceful, upturned to the skies. Alvarez was a +dozen yards away, but his figure, still forever, was motionless in the +shadows. Paul did not bestow a glance upon him, but he gave Father +Montigny a last long look of affection and sorrow as he turned away. + +"Down, Paul, down!" cried Henry, when Paul and Shif'less Sol reached the +others. "We saw what happened! You cannot do anything for him now!" + +He dragged Paul down, and in an instant all of them turned their full +energy to the defense. The attack upon them was renewed with uncommon fire +and fury. The Indians and desperadoes wished to pass that particular neck +of land in order that they might pour a storm of bullets upon the crippled +fleet and the skirmishers who were yet coming in; but the little band, +headed by Henry Ware, still held them back. + +Henry looked once or twice toward the river and saw the boats hovering far +out in the stream. He judged that, in the darkness and confusion, Adam +Colfax no longer knew where the Kentuckians lay, and it was even possible +that he might lose them entirely; but the fact did not shake Henry's +resolve. It was vital that they should hold the neck, and he intended to +do it. He and his comrades, lying close together, replied rapidly and with +deadly aim to the fire in front of them, forming a compact little body, +with blazing rifles, which the savage army was not yet able to displace. + +The night darkened, there were signs of rain, induced perhaps, by so much +firing; the moon was completely hidden by gathering clouds; the river +became a black, flowing mass and the boats upon it blurred with its +surface, save when they leaped into the light in the blaze of a cannon +shot. The woods, too, seemed a solid, black wall, along the front of which +rifle shots sparkled in clusters. + +"Good boys! good boys!" exclaimed Henry in low tones, surcharged with +excitement. He, too, had the mounting blood hot in his brain. All the old +primeval passion was flaming in him. But the fire of the enemy converged +nearer and nearer, and the bullets sang a ceaseless little song in his +ears as they passed. "Ah!" he exclaimed as one struck him in the arm. But +that was all he said. He went on with his loading and firing. + +"Are you hit, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"A scratch! Nothing more! Look how Long Jim fights!" + +Long Jim was almost flat upon his face, but the man, usually so mild and +good tempered, was now wholly possessed by the rage of combat. His long +thin figure fitted around the sinuosities of the earth, and he seemed to +have a curious gliding motion, sliding forward slowly to meet the enemy. +The darkness was nothing now to his accustomed eyes, and he sent his +bullets with sure aim toward the shadowy forms in the bushes in front of +them. + +Long Jim forgot everything now but his rifle and the enemy there in the +thicket. He slid further and further, still drawing himself over the +ground in that terrible semblance of a serpent. Paul, seeing his face, was +frightened. "Jim! Jim!" he cried. "Stop!" But Long Jim slid slowly on. Tom +Ross said something, but it was lost in the whistling of a cannon shot +overhead. + +They saw Long Jim stop the next moment, and Paul believed that he heard +him utter a little sigh. Long Jim's limbs contracted and straightened out +again with a jerk. Then he turned slowly over on his side and lay still, a +moment or two, after which he began to writhe violently. At the same time +he clapped his hand to his head and it came back red. + +"Sol sometimes says I've a thick skull, an' 'ef so it's a good thing," he +muttered to himself. + +He shook his head again and again, as if to clear it, and crept back to +his friends. There he tore off a portion of his deerskin hunting shirt, +tied it tightly around the wound, and went on with his firing. + +"Don't be too enthusiastic, Jim," said Henry. + +"I won't," replied Long Jim, "I'm cured." + +Lower crouched the five, taking advantage of the bushes and little +hillocks, and sending a bullet every time they saw a flitting figure in +the forest in front of them. Behind them they could still hear the roar of +the combat on the river. The crackle of the rifles and the muskets was +steady in their ears, while now and then the note of a cannon boomed above +it, and a solid shot, curving over their heads, whizzed into the +thickets. But they paid little attention to the main battle; it was +merely a chorus, a background, as it were, for their own corner of the +struggle, which absorbed all their energies. + +Their fire was so incessant, it was so well aimed, and it stung the allied +army so severely, that an increasing force was steadily concentrating in +front of them. Nor did they escape wholly unhurt. A bullet grazed Henry's +arm and another did the same for Shif'less Sol's shoulder; but neither +paid any attention to his wounds, loading and reloading, facing the enemy +with undiminished zeal and courage. + +Its whole aspect was now a phantom battle to them all. The incessant crash +and roaring in their ears, and the smoke and vapor in their nostrils, +heated their brains and made everything look unreal. They were but +phantoms themselves, and the foes who leaped about in the forest were +phantoms, too. Darker and darker the clouds rolled up and the smoke and +vapors thickened in the forest, but through the blackness the lines of +flame still replied to each other. + +Paul's excitement was so great that he could not keep himself down. He was +burning with fever, but passion seemed to be departing from him. He +thought that, if they were all to die, it was a privilege to die together. +He saw now the deep cool woods, a beautiful lake, and an island enclosed +within it, like a green gem in a blue setting. Paul's thoughts, and his +vision with them, were wandering into the past. + +"Steady, Paul, steady!" said Henry. But Paul saw nothing now. A bullet, +singing merrily, gave him a leaden kiss, and he sank down very gently, +lying upon one arm, the red fast dyeing his buckskin hunting shirt. + +Henry gave a cry when he saw Paul fall, and bent anxiously over his +friend. The light was faint, but the bullet seemed to have gone entirely +through the youth. Henry put his ear to his chest, and could hear his +heart still beating, though faintly. + +"Hold 'em back!" he shouted to his friends, "and I'll help Paul!" + +Shif'less Sol, Tom, and Long Jim, although overwhelmed with anxiety for +their young comrade, steadily turned their faces toward the foe, and +replied to his fire. Henry, while the bullets whistled above his head, +bent down and cut away Paul's hunting shirt. Yes, the bullet had gone +entirely through his body and it was lucky for Paul that it had done so. +No need now of the surgeon's probe. Henry bound up the wound tightly and +stopped the bleeding. Then he undertook to lift the lad; but Paul, +although still unconscious and a dead weight in his arms, groaned with +pain. Henry laid him gently back on the ground. + +"Boys," he said, "Paul is too weak to be moved, and we've got to hold this +place until help comes or the enemy quits." + +"I think the last skirmisher has escaped now," said Shif'less Sol, "but +here we stay." + +He spoke for them all, and Henry, unable to do anything more for Paul, +turned his attention anew to the enemy. There was a sudden increase of the +firing in front. The clouds and vapors rolled back, and the dancing +figures in the thickets took on more semblance of reality. Suddenly Henry +uttered a cry. His eyes of almost preternatural keenness had recognized +one of the figures. + +"What is it, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"Braxton Wyatt. He's in the thicket. I saw him a moment ago. I know his +face and figure too well to be mistaken." + +"I saw him, too," replied the shiftless one. "O' course he's escaped the +bullets so fur. It's jest his luck." + +"I think he knows we're here," said Henry, "and he's leading the attack on +us. But we'll never yield this ground and Paul to such a fellow." + +"No!" said the others with one voice. + +The clouds and vapors closed in again. The darkness rolled up in wave +after wave, and the renegade, leading on outlaw and red man, pressed the +attack; but the four met them with courage and spirit unshaken. + +The clouds and vapors rolled over attack and defense, but through the +darkness fire answered fire. After a while the forest and the bayou, which +had witnessed such a desperate display of human energy, sank into darkness +and silence. The clouds, now in the zenith, began to give forth rain, but +it was a gentle, beneficent rain, and it fell silently on the faces of the +living and the dead alike. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE CHOSEN TASK + + +Adam Colfax had gone through the battle unharmed, but that terrible night +left new gray in his hair. He was a religious man, and, when the rifle +fire died down in the forest and then went out, he uttered a devout prayer +of thankfulness. He and his train, on the whole, had come through better +than he had expected. There had been moments in the bayou when he thought +no mortal strength or skill could break the chain that bound them. But the +savage army and navy had been beaten off, and the core of his fleet was +saved. He could still go on to Pittsburgh with his precious cargo. + +The trumpet was sounded again, and the boats, drawing together, began to +count their losses. It was a long sad count, but those who survived were +elated over their great victory. + +It was then that Adam Colfax discovered the loss of the five who had +helped him so much. Some one had seen them spring ashore to protect the +escape of the skirmishers, and he ordered the fleet at once toward the +land to save them, or, if too late, to bring their bodies to the boat. + +A dozen boats swung in toward the bank and that of Adam Colfax was +foremost. He was not conscious of the gentle rain, save that it felt +cooling and pleasant on his face after the heat and smoke of the battle. +Yet the brain of the stern New Hampshire man was still fevered, too. The +battle had ceased, but the roar of the cannon-shots and the crash of the +rifles yet echoed in his ears. The black forest that came down to the +water's edge, was full of mystery and terror, and his was no timid heart. +Smoke of the battle drifted among the trees or over the river, and the +rain did not drive it all away. In the far distance low thunder muttered, +and now and then flashes of heat lightning drew a belt of coppery red +along the dark horizon. + +Adam Colfax, stern man that he was, shuddered. But he would not flinch. He +was the first to spring ashore. The forest assumed its most somber aspect. +The trees were weird and ghostly, and there was no sound at all but the +gentle drip, drip of the rain. Here the vapors and mists seemed to be +imprisoned by the boughs and foliage, and the odors were heavy and acrid. + +He had landed upon a little neck of land, and some one remarked: "It was +here that the Kentuckians landed." But there was no sound in the forest +and the scouts had reported already that the enemy had gone away. A great +fear gripped at the heart of Adam Colfax. "They are all dead," he thought. + +Men brought torches, as they no longer had any fear of sharpshooters; and +Adam Colfax, followed by twenty others, entered the forest. The wind rose +slightly and whipped the rain in his face, but he stepped into the +deepest shadow, and, taking a torch from one of the men, held it aloft +with his own hand. The light fell upon a little open space and, despite +himself, Adam Colfax uttered a cry. + +A figure lay outstretched under the shelter of arching boughs and bushes, +and four more beside it were still and silent, leaning against a fallen +log. There was such an absolute lack of motion, that Colfax at first +thought that the soul of every one was sped. + +"Good God! Dead! All dead!" he exclaimed. + +But a great figure quickly uprose. + +"No," said Henry Ware, a fine smile passing over his boyish face. "We beat +them off, and we're just resting and waiting. Only Paul is seriously hurt, +and so far we've been afraid to move him." + +Shif'less Sol, Jim Hart, and Tom Ross rose, too, and shook the raindrops +from their clothes. + +"We didn't have good shelter here," said Shif'less Sol, "but I think the +rain and its coolness have helped Paul." + +Adam Colfax bent over the boy and, in the dawning light, made a critical +examination. + +"He will live," he said. "We'd have come to your relief long ago, had we +known you were here." + +"It was Braxton Wyatt who led the last attack against us," said Henry, +"and as usual, he has had the good luck to escape. At least, we can't find +his body here, and I haven't the slightest doubt that he's living to do +more mischief and that we'll meet him again." + +It was true, and a diligent search revealed no trace of Wyatt. He had +escaped, fleeing North after the battle, to rejoin his old friends, the +Shawnees and Miamis. + +Paul was lifted gently, after receiving treatment from the surgeon of the +fleet, and carried to a boat, where he regained consciousness. His wound +was severe, but his blood was so healthy that he would recover, according +to the surgeon, with great rapidity. + +When all five were together, Adam Colfax said to them collectively: + +"You did the most of all to save the fleet." + +That was enough reward for them. + +The body of Father Montigny was buried in the forest, and a little wooden +cross was put at his head, Christian burial was given to the body of +Alvarez, too, and the supply fleet prepared for a new start. + + * * * * * + +The fleet, two weeks later, was making its slow progress northward on the +Mississippi. The great river was in an uncommonly friendly mood. Its usual +yellow seemed silver in the brilliant morning light. Heavy masses of green +fringed either low shore, and keen pleasant odors came from the +wilderness. + +Oliver Pollock, hearing of the battle of the bayou, had sent a second +detachment from New Orleans to replace the men and boats lost and the +ammunition shot away by the first, and now, stronger than ever, it +continued under the brave and skillful leadership of Adam Colfax, on its +great mission. + +The five sat in the end of one of the largest boats, under the shade of a +sail. Paul's strength was fast coming back; he would not suffer the +slightest harm, and they were happy. + +"This is jest the life fur a lazy man like me," said Shif'less Sol. +"Nothin' to do but go on an' on, with people to wait on you, an' say you +hev already done your part." + +"We have had a wonderful escape," said Paul. + +The face of the shiftless one became grave, even reverent. + +"So we hev, Paul," he said. "Seems to me sometimes that we wuz spared fur +a purpose. We wouldn't hev come alive, every one of us, through all that, +ef it hadn't been intended that we should go on with the work that we are +doin', helpin' and defendin' our people the best we kin. I think we've +been chose." + +"I think so, too," said Paul, "and here and now we should devote ourselves +to it, as long as it is needed. I want to do so. Are the rest of you +willing?" + +"I am," said Henry with emphasis. + +"And I!" said the shiftless one. + +"And I!" said Tom Ross. + +"And I!" said Long Jim. + +"Amen!" said Paul. + + +THE END + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Free Rangers, by Joseph A. Altsheler + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FREE RANGERS *** + +***** This file should be named 15055.txt or 15055.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/0/5/15055/ + +Produced by Kentuckiana Digital Library, David Garcia, Emmy and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team.(www.pgdp.net) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/15055.zip b/15055.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7919114 --- /dev/null +++ b/15055.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5be7fa0 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #15055 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15055) |
