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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/24758-8.txt b/24758-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c37e89e --- /dev/null +++ b/24758-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9073 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Eyes of the Woods, by Joseph A. +Altsheler, Illustrated by D. C. Hutchison + + +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 Eyes of the Woods + A story of the Ancient Wilderness + + +Author: Joseph A. Altsheler + + + +Release Date: March 5, 2008 [eBook #24758] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EYES OF THE WOODS*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Anne Storer, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 24758-h.htm or 24758-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/7/5/24758/24758-h/24758-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/7/5/24758/24758-h.zip) + + + + + +THE EYES OF THE WOODS + + * * * * * + +By JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + + +THE CIVIL WAR SERIES + +The Guns of Bull Run +The Guns of Shiloh +The Scouts of Stonewall +The Sword of Antietam +The Star of Gettysburg +The Rock of Chickamaugua +The Shades of the Wilderness +The Tree of Appomattox + + +THE WORLD WAR SERIES + +The Guns of Europe +The Hosts of the Air +The Forest of Swords + + +THE YOUNG TRAILERS SERIES + +The Young Trailers +The Forest Runners +The Keepers of the Trail +The Eyes of the Woods +The Free Rangers +The Riflemen of the Ohio +The Scouts of the Valley +The Border Watch + + +THE TEXAN SERIES + +The Texan Star +The Texan Scouts +The Texan Triumph + + +THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR SERIES + +The Hunters of the Hills +The Shadow of the North +The Rulers of the Lakes + + +BOOKS NOT IN SERIES + +Apache Gold +The Quest of the Four +The Last of the Chiefs +In Circling Camps +A Soldier of Manhattan +The Sun of Saratoga +A Herald of the West +The Wilderness Road +My Captive + + +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK + + * * * * * + + +THE EYES OF THE WOODS + +A Story of the Ancient Wilderness + +by + +JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + +Author of +"The Young Trailers," "The Shadow of the North," +"The Hunters of the Hills," "The Tree of Appomattox," Etc. + +Illustrated by D. C. Hutchison + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "It was the shiftless one who had shot the bear, +and he was proud"] + + + +D. Appleton and Company +New York and London: 1917 + +Copyright, 1917, by +D. Appleton and Company + +Printed in the United States of America + + + + +FOREWORD + + +"The Eyes of the Woods" is an independent story, telling of certain +remarkable events in the life of Henry Ware, Paul Cotter, Shif'less Sol +Hyde, Silent Tom Ross and Long Jim Hart. But it is also a part of the +series dealing with these characters, and is the fourth in point of +time, coming just after "The Keepers of the Trail." + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER PAGE + + I. THE FLIGHT 1 + + II. THE GREAT JOKE 23 + + III. A MERRY NIGHT 45 + + IV. THE CAPTURED CANOE 67 + + V. THE PROTECTING RIVER 89 + + VI. THE OASIS 111 + + VII. INTO THE NORTH 130 + +VIII. THE BUFFALO RING 149 + + IX. THE COVERT 168 + + X. THE BEAR GUIDE 186 + + XI. THE GREATER POWERS 209 + + XII. THE STAG'S COMING 225 + +XIII. THE LEAPING WOLF 245 + + XIV. THE WATCHFUL SQUIRREL 266 + + XV. THE LETTER 286 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +"It was the shiftless one who had shot the bear, and +he was proud" _Frontispiece_ + +"'A lot of 'em are dancin' the scalp dance'" 78 + +"Red Eagle rose to address his hosts" 204 + +"A gigantic wolf ... launched himself straight at the +warrior's throat" 254 + + + + +THE EYES +OF THE WOODS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE FLIGHT + + +A strong wind swept over the great forest, sending green leaves and +twigs in showers before it, and bringing clouds in battalions from the +west. The air presently grew cold, and then heavy drops of rain came, +pattering at first like shot, but soon settling into a hard and steady +fall that made the day dark and chill, tingeing the whole wilderness +with gloom and desolation. + +The deer sought its covert, a buffalo, grazing in a little prairie, +thrust its huge form into a thicket, the squirrel lay snug in its nest +in the hollow of a tree, and the bird in the shelter of the foliage +ceased to sing. The only sounds were those of the elements, and the +world seemed to have returned to the primeval state that had endured for +ages. It was the kingdom of fur, fin and feather, and, so far as the +casual eye could have seen, man had not yet come. + +But in the deep cleft of the cliff, from which coign of vantage they had +fought off Shawnee and Miami, Henry Ware, Paul Cotter and Long Jim Hart +sat snug, warm and dry, and looked out at the bitter storm. Near them a +small fire burned, the smoke passing out at the entrance, and at the far +end of the hollow much more wood was heaped. There were five beds of dry +leaves with the blankets lying upon them, useful articles were stored in +the niches of the stone, and jerked meat lay upon the natural shelves. +It was a secret, but cheerful spot in that vast, wet and cold +wilderness. Long Jim felt its comfort and security, as he rose, put +another stick of wood on the fire, and then resumed his seat near the +others. + +"I'm sorry the storm came up so soon," said Henry. "Of course, Sol and +Tom are hardened to all kinds of weather, but it's not pleasant to be +caught in the woods at such a time." + +"And our ammunition," said Paul. "It wouldn't hurt the lead, of course, +but it would be a disaster for the powder to be soaked through and +through. They'd have to go back to the settlements, and that would mean +a long journey and a lot of lost time." + +"I don't think we need be afraid about the powder," said Henry. +"Whatever happens, Sol and Tom will protect it, even if their own bodies +suffer." + +"Then I'm thinkin' they'll have to do a lot of protectin'," said Long +Jim. "The wind is blowin' plum' horizontal, an' the rain is sweepin' +'long in sheets." + +Henry, despite his consoling words, was very anxious. Since their great +battle with the invading Indian force and the destruction of the cannon, +their supply of ammunition had run very low, and without powder and +bullets they were lost in the wilderness. He walked to the narrow +entrance of the cave, and, standing just where the rain could not reach +him, looked out upon the cold and dripping forest, a splendid figure +clothed in deerskin, specially adapted in both body and mind to +wilderness life. + +He saw nothing but the foliage bending before the wind and the chill +sheets sent down by the clouds. The somber sky and the desolation would +not have made him feel lonely, even had he been without his comrades. He +had faced primeval nature too often and he knew it too well to be +overcome or to be depressed by any of its dangers. Yet his heart would +have leaped had he beheld the shiftless and the silent ones, making +their way among the trees, the needed packs on their backs. + +"Any sign, Henry?" asked Paul. + +"None," replied the tall youth, "but they said they'd be here today." + +Paul, who was lying on a great buffalo robe with his feet to the fire, +shifted himself into an easier position. His face expressed content and +he felt no anxiety about the traveling two. + +"If Shif'less Sol promised to be here he'll keep his word," he said, +"and Silent Tom will come without making any promises." + +"You do talk won'erful well sometimes, Paul," said Long Jim, "an' I +reckon you've put the facts jest right. I ain't goin' to be troubled in +my mind a-tall, a-tall 'bout them fellers. They'll be here. Tom loves +nice tender buffler steak best, an' I'm goin' to have it ready fur him, +while Sol dotes most on fat juicy wild turkey, an' that'll be waitin' +fur him, too." + +He turned to his stores, and producing the delicacies his comrades loved +began to fry them over the coals. The pleasant odors filled their rocky +home. + +"I give them two a half hour more," he said. "I ain't got any gift uv +second sight. I don't look into the future--nobody does--but I jest +figger on what they are an' what they kin do, an' then I feel shore that +a half hour more is enough." + +"Henry," asked Paul, "do you think the Miamis and the Shawnees will come +back after us?" + +"I reckon upon it," replied Henry, still watching the wet forest. "Red +Eagle and Yellow Panther are shrewd and thoughtful chiefs, and Braxton +Wyatt and Blackstaffe are full of cunning. They are all able to put two +and two together, and they know that it was we who destroyed their +cannon when they attempted the big attack on the settlements. They'll +look upon us as the scouts and sentinels who see everything they do." + +"The eyes of the woods," said Paul. + +"Yes, that expresses it, and they'll feel that they're bound to destroy +us. As soon as the warriors get over their panic they'll come back to +put out the eyes that see too much of their deeds. They know, of course, +that we hold this hollow and that we've made a home here for a while." + +"But as they won't return for some time I mean to take my comfort while +I can," said Paul sleepily. "I wouldn't exchange this buffalo robe, the +leaves under it, the fire before my feet and the roof of rock over my +head for the finest house in all the provinces. The power of contrast +makes my present situation one of great luxury." + +"Power uv contrast! You do use a heap uv big words, Paul," said Long +Jim, "but I 'spose they're all right. Leastways I don't know they ain't. +Now, I'm holdin' back this buffler steak an' wild turkey, 'cause I want +'em to be jest right, when Sol an' Tom set down afore the fire. See +anythin' comin' through the woods, Henry?" + +"No, Jim, nothing stirs there." + +"It don't bother me. They'll 'pear in good time. They've a full ten +minutes yet, an' thar dinners will be jest right fur 'em. I hate to brag +on myself, but I shorely kin cook. Ain't we lucky fellers, Paul? It +seems to me sometimes that Providence has done picked us out ez speshul +favorites. Good fortune is plum' showered on us. We've got a snug holler +like this, one uv the finest homes a man could live in, an' round us is +a wilderness runnin' thousands uv miles, chock full uv game, waitin' to +be hunted by us. Ev'ry time the savages think they've got us, an' it +looks too ez ef they wuz right, we slip right out uv thar hands an' the +scalps are still growin' full an' free, squar'ly on top uv our heads. We +shorely do git away always, an' it 'pears to me, Paul, that we are +'bout the happiest an' most fort'nate people in the world." + +Paul raised his head and looked at Jim, but it was evident to the lad +that his long comrade was in dead earnest, and perhaps he was right. The +lad shifted himself again and the light of the blaze flickered over his +finely-chiseled, scholarly face. Long Jim glanced at him with +understanding. + +"Ef you had a book or two, Paul," he said, "you could stay here waitin' +an' be happy. Sometimes I wish that I liked to read. What's in it, Paul, +that kin chain you to one place an' make you content to be thar?" + +"Because in the wink of an eye, Jim, it transports you to another world. +You are in new lands, and with new people, seeing what they do and doing +it with them. It gives your mind change, though your body may lie still. +Do you see anything yet, Henry, besides the forest and the rain?" + +"A black dot among the trees, Paul, but it's very small and very far, +and it may be a bear that's wandered out in the wet. Besides, it's two +dots that we want to see, not one, and--as sure as I live there are two, +moving this way, though they're yet too distant for me to tell what they +are." + +"But since they're two, and they're coming towards us, they ought to be +those whom we're expecting." + +"Now they've moved into a space free of undergrowth and I see them more +clearly. They're not bears, nor yet deer. They're living human beings +like ourselves." + +"Keep looking, Henry, and tell us whether you recognize 'em." + +"The first is a tall man, young, with light hair. He is bent over a +little because of the heavy pack on his back, and the long distance he +has come, but he walks with a swing that I've seen before." + +"I reckon," said Long Jim, "that he's close kin to that lazy critter, +Shif'less Sol." + +"Closer even than a twin brother," continued Henry. "I'd know him +anywhere. The other just behind him, and bent also a little with his +heavy pack, is amazingly like a friend of ours, an old comrade who talks +little, but who does much." + +"None other than Silent Tom," said Paul joyfully, as he rose and joined +Henry at the door. "Yes, there they are, two men, staunch and true, and +they bring the powder and lead. Of course they'd come on time! Nothing +could stop 'em. The whole Shawnee and Miami nations might be in between, +but they'd find a way through." + +"An' the buffler steak an' the wild turkey are jest right," called Long +Jim. "Tell 'em to come straight in an' set down to the table." + +Henry, putting his fingers to his lips, uttered a long and cheerful +whistle. The shiftless one and the silent one, raising their heads, made +glad reply. They were soaked and tired, but success and journey's end +lay just before them, and they advanced with brisker steps, to be +greeted with strong clasps of the hand and a warm welcome. They entered +the rocky home, put aside the big packs with sighs of relief and spread +out their fingers to the grateful heat. + +"That's the last work I mean to do fur a year," said Shif'less Sol. +"'Twuz a big job, a mighty big job fur me, a lazy man, an' now I'm goin' +to rest fur months an' months, while Long Jim waits on me an' feeds me." + +"Jest now I'm glad to do it, Sol," said Jim. "Take off your clothes, you +an' Tom, hang 'em on the shelf thar to dry, an' now set to. The steaks +an' the turkey are the finest I ever cooked, an' they're all fur you +two. An' I kin tell you fellers that the sight uv you is good fur weak +eyes." + +Shif'less Sol and Silent Tom ate like epicures, while, denuded of their +wet deerskins but wrapped in dry blankets, they basked in the heat. + +"Not a drop of rain got at the powder," said the shiftless one +presently, "an' even ef we don't capture any from the Injuns we ought to +hev enough thar to last us many months." + +"Did you see anything of the warriors?" asked Henry. + +"We hit one trail 'bout fifty miles south uv here, but we didn't have +time to foller it. Still, it's 'nough to show that they're in between us +an' the settlements." + +"We expected it. We discovered sufficient while you were gone to be sure +they're going to make a great effort to end us. They look upon us as the +eyes of the woods, and they've concluded that their first business is +with us before they make another attack on our villages." + +Shif'less Sol helped himself to a fresh piece of the wild turkey, and +made another fold of the blanket about his athletic body. + +"Paul hez talked so much 'bout them old Romans wrapped in their togys +that I feel like one now," he said, "an' I kin tell you I feel pow'ful +fine, too. That wuz a cold rain an' a wet rain, an' the fire an' the +food are mighty good, but it tickles me even more to know how them +renegades an' warriors rage ag'inst us. I've a heap o' respeck fur Red +Eagle an' Yellow Panther, who are great chiefs an' who are fightin' fur +thar rights ez they see 'em, but the madder Blackstaffe an' Wyatt git +the better I like it." + +"Me, too," said Silent Tom with emphasis, relapsing then into silence +and his preoccupation with the buffalo steak. The shiftless one regarded +him with a measuring gaze. + +"Tom," he said, "why can't you let a feller finish his dinner without +chatterin' furever? I see the day comin' when you'll talk us all plum' +to death." + +Silent Tom shook his head in dissent. He had exhausted speech. + +Paul, who had remained at the door, watching, announced an increase of +rain and wind. Both were driving so hard that leaves and twigs were +falling, and darkness as of twilight spread over the skies. The cold, +although but temporary, was like that of early winter. + +"We needn't expect any attack now," said Henry. "Join us, Paul, around +the fire, and we'll have a grand council, because we must decide how +we're going to meet the great man hunt they're organizing for us." + +Paul left the cleft, and sat down on a doubled blanket with his back +against the wall. He felt the full gravity of the crisis, knowing that +hundreds of warriors would be put upon their trail, resolved never +to leave the search until the five were destroyed, but he had full +confidence in his comrades. In all the world there were not five others +so fit to overcome the dangers of the woods, and so able to endure their +hardships. + +"I suppose, Henry," said Paul, with his mind full of ancient lore, "now +that the Roman Senate, or its successor, is in session you are its +presiding officer." + +"If that's the wish of the rest of you," said Henry. + +"It is!" they said all together. + +Henry, like Paul, was sitting on his doubled blanket with his back +against the stony wall. Jim Hart, his long legs crossed, occupied a +similar position, and, by the flickering light of the fire, Shif'less +Sol and Silent Tom, wrapped in their blankets, looked in truth like +Roman senators. + +"Will you tell us, Henry, what you found out while we wuz away?" asked +the shiftless one. Henry had made a scouting expedition while the two +were gone for the powder and lead. + +"I made one journey across the Ohio," replied their chief, "and at +night I went near a Shawnee village. Red Eagle was there, and so were +Blackstaffe and Wyatt. Lying in the bushes near the fire by which they +sat, I could catch enough of their talk to learn that the Shawnee and +Miami nations are going to bend all their energies and powers to our +destruction. That is settled." + +"I feel a heap flattered," said Shif'less Sol, "that so many warriors +should be sent ag'inst us, who are only five. What wuz it that old +feller was always sayin', Paul, every time he held up a bunch o' fresh +figs before the noses o' the Roman senators?" + +"_Delenda est Carthago_, which is Latin, Sol, and it means just now, +when I give it a liberal translation, that we five must be wiped clean +off the face of the earth." + +"I've heard you say often, Paul, that Latin was a dead language, an' so +all them old dead sayin's won't hev any meanin' fur us. I kin live long +on the threats o' Braxton Wyatt an' Blackstaffe, an' so kin all o' us. +But go on, Henry. I 'pologize fur interruptin' the presidin' officer." + +"I learned all I could there," continued Henry, "but I was able to +gather only their general intention, that is their resolve to crush us, +a plan that both Wyatt and Blackstaffe urged. However, when I trailed a +large band two days later, and crept near their camp, I discovered +more." + +"What wuz it?" exclaimed the shiftless one, leaning forward a little, +his face showing tense and eager in the glow of the flames. + +"They're going to spread a net for us. Not one body of warriors will +seek us, but many. Red Eagle will lead a band, Yellow Panther will be +at the head of another, Braxton Wyatt will be in charge of a third, +Blackstaffe will take a fourth, and there will be at least seven or +eight more, though some of them may unite later. Shif'less Sol has put +it right. We'll be honored as men were never honored before in this +wilderness. At least a thousand warriors, brave and skillful men, all, +will be hunting us, two hundred to one and maybe more." + +"And while they're hunting us," said Paul, his eyes glistening, "we'll +draw 'em off from the settlements, and we'll be serving our people just +as much as we did when we were destroying the big guns, and filling the +warriors with superstitious alarm." + +"True in every word," said Henry, his soul rising for the contest. "Let +'em come on and we'll lead 'em such a chase that their feet will be worn +to the bone, and their minds will be full of despair!" + +"You put it right," said the shiftless one. "I think I'll enjoy bein' a +fox fur awhile. The forest is full o' holes an' dens, an' when they dig +me out o' one I'll be off fur another." + +"We know the wilderness as well as they do," said Henry, "and we can use +as many tricks as they can. Now, since they're spreading a great net, we +must take the proper steps to evade it. Having besieged our refuge here +once, they'll naturally look again for us in this place. If they catch +us inside they'll sit outside until they starve us to death." + +"Which means," said Paul regretfully, "that we must leave our nice dry +home." + +"So it does, but not, I think, before tomorrow morning, and we'll use +the hours meanwhile to good advantage. We must begin at once molding +into bullets the lead that Sol and Tom brought." + +Every one of the five carried with him that necessary implement in the +wilderness, a bullet mold, and they began the task immediately, all save +Henry, who went outside, despite the fierce rain, and scouted a bit +among the bushes and trees. The four made bullets fast, melting the +lead in a ladle that Jim carried, pouring it into the molds, and then +dropping the shining and deadly pellets one by one into their pouches. +Three of them talked as they worked, but Silent Tom did not speak for a +full hour. Then he said: + +"We'll have five hundred apiece." + +Shif'less Sol looked at him reprovingly. + +"Tom," he said, "I predicted a while ago that the time wuz soon comin' +when you'd talk us to death. You used five words then, when you know +your 'lowance is only one an hour." + +Tom Ross flushed under his tan. He hated, above all things, to be +garrulous. "Sorry," he muttered, and continued his work with renewed +energy and speed. The bullets seemed to drop in a shining stream from +his mold into his pouch. But Shif'less Sol talked without ceasing, his +pleasant chatter encouraging them, as music cheers troops for battle. + +"It ain't right fur me to hev to work this way," he said, "me sich a +lazy man. I ought to lay over thar on a blanket, an' go to sleep while +Jim does my share ez well ez his own." + +"When I'm doin' your share, Sol Hyde," said Long Jim, "you'll be dead. +Not till then will I ever tech a finger to your work. You are a lazy +man, ez you say, an' fur sev'ral years now I've been tryin' to cure you +uv it, but I ain't made no progress that I kin see." + +"I don't want you to make progress, Jim. I like to be lazy, an' jest now +I feel pow'ful fine, fed well, an' layin' here, wrapped in a blanket +before a good warm fire." + +Henry went back to the cleft, and took another long look. The conditions +had not changed, save that night was coming and the wilderness was chill +and hostile. The wind blew with a steady shrieking sound, and the +driving rain struck like sleet. Leaves fell before it, and in every +depression of the earth the water stood in pools. Over this desolate +scene the faint sun was sinking and the twilight, colder and more solemn +than the day, was creeping. He looked at the wet forest and the coming +dusk, and then back at the dry hollow and the warm fire behind him. The +contrast was powerful, but only one choice was left to them. + +"Boys," he said, "we'll have to make the most of tonight." + +"Because we must leave our home in the morning?" said Paul. + +"Yes, that's it. We'll have to take to the woods, no matter how hard it +is. Chance doesn't favor us this time. I fancy the band led by Braxton +Wyatt will make straight for our house here." + +"Since it's the last dry bed I'll have fur some time I'm goin' to +sleep," said Shif'less Sol plaintively. "Everybody pesters a lazy man, +an' I mean to use the little time I hev." + +"You've a right to it, Sol," said Henry, "because you've walked long and +far, and you've brought what we needed most. The sooner you and Tom go +to sleep the better. Paul, you join 'em and Jim and I will watch." + +The shiftless one and the silent one turned on their sides, rested their +heads on their arms and in a minute or two were off to the land of +slumber. Paul was slower, but in a quarter of an hour or so he followed +them to the same happy region. Long Jim put out the fire, lest the gleam +of the coals through the cleft should betray their presence to a +creeping enemy--although neither he nor Henry expected any danger at +present--and took his place beside his watchful comrade. + +The two did not talk, but in the long hours of rain and darkness they +guarded the entrance. Their eyes became so used to the dusk that they +could see far, but they saw nothing alive save, late in the night, a +lumbering black bear, driven abroad and in the storm by some restless +spirit. Long Jim watched the ungainly form, as it shambled out of sight +into a thicket. + +"A bad conscience, I reckon," he said. "That b'ar would be layin' snug +in his den ef he didn't hev somethin' on his mind. He's ramblin' 'roun' +in the rain an' cold, cause's he's done a wrong deed, an' can't sleep +fur thinkin' uv it. Stole his pardner's berries an' roots, mebbe." + +"Perhaps you're right, Jim," Henry said, "and animals may have +consciences. We human beings are so conceited that we think we alone +feel the difference between right and wrong." + +"I know one thing, Henry, I know that b'ars an' panthers wouldn't leave +thar own kind an' fight ag'inst thar own race, as Braxton Wyatt an' +Blackstaffe do. That black b'ar we jest saw may feel sore an' bad, but +he ain't goin' to lead no expedition uv strange animals ag'inst the +other black b'ars." + +"You're right, Jim." + +"An' fur that reason, Henry, I respeck a decent honest black b'ar, even +ef he is mad at hisself fur some leetle mistake, an' even ef he can't +read an' write an' don't know a knife from a fork more than I do a +renegade man who's huntin' the scalps uv them he ought to help." + +"Well spoken, Jim. Your sense of right and wrong is correct nearly +always. Like you, I've a lot of respect for the black bear, and also for +the deer and the buffalo and the panther and the other people of the +woods. Do you think the rain is dying somewhat?" + +"'Pears so to me. It may stop by day an' give us a chance to leave +without a soakin'." + +They relapsed again into a long silence, but they saw that their hope +was coming true. The wind was sinking, its shriek shrinking to a whisper +and then to a sigh. The rain ceased to beat so hard, coming by and by +only in fitful showers, while rays of moonlight, faint at first, began +to appear in the western sky. In another half hour the last shower came +and passed, but the forest was still heavy with dripping waters. Henry, +nevertheless, knew that it was time to go, and he awakened the sleepers. + +"We must make up our packs," he said. + +The five worked with speed and skill. All the lead, newly brought, had +been molded into bullets, and the powder, save that in their horns, +was carried in bags. This, with the blankets and portions of food, +constituted most of their packs. Some furs and skins they left to those +who might come, and then they slipped from the warm hollow, which had +furnished such a grateful shelter to them. + +"It's just as well," said Henry, "that we should let 'em think we're +still in there. Then they may waste a day or two in approaching, so hide +your footprints." + +The earth was soft from the rain, but the stony outcrop ran a long +distance, and they walked on it cautiously so far as it went, after +which they continued on the fallen trunks and brush, with which the +forest had been littered by the winds of countless years. They were +able, without once touching foot to ground, to reach a brook, into which +they stepped, following its course at least two miles. When they emerged +at last they sat down on stones and let the water run from their +moccasins and leggings. + +"I don't like getting wet, this way," said Henry, "but there was no +choice. At least, we know we've come a great distance and have left no +trail. There'll be no chance to surprise us now. How long would you say +it is till day, Sol?" + +"'Bout two hours," replied the shiftless one, "an' I 'spose we might ez +well stay here a while. We're south o' the hollow an' Wyatt an' his band +are purty shore to come out o' the north. The woods are mighty wet, but +the day is goin' to be without rain, an' a good sun will dry things +fast. What we want is to git a new home fur a day or two, in some deep +thicket." + +They began to search and presently found a dense tangle, with several +large trees growing near the center of it, the trunk of one of them +hollowed out by time. In the opening they put their bags of powder, part +of their bullets and other supplies, and then, wrapped in their +blankets, sat down in the brush before it. + +"Now, Henry," said Shif'less Sol, "it's shore that we ain't goin' to be +besieged, though our empty holler may be, an' that bein' the case, an' +the trouble bein' passed fur the moment, you an' Jim, who watched most +o' the night, go to sleep, an' Tom an' Paul too might take up thar naps +whar they left 'em off. I'll do the watchin', an' I'll take a kind o' +pride in doin' it all by myself." + +The others made no protest, but, leaning their backs against the tree +trunks, soon fell asleep, while the shiftless one, rifle under his arm, +went to the edge of the canebrake, and began his patrol. He bore little +resemblance to a lazy man now. He was, next to Henry, the greatest +forest runner of the five, a marvel of skill, endurance and perception, +with a mighty heart beating beneath his deerskins, and an intellect of +wonderful native power, reasoning and drawing deductions under his +thatch of blonde hair. + +Shif'less Sol listened to the drip, drip of water from the wet boughs +and leaves, and he watched a great sun, red and warm, creep slowly over +the eastern hills. He was not uncomfortable, nor was he afraid of +anything, but he was angry. He remembered with regret the pleasant +hollow, so dry and snug. It belonged, by right of discovery and +improvement, to his comrades and himself, but it might soon be defiled +by the presence of Indians, led by the hated renegade, Braxton Wyatt. +They would sleep on his favorite bed of leaves, they would cook where +Long Jim Hart had cooked so well, though they could never equal him, and +they would certainly take as their own the furs and skins they had been +compelled to leave behind. + +The more he thought of it the stronger his wrath grew. Had it not been +for his fear of leaving a betraying trail he would have gone back to see +if the warriors were already approaching the hollow; but his sense of +duty and obvious necessity kept him at the edge of the brake in which +his comrades lay, deep in happy slumber. + +Morning advanced, warm and beautiful, sprinkling the world at first +with silver and then with gold, the sky gradually turning to a deep +velvety blue, as intense as any that the shiftless one had ever seen. +The myriads of raindrops stood out at first like silver beads on grass +and leaves, and then dried up rapidly under the brilliant rays of the +sun. A light breeze blew through the foliage, and sang a pleasant song +as it blew. + +Shif'less Sol felt a wonderful uplift of the spirits. In the darkness +and rain of the night before he might have been depressed somewhat at +leaving their good shelter for the wet wilderness, but in the splendid +dawn he was all buoyancy and confidence. + +"Let 'em come," he said to himself. "Let Braxton Wyatt an' Blackstaffe +an' all the Miamis an' Shawnees hunt us fur a year, but they won't get +us, no, not one of us." + +Then he sank silently in the deep grass and slid cautiously away, not +toward the dense brake, but to a point well to one side. His acute ear +had heard a sound which was not a part of the morning, and while it +might be made by a wild animal, then again it might be caused by wilder +man. He thanked his wary soul, when, looking above the tops of the +grass, he saw two warriors, Shawnees by their paint, emerge from the +woods and walk northward, to be followed presently by a full score more, +Braxton Wyatt himself at their head. + +And so the band had come out of the south, instead of the north! +Doubtless they had circled about before approaching, in order to make +the surprise complete, and the trigger drew the finger of the shiftless +one like a magnet, as he looked at the renegade, the most ruthless +hunter among those who hunted the five. Although the temptation to do so +was strong, Shif'less Sol did not fire, knowing that his bullet would +draw the attack of the band upon his comrades and himself. Instead, he +followed them cautiously about half a mile. + +He was confirmed in his opinion--in truth, little short of certainty in +the first instance--that they were marching against the hollow, and its +supposed inmates, as presently they began to advance with extreme care, +kneeling down in the undergrowth and sending out flankers. Shif'less Sol +laughed. It was a low laugh, but deep, and full of unction. He knew that +the farther march of Wyatt and his warriors would be very slow, having +in mind the deadly rifles of the five, the muzzles of which they would +feel sure were projecting from the mouth of the rocky retreat. It was +likely that the entire morning would be spent in an enveloping movement, +dusky figures creeping forward inch by inch in a semi-circle, and then +nothing would be inside the semi-circle. + +Shif'less Sol laughed to himself again, and with the same deep and +heartfelt unction. Then he turned and went back to his comrades, who yet +slept soundly in the brake. The cane was so dense that they lay in the +dimness of the shadows, and there was no disturbing light upon their +eyes to awaken them. Shif'less Sol contemplated them with satisfaction, +and then he sat down silently near them. He saw no reason to awaken +them. Braxton Wyatt was now formally arranging the siege of the rocky +refuge and its vanished defenders, and he would not interrupt him for +worlds in that congenial task. For the third time he laughed to himself +with depth and unction. + +The sun rose higher in a sky that arched in its perfect blue over a day +of dazzling beauty. The last drop of rain on leaf or grass dried up, and +the forest was a deep green, suffused and tinted, though, with a +luminous golden glow from the splendid sun. The shiftless one raised his +head and inhaled its clear, sweet odors, the great heart under the +deerskins and the great brain under the thatch of hair alike sending +forth a challenge. Not all the Shawnees, not all the Miamis, not all the +renegades could drive the five from this mighty, unoccupied wilderness +of Kain-tuck-ee, which his comrades and he loved and in which they had +as good a right as any Indian or renegade that ever lived. + +It was so still in the canebrake that the birds over the head of the +watcher began to sing. Another black bear lumbered toward them, and, +catching the strange, human odor, lumbered away again. A deer, a tall +buck, holding up his head, sniffed the air, and then ran. Wild turkeys +in a distant tree gobbled, a bald eagle clove the air on swift wing, but +the sleepers slept placidly on. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE GREAT JOKE + + +Mid-morning and Henry awoke, yawning a little and stretching himself +mightily. Then he looked questioningly at Shif'less Sol who sat in a +position of great luxury with his doubled blanket between his back and +a tree trunk, and his rifle across his knees. The look of satisfaction +that had come there in the morning like a noon glow still overspread his +tanned and benevolent countenance. + +"Well, Sol?" + +"Well, Henry?" + +"What has happened while we slept?" + +"Nothin', 'cept that Braxton Wyatt an' twenty Shawnee warriors passed, +takin' no more notice o' us than ef we wuz leaves o' the forest." + +"Advancing on our old house?" + +"Yes, they've set the siege by now." + +"And we're not there. I'll wake the others. They must share in the +joke." + +Paul, Long Jim and Silent Tom wiped the last wisp of sleep from their +eyes, and, when they heard the tale of a night and a morning, they too +laughed to themselves with keen enjoyment. + +"What will we do, Henry?" Paul asked. + +"First, we'll eat breakfast, though it's late. Then we'll besiege the +besiegers. While they're drawing the net which doesn't enclose us we +might as well do 'em all the harm we can. We're going to be dangerous +fugitives." + +The five laughed in unison. + +"We'll make Braxton Wyatt and the Shawnees think the forest is full of +enemies," said Paul. + +Meanwhile they took their ease, and ate breakfast of wild turkey, +buffalo steak and a little corn bread that they hoarded jealously. The +sun continued its slow climb toward the zenith and Paul, looking up +through the canes, thought he had never seen a finer day. Then he +remembered something. + +"I suggest that we don't move today," he said. "They won't approach the +hollow until night anyway, and it wouldn't hurt for us to lie here in +the shelter of the brake and rest until dark." + +Henry looked at him in surprise. + +"Your idea is sudden and I don't understand it," he said. + +"So it is, Henry, but it never occurred to me until a moment ago that +this was Sunday. We haven't observed Sunday in a long time, and now is +our chance. We can't wholly forget our training." + +He spoke almost with apology, but the leader did not upbraid him. +Instead, he looked at the others and found agreement in their eyes. + +"Paul talks in a cur'ous manner an' has cur'ous notions sometimes," said +Shif'less Sol, "but I don't say they ain't good. It's a long time since +we've paid any 'tention to Sunday, but the idee sticks in my mind. Mebbe +it would be a good way fur us to start our big fight ag'inst the tribes +an' the renegades." + +"When Cromwell and his Ironsides advanced against the Royalists," said +Paul, "they knelt down and prayed first on the very field of battle. +Then they advanced with their pikes in a solid line, and nothing was +ever able to stand before them." + +"Then we'll keep Sunday," said Henry decisively. + +Paul, feeling a thrill of satisfaction, lay back on his blanket. The +idea that they should observe Sunday, that it would be a good omen and +beginning, had taken hold of him with singular power. His character was +devout and a life in the wilderness among its mighty manifestations +deepened its quality. Like the Indian he wanted the spirits of earth and +air on his side. + +The five had acquired the power of silence and to rest intensely when +nothing was to be done. Their food finished, they lay back against their +doubled blankets in a calm and peace that was deep and enduring. It was +not necessary to go to the edge of the canebrake, as in the brilliant +light of the day they might be noticed there, and, where they lay, they +could see anyone who came long before he arrived. + +Paul, as he breathed, absorbed belief and confidence in their success. +Surely so bright a sky bending over them was a good omen! and the tall +canes themselves, as they bent before the wind, whispered to him that +all would be well. Henry in his own way was no less imaginative than his +young comrade. He let his eyelids droop, not to sleep, but to listen. +Then as no one of the five stirred, he too heard the voice of the wind, +but it sang to him a song far more clear than any Paul heard. It told of +triumphs achieved and others yet to come, and, as the great youth lifted +his lazy lids and looked around at the others, he felt that they were +equal to any task. + +The afternoon, keeping all its promise of brilliant beauty, waxed and +waned. The great sun dipped behind the forest. The twilight came, at +first a silver veil, then a robe of dusk, and after it a night luminous +with a clear moon and myriads of stars wrapped the earth, touching every +leaf and blade of grass with a white glow. + +Still the five did not stir. For a long time they had seemed a part of +the forest itself, and the wild animals and birds, rejoicing in the dry +and beautiful night after the stormy one that had passed, took them to +be such, growing uncommonly brave. The restless black bear came back, +looked at them, and then sniffing disdainfully went away to hunt for +roots. The great wings of the eagle almost brushed the cane that hung +over Henry's head, but the little red eyes were satisfied that what +they saw was not living, and the dark body flashed on in search of its +prey. + +"Three hours more at least, Paul," said Henry at last, "until Sunday is +over." + +"And I suggest that we wait the full three hours before we make any +movement. I know it looks foolish in me to say it, but the feeling is +very strong on me that it will be a good thing to do." + +"Not foolish at all, Paul. I look at it just as you do, and since we've +begun the observance we ought to carry it through to the finish. You +agree with me, don't you, boys?" + +"I shorely do," said the shiftless one. + +"Ef Paul thinks it's right it's right," said Long Jim. + +"Can't hurt anythin'; it may help," said Silent Tom. + +They resumed their silence and waiting, and meanwhile they listened +attentively for any sound that might come from those who were stalking +their old home. But the deep stillness continued, save for the light +song of the wind that sang continually among the leaves. Henry, in his +heart, was truly glad of Paul's idea, and that they had concluded to +observe it. A spiritual atmosphere clothed them all. They had come of +religious parents, and the borderer, moreover, always personified the +great forces of nature, before which he was reverential. The five now +were like the Romans and the Greeks, who were anxious to propitiate the +gods ere going into action. + +Henry gazed at the moon, a silver globe in the heavens, and he +distinctly saw the man upon its surface, who returned his looks with +benevolence, while the countless stars about it quivered and glittered +and shed a propitious light. Then he gazed at his comrades, resting +against the trunks of the trees, and unreal in the silver mist. They +were yet so still that the wild animals might well take them to be +lifeless, and the power to sit there so long without stirring a muscle +was one acquired only by warriors and scouts. + +A faint whining cry came out of the silver dark, a sound that had +traveled a great distance on waves of air, and every one of the five +understood it, on the instant. It was one of the most ominous sounds of +the forest, a sound full of ferocity and menace, the howl of the wolf, +but they knew it came from human lips, that, in truth, it was a signal +ordered by the leader of the besieging band. Presently the reply, a +similar cry, came from another point of the compass, traveling like the +first on waves of air, until it died away in a savage undernote. + +"They've probably set their lines all the way around our hollow, and +they're sure now they'll hold us fast," said Henry, with grim irony. + +"That's 'bout it, I take it," said Shif'less Sol, "an' it 'pears to me +that this is the time for us to laugh, purvidin' it won't be in any way +breakin' uv our agreement to keep the day till its very last minute." + +He looked questioningly at Paul. + +"To laugh is not against our compact," replied the lad, "since it has +such good cause. When a net is cast for us, and those who cast it are +so confident we're in it, we've a right to laugh as long as we're +outside it." + +"Then," said Shif'less Sol with conviction, "ez thar's so much to laugh +at, an' we've all agreed to laugh, we'll laugh." + +The five accordingly laughed, but the laughs were soundless. Their eyes +twinkled, their lips twitched, but the canebrake, save for the ceaseless +rustle of the singing wind, was as silent as ever. No one five feet away +would have known that anybody was laughing. + +"Thar, I feel better," said Shif'less Sol, when his face quit moving, +"but though they're a long distance off I kin see with my mind's eyes +Braxton Wyatt an' his band stalkin' us in our home in the rock, an' +claspin' us in a grip that can't be shook off." + +"Shettin' down on us," said Silent Tom. + +The shiftless one bent upon him a reproving look. + +"Thar you are, Tom!" he said, "talkin' 'us to death ag'in. Can't you +ever give your tongue no rest?" + +Silent Tom blushed once more under his tan, but said nothing, abashed by +his comrade's stern rebuke. + +"Yes, I kin see Braxton Wyatt an' his band stalkin' us," resumed +Shif'less Sol, having the floor, or rather the earth, again to himself. +"Braxton's heart is full o' unholy glee. He is sayin' to hisself that we +can't git away from him this time, that he's stretched 'bout us a ring, +through which we'll never break. He's laughin' to hisself jest az we +laugh to ourselves, though with less cause. He's sayin' that he an' his +warriors will set down at a safe distance from our rifles an' wait +patiently till we starve to death or give up an' trust ourselves to his +tender mercy. He's braggin' to hisself 'bout his patience, how he kin +set thar fur a month, ef it's needed, an' I kin read his mind. He's +thinkin' that even ef we give up it won't make no diff'unce. Our scalps +will hang up to dry jest the same, an' he will take most joy in lookin' +at yours, Henry, your ha'r is so fine an' so thick an' so yellow, an' he +hez such a pizen hate o' you." + +"Your fancy is surely alive tonight, Sol," said Henry, "and I believe +the thought of Braxton Wyatt's disappointment later on is what has +stirred it up so much." + +"I 'low you're right, Henry, but I'm thinkin' 'bout the grief o' that +villain, Blackstaffe, too. Oh, he'll be a terrible sorrowful man when +the net's closed, an' he finds thar's nothin' in it. It will be the +great big disappointment o' his life an' I 'low it will be some time +afore Moses Blackstaffe kin recover from the blow." + +The silent laugh again overspread the countenance of the shiftless one +and lingered there. It was one of the happiest moments that he had ever +known. There was no malice in his nature, but he knew the renegades were +hunting for his life with a vindictiveness and cruelty surpassing that +of the Indians themselves, and he would not have been true to human +nature had he not obeyed the temptation to rejoice. + +"A half hour more and Sunday will have passed," said Henry, who was +again attentively surveying the man in the moon. + +"An' then," said Long Jim, "we'll take a look at what them fellers are +doin'." + +"It will be a good move on our part, and if we can think of any device +to make 'em sure we're still in the hollow it will help still more." + +"Which means," said Paul, "that one of us must pass through their lines +and fire upon them from the inside, that is, he must give concrete proof +that he's in the net." + +"Big words!" muttered Long Jim. + +"I think you put it about right," said Henry. + +"Mighty dang'rous," said Shif'less Sol. + +"I expected to undertake it," said Henry. + +"You speak too quick," said the shiftless one. "I said it wuz dang'rous +'cause I want it fur myself. It's got to be a cunnin' sort o' deed, jest +the kind that will suit me." + +"By agreement I'm the leader, and I've chosen this duty for myself," +said Henry firmly. + +"Thar are times when I don't like you a-tall, a-tall, Henry," said +Shif'less Sol plaintively. "You're always pickin' out the good risky +adventures fur yourse'f. Ef thar's any fine, lively thing that will +make a feller's ha'r stan' up straight on end an' the chills chase one +another up an' down his back, you're sure to grab it off, an' say it wuz +jest intended fur you. That ain't the right way to treat the rest o' us +nohow." + +"No, it ain't," grumbled Silent Tom, but Shif'less Sol turned fiercely +on him. + +"Beginnin' to talk us to death ag'in, are you, Tom Ross?" he exclaimed. +"Runnin' on forever with that garrylous tongue o' yourn! You jest let +me have this out with Henry!" + +Again Tom Ross blushed in the darkness and under the tan. A terrible +fear seized him that he had indeed grown garrulous, a man of many and +empty words. It was all right for Shif'less Sol to talk on forever, +because the words flowed from his lips in a liquid stream, like water +coursing down a smooth channel, but it did not become Tom Ross, from +whom sentences were wrenched as one would extract a tooth. Paul laughed +softly but with intense enjoyment. + +"When I die, seventy or eighty years from now," he said, "and go to +Heaven, I expect, when I pass through the golden gates, to hear a steady +and loud but pleasant buzz. It will go on and on, without ceasing. Maybe +it will be the droning of bees, but it won't be. Maybe it will be the +roar of water over a fall, but it won't be. Maybe it will be a strong +wind among the boughs, but it won't be. Oh, no, it will be none of those +things. It will be one Solomon Hyde, formerly of Kentucky, and they'll +tell me that his tongue has never stopped since he came to Heaven ten +years before, and off in one corner there'll be a silent individual, Tom +Ross, who entered Heaven at the same time. And they'll say that in all +the ten years he has spoken only once and that was when he passed the +gates, looked all around and said: 'Good, but not much better than the +Ohio Country.'" + +Both Shif'less Sol and Silent Tom grinned, but the discussion was not +pursued, as Henry announced that he was about to leave them in order to +enter the Indian ring, and make Wyatt and the warriors think the rocky +hollow was defended. + +"The rest of you would better stay in the canebrakes or the thickets," +he said. + +"We won't go so fur away that we can't hear any signal you may make," +said Long Jim Hart. "Give us the cry uv the wolf. Thar are lots uv +wolves in these woods, Injun an' other kinds, but we know yourn from the +rest, Henry." + +"And don't take too big risks," said Paul. + +"I won't," said Henry, and he quickly vanished from their sight among +the bushes. Two hundred yards away, and he stopped, but he could not +hear them moving. Nor had he expected that any sound would come from +them to him, knowing that they would lie wholly still for a long time, +awaiting his passage through the Indian lines. + +The heart of the great youth swelled within him. As truly a son of the +wilderness as primitive man had been thousands of years ago, before +civilization had begun, when he depended upon the acuteness of his +senses to protect him from monstrous wild beasts, he was as much at home +now as the ordinary man felt in city streets, and he faced his great +task not only without apprehension, but with a certain delight. He had +the Indian's cunning and the white man's intellect as well, and he was +eager to match wits and cunning against those of the warriors. + +He would have been glad had the night turned a little darker, but the +full burnished moon and showers of stars gave no promise of it, and he +must rely upon his own judgment to seek the shadows, and to pass where +they lay thickest. The forest, spread about him, was magnificent with +oak and beech and elm of great size, but the moonlight and the starshine +shone between the trunks, and moving objects would have been almost as +conspicuous there as in the day. Hence he sought the brushwood, and +advancing swiftly in its shelter, he approached the place that had been +such a comfortable home for the five, but which they had thought it wise +to abandon. A whimsical fancy, a desire to repay them for the evil they +were doing, seized him. He would not only draw the warriors on, but he +would annoy and tantalize them. He would make them think the evil +spirits were having sport with them. + +A half mile, and he sank to the earth, lying so still that anyone a yard +away could not have heard him breathe. Two warriors stood under the +boughs of an oak and they were looking in the direction of the hollow. +He had no doubt they were watchers, posted there to prevent the flight +of the besieged in that direction, and he was shaken with silent +laughter at this spectacle of men who stood guard that none might pass, +when there was none to pass. He was already having his revenge upon them +for the trouble they were causing and he felt that the task of repayment +was beginning well. + +The two Shawnees walked back and forth a little, searching everything +with their questing eyes, but they did not speak. Presently they turned +somewhat to one side, and Henry, still using the shelter of the +brushwood, flitted silently past them. Three or four hundred yards +farther and he lay down, laughing again to himself. It had been +ridiculously easy. All his wild instincts were alive and leaping, and +his senses became preternaturally acute. He heard some tiny animals of +the cat tribe, alarmed by his presence, stealing away among the bushes, +and the sound of an owl moving ever so slightly in the thick leaves on a +bough came to his ears. But he was so still that the owl became still +too, and did not know when he arose and moved on. + +Henry believed that the two warriors were merely guards on the outer rim +and that soon he would encounter more, a belief verified within ten +minutes. Then he heard talking and saw Braxton Wyatt himself and three +Shawnees, one a very large man who seemed to be second in command. Lying +at his ease and in a good covert he watched them, laughing again and +again to himself. For such as he this was, in truth, fine sport, and he +enjoyed it to the utmost. Wyatt was looking toward the point where the +cliffs that contained the rocky hollow showed dimly in the silver haze. +His face expressed neither triumph nor confidence, and Henry, seeing +that he was troubled, enjoyed it. + +"I wish we knew how well they are provided with food and ammunition," he +heard him say. + +"They will have plenty," the big warrior said. "The mighty young chief, +Ware, will see to it." + +Henry felt a thrill at the words. The Shawnee was paying a tribute to +him, and he could not keep from hearing it. + +"They beat us off before," said Wyatt gloomily. "We had them trapped in +the hollow, but we could not carry it." + +"But this time," said the warrior, "we will sit down before it, and wait +until they come out, trembling with weakness and begging us to give them +food that they may keep the life in their bodies." + +"It will be a sight to make my eyes and heart rejoice," said Braxton +Wyatt. + +The hammer and trigger of Henry's rifle were a powerful magnet for his +hand. The young renegade's voice expressed so much revenge and malice, +so much accumulated poison that the world would be a much better place +without him. Then why not rid it of his presence? He stood there +outlined sharp and clear in the silver dusk, and a marksman, such as +Henry, could not miss. But his will restrained the eager fingers. It was +not wise now, nor could he shoot even a renegade from ambush. Using the +extremest caution, lest the moving of a leaf or a blade of grass betray +his presence, he passed on, and now he was sure that he was well within +the Indian ring. + +Advancing more rapidly he ascended the slope, and came to the hollow, +which he reached while yet under cover. He waited a long time to see +whether Wyatt had posted any sentinels within eyeshot or earshot, as he +had no desire to be trapped inside, and then, feeling sure that they +were not near, he entered. + +Their home was undisturbed. The dead ashes of their last fire lay +untouched. Various articles that they could not take with them were +undisturbed on the rocky shelves. But he gave the interior only a few +rapid and questing looks, and then he went outside again, his mind set +on a dense clump of bushes that grew near the entrance. + +He buried himself in the heavy shade, but he did not seek it alone +because of shelter. He saw that a good line of retreat led from it over +the shoulder of the hill, and then down a slope that admitted good +speed. Having made sure of his ground, he filled his lungs and sent +forth the cry of the wolf, long and sinister and full of a power that +carried far over the forest. He knew that the listening four would hear +it, and he knew, too, that it would reach the ears of Braxton Wyatt and +all the Shawnees. And hearing it, they would be absolutely sure that the +five were now in the hollow where they might be held until they dropped +dead of hunger or yielded themselves to the mercy of those who knew no +mercy. + +Fierce, triumphant yells came from all the points of the circle about +him, and once more and with deep content Henry laughed. He would fool +them, he would play with them, and meanwhile his comrades, to keep the +sport going, might sting them on the flank. After the yells, the night +resumed its usual silence, and Henry, lying in his covert, watched on +all sides, while he laid his plans to vex and torment Braxton Wyatt and +his band. He knew it was an easy matter for his comrades and himself to +escape this particular expedition sent against them, but it was likely +that they would encounter other and larger forces farther south, and he +wished the battlefield, if it shifted at all, to shift northward. Hence +he intended to hold Wyatt there as long as possible. + +After a while, he was sure that he saw the tops of some bushes moving in +a direction not with the wind, and he was equally sure that Shawnees +were coming forward. Nearly half an hour passed and then a bead of fire +appeared as a rifle was discharged, and the shot had an uncommonly loud +sound in the clear, noiseless night. He heard, too, the click of the +bullet as it struck against the stone near the mouth of the hollow, and +once more he laughed. It was an amusing night for him. The warriors, now +that they had crept within range, would be sure to sprinkle the stone +around the cleft with bullets, and lead was too precious in the +wilderness to be wasted. + +He flattened himself upon the earth, merely keeping his rifle thrust +forward for an emergency, and he blended so perfectly with grass and +foliage that not even the keen eyes of Shawnees ten feet away could have +detected him. A second shot was fired, and he heard the bullet clipping +leaves not far away; a third followed and then a volley, all of the +bullets striking at some point near the entrance. The volley was +followed by a long and fierce war whoop and far down the valley Henry +caught sight of a dusky form. Quick as lightning he raised his rifle, +pulled the trigger and the figure disappeared. Then another war whoop, +now expressing grief and rage, came, and he knew that the band would +think the bullet had been sent from the mouth of the rock fortress. He +crept a little farther away, lest a stalker should stumble upon him, and +reloaded his rifle. + +He lay quite still a long time, and the first sound he heard was of slow +and cautious footsteps. He listened to them attentively and he wondered. +A warrior surely would not come walking in a manner that soon became +shambling. Putting his ear to the earth he heard a soft and uncertain +crush, crush, and then, raising his head a little, he traced a dark, +ambiguous figure. But he knew it, nevertheless, by the two red eyes +blinking in doubt and dismay. It was a black bear, doubtless the same +one they had already disturbed. + +Here he was, like Henry himself, within the Shawnee ring, but, unlike +him, not there of his own free will. The shots and the war whoops had +terrified him to the utmost, and they had always driven him back toward +the center of the circle. Henry, moved by a spirit that was as much +friendliness as sport, uttered a low woof. The bear paused, raised his +head a little higher, and inhaled the wind. At any other time he would +have fled in dismay from the human odor, but he was a harried and +frightened black bear and that woof was the first friendly sound he had +heard in a day. So he remained where he was, his figure crouched, his +red eyes quivering with curiosity. Henry smiled to himself. His feeling +for the animal was one of pure friendship, allied with sympathy. He knew +that if the bear tried to plunge through the Indian ring in his panic +they would certainly kill him. Moreover, they would cook him and eat him +the next day. The Indians liked fat young bear better than venison. + +It was a whimsical impulse of his generous nature to try to save the +bear, and he edged around until the puzzled animal was between him and +the mouth of the cave. The bear once started to run to the west, but a +rifle shot fired suddenly in that segment of the circle stopped him. He +remained again undecided, his tongue lolling out and his red eyes full +of dismay. Henry crept slowly toward him, uttering the low woof, woof, +several times, and bruin, disturbed in his mind and unable to judge +between friends and enemies, edged away as slowly, until his back was +almost at the mouth of the hollow. Then, with all the possibilities +against such a combination of chances, it occurred nevertheless. A +louder woof than usual from him was followed almost instantly by a +Shawnee rifle shot, and the frightened bear, giving back, almost fell +into the crevice. Then whirling, and seeing a refuge before him, he +darted inside. + +Henry, retreating into the dense bushes, flattened himself in the grass, +and laughed once more. He had laughed many times that night, but now his +mirth had a fresh savor. The bear and not the Indians had become the new +occupant of their old home, and, despite the fact that it had been so +recently a human habitation, he felt quite sure the animal, owing to his +terror and the confusion of his ideas, would remain there until morning +at least. The Shawnees would exert all their patience and skill in the +siege of one bear that lived chiefly on roots, the greatest crime of +which was to rob bees of their stored honey. + +He raised himself until he could see the mouth of the cave, but all was +still and dark there. Evidently the bear was at home and was using all +available comforts. He would not come out to face the terror of the +shots and of human faces. Henry could imagine him with his head almost +hidden in one of their beds of leaves, and gradually acquiring +confidence because danger was no longer before his eyes. + +His whimsical little impulse having met with complete success he lay in +his shroud of bushes and intense enjoyment thrilled through every vein. +He had not known a happier night. All his primitive instincts were +gratified. The hunted was having sport with the hunters, and it was rare +sport too. + +The mournful howl of a wolf came faintly from the northern rim of the +forest. It made Henry start and wonder a little. He thought at first the +cry had been sent forth by Silent Tom or Shif'less Sol, but as it was +inside the Indian circle he concluded it must have been made by one of +the warriors. But he changed his mind again, when the long, whining cry +was repeated. His hearing was not less acute than his sight, able to +differentiate between the finest shades of sound, and he felt sure now +that the howl of a wolf was made by a wolf itself, the real genuine +article in howls, true to the wilderness. When several more of the +uneasy whines came doubt was left no longer. The Indian ring that had +enclosed the rocky hollow and the black bear had also enclosed an entire +pack of wolves. It complicated the situation, but for Wyatt and his +band, not for Henry, and once more the spontaneous laugh bubbled up from +his throat. + +He inferred now that he had not seen all of the Indian force. There were +probably other detachments to the west and north that had been drawn in +to complete the ring, but he did not care how many they might be. The +more they were the greater their troubles. A soft pad, pad in the +thicket roused him to the keenest attention. Some larger animal was +approaching him, unaware of his presence, the wind blowing in the wrong +direction. But the wind came right for Henry and soon he discovered a +strong feline odor. He knew that it was a panther, and presently he saw +it in the moonlight, yellowish and monstrous, the hugest beast of its +kind that he had ever beheld. + +But the panther, despite its size and strength, would run away from man, +and Henry understood. The Indian ring had closed about it too, and, +frightened, it was seeking refuge. Powerful, clawed and toothed for +battle, it would not fight unless it was driven into a corner, and then +it would fight with ferocity. Henry reflected philosophically that the +net might miss the particular fish for which it was cast and yet catch +others. If the Indians closed in they had the panther and the black bear +and perhaps the pack of wolves too. What would they do with them? His +irrepressible mirth bubbled up. It was their problem, not his. + +Resolved not to intervene again in these delicate affairs, he crouched +as closely as he could to the earth, wishing the panther neither to see +nor to hear him, but curious himself to know what it would do. The beast +stalked out into the open, and it was magnified greatly by the luminous +quality of the moonlight. It looked like one of its primitive ancestors +in the far dawn of time, when man fought for his life with the stone +axe. But the panther was afraid. The howls of the wolf, both the real +and the false, frightened him. His instinct too told him that he was +walled around by beings that could slay at a distance, and, within a +certain area, he was a prisoner. He was sorely troubled and his great +body trembled with nervous quivers. The wolf pack howled again, and he +must have found something more alarming than ever in it, as he sheered +off to one side, and his tawny eyes caught a glimpse of a black opening +that almost certainly led to a magnificent den and refuge. + +But the panther was cautious. He lived a life in which the foresight +that comes from experience was compelled to play a great part. He did +not dive directly for the cleft, and he might not have gone in at all, +had not a sudden shift in the wind brought to him the human odor that +came from the body lying so near in the bushes. Driven by his impulse he +turned away and then sprang straight into the hollow. + +Henry had not expected this sudden movement on the part of the panther, +and he rose to his knees to see what would happen. A terrible growling +and snarling and the shuffling of heavy bodies came instantly from the +dusky interior. A moment or two later the panther bounded out, a huge +ball of yellowish fur, in which two frightened and angry red eyes +glared. Henry saw several streaks of blood on him and he stared at the +animal, amazed. He did not know that a black bear could make such a +fight against a powerful feline brute, but evidently, wild with terror, +he had used all his claws and teeth at once. The panther caught sight of +Henry looking at him, and, uttering a scream or two, bounded into the +bushes. In the cave, the bear remained silent and triumphant. + +"What will happen next?" said Henry to himself. + +The howl of the wolf pack came in reply. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A MERRY NIGHT + + +The long whine, a mingling of ferocity, fear and perhaps of hunger too, +came from a point nearer than before, and Henry was confirmed in his +opinion that Wyatt's main band had been joined by other and smaller +ones, thus enabling them to form a circle practically continuous, +through which the wolves had not dared to break. The pack, moreover, was +steadily being driven in toward the center of the circle which was +naturally the rocky hollow. He foresaw further complications. + +Henry was very thoughtful. Affairs were not going as he had expected, +and yet he was not disappointed. He had believed that he would have to +show great activity himself, slipping here and there, and putting in a +timely shot or two, but other factors had entered into the situation, +and, with his normal flexibility of mind, he resolved at once to put +them to the best use. + +The wind was blowing from the pack toward him, and, if it shifted, he +meant to shift with it, but meanwhile he made himself as inconspicuous +as possible, finding a small depression in which he stretched his body, +thus being hidden from any eye except the keenest. Although the night +was far advanced, it retained its quality of silky or luminous +brightness, the whole world still swimming in the silver haze which the +full moon and the countless stars cast. + +He wondered what had become of the scratched and angry panther. Endowed +with strength, but only with a fitful courage, it too must be lying +somewhere near in the forest, torn by wrath and perplexity. He was quite +sure that like the wolves it was encircled by the Indian ring, and would +not dare the attempt to break it. He was compelled to laugh once more to +himself. It was, in truth, a merry night. + +But as the laugh died in his throat his whole body gave a nervous +quiver. A cry came from a point not ten yards distant, a long, +melancholy, quavering sound, not without a hint of ferocity, in fact the +complaining voice of an owl. The imitation of the owl was a favorite +signal with the forest runners, both white and red, but Henry knew at +once that this cry was real. Looking long and thoroughly, he saw at last +the feathered and huddled shape on the bough of an oak. It was a huge +owl, and the rays of the moon struck it at such an angle that they made +it look ghostly and unsubstantial. Had Henry been superstitious, had he +been steeped too much in Indian lore, he would have called it a phantom +owl. Nay, it looked, in very truth, like such a phantom, taking the +shape of an owl, and, despite all his mind and courage, a little shudder +ran through him. + +Again the great owl cried his loneliness and sorrows to the night. It +was a tremendous note, mournful, uncanny and ferocious, and it seemed to +Henry that it must go miles through the clear air, until it came back in +a dying echo, more sinister than its full strength had been. The Indian +cast was bringing into the net more than Wyatt or any of the warriors +had anticipated, but the owl at least was hooting its defiance. + +The singular combination of the night and circumstance affected Henry's +own spirit. He was touched less by the present and reality than by his +sense of another time and the primordial elements became strong within +him. In effect he was transported far back into those dim ages, when man +fought with the stone axe, and his five senses were so preternaturally +acute to protect his life that he had a sixth and perhaps a seventh. A +whiff came on the wind. It was faint, because it had traveled far, but +he knew it to be the odor of the panther. The big cowardly beast was +crouched in a little valley to his right, and he was trembling, +trembling at the approaching warriors, trembling at the great youth who +lay in the depression, trembling at the unknown and monstrous creature +that had plunged its iron claws into him in the dark, and trembling at +the cry of the owl which it had heard so often before, but which struck +now with a new terror upon its small and frightened brain. + +Henry's own feeling of the supernatural passed. It was merely the old, +old world in which he must fight for his life and turn aside the bands +from his comrades and himself. Although the warriors had not called +again to one another he divined that they were closing in, and he +thought rapidly and with all the intensity and clearness demanded by the +situation. + +The owl hooted once more, the tremendous note swelling far over the +wilderness, and then returning in its melancholy whine. Instantly +setting his lips and swelling all the muscles of his mighty throat he +gave back the cry, long, full and a match in its loneliness and ferocity +for the owl's own call. Then he crouched so close that he seemed fairly +to press himself into the earth. + +He saw the owl on the bough move a little and he knew that it was in a +state of stupid amazement. Like the panther its brain was adapted only +to its own affairs and environment, else it would have made some +progress in all the ages, and the cry of an owl coming from the ground +when owls usually cried from trees was more than it could understand. +Nevertheless it soon gave forth its long complaining note once more, and +Henry promptly matched it. He was thinking not so much of its effect +upon the owl as upon the Indians. Delicate as their senses were, they +were not as delicate as his, and they might think the two notes were +those of challenge indicating that the whole five, reinforced perhaps by +a half dozen stalwart hunters, were within the ring, ready and eager to +give battle, setting in very truth a trap of their own. + +He heard presently the cry of a wolf from a point at least a half mile +away, and it was answered from another segment of the circle at an +equal distance. The sounds, as he easily discerned, were made by +warriors, and it was absolutely certain now that the voices of the owls +had caused them to pause and think. Having thus started this train he +felt that he could wait and see what would happen, but he was stirred by +curiosity, and he pulled himself forward until the thicket ended, and +the earth fell away into the deep ravine that ran before the stony +hollow. + +He kept himself hidden in the edge of the dense bushes, but he could see +in various directions. The great owl on the bough was quivering a +little, as if it were still amazed and terrified by the answer to its +own calls, coming from the heart of the earth itself and surcharged with +mystery. The moonlight turned it to a feathery mass of silver in which +the cruel beak and claws showed like sharp pieces of steel. Yet the bird +did not fly away, and Henry knew that it was held by fear as well as +curiosity, the dangers near seeming less than those far. + +He looked then down into the ravine, and he was startled by the sight of +the wolf pack at full attention. The wolves of the Mississippi Valley +were not as large as the great timber wolf of the mountains, but when +driven by hunger they showed like their brethren elsewhere extreme +ferocity, and were known to devour human beings. Now the wolves like the +owl were magnified in the luminous moonlight, and one at their head +seemed to be truly of gigantic size. He reminded Henry of the king wolf +that had pursued Shif'less Sol and himself, and he had a singular fancy +that he was the same great brute, reincarnated. He shivered at his own +thought, and then chided himself fiercely. The king wolf had been +killed, he was as dead as a stone, and he could not come back to earth +to plague him. + +But the beast, like the bird, was truly monstrous. He stood upon a +slight mound at the bottom of the ravine, and his figure bathed in the +glow of the moon and the stars rose to twice its real height. Henry saw +the foam upon the red mouth, the white fangs and the savage eyes, in +which, his fancy still vivid, he read hunger, ferocity and terror too. +Around him but on the lower plane were gathered the full score of the +pack, gaunt and fierce. Suddenly, the leader raised his head and like a +dog bayed the moon. The score took up the cry and the long whine was +carried far on the light wind, to be followed by deep silence. + +The voice of the wolf bore Henry even farther back than the voice of the +owl, and his preternaturally acute senses took on an edge which the +modern man never knows in his civilized state. He heard the fluff of the +owl's feathers as it moved and the panting of the wolves in the valley +below. Then he saw the leader walk from the low mound and take a slow +and deliberate course along the slope, with the others following in +single file like Indians. The king was leading them nearer to the rocky +hollow, and Henry suspected they were changing their position because +the ring of warriors was beginning to close in again. He heard a +flapping of wings, and a huge bald-headed eagle settled on a bough near +him, whence it looked with red eyes at the owl, while the owl, with eyes +equally red, looked back again. + +The suspicious, not to say jealous, manner with which the two birds +regarded each other, when the forest was wide enough for both, and +countless millions more like them, amused Henry. Both were alarmed, and +it was easy enough for them to fly away, but they did not do so, drawn +in a kind of fascination toward the danger they feared. Meanwhile the +wolves were still coming up the slope, but the black bear in the snug +hollow never stirred. + +The warriors signaled once more to one another and now they were much +nearer. Henry retreated a little farther into the thicket, and then his +plan came to him. The Indians were bound to approach him from the east +and he would meet them with a weapon they little expected. The forest +was still in dense green, but the wood was dry from summer heats, the +effect of the great rain having passed quickly, and the ground was +littered as usual with the dead boughs and trunks fallen through +arboreal ages. + +He drew softly away toward the mouth of the hollow, and then passed +behind it, where, stooping in the thicket, he produced his flint and +steel, which he put upon the turf beside him. Then, he gathered together +a little pile of dry brushwood, and again took notice of the wind, which +was still blowing directly toward the east and down the ravine, the only +point from which the Indian attack could come. It had been repulsed +there once before, but then Henry's comrades were with him, and five +good rifles and the tremendous voice of Long Jim had prevailed. Now he +was alone, and he did not intend to rely upon bullets. The moonlight +held, clear and amazingly bright, and he distinctly saw the troubled +owl and the vexed eagle, apparently still staring at each other and +wondering what was the matter with the night and the place. The Indian +calls to one another sounded once more, their own natural voices now and +not the imitation of bird or animal, and their nearness indicated that +the circle was closing in fast. + +Henry had built up his heap of tinder wood, somewhat behind the mouth of +the hollow, and, kneeling down, he used flint and steel with amazing +rapidity and power. The sparks leaped forth in a shower, the dry wood +ignited, and up came little flames which swiftly grew into bigger ones. +Then he fanned his bonfire with all his might, and the flames sprang +high in the air, roaring as they set a fresh blaze to every dry thing +they touched. In less than two minutes a forest fire was in full and +great progress, sweeping eastward and down the ravine directly into the +faces of Braxton Wyatt and his advancing warriors. A great sheet of fire +in varying reds, pinks and yellows, and sometimes with a blue tint, rose +above the tops of the trees, and, as it rushed forward, it sent forth +showers of ashes and sparks in myriads from its crimson throat. + +Henry sprang up behind the fire and uttered terrific shouts, leaping and +dancing as that far dim ancestor of his must have leaped and danced +when he was glowing with a sudden and mighty triumph. The spirit of the +ages had descended upon him too and as he bounded back and forth in the +light of the flames he roared forth bitter taunts in a voice worthy of +Long Jim himself. He told the owl to be up and away, and, rising on +heavy wings and uttering a dismal hoot, it obeyed. Its big body was +outlined for a moment or two against the red, and then it flew away over +the forest. The eagle uttered a hoarse cry, drawn from its frightened +throat, and followed the owl. + +Then came another shriek, singularly like that of a human being, and the +huge panther, driven from its covert by the intense heat, leaped madly +forth and raced down the ravine before the pillar of flame. That panther +was in a sorely troubled state even before the fire began, and now the +collapse of its small intellect was complete. It saw the advancing +Indian warriors, but, in its madness, was reckless of them. It advanced +with great bounds straight at the line, cannoned against Braxton Wyatt +himself, knocking him senseless into a thicket, and, magnified to twice +its usual size before the amazed eyes of the Indians, disappeared at +last in a yellowish streak down the ravine. + +Terror tore at the hearts of the Indians themselves, brave warriors +though they were. The strange cries of the night, of such varying +character and coming from so many points, had depressed their spirits +and filled them with superstitious awe. There was more in this than the +human mind could account for and the sudden upspringing of the fire, +bringing on its front the monstrous panther, if, in truth, it was a +panther and not some huge and legendary beast, sent them to the verge of +panic. + +Their white leader, who might have restored their courage, lay senseless +in the bush, and as the second in command, the big warrior, seized him +to drag him away from the fire, the wall of flame emitted something even +more terrifying than the magnificent figure of the mad panther. Out of +the red glare shot a huge gaunt figure with long white teeth and +slavering jaws, the king wolf, to the warriors the demon wolf. After him +came a full score or more of wolves, almost as large, and howling their +terror to the moon. Behind them was the gigantic figure of a phantom +black bear, rushing with all its might, and through the red wall itself +came the sound of threatening and awful cries. + +The Shawnees could stand no more. Uttering yells of fright they fled, +and fortunate it was for Braxton Wyatt that the big warrior slung him +over his shoulder and carried him away in the crush. + +Henry heard the cries of the warriors and he knew from their nature that +panic was in complete control of the band. All things had worked for +him. The bear in its fright, and as he had expected, had rushed from the +cave just in time to flee before the flames, and he knew very well that +his own shouts would be interpreted by the Indians as the menace of the +evil spirits. + +He followed the flames about a mile down the ravine, and then returned +slowly toward the hollow. He knew that the fire would soon reach a +prairie somewhat farther on, where it would probably die out, but he +knew also that his triumph was achieved. Circumstances and the presence +of the animals and the birds had helped him greatly, but his own quick +wit and infinity of resource had put the capstone on success. He began +to feel now the effect of the immense exertions he had made with both +body and mind, and, before he reached the hollow, he turned aside into +the woods where the fire had not passed and sat down on a rock. + +He saw two or three miles away the wall of flame still moving eastward, +but the distance even did not keep him from knowing that it had +diminished greatly in height and vigor. As he had surmised, it would die +presently at the prairie and the night would return to its wonted +silence, lighted now only by the moon and stars. He was weary, but he +had an immense feeling of satisfaction and he sat a while, looking at +the fire, which soon sank out of sight behind the horizon, although its +pathway, the broad swath that it had cut, still glowed with coals and +sparks. + +He wondered just where his comrades were. He might have sent forth a +call for them, but he decided that it would be wiser not to do so at +present, since they could reunite easily in the morning, and he +remained, sitting in an easy position, still looking at the luminous +point under the horizon, where the last embers of the fire were fading. +A long time passed, and the stillness was so peaceful that he sank into +a doze, from which he was aroused by a flare of lightning in the west. +The beauty of the night had been too intense to last. The moon and stars +that he had admired so much were going away, and the silky blue robe, +shot with silver that was the sky, was dimmed by a long row of somber +clouds trailing up from the west. The wind that touched Henry's face was +damp and he knew rain would soon come. + +He had no mind to have a wetting through and through after his great +strain and labors, and his thoughts turned at once to the rocky hollow. +The bear had rushed out of it madly and there must have been much heat +there for awhile, but it had probably cooled by this time, and would +afford him a good shelter. + +He found to his great delight and relief that the interior was free from +smoke, and not damaged at all. Some articles they had left on the +shelves were not even charred, and the leaves that made their beds had +escaped ignition. He would not have asked for anything better, and, +after eating some venison from his knapsack and drinking from the cold +water of the rivulet, he lay down on the bed nearest the cleft, where he +could see the ravine and the forest beyond. + +A storm was gathering, but secure in his shelter it soothed and lulled +his spirit. The lightning, now red and intense, flared from every +horizon, and the wilderness was filled with the deep roll of incessant +thunder. The wind ceased to blow, but he knew that soon it would spring +up again, and then the rain would come with it, although he would +remain dry and warm in the stony shelter that nature had provided. An +enormous sense of comfort, even luxury, pervaded him, both body and +mind. He was like his primordial ancestor who had escaped from the +dangers of the monstrous beasts and who now rested at ease in his cave. +The strain upon his nerves departed, and soon he felt fit and able to +meet any new danger, whenever it should come. But he was so sure that no +such danger would appear that he allowed himself to fall asleep, having +first covered his body with the blanket that he always carried at his +back, as the night, under the influence of the wind and rain, was +growing cold. + +When he awoke the day had not yet come and it was very dark. The rain +was pouring heavily, but not a drop reached him where he lay on his easy +bed of leaves with the warm blanket drawn around his body. Without +rising he pulled himself forward a little and looked forth. The last +ember from the forest fire had been blotted out long since, and he heard +the wash of the water as it rushed down the slopes, and the sweep of the +torrent in the ravine. The contrast heightened the splendor of his own +situation, which was all that one who was wild for the time could ask. +He thought of his comrades and of what a home the hollow would be to +them too, but he was not troubled about them. Such forest runners as +Shif'less Sol and the others would be sure to find protection from the +storm. + +He fell asleep again, and, when he awoke the second time, dawn had come +more than an hour, the rain had stopped and the heavens were burnished +silver. Foliage and grass were already drying fast under a warm western +wind, and Henry, making a breakfast off what was left of his venison, +prepared to go forth. But he was halted by a shambling, dark figure that +appeared on the slope leading down into the ravine. It was the black +bear, and apparently it had some idea of returning to the fine shelter +it had abandoned in such fright the night before. Henry was surprised +that it should have come back. It must have been beaten about much in +the storm, and, either its memory was short, or it had sunk its terrors +in the recollection of the finest den that ever a bear had entered in +the northern part of Kain-tuck-ee. + +Henry had a friendly feeling for the bear, which he regarded as an +animal of a companionable disposition, and no enemy, unless driven in a +corner. Since he had to leave the hollow and his comrades would have to +go with him he preferred on the whole that the bear should have it, but +when he stood up in the entrance the animal caught sight of his tall +figure and scrambled away in the forest. His place was taken by the +figure of a huge cat which glared at Henry with yellowish-green eyes, +and then turned back among the trees, filled with rage that the +terrible, strange creature was yet there. + +"It seems that I'm still an object of terror," thought Henry, with +amusement. "Now for the eagle and the owl." + +A great bird came out of the blue, and sailed on slow wing over the +hollow and ravine. He knew instinctively that it was the bald eagle of +the night before, drawn back with a fascination it could not resist to +the place where it had been frightened so badly. But it did not alight. +Keeping at a good height, it circled about and about and then +disappeared again and for the last time to the eastward. + +Henry's eyes searched the opposite slope of the ravine, and at last he +discovered a mournful figure perched on the high bough of an oak. Its +feathers were drooping, its head was bent down until it was almost +buried in the feathers below its neck, and its entire attitude showed +despondency. The owl, too, had come back, but only a part of the way, +and, blinded by the sun, it sat there on the bough, mourning and +mourning. + +Henry laughed. He had laughed many times the night before and he could +not keep from laughing that morning. The owl was quite the saddest +spectacle the woods could afford, and he had no mind to disturb it. + +"Stay there and grieve, my solemn friend," he said. "Truly, with the sun +on you, your eyes closed and your heart sunk you'll be silent, but +tonight you'll give forth your melancholy hoot, although I won't be here +to hear it." + +He looked to his ammunition, and stepped forth into a new and refreshed +world, filled with cool drying airs and the appealing odor of leaf and +grass. He descended into the ravine, the water falling in beads from the +leaves as he brushed by, and followed for a little distance in the bare +trail left by the fire. A mile farther on and a pair of great red eyes +peering at him from a thicket saw in him a terrible beast that even the +master of the wolves should avoid. + +The huge leader gave a yelp, and as Henry turned suddenly, he saw the +great wolf flitting away up the ravine, followed by the twenty gaunt +figures of his pack. He could have dropped the big wolf with a bullet, +but there was no need to do so, and he merely watched them until they +disappeared in the forest, concluding that his companions of the night +were as much afraid of him in the day as in the dark. All of them, save +one band, had come back in a frightened way, but he knew that the +Indians would not return. He was sure that they were still on their +terrified flight toward the Ohio, and he followed in the path of the +fire, until he came to the prairie where it had burned itself out. + +It was only a little prairie, about two miles across, no other kind +having been found in Kentucky, and, on the far side, he picked up the +trail of the Indian band. He did not see any footsteps that turned out, +and he wondered at their absence. What had become of Braxton Wyatt? His +body had not been found in the path of the flames, and certainly he had +not perished. Henry, after some thought, came to the right conclusion, +namely, that he was being carried. But his hurt could not be any wound +received in battle, and probably he would recover soon, another correct +surmise, as a short distance farther on the trail of toes that turned +out appeared. + +All the steps seemed to be long, and Henry judged hence that the band +was going fast, terror still stabbing at their hearts, long after the +night had passed. Braxton Wyatt would be the first to recover from it, +and Henry smiled at the thought of his rage when he should not be able +to persuade the Shawnees that evil spirits, sent by Manitou, had not +driven them from the valley. Their second defeat at the same place, and +this time by invisible forces, would persuade them they must never +return to the attack on the hollow. + +Henry dropped the pursuit for the present, knowing that it was time to +reunite his own forces, and he sent forth the cry of the wolf that the +five, in common with the Indians, used so much. No reply and he repeated +it a second and yet a third time before the answer came. Then it was in +the south and it was very faint, but he had no doubt it was the voice of +Shif'less Sol. Call and reply went on for a little while, and then, +after a long wait, he saw the figures of the four appearing among the +trees, the shiftless one leading. + +The greeting was not effusive, but joyful. Henry told them in rapid +words, tense and brief, all that had occurred the night before, and the +shoulders of the four shook with silent laughter. + +"You certainly scared them good, Henry," said Paul. + +"I was helped a lot by circumstances." + +"But you used the chances when they came." + +"Where did you four hide when the storm broke?" + +"We took refuge under the matted trees and boughs of a huge old windrow. +It wasn't like the hollow, and some water came through, but on the +whole we did fairly well, and soon dried out thoroughly this morning. We +were mighty glad to hear your call, but we hardly hoped you would +achieve as much as you did." + +"An' havin' routed the first band that came ag'inst us," said Long Jim, +"what do you 'low we ought to do next?" + +"We've broken only a piece of the iron ring they're forging about us, +and they'll soon mend that piece. It's a good thing to hit first at +those you see are trying to hit at you, and so I think we ought to +follow up the success fortune has given us." + +"An' it 'pears we kin do that best by keepin' right on the trail o' +Braxton Wyatt an' his band," said Shif'less Sol. + +"That's the way I see it," said Henry. "How do you feel about it, Tom?" + +"Right plan," replied Ross. + +Shif'less Sol fixed upon him such a look of stern reproof that Silent +Tom reddened once more under his tan. + +"Here you go gettin' volyble ag'in," said the shiftless one. "You used +two words then, Tom Ross, when, ef you'd thought an' hunted 'roun' a +leetle you might hev found one that would hev done ez well." + +"And you Paul?" said Harry. + +"I'm glad to follow where you lead." + +"And you, Jim?" + +"I'm uv Paul's mind." + +"Then it's settled. Now, we'll have something to eat, and talk it +over." + +They soon found a little valley in which a clear rivulet was flowing. +One was never more than a mile from running water in that country--and +Long Jim and Silent Tom produced food from their deerskin pouches. + +"Here's some ven'son," said Jim. "It's cold an' it's tough, but I reckon +it'll do." + +"I'm thinkin'," said Shif'less Sol, "that after a night like the one +Henry has had he'll be pow'ful hungry fur somethin' better than cold +ven'son." + +"Mebbe so," rejoined Long Jim, "an' mebbe it's true uv all uv us, but +whar are we goin' to git it?" + +"I'm an eddycated man, Jim Hart, eddycated in the ways o' the woods, an' +one o' the fust things you do when you're gittin' that sort o' an +eddication is to learn to use your eyes. I hev used mine, an' jest +before we set down here I noticed the fresh trail o' buffler runnin' off +to the right, 'bout a dozen, I'd say, an' jest ez shore ez I'm here +they're not more'n a mile away. I kin see 'em now, grazin' in a little +open, an' thar is a young cow among 'em, juicy an' tender. Now I don't +want to kill a young cow buffler, but we must hev supplies before we go +on this expedition." + +"Sol is right," said Henry, "and since he is so it's his duty to go and +kill the buffalo. Tom, you'll go with him, won't you?" + +"O' course," replied Silent Tom. + +Shif'less Sol rose and looked to his rifle. + +"I knowed I would hev to do all the work, besides supplyin' the +thinkin'," he said. "Here I tell what's to be done when the others +ain't able to think it out, an' then they tell me to go an' do it. It +ain't fair to a lazy man, one who furnishes the intelleck. The rest o' +you ought to work fur him." + +"Go on you, Sol Hyde," said Long Jim Hart, rebukingly, "an' kill that +buffler. Don't you know that when you kill it I'll hev to cook it, an' I +ain't complainin'?" + +"Quit braggin' on yourse'f, Jim Hart. You ain't complainin', 'cause you +ain't got sense 'nuff to complain. You're plum' sunk so deep in sloth +an' ig'rance that you're jest satisfied with anythin', no matter how bad +it is. It's men o' intelleck like me who complain and look fur better +things, who make the world go forward." + +"Your idea uv goin' forward, Sol Hyde, is to do it ridin' on my +shoulders." + +"O' course, Jim. Ain't that what you're made fur? You're a hind--ain't +that the beast, Paul, that carries burdens?--an' I'm the knight with the +shinin' lance that goes forth to slay dragons, an' I go ridin', too." + +"You go ridin', too! I don't see no hoss! An' you ain't been astride no +hoss in years, Sol Hyde!" + +"You deserve to be what you are, a hind, a toter o' burdens, Jim Hart, +'cause your mind is so slow an' dull. You ain't got no light, no +imagination, no bloom, a-tall, a-tall! Did I say I wuz ridin' a real +hoss? No, sir, not fur a second! But in the fancy, in the sperrit, so to +speak, I'm ridin' the finest hoss that ever pranced, an' I'm settin' in +a silver saddle, holdin' reins o' blue silk, an' that proud hoss o' mine +champs an' champs his jaws on a bit made o' solid gold. Come on, Tom, I +ain't 'preciated here. We'll kill that buffler, ef you don't talk me to +death on the way. Remember now to hold your volyble tongue. The last +time you spoke, ez I told you, you used two words when one would hev +done jest ez well. Don't let your gabblin' skeer the buffler plum' to +the other side o' the Ohio." + +He stalked haughtily away, his rifle in the hollow of his arm, and +Silent Tom followed meekly. The admiring gaze of Jim Hart followed the +shiftless one as long as he was in sight. + +"Ain't he the most beautiful talker you ever heard?" he asked. "Me an' +him hev our little spats, but it's a re'l pleasure to hear him fetch out +reasons an' prove that the thing that ain't is, an' the thing that is +ain't. That's what I call a mighty smart man. Ef the Injuns ever git him +he'll talk to 'em so hard that they'll either make him thar head chief, +or turn him loose to keep from bein' talked to death." + +They heard the sound of a shot, and then a faint halloo from the +shiftless one, and when Henry went to the spot he found that he had +slain a young cow buffalo, just as he had predicted. Long Jim Hart +cooked the tender steaks in his finest style and they spent the rest of +the day preparing for the journey, which they believed would take them +across the Ohio, and which they knew would be full of dangers. + +They put out their fire and rested until dusk came. Then they took up +again the trail of Wyatt's band and traveled until midnight, when they +slept until morning, all save the watch. Henry reckoned that they would +reach the river by the next night, and there was a chance that the +warriors might recover sufficiently from their fright to rally at the +stream. But he felt that in any event he and his comrades must strike. +Blackstaffe, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle with their forces would soon +be in pursuit, and to escape the net would test the skill and courage of +the five to the utmost. Yet all of them believed attack to be the best +plan, and, after their sleep, they resumed the trail with renewed +strength and vigor, pressing northward at great speed through the deep +green wilderness. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE CAPTURED CANOE + + +As the five advanced they read the trail with unfailing eye. Henry saw +more than once the traces of footsteps with the toes turned out, that is +those of Braxton Wyatt, and he noticed that they were wavering, not +leading in a straight line like those of the Indians. + +"Braxton must have had a nice crack of some kind or other on the head," +he said, "and he still feels the effects of it, as now and then he +reels." + +"'Twould hev been a good thing," said Shif'less Sol, "ef the crack, +whatever it may hev been, hed been a lot harder, hard enough to finish +him. I ain't bloodthirsty, but it would help a lot if Braxton Wyatt wuz +laid away. Paul, you're eddicated, an' you hev done a heap o' thinkin', +enough, I guess, to last a feller like Long Jim fur a half dozen o' +lives, now what makes a man turn renegade an' fight with strangers an' +savages ag'inst his own people?" + +"I think," replied Paul, "that it's disappointment, and fancied +grievances. Some people want to be first, and when they can't win the +place they're apt to say the world is against 'em, in a conspiracy, so +to speak, to defraud 'em of what they consider their rights. Then their +whole system gets poisoned through and through, and they're no longer +reasoning human beings. I look upon Braxton Wyatt as in a way a madman, +one poisoned permanently." + +"I hev noticed them things, too," said Shif'less Sol. "Thar are diff'unt +kinds o' naturs, the good an' the bad, an' the bad can't bear for other +people to lead 'em. Then they jest natchelly hate an' hate. All through +the day they hate, an' ef they ain't got nothin' to do, even ef the +weather is fine 'nuff to make an old man laugh, they jest spend that +time hatin'. An' ef they happen to wake up at night, do they lay thar +an' think what a fine world it is an' what nice people thar are in it? +No, sir, they jest spend all the time between naps hatin', an' they fall +asleep ag'in, with a hate on thar lips an in' thar hearts." + +"You're talkin' re'l po'try an' truth at the same time, Sol," said Long +Jim. "It's cur'ous how people hate them that kin do things better than +theirselves. Now, I've noticed when I'm cookin' buffler steaks an' deer +meat an' wild turkey an' nice, juicy fish, an' cookin' mebbe better than +anybody else in all Ameriky kin, how you, Shif'less Sol Hyde, turn plum' +green with envy an' begin makin' disrespeckful remarks 'bout me, Jim +Hart, who hez too lofty an' noble a natur ever to try to pull you down, +poor an' ornery scrub that you be." + +Shif'less Sol drew himself up with haughty dignity. + +"Jim Hart," he said, "I'm wrapped 'bout with the mantle o' my own merit +so well from head to foot that them invig'ous remarks o' yours bounce +right off me like hail off solid granite. To tell you the truth, Jim +Hart, I feel like a big stone mountain, three miles high, with you +throwin' harmless leetle pebbles at me." + +"And yet," said Paul, "while you two are always pretending to quarrel, +each would be eager to risk death for the other if need be." + +"It's only my sense o' duty, an' o' what you call proportion," said +Shif'less Sol. "Long Jim, ez you know, is six feet an' a half tall. Ef +the Injuns wuz to take him an' burn him at the stake he'd burn a heap +longer than the av'rage man. What a torch Jim would make! Knowin' that +an' always b'arin' it in mind, I'm jest boun' to save Jim from sech a +fate. It ain't Jim speshully that I'm thinkin' on, but I'd hate to know +that a man six an' a half feet long wuz burnin' 'long his whole len'th." + +"Another band has joined Wyatt," said Henry. "See, here comes the +trail!" + +The new force had arrived from the east, and it contained apparently +twenty warriors, raising Braxton Wyatt's little army to about sixty men. + +"But they still run," said Shif'less Sol. "The new ones hev ketched all +the terror an' superstition that the old ones feel, an' the whole crowd +is off fur the Ohio. Look how the trail widens!" + +"And Braxton Wyatt is beginning to feel better," said Henry. "His own +particular trail does not waver so much now. Ah, they've stopped here +for a council. Braxton probably stood on that old fallen log and +addressed them, because the traces of his footsteps lead directly to it. +Yes, the bark here is rubbed a little, where he stood. They gathered in +a half circle before him, as their footprints show very plainly, and +they listened to him respectfully. He, being white, was recovering from +the superstitious terror, but the Shawnees were still under its spell. +After hearing him they continued their flight. Here goes their trail, +all in a bunch, straight toward the north!" + +"An' thar won't be no stop 'til they strike the Ohio," said Shif'less +Sol with conviction. + +"I agree with you," said Henry. + +"And so do all of us," said Paul. + +"And of course we follow on," said Henry, "right to the water's edge!" + +"We do," said the others all together. + +"The Ohio isn't very far now," said Henry. + +"Ten or fifteen miles, p'raps," said Shif'less Sol. + +"And it's likely that we'll find a big force gathered there." + +"Looks that way to me, Henry. Mebbe the band o' Blackstaffe will be +waitin' to join that o' Wyatt. Then, feelin' mighty strong, they'll come +back after us." + +"'Less we fill 'em full o' fear whar they stan'. Mebbe they'll stop at +the river a day or two, an' then we kin git to work. Water which hides +will help us." + +They passed on through the forest, noting that the trail was growing +wide and leisurely. At one point the Indians had stopped some time, and +had eaten heavily of game brought in by the hunters. The bones of +buffalo, deer and wild turkey were scattered all about. + +"They're feeling better," said Henry. "I don't think now they'll cross +the Ohio, but we must do so and attack from the other side. They're not +looking for any enemy in the north, and we may be able to terrify 'em +again." + +It was not long before they came to the great yellow stream of the Ohio, +and in an open space, not far from the shore, they saw the fires of the +Indian encampment. + +"I think we'll have work to do here," said Henry, "and we'll keep well +into the deep woods until long after dark." + +They did not light any fire, but lying close in the thicket, ate their +supper of cold food. Three or four hours after sunset Henry, telling the +others to await his return, crept near the Indian camp. As he had +surmised, two formidable forces had joined, and nearly two hundred +warriors sat around the fires. The new army, composed partly of Miamis +and partly of Shawnees, with a small sprinkling of Wyandots, was led by +Blackstaffe, who was now with Wyatt, the two talking together earnestly +and looking now and then toward the south. + +Henry had no doubt that the five were the subject of their conversation. +Wyatt must have recovered by this time all his faculties and was +telling Blackstaffe that their enemies were only mortal and could be +taken, if the steel ring about them was recast promptly. Henry had no +doubt that an attempt to forge it anew would speedily be made by the +increased force, but his heart leaped at the thought that his comrades +and he would be able to break it again. + +As he crept a little nearer he saw to his surprise a fire blazing on the +opposite shore, and he was able to discover the forms of warriors +between him and the blaze. With the Indians bestride the stream the task +of the five was complicated somewhat, but Henry was of the kind that +meet fresh obstacles with fresh energy. + +He returned to his comrades and reported what he had seen, but all +agreed with him that they should cross the river, despite the encampment +on the far shore, and make the attack from the north. + +"We'll do like that old Roman, Hannybul," said Long Jim, "hit the enemy +at his weakest part, an' jest when he ain't expectin' us." + +"Hannibal was not a Roman, Jim," said Paul. + +"Well, then, he was a Rooshian or a Prooshian." + +"Nor was he either of those." + +"Well, it don't make no diff'unce, nohow. He wuz a furriner, that's +shore, an' he's dead, both uv which things is ag'inst him. It looks +strange to me, Paul, that a furriner with the outlandish ways that +furriners always hev should hev been sech a good gen'ral." + +"He was probably the best the world has produced, Jim. He was able with +small forces to defeat larger ones, and we must imitate his example." + +"And to do that," said Henry, "we shall cross the Ohio tonight. I think +we'd better drop down a mile or two, beyond their fires and their +sentinels, and then make for the northern shore." + +"The river must be 'bout a mile wide here," objected Shif'less Sol. +"That's a big swim with all our weepuns, an' ef some o' the warriors in +canoes should ketch us in the water then we'd be goners, shore." + +"You're right, there, Sol," said Henry. "It would be foolish in us to +attempt to swim the river, when the warriors are looking for us, as they +probably are by now, since Blackstaffe and Wyatt have got them back to +realities." + +"Then ef we don't swim how do you expect us to git across, Henry? Ez fur +me, I can't wade across a river a mile wide an' twenty feet deep." + +"That's true, Sol. Even Long Jim isn't long enough for that. I'm +planning for us to cross in state, untouched by water and entirely +comfortable; in fact, in a large, strong canoe." + +"Nice good plan, Henry, 'cept in one thing; we ain't got no canoe." + +"I intend to borrow one from the Indians. You and I will slip along up +the bank and take it from under their noses. You're a marvel at such +deeds, Sol." + +"It's 'cause he's stealin' somethin' from somebody," said Long Jim. + +"Shut up, Jim," said Henry. "It's lawful to steal from an enemy to save +your own life, and these Indians mean to hunt us down if they have to +employ three thousand warriors and three months to do it. Suppose we go +now." + +The five turned toward the south and west, making a deep curve away from +the camp, a precaution taken wisely, as they soon had evidence, hearing +shots here and there, which they were quite sure were those of red +hunters seeking game, wild turkeys on the bough, or deer drinking at the +small streams. They were compelled to go very slowly, in order to avoid +them, but the night, luckily, was dark enough to hide their trail from +all eyes, save those that might be looking especially for it. + +They spoke only in whispers, but the young leader himself said scarcely +anything, his mind being occupied with deep and intense thought. He knew +that the venture in search of an Indian canoe would be accompanied by +most imminent risks, the vigilance and skill of Shif'less Sol and +himself would be tested to the last degree, but a canoe they must have, +and they would dare every peril to get it. + +They had gone about a mile when Henry suddenly raised his hand, and the +five sank silently in the bush. A dozen warriors, treading without +noise, passed within twenty feet of them and their course led toward the +south. They flitted by so swiftly that it seemed almost as if shadows +had passed, but Henry, who saw their faces, knew that they were not mere +hunters. These men were on the warpath. Perhaps they had seen the trail +of the five somewhere, and were going south to close up the broken +segment of the circle there. + +"They've probably had a hint from Blackstaffe," said Henry. "Next to +Simon Girty he's the shrewdest and most cunning of all the renegades. He +has reasoning power, and knowing that we'll take the bolder method, he's +probably concluded that we've followed Wyatt's band." + +"An' so he hez sent that other band south to shut us in," said Shif'less +Sol. + +"An' we might hev fled south ourselves from the fust," said Long Jim, +"but I cal'late we ain't that kind uv people." + +"No," said Henry. "We can't lead 'em in this chase back on the +settlements. So long as they're trying to spread a net around us we'll +draw 'em in the other direction. Now, boys, fall in behind me, and the +first one that causes a blade of grass to rustle will have to make a +present of his rifle to the others." + +Following the great curve which they were traveling it was a full five +miles to the point on the river they wished to reach. The forest, they +knew, was full of warriors, some hunting, perhaps, but many thrown out +on the great encircling movement intended to enclose the five. Now, the +trailers, with deadly peril all about them, gave a superb exhibition of +skill. There was no danger of any one losing his rifle, because no blade +of grass rustled, nor did any leaf give back the sound of a brushing +body. They were endowed peculiarly by birth and long habit to the life +they lived and the dangers they faced. Their hearts beat high, but not +with fear. Their muscles were steady, and eye and ear were attuned to +the utmost for any strange presence in the forest. + +Henry led, Paul followed, Long Jim came next, then Silent Tom, and +Shif'less Sol defended the rear. This was usually their order, the +greatest trailer at the head of the line, and the next greatest at the +end of it. They invariably fell into place with the quickness and +precision of trained soldiers. + +A panther, not as large and fierce as the one that Henry had driven in +fright down the ravine, saw them, looking upon human beings for the +first time. It was his first impulse to make off through the woods, but +they were soundless and in flight, and curiosity began to get the better +of fear. He followed swiftly, somewhat to one side, but where he could +see, and the silent line went so fast that the panther himself was +compelled to extend his muscles. He saw them come to a brook. The +foremost leaped it, the others in turn did the same, landing exactly in +his footsteps, and they went on without losing speed. Then the panther +turned back, satisfied that he could not solve the problem his curiosity +had raised. + +Henry caught a yellow gleam through the leaves, and he knew that it was +the Ohio. In two or three minutes, they were at the low shore, although +the opposite bank was high. Both were wooded densely. The stream itself +was here a full mile in width, a vast mass of water flowing slowly in +silent majesty. They thought they saw far up the channel a faint +reflection of the Indian fires, but they were not sure. Where they stood +the river was as lone and desolate as it had been before man had come. +The moonlight was not good, and their view of the farther shore was dim, +leaving them only the certainty that it was lofty and thick with forest. + +"Paul, you and Jim and Tom lie here, where this little spit of land runs +out into the water," said Henry. "There's good cover for you to wait in, +and Sol and I will come down the river in our new canoe, or we won't." + +"At any rate come," said Paul. + +"You can trust us," replied Henry, and he and the shiftless one started +at once along the edge of the river toward the northeast, where the +Indian camp lay. Henry reckoned that it was about three miles away, but +it would have to be approached with great care. As they advanced they +kept a watch on the farther shore also, and rounding a curve in the +river they caught their first sight of its reflection. + +"It's fur up the stream," said Shif'less Sol, "an' I cal'late it's 'bout +opposite the big camp. Thar must be some warriors passin' back an' forth +from band to band, an' that, I reckon, will give us our chance fur a +canoe." + +"Yes, if we can make off with it without being seen," said Henry. "A +pursuit would spoil everything. We'd have to abandon the canoe and +retreat back from the southern shore." + +"'Spose we go a leetle further up," said Shif'less Sol. "The bank's low +here, but it's high enough to hide us, an' the bushes are mighty thick. +The nearer we come to the Indian camp the greater the danger is, but the +greater is our chance, too, to git a canoe." + +"That's right, Sol. We'll try it." + +They edged along yard by yard and soon could see through the intervening +trees and bushes the light of the great camp, from which came a +monotonous hum. + +"A lot of 'em are dancin' the scalp dance," said the shiftless one. +"Will you 'scuse me, Henry, while I laugh a leetle to myself?" + +"Of course, Sol, but why do you want to laugh?" + +"'Cause they're dancin' the scalp dance when they ain't goin' to take no +scalps. It's ourn they're thinkin' of, but I kin tell you right now, +Henry, that a year from today they'll be growin' squa'rly on top o' our +heads, right whar they are this minute." + +"I hope and believe you're right, Sol. Isn't that a canoe putting out +from the far shore?" + +"Yes, a big one, with four warriors in it, an' they're comin' straight +across to the main camp, paddlin' like the strong men they are." + +"Yes, I can see them clearly now, as they come nearer the middle of the +stream. That would be a good canoe for us, Sol. It looks big enough." + +"But I'm afraid we ain't goin' to hev it, Henry. It's comin' straight on +to the main camp, an' it'll be tied to the bank right in the glow o' +thar fires. Hevin' wanted that canoe, ez we both do, we'd better quit +wantin' it an' want suthin' else." + +[Illustration: "'A lot of 'em are dancin' the scalp dance'"] + +Henry laughed softly. + +"You're a true philosopher, Sol," he said. + +"You hev to be in the woods, Henry. Here we learn to take what we can, +an' let alone what we can't. I guess the wilderness jerks all the +foolishness out o' a man, an' brings him plum' down to his level. Ain't +I right 'bout thar comin' straight to the main camp?" + +"Yes, Sol, and they'll land in a few more minutes. Those are big +warriors, Miamis as their paint and dress show. Well, they're out of our +reckoning, so we'd better move a little farther up." + +"We'll be shore to find canoes tied to the bank, an' thar will be our +chance. Ef our luck's good we'll git it, an' I find that luck is +gen'ally with the bold." + +The situation into which they had entered was one of extreme danger, but +their surprising skill as trailers helped them greatly. The bank at this +point was about eight feet high, with rather a sharp slope, covered with +a dense growth of bushes, in which their figures were well hidden, but +they were so near now to the main camp that its luminous glow passed +over their heads, and lay in a broad band of light on the yellow surface +of the river. A canoe put out from the southern shore, and was paddled +by two warriors to the northern bank. Evidently there was constant +communication between the two forces. + +From the bank above them came the steady drone of the scalp song, and +they heard the measured beat of the dance. Voices, too, came to them as +they advanced a little farther, and once Henry distinguished that of +Blackstaffe, although he was not able to understand the words. The light +from the great fire was steadily growing stronger on the river and it +would be a peril, disclosing their movements, if they took a canoe. From +the southern forest came the cries of wolves and owls which were the +signals of the Indians to one another, and Henry felt sure they were +talking of the five. He was thoroughly convinced now that their trail +had been discovered, and that the warriors, sure they were in the ring, +were seeking to draw in the steel girdle enclosing them. And unless the +canoe was secured quickly it was likely they would succeed. The two +paused, their minds in a state of painful indecision. + +"What do you think, Henry?" whispered the shiftless one. + +"Nothing that amounts to anything." + +"When you don't know what to do the best thing to do is to do nothin'. +'Spose we jest wait a while. We're well kivered here, an' they'd never +think o' lookin' so close by fur us, anyway. Besides, hev you noticed, +Henry, that it's growin' a lot darker? 'Tain't goin' to rain, but the +moon an' all the stars are goin' away, fur a rest, I s'pose, so they kin +shine all the brighter tomorrow night." + +"It's so, Sol, and a good heavy blanket of darkness will help us a +lot." + +They lay perfectly still and waited with all the patience of those who +know they must be patient to live. A full hour passed, and the welcome +darkness increased, the heavens turning into a solid canopy, black and +vast. The light from the great campfire sank, and its luminous glow no +longer appeared on the river. The stream itself showed but faintly +yellow under the darkness. Henry's heart began to beat high. Nature, as +it so often did, was coming to their help. The droning song of the scalp +dance had ceased and with it the voices of the warriors talking. No +sound came from the river, save the soft swish of the flowing waters, +and now and then a gurgle and a splash, when some huge catfish raised +part of his body above the surface, and then let it fall back again. + +Another canoe came presently from the northern shore. Henry and +Shif'less Sol, although they could not see it at first, knew it had +started, because their keen ears caught the plash of the paddles. + +"It's a big one, Henry," whispered Shif'less Sol. "How many paddles do +you make out by the sound?" + +"Six. Is that your count, too?" + +"Yes. Now I kin see it. One, two, three, four, five, six. We wuz right +in the number an' it's a big fine canoe, jest the canoe we want, Henry, +an' it'll land 'bout twenty yards 'bove us. Somethin' tells me our +chance is comin'!" + +"I hope the something telling you is telling you right. In any case +you're correct about their landing. It will be almost exactly twenty +yards away." + +The great canoe emerged from the darkness, six powerful Miamis swinging +the paddles, and it came in a straight line for the bank, leaving a +trailing yellow wake. Henry admired their strength and dexterity. They +were splendid canoemen, and he never felt any hatred of the Indians. He +knew that they acted according to such guidance as they had, and it was +merely circumstances that placed him and his kind in opposition to them +and their kind. + +The light but strong craft touched the bank gently, and the six canoemen +stepped out, a figure that appeared among the bushes confronting them. +Henry, with a thrill, recognized Blackstaffe, and the canoe must have +arrived on an errand of importance or the renegade would not have been +there to meet the six warriors. + +"You will come into the camp and hear the reports of the scouts," said +Blackstaffe, speaking in Miami, which both Henry and the shiftless one +understood perfectly. "It will take some time to do this, because not +all of them have returned yet. Then two of you had better go back with +the canoe, while the others stay here to help us. I think we have these +five rovers trapped at last, and we'll make an end of 'em. They've +certainly caused us enough trouble, and I'm bound to say they're masters +of forest war." + +One of the warriors tied the canoe to a bush with a willow withe, and +then all six following Blackstaffe disappeared among the trees, going +toward the campfire. + +"At least Blackstaffe compliments us before sending us to the next +world," whispered Henry. + +"Ez fur me," Shif'less Sol whispered back, "I ain't goin' to no next +world, jest to oblige a villyun renegade. Besides, I like this +wilderness o' ours too much to leave it fur anybody. They think they're +mighty smart an' that they're plannin' somethin' big right now, but all +the same they're givin' us our chance." + +"What do you mean, Sol?" + +"Didn't you hear the villyun say that two o' the warriors wuz to go back +with the boat?" + +"Well, what of it?" + +"Then two warriors is goin' to be me an' you, Henry." + +"Of course. I ought to have thought of it, too." + +"Thar must be sent'nels on the bank, but waitin' 'bout ten minutes we'll +git into the canoe an' paddle off. The sent'nels will know that two +warriors are to go back in it, an' they'll think we're them. This +darkness which has come up, heavy an' black, on purpose to help us, will +keep 'em from seein' that we ain't warriors. When we git into the middle +o' the river, whar thar eyes can't even make out the canoe, we'll go +down stream like a flash o' lightnin', pick up the boys and then be off +ag'in like another flash o' lightnin'." + +"A good plan, Sol, and we'll try it. As you say, luck is always on the +side of the bold, and I don't see why we can't succeed." + +But to wait the necessary fifteen minutes was one of the hardest tasks +they ever undertook. It would not do to take the canoe at once, as +suspicion would certainly be aroused. They must conform to Blackstaffe's +own plan. It seemed to them that they must actually hold themselves with +their own hands to keep from creeping forward to the canoe, yet they did +it, though the minutes doubled and redoubled in length, and then +tripled; but, after a time that both judged sufficient, they slid +forward, and Henry's knife cut the willow withe. Then they lifted +themselves gently into the canoe, took up two of the paddles and were +away. + +Henry's back was to the southern bank, and despite all his experience +and courage shivers ran through his body at the thought that a bullet +from the forest might strike him any moment. Yet he did not wish to seem +in a hurry, and restrained his eagerness to paddle with all his might. + +"Softly, Sol, softly," he said. "We must not be in too much haste." + +"Don't I know it, Henry? Don't I know that we must 'pear to be the two +warriors whose business it is to take back the canoe? Ain't I jest +strainin' an' achin' to make the biggest sweep with my paddle I ever +swep', an' ain't my mind pullin' ag'inst my hands all the time, tryin' +to keep 'em at the proper gait? Are you shore you ain't felt no bullet +in your back yet, Henry?" + +"No, Sol. What makes you ask such a question?" + +"'Cause I reckon I wuz so much afeared o' one that I imagined the place +whar it's track would be in me, ef it had been really fired. My fancy +is pow'ful lively at sech a time." + +"There has been no alarm, at least not yet, and we're near the middle of +the river. The canoe must be invisible, although I can see the fires on +either shore. Now, Sol, we'll turn down stream and paddle with all our +might, showing what canoemen we really are!" + +It was with actual physical as well as mental joy that they turned the +prow of the canoe toward the southeast, that is, with the current, and +began to do their best with the paddles. They no longer had that +horrible fear of a bullet in the back, and muscles seemed to leap +together with the spirit into greater strength and elasticity. + +"Come on you, Henry," said Shif'less Sol exultantly. "Keep up your side! +Prove that you're jest ez good a man with the paddle ez me! We ain't +makin' more'n a mile a minute, an' fur sech ez we are that's nothin' but +standin' still!" + +The two bent their powerful backs a little and their great arms swept +the paddles through the water at an amazing rate. The soul of Shif'less +Sol surged up to the heights. He became dithyrambic and he spoke in a +tone not loud, but full of concentrated fire and feeling. + +"Fine, you Henry, you!" he said. "But we kin do better! The canoe is +goin' fast, but one or two canoes in the hist'ry o' the world hez gone +ez fast! We must go faster by ten or fifteen miles an hour an' set the +record that will stan'! It's so dark in here I can't see either bank, +but I wish sometimes I could, warriors or no warriors! Then I could see +'em whizzin' by, jest streaks, with all the trees and bushes meltin' +into one another like a green ribbon! Now, that's the way to do it, +Henry! Our speed is jumpin'! I ain't shore whether the canoe is touchin' +the water or not! I think mebbe it's jest our paddles that dip in, an' +that the canoe is flyin' through the air! An' not a soun' from 'em yet! +They haven't discovered that the wrong warriors hev took thar boat, but +they will soon! Now we'll turn her in toward the southern bank, Henry, +'cause in the battin' o' an eye or two we'll be whar the rest o' the +boys are a-lyin' hid in the bushes! Now, slow an' slower! I kin see the +trees an' bushes separatin' tharselves, an' thar's the bank, an' now I +see the face o' Long Jim, 'bout seven feet above the groun'! He's an +onery, ugly cuss, never givin' me all the respeck that's due me, but +somehow I like him, an' he never looked better nor more welcome than he +does now, God bless the long-armed, long-legged, fightin', gen'rous, +kind-hearted cuss! An' thar's Paul, too, lookin' fur all the world like +a scholar, crammed full o' book l'arnin', 'stead o' the ring-tailed +forest runner, half hoss, half alligator, that he is, though he's got +the book l'arnin' an' is one o' the greatest scholars the world ever +seed! An' that's Tom Ross, with his mouth openin' ez ef he wuz 'bout to +speak a word, though he'll conclude, likely, that he oughtn't, an' all +three o' 'em are pow'ful glad to see us comin' in our triumphal Roman +gallus that we hev captured from the enemy." + +"Galley, Sol, galley! Not gallus!" + +"It's all the same, galley or gallus. We hev got it, an' we are in it, +an' it's a fine big canoe with six paddles, one for ev'ry one o' us an' +one to spare! Now here we are ag'in the bank, an' thar they are ready to +jump in!" + +There was no time for hesitation, as a long and tremendous war whoop +from a point up the stream seemed to surcharge the whole night with rage +and ferocity. It was evident that the warriors had discovered that the +wrong men had taken the canoe, as they were bound to do soon, and the +chase would be on at once, conducted with all the power and tenacity of +those who devoted their lives to such deeds. + +"They'll know, of course, that we've come down the stream, not daring to +go against the current," said Henry, "and they'll follow with every +canoe they have." + +"An' more will run along either bank hopin' fur a shot," said the +shiftless one, "an' so while we turn our canoe into a shootin' star +ag'in we'll hev to remember to keep in the middle o' the stream. A lot +o' the dark that helped us to git the canoe is fadin' away, leavin' us +to make our race fur our lives mostly in the open." + +The great war whoop came again, filling the forest with its fierce +echoes, and then followed silence, a silence which every one of the five +knew would be broken later by the plash of paddles. The valley Indians +had great canoes, sometimes carrying as many as twenty paddles, and when +twenty strong backs were bent into one of them it could come at greater +speed than any five in the world could command. + +But this five, calm and ready to face any danger, put their rifles where +they could reach them in an instant, and then their canoe shot down the +stream. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE PROTECTING RIVER + + +The Ohio was the great stream of the borderers. It was the artery that +led into the vast, rich new lands of the west, upon its waters many of +them came, and upon its current and along its banks were fought +thrilling battles between white men and red. Many a race for life was +made upon its bosom, but none was ever carried on with more courage and +energy than the one now occurring. + +They kept well to the middle of the stream, which was still of great +width, a full mile across, where they would be safe from shots from +either shore, until the river narrowed, and although they sent the canoe +along very fast, they did not use their full strength, keeping a reserve +for the greater emergency which was sure to come. + +Meanwhile they worked like a machine. The arms of five rose together and +five paddles made a single plash. In the returning moonlight the water +took on a silver color, and it fell away in masses of shimmering bubbles +from the paddle blades. Before them the river spread its vast width, at +once a channel of escape and of danger. The forest yet rose on either +bank, a solid mass of green, in which nothing stirred, and from which no +sound came. + +The silence, save for the swish of the paddles, was brooding and full of +menace. Paul, so sensitive to circumstance, felt as if it were a sullen +sky, out of which would suddenly come a blazing flash of lightning. But +to Henry the greatest anxiety was the narrowing of the river which must +come before long. The Ohio was not a mile wide everywhere, and when that +straightening of the stream occurred they would be within rifle shot of +the warriors on one bank or the other. And while the Indians were not +good marksmen, it was true that where there were many bullets not all +missed. + +A quarter of an hour passed, and they heard the war-whoop behind them, +and then a few moments later the faint, rhythmic swish of paddles. The +moonlight had been deepening fast, and Henry saw two of the great canoes +appear, although they were yet a full half mile away. But they came on +at a mighty pace, and it was evident that unless bullets stopped them +they would overtake the fugitives. Henry put aside his paddle, leaving +the work for the present to the others, and studied the long canoes. He +and his comrades might strain as they would, but in an hour the big +boats filled with muscular warriors would be alongside. They must devise +some other method to elude the pursuit. A shout from Paul caused him to +turn. + +A peninsula from the south projected into the river, making its width at +this point much less than half a mile, and upon the spit, which was +bare, stood several Indian warriors, rifle in hand and waiting. + +"Turn the canoe in toward the northern shore," said Henry. "We must +chance a shot from that quarter, dealing with the seen danger, and +letting the unseen go. Sol, you and Tom take your rifles, and I'll take +mine too. Paul, you and Jim do the paddling and we'll see whether those +warriors on the sand stop us, or are just taking a heavy risk +themselves." + +The canoe sheered off violently toward the northern bank, but did not +cease to move swiftly, as Paul and Jim alone were able to send it along +at a great rate. Henry, with his rifle lying in the hollow of his arm, +watched a large warrior standing on the edge of the water. + +"I'll take the big fellow with the waving scalp lock," he said. + +"The short, broad one by the side o' him is mine," said Shif'less Sol. +"Which is yours, Tom?" + +"One with red blanket looped over his shoulder," replied the taciturn +rover. + +"Be sure of your aim," said Henry. "We're running a gauntlet, but it's +likely to be as much of a gauntlet for those warriors as it is for us." + +Perhaps the Indians on the spit did not know that the canoe contained +the best marksmen in the West, as they crowded closer to the water's +edge, uttered a yell or two of triumph and raised their own weapons. The +three rifles in the canoe flashed together and the big warrior, the +short, broad one, and the one with the red blanket looped over his +shoulder, fell on the sand. One of them got up again and fled with his +unhurt comrades into the forest, but the others lay quite still, with +their feet in the water. As the marksmen reloaded rapidly, Henry cried +to the paddlers: + +"Now, boys, back toward the middle of the river and put all your might +in it!" + +Paul and Long Jim swung the canoe into the main current, which had +increased greatly in strength here, owing to the narrowing of the +stream, and their paddles flashed fast. Two of the Indians who had fled +into the woods reappeared and fired at them, but their bullets fell +wide, and Henry, who had now rammed in the second charge, wounded one of +them, whereupon they fled to cover as quickly as they did the first +time. + +Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross had also reloaded, but put their rifles in +the bottom of the boat and resumed their paddles. The danger on the land +spit had been passed, but the great canoes behind them were hanging on +tenaciously and were gaining, not rapidly, but with certainty. Henry +swept them again with a measuring eye, and he saw no reason to change +his calculations. + +"They'll come within rifle shot in just about an hour," he repeated. +"We'd pick off some of them with our bullets, but they'd keep on coming +anyhow, and that would be the end of us." + +Such a solemn statement would have daunted any but those who had escaped +many great dangers. Imminent and deadly as was the peril, it did not +occur to any of the five that they would not evade it, the problem now +being one of method rather than result. + +"What are we going to do, Henry?" asked Paul. + +"I don't know yet," replied the leader, "but we'll keep going until +something develops." + +"Thar's your development!" exclaimed the shiftless one, as a rifle was +fired from the northern shore, and a bullet plashed in the water just +ahead of them. Then came a second shot from the same source which struck +the inoffensive river behind them. They were now being attacked from +both banks while the great canoes followed tenaciously. + +"We don't have to bother about one thing," said Paul grimly. "We know +which way to go, and it's the only way that's open to us." + +But the threat offered by the northern shore did not seem to be so +menacing. The river began to widen again and rapidly, and the scattered +shots fired later on came from a great distance, falling short. Those +discharged from the southern bank also missed the mark as widely. Henry +no longer paid any attention to them, but was examining the forest and +the curves of the river with a minute scrutiny. His look, which had been +very grave, brightened suddenly, and a reassuring flash appeared in his +eye. + +"What is it, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol, who had noticed the change. + +"We've been along here before," replied the great youth. "I know the +shores now, and it's mighty lucky for us that we are just where we are." + +The shiftless one looked at the northern, then at the southern forest, +and shook his head. + +"I don't 'pear to recall it," he said. "The woods, at this distance +away, look like any other woods at night, black an' mighty nigh solid." + +"It's not so much the forest, because, like you, I couldn't tell it from +any other, as it is the curve of the river. I thought I saw something +familiar in it a little while ago, and now I know by the sound that I'm +right." + +"Sound! What sound?" + +"Turn your ears down the river and listen as hard as you can. After a +while you'll hear a faint humming." + +"So I do, Henry, but I wouldn't hev noticed it ef you hadn't told me +about it, an' even ef I do hear it I don't know what it means." + +"It's made by the rush of a great volume of water, Sol. It's the Falls +of the Ohio, that not many white men have yet seen, a gradual sort of +fall, one that boats can go over without trouble most of the time, but +which, owing to the state of the river, are just now at their highest." + +"An' you mean fur them falls to come in between us an' the big canoes? +You're reckonin' on water to save us?" + +"That's what I have in mind, Sol. The falls are dangerous at this stage +of the river, no doubt about it, but we're not canoemen for nothing, and +with our lives at stake we'll not think twice before shooting 'em. What +say you, boys?" + +"The falls fur me!" replied the shiftless one, quickly. + +"Nothin' could keep me from takin' the tumble. I jest love them falls," +said Long Jim. + +"It's that or nothing," said Paul. + +"On!" said Silent Tom. + +"Then ease a little with your paddles," said Henry. "The Indians know, +of course, that the falls are just ahead, and I notice they are not now +pushing us so hard. It follows, then, that the falls are at a dangerous +height they don't often reach, and they expect to trap us." + +"In which they will be mighty well fooled." + +"I think so. I'll sit in the prow of the boat and do my best with my +paddle to guide. I believe we can shoot the falls all right, but maybe +we'll be swamped in the rapids below. But we're all good swimmers, and, +if we do go over, every fellow must swim for the northern bank, where +the Indians are fewest. Some one of us must manage to save his rifle and +ammunition or we'd be lost, even if we happened to reach the land. +Still, it's possible that we can keep afloat. It's a good canoe." + +"A good canoe!" exclaimed the shiftless one, in whom the spirit of +achievement and of triumph was rising again. "It's the finest canoe on +all this great river, and didn't I tell you boys that them that's bold +always win! Jest when our last chance 'peared to be gone, these falls +wuz put squar'ly in our track to save us! Will they wreck us? No, they +won't! We'll shoot 'em like a bird on the wing!" + +He looked back at their pursuers, and gave utterance suddenly to a long, +piercing shout of defiance. The Indians in the canoes replied with war +whoops that Henry could read easily. They expressed faith in speedy +triumph, and joy over the destruction of the five. He saw, moreover, +that they were using only half strength now, preferring to take their +ease while the game struggled vainly in the net. But as well as many of +these warriors knew the five they did not know them to the full. + +The shiftless one waited until their last war whoop died, and then, +sending forth once more his long, thrilling note of defiance, he burst +again into his triumphal chant. + +"Steady now with the paddles, boys," he cried, "an' we'll ride the water +ez ef we'd done nothin' else all our lives! Oh, I love rivers, big +rivers, speshully when they hev a strong current like this that takes +your boat 'long an' you don't hev to do no work! Now it reaches up a +thousand hands that grab our canoe an' sail 'long with it! Don't paddle +any more, boys, but jest hold yourselves ready to do it, when needed! +The river's doin' all the work, an' it never gits tired! Look, now, how +the current's a-rushin', an' a-dancin', an' a-hummin'! Look at the white +water 'roun' us! Look at the water behind us, an' hear the roarin' +before us! Thar, she rocks, but never min' that! Wait till the water +comes spillin' in! Then it will be time to use the paddles!" + +He burst once more into that irrepressible yell of defiance, and then he +cried exultantly: + +"They slow up! They're gittin' afeard! We've made the race too fast fur +'em! Come on, you warriors! Ain't you ready to go whar we will? These +falls are fine an' we jest love to play with 'em! We are goin' to sail +down 'em, an' then we're goin' to sail back up 'em ag'in! Don't you hear +all that roarin'? It's the tumblin' o' the water, an' it's singin' a +song to you, tellin' you to come!" + +The shiftless one's own tremendous song had a thrilling effect upon his +comrades. Their spirits leaped with it. The rushing canoe was now +dancing upon the surface of the river, but somehow they were not afraid. +They were at that reach of the river where a great city was destined to +grow upon the southern shore, and which was to be the scene, a year or +two later, of other activities of theirs, but now both banks were in +solid, black forest, and no human habitation had yet appeared. + +The canoe was rocking dangerously and all five began to use the paddles +now and then, as the white water foamed around them. It required the +utmost quickness of eye and hand to keep afloat, and the flying spray +soon wet them through and through. Yet the soul of Shif'less Sol was +still undaunted. He sang his song of victory, and although most of the +words were lost amid the crash and roar of the waters, their triumphant +note rose above every other sound, and found an echo in the hearts of +the others. + +Henry, looking back, saw that the long canoes had turned and were making +for the southern shore. Great as was the prize they sought, they would +not dare the falls, and half the battle was won. + +"They don't follow!" he shouted at the top of his voice. "And now for +the miracle that will keep us afloat!" + +The canoe raced down the watery slope and the spray continued to drench +them, though they had taken the precaution to cover up their rifles and +ammunition. But their surpassing skill had its reward. The descent soon +became more gradual, the torrents of white water sank, and then they +slid forward in the rapids, still going at a great rate, but no longer +in danger. + +"An' we've left the enemy behind!" sang the shiftless one, looking back +at the white masses. "He thought he had us, but he hadn't! He turned +back at the steep slope, but we came on! Thar's nothin' like havin' a +fall between you an' a lot o' pursuin' Injun canoes, is thar, Paul?" + +Paul laughed, half in amusement and half in nervous relief. + +"No, Sol, there isn't, at least not now," he replied. "It looks as if +these falls had been put here especially to save us." + +"I like to think so, too," said the shiftless one. + +The river was still very wide and they kept the canoe in its center, +although they no longer dreaded Indian shots, feeling quite sure that no +warriors were on either shore below the falls. So they went on three or +four miles, until Paul asked what was the next plan. + +"We must talk it over, all of us," said Henry. "The canoe is of no +particular use to us except as a way of escape from immediate danger." + +"But it and the falls together saved us," said Shif'less Sol. "Oh, it's +a good boat, a fine boat, a friendly boat!" + +"I hate to desert a friend." + +"It must be done. We can't stay forever on the river in a canoe. That +would merely invite destruction. The Indians can take their canoes out +of the water, carry them around the falls and resume the pursuit." + +"O' course I know you're right, Henry. I wuz jest droppin' a tear or two +over the partin' with our faithful canoe. We make fur the north bank, I +s'pose." + +"That seems to me to be the right course, because the warriors will be +thicker on the south side. We'll keep our policy of defense against them +by resuming the offense. What say you, Paul?" + +"I choose the north bank." + +"And you, Jim?" + +"North, uv course." + +"And you, Tom?" + +"North." + +"And Sol and I have already spoken. We'll make for the low point across +there, sink the canoe and go into the forest. The Indians will be sure +in time to pick up our trail and follow us, but we'll escape 'em as +we've escaped twice already." + +"Red Eagle and Yellow Panther will come for us now," said Paul. "It's +their turn next." + +"Let 'em," said Long Jim in sanguine tones. "They can't beat us." + +They were now out of the rapids and were paddling swiftly toward the +northern shore, with their eyes on a small cove, where the bushes grew +thick to the water's edge. When they reached it they pushed the canoe +into the dense thicket and sank it. + +"After all," said Shif'less Sol, "we're not partin' wholly with our +friend. We know whar he is, an' he'll wait here until some time or other +when we want him ag'in." + +Gathering up their arms, ammunition and supplies, they traveled +northward through the dense forest until they came to a small and well +sheltered valley, where they concluded to rest, it being full time, as +collapse was coming fast after their great exertions and intense strain. +Nevertheless, Silent Tom was able to keep the first watch, while the +others threw themselves on the ground and went to sleep almost +instantly. + +Tom had promised to awaken Shif'less Sol in two hours, but he did not do +so. He knew how much his comrades needed rest, and being willing to +sacrifice himself, he watched until dawn, which came bright, cold at +first, and then full of grateful warmth, a great sun hanging in a vast +disc of reddish gold over the eastern forest. + +Silent Tom Ross, in his most talkative moments, was a man of few words, +at other times of none, but he felt deeply. A life spent wholly in the +woods into which he fitted so supremely had given him much of the Indian +feeling. He, too, peopled earth, air and water with spirits, and to him +the wild became incarnate. The great burning sun, at which he took +occasional glances, was almost the same as the God of the white man and +the Manitou of the red man. He had keenly appreciated their danger, both +when Henry was at the hollow, and when they were in the canoe on the +river, hemmed in on three sides. And yet they had come safely from both +nets. The skill of the five had been great, but more than human skill +had helped them to escape from such watchful and powerful enemies. + +Tom Ross, as he looked at the faces of his comrades, knitted to him by +so many hardships and perils shared, was deeply grateful. He took one or +two more glances at the great burning sun, and the sky that looked like +illimitable depths of velvet blue, and then he surveyed the whole circle +of the forest curving around them. It was silent there, no sign of a foe +appeared, all seemed to be as peaceful as a great park in the Old World. +Tom said no words, not even to himself, but his prayer of thanks ran: + +"O Lord, I offer my gratitude to Thee for the friends whom Thou hast +given me. As they have been faithful to me in every danger, so shall I +try to be faithful to them. Perhaps my mind moves more slowly than +theirs, but I strive always to make it move in the right way. They are +younger than I am, and I feel it my duty and my pleasure, too, to watch +over them, despite their strength of body, mind and spirit. I have not +the gift of words, nor do I pray for it, but help me in other things +that I may do my part and more." + +Then Tom Ross felt uplifted. The dangers passed were passed, and those +to come could not press upon him yet. He was singularly light of heart, +and the wind sang among the leaves for him, though not in words, as it +sang often for Henry. + +He took another look at his comrades, and they still slept as if they +would never awake. The strain of the preceding nights and days had been +tremendous, and their spirits, having gone away with old King Sleep to +his untroubled realms, showed no signs of a wish to come back again to a +land of unlimited peril. He had promised faithfully to awaken one of +them long ago for the second turn at the watch, and he knew that all of +them expected to be up at sunrise, but he had broken his promise and he +was happy in the breaking of it. + +Nor did he awaken them now. Instead he made a wide circle through the +forest, using his good eyes and good ears to their utmost. The stillness +had gone, because birds were singing from pure joy at the dawn, and the +thickets rustled with the movements of small animals setting about the +day's work and play. But Silent Tom knew all these sounds, and he paid +no attention to them. Instead he listened for man, man the vengeful, the +dangerous and the deadly, and hearing nothing from him and being sure +that he was not near, he went back to the place where the four sleepers +lay. Examining them critically he saw that they had not stirred a +particle. They had been so absolutely still that they had grown into the +landscape itself. + +Tom Ross smiled a deep smile that brought his mouth well across his face +and made his eyes crinkle up, and then, disregarding their wishes with +the utmost lightness of heart, he sat himself down, calmly letting them +sleep on. He produced from an inside pocket a long stretch of fine, +thin, but very strong cord, and ran it through his fingers until he came +to the sharp hook on the end. It was all in good trim, and his questing +eye soon saw where a long, slender pole could be cut. Then he put thread +and hook back in his pocket, and sat as silent as the sleepers, but +bright-eyed and watchful. No one could come near without his knowledge. + +Shif'less Sol awoke first, yawning mightily, but he did not yet open his +eyes. + +"Who's watchin'?" he called. + +"Me," replied Ross. + +"Is it day yet?" + +"Look up an' see." + +The shiftless one did look up, and when he beheld the great sun shining +almost directly over his head he exclaimed in surprise: + +"Why, Tom, is it today or tomorrer?" + +"It's today, though I guess it's well on to noon." + +"Seein' the sun whar it is, an' feelin' now ez ef I had slep' so long, I +thought mebbe it might be tomorrer. An' it bein' so late an' me +sleepin', too, it looks ez ef the warriors ought to hev us." + +"But they hevn't, Sol. All safe." + +"No, Tom, they hevn't got us, an' now, hevin' learned from your long an' +volyble conversation that it ain't tomorrer an' that we are free, 'stead +o' bein' taken captive an' bein' burned at the stake by the Injuns, I'm +feelin' mighty fine." + +"Sol, you talk real foolish at times. How could we be took by the Injuns +an' be burned alive at the stake, an' not know nothin' 'bout it?" + +"Don't ask me, Tom. Thar are lots o' strange things that I don't pretend +to understan', an' me a smart man, too. Here, you, Jim Hart! Wake up! +Shake them long legs an' arms o' yours an' cook our breakfast!" + +Silent Tom began to laugh, not audibly, but his lips moved in such a +manner that they betrayed risibility. The shiftless one looked at him +suspiciously. + +"Tom Ross," he said, "what you laughin' at?" + +"You told Long Jim to cook breakfast, didn't you?" + +"I shorely did, an' I meant it, too." + +"He ain't." + +"Why ain't he?" + +"Because he ain't." + +"Ef he ain't, then why ain't he?" + +"Because thar ain't any." + +"Thar ain't any breakfast, you mean?" + +"Jest what I say. He ain't goin' to cook breakfast, 'cause thar ain't +any to cook, an' thar ain't no more to say." + +Henry and Paul, awakening at the sound of the voices, sat up and caught +the last words. + +"Do you mean to tell us, Tom," exclaimed Paul, "that we have nothing to +eat?" + +"Shorely," said Silent Tom triumphantly. "Look! See!" + +All of them examined their packs quickly, but they had eaten the last +scrap of food the day before. Silent Tom's mouth again stretched across +his face with triumph and his eyes crinkled up. + +"Right, ain't it?" he asked exultantly. + +"Look here you, Tom Ross," exclaimed Shif'less Sol, indignantly, "you'd +rather be right an' starve to death than be wrong an' live!" + +"Right, ain't I?" + +"Yes, right, ain't you, 'bout the food, an' wrong in everythin' else. Ef +you say 'ain't' to me ag'in, Tom Ross, inside o' a week, I'll club you +so hard over the head with your own gun that you won't be able to speak +another word fur a year! The idee o' you laughin' an' me plum' dead with +hunger! Why, I could eat a hull big buffler by myself, an' ef he wuzn't +cooked I could eat him alive, an' on the hoof too, so I could!" + +Tom Ross continued to laugh silently with his eyes and lips. + +"What are we to do?" asked Paul in dismay. "If we were to find game we +wouldn't dare fire at it with the Indians perhaps so near." + +"True," said Tom Ross. + +"And if we can't fire at it we certainly can't catch it with our hands." + +"True," said Tom Ross. + +"And then are we to starve to death?" + +"No," said Tom Ross. + +Paul did not ask anything more, but his questioning look was on the +silent man. + +"Fish," said Tom Ross, showing his line and hook. + +"Where?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"Fine, clear creek, only hundred yards away." + +"Do you know that it hez any fish in it?" + +"Saw 'em little while ago. Fine big fellers, bass." + +"Then be quick an' ketch a lot, 'cause the pangs o' starvation are +already on me." + +Tom Ross cut the slim pole that he had already picked out and measured +with his eye, took squirming bait from the soft earth under a stone, +just as millions of boys in the Mississippi valley have done, and +started for the creek, Paul being delegated to accompany him, while +Henry, Long Jim and the shiftless one proceeded to build a fire in the +most secluded spot they could find. There was danger in a fire, but they +could shield the smoke, or at least most of it, and the risk must be +taken anyhow. They could not eat raw the fish which they did not doubt +for a moment Tom Ross would soon bring. + +Meanwhile Paul and Tom reached the banks of the creek, which was all the +silent one had claimed for it, fifteen feet wide, two feet deep, clear +water, flowing over a pebbly bottom. Tom tied his string to the pole, +and threw in the hook and bait. + +"You watch, I fish," he said. + +Paul, his rifle in the crook of his arm, strolled a little bit down the +stream, examining the forest and listening attentively for any hostile +sound. Since it was his business to protect the fisherman while he +fished, he meant to protect him well, and no enemy could have come near +without being observed by him. And yet he had enough detachment from the +dangers of their situation to drink deep in the beauty of the +wilderness, which was here a tangle of green forest, shot with wild +flowers and cut by clear running waters. + +But he did not go so far that he failed to hear a thump where Tom Ross +was sitting, and he knew that a fine fish had been landed. Presently a +second thump came to his ear, and, glancing through the bushes, he saw +Tom taking the fish off the hook, a look of intense satisfaction on his +face. Then the silent fisherman threw in the line again and leaned back +luxuriously against the trunk of a tree, while he waited for his third +bite. Paul smiled. He knew that Silent Tom was happy, happy because he +had prepared for and was achieving a necessary task. + +Paul went on in a circuit about the fisherman, crossing the creek lower +down, where it was narrower, on a fallen log, and discovered no sign of +a foe, though he did come to a bed of wild flowers, the delicate pale +blue of which pleased him so much that he broke off two blossoms and +thrust them into his deerskin tunic. Then he came back to Silent Tom, to +find that he had caught four fine large fish, and, having thrown away +his pole, was winding up his line. + +"'Nuff," said the silent one. + +"I think so, too," said Paul, "and now we'll hurry back with 'em." + +"Look like a flower garden, you!" + +"If I do I'm glad of it." + +"Like it myself." + +"I know you do, Tom. I know that however you may appear, and that +however fierce and warlike you may be at times, your character rests +upon a solid bedrock of poetry." + +Tom stared and then smiled, and by this time the two had returned with +their spoils to a little valley in which a little fire was burning, with +the blaze smothered already, but a fine bed of coals left. The fish were +cleaned with amazing quickness, and then Long Jim broiled them in a +manner fit for kings. The five ate hungrily, but with due regard for +manners. + +"You're a good fisherman, Tom Ross," said Shif'less Sol, "but it ought +to be my job." + +"Why?" + +"'Cause it's the job o' a lazy man. I reckon that all fishermen, +leastways them that fish in creeks an' rivers, are lazy, nothin' to do +but set still an' doze till a fish comes along an' hooks hisself on to +your bait. Then you jest hev to heave him in an' put the hook back in +the water ag'in." + +"There's enough of the fish left for another meal," said Henry, "and I +think we'd better put it in our packs and be off." + +"You still favor a retreat into the north?" said Paul. + +"Yes, and toward the northeast, too. We'll go in the direction of Piqua +and Chillicothe, their big towns. As we've concluded over and over +again, the offensive is the best defensive, and we'll push it to the +utmost. What's your opinion, Sol? Who do you think will be the next +leader to come against us?" + +"Red Eagle an' the Shawnees. I'm thinkin' they're curvin' out now to +trap us, an' that Red Eagle is a mighty crafty fellow." + +They trod out the coals, threw some dead leaves over them, and took a +course toward the northeast. It seemed pretty safe to assume that the +ring of warriors was thickest in the south, and that they might slip +through in the north. Time and distance were of little importance to +them, and they felt able to find their rations as they went in the +forest. + +They had been traveling about an hour at the easy walk of the border, +when they heard a long cry behind them. + +"They've found the dead coals o' our fire," said Shif'less Sol. + +"Which means that they're not so far away," said Paul. + +"But we've been comin' over rocky ground, an' the trail ain't picked up +so easy. An' we might make it a lot harder by wadin' a while up this +branch." + +The brook fortunately led in the direction in which they wished to go. +They walked in it a full half mile, and as it had a sandy bottom their +footprints vanished almost at once. When they emerged at last they heard +the long cry again, now from a point toward the east, and then a distant +answer from a point in the west. Shif'less Sol laughed with intense +enjoyment. + +"Guessin'! Jest guessin'!" he said. "They've found the dead coals an' +they know that we wuz thar once, but that now we ain't, an' it's not +whar we wuz but whar we ain't that's botherin' 'em." + +"Still," said Paul, "the more distance we put between them and us the +better I, for one, will like it." + +"You're right, Paul," said Shif'less Sol. "I guess we'd better shake our +feet to a lively tune." + +They increased their walk to a trot, and fled through the great forest. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE OASIS + + +The five continued their flight all that day, seeing no enemies and +hearing no further signal from them. But Henry knew intuitively that the +warriors were still in pursuit. They would spread out in every +direction, and some one among them would, in time, pick up the trail. +After a while, they permitted their own gait to sink to an easy walk, +but they did not veer from their northeastern course. Henry, all the +time, was a keen observer of the country, and he noticed with pleasure +the change that was occurring. + +They were coming to a low sunken land, cut by many streams, nearly all +sluggish and muddy. The season had been rainy, and there was an odor of +dampness over all things. Great thickets of reeds and cane began to +appear, and now and then they trod into deep banks of moss. + +"Perhaps we'd better turn to the north and avoid it," said Paul. "This +marsh region seems to be extensive." + +Henry shook his head. + +"We won't avoid it," he said. "On the contrary it's just what we want. +I'm thinking that we're being watched over. You know the forest fire +came in time to save us, then the falls appeared just when we needed +'em, and now this huge marsh, extending miles and miles in every +direction, cuts across our path, not as an enemy, but as a friend." + +"That is, we are to hide in it?" + +"Where could we find a better refuge?" + +"Then you lead the way, Henry," said Shif'less Sol. "Ef you sink in it +we'll pull you out, purvidin' you don't go in it over your neck." + +Henry went ahead, his wary eye examining the ground which had already +grown alarmingly soft save for those trained for such marchings. But he +was able to pick out the firm places, though the earth would quickly +close over their footsteps, as they passed, and, now and then, they +walked on the upthrust roots of trees, their moccasins giving them a +securer hold. + +It was precarious and dangerous work, but they went deeper and deeper +into the heart of the great swamp, through thickets of bushes, cane and +reeds, the soil continually growing softer and the vegetation ranker and +more gloomy. Often the canes and reeds were so dense that they had +difficulty in seeing their leader, as he slipped on ahead. Sometimes +snakes trailed a slimy length from their path, and, hardened foresters +though they were, they shuddered. Occasionally an incautious foot sank +to the knee and it was pulled out again with a choking sigh as the mud +closed where it had been. Mosquitoes and many other buzzing and +stinging insects assailed them, but they pressed on without hesitation. + +They came to a great black pond on which marsh fowl were swimming, but +Henry led around its miry edges, and they pressed on into the deeper +depths of the vast swamp. He judged that they had now penetrated it a +full two miles, but he had no intention of stopping. The four behind him +knew without his telling for what he was looking. The swamp, partly a +product of an extremely rainy season, must have bits of solid ground +somewhere within its area, and, when they came to such a place, they +would stop. Yet it would be all the better if they did not reach it for +a long time, as the farther they were from the edge of the swamp the +safer they could rest. + +No island of firm earth appeared, and the traveling grew more difficult. +Often they helped themselves along with vines that drooped from scrubby +trees, swinging their bodies over places that would not bear their +weight, but always, whether slow or fast, they made progress, +penetrating farther and farther into the huge blind maze. + +The sun was low when they stopped for a long rest, hoping they would +reach refuge very soon. + +"I don't think the warriors kin ever find us in here," said Long Jim, +"but what's troublin' me is whether we'll ever be able to git out +ag'in." + +"Mebbe you wouldn't be so anxious to show yourse'f, Jim Hart, on solid +ground ef you could only see yourse'f ez I see you," said Shif'less Sol. +"You're a sight, plastered over with black mud, an' scratched with +briers an' bushes. Lookin' at you, an' sizin' you up, I reckon that +jest now you're 'bout the ugliest man in this hull round world." + +"Ef I ain't, you are," said Long Jim, grinning. "Fact is, thar ain't a +beauty among us. I don't mind mud so much, but I don't like it when it's +black an' slimy. How fur do you reckon this flooded country goes, +Henry?" + +"Twenty miles, maybe, Jim, but the farther the better for us. Here's an +old fallen log which I think will hold our weight. Suppose we stop here +and rest a little." + +They were glad enough to do so. When they sat down they heard the +mournful sigh of a light wind through the black and marshy jungle, and +the splash now and then of a muskrat in the water. Their refuge seemed +dim and inexpressibly remote, as if it belonged to the wet and ferny +world of dim antiquity. But every one of the five felt that they were +safe, at least for the present, from pursuit. + +"We might plough a trail a yard deep," said Shif'less Sol, "but the mud +would close over it ag'in in five minutes, an' Red Eagle with five +hundred o' the best trailers in the hull Shawnee nation couldn't foller +us." + +"It's strange and grim," said Paul, "but, when you look at it a long +time there's a certain kind of forbidding beauty about it, and you're +bound to admit that it's a friendly swamp, since it's hiding us from +ruthless pursuers." + +"Perhaps that's why you find the beauty in it," said Henry. "Come on, +though. The Shawnees are not likely to reach us here, but we must find +some snug place in which we can camp." + +"After all," said Paul, "we're like travelers in a great desert looking +for an oasis." + +"We ain't as hungry ez all that," said Long Jim. + +"You won't get angry if I laugh, Jim, will you?" asked Paul. + +"Don't mind me. Go ahead an' laugh all you want." + +"An oasis is not something to eat, Jim. It's a green and watered place +in an ocean of sand." + +"Seems to me that we waste time lookin' fur a place that's more watered +than all these we're crossin'. What I want is a dry place, a piece out +uv that ocean uv sand you're talkin' 'bout." + +"The conditions are merely reversed. My illustration holds good." + +"What did you say, Paul? Them wuz mighty big words." + +"Never mind. You'll find out in due time. Just you pray for an oasis in +this swamp, because that is what we want, and we want it bad." + +"All right, Paul, I'm prayin'. I ain't shore what I'm prayin' fur, but I +take your word fur it." + +Henry rose and led on again, anxious of heart. They were well hidden, it +was true, in the great swamp, but they must find some place to lay their +heads. It was impossible to rest in the black ooze that surrounded them, +and if they did not reach firmer ground soon he did not know what they +would do. The sun was already low, and, in the east, the shadows were +gathering. Around them all things were clothed in gloom. Even that touch +of forbidding beauty, of which Paul had spoken was gone and the whole +swamp became dark and sinister. + +Henry was compelled to walk with the utmost care, lest he become +engulfed, and finally all of them cut lengths of cane with which they +felt about in the mire before they advanced. + +"Pray hard, Long Jim," said Paul. "Pray hard for that oasis, because the +night will soon be here, and if we don't find our oasis we'll have to +stand in our tracks until day, and that's a mighty hard thing to do." + +"I wuz never wishin' an prayin' harder in my life." + +"I think your prayer is answered," interrupted Henry, who was thrusting +here and there with his cane. "To the right the ground seems to be +growing more solid. The mire is not more than a foot deep. I think I'll +venture in that direction. What do you say, boys?" + +"Might ez well try it," said Shif'less Sol. "It may be a last chance, +but sometimes a last chance wins." + +Henry, feeling carefully with the long, stout cane, plunged into the +slough. He was more anxious than he was willing to say, but at the same +time he was hopeful. As the swamp was due, at least in large part, to +the great rains, it must have firm ground somewhere, and he had noticed +also in the thickening twilight that the bushes ahead seemed much larger +than usual. A dozen steps and the mire was not more than six inches +deep. Then with a subdued cry of triumph he seized the bushes, pulled +himself among them, and stood not more than moccasin deep in the mud. + +"It's the best place we've come to yet," he said. "I can't see over the +thicket, but I'm hoping that we'll find beyond it some kind of a hill +and dry ground." + +"I know we will," said Long Jim, confidently. "It's 'cause I wished an' +prayed so hard. It's a lucky thing, Paul, that you had me to do the +wishin' an' prayin', 'stead o' Shif'less Sol, 'cause then we'd hev +walked into black mire a thousan' feet deep. Ef the prayers uv the +sinners are answered a-tall, a-tall, they're answered wrong." + +Shif'less Sol shook his head scornfully. + +"Let's go on, Henry," he said, "afore Long Jim talks us plum' to death, +a thing I'd hate to hev happen to me, jest when we're 'bout to reach the +promised land." + +Henry pushed his way through dense bushes and trailing vines, and he +noticed with intense joy that all the time the earth was growing firmer. +The others followed silently in his tracks. In five minutes he emerged +from the thicket, and then he could not repress an exclamation of +pleasure. They had come upon a low hill, an acre perhaps in extent, as +firm as any soil and well grown with thick low oaks. Where the shade was +not too deep the grass was rich, and the five, the others repeating +Henry's cry of joy, threw themselves upon it and luxuriated. + +"It's fine," said Shif'less Sol, "to lay here an' to feel that the earth +under you ain't quiverin' like a heap o' jelly. I turn from one side to +the other an' then back ag'in, an' I don't sink into no mud, a-tall, +a-tall." + +"An' this, Paul, is the o-sis that you wuz talkin' 'bout, an' that I +wished an' prayed into the right place fur us?" said Long Jim. + +"Oasis, Jim, not o-sis," said Paul. + +"Oasis or o-sis, it's jest ez good to me by either name, an' I think +I'll stick to o-sis, 'cause it's easier to say. But, Paul, did you ever +see a finer piece uv land? Did you ever see finer, richer soil? Did you +ever see more splendiferous grass or grander oaks?" + +"I feel about it just as you do," laughed Paul. + +Henry lay still a full ten minutes, resting after their tremendous +efforts in the swamp, then he rose, walked through their oasis and +discovered that at the far edge a fine large brook was running, +apparently and in some mysterious way, escaping at that point the +contamination of the mud, although he could see that farther on it lost +itself in the swamp. But its cool, sparkling waters were a heavenly +sight, and, walking back, he announced his discovery to the others. + +"All of you know what you can do," he said. + +"We do," said Paul. + +"First thought in my mind," said Shif'less Sol. + +"An' we'll do it," said Long Jim. + +"Now!" said Silent Tom. + +They took off their clothing, scraped from it as much mud as they could, +and took a long and luxurious bath in the brook. Then they came out on +the bank and let themselves dry, the night which had now fully come, +fortunately being warm. As they lay in the grass they felt a great +content, and Long Jim gave it utterance. + +"An o-sis is a fine thing," he said. "I'm glad you invented 'em, Paul, +'cause I don't know what we'd a-done without this un." + +Henry rose and began to dress. The others did likewise. + +"I think we'd better eat the rest of Tom's fish and then go to sleep," +he said. "Tomorrow morning we'll have to hold a grand council, and +consider the question of food, as I think we're very likely to stay in +here quite a while." + +"Are you really looking for a long stay?" asked Paul. + +"Yes, because the Indians will be beating up the woods for us so +thoroughly that it will be best for us not to move from our hiding +place. It's a fine swamp! A glorious swamp! And because it's so big and +black and miry it's all the better for us. The only problem before us is +to get food." + +"And we always get it somehow or other." + +They wrapped themselves in their blankets to keep off any chill that +might come later in the night, lay down under the boughs of the dwarf +oaks, and slept soundly until the next day, keeping no watch, because +they were sure they needed none. Tom Ross himself never opened his eyes +once until the sun rose. Then the problem of food, imminent and +pressing, as the last of the fish was gone, presented itself. + +"I think that branch is big enough to hold fish," said Tom Ross, +bringing forth his hook and line again, "an' ef any are thar they'll be +purty tame, seein' that the water wuz never fished afore. Anyway I'll +soon see." + +The others watched him anxiously, as he threw in his bait, and their +delight was immense, when a half hour's effort was rewarded with a half +dozen perch, of fair size and obviously succulent. + +"At any rate, we won't starve," said Henry, "though it would be hard to +live on fish alone, and besides it's not healthy." + +"But we'll get something else," said Paul. + +"What else?" + +"I don't know, but I notice when we keep on looking we're always sure to +find." + +"You're right, Paul. It's a good thing to have faith, and I'll have it, +too. But we can eat fish for several meals yet, and then see what will +happen." + +They devoted the morning to a thorough washing and cleaning of their +clothing, which they dried in the sun, and they also made a further +examination of the oasis. The swamp came up to its very edge on all +three sides except that of the brook, and a little distance beyond the +brook it was swamp again. It would have been hard to imagine a more +secluded and secure retreat, and Henry dismissed from his mind the +thought of immediate pursuit there by the Indians. Their present +problems were those of food and shelter. + +"I think," he said, "that we ought to build a bark hut. There's a +natural site between the four big trees which will be the corners of +our house, and the ground is just covered with the kind of bark we +want." + +In the warm sunshine and with a clear sky above them they seemed to have +no need of a house, but all of them knew how quickly the weather could +change in the great valley. It would be hard to stand a fierce storm on +the oasis, and one of the secrets of the great and continued success of +the five was to prepare for every emergency of which they could think. + +Long practice had given them high skill, and four of them set to work +with their tomahawks to build a hut of bark and poles, working swiftly, +dextrously and mostly in silence, while Silent Tom went back to the +fishing. They toiled that day and at least half the night with poles and +bark, and by noon the next day they had finished a little cabin, which +they were sure would hold, with the aid of the great trees, against +anything. It had a floor of poles smoothed with dead leaves, one small +window and a low door, over which they purposed to hang blankets if a +blowing rain came. + +Throughout their hard labors they had an abundance of fish, but nothing +else, and they not only began to long for other food, but health +demanded it as well. + +"Ef Long Jim Hart offers fish to me, ag'in," said the shiftless one, +"I'll take it an' cram it down his own throat." + +"And then how'll you live?" asked Paul. + +"I think I'll take Long Jim hisself an' eat him, beginnin' at his head, +which is the softest part o' him." + +"Now that the cabin is done," said Henry, "maybe we can devote some +attention to hunting." + +"Huntin' in black mud that'll suck you down to your waist in a second?" +said Shif'less Sol. + +"I think I might find a pathway on the other side of the stream, and +this swamp ought to hold a lot of game. Bears love swamps, and I might +run across a deer." + +"Would the Indians hear you if you fired?" asked Paul. + +"No, we're too far in for the sound of a rifle to reach 'em. Still, I +won't start today. I suppose we can stand the fish until tomorrow." + +"We have to stand 'em," said Shif'less Sol, "an' that bein' the case I +think I'll look ag'in at our beautiful house which hasn't a nail or a +spike in it, but is jest held together by withes an' vines, but held +together well jest the same." + +"Ain't it fine?" said Long Jim with genuine admiration. "It's jest 'bout +the finest house that ever stood on this o-sis." + +"That, at least, is true," said Paul. + +They did not sleep in the cabin that night, as they intended to use it +only in bad weather, but made good beds on the leaves outside. Shif'less +Sol was the first to awake, and it was scarcely dawn when he arose. +Happening to look toward the brook delight overspread his face like a +sunrise, and laughing softly to himself he took his own rifle and Long +Jim's. Then he crept forward without noise, and making sure of his aim, +fired both rifles so closely together that one would have thought it +was a double barreled weapon. + +The four leaped to their feet, and, clearing the sleep from their eyes, +ran in the direction of the shots. But the shiftless one was already +walking proudly back toward them. + +"What is it, Sol?" cried Paul. + +"Only these," replied Shif'less Sol, and he held up a fat wild duck in +either hand. "They wuz swimmin' in the branch, waitin' to be cooked an' +et by five good fellers like us, an' seein' they wuz in earnest 'bout it +I hev obliged 'em. So here they are, an' you, Long Jim, you, you set to +work at once an' cook 'em, 'cause I'm mighty hungry fur nice fat duck, +not hevin' et anythin' but fish fur the last year or two." + +"Jest watch me do it," said Long Jim. "Ain't I been waitin' fur a chance +uv this kind? While I'm cookin' 'em you fellers will stan' 'roun', an' +them sav'ry smells will make you so hungry you can't bear to wait, but +you'll hev to, 'cause I won't let you touch a duck till it's br'iled +jest right. Are thar any more whar these come from, Sol?" + +"Not jest at this minute, Jim, but thar wuz, an' thar will be. A dozen +jest ez good ez these fat fellers flew away when I fired, an' whar some +hez been more will come." + +"Curious we didn't think of the wild fowl," said Henry. "We noticed that +the swamp had big permanent ponds besides running water, and it was a +certainty that wild ducks and wild geese would come in search of their +kind of food, which is so plentiful in here." + +"Maybe we can set up traps and snares and catch game," said Paul. "It +will save our ammunition, and besides there would be no danger that a +wandering Indian in the swamp might hear our shots and carry the news of +our location." + +"Wise words, Paul," said Henry. "We must put our minds on the question +of traps." + +"But not this minute," said Long Jim. "Bigger things are to the front. +Here, you lazy Sol, he'p me clean these ducks, an' Paul, you an' Tom +build me a fire quicker'n lightnin'. The sooner you do what I tell you +the sooner you'll git juicy duck to eat." + +They worked rapidly, with such an incentive to effort, and soon the +savory odors of which Long Jim had boasted incited their hunger to an +extreme pitch. He did not keep them waiting long, and when they were +through nothing was left of the ducks but bones. + +"It would be better to have bread, too," said Paul, as he sighed with +satisfaction, "but since we can't have it we must manage to get along +without it." + +"Mustn't ask fur too much," said Silent Tom. + +"Sol," said Henry, "after we rest an hour or so suppose you and I set +the snares for the ducks and geese. Likely no human being has ever been +in here before, and they won't be on guard against us. The rest of you +might do more work on the house. We ought to provide food and shelter as +well as we can before stormy weather comes." + +While Henry and the shiftless one were busy down the stream, the other +three put more strength into the hut, lashing the poles and bark fast +with additional tenacious withes and feeling all the interest that +people have when they erect a fine new house. + +"It's surely a tight little cabin," said Paul, standing off and +examining it with a critical eye. "I don't think a drop of rain could +get in even in the heaviest storm. There, did you hear that?" + +"Yes, a rifle shot," said Long Jim. "It wuz Henry or Sol, but it don't +mean no enemy. They hev got some kind uv game that they didn't expect." + +The shot was followed in a few moments by a shout of triumph, and Henry +and Sol emerged from the swamp carrying between them a small but very +fat black bear. + +"Thar's rations fur some time to come," said Long Jim. "I guess he wuz +huntin' berries in the swamp when Sol or Henry picked him off, an' I'm +shore thar'll be more uv the same kind. It begins to look like a mighty +fine swamp to me." + +It was the shiftless one who had shot the bear, and he was proud of his +triumph, as he had a right to be, having secured such a supply of good +food, because there was nothing better that the forest furnished than +fat young bear. It did not take experts, such as they, long to clean the +bear, and cut its flesh into strips for drying. + +"I think our snares will hold something in the morning," said Henry, +"and that will be a big help, too. What was it you said about the swamp, +Jim?" + +"I said it wuz gittin' to be a mighty fine swamp. First time I saw it I +thought it wuz an ugly place, ugliest I ever seed, but now it's growin' +plum' beautiful. Reckon it's the safest place now in all the wilderness. +Knowin' that, helps it a lot, an' its yieldin' up good food helps it +more. The sun is gildin' the trees, an' the bushes an' the mud an' the +water a heap, an' all them things don't hurt my eyes when they linger on +'em." + +"Jim is turnin' into a poet," said the shiftless one, "but I reckon he +hez cause. I'm gittin' to feel 'bout the swamp jest ez he does. It's a +splendid place, jest full o' beauty!" + +They slept under the trees again, putting the strips of bear meat in the +house to secure them from marauders of the air, and awoke the next +morning to find the swamp still improving. Powerful factors in the +improvement were two ducks and a fat wild goose caught in the snares, +and, with more fish from Silent Tom, they had a variety for breakfast. + +"I jest love wild goose," said Shif'less Sol, "speshully when it's fat +an' tender, an' I'm thinkin' this swamp is a good place for wild geese. +When we come in here we didn't think what a fine home we wuz findin'. +Since the tribes an' the renegades have sworn to wipe us out, an' we're +hid here so snug an' so tight, I don't keer how long I stay." + +"Nor me either," said Long Jim. "This o-sis makes me think sure uv that +island in the lake on which we stayed once, but it's safer here. Nothin' +but the longest kind uv chance would make the warriors find us." + +"That's true," said Henry thoughtfully. "We might have searched the +whole continent, and we couldn't have discovered a better refuge, for +our purpose. I know we can lie hid here a long time and let them hunt +us." + +Shif'less Sol began to laugh, not loud, but with great intensity, and +his laugh was continued long. + +"What you laffin' at, you Sol Hyde?" asked Long Jim suspiciously. + +"Not at you, Jim," replied the shiftless one. "I wuz thinkin' 'bout them +renegades, Wyatt and Blackstaffe. I would shorely like to see 'em now, +an' look into thar faces, an' behold 'em wonderin' an' wonderin' what +hez become o' us that they expected to ketch between thar fingers, an' +squash to death. They look on the earth, an' they don't see no trail o' +ourn. They look in the sky an' they don't see us flyin' 'roun' anywhar +thar. The warriors circle an' circle an' circle an' they don't put their +hands on us. That ring is tight an' fast, an' we can't break out o' it. +We ain't on the outside o' it, an' they can't find us on the inside o' +it. So, whar are we? They don't know but we do. We hev melted away like +witches. Them renegades is shorely hoppin', t'arin' mad, but the madder +they are the better we like it. 'Scuse me, Jim, while I laff ag'in, an' +it wouldn't hurt you, Jim, if you wuz to laff with me." + +"I think I will," said Long Jim, and action followed word. Later in the +day Henry and Paul penetrated a short distance deeper into the swamp, +but did not find another oasis like theirs. The entire area seemed to be +occupied by mire and ponds and thickets of reeds and cane, mingled with +briars. They stirred up another black bear, but they did not get a +chance for a shot at him, and they also saw the footprints of a panther. +They returned to the oasis satisfied with their exploration. The +swampier the swamp and the greater its extent the safer they were. + +That night as they slept under the trees they were awakened by the +rushing of many wings. When they sat up they found the sky dark above +them, although the moon was shining and all the stars were out. It was a +flight of wild pigeons and they had settled in countless thousands on +the trees of the oasis. The five with sticks knocked off as many as they +thought they could use, and stored them for the night in the hut. They +devoted the next day to picking and dressing their spoils, the living +birds having gone on, and on the following day, Henry, who had entered +the swamp on another trip of exploration, returned with the most welcome +news of all. He had discovered a salt spring only a short distance away, +and with labor they were able to boil out the salt which was invaluable +to them in curing their food supply. + +"Now, if we had bread, we'd be entirely happy," said Paul. + +"Shucks, Paul," said Shif'less Sol with asperity, "you're entirely happy +ez it is. Never ask too much an' then you won't git too little. This +splendid, magnificent swamp o' ourn furnishes everythin' any reasonin' +human bein' could want." + +Henry shot another black bear, very small but quite fat and tender, and +he was quickly added to their store. More wild ducks and wild geese were +caught in the snares, and they had now been on the oasis more than a +week without the slightest sign from their foes. Danger seemed so far +away that it could never come near, and they enjoyed the interval of +peace and quiet, devoted to the homely business of mere living. + +Then came a day when great mists and vapors rose from the swamp, and the +air grew heavy. Everything turned to a sullen, leaden color. Henry +glanced at their hut. + +"We have built in time," he said. "All this heaviness and cloudiness +foretells a storm and I think we'll sleep under a roof tonight. What say +you, Sol?" + +"I shorely will, Henry. Them that wants to lay on the ground, an' take a +wettin' kin take it, but, ez fur me, a floor, a roof an' four walls is +jest what I want." + +"Everybody will agree with you on that," said Paul. + +No one spoke again for a long time. Meanwhile the vapors and mists +thickened and the skies became almost as black as night. The whole +swamp, save the little island on which they sat, was lost in the dusk, +and a wind, heavy with damp, came moaning out of the vast wilderness. +Thunder rumbled on the horizon, then cracked directly overhead, and +flashes of lightning cut the blackness. + +The five retreated to their hut, and, with a mighty rushing of wind and +a great sweep of rain, the storm burst over the oasis. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +INTO THE NORTH + + +When the wilderness was under the beat of wind or rain or hail or snow +Henry and Paul, if sheltered well, never failed to feel an increase of +comfort, even of luxury. The contrast between the storm without and the +dryness within gave an elemental feeling of relaxation and content that +nothing else could supply. It had been so at the rocky hollow, and it +was so here. + +Their first anxiety had been for the little house. Being built of poles +and bark it quivered and trembled, as the wind smote it hard, but it +held fast and did not lose a timber. That apprehension passed, they +looked to see whether it would turn the rain, and noted with joy in +their workmanship and pleasure in their security that not a drop made +its way between the poles and bark. + +These early fugitive fears gone, they settled down to ease and +observation of the storm, being able to leave the door open about a +foot, as the wind was driving against the back of the house. It was +almost as dark as night, with gusts that whistled and screamed, and the +rain seemed to come in great waves of water. Despite the dusk, they saw +leaves torn from the trees and whirled away in showers. Every phase and +change of the storm was watched by them with the keenest attention and +interest. Weather was a tremendous factor in the life of the borderer, +and he was compelled to guide most of his actions by it. + +"How long do you think it will last, Sol?" asked Henry. + +"I don't see no break in the clouds," replied the shiftless one. "This +wind will die after a while, but the rain will keep right on. I look for +it to last all today, an' all the night that's comin'." + +"I think you're right, Sol, an' it's a mighty big rain, too. The whole +swamp except our island will be swimming in water." + +"But it won't be no flood, that is, like the big flood," said Long Jim. +"But ef one did come I wouldn't mind it much ef we had an ark same ez +Noah. Ef you could only furgit all them poor people that got theirselves +drowned it would be mighty fine, sailin' 'roun' in an ark a mile or so +long, guessin' at the places whar the towns hev stood, an' lettin' down +a line now an' then to sound fur the tops uv the highest mountains in +the world." + +"You wouldn't hev no time fur lettin' down lines fur mountain tops, Jim +Hart," said Shif'less Sol. + +"An' why wouldn't I hev time fur lettin' down lines fur anythin' I +wanted, you lazy Solomon Hyde?" + +"'Cause it would be your job to feed the animals, an' to do it right +you'd hev to git up early in the mornin' an' work purty nigh to midnight +all the forty days the flood lasted. Me an' Henry an' Paul an' Tom would +spen' most o' our time settin' on the edge o' the ark with our +umbrellers h'isted, lookin' at the scenery, while you wuz down in the +bowels o' the ark, heavin' in more meat to the lions an' tigers, which +wuz allus roarin' fur more." + +"I wouldn't feed no animals, not ef every one uv 'em starved to death. +Besides, what would be the use uv it? 'Cause when the flood dried up the +woods would soon be full uv 'em ag'in." + +"Jim Hart, hevn't you no sense a-tall, a-tall? Ef all the animals wuz +drowned, ev'ry last one o' 'em, how could the woods be full o' 'em +ag'in?" + +"Don't ask me, Sol Hyde. Thar are lots uv things that are too deep fur +you an' me both. Now, how did the animals git into the woods in the fust +place?" + +"I can't answer, o' course." + +"Nor can I, but I reckon they'd git into the woods in the second place, +which is after the flood, we're s'posin', jest the same way they did in +the fust place, which wuz afore the flood, an' that, I reckon, settles +it. I don't feed no wild animals, nohow." + +"What will the big storm and the deluge of rain mean to us, anyway?" +asked Paul. + +"It will help us," replied Henry promptly. "I've been worried about all +those mists and vapors rising from the decayed or sodden vegetation. +There was malaria in them. Our systems have resisted it, because the +life we lead has made us so tough and hard, but maybe the poison would +have soaked in some time or other. Now the flood of clean rain will +freshen up the whole swamp. It will lay the mists and vapors and wash +everything till it's pure." + +"An' it will flood the swamp so tremenjeously," said the shiftless one, +"that fur days thar will be no gittin' in or gittin' out. Anybody that +tries it will sink over his head afore he goes a hundred yards." + +"Which makes us all the more secure," said Paul. "It certainly appears +as if the elements fight for us. For a week at least we're as safe here +as if we were surrounded by a stone wall, a thousand feet thick and a +mile high. And in that time I intend to enjoy myself. It will be the +first rest in two or three years for us to have, absolutely free from +care. Here we are with good shelter, plenty of food, nothing to do, and, +such being the happy case, I intend to take a big sleep." + +He rolled himself in a blanket, stretched his body on a bed of leaves, +and soon was in slumber. The others also luxuriated in a mighty sleep, +after their great labors and anxiety, and the little hut that they had +builded with their own hands not only held fast against the wind, but +kept out the least drop of water. The rain, true to Shif'less Sol's +prediction, lasted all night, but the morning came, beautiful and clear, +with a pleasant, cool touch. + +The swamp was turned into a vast lake, and they shot two deer that had +taken refuge from the flood on their oasis. Henry, despite the rising +waters, was able to reach the salt spring, and they cured the flesh of +the deer, adding to it a day or two later several wild turkeys that +alighted in their trees. They continued to prepare themselves for a long +stay, and they were not at all averse to it. Rest and freedom from +danger were a rare luxury that every one of the five enjoyed. + +Henry's assumption that the great rain would freshen the swamp proved +true. All the mists and vapors were gone. There was no odor of decaying +wood or of slime. It seemed as if the place had been cleaned and +scrubbed until it was like a fine lake. Silent Tom caught bigger fish +than ever, and they agreed that they were better to the taste, although +they agreed also that it might be an effect of fancy. The island itself +was dry and sunny, but from their home they looked upon a wilderness of +bushes, cane and reeds, growing in what was now clear water. The effect +of the whole was beautiful. The swamp had become transformed. + +"It will all settle back after a while," said Henry quietly. + +But a second rain, though not so hard and long as the first, filled up +the basin again, and they foresaw a delay of at least two weeks before +it returned to its old condition. They accepted the increased time with +thankfulness, and remained in their camp, doing nothing but little +tasks, and gathering strength for the future. + +"I should fancy that the warriors would hunt us here some time or +other," said Paul. "Shrewd and cunning as they are, and missing us as +they have, they'd think to penetrate it!" + +"It seems so to me," said Henry. "Red Eagle is a great chief, and, after +he searches everywhere else for us and fails to find us, he'll try for a +way into this swamp, unlikely though it looks as a home." + +"But lookin' at the water an' the canes, an' the reeds an' the bushes +I've figgered it out that he can't come fur two weeks," said Shif'less +Sol, "an' so I've made up my mind to enjoy myse'f. Think o' it! A hull +two weeks fur a lazy man to do nothin' in! An' I reckon I kin do nothin' +harder an' better than any other man that ever lived. Ef it wuzn't fur +gittin' stiff I wouldn't move hand or foot fur the next two weeks. I'd +jest lay on my back on the softest bed I could make, an' Long Jim Hart +would come an' feed me three times ev'ry day." + +"I think," said Henry, "we'd better build a raft. It'll help us with +both the fishing and the hunting, and with plenty of willow withes we +ought to hold enough timbers together." + +The raft was made in about a day. It was a crude structure, but as it +was intended to have a cruising radius of only a few hundred yards, +pushing its way through strong vegetation, to which the bold navigators +could cling, it sufficed, proving to be very useful in visiting the +snares and decoys they set for the wild ducks and wild geese. The swamp, +in truth, now fairly swarmed with feathered game, and, had they cared to +expend their ammunition, they could have killed enough for twenty men, +but they preferred to save powder and lead, and rely upon the traps, and +fish which were abundant. + +The skies were very clear now and they watched them for threads of +Indian smoke which could be seen far, many miles in such a thin +atmosphere, but the bright heavens were never defiled by any such sign. +It was the opinion of Henry that the main Indian band, under Red Eagle, +had gone northward in the search, but it would be folly to leave the +swamp now, since other detachments had certainly been left to the +southward. The ring might be looser and much larger, but it was sure to +be still there, and it was not hard for such as they, trained in +patience and enjoying a rare peace, to wait. Thus the days passed +without event, and the five felt their muscles growing bigger and +stronger for the great tasks bound to come. But a curious feeling that +war and danger were half a world away grew upon them. They were in love +for a time with peace and all its ways. They were reluctant even to +shoot any of the larger wild animals that wandered through the swamp, +and they felt actual pain when they slew the wild ducks and wild geese +caught in their snares. + +"I'm bein' gentled fast," said Shif'less Sol. "Ef this keeps on fur a +month or so I won't hev the heart to shoot at any Injun who may come +ag'inst me. I'll jest say: 'Here, Mr. Warrior, hop up an' take my skelp. +It's a good skelp, a fine head o' hair an' I wuz proud o' it. I would +like to hev kep' it, but seein' that you want it bad, snatch it off, +hang it in your wigwam, tell the neighbors that thar is the skelp o' +Solomon Hyde, an' I'll git along the best I kin without it.'" + +"You may feel that way now, Sol," said Long Jim, "but you jest wait till +the Injun comes at you fur your skelp. Then you'll change your mind +quicker'n lightnin', an' you'll reach fur your gun, an' blow his head +off." + +"Reckon you're right, Jim," said the shiftless one. + +Silent Tom stared at them in amazement. + +"What's the matter, Tom?" asked Paul. "Why do you look at them in that +manner?" + +"Agreed!" replied Silent Tom. + +"What?" + +"Agreed!" + +"Agreed? Oh, I understand what you mean! Sol and Jim hold the same +opinion about something." + +"Yes. Fust time!" + +"Don't you be worried, Tom Ross," said Shif'less Sol, "I'll see that it +never happens ag'in." + +"Me, too," said Long Jim Hart. "You see, Tom, that wuz the only time in +his life that Sol wuz ever right when he wuz disputin' with me, an' me +bein' a truthful man had to agree with him." + +Another week passed and the atmosphere of peace and content that clothed +the great marsh grew deeper. The waters subsided somewhat, but it was +still impossible to pass from the oasis to the firm land without, except +in a canoe, and that they did not have. Nor was it likely that the +Indians would produce a canoe merely to navigate a flooded marsh. While +sure that none would come, all nevertheless kept a good watch for a +possible invader. + +The weather began to turn cooler and the first fading tints appeared on +the foliage. It was the time when one season passed into another, +usually accompanied by rains and winds, but they were more numerous than +usual this year. The strong little hut again and again proved its +usefulness, not only as a storehouse, but as a shelter, although it was +so crowded now with stores that scarcely room was left for the five to +sleep there. The skins of the two bears had been dressed and Henry and +Paul slept upon them, while much of their cured food hung from pegs +which they contrived to fix into the walls. + +As the waters sank still farther, they noticed that the swamp was full +of life. What had seemed to be a waste was inhabited in reality by many +of the people of the wilderness. The five had approached it from the +west, and now Henry, who was able to go farther east than they had been +before, found a small beaver colony at a point on the brook, where there +was enough firm ground to support a little grove of fine trees. + +The beavers had dammed the stream and were already building their houses +for the distant winter. Henry, hidden among the bushes, watched them +quite a while, interested in their work, and observing their methods of +construction. He could easily have shot two or three, and beaver tail +was good to eat, but he had no thought of molesting them, and, after he +had seen enough, drew off cautiously, lest he disturb them in their +pursuits. + +He saw many muskrats and rabbits and also the footprints of wildcats. A +magnificent stag, standing knee deep in the water, looked at him with +startled eyes. He would have been a grand trophy, but Henry did not +fire, and, a moment or two later, the stag floundered away, leaving the +young leader very thoughtful. What had the big deer been doing in such +difficult territory? It would scarcely come of its own accord into so +deep a marsh, and Henry concluded that it must have fled there for +refuge from hunters, and the only hunters in that region were Indians. +Then they must still be not far away from the marsh! + +It was such a serious matter and he was so preoccupied with it that a +huge black bear, springing up almost at his feet, passed unnoticed. The +bear lumbered away, splashing mud and water, stopping once to look back +fearfully at the strange creature that had disturbed it, but Henry went +on, caring nothing for bears or any other wild animals just then. + +When he returned, however, he was bound to take notice of the vast +quantity of wild fowl in the swamp. Every pond or lagoon swarmed with +wild ducks and wild geese, and hawks and eagles swooped from the air, +splashed the water, and then rose again with fish in their talons. Two +big owls, blinking in the light, sat on the bough of an oak. Another +flight of wild pigeons streamed southward. The life of the swamp was so +multitudinous that Henry and his comrades could have lived in it +indefinitely, even without bread. + +When he was back on the oasis he said nothing of his meeting with the +deer and the significance that he had read in it, thinking it not worth +while to cause alarm until he had something more tangible. Another week, +and there was a perceptible increase in the autumnal tints. All the +green was gone from the leaves. Red and yellow dyes, not yet glowing, +but giving promise of what they would be, appeared. The early flights +southward of more wild fowl, taking time by the forelock, increased, and +in the minds of some of the five came thoughts of leaving the swamp. + +"They must have given up the pursuit by this time," said Paul. "They +wouldn't hunt us forever." + +"Looks that way to me, too," said Long Jim. + +Henry shook his head. + +"Some of the warriors have gone away," he said, "but not all of them. +Red Eagle, the Shawnee chief, is a man who thinks, and a man who holds +on. He knows that we couldn't sink through the earth or fly above the +clouds, and the time will come when he will look into this matter of the +swamp. It appears to be impenetrable, but he will conclude at last that +there is a way." + +"I'm o' your mind," said Shif'less Sol. "When you're carryin' on a war +it ain't jest a matter o' guns an' ammunition, an' the lay o' the land. +You've got to think what kind o' a gen'ral is leadin' the warriors +ag'inst you. You must take his mind into account. Ain't that so, Paul? +Wuzn't it true o' that old Roman, Hannybul?" + +"Hannibal was not a Roman, not by a great deal, Sol, as I told you +before." + +"Well, he wuz a Rooshian, or mebbe an Eyetalian. What diff'unce does it +make? He wuz some kind o' a furriner, an' ef what you tell us 'bout him +is true, Paul, as I reckon it is, it wuz his mind that led his men on to +victory over the Rooshians an' the Prooshians an' the French an' the +Dutch." + +"Over the Romans, Sol." + +"Ez I told you once, Paul, it makes no diff'unce. They're all furriners, +an' all furriners are jest the same. Hannybul wuz the kind that wouldn't +give up. You've talked so much 'bout him, Paul, that I kin see him in my +fancy an' I know jest how he done. Often a big battle seemed to be goin' +ag'inst him. His men hev shot away all thar powder an' bullets. The +Shawnees an' the Miamis an' the Wyandots are comin' on hard, shoutin' +the war whoop, swingin' thar glitterin' tomahawks 'bout thar fierce +heads. The Romans already feel the hands o' the warriors on thar skelps, +an' they are tremblin', ready to run. But Hannybul swings his rifle, +clubs the leadin' Injun over the head with it, an' yells to his men: +'Come on, fellers! Draw your hatchets an' knives! Drive 'em into the +brush! We kin whip 'em yet!' An' the Romans, gittin' courage from thar +leader, go in an' thrash the hull band. Now, that's the kind o' a leader +Red Eagle is. I give him credit fur doin' a power o' thinking an' +holdin' on. Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe will say to him: 'Come, chief, +let's go away. They slipped through our lines in the night, an' they're +somewhar up on the shore o' one o' the big lakes, a-laffin' an' +a-laffin' at us. We'll go up thar, trail 'em down an' make 'em laff if +they kin, a-settin' among the live coals.' But that Red Eagle, wise old +chief that he is, will up an' say: 'They haven't got through. They +couldn't without bein' seen by our scouts an' watchers. An' since they +haven't passed, it follers that they're somewhar inside the ring. So, +we'll jest thresh out ev'ry inch o' ground in thar, ef it takes ten +years to do it.'" + +Silent Tom looked at him with admiration. + +"Mighty long speech," he said. "How do you find so many words?" + +"Oh, they're all in the dictionary," replied the shiftless one, "an' a +heap more, too. I'm an eddicated man, ez all o' you kin see, though +bein' jealous some o' you won't admit it. Thar are nigh onto a million +good words in the dictionary, an' ev'ry one o' 'em is known to me. Ev'ry +one o' 'em would reckernize me ez a friend, an' would ask me to use it +ef I looked at it, but I'm mighty pertickler an' I take only the best +ones. Returnin' to the subject from which we hev traveled far, I think +we'd better be on the lookout fur old Red Eagle an' his Shawnees." + +"Think so, too," said Silent Tom. + +Henry announced the next morning that he would start at once on a scout, +and that he probably would go outside the swamp. + +"I go with you, o' course," said Shif'less Sol. + +"I think it best to travel alone." + +"Why, you couldn't git along without me, Henry!" + +"I'll have to try, Sol." + +"I wouldn't talk you to death," said Silent Tom. + +Long Jim and Paul also wanted to go, but the young leader rejected them +all, and they knew that it was a waste of time to argue with him. He +started in the early morning and they waved farewell to him from the +oasis. + +Henry was not averse to action. The long period of idleness on the +island, much as he had enjoyed it, was coming to its natural end, and +his active mind and body looked forward to new events. The swamp had +returned to the state in which they had found it, and remembering the +path by which they had come he had no great difficulty in making his +journey. + +Three hundred yards away and the oasis was hidden completely by the +marshy thickets. He could not even see the tops of the trees, and he +reflected that it was the merest chance that had led them there. It was +not likely that the chance would be repeated in the case of any of Red +Eagle's warriors, and perhaps it would be better for all of the five to +stay snug and tight on the oasis, even if they did not move until full +winter came. But second thought told him that Red Eagle would surely +thresh up the swamp. The reasoning of Shif'less Sol was correct, and it +was better to go on and see what was being prepared for them by their +enemies. + +His progress was necessarily slow, as he was compelled to pick his way, +but he had plenty of strength and patience, and noon found him near the +outer rim, where he paused to watch the sky. Henry had an idea that he +might see smoke, betraying the presence of Indian bands, but not even +his keen eyes were able to make out any dark traces against the heavens, +which had all the thinness and clearness of early autumn. Reflection +convinced him, however, that if Red Eagle were meditating a movement +against the swamp he would avoid anything that might warn its occupants. +He abided by his second thought, and began anew his cautious progress +toward the edge of the bushes and reeds. + +The ending of the swamp was abrupt, the marshy ground becoming firm in +the space of a few yards, and Henry, emerging upon what was in a sense +the mainland, crept into a dense clump of alders, where he lay hidden +for some time, examining from his covert the country about him. He did +not see or hear anything to betoken a hostile presence, but, as wary as +any wild animal that inhabited the forest, he ventured forth, still +using every kind of cover that he could find. + +His course took him toward the east, and a quarter of a mile passed, his +eye was caught by the red gleam of a feather in the grass. He retrieved +it, and saw at once that it was painted. Hence, it had fallen from the +scalplock of an Indian. It was not bedraggled, so it had fallen +recently, as the winds had not beaten it about. It was sure, too, that a +warrior or warriors had gone that way within a few hours. He searched +for the trail, stooping among the bushes, lest he fall into an ambush, +and presently he came upon the faint imprint of moccasins, judging that +they had been made by about a half dozen warriors. + +The trail led to the east, and Henry followed it promptly, finding as he +advanced that it was growing plainer. Other and smaller trails met it +and merged with it, and he became confident that he would soon locate a +large band. He was no longer dealing with supposition, he had +actualities, the tangible, before him, and his pulses began to leap in +expectation. The shiftless one and he had been right. Red Eagle had +never left the neighborhood of the swamp, and Henry believed that he +would soon know what the wily old Indian chief was intending. There was +a certain exhilaration in matching his wits against those of the great +Shawnee, and he knew that he would need to exercise every power of his +mind to the utmost. He followed the trail steadily about a half hour as +it led on among trees and bushes, and he reckoned that it was made now +by at least twenty warriors who had no wish to conceal their traces. +Presently he came to one of the little prairies, numerous in that +region, and as the trail led directly into it he paused, lest he be seen +and be trapped when he was in the open. + +But as he examined the prairie from the shelter of the bushes, he became +convinced that the warriors must have increased their speed when they +crossed it, and were now some distance ahead. At the far edge, two +buffaloes, a bull and a cow, and two half-grown calves, were grazing in +peace. Two deer strolled from the forest, nosed the grass and then +strolled back again. The wild animals would not have been so peaceful +and unconcerned, if Indians were near, and, trusting to his logic, Henry +boldly crossed the open. The four buffaloes sniffed him and lurched away +to the shelter of the trees, thus proving to him that they were +vigilant, and that he was the only human being in their neighborhood. + +He entered the forest again and followed on the broad trail, increasing +his own speed, but neglecting nothing of watchfulness. The country was a +striking contrast to the great swamp, firm soil, hilly and often rocky, +cut with many small, clear streams. He judged that the swamp was the +bowl into which all these rivulets emptied. + +Reaching the crest of one of the low hills he caught a red gleam among +the bushes ahead of him and he sank down instantly. He knew that the +flash of scarlet was made by a fire, and he suspected that the warriors +whom he was following had gone into camp there. Then he began his +cautious approach after the border fashion, creeping forward inch by +inch among the bushes and fallen leaves. It was necessary to use his +utmost skill, too, as the dry leaves easily gave back a rustle. Yet he +persisted, despite the danger, because he needed to know what band it +was that sat there in the thicket. + +A hundred yards further and he looked into a tiny valley, where was +burning a fire of small sticks, over which Indian warriors were broiling +strips of venison. But the majority of the band sat on the ground in a +half circle about the fire, and Henry drew a long breath when he saw +that Red Eagle, the Shawnee chief, was among them. Then he no longer had +the slightest doubt that the hunt was at its full height, that the +Shawnees were still using every device they knew to destroy the five who +had troubled them so much. + +Red Eagle was a man of massive features and grave demeanor, one of the +great Indian chiefs who, their circumstances considered, were inferior +in intellectual power to nobody. Henry watched him as he sat now with +his legs crossed and arms folded, staring into the flames. He was a +picturesque figure, and he looked the warlike sage, as he sat there +brooding. The little feathers in his scalplock were dyed red, his +leggings and moccasins were of the same color, and a blanket of the +finest red cloth was draped about his shoulders like a Roman toga. He +was a man to arouse interest, respect and even admiration. + +Red Eagle did not speak until the strips of meat were cooked and eaten +and all were sitting about the fire, when he arose and addressed them in +a slow, solemn and weighty manner. Henry would have given much to +understand the words, as he believed they referred to the five and might +tell the chief's plans, but he was too far away to hear anything except +a murmur that meant nothing. + +He saw, however, that Red Eagle was intensely earnest, and that the +warriors listened with fixed attention, hanging on every word and +watching his face. Their only interruptions were exclamations of +approval now and then, and, when he finished and sat down, all together +uttered the same deep notes. Then eight of the warriors arose, and to +Henry's great surprise, came back on the trail. + +He recognized at once that a sudden danger had presented itself. The +Shawnees would presently find his trail mingled with theirs, and they +were sure to give immediate pursuit. He thrust himself back into the +bushes, crawled a hundred yards or so, then rose and ran, curving about +the fire and passing to the eastward of it. Three hundred yards, and he +sank down again, listening. A single fierce shout came from the portion +of the band that had turned back. He understood. They had come upon his +trail, and in another minute Red Eagle would organize a pursuit by all +the warriors, a pursuit that would hang on through everything. + +Henry, knowing well the formidable nature of the danger, felt, +nevertheless, no dismay. He had matched himself against the warriors +many times, and he was ready to do so once more. He swung into the long +frontier run that not even the Indians themselves could match in speed +and ease. + +It was characteristic of him that he did not turn toward the swamp, in +which he could speedily have found refuge. Instead, wishing to draw the +enemy away from his comrades, he offered himself as bait, and fled on +the firm ground toward the east. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE BUFFALO RING + + +Henry, feeling some alarm at first over the discovery of his trail, soon +felt elation instead. He was at the very height of his powers. The long +rest on the oasis had restored all his physical vigor. Every nerve and +muscle was flexible and strong, as if made of steel wire. His eye had +never before been so clear, nor his ear so acute, and above all, that +sixth sense, the power of divination almost, which came from a perfect +correlation of the five senses, developed to the utmost degree, was +alive in him. Nothing could stir in the brush without his knowing it, +and, welcoming the pursuit, the spirit of challenge was so strong in him +that he threw back his head and uttered a long, thrilling cry, the note +of defiance, just as the trumpet of the mediæval knight sang to his +enemy to come to the field of battle. + +Then he continued his flight toward the northwest, not too fast, because +he wished his trail to remain warm for the warriors who followed, but +stooping low, lest some wanderers from the main band should see him as +he ran. No answer came to his cry, but he knew well enough that the +Indians had heard it, and he knew, too, that it filled them with rage +because any of the five had been bold enough to defy their full power. + +Reaching the crest of one of the low hills in which the region abounded, +he looked toward the southwest and saw the vast maze of the swamp in +which his comrades lay hidden. He had not been able to think of any plan +to turn aside the forces of Red Eagle, but now it came to him suddenly. +He intended when the pursuit ended to be far away from the swamp, and +then he could rejoin the four at some other point. + +He reached a brook, leaped it and passed on. He could have followed the +bed of the stream, hiding his trail for a space, but he knew the +pursuers would soon find it again, and after all he did not wish his +trail to be hidden. He laughed a little as he planted his moccasin +purposely in a soft spot in the earth, and noticed the deep imprint he +left. There was no warrior so blind who would not see the trace, and he +sped on, leaving other such marks here and there, and finally sending +forth another thrilling note of defiance that swelled far over the +forest, a cry that was at once an invitation, a challenge and a taunt. +It bade the warriors to use the utmost speed, because they would need +it. It asked them to pursue, because the one who fled wished to be +followed, and so wishing, he did not hide his trail from them. He would +be bitterly disappointed if they did not come. It told them, too, that +if they did come, no matter how great their speed, the hunters could +never catch the hunted. + +He stopped two minutes perhaps, long enough for the fleetest of the +warriors to come within sight. Just as their brown bodies appeared among +the trees he uttered his piercing cry a third time and took to flight +again at a speed greater than any of theirs. Two shots were fired, but +the bullets cut only the uncomplaining leaves, falling far short. He +gained a full hundred yards, and then he turned abruptly toward the +north. His sixth sense, in which this time the supreme development of +hearing was predominant, warned him that other warriors were coming up +from the south. In truth they were approaching so fast that they uttered +a cry of triumph in reply to his own cry, but, increasing his speed, he +merely laughed to himself once more, knowing that he had evaded the +trap. His elation grew. His plan was succeeding better than he had +hoped. One after another he was drawing the Indian bands upon his trail, +and he hoped to have them all. He hoped that Red Eagle would lead the +pursuit and he hoped that Blackstaffe and Wyatt would be there. + +His ear had given warning before, and now it was his eye that told him +of the menace. He caught a glimpse of a flitting figure in the north, +and then of two more. And so a third band was bearing down upon him, but +from a point of the compass opposite the second. Any one of ordinary +powers might well have been trapped now, but he yet had strength in +reserve, and now he put forth an amazing burst of speed that carried him +well ahead of all three bands. + +Then he entered another low region covered with bushes and reeds, and, +lest they lose his trail, he took occasion, as he fled, to trample down +a clump of reeds here and a bush there. On the far side of this sunken +land he came to a creek, in which the water rose to his knees, but he +forded it without hesitation, and even took the time to make a plain +trail after he had crossed. + +He knew that the warriors would pursue, in spite of every obstacle, and +he knew, too, that they would divine who it was whom they followed. +Using a new burst of speed, he widened the gap as he surmised to a full +quarter of a mile. And then he let his gait sink to not much more than a +long walk, wishing to recover his full physical powers. His spirit of +elation remained. In very truth, he was enjoying himself, and he felt +that he could lead them on forever. He was even able to note the +character of the country as he passed, the numerous brooks, the splendor +of the forest, the brown leaves as they fell before the light wind, and +then a great patch of early blackberries hanging ripe and rich. He +paused a moment or two, long enough to gather many of the berries and +eat them, noting that they were the juiciest and best he could recall to +have tasted. + +Then he came into a country that the animal kingdom seemed to have made +its own. He could not remember having seen anywhere else such an +abundance of game. Buffaloes, puffing and snorting, ran to one side as +he crossed the little prairies. Deer, some big and some little, sped +away through the thickets. Bears, hidden in their coverts, gazed at him +with curious eyes. Rabbits leaped away in the grass, squirrels ran in +alarm out on the farthest boughs, and flocks of wild fowl rose with a +whirr and a rush. + +Henry was so sure of himself, so sure he could not be overtaken, that he +noted the character of this country which seemed to be so much favored +by the creatures of earth and air. Some time, when all their present +dangers were over, he and his comrades would come back there and have a +pleasant and peaceful hunt. Doubtless it had been neglected a long time +by the Indians, who were in the habit of using a region for a season or +two and then of letting it lie fallow until the wild animals should +forget and come back again. + +He ascended a hill larger and higher than the others, and bare, being +mostly a stony outcrop. Here he sat down in the shadow of a ledge and +took long breaths. He felt that the pursuit was then fully a mile +behind, and he could afford to stop for a little while. From the lofty +summit he saw a great distance. Toward the southwest was where the swamp +lay, but, despite the height, it was invisible now. Behind him was the +deep forest through which his pursuers were coming, to the north lay the +same forest, but to the east he caught a shimmer of blue through the +browning leaves. It was so faint that at first he was not certain of its +nature, but a second look told him it was one of the little lakes often +to be found in the country north of the Ohio. + +His flight, as he was making it, would take him straight against that +body of blue water, impassable to him then, and as he drew a deep breath +of gratitude he felt that he was in truth being watched over by a +supreme power. If not, why were all the turns of chance in his favor? +Why had he stopped to rest a moment or two by the stony ledge, and why +in doing so had he caught a glimpse of the lake which soon would have +been an insuperable bar across his path, enabling the Indians to hem him +in on either flank? + +He breathed his thanks, and then he lay back against the ledge for +another minute or two of rest. Near grew a dwarf oak, still thick in +green foliage, and as if by command the wind suddenly began to sing +among its leaves, and the leaves, as if touched by the hand of a master +artist, gave back a song. Henry had heard that song before. It came to +him in his greatest moments of spiritual exaltation. Always it was a +song of strength and encouragement, telling him that he would succeed, +and now its note was not changed. + +He opened his eyes, sure that his pursuers were not yet within rifle +shot, and rising, refreshed, passed over the hill and into the forest +again, curving now toward the north. When he was sure he was well hidden +by the bushes, he ran at great speed, intending to pass between the +northern wing of his pursuers and the lake. They, of course, had known +of the water there and were expecting to catch him in the trap, and as +he ran he heard the two wings calling distantly to each other. His +silent laugh came once more. He had invisible guides who always led him +out of traps, and he had heard the voice that sang to him so often +saying this pursuit, like so many others, might be long, but in vain. + +Fifteen minutes more, and he caught another view of the lake, which +appeared to be about two miles long and a quarter of a mile across, a +fine sheet of water, on which great numbers of wild fowl swam, or over +which they hovered. It was heavily wooded on all sides, and had he not +seen it earlier it would surely have proved an obstacle leading to his +capture or destruction. The pursuing bands, evidently believing that the +trap had been closed with the fugitive in it, began to exchange signals +again, and Henry discerned in their cries the note of triumph. It gave +the great youth satisfaction to feel that they would soon be undeceived. + +Now he called up all the reserves of strength that he had been saving +for some such emergency as this, and sped toward the northeast at a pace +few could equal, cleaving the thickets, leaping gullies, and racing +across the open. The lake on his right came nearer and nearer, but he +was rapidly approaching the northern end, and he knew that he would pass +it before the band pursuing in that quarter could close in upon him. + +Now the critical time came and he increased his speed to the utmost, +running through a thicket, passing the extreme northern curve of the +lake, and entering a wood where only firm ground lay before him. The +great obstacle was passed and he felt a mighty surge of triumph. He was +for the time being primitive and wild, like the warriors who pursued +him, thinking as they thought, and acting as they acted. Feeling now +that he was victorious anew, he raised his voice and sent forth once +more that tremendous thrilling cry, a compound of triumph, defiance and +mockery. Yells of disappointment came from the deep woods behind him, +and to hear them gave him all the satisfaction he had anticipated. + +He kept a steady course toward the east, not running so fast as before, +but maintaining a steady pace, nevertheless. As he ran he began to think +now of hiding his trail, not in such a manner that it could be lost +permanently, that being impossible, but long enough for him to take +rest. However great one's natural powers might be and however severely +and often one might have been hardened in the fire, one could not run on +forever. He must lie down in the forest by and by, and the time would +come, too, when he must sleep. + +He glanced up at the sun and saw that the day would not last more than +two hours longer. There were no clouds and the night was likely to be +bright, furnishing enough light for the warriors to find an ordinary +trail, and willing to delude them now he began to take pains to make his +own trail one that was not ordinary. He resorted to all the usual forest +devices, walking on hard ground, stones and fallen trees, and wading in +water whenever he came to it, methods that he knew would merely delay +the warriors, but that could not baffle them long. + +He did not hear the bands signaling again and he surmised that the one +on the south would pass around the southern end of the lake, reuniting +with the other as soon afterward as possible. Nevertheless he curved off +in that direction, and, sinking now to a long walk, he went steadily +ahead, until the great sun went down in a sea of gold behind the forest +and night threw a dusky veil over the wilderness. Then he stopped +entirely, and standing against a huge tree trunk, with which his figure +blended in the night, he took deep breaths. + +At first he felt weakness. No one, no matter how powerful and well +trained, could run so long without putting an immense strain upon the +nerves, and for a little space bushes and trees danced before him. Then +the world steadied itself, his heart ceased to beat so hard and the +suffusion of blood retreated from his head. He saw nothing nor heard +anything of his foes, but he knew that the pursuit would not cease. He +felt that this was his great flight, one that might go on for days and +nights, in which every faculty he had would be tested to the utmost, but +he was willing for it to be so. The longer the flight continued the +further he would draw away from the Indian power, and that was what he +wished most of all. He would make such a fugitive as the chiefs had +never known before. + +Henry stood a full fifteen minutes beside the brown trunk of the tree, +of which in the dark he seemed to be a part, and so great was his +physical power and elasticity that the time was sufficient to restore +all his strength. When he thought he caught a glimpse of a bush moving +behind him, he resumed the long running walk that covered ground so +rapidly. An hour later he came to a brook, in the bed of which he walked +fully a mile. But he did not expect this to bother his pursuers very +long. They would send warriors up and down either bank until in the +moonlight they struck the trail anew, and then they would follow as +before. But it would give him time, and not doubting that he would find +some new circumstance to aid him, it came sooner than he had expected or +hoped. + +Less than half a mile farther he encountered the wreckage left by a +hurricane of some former season, a path not more than three hundred +yards wide, a perfect tangle of fallen trees, amid which bushes were +already growing. The windrow led two or three miles to the northeast, +and he walked all the way on the trunks, slipping lightly from tree to +tree. It was now late, and as the night fortunately began to turn +considerably darker, he bethought himself of a place in which to sleep, +because in time sleep one must have, whether or not a fugitive. + +As he considered, he heard ahead of him a faint puffing and blowing +which he knew to come from buffaloes, and their presence indicated one +of the little prairies in which the country north of the Ohio abounded. +He made his way through the bushes, came to the prairie and saw that it +was black with the herd. + +The buffalo, although numerous east of the Mississippi, invariably +grazed in small bands, owing to the wooded nature of the country, and +the present herd, four or five hundred at least, was the largest that +Henry had ever seen away from the Great Plains. As the wind was blowing +from him toward them, and they showed, nevertheless, no sign of flight, +he surmised that the weaker members had been harassed much by wolves, +and that the herd was unwilling to move from its present place of rest. +They shuffled and puffed and panted, but there was no alarm. + +He stood a few moments and gazed at them, his look full of friendliness. +The Indians hunted the buffalo and they also hunted him. For the time +being these, the most gigantic of North American animals, were his +brethren, and then came his idea. + +A little ridge ran into the prairie, terminating in a hillock, and it +was clear of the buffaloes, as they naturally lay in the lower places. +Henry walked down among the buffaloes along the ridge until he came to +the hillock, where he took the blanket from his back, wrapped it about +him, and reclined with his head on his arm. The buffaloes puffed and +snorted and some of them moved uneasily, but they did not get up. +Perhaps Henry was wholly a wild creature himself then and they discerned +in him something akin to themselves, or perhaps they had been harassed +by wolves so much that they would not stir for anything now. But as the +human intruder lay soundless and motionless, they, too, settled into +quiet. + +Henry's friendly feeling for the buffaloes increased, and it had full +warrant. He was surrounded by an army of sentinels. He knew that if the +Indians attempted to cross the prairie, coming in a band, they would +rise up at once in alarm, and if he fell asleep he would be awakened +immediately by such a multitudinous sound. Hence he would go to sleep, +and quickly. + +If the buffaloes felt their kinship with Henry, he felt his kinship with +them as strongly. Since they had sunk into silence they were like so +many friends around him, ready to fend off danger or to warn him. From +the crest of the low mound upon which he lay he saw the big black forms +dotting the prairie, a ring about him. Then he calmly composed himself +for the slumber which he needed so much. + +But sleep did not come as speedily as he had expected. Wolves howled in +the forest, and he knew they were real wolves, hanging on the flank of +the buffalo herd, cutting out the calves or the weak. The big bull +buffaloes moved and snorted again at the sound, but, when it was not +repeated, returned to their rest, all except one that lumbered forward a +step or two and then sank down directly on the little ridge by which +Henry had come to his hillock, as if he were a rear guard, closing the +way to the fugitive. He saw in it at once an omen. The superior power +that was watching over him had put the buffalo there to protect him, +and, free from any further apprehension, he closed his eyes, falling +asleep without delay. + +Henry always felt afterward that he must have been wholly a creature of +the wild that night, else the buffaloes would have taken alarm at his +presence and probably would have stampeded. But the kinship they +recognized in him must have endured, or they had been harried so much by +the wolves that they did not feel like moving because of an intruder who +was so quiet and harmless that he was really no intruder at all. The +huge bull, crouched across the path by which he had come, puffed and +groaned at intervals, but he did not stir from his place. He was in very +truth, if not in intent, a guardian of the way. + +And yet, while Henry slept amid the herd, the pursuit of him was +conducted with the energy, thoroughness and tenacity of which the +Indians were capable. The spirit of the great Shawnee chief, Red Eagle, +had been stung by his failure to overtake the fugitive, whom he knew to +be the youth Ware, their greatest foe, and he was resolved that Henry +should not escape. With him now were the renegades Blackstaffe and +Wyatt, and they, too, urged on the chase. They felt that if Henry could +be taken or destroyed, the four would fall easier victims, and then the +eyes of the woods that watched so well for the settlers would have gone +out forever. + +All through the night the warriors ranged the forest, hunting for the +trail. The moon and the stars returned, bringing with them a light that +helped, and an hour or two after midnight a Shawnee found traces that +led toward the prairie. He called to his comrades and they followed it +to the prairie, where they lost it. The Indian warriors, looking +cautiously from the brush, saw in the open the clustered black forms, +looming gigantic in the moonlight, and they heard the heavings and +puffings and groanings of the big bulls. Directly in front of them, +across a low narrow ridge, lay the biggest bull of them all, a buffalo +that stirred now and then as if he were glad to rub his body against the +soil, which was rougher there than elsewhere. On the far side of the +prairie, wolves yapped and barked, longing to get at the calves inside +the ring of their elders. + +The warriors crept away and began the entire circuit of the open, +looking for the lost trail. It had entered it on the western side, and +it would pass out somewhere, probably on the eastern. Red Eagle, +Blackstaffe and Wyatt themselves came up and directed the chase, but +they were mystified when their runners, completing the entire circling +movement, reported that there was no sign of the trail's reappearance. +Red Eagle, after taking thought, refused to believe it. The fugitive had +surpassing skill, as all of them knew, but a human being could not take +a flight through the air, like an eagle or a wild duck, and leave no +trail behind him. They must have overlooked the traces in the moonlight, +and he sent out the warriors anew, to right and to left. + +Henry meanwhile slept the sleep of one who was weary and unafraid. He +had not only the feeling, but the conviction, as he lay down, that he +was within an inviolable ring of sentinels, and having dismissed all +care and apprehension from his mind, he fell into a slumber so deep +that for a long time nothing could disturb it. The yapping and barking +of the wolves fell upon an unhearing ear. The puffings and groanings of +the buffaloes were merely whispers to dull him into more powerful sleep. +When the Indian scouts, not fifty yards away, looked at the body of the +big bull that blocked the path, nothing whispered to him that danger was +near. Nor was the whisper needed, as the danger passed as quickly as it +had come. + +He awoke at the first streak of dawn, stirred a little in his blanket, +but did not rise yet. He saw the buffaloes all around him and realized +that his faith in them had not been misplaced. The great bull, like a +black mountain, still barred the path to him. + +It was warm and snug in his blanket and he yawned prodigiously. It would +have been pleasant to have remained there a few hours longer, but when +one was pursued by a whole Indian nation he could not remain long in one +place. He took the last strips of venison from his pack and ate them as +he lay. Meanwhile the buffaloes themselves began to move somewhat, as if +they were making ready for their day's work, and Henry wondered at their +disregard of him. Perhaps his presence for a night, and the fact that he +had been harmless, removed their fear of him. + +He rose to his knees, and then suddenly sank back again. He had caught +the gleam of red feathers in the forest to the west, and he knew they +were in the scalplock of a Shawnee. Raising his head cautiously he saw +several more. It was a small band passing toward the north. But he had +too much experience to imagine that they were chance travelers. Beyond a +doubt they were a part of Red Eagle's army, and that army had come up in +the night and had surrounded him. + +He lay back and listened. An Indian call arose in the west and another +in the east, and then they came from north and south and points between. +They were on all sides of him and he had been trapped as he slept. He +saw that the danger was the most formidable he had yet encountered, but +he did not despair. It was characteristic of him that when there seemed +to be no hope, he yet had hope, and plenty of it. His heart beat a +little faster, but he lay quiet in his blanket, taking thought with +himself. + +He had been aided before by storms, but there was not the remotest +chance now of one. The sun was rising in the full splendor of an early +autumn morning, and the thin, clear air had the brightness of silver. +The blue skies held not a single cloud. Far over his head a flock of +wild fowl in arrow formation flew southward, and for the moment they +expressed to him, as he lay in the snare, the very quintessence of +freedom. But he spent no time in vain longings. His eyes came back to +the earth and that which surrounded him. Once more he caught the gleam +of feathers in the forest and he was sure that the line about the +prairie was now continuous. + +He must find a way through that line, and he poured all his mind upon +one point. When one thinks for life, one thinks fast and hard. +Stratagem after stratagem flitted before him, to be cast aside one after +another. Meanwhile the buffaloes were stirring more and more, and some +of them began to nip at the dry grass of the prairie, but the big black +bull on the little ridge remained crouched and motionless. He was not +fifteen feet away and between him and Henry lay fragments of dead wood +which had been blown from the forest by some old wind. His eyes alighted +upon them idly, but remained there in interest, and then, in a sudden +burst of intuition, came his plan. Hesitating not a single instant, he +prepared for it. + +Henry slid forward, recovered a long dead stick, and rapidly whittled +from it a lot of shavings. He never knew why the buffaloes did not take +alarm at his presence and actions, but he always supposed that the +mystic tie of kinship still endured. Then using his flint and steel with +all the energy and power that imminent danger could inspire, he lighted +first the shavings and then the end of the long stick. + +The buffaloes at last began to puff and snort and show alarm, and Henry, +springing to his feet, whirled the torch in a circle of living fire +around his head. The whole herd broke in an instant into a frightful +panic, and with much snorting and bellowing rushed away in a black mass +toward the east. He threw down his torch, and grasping his rifle and +throwing his pack over his shoulder, followed close upon them, so close +that not even the keenest eye in the forest could have distinguished +him from the herd in the great cloud of dust that quickly rose. + +It was for this cloud of dust that he had bargained. The soil of the +prairie became dry in the autumn, and the tramplings of four or five +hundred huge beasts churned it into a powder which the wind picked up +and blew into a blinding stream. Henry felt it in his eyes, his nose, +his ears and his mouth, but he was glad and he laughed aloud in his joy. +The rush and bellowings of the buffaloes made it a mighty roar, and the +soul within him was wild and triumphant, as became one who was the very +spirit and essence of the wilderness. He shouted aloud like Long Jim +Hart, knowing that his voice would be lost in the thunder of the herd +and could not reach the Indians. + +"On, my gallant beasts!" he cried. "Charge 'em! Break their line! They +can't stand before you! Faster! Faster!" + +He struck one of them across the body with the butt of his rifle, but +the herd was already running as fast as it could, while the cloud of +dust was continually rising in greater and thicker volume. In the midst +of this cloud, and hanging almost bodily to the herd itself, Henry was +invisible as he rushed on, shouting his battle song of triumph and +defiance, although no word of it reached the warriors who had lain in +the brushwood and who were now fleeing in fright before the rush of the +mad herd. + +Mad it certainly was, said Red Eagle, for the chief himself, with Wyatt +and Blackstaffe, had been directly in its path, and they had been +compelled to run in undignified haste, while the great pillar of dust, +filled with the dim figures of buffaloes, crashed and thundered past, +trampling down bushes, crushing saplings, and driving off to the east, +the pillar of dust still visible long after the buffaloes were deep in +the forest. Red Eagle stared after it. He was a wise old chief, and he +had seen buffaloes before in a panic, but he did not understand the +cause of this sudden and terrific flight. + +"It is strange," he said, "but we must let them run. We will go back now +and look for Ware." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE COVERT + + +It was one of the most thrilling moments in the life of Henry Ware. He +was in a kind of exaltation that made him equal to any task or danger, +and rather to court, instead of avoiding them. His feeling of kinship +with the herd that was saving him had grown stronger with the dawn. The +dust entering his eyes and mouth, nose and ears, had a singular quality +like burned gun powder that excited him and stimulated him to efforts +far beyond the normal. He was for the time being a physical superman out +of that old dim past, and he was scarcely conscious of anything he was +doing, save that he ran with the great beasts, and was their friend. + +His exalted state increased. He continued to shout to the buffaloes to +run faster, and to hurl challenge and defiance at the warriors who could +not hear him. Once more he swung his clubbed rifle and hit a buffalo on +the side, not in anger, but as a salute from one hardy friend to +another, and the buffalo, uttering a bellow, rushed on with mighty +leaps. + +Although he could not see them for the dust, Henry knew now by the +crashing and crackling of boughs that they were among the bushes, but +they did not trouble him, as the herd, like a huge wedge, first clearing +the way trampled everything under foot. How long the race lasted and how +long they ran he never knew, but after a lapse of time that was +surcharged with an enormous elation and an unexampled display of +physical power the herd began to recover in some degree from its panic. +Its speed decreased. The great cloud of dust that had wrapped Henry +around and that had saved him sank fast. Then he came suddenly to +himself, out of the exalted regions of the spirit in which he had been +dwelling. His throat was sore from excessive shouting and the sting of +the dust, and it was a few minutes before he was able to clear his eyes +and see with his usual keenness. Then he found that his body, too, ached +from his flight with the buffaloes and his excessive exertions. + +But he had escaped. Nothing could alter the fact. When he had been +surrounded so completely by powerful foes that his destruction seemed +inevitable a miraculous way had been opened through their lines. Kindly +chance had drooped about him an impenetrable veil and he had passed his +enemies unseen. His first emotion was of deep thankfulness and gratitude +to the power that had saved him. + +The pace of the herd sank to a walk. The light wind caught the last +streamers of dust and carried them away over the trees. Then some of the +buffaloes, puffing with exhaustion, stopped, and Henry, coming back +wholly to himself, turned aside into the deep forest. But he gave a +parting wave of his hand to the great animals that had enabled him to +make his invisible flight. Never again would he kill a buffalo without +reluctance. + +An immense weariness came suddenly upon him. One could not run so far +with a herd without draining to their depths the reservoirs of human +endurance, but he would not let his body collapse. He knew he must put +the danger far behind him before it was a danger passed or even a danger +deferred. Calling upon his will anew, he turned toward the southeast and +walked many miles through a stony region. Here again he felt that he was +watched over by the greater powers, as leaping from stone to stone it +was easy to hide his trail, for the time at least. When the last ounce +of strength was exhausted he came to a blue pool, ten or fifteen yards +across, clear and deep. + +He looked at the pool and was about to make another effort to go on, but +the blue waters crinkled up and laughed under a light wind, and looked +so inviting that he concluded to take the risk. He still felt the dust +in eye and ear, mouth and nose. He knew that it was caked upon his face +by perspiration, until it had become a mask, and now his whole body +tingled like fire with the tiny particles that had stopped up the pores. +And there was the pool, clear, blue and beautiful, inviting him to come. + +Delaying not an instant longer he threw off his clothing and sprang into +the water. It was cold, but it was full of life. New strength shot into +every vein. He dived again and again, but without noise, and then, +swimming about a minute or two, emerged clean, shining and refreshed. +While he stretched himself, flexing and tensing his muscles and drying +his body in the sun, a stag, seeking water, came through the forest on +the other side of the pool. Perhaps that sense of kinship was felt by +the stag, too. It may be that Henry was in spirit an absolute creature +of the wild that morning, and by some unknown transmission of knowledge +the stag knew it. + +However it was, the great deer took no fright, but, sniffing the air +once or twice, looked at the great youth, and the great youth looked +back at him. Henry would not have harmed any inhabitant of the forest +then, and the deer may have read it in his eye, as after his first +hesitation he came boldly to the pool and drank his fill. Henry on the +other side was dressing rapidly. When the stag had drunk enough he +raised his head and gazed out of great mild eyes at the human being who +was perhaps the first he had ever seen. Then he turned and stalked +majestically into the forest, his mighty antlers visible after his body +was hidden. + +Henry, lying down in the brown grass, remained a half hour by the pool, +and he became a part of the wilderness, recognized as such by the others +that dwelled in it. Wild fowl descended upon the water, swam there a +while and then flew away, but not because of him. A black bear made +havoc in a patch of berries, and paid no attention to the youth. + +When he started anew he still kept to the northeast, but he was +uncertain about his immediate action. He did not doubt that Red Eagle +and his host would pick up his trail some time or other, and would +follow with a patience that nothing could discourage. It would not be +wise to turn back to the oasis and his comrades, as that would merely +bring upon them the attack that he had drawn aside. Not knowing what to +do he kept on in his present course until certainty should come to him. + +Hunger assailed him and, imitating the bear, he ate great quantities of +berries which were numerous everywhere in the forest. They were not +substantial food, but they must suffice for a time. After a while, when +he felt that he was far beyond the hearing of Red Eagle's men, he would +shoot game, though in his present mood he did not like to kill anything +that lived in the forest. But he knew that he must, in time, overcome +his reluctance, as such a frame as his, in the absence of bread, could +not live without meat. + +He saw ahead of him a line of blue hills, much such a region as that in +which lay their warm, stony hollow, and he believed that he might find +kindred shelter there. At least it would be safer from pursuit, and, +keeping a straight course, he reached the ridges in about two hours. He +found an abundance of rocky outcrop, so much of it that he was able to +walk on it a full mile without putting a foot on earth, but there was no +deep hollow, although he did come to a tiny valley or cup among the +stones, well sheltered from the winds, and here he lay for a long time +on a bed that he made for himself on dead leaves. Toward night he went +out and was fortunate enough to find a wild turkey, which, overcoming +his reluctance, he shot. Then he cleaned it, and, daring all dangers, +lighted a fire in the cup and cooked it. + +But before taking a bite of the turkey he made a wide and careful +circuit about the dip to discover whether any wandering warrior had seen +the glow of his little fire, and, satisfied that none had been within +sight, he returned and ate, putting what was left in his pack for future +use. Then he lay down again and felt very grateful. The stars were out, +and, in their courses, they had undoubtedly fought for him. He did not +ascribe his great successes in the face of obstacles that seemed +insurmountable to any especial virtue in himself, but the idea that, for +some unknown cause, he was favored by the greater powers was still +strong within him. He could but thank them and looking up at the sky he +did so without words. + +Then, feeling sure that his trail could not be found for hours, he +wrapped his blanket about his body and pillowing his head on a heap of +leaves fell asleep. The sense of watching remained so strong that it was +alive while he slept, and about midnight it awakened him to see what a +noise meant. It was, however, only the hungry whining of two wolves, +drawn by the odor of the turkey, and, throwing a stick at them, he went +back to sleep. + +He did not awaken again until morning, and then he felt so warm and snug +in his blanket and on the bed of leaves that he was loath to move. The +dawn was clear and cold, the first frost of the season touching his +blanket with white, and he yawned mightily. While his body was +refreshed, his spirit was not as high as it had been the night before, +and he would have been glad for the pursuit to stop, a day at least, +while he dawdled there among the hills. He reflected that his four +comrades were probably lying at their ease in the oasis, and the thought +brought a certain envy, though the envy contained no trace of malice. He +wished that he was back with them, but the wish vanished in an instant, +and he was his old self, ingenious, resourceful, resolute. + +He rose from his bed, folded the blanket into the usual tight square, +which he fastened on his back, and took a look at his surroundings. +There was no human presence save his own, but innumerable tracks showed +him that the hills were full of game. Then sharp hunger assailed him, +and he ate another portion of the wild turkey, calculating that enough +would be left for several more meals. He considered himself extremely +lucky in securing the turkey, as it undoubtedly would be dangerous now +to fire his rifle, since the warriors must have come much nearer in the +course of the night. + +Going to the crest of the highest hill, whence he could get a long view, +he saw smoke in the west, not more than three miles away, and he was +quite certain it was made by some portion of Red Eagle's band. They +would not allow so much smoke to rise, unless it was intended as a +signal, and his eyes followed the circle of the horizon in search of the +answer. + +From his lofty perch he saw far over the tumbled mass of hills to the +eastern sky, and there he caught a faint trace across the sunlit blue. +It was miles away and only eyes of the keenest, like his, would have +noticed the vague smudge, but he did not doubt that it was a response to +the first signal. They could not see from the first to the third smoke, +but there must be a second in between, probably to the north, where the +hills shut out his view, and the messages were transmitted from the +extremes through it. + +He gazed a long time at the eastern smoke, trying to read what it was +saying. The warriors of Red Eagle's band were not likely to have gone so +far in the night, and, at last, he came to the conclusion that Yellow +Panther and the Miamis had come up. The more he thought about it the +more thoroughly he was convinced that it was so, and that his situation +had become extremely dangerous again. The Shawnees were bound to pick up +his trail in time, they would find that it led into the hills, and then, +by means of signals of one kind or another, they would tell their +allies, the Miamis, to close in on him. They would also send warriors to +both north and south, and he would be surrounded completely. + +Henry did not despair. It was characteristic of him that his spirits +should rise to the highest when the danger was greatest. The lassitude +of the soul that he had felt for a few moments disappeared and once more +he was alert, powerful, with all his marvelous senses attuned, and with +that sixth sense which came from the perfect coordination of the others +ready to help him. + +He examined as well as he could from his summit the maze of hills in +which he stood, and it seemed to him to be a region three or four miles +square, a network of crests, ridges, cups, and narrow valleys like +ravines. He resolved that for the present, at least, he would make no +attempt to break from it and pass the Indian lines. He would be for a +day or two the needle in the haystack. One might move from cover to +cover and evade pursuit for a long time in a tumbled and tangled mass of +country fifteen or sixteen miles square, covered moreover with heavy +vegetation of all kinds. + +He had been the panther before, now he would be the fox, and leaping +from stone to stone, and from fallen trunk to fallen trunk he plunged +into the very heart of the maze, finding it wilder and even more broken +than he had hoped. Small streams were flowing in several of the gullies +or ravines, and there were pools, around which reeds and bushes grew +thickly. At least he would not suffer for water while he lay in hiding. + +Near the center of the little wilderness was a valley larger than the +others, but before he descended into it he climbed a hill, and took +another long look around the whole horizon. The smoke signals had +increased to nearly a dozen, making a complete circuit of the hills, and +it would have been obvious, even to an intelligence much less acute than +his, that they were sure he was in the hills, and had drawn their lines +about him. + +Well, it would be a chase, he said to himself grimly. He did not +particularly like the rôle of fox, but once he had undertaken it he +would play it to the last detail. He went down into the valley which +was like a bowl filled with a vast mass of bushes and briars, many of +the briars covered with ripe berries, a fact of which he made a mental +note, as he might need those berries later on, and picked a way through +them until he came to the other slope, which was as rough and broken as +if it had been taken up by an earthquake, shaken for several days, and +then allowed to lie as the pieces fell. There were many blind openings, +like the box cañons of the west, running back into the hills, and they +were crossed by other gullies and ravines, and he decided that he would +find a temporary covert somewhere among them. + +As he wandered about in the maze of bushes and stones, he did not +neglect the least possible precaution to hide all traces of footsteps, +and he knew that he had left a trail invisible like that of a bird +through the air. There were many able warriors among the Shawnees and +Miamis, but if they found him at all it must be by currying the maze as +if with a comb, and not by following directly in his path. + +A ravine that he was following led a little distance up the slope, and +then another crossed it at right angles. A small stream, rising above, +flowed down the first ravine, and he resolved that he would not go far +from it, as he could not lie long in hiding without water. The smaller +cross ravine, which was pretty well choked with briars and bushes, ended +under an overhanging stony ledge, and here he stopped. + +As the place had a floor of dead leaves and was sheltered well he +thought it likely that in some former time it had been a den of a large +wild beast, but it could not have been put to such a use recently, as +there was no odor. He was thankful that he had found the ledge. It would +protect him from any rain except one driven fiercely into the face of it +by the wind, and, if it came to the last resort and he had to make a +fight, it would prove a formidable little fortress. + +Having located his refuge he went back to the stream and took a long, +deep drink of the water, which was cold and good. Then he returned to +the ledge and lay down in its shadow, his eyes on the briars and bushes, +through which alone one could approach. + +He saw a few coarse hairs in the crevices of the rocks and he was +confirmed in his opinion that it had once been a lair. Perhaps the +original owner would return to it and claim it while he was there, and +Henry smiled at the thought of the meeting. It would not be easy to +displace him. The feeling that he too was wild, a creature of the +forest, was growing upon him. He was hunted like one and he began to +display their characteristics, lying perfectly still, facing the opening +and ready to strike, the moment a foe appeared. However dangerous may +have been the wild beast that once lived under the ledge it was far less +formidable than its successor. + +Henry was at his ease, watching the briars and bushes and with his rifle +thrust forward a little, but a sort of cold rage grew upon him. It was +the rage that a fierce animal must feel, when hunted beyond endurance, +it turns at last. He rather hoped that one or two of their scouts would +appear and try to force the ravine. They would pay for it richly, and he +would take some revenge for being forced into such a hard and long +flight. + +But no scalplock appeared in the bushes, nor did he hear any sound of +advancing men. But he was not deceived by the false appearance of peace. +The Shawnees and Miamis had drawn their lines about the hills and they +would search until they found. Now they had two great chiefs instead of +one, both Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, to drive them on. Meanwhile he +would wait patiently and take his ease until they did find him. + +He was conscious of the passage of time, but he took little measure of +it until he noticed that the sun was low. Then he ate another portion of +the turkey, rolled himself into a new position on the leaves, and +resumed the patient waiting which was not so hard for one trained as he +had been in a school, the most important rule of which was patience. + +The entire day passed. At times he dozed, but so lightly that the +slightest movement in the thickets would have awakened him. He was +neither lonely nor afraid, and his sense of comfort grew. He had been +carried back farther than he knew into the old primitive world, in which +shelter and ease were the first of all things. He was content now to +wait any length of time while the warriors searched for him, and he was +so still, he blended so thoroughly into his surroundings, that the other +people of the maze accepted him as one of themselves. + +He saw a splash of flame over his head, and a scarlet tanager, alighting +on a bush not a yard from him, prinked and preened itself, until it felt +that its toilet was perfect, when it deliberately flew away again. It +had not shown the slightest fear of the motionless youth, and Henry was +pleased. He intended no harm to the creatures of the forest then, and he +was glad they understood it. + +A small gray bird, far less brilliant in plumage than the tanager, +alighted even nearer, and poured forth a flood of song to which Henry +listened without moving. Then the gray bird also flew away, not in fear, +but because its variable mind moved it to do so. It too had come as a +friend and it departed without changing. A rabbit hopped through the +brush, stared at him a moment or two, and then hopped calmly out of +sight. Its visit had all the appearance of a friendly nature, and Henry +was pleased once more. + +When the twilight came, he crept through the bushes to the little stream +in the ravine and drank deep again. His glance caught a pair of red eyes +gleaming through the dusk and he saw a wildcat treading lightly. But the +cat did not snarl or arch its back. Instead it moved away without any +sign of hostility and climbed a big oak, in the brown foliage of which +it was lost to Henry's sight. In his mind the thought grew stronger that +he was being accepted as a brother to the wild, and it gave him a +thrill, a compound of pleasure and of wonder. Had he really reverted so +far? It seemed to be so, for the time, at least. + +He crawled back through the bushes to his lair, ate another portion of +the wild turkey and disposed his lodgings for the night, which he +foresaw was going to be cold, drawing the dead leaves into a heap with a +depression in the center, in which he could lie with the blanket over +him. + +The full dark had now come, and, as he finished his bed, he heard a +light step which caused him to seize his rifle and sit silent, awaiting +a possible enemy. The light step was repeated once, twice, thrice, and +then stopped. But he knew it was not that of a human being. He had heard +the pad, pad of an animal too often to be mistaken, and his tension +relaxed, though he still waited. + +He gradually made out an ungainly figure in the dusk, and then two small +red eyes. The figure moved about a little and the eyes seemed to +question. Henry smiled once more to himself. It was a large black bear, +and he knew instinctively that it had not come as an enemy. Its visit +was one of inquiry, perhaps of search for an old and comfortable home, +which it remembered dimly. As it stared at him, showing no sign of +fright and making no movement to run away, he knew then that he was in +truth in a former home of the bear. + +He was sorry that he had dispossessed any one. He would not willingly +keep from his home a friendly and worthy black bear, but since it was +the only home of the kind he needed that he could find, he must keep his +place. The bear was not hunted as he was, and required less to give him +comfort and shelter. He could improvise elsewhere a home that would +suffice for him. + +He waved his hand, but the bear did not withdraw, uttering instead a low +growl which had some of the quality of a purr, and which was not at all +hostile. Henry felt real grief at ousting such an amiable animal, and he +realized anew that he had become, in fact, a creature of the wild. It +was obvious that the bear looked upon him as a brother, else it would +have taken to hasty flight long since. Instead it continued to stare at +him, as if asking to come in that it might have a share of the leaves. +But Henry shook his head. There was room for only one, and while not +selfish he needed it worse than the bear, which, after a minute more of +gazing, uttered another growling purr and then shambled away among the +bushes. Henry felt real sorrow at its departure. Obviously it had been a +good and kind bear, and he was regretful at having crowded it out of +house and home. + +But as bears were adaptable creatures and the dispossessed tenant would +find quarters elsewhere, he settled himself back to further rest and +contemplation. The lair under the ledge was really a better place than +he had at first thought it. The leaves were so abundant that he had a +soft bed, and they contributed not only to warmth in themselves, but he +was able to throw them up in little ridges beside him, where they would +cut off the cold air. He felt himself splendidly hidden, and both body +and mind were invaded by a dreamy sense of peace and ease. + +Believing that the invasion of the valley would yet be delayed some +time, he dared to go to sleep, though he awoke at frequent intervals. +All these awakenings told him that the warriors had not yet come nor was +their vanguard even at hand. The bear was not the only wild animal to +inhabit the valley and now and then he saw their dim figures moving in +the leisurely manner that betokened no alarm brought by sight, scent or +sound. He silently made them his sentinels, his watchers, the bear, the +rabbit, the squirrel, the wildcat and even the tawny yellow panther. + +Morning broke, the air heavy and clouds betokening rain. He strengthened +his banks of leaves with some dead wood, and, after eating half the +remaining portion of wild turkey, crouched again in the lair. In an hour +it began to rain, not to the accompaniment of wind, but came down +steadily, as if it meant to fall all day long. + +Having a good shelter Henry was glad of the rain, as he knew that it +would cause the warriors further delay in the search. The wilderness, +cold and dripping with water, is a funereal sight, full of discomforts, +and savage man himself avoids it if he can. The warriors, feeling that +they had the fugitive within the inescapable circle, would wait. Henry +would willingly wait with them. He had but one problem that troubled him +greatly, and it was food. But perhaps the ravens would provide, as they +had provided for the holy man in the olden time. + +As he had foreseen, the chilling rain fell all day long, and no sign +came from his pursuers. The valley grew sodden. He saw pools standing in +low places, and cold vapors arose. At night he ate the last of the +turkey, and, resolutely dismissing the question of more food from his +mind for the time, fell asleep again and slept well. + +The second dawn came, clear and cool, and the foliage and the earth +dried rapidly under the bright sun. Henry's powerful frame craved +breakfast but there was none, and, from necessity, he made up his mind +to do without, as long as he could. But the cravings became so strong by +noon that he stole out to the blackberry briars and ate his fill of the +berries. He also found some ripening wild plums and ate those, too. +Fruit alone was not very staying and he also saw the risk of disclosing +his trail, but he felt that he must have it. One might talk lightly of +enduring hunger, but to endure it was much harder. If he only had two or +three more wild turkeys he felt that he might defy the siege. + +That afternoon he heard the signals of Indians, showing that they were +in the maze, looking for him. They imitated the cries of birds and +animals, but they did not deceive him a single time. None was nearer +than a quarter of a mile, and he was sure that they had a long hunt +before them. Then he resolved upon a daring venture. If the coming night +was dark he would make the Indians themselves provide him with food. It +was tremendously risky, but the kind of life he lived was full of such +risks. + +His plan in mind, he watched the setting of the sun. It had mists and +vapors around it, and he knew that he was about to have what he wished. +Then the night settled down, heavy and dark, and he slipped cautiously +from his lair. The last signal that he had heard came from the south and +he advanced in that direction. + +He calculated that boldness, as usual, might win. The warriors, daring +themselves, nevertheless would not dream of an inroad upon them by the +fugitive himself, and were likely to be careless in their night camp. It +was possible that they would leave their own food where he could reach +it unseen. + +His progress was slow, owing to the extremely rough and broken nature of +the ground, and his own great caution, a caution that made no sound, and +that left no trail, as he always walked on rock. In an hour he saw the +glimmer of a fire, and then he redoubled his caution, as he approached. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE BEAR GUIDE + + +The fire was just beyond the thicket of reeds, and Henry addressed +himself to the task of penetrating them without noise, a difficult thing +to do, but which he accomplished in about five minutes, stopping just +short of the outer edge, where he was still hidden well. + +He was then able to see a small opening in which about a dozen warriors +lay around a low fire, with two who were sentinels sitting up but +nodding. He saw by their paint that they were Miamis, and thus he was +confirmed in his belief that Yellow Panther had come with a large force +from his tribe. + +He knew that the sentinels had been set largely as a matter of form, +since the Indians in the bowl itself would not anticipate any attack +from a lone fugitive. The true watch would be kept on the outermost rim. +So reasoning he waited, hoping that the two sentinels who were nodding +so suggestively would fall asleep. Even as he looked their nods began to +increase in violence. Their heads would fall over on their shoulders, +hang there for a few moments and then their owners would bring them +back with a jerk. + +Indians, like white people, have to sleep, and Henry knew that the two +warriors must have been up long, else they would not have to fight so +hard to keep awake. That they would yield before long he did not now +doubt, and he began to watch with an amused interest to see which would +give in first. One was an old warrior, the other a youth of about +twenty. Henry believed the lad would lead the way, and he was justified +in his opinion, as the younger warrior, after bringing his head back +into position two or three times with violent jerks, finally let it +hang, while his chest rose with the long and deep breathing of one who +slumbers. The older man looked at him with heavy-laden eyes and then +followed him to the pleasant land of oblivion. + +Henry now examined the camp with questioning eyes. In such a land of +plentiful game they would be sure to have abundant supplies, and he saw +there a haunch of deer well cooked, buffalo meat, two or three wild +turkeys and wild ducks. His eyes rested longest on the haunch of the +deer, and, making up his mind that it should be his, he began to creep +again through the undergrowth to the sheltered point that lay nearest +it, a task in which he exercised to the utmost his supreme gifts as a +stalker, since these were the most critical moments of all. + +The haunch lay not more than eight feet from the reeds, and he believed +he could reach it without awakening any of the warriors. Once the older +sentinel opened his eyes and looked around sleepily, and Henry instantly +stopped dead, but it was merely a momentary return from slumberland, to +which the man went back in a second or two, and then the stalker resumed +his slow creeping. + +At the point he sought, he slipped noiselessly into the open, seized the +haunch and slid back in the same way, stopping in the shelter of the +reeds to see if he had been noticed. But all the warriors still slept, +and, thankful once more to the greater powers who had favored him, he +made his way back to his shelter, provisioned now for several days. Then +he ate a hearty supper, gathering more of the berries as a sauce, and +drinking from the little stream. + +He was well aware that the Indians, when they missed the haunch, would +know that he lay somewhere in the bowl; but, with starvation as the +alternative, he was compelled to take the risk. Before dawn, it rained +again, removing all apprehensions that he may have felt about his trail, +and he took a nap of two or three hours, relying upon his heightened +senses to give him an alarm, if they drew near, even while he slept. + +The next dawn came, cold and raw, with the rain ceasing after a while, +but followed by a heavy fog that filled the whole bowl. Henry, sharp as +his eyes were, could not see twenty feet in front of him, and, just like +the bear that had once occupied it, he lay very close in his lair. The +confinement was growing irksome to one of his youth and strength, as he +felt his muscles stiffening, but it was necessary, because he heard the +signals of the Indians to one another through the fog, sometimes not +more than two or three hundred yards away. Their proximity, he knew, was +due to chance, as there was nothing to disclose to them where he lay. +They were merely following the plan of threshing out all the hay in the +haystack in order to find the needle, and he knew that they would +complete it even to the last wisp. + +Another day and night passed in the lair, and the inactivity, +confinement and suspense became frightful. He began to feel that he must +move, even if he plunged directly into the Indian ranks, and the +warriors permitted no doubt that they were near, since the calls of +birds and animals were frequent. Two or three times he heard shots, and +he knew it was the warriors killing game. He resented it, as all the +animals in this little valley had proved themselves his friends, and he +felt an actual grief for those that had been slain. + +It was the truth that in these days of hiding and waiting Henry was +reverting to some ancient type, not one necessarily ruder or more +ferocious, but a primitive golden age in its way, in which man and beast +were more nearly friends. There was proof in the fact that birds hopped +about within a foot or two of him and showed no alarm, and that a rabbit +boldly rested among the leaves not a yard away. + +It would be, in truth, his happy valley were it not for the presence of +the Indians. But they were drawing nearer. Call now answered to call, +and they were only a few hundred yards away. He divined that they had +threshed up most of the maze, and that a close circle was being drawn +about him in the bowl. The next night, when he went out for water, he +caught a glimpse of warriors stalking in the brush, and he did not +believe that his lair would hide him more than a day or two longer. He +must find some way to creep through the ring, but, for the present, he +could think of none. + +Another day passed, and he did not sleep at all in the night that +followed, as the warriors were so near now that his keen ear often heard +them moving, and once the sound of the men talking to one another came +to him distinctly. It was obvious that he must soon make his attempt to +break through the ring. Fortunately the night was foggy again, and while +he was deliberating anew, concentrating all the power of his mind upon +the attempt to find a plan, he heard a faint rustle in the thicket +directly in front of him, and he instantly threw his rifle forward, sure +that the warriors were upon him. Instead, a shambling figure poked its +head through the thicket and looked curiously at him out of little red +eyes. + +It was the black bear that he had ousted, and Henry thought he saw +sympathy as well as curiosity in the red eyes. The bear, far from +upbraiding him for driving it from its home, had pity, and no fear at +all. He could not see any sign of either alarm or hostility in the red +eyes. The gaze expressed kinship, and his own was reciprocal. + +"I hope the warriors won't get you, but you're running a mighty big +risk," was his thought. Then came a second thought quick upon the heels +of the first. How had the bear come through the ring of the warriors? +Had the Indians seen it they would certainly have shot at it, because +they loved bear meat. Not only had no shot been fired, but the bear was +deliberate and free from apprehension. Then like lightning came a third +thought. The bear had come in some providential way to save him. It had +been sent by the greater powers. + +There was something almost human in the gaze of the bear and Henry could +never persuade himself afterward that its look did not have +understanding. It began to withdraw slowly through the thicket, and, +rising up, taking his rifle, blanket and supplies, he followed. A +strange feeling seized him. He was transported out of himself. He +believed that the miraculous was going to happen. And it happened. + +The bear led ten or fifteen feet ahead, and then turned sharply to the +right, where apparently it would come up dead against the blank stone +wall of the hill. But it turned to look once at Henry and disappeared in +the wall. He stood in amazement, but followed nevertheless. Then he saw. +There was a narrow cleft in the stone, the entrance to which was +completely hidden by three or four bushes growing closely together. The +wariest eye would have passed over it a hundred times without seeing it, +but the bear had gone in without hesitation, and now Henry, parting the +bushes, went in, too. + +He found a ravine not more than three feet wide that seemed to lead +completely through the hill. The foliage met above it, and it was dark +there, but he saw well enough to make his way. He could also trace the +dim figure of the bear shambling on ahead, and his heart made a violent +leap as he realized that in very truth and fact he was being led out of +the Indian ring. Chance or intent? What did it matter? Who was he to +question when favors were showered upon him? It was merely for him to +take the gifts the greater powers gave, and, with voiceless thanks, he +followed the lead of the animal which shambled steadily ahead. + +The narrow ravine, or rather crack in the stone, might have ended +against a wall, or it might have led up to the crest of the hill where +Indian warriors lay watching, but he knew that it would do neither. He +felt with all the certainty of actual knowledge that it would go on +until it came out on the far side of the circling hills, and beyond the +Indian ring. + +He walked a full mile, his dumb guide leading faithfully. Sometimes the +ravine widened a little, but always the foliage met overhead, and he was +never able to catch more than glimpses of the sky. At last the width +increased steadily, and then he came out into the forest with the hills +behind him. The form of the bear was disappearing among the trees, but +Henry sent after him his voiceless thanks. Again he felt that he could +not question whether it was chance or intent, but must accept with +gratitude the great favor that had been granted to him. Behind him, as +reminders, came from far across the hills the faint calls of wolf and +owl, the cries of the Indians to one another, as the chiefs directed the +closing in of the ring upon the fugitive who was no longer there, the +fugitive who had been guided in a miraculous manner to the only way of +escape. + +He sat down upon a fallen tree trunk, laughing silently at the chagrin +his pursuers would feel when they came upon the lair, the empty lair. +Braxton Wyatt would rage, Blackstaffe would rage, and while Red Eagle +and Yellow Panther might not rage openly, they would burn with internal +fire. Then his laughter gave way to far more solemn feelings. Who was he +to laugh at two great Indian chiefs who certainly would have taken or +slain him had it not been for the intervening miracle? + +Henry's heart was filled with admiration and gratitude. He had been a +friend for a day or two to the beasts of the forest and one of them had +come to his rescue. The feeling of reversion to a primitive golden age +was still strong within him, and doubtless the bear, too, had really +felt the sense of kinship. He looked in the direction in which the +shambling animal had gone, but there was no sign of him. Perhaps he had +disappeared forever, because his mission was done. + +Again came the calls of animals to one another, the cries of the owl and +wolf, and then their own natural voices, in which Henry now, in fancy or +in fact, detected the note of chagrin. They had found the lair at last, +and they had found it empty! A long yell, fiercer than any of the +others, confirmed him in the belief, and despite the solemnity of his +own feelings at such a time, when he had been saved in such a manner, he +was compelled to laugh silently, but with intense enjoyment. + +Then he addressed himself to his new problems. Because he had escaped +with his life, it did not mean that his troubles were ended. The +warriors would come quickly out of the maze and Red Eagle and Yellow +Panther, with the host at their command, would send innumerable scouts +and trailers in every direction to find his new traces. It would be with +them not only a question of removing their enemy, but a matter of pride +as well, and they were sure to make a supreme effort. + +It was his knowledge of the minds of the chiefs that had kept him from +turning back to the oasis and his comrades. To return would be merely to +draw a fresh attack upon them, and he resolved to continue his flight to +the northeast. It was characteristic of him that he should not be +headlong, exhausting himself, but he sat down calmly, ate a slice of the +deer meat, and waited until he should hear the Indian signals again. +They came presently from the segment of the circling hills nearest to +him, and he knew that the pursuit had been organized anew and +thoroughly. Then he rose and fled in the direction he had chosen. + +He did not stop until the next night, covering a distance of about +thirty miles, and although he heard nothing further then from the +warriors, he knew the pursuit was still on. But he was so far ahead that +he believed he could take rest with safety, and, creeping into a +thicket, he made his bed once more among the leaves of last year. He +slept soundly, but awakening at midnight, he scouted a bit about his +retreat. Finding no evidence that the enemy was near, he slept again +until dawn. Then he renewed the flight, turning a little more toward the +north. + +He yet had enough of the deer meat to last, with economy, three or four +days, and he did not trouble himself for the present about the question +of a further food supply. Instead he began to rejoice in his own flight. +He was now fifty or sixty miles further north than the oasis, and as the +country was higher and some time had elapsed since his departure, autumn +was much more advanced. It was a season in which he was always uplifted. +It struck for him no note of decay and dissolution. The crispness and +freshness that came into the air always expanded his lungs and made his +muscles more elastic and powerful. He had the full delight of the eye in +the glorious colors that came over the mighty wilderness. He saw the +leaves a glossy brown, or glowing in reds or yellows. The sumac bushes +burned like fire. Everything was sharp, clear, intense and vital. + +There was never another forest like that of the Mississippi Valley, a +million square miles of unbroken woods, cut by a myriad of streams, +varying in size from the tiniest of brooks to the great Father of Waters +himself. Henry loved it and gloried in it, and he knew it well, too. It +now contained various kinds of ripening berries that served as a sauce +for his deer meat, and occasionally he would crack some of the early +nuts that had ripened and fallen. The need for food would not be strong +enough for some days yet to make him fire upon any of his new comrades, +the wild animals. + +But it is true that Henry still remained a creature of that primitive +golden age. Never were his senses more acute. The lost faculties of man +when he lived wholly in the woodland came back to him. He detected the +presence of the hidden deer in the thickets, and he knew that the +buffaloes were on the little prairies long before he came to them. He +might have shot any number of the big beasts with ease, but he passed +them by as he continued his steady flight into the north. + +He had not seen any sign of his pursuers in two days, and now he stopped +for them to come up, meanwhile eating plentifully in a berry patch. The +berries were rich and large, and he took his time and ease, enjoying his +stay there all the more because of his new comrades. Two black bears +preyed upon the farther edge of the patch, and he laughed at them when +their noses were covered with crimson stains. They seemed to be +friendly, but he did not put the tie of friendship to too severe a test +by approaching closely. Instead, he watched them from a little distance, +when, after having eaten enormously, they played with each other like +two boys, pushing and pulling, their reddened noses giving them the look +of the comedians they were. + +A stag watched the sportive bears from a little distance, standing body +deep among the bushes, and regarding them with gravity. It pleased Henry +to see a twinkle of amusement in the great eyes of the deer, which kept +his ground unafraid, despite the presence of his usual enemy, man. + +The bears, which were young, and hence festive, continued their sport, +encouraged, perhaps, by a gathering and appreciative audience. A wildcat +ran out on a long bough, looked at them and yowled twice. As they paid +no attention to him, he concluded that it was best to be in a good humor +after all, as obviously nobody meant him any harm. So he lay on the +bough and watched the game. His eyes showed green and yellow in the +sunlight, but it pleased Henry to think that they also held a look of +laughter. + +Three gray squirrels rattled the bark of an oak that overhung the berry +patch. Then came a fox squirrel, with his more glowing color and big +bushy tail, and all four looked at the bears. Sometimes they seemed +glued to the bark. Then they would scuttle a short distance, to become +glued again. Their beady eyes were twinkling. Henry could not see them, +but he knew it must be so. + +A slender nose and a pointed head pushed through the bushes, and then a +long, strong figure followed. A great gray wolf! A beast of prey, but no +thought of the hunt seemed to be in his mind now. He was about twenty +feet from the rolling bears, and he regarded Henry with a look that said +very plainly: "I enjoy the sport, but I would not do it myself." Henry +gave back the look in kind, and the two, who would have been natural +enemies at any other time, stood at opposite sides of the berry patch, +looking with grave amusement at the sportive animals which still tumbled +about, crushing the ripe berries under them, until not only their noses +but almost their entire bodies were streaked with red stains. + +A tiny spot appeared in the blue sky far overhead, grew with astonishing +swiftness, as a great bald eagle, descending with the utmost velocity, +and then abruptly checking its flight, alighted on the bough of a tree +over Henry's head, where it sat, its eyes upon the comedy passing in the +berry patch. At any other time the eagle would have regarded the youth +as his natural enemy, but now there was no hostility between them. They +were merely innocent spectators. + +A rabbit, disturbed in its cosy nest under the briars, hopped out, sat +on a little mound and looked on with interest, unafraid of the bears, +the wolf, the eagle or the human being. A red bird flew in a circle over +the berry patch and then alighted among the leaves of a tree, where it +burned in a splash of flame against the glossy brown. Another bird, in a +more sober garb, poured forth a joyous song. + +The wilderness was at peace. Moreover, it was witnessing a comedy, +presented by the true comedians of the forest, the young bears, and +Henry's sense of kinship grew stronger. It gave him a feeling of great +warmth, too, to see that they were not afraid of him. In a measure and +for the time at least he was received into the forest family. + +A quarter of an hour passed, and the comedy was not yet finished, but +Henry heard a lone far cry in the south, and he knew it was the signal +of warrior to warrior. In a minute the answering signal was given, but +much nearer, and the two bears stopped in their play, standing up, their +stained noses in the air and their streaked bodies quivering with +apprehension. A third time came the call, and the figures of the bears +stiffened. Then they slid through the berry patch and disappeared in the +forest, going like shadows. The eagle unfolded his wings, shot upward +like a bolt and was lost in the vast blue vault. The wolf vanished so +silently that Henry found himself merely looking at the place where he +had been. The rabbit disappeared from the mound. The spot of flame on +the glossy brown that marked the presence of the tanager was gone, and +the sober brown bird ceased to sing. The forest idyll was over and Henry +was alone in the berry patch. + +He felt bitter anger against the approaching warriors. Before he had +regarded them merely as enemies whose interests put them in opposition +to him. In their place, doubtless, he would do as they were doing, but +now, seeking his death, they had broken the wilderness peace. A desire +for revenge, a wish to show them that pursuers as well as pursued could +be in danger, grew upon him, and, as he fled again, he used little +speed, allowing them to gain until he saw one of the brown figures among +the tree trunks. Then he fired, and, when the figure fell, he uttered a +shout of triumph in the Indian fashion. A yell of rage answered him, and +now, reloading as he ran, he fled at a great rate. Twice he heard the +distant cries, and then no more, but he knew that Shawnees and Miamis +still followed on. The death of the warrior would be an additional +incentive to the pursuit. He would seem to them to be taunting them, +and, in truth, he was. + +But he had been refreshed so much by his stay in the berry patch that +his speed now was amazing, wishing to leave them far behind as usual +when the time came for sleep. A river, narrow but deep, suddenly threw +itself across his path. It was an unwelcome obstruction, but, managing +to keep his arms and ammunition dry, he swam it. The water was cold, and +when he was on the other side he ran faster than ever in order to keep +the blood warm in his veins and dry his clothing. + +There was but little sunshine now, and a raw, damp wind came out of the +northwest. He looked at the skies anxiously, and they gave back no +assurance. He knew the region had been steadily rising, and he had his +apprehensions. In an hour they were justified. The raw, damp wind +brought with it something that touched his face like the brush of a +feather. It was the year's first flake of snow, premature and tentative, +but it was followed soon by others, until they became a thin white veil, +driven by the wind. The brown leaves rustled and fell before them, and +the appearance of the forest, that had been glowing in color an hour or +two before, suddenly became wintry and chill. The advance of twilight +made the wilderness all the more somber, and Henry's anxiety increased. +He must find shelter for the night somewhere, and he did not yet know +where. + +He came out upon the crest of a low ridge, and searched the forest with +his eyes, hopeful that he might find again a rocky hollow equipped with +dead leaves, or even a windrow matted with bushes and vines, but he saw +neither. He beheld instead, and to his great surprise, a smoke in the +north, a smoke that must be large or it would not be so plain in the +dusk. He studied it, and finally came to the conclusion that it marked +the presence of an Indian village. This region was not known to him, but +as obviously it was a splendid hunting ground it was not at all strange +that he should come upon such a town. + +It was Indian smoke, but it beckoned to him, because there was warmth +beneath it. It was not likely to be a large village, but the skin lodges +and the log cabins perhaps would give ample protection against snow and +cold. In every age, whether stone, cave or golden, man had to have +something over his head on winter nights, and Henry, acting upon his +usual belief that boldness was the best policy, went straight toward the +village. He had some sort of an idea that he might pilfer the +hospitality of his enemies. That would be a great joke upon them, and +the more he thought of it the better he liked it. + +He used the last precaution as he approached. He was quite sure that the +village stood in the woods, and he did not really fear anything except +the stray curs usually found around Indian homes. But none barked as he +drew near and he began to believe that his luck would find the place +without them. Presently he saw the lights of two or three fires +glimmering through the bushes, and then he came to a heap of bones, +those of buffalo, wild turkey, deer, bear and every other kind of game, +like one of the kitchen middens of ancient man in Europe. He drew at +once the conclusion that the village, though small, was as nearly +permanent as an Indian village could be. + +He went closer. Nobody sat by the fire. Apparently there was no watch, +which was not strange, as here in the heart of their own country no +enemy was likely to come. He counted fourteen lodges, four small log +cabins and a larger one standing among the trees apart from the others. +Thin threads of smoke rose from the four cabins and several of the +tepees, but not from the larger cabin. It was certain now that there +were no dogs, as, scenting him, they would have given tongue earlier. +The fortune in which he trusted had not betrayed him. + +His eyes passed again over the lodges and the smaller cabins and rested +on the larger one, which was built of poles and had a wooden figure, +carved rudely, standing at every one of the four corners. He noted these +figures with intense satisfaction, and, having followed bold tactics, +he became yet bolder, creeping through the forest toward the long cabin. + +The snow was still falling in fine, feathery flakes, not enough to make +a real snow, but enough to cause great discomfort, and he exercised all +his skill and caution. + +While the Indians slept, yet someone among them always slept lightly, +and he knew better than to bring such a swarm of hornets upon him. He +reached the long cabin and saw in it a door opening toward the eastern +forest and away from the village. + +The door was closed with a heavy curtain of buffalo robe, but lifting it +without hesitation he entered. Then he stood a little while near the +entrance until his eyes grew accustomed to the dusk. The room, which had +a floor of bark, was empty save for skins of buffalo or other animals +hanging from poles, and two curtained recesses, in which stood totem +figures like those at the corners of the house. + +Henry knew that it was a council house or house of worship. He had known +that as soon as he saw the figures outside. No one would enter it until +the chiefs came from a greater village to hold council or make worship. +Any possible trail that he might have left would soon be covered by the +falling snow, and, going within one of the curtained alcoves, he lifted +the wooden figure there a little to one side. Then he spread one of the +buffalo robes within the space and, folding his blanket about himself, +lay down upon it. Soon he was asleep, while nearly a hundred of his +enemies, men, women and children, also slept but fifty yards away. + +Henry did not awaken while the night lasted. He had reached the limit of +endurance, and every nerve and muscle in him cried aloud for rest. +Moreover, his freedom from apprehension conduced to quick and sound +slumber, and it was long after daylight when his eyes opened and he +stretched himself. He remembered at once where he was, and he felt a +great sense of comfort. It was very warm and pleasant on the buffalo +robe, with his blanket wrapped about his body, and sitting up he looked +out through a narrow crevice between the poles. + +He saw a cold morning, with a skim of snow on the ground, already +melting fast before the sun, and destined to be gone in a half hour, +fires that had been built anew until they burned brightly, and squaws +cooking before them, while warriors, with blankets drawn about their +shoulders, sat near and ate. Children ran about, also eating or doing +errands. It was a homely wilderness scene, and Henry knew at once that +these people had nothing to do with the great hunt for him that was +being conducted by Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, though they would seize +him quickly enough if they knew of his presence. + +They were neither Miamis nor Shawnees, nor any other tribe he knew. They +might be a detached fragment of some northwestern tribe with which he +had never come in contact, or they might be a tiny tribe in themselves. +In the vast American wilderness old tribes were continually +perishing, and new tribes were continually being formed from the pieces +of the old. The people of this village seemed to Henry a fine Indian +race, much like the great warrior nation, the Wyandots. The men were +well built and powerful, and the women were taller than usual. + +[Illustration: "Red Eagle rose to address his hosts"] + +He saw that it was a village of plenty. It was usually a feast or a +famine with the Indians, but now it was unquestionably a period of +feast. The squaws were broiling buffalo, deer, wild turkey, smaller game +and fish over the coals. They were also cooking corn cakes, and Henry +looked at these hungrily. It had been many days since he had eaten +bread, and, craving it with a fierce craving, he resolved to pilfer some +of the cakes if a chance offered. + +The odors, so pleasant in his nostrils and yet so tantalizing, reminded +him that he had with him the haunch of venison, of which a large portion +was yet left. He ate, but it was cold. There was no water to drink with +it, and he was not satisfied. His resolve to become an uninvited guest +at their table, as well as under their roof, grew stronger. + +Yet he liked these Indians and he became convinced that they were in +truth a little tribe of their own or a fragment split off from a larger +tribe, buried here in the woods, to be the germ of bigger things. He was +seeing them at their best, leading, amid abundance, the life to which +they had been born and which they loved. All, men, women and children, +ate until they could eat no more. Then they idled about, the sun +driving away the last of the snow and warming earth and air again. In a +cleared space the half-grown boys began to play ball with the +earnestness and vigor the Indians always showed in the game. The men, +full and content, sat on their blankets and looked on. Thus the morning +passed. + +In the hours before noon Henry did not chafe. He rather enjoyed the +rest; but in the latter half of the day he grew impatient. He longed to +be up and away again, but there would be no chance to leave until night, +and he forced himself to lie still. He yet had no fear that any one +would come into the council room. Such chambers were little used, unless +the occasion was one of state. + +The afternoon was warm. The cold and light snow of the night before had +been premature, and the vanguard of autumn returned to its normal state. +While many leaves had fallen, more remained, and the colors were deeper +and more vivid than ever. The whole forest burned with red fire. Through +a narrow opening among the trees Henry saw a small field, full of +ripened maize, with yellow pumpkins between the stalks. The sight made +him hungrier than ever for bread. + +About the middle of the afternoon, the warriors who were lying on their +blankets rose suddenly and stood in an attitude of attention. They +seemed to be listening, rather than looking, and Henry strained his ears +also. He heard what appeared to be an echo, and then one of the warriors +in the village replied with a long, thrilling whoop that penetrated far +through the forest. + +He divined at once that the pursuit was at hand, not because the +warriors had been led there by his trail, which in truth was invisible +now, but because some portion of the net they had spread out must in +time reach the village. + +The whole population gathered in the cleared space where the fires had +burned and looked toward the southern forest. Henry, from his crack +between the poles, saw ripples of interest running among them, the +warriors exchanging sober comment with one another, the women and +children not hesitating to talk and chatter as in a white village when +visitors of interest were approaching. It was on the whole a bright and +animated picture, and he did not feel any hostility to a soul in that +lost little town in the wilderness. + +Another cry came in five minutes from the forest, and now it was clear +and piercing. A warrior in the village replied, and then they all +waited, a vivid, eager crowd, to see who came. The whole space was +within visible range of Henry's crevice, and he watched with equal +interest. + +A tall figure emerged from the forest, the figure of an elderly man, +powerful despite his years, and with a face of authority. It was Red +Eagle, head chief of the Shawnees, and behind him came the renegades, +Wyatt and Blackstaffe, and twenty warriors. Despite their haughty +bearing they showed signs of weariness. + +The chief of the village stepped forward and gravely saluted Red Eagle, +who replied with equal gravity. They exchanged a few words, and with a +wave of the arms the chief made them welcome. The fires were built anew, +and, the guests sitting about them, smoked with their hosts a pipe of +peace which was passed from one to another. Then food was brought and +Red Eagle, his warriors and the renegades ate. + +Henry would have given much to hear what they said, but he knew they +would not speak of their errand for a while. Some time must be allowed +for courtesy and for talk that had nothing to do with their purpose. +Nevertheless he saw that Red Eagle and all his band were worn to the +bone, and he was glad. He had led them on such a chase as they had never +pursued before, and he would lead them yet farther. He could afford to +laugh. + +The guests ate hungrily and the women continued to serve food to them +until they were satisfied. Then all except the adult male population of +the village withdrew, and Red Eagle rose to address his hosts. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE GREATER POWERS + + +When the Shawnee chief rose to talk he stood at one side of the open +space, scarcely twenty feet from the corner of the council house in +which Henry lay hidden, and as he said what he had to say in the usual +oratorical manner of the Indians upon such occasions, the youth easily +heard every word. + +Red Eagle spoke in Shawnee, which Henry surmised was a kindred language +to that of the village, and which it was obvious they easily understood. +He told them a startling tale. He said that far in the south five white +scouts and foresters, two of whom were only boys in years, although one +of the boys was the largest and strongest of the five, had kept the +Indians from destroying the white settlements in Kain-tuck-ee. By trick +and device, by wile and stratagem, they had turned back many an attack. +It was not their numbers, but the cunning they used and the evil spirits +they summoned to their aid that made them so powerful and dangerous. +Until the five were removed the Indians could not roam their ancient +hunting grounds in content. + +So the Shawnees, the Miamis, the Wyandots, the Delawares and the kindred +tribes had organized to pursue the five to the death. They had struck +the trail of one, the youth who was the largest, the strongest and the +most formidable of them all, and they had never ceased to follow it. +Twice they had drawn around him a ring through which it seemed possible +for nothing human to break, but on each occasion he had called to the +evil spirits, his friends, and they had answered him with such effect +that he had vanished like a bird at night. + +Murmurs of wonder came from the listening crowd. Truly, the young white +warrior was of marvelous prowess, and it would not be well for one of +them alone to meet him, when he not only had his formidable weapons, but +could summon to his help spirits yet more dreadful. They cast +apprehensive glances at the deep woods into which he had fled. + +Red Eagle was an impressive orator, and the forest setting was +admirable. The great Shawnee chief stood full six feet in height, his +brow was broad and his eyes clear and sparkling. He made but few +gestures, and he spoke in a full voice that carried far. Before him were +the people of the village, and behind him was the great forest, blazing +in autumn red. The renegades, Blackstaffe and Wyatt, stood near, each +leaning against a tree trunk, following closely all that Red Eagle said. +They, too, wished the destruction of the great youth, but their enmity +to him was baser than that of the Indians, since it was an innate +jealousy and hatred, and not a hostility based upon difference of race +and interest. + +When Henry looked at the renegades the desire to laugh was strong again. +What rage they would feel if they ever came to know that when Red Eagle +was making his address with his veteran warriors around him, the +fugitive, for whose capture or death a red army had striven in vain for +days, lay at his ease within fifty or sixty feet of them, a buffalo robe +of the Indians' themselves, his bed, and one of their own houses his +shelter! + +Red Eagle continued, in his round, full voice, telling them he had +tracked the fugitive northward, his warriors picking up the trail again, +and that he must have passed near their village. He wished to know if +they had seen any trace of him, and he asked their help in the hunt. A +middle-aged man, evidently the head of the village, replied with equal +dignity, but in a dialect that Henry could not understand. Still, he +assumed that it was a full assent, as, a few minutes after he had +finished, ten warriors of the village, taking their weapons, went into +the forest, and Henry knew that they were looking for him or his trail. +But Red Eagle, his warriors and the renegades remained by the fire, +still resting, because they were weary, very weary, no fugitive before +ever having led them such a troublesome chase. + +Red Eagle, the Shawnee chief, was a statesman as well as a warrior. +While it was true that young Ware was helped by evil spirits, he felt +that the pursuit must be maintained nevertheless. Ware was the great +champion of the white people, who far to the south were cutting down +the forest and building houses. He had acquired a wonderful name. His +own deeds were marvelous, but superstition had added to the terror that +he carried among the Indians. He must be removed. The necessity for it +grew greater and more pressing every day. All the Indian power must be +turned upon him, and when the task was achieved they could deal with his +four comrades. He had talked over the problem with Yellow Panther, first +chief of the Miamis, a man full of years, wise in council and great on +the war path, and he had agreed with him fully that the pursuit must be +maintained, even if it went to the Great Lakes, or those other great +lakes in the far misty Canadian region beyond. + +Now, Red Eagle, as he rested by the fire and received the hospitality of +the tiny tribe in the wilderness, was very thoughtful. Intellect as well +as prowess had made him a great chief; like the one whom he pursued, he +loved the forest, and when he looked upon it now, in all its glowing +colors of autumn, the glossy browns, the blazing reds and the soft +yellows, he was not willing for a single one of its trees to be cut +down. And while he meant to carry the pursuit to the very rim of the +world he knew, if need be, he did not withhold admiration and a certain +liking for the fugitive. + +Red Eagle glanced at the renegades, who had sat down now before the fire +and who were in a half doze. Although they were useful to the Indians, +who valued them for many reasons, he felt a strong aversion toward them +at that moment. He knew that if Ware were taken they would clamor at +once for his life. None would be more eager for the torture than they, +but Red Eagle had another plan in his mind. The principle of adoption +was strong among the Indians. Captives were often received into the +tribes, and Ware, with death as the alternative, might become a splendid +young adopted son for him and, in time, the greatest chief of the +Shawnees. He would not come as a renegade, like Blackstaffe and Wyatt, +but as a valiant prisoner taken fairly in battle, to whom was left no +other choice. + +It was to the credit of Red Eagle's heart and brain, as he sat deeply +pondering, that he evolved such a plan, but he made one mistake. High as +he estimated the mental and physical powers of the fugitive to be, he +did not estimate them high enough. Few would have had the strength of +will that Henry displayed then to lie quiet in the council house while +his enemies were all about him and the warriors were searching the +forest around for his trail. It was fortunate, in truth, that the snow +had come and passed, hiding any possible traces he might have left. + +His conviction that he was safe, for the present at least, remained. He +knew there was no occasion for the chiefs to enter the sacred building +in which he lay, and the others would not dare to do so. Nothing +troubled him at present but thirst. His throat and mouth were dry and +craved water, as one in the desert, but he knew that he must endure. + +Late in the day, the warriors of the village who had gone out to look +for his trail began to return, and when they had made their reports, +Henry knew by the disappointment evident on the faces of Red Eagle and +the renegades, that they had found nothing. He saw the Shawnee chief +give orders to his own men, half of whom plunged into the forest to the +northward and disappeared. They reckoned that he had gone on, and, +spreading out in the usual fan fashion, would continue the pursuit. But +it seemed that Red Eagle, with the remainder of his immediate force and +the renegades, intended to pass the night in the village. + +A supper of great abundance and variety was served to the Shawnee chief +and his men, and, when he saw the pure fresh drinking water brought to +them, Henry raged inwardly. They had not taken him yet, but already he +was being put to the torture. It was bitter irony that he should suffer +so much for water when the forest contained countless streams and pools. +He shut his teeth tight together and waited for the coming of the night, +now not far away. The lack of water would drive him out of the council +house, and in the dark he must seize anything that looked like an +opportunity. + +He hoped for the clouds again and another veil of snow, however thin, +but his hopes were not fulfilled. When the slow dusk came, he lifted the +buffalo curtain and emerged from his corner, feeling an intense relief, +despite the shooting pain, because he could stand up again. Then he +stretched and rubbed himself until all the soreness was gone from his +muscles, and, standing there, tried to think of a way to escape. + +His eyes, used to the dark of the room, fell upon a great headdress of +twisted buffalo horns, profusely decorated with feathers. A long coat of +buffalo skin adorned with feathers and porcupine quills in strange +designs lay beside it upon the poles. He had seen many such equipments. +It was a sort of regalia worn by Indian dancers, and now and then by +great chiefs upon solemn occasions. + +He looked at it, idly at first, and then with growing interest, as an +idea was born in his brain. The dress must be almost sacred in +character, or it would not be left here in the council house, and kind +fortune had certainly put it on the poles for his particular use. Once +more he was thoroughly convinced that he was watched over by the greater +powers, not because of any especial merit of his, but for reasons of +their own, and he clothed himself in the headdress and the strange, +variegated robe that fell to his ankles. Then even Shif'less Sol would +have had to take a third look to know him. + +Henry's heart beat high and fast. He was thoroughly convinced that he +had found a way. He had now only to use that rarest and greatest of +qualities, patience, and, by a supreme exertion of the will, he managed +to wait until it was far into the night. + +Red Eagle had gone into one of the log cabins, and was probably asleep. +Henry, from the crack, was not able to see what had become of the +renegades, but he surmised that they, too, were sleeping somewhere. Two +of the fires still burned in the open, but nobody watched beside them, +and he judged that the time was ripe for the trial. + +He gave a final touch to the headdress and the buffalo robe. He would +have been glad to have seen himself in a glass, but he was sure, +nevertheless, that he looked his part of a great medicine man, a +reincarnation of some ancient chief who had come back to spend a while +within the sacred precincts of the council house. His rifle he managed +to hide beneath the great painted coat, at the same time holding it +convenient for his use, and, lifting the curtain of buffalo robe, he +stepped out. + +It was neither a dark nor a fair night, but much fleecy vapor was +floating between earth and sky, imparting to the village and the forest +a misty, unreal effect which was suited admirably to Henry's purpose, +enlarging his figure and giving to it a fantastic and weird effect. +Knowing it, and having the utmost confidence in himself, he chose a path +directly through the center of the open, walking slowly, but taking +strides of great length and stepping from tiptoe to tiptoe. + +Two Indian sentinels, a Shawnee and a native of the village, were dozing +by the wall of one of the log cabins, when they heard the step in the +open. They lifted heavy eyelids and beheld a gigantic figure, attired in +a garb that ordinary mortals do not wear, stalking toward the forest, +caring nothing for the sentinels, the village or anything else. They +were in the midway region between sleeping and waking, when images are +printed upon the brain in confused or exaggerated shapes, and the +mysterious visitor, who was even then taking his departure, seemed to +them at least fifteen feet high, while, from under the headdress of +twisted buffalo horns, two great eyes, hot and blazing like coals, +stared at them. This terrifying figure, as they gazed upon it, raised a +huge hand full of menace and shook it at them. They gave a yell of +terror and darted into the forest. + +Red Eagle, sleeping the sleep of the just and tired, heard the shout of +alarm, and it impinged so heavily upon his unconscious brain that he was +shocked at once into an awakening. He leaped to his feet and ran out of +the cabin, just in time to meet the head chief of the village coming out +of another one. The two stared at each other, and then they saw the +great figure, in its mystic apparel, just where forest and open met. +Each uttered a gasp, and, before they could gasp a second time, the +apparition was gone among the trees, vanishing from their stupefied gaze +like a wisp of smoke before the wind. Then Red Eagle and his host, great +and wise chiefs though they were, looked at each other again and +trembled. + +Henry meanwhile was racing through the forest and toward the north, +always toward the north, and as he ran he shook with laughter. He had +seen the look of dismay on the faces of the Indians and he rejoiced. He +was sorry that he had not seen Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe too. Their +minds were less subject to superstition than those of the red men, but +no doubt in the first minute or two they were frightened also if they +saw him. + +Yet he believed that the renegades would arouse the Indians and perhaps +would suspect that the terrific stranger, who had come and departed so +mysteriously, was none other than the fugitive himself. He did not care +if they did; in truth, he rather hoped they would. He could imagine +their mortification and disappointment, and since they had gone to dwell +with strangers and fight their own people, it was only a fraction of +what they deserved. + +The great headdress of twisted buffalo horns was heavy and the big +painted buffalo coat flapped around him, but he would not discard them +yet. Stray warriors might be in the forest near the village, and, if so, +he wished to reserve for them his awful and threatening appearance. But +he could not stand them more than a mile. Then he threw the headdress +into a creek, hoping that it would float away with the current, but, +thinking he would have further use for it, he kept the painted coat. +Then he crossed the creek and resumed his northward flight at great +speed. + +He did not stop until dawn, when he felt that he was safe, for a day at +least, from pursuit. He had brought with him what was left of the deer +meat, and, sitting down by the bank of a small brook, he ate, drinking +afterward of the clear stream and giving thanks. He had been saved again +in a miraculous manner. When skill and strength themselves would have +been of no avail, fortune had put the council house and the ceremonial +robes in his way. He could not doubt that the greater powers were +working in his behalf, and he felt all the elation that comes from the +assurance of continued victory. + +But it was a bleak dawn. A cold sun was rising in a cold, blue sky. +There was no snow now, but the dry grass was white with frost, and +whenever the wind stirred a little, the dead leaves fell with a dry +rustle. He retreated deeper into the thicket, and he was glad that he +had kept the great painted coat, as he wrapped himself in it from head +to foot and lay down between two fallen logs, with the dense bushes over +his head. + +He must find another interval of rest and sleep, and feeling that his +best chance lay here, he drew the coat very close. It kept him +thoroughly warm, and, as soon as his nerves settled into their normal +condition, he slept. + +He awoke before noon, and the morning was still frosty and cold. Yet the +wilderness was more beautiful than ever. The frost had merely deepened +its colors. While many dead leaves had fallen, myriads remained, and +they had taken on more intense and glowing tints. The air had all the +purity and tonic of an American autumn. The light winds were the breath +of life itself. + +He ate the last of the deer, and then he found bunches of wild grapes, +small and bitter sweet, but refreshing. Later in the day he must secure +game, though he still felt averse to shooting anything, since the +creatures of the forest had saved him more than once. But in the end it +would come to it. + +It was a rolling country, and, walking to the crest of the highest +ridge, he examined it in all directions. He saw only the great forest in +its reds and yellows and browns, and he was alone in it, its uncrowned +king, if he chose to call himself so. + +Although the country was new to him, Henry believed that he was about +two hundred and fifty miles north of the Ohio and in the region +inhabited by the warlike northwestern tribes. Several of their great +villages must lie not very far to the east of him, and he smiled at the +thought that he was leading the pursuit back to the homes of the +pursuers. He wondered what his comrades were doing, but he believed that +they would remain in the swamp, or near it, until he came back. + +Not knowing what else to do, he moved northward again, and presently +heard a low, monotonous sound, which after a little listening he decided +to be Indian squaws chanting. Further listening convinced him that there +were only two voices, and he approached cautiously among the trees. + +Two Indian women, one quite young and the other quite old, were cooking +by the side of a small brook, in which they had evidently been washing +deerskin clothing earlier in the day, as it now lay drying on the bank. +Probably they were the wife and mother of some warrior preparing for his +return from the hunt. Henry took little interest in the deerskins they +had washed, but his attention was concentrated quickly upon their +cooking. + +They were broiling a fat, juicy wild turkey. He had an especially tender +tooth for wild turkey, particularly when it was young and fat. It, more +than anything else, was his staff of life, and now he set covetous eyes +upon the one that was broiling over the coals. He did not like to rob +women, but it must be done, and he bethought himself of his painted +coat. Pulling it high over his head, concealing his rifle under it and +uttering a tremendous woof, he stalked into the open in which the fire +was burning. + +The two Indian women, when they beheld the apparition, uttered +simultaneous screams and fled into the forest, while the hungry young +robber, lifting their turkey from the fire, where it was already well +broiled, disappeared among the trees in the opposite direction, happy to +have secured his rations through the aid of fright only and without +violence. He knew, however, that he could not afford to satisfy his +hunger just then. Warriors, and perhaps a village, could not be far +away, and the men, divining that the fright of the women was caused by a +human being, would soon come in pursuit. So he went at least two or +three miles before he sat down and ate a substantial dinner, reserving +the remainder for future use. Truly the wild turkey was his best friend. + +That night he lay again in the forest, and he was devoutly glad that he +had saved the painted robe. The climate of the great valley is fickle, +and it rapidly turned colder again. Raw winds whistled through the +woods, and he had difficulty in finding a sheltered place where, even +with the aid of the robe, he could keep warm. He selected at last a tiny +glen, well grown with tall bushes on every side, heaped up parallel rows +of dead leaves, and then, lying down between them, wrapped in the robe, +fell asleep. + +When he awoke his face felt cold, and opening his eyes, he found that it +had good reason to be so. It was covered with snow, and upon the robe +itself the snow lay deep. The whole forest was white, and, as he stood +up, he heard branches cracking beneath the weight that had gathered on +them in the night. It had come down in thick and great flakes, but so +softly that it had failed to awaken him. + +Henry, despite his courage and strength, was alarmed. It is one thing +even for the best trained to live in the forest in summer, but quite +another in winter. Nor was the aspect of the sky encouraging. It was +somber with clouds, and, even as he looked at it, the snow began to fall +again. It was not an ordinary snow, but the clouds just ripped their +bottoms out and let their entire burden fall at once. A huge white +cataract seemed to fill the whole air, and Henry's alarm deepened into +dismay. The snow would soon be six inches deep, then a foot, and what +was he to do? + +He was thankful once more for the painted robe, and also for the wild +turkey that he had pilfered, and knowing that he must keep warm, he +started on a dreary walk toward the north. The snow was pouring so hard +that he could scarcely see, but he heard a sound to his right, and +presently he was able to discern an immense stag floundering in some +undergrowth in which its hoofs seemed to be caught. + +Henry could easily have shot the deer and it would have furnished an +unlimited supply of food, at a time when he might be snowed up for days. +He always believed afterward, too, that the deer expected to be killed, +as it ceased its struggles and looked at him with great, pathetic eyes. +It was a magnificent stag, the largest he had ever seen, but he had no +heart to shoot. His own eyes met the appealing gaze from those of the +king of the woods and he felt sorry. Nothing could have induced him to +shoot. He sincerely hoped that the stag would pull free, and as the +thought came to him the wish was fulfilled. + +The left forefoot, which was entangled, suddenly came loose and unhurt. +Never did Henry see a transformation more rapid and complete. The stag, +before pathetic and depressed, a beaten beast, expanded in the twinkling +of an eye into a mighty monarch of the forest. He stood erect, threw +back his great head in a gesture of triumph, looked once more at the +human being whom nature had taught him instinctively to dread, but who +had not harmed him when he was at his mercy, then stalked away, until he +was lost behind the white veil of the snowy fall. + +Henry felt gladness. He was glad that he had not shot, and he was glad +that the stag had released his foot, or otherwise he would have perished +under the teeth of wolves. Then he addressed himself to his own peril, +which was great and increasing. He hunted the deepest portions of the +woods, but the snow sought him there. He stood under the trees of the +thickest boughs, but the white fall gradually poured through, heaping +upon his head, his shoulders and the folds of his robe. He would brush +it off and move on to another place, merely to find it gathering again, +and, by and by, his great muscles began to feel weariness. He plodded +for hours in the deepening snow, seeking a refuge from this persistent +and deadly fall, but finding none. A sort of despair, almost unknown to +him, oppressed him for a little while. He had fought off innumerable +attacks of warlike and powerful savages, he had triumphed over hardships +and dangers the very name of which would make the ordinary man shudder, +and here he was about to be conquered by a mere shift of the wind that +brought snow. + +He could have shouted aloud in anger, but instead he summoned all his +courage and strength anew and continued his hunt for a refuge. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE STAG'S COMING + + +The snow, famous in the annals of the tribes as one of the greatest that +ever fell so early in the autumn, continued to pour down. Where Henry +had sunk to his ankles, he now sank almost to his knees, and the +wilderness stretched away, without offering the shelter of any covert or +rocky hollow. His exertions made him very warm, but he was too wise to +take off the painted coat, lest he cool too fast. To fall ill in the +snowy forest, hunted by savages, was a thought to make the boldest +shudder, and he took no chances. + +He fought the storm for hours. Rightly it could be called no storm, as +it was merely the placid fall of snow in huge quantities, but in the +long run it contained more elements of danger than a hurricane. Night +came and he was still struggling among the drifts, not walking now with +firm, straight steps, but staggering. Nearly all of his tremendous +strength was gone, exhausted, fighting against the impassive snowy +depths that always held him back. Once or twice he fell, but his will +brought him to his feet again, and he went on, his mind now directing +wholly the almost inert mass that was his body. + +Twilight came, adding a new gloom to the somber heavens. All the animals +themselves seemed to have gone, and he strove alone for life amid the +vast desolation. Then he recalled his courage once more. On this great +expedition, when he was offering himself as a sacrifice for his people, +the miracles were always happening. At the last moment, when it did not +seem possible for him to be saved, he had always been saved, and surely +the miracle would occur once more! + +He came to a huge tree, blown down by the wind, but yet projecting above +the snow, and sitting down on the trunk he leaned against an upthrust +root. He closed his eyes, for a moment or two, and the desire to keep +them shut, and sink into happy forgetfulness, was almost more than he +could resist. He made a gigantic effort and pulled himself back to full +consciousness, knowing that the easiest way, which in this case was the +way of yielding, would be the fatal way. Drawing up the last ounces of +his strength he staggered on, remembering to keep his rifle protected by +the painted coat, and clinging also to the turkey. + +He looked up at the heavens, but they gave no promise. They were without +a break in the massed clouds, and the snow poured down in an unceasing +white fall. The range of vision was so short that he could not tell the +character of country into which he was coming, and, presently, he struck +marshy ground, into which his moccasined feet sank deep, coming forth +wet and cold. It was a new danger, and he stamped his feet hard and +walked faster in an endeavor to keep the circulation going and to keep +them from freezing. It was a peril that he had not foreseen, and it +would, in truth, be the very irony of fate if, after so many miracles +had intervened to save him from pressing dangers, he should perish in a +premature snow storm. + +Usually, one could find shelter of a sort in the wilderness. The forest +of the great valley had become in the course of ages so dense with +thickets and matted tangles of fallen trees that one did not have to go +far before coming to a lair into which he could creep. But now +everything of the kind evaded Henry. His eyes, almost blinded by the +snow, saw only the straight trunks of trees, and open ground that +offered no protection at all. Moreover, the chill from his wet feet, in +spite of all his efforts, was extending and he shivered. + +But he would not despair. He might have had such moments, but they were +moments only, and he fought on, as those, whose souls are made of +courage, fight. Yet the wilderness became gloomier, more desolate and +more menacing than ever. The fall of snow was less heavy, but a bitter +wind rose and it came with an alternate shriek and moan. The air grew +colder and the chill of the wind struck into Henry's bones. Nevertheless +he struggled on in the darkening night, going he knew not where, nor to +what. + +Courage and will can triumph over most things, but not over all things. +There comes a time when hour, place and circumstances seem to combine +against the individual, and such an hour had come for Henry. He searched +everywhere for some place in which he could lie until the storm had +passed, but it was always nothing, nothing, just the open forest, and +the driving wind, and the creeping chill which was steadily going into +all his bones. + +At last, scarcely able to raise a foot, he sank down on a fallen log and +stared into the gloomy woods which gave back not a single ray of hope. +Again he felt the dreamy desire to sink into rest and complete oblivion, +and again he fought it off, knowing that it was the way of death. Then +he looked up at the somber skies, and prayed for one more miracle. + +Henry, despite his wild, rough life, had much reverence in his nature. +The wilderness, too, with its varied manifestations, encouraged the +belief in a supreme power, just as it had given birth among the Indians +to a natural religion closely akin to the revealed religion of the white +man. Now, he was hopeful that in the extreme moment help would be sent +to him, and that the last of the miracles had not yet been performed. +Closing his eyes he said his prayer over and over again to himself, and +then opening them he stared as before at the desolate forest, empty of +everything living save his own presence. + +But was it empty? Straight ahead of him he seemed to see an outline +through the falling snow, like a dim and dusky figure behind a veil. He +rose, new strength flowing into his veins, and took a step or two +forward, fearful that he had been deceived by one of the fancies or +visions, supposed to float before the eyes of the dying. Then he saw. +The dim outlines on the other side of the snowy veil grew clearer and he +traced the figure of a stag, larger than any other stag that had ever +trod the earth, gigantic and majestic. + +The stag, too, was staring at him, and he knew it to be the same that he +had seen earlier in the day, though it had grown wonderfully in size +since then. It showed not the slightest trace of fear, but, instead, the +great luminous eyes seemed to him to express pity. + +A thrill of superstitious awe ran through him. But it was awe, not fear. +The stag, gigantic and almost a phantom, did not threaten. It pitied, +and as Henry gazed at it with the fascinated eyes of one in a dream or +in an illusion so deep that it was a twin brother to reality, the deer +turned and walked slowly among the trees. Twenty paces, and, stopping an +instant, it looked back. The human figure was following and the deer +walked on, its stride measured and magnificent. + +Henry did not doubt that his prayers had been answered, and that another +miracle had been ordered for his salvation. He became transformed as if +by magic. His head, which had been so heavy that it sagged upon his +shoulders, grew singularly light. The blood, stagnant before, leaped in +his veins like quicksilver, and his steps were straight and firm. The +size of the deer did not decrease for him. It loomed immense and +powerful through the driving snow, and, as it led steadily on, never +looking back now, he followed with equal steadiness. + +The stag turned once, going sharply to the right, and, in a few more +minutes, the ground grew quite rough. Then he saw through the veil of +the snow high hills rising on either side, but the stag led into a deep +and narrow valley between them. As they advanced, it narrowed yet +further, and the trees and bushes on the crests above them were so dense +that the snow was not deep there, and the bitter wind was cut off +entirely. Either hope and confidence or some measure of returning warmth +drove the chill from Henry's bones, as he forgot the wet and cold and +pressed forward eagerly when the stag increased his pace. + +Henry's mental state became one of exaltation. He did not know to what +he was going, but he knew that life lay at the end of the stag's trail, +and he was willing to follow as long as need be. Nor did he ever know +how long he followed, but he did notice that the cleft was growing +deeper and narrower. After an unknown time he emerged into a tiny valley +that was more like a well, it was set so deep in the hills and its +slopes were so steep, the cliffs in truth overhanging on two sides. + +He uttered a cry of joy. This was to be his refuge, and here he would be +saved. Stretches of ground under the hanging cliffs were bare of snow, +and heaped high with dead leaves. Dead wood lay all about. The bitter +wind, with its alternate shriek and whistle, swept overhead, but it did +not touch the floor of the well. The air was still and it did not bite. + +The stag turned and looked back for the second and last time, and +Henry, either in reality or in an illusion so deep that it was as vivid +as reality, saw an expression of kinship in the great luminous eyes. +Once more, for him at least, the old golden age when men and animals +were friends had come back to endure an hour or two. Then, lifting its +head very high and seeming taller and more majestic than ever, it passed +out of the valley at a narrow opening on the other side. + +Henry, shaking himself violently to bring back his wandering faculties, +concentrated them upon his present needs, which were still urgent. +Crouching in the best shelter that the hanging cliff furnished, he +rapidly whittled shavings from the dead wood, until he had formed a heap +close to the stony wall. Then, with the flint and steel that every +hunter carried and laboring desperately, he managed to extract from the +flint enough sparks to set fire to the shavings, hanging over the tiny +blaze and shielding it with his body lest it go out and leave him alone +in the cold and the dark. + +The flame persisted and grew, reached out, and bit into more shavings, +and then into larger pieces of dead wood that Henry presented to its +teeth. Dead leaves helped it along, and he fed to it larger and larger +sticks, until he had a splendid leaping fire, the very finest fire that +was ever built in this world, a fire that sent up many high flames, red +in the center and yellow at the edges, a fire that made great, glowing +coals in beds, capable of keeping their heat all night. + +Then Henry knew that in very truth and fact he was saved. Let the wind +whistle and shriek above his head! He cared nothing for it. He took off +his wet leggings and moccasins, and dried them and his feet and legs +before the fire. The spirit of a youth returned to him. He tried to see +how near he could hold his flesh to those wonderful coals and flames +without burning it, and with the fire, which is a twin brother to life, +he felt life itself flowing anew into his body. + +His vitality was so great that his strength seemed to return all at +once, and he built another fire as fine as the first, but a little +distance from it. Then he lay between the two, and was warmed on both +sides. Exposed to the double heat also, his moccasins and leggings soon +dried and he put them on again. His feeling was now one of extraordinary +comfort, and warming the turkey on the coals, he ate an abundant supper, +while he listened to the wind overhead and saw snow drop in the valley, +but not on him, where he lay well within the lee of the stone wall. + +After resting awhile between the fires he began to gather wood, the +whole valley being littered with it. He did not know how long the storm +would hold him there, and he intended to have sufficient heat. He also +heaped up the wood into a species of rude wall, until no drop of snow +could blow into his cleft under the cliff, and then contemplated his +work with satisfaction. He could stay here as long as the storm lasted, +even for days, nor did he forget to give thanks once more for the +wonderful manner in which the stag had saved him. It was first the +buffaloes, then the bear and now the deer. What would it be next? + +Henry let the two fires sink to glowing heaps of coals, and then, +warming thoroughly before them the great painted buffalo coat, he +retreated to the alcove behind his wooden wall and made his bed on the +leaves. He felt for all the world like a bear gone into its snug den for +the long winter sleep, and, as he drew the big coat about his body, he +looked lazily at the fires, which were so placed that the heat from them +warmed his corner despite the wooden barrier. + +Then the usual relaxation, after a tremendous mental and physical +struggle came over him, and he began to feel the extraordinary luxury of +lying dry, warm, well fed and in safety. It was all the primitive man +desired, the best he ever received, and Henry, who had been put in their +position, rejoiced as one of those far, faraway men might have rejoiced, +when he, too, attained all his wishes. + +The feeling of luxurious ease kept him in a dreamy state a long time. +Although he felt strong and active again, able to cope with any crisis, +he had really been very near the end for the time being to the +extraordinary powers with which nature had endowed him. Now, as his +great vitality flowed back and he knew that he was safe, it was just a +pleasure to lie still, to feel the warmth, and to see dreamily the glow +of the fires, in truth, to feel as his ancestors had felt in like +comfort forty thousand years ago. + +Meanwhile the air turned a little warmer, just enough to admit a return +of the heavy snowfall and the big flakes began to pour down again. Some +of them, blown by the wind, fell on the sheltered fires, and hissed as +they melted. But Henry was not troubled. He knew they could not reach +him. + +At the same time, but many miles to the south, a great force of Indian +warriors, led by the two wise and valiant chiefs, Red Eagle, the +Shawnee, and Yellow Panther, the Miami, was going into camp. Yellow +Panther had come up with a force also and they had struck again the +trail of the fugitive, but the coming of the storm had hidden it, of +course, and as the snow deepened they were compelled to abandon, until +the next day at least, all thought of catching Henry Ware, taking +instead measures for their own preservation. Among them were men who +knew the country, and they soon found a deep valley, in which they built +their fires and ate their venison. + +Red Eagle and Yellow Panther sat with the renegades, Blackstaffe and +Wyatt, by one of the fires, and talked earnestly of the pursuit. The +chiefs did not like the white men who had gone with strangers to fight +against their own, but they respected their knowledge and tenacity. The +chase had been long and arduous, it had drawn off much strength from the +tribes, but they were in unanimous agreement that it should be +continued, no matter how long, until their object was achieved. The +great snow itself, deep and premature though it was, should not turn +them back. + +Henry could not see this council through the miles of hills and driving +snow, but had his thoughts been turned in that direction he would have +made to himself a picture just like it, nor would he ever have doubted +for an instant that the chiefs and the renegades would pursue him as +long as pursuit was possible. + +It was well into the night, when his eyes closed and the sleep that took +hold of him was far deeper than usual, carrying him into an oblivion +that lasted until far after the sun had risen over a world, still white +and misty with the falling snow. + +He was surprised to see that the storm had not yet stopped, but he was +not alarmed. The two fires were still smouldering, and the dead wood +that he had heaped up was sufficient to last many days. It was true that +he had only the wild turkey for food, but he was sure, in time, to +discover other resources. He had seen the proof over and over again, +that, for the time at least, he was a favorite of the greater powers. He +was too modest to think it due to any particular merit of his own, but +it seemed to him that he had been chosen as an instrument, and, for that +reason, he was being preserved through every hardship and danger. + +Secure in his belief, which was more than a belief, a conviction rather, +he began to make a home for himself in his tiny valley, which was not +more than fifty feet across, and above which the hills, steep like the +side of a house, rose three or four hundred feet. His first precaution +was to build the fires anew, not with a high flame, but with a slow +steady burning that would make great beds of coals, glowing with heat. +Then he examined the pass by which he had come, to find it choked with +seven or eight feet of snow, and he looked next at the one by which the +deer had gone, to discover that it was much like the first, leading a +distance that was yet indefinite to him, as he did not care to follow it +through the deep snow to its end. + +Shaking the snow from the painted robe he came back to the covert and +waited with as much patience as he could summon. Now he missed greatly +his four comrades, and their talk. With them the time would have passed +easily, but since they were not there he must do the best he could +without them. The problem of food which he had resolutely pushed away, +forced itself back again. A big, powerful body such as his was like an +active engine. It required much fuel. There would be no food but animal +food, and he was in no mood for killing an animal now. But he could not +hide from himself the fact that it must be done, sooner or later. + +On the second day he went through the pass by which the deer had gone, +beating down the snow under his feet, until it was hard enough to +sustain him, and, after about two miles of such difficult traveling, +came upon fairly level ground. Here, hunting about, he surprised several +rabbits in their deep nests, and killed them with blows of his rifle +muzzle. + +The hunt took nearly all day, and, when he returned to the cove with his +game, night was coming. He was surprised to find how welcome the place +was to him and how much it looked like a home. There was his sheltered +alcove, with the wall of dead wood in front of it, and there were two +heaps of coals sending their friendly glow to him through the cold dusk. + +It _was_ a home, and it was more. It was a refuge and a fortress. He had +been guided to it by the greater powers, and he should value it for all +it had afforded him, warmth, shelter and protection from his foes. He +was not one to be lacking in gratitude or appreciation, and he sent +admiring glances about his well, for it was more like a well than a +valley. Lonely it might be, but bodily comforts it offered in abundance +to such as Henry. + +He cleaned the rabbits and hung them up in the alcove, knowing that +their bodies would freeze hard in the night, and thus would be +preserved, giving him with the wild turkey a supply of food sufficient +for two or three days. + +He was awakened the second night by cries, faint but very fierce, and he +knew they were made by wolves howling. The ferocity, however, was not +for him, as during that singular period his feeling of kinship for the +animals extended even to the wolf. He knew that they howled because of +hunger. The deep snow was hard on the wolves, making it difficult to +find or pursue their prey, and they sent forth the angry lament because +they were famished. + +Henry merely drew the painted robe more closely about his body, looked +contentedly at the glow from the two fine beds of coals, closed his eyes +once more and went to sleep. He did not look for wolves in his well, +although he heard them howling again the next night, the note plaintive +and fierce alike with the call of intense hunger. The fourth day, he +went out through the pass and killed more rabbits, adding them to his +store. He saw a deer floundering in the deep snow, but he would not +shoot it. The time might come when he would slay a deer, but he could +not do it that week. + +Now he began to study the skies. He knew that the premature snow, deep +as it was, could not last long, and, likely enough, it would be followed +by heavy rain. Then the snow would certainly pour in a deluge down the +hillsides, and the water might rage in a torrent in the ravine. His well +would be flooded and he would have to take to flight, but it would be no +harder on pursued than on pursuers. + +Two more days passed and the warm weather did not come. The snow ceased +to fall, but it lay gleaming and deep on the ground, and the sound of +boughs, cracking beneath its weight, was almost incessant. Indifferent +to the deep trail he left, he climbed again to the heights and ranged +over a considerable area. A second time, a floundering deer presented +itself to his rifle, and a second time he refused to fire. The deer +seemed to expect no danger, as it gazed at him with fearless eyes, and, +waving to it a friendly farewell, he passed on among the trees, every +one of which stood up an individual cone of white. + +Then he heard the howl of wolves and traveling on to a valley beyond he +saw a pack running far ahead. Twenty they were, at least, and whether or +not they chased a deer he could not tell, but the fierce note of hunger +was in their voices, and whatever it was they pursued they followed it +fast. + +Then he turned back toward his home, weary with walking through snow so +deep, too deep yet for his further flight northward, and the fires in +the covert seemed fairly to shine with welcome for him. That night he +broiled and ate an entire rabbit for supper, but felt that he must have +a more varied diet soon, if he was to preserve his strength. He looked +again for the clouds which were to bring the great rain, destroyer of +great snows, but the skies were clear, frosty and starry, and his eager +eyes did not find a single blur. + +It was evident that he must use all his patience and keep on waiting. So +he set himself to the task of putting his body in the best possible +trim, until such time as he would have to subject it to severe tests. He +exercised himself daily and he always saw that his bed under the ledge +was dry and warm. He never permitted the fires to go out, and gradually, +as the snow about them melted from the heat, the ground there became +hard and dry. + +He was still able to procure food without firing a shot, finding plenty +of rabbits in the deep snow on the hills, but he grew intensely weary of +such a diet, and he felt that if he had to linger much longer he would +kill a deer, although he had been saved by one. Every hour he scanned +the heavens looking for the clouds which he knew would come in time, +since the cold could not endure at such an early period in the autumn. + +He had been in his retreat a week when he felt a light and soft touch on +his face, the breath of the west wind. It had almost a summer warmth, +and, then he knew that one of the great changes in temperature, to which +the valley is subject, was coming. Throughout the afternoon the wind +blew, and water began to trickle in the ravine. The sound of soft snow +sliding down the hill was almost constant in his ears. Toward dusk, the +clouds that he had expected came floating up from the horizon's rim, but +he did not believe rain would fall before the next day. + +Nevertheless, he took precautions, building a rough floor of dead wood +in the alcove, and arranging to protect himself from the downpour which +he considered inevitable. He also put his stores in the place that would +remain safest and dryest, and lying down, high upon the dead wood, he +fell asleep. He was awakened in the night by a rushing sound. The great +rain that was to destroy the great snow had come, several hours earlier +than he had expected it, and it was a deluge. + +The trickle in the ravine became a torrent, and he heard it roaring. The +floor of his little valley was soon covered with six inches of water and +he was devoutly glad that he had built his platform of dead wood, upon +which he could remain untouched by the flood, at least for the present. +That it would suffice permanently he was not sure, as the rain was +coming down at a prodigious rate, and there was no sign that it would +decrease in violence. + +He did not sleep any more that night, but sat up, watching and +listening. It was pitchy dark, but he heard the roar of distant and new +streams, and the sliding avalanches of sodden snow. He felt an awe of +the elements, but he was not lonely now, nor was he afraid. That which +he wished was coming, though with more violence and suddenness than he +liked, but one must take the gifts of the gods, as they gave them, and +not complain. + +Dawn arrived, thick with vapors and mists, and dark with the pouring +rain. From his place under the cliff he could not see far, but he knew +that the snow was dissolving in floods. The six inches of water in his +valley grew to a foot, and he began to be apprehensive lest the whole +place be deluged to such an extent that he be driven out, a fear that +was soon confirmed, as he saw two or three hours after dawn that he must +go. + +It would be impossible to keep the lower half of his body dry, but he +was thankful once more for the great painted coat, under which he was +able to secure his rifle and powder against rain. He also fastened in +his belt two of the rabbits that he had cooked, and then with the rest +of his baggage in a pack, he made his start. + +He was forced to wade in chilly water almost to his knees, and it was +impossible to leave the valley by either end of the ravine, as it was +filled with a roaring flood many feet deep; but with the aid of bushes +and stony outcrop he climbed the lofty slope, a slow and painful task +attended by danger, as now and then a bush would pull out with his +weight. But, at last, his hands torn, and his face running with +perspiration, he attained the summit, where he turned his face once more +toward the north. + +He decided that he would keep to the ridges as the snow would leave them +first, and he could also find some protection in the dense, scrubby +growth that covered them. + +He never passed a more trying day. The actual danger of Indian presence +even would have been a relief. The rain beat in an unceasing deluge, and +he was hard put to it to keep his rifle and ammunition dry. The sliding +snow made his foothold so treacherous that he was compelled to keep +among the wet and flapping bushes, where he could grasp support on an +instant's notice. + +At noon, though there was no sun to tell him that it had come, he +stopped in a dense thicket and ate one of the rabbits, reflecting rather +grimly that though he had been anxious for the rain to come it was +making him thoroughly uncomfortable. Yet even these clouds covering all +the heavens had at least one strip of silver lining. The harder and more +persistently the rain fell the quicker the snow would be gone, and once +more the wilderness would be fit for travel and habitation. + +When he had eaten the rabbit, although he longed for some other kind of +food, he felt better. He had at least furnished fuel for the engine, +and, bending his head to the storm, he left the thicket and continued +his journey, a journey the end of which he could not foresee, as he +never doubted for an instant that the Indian host was still pursuing. He +left no trail, of course, in such a storm, but the rain could not last +forever, and, when it ceased, some warrior would be sure to pick it up +again. + +When night came he was thoroughly soaked, save for his precious +ammunition, around which he had wrapped his blanket also. Most of the +snow was gone, but pools stood in every depression, and turbid streams +raced in every gully and ravine. Where he had trodden in snow before he +now trod in mud, and every bone in him ached with weariness. Many a man, +making no further effort, would have lain down and died, but it was not +the spirit of Henry. He continually sought shelter and far in the night +crowded himself into the hollow of a huge decayed tree. He was compelled +to stand in a leaning position, but with the aid of the buffalo coat he +managed to protect himself from further inroads of the rain, and by and +by he actually fell asleep. + +The sun was high when he awoke, and he was very stiff and sore from the +awkward manner in which his body had been placed, but the rain had +stopped and for that he was devoutly thankful, although the earth was +sodden from the vast amount of water that had fallen. + +It took him three hours to light a fire, so difficult was it to procure +dry shavings, but, in the end, the task was achieved and it was a +glorious triumph. Once more fire was king and he basked in it, drying +his body and his wet clothing thoroughly, and lingering beside it all +the afternoon. But at night he put it out reluctantly, since the +warriors were sure to be abroad now, and he could not risk the light or +the smoke. + +He slept under the bushes, but in the morning he saw in the south smoke +answering to smoke, and he did not doubt that it was detachments of the +Indian host signaling to one another. Perhaps they had come upon his +trail, and it was sure, if they had not done so, that they would soon +find it. Watching the signals a little while, he turned and fled once +more into the north. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE LEAPING WOLF + + +Henry came presently into lower ground, where he judged the snowfall had +not been so great, as the amount of standing water was much less and the +streams were not so swollen. The air, too, was decidedly warmer, and +while the forest had been stripped of all its leaves, it did not look so +gloomy. A brilliant sun came out, flooded trees and bushes with light, +and gave to the earth an appearance of youth and vitality that it has so +often and so peculiarly in autumn, although that is the period of decay. +He felt its tonic thrill, and when he came to a clear creek he decided +that he would put himself in tune with the purity and clearness of the +world about him. + +He had lain so long in his clothes that he felt he must have the touch +of clean water upon him, and, daring everything, he put his arms aside, +removed his clothing and plunged into the creek. It made him shiver and +gasp at first, but he kicked and dived and swam so hard that presently +warmth returned to his veins, and with it a wonderful increase of +spirits. + +When he came out he washed his clothing as well as deerskin could be +washed, and, wrapped in the blanket and painted coat, ran up and down +the bank, or otherwise exercised himself vigorously, while it dried in +the bright sun. It was a matter of hours, but it pleased him to feel +that he was purified again and that he could carry out the purification +in the very face of Indian pursuit itself. When he put on his clothing +again he felt remade and reinvigorated in both body and mind, and, +resuming his weapons, he set out once more upon his northward way. + +The day continued warm and most brilliant, as if atonement were being +made to him for the storms of snow and rain. He came to a stretch of +country in which it was obvious that very little snow, if any, had +fallen, as the trees were still thick with leaves in the deep colors of +autumn, and it was satisfying to the eye to look upon the red glow +again. + +Late in the afternoon he saw five smokes in a half curve to the south, +and he knew well enough that they were made by his pursuers. They were +much nearer than those he had seen earlier in the day, but it was due to +the long delay made necessary by his swim and the drying of his clothes. +The rapid gain did not make him feel any particular apprehension. The +joy of the struggle came over him. He was matched against the whole +power of the Shawnee, Miami and kindred nations, and if they thought +they could catch him, well, let them keep on trying. They should bear in +mind, too, that the hunted sometimes would turn and rend the hunter. + +In order to gain once more upon the pursuit and give himself a chance to +rest later on, he increased his speed greatly and also took precautions +to hide his trail, which was not difficult where there were so many +little streams. When he stopped about midnight he believed that he was +at least ten or twelve miles ahead of the nearest warriors, who must +have lost a great deal of time looking for his traces; and, secure in +the belief, he crept into a thicket, drew about him the blanket and the +buffalo robe, which were now sufficient, and slept soundly until he was +awakened by the howling of wolves. He was quite able to tell the +difference between the voices of real wolves and the imitation of the +Indians, and he knew that these were real. + +He raised up a little and listened. The long, whining yelp came again +and again, and he was somewhat surprised. He concluded at last that the +wolves, driven hard by hunger, were hunting assiduously in large packs. +When mad for food they would attack man, but Henry anticipated no +danger. He felt himself too good a friend of the animals just then to be +molested by any of them, and he went back to sleep. + +When he awoke again just before dawn he heard the wolves still howling, +but much nearer, and he thought it possible that they had been driven +ahead by the Indian forces. If so, it betokened a pursuit rather swifter +than he had expected, and, girding himself afresh, he fled once more +before the sun was fairly up. + +It was the usual rolling country that lies immediately south of the +Great Lakes, forested heavily then and cut by innumerable streams, great +and small. The creeks and brooks were not swollen as much as those +farther south, and Henry judged from the fact that here also the +snowstorm had not passed. Nevertheless, he crossed many muddy reaches +and he was compelled to ford two or three creeks the water of which +reached to his knees. But his moccasins and leggings dried again as he +ran on, and he was not troubled greatly by the cold. + +It was a country that should abound in game, but no deer started up from +his path, no wild turkeys gobbled among the boughs, and the little +prairies that he crossed were bare of buffaloes. He assumed at once that +it had been hunted over so thoroughly by the Indians that the surviving +game had moved on. When the warriors found a new hunting ground it would +come back and increase. He believed now that this accounted for the +howling of the wolves deprived of their food supply and perhaps not yet +finding where it had gone. + +He maintained a rapid pace, and his wet leggings and moccasins dried +gradually. The morning was frosty and cold, but wonderfully brilliant +with sunlight, and here, where the forest had been free from snow, it +glowed in autumnal colors. + +He came to a deep river, but fortunately it flowed toward the northeast, +the direction in which he was willing to go, and he was glad to find it, +as he kept in the woods near its bank, thus protecting his left flank +from any encircling movement. But a strong wind was blowing toward him +and he not only heard the howling of the wolves, but the faint cry of +the savages far behind them. It made him very thoughtful. Something +unusual was going forward, since the wolves themselves were taking part +in the pursuit or were pursued also. He could not understand it, but he +resolved to dismiss it from his mind until it disclosed its own meaning. + +He kept near the river, seeing it occasionally through the forest on his +left, a fine sheet of clear water, over which wild ducks and wild geese +flew, although the woods through which he ran seemed to be absolutely +bare of game. + +Then the river took a sudden curve farther east and he was compelled to +turn with it. On his first impulse the thought of swimming the stream +came to him, but he dismissed it, lest some swift warrior might come up +and open fire while he was in the water, in which case, being +practically helpless, he might become an easy victim. So he turned with +the stream and, keeping its bank close on his left, he fled eastward. +But he was fully aware that the change in the course of the river +brought to him a new and great danger. The right wing of the pursuing +host, traveling not much more than half the distance, would gain upon +him very fast. Anxious not to be entrapped in such a manner he ran now +at great speed for several miles, but was compelled then to slow down, +owing to the nature of the country, which was growing very marshy. + +Evidently heavy rains had fallen in this region recently, as he came to +extensive flooded areas. It annoyed him, too, that the soft ground +compelled him to leave so plain a trail, as often for considerable +stretches he sank over his moccasins at every step. He walked on fallen +timber whenever he could find it, making a break now and then in his +trail, but he knew it would not delay the Indians long. + +In order to save his breath and strength he was compelled to go yet +slower, and finally he sat on a log for a rest of five minutes. Then the +wind brought him a single Indian shout, not more than a quarter of a +mile away, and he knew its meaning. The warriors on the right flank, +coming up on a tangent of the curve, had seen his footsteps. They had +not run more than half the distance he had and so must be comparatively +fresh. His danger had increased greatly, but his command over himself +was so complete that, instead of resting five minutes, he rested ten. He +knew now that he would need all his strength, all the power of his +lungs, because the chase had closed in and for a while it would be a +test of speed. So he rested that every muscle might have its original +strength, and he was willing for the Indians to come almost within rifle +shot before he took to flight once more. + +So strong was the command of his mind over his body that he saw two +warriors appear among the trees about four hundred yards away before he +rose. They saw him, too, and uttered the war whoop of triumph, but +Henry was refreshed and he ran so fast that they sank out of sight +behind him. Then he exulted, taunting them, not in words, but with his +thoughts. They could never capture him, and once more he said to himself +that he would keep on, even if his flight took him to the Great Lakes +and beyond. + +But the swampy ground intervened again, and his progress of necessity +became slow. Then he heard the Indian yell once more, and he knew that +the difficult country was enabling them to close up the gap anew. The +wolves howled also, but more toward the south, a far, faint, ferocious +sound that traveled on the wind like an echo. He did not understand it, +and he had a premonition that something extraordinary was going to +happen. It was curious, uncanny, and the hair on the back of his neck +lifted a little. + +He came through the swampy belt and to a considerable stretch of dry +ground, but he heard the Indian yell for a third time, and again not +more than a quarter of a mile away. The fact that this portion of the +band had not run that day more than half as far as he was telling, and +he recognized it. Perhaps the swamps had not been to his disadvantage, +because on the dry ground they could use their reserves of strength and +speed to much greater advantage. + +Now he knew that his danger had become imminent and deadly and that +every resource within him would be tested to the utmost. Out of the +south came the Indian cry also, and it was answered triumphantly from +the west. A shudder ran through Henry's blood. He was in the trap. The +Indians knew it and they were signaling the truth to one another. + +Now he made a great burst of speed, resolving to be well beyond their +reach before the jaws of the vise closed in, and, as he ran, he longed +to hear the howl of the wolves once more, a sound that he had used to +hate always, but which would come now almost like the call of a friend. +While he was wishing for it, the long whine rose, toward the south also, +but a little ahead of the Indian cry. As before it was strange, uncanny, +and a second time the hair on the back of his neck lifted a little. +Evidently the wolves--instinct told him they were a great pack--were +running parallel with the Indians, but for what purpose he could not +surmise, unless it was the hope of food abandoned by the warriors. + +His own feet grew heavy, and he heard the triumphant shouts of the +Indians only a few hundred yards away. He was powerful, more powerful +than any of them, but he could not run twice as long as these lean, wiry +and trained children of the forest. His muscles began to complain. He +had been putting them to the severest of tests, and the effect was now +cumulative. A brown figure appeared among the bushes behind him and he +heard the report of a shot. A bullet cut the dead leaves ten yards away, +but he knew that the warriors would soon come nearer and then their aim +would be better. + +Now he called upon the last reserve of strength and tenacity, the +portion that is left to the brave when to ordinary minds all seems +exhausted, and made a final and splendid burst of speed, drawing away +from the brown figures and once more opening the gap between hunted and +hunters. But the shout came again from the south and on his right flank +where fresh warriors were closing in, and despite himself his heart sank +for a moment or two in despair. Was he to fall after so many escapes? +How Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe would rejoice! + +Despair could not last long with him. There was still another ounce of +strength left, and now he used it, fairly springing through the thicket, +while his heart beat hard and painfully and clouds of black motes danced +before his eyes. + +He saw a warrior appear among the bushes on the right, and, raising his +own rifle, he fired. The stream of flame that leaped from the muzzle of +his weapon was accompanied by the death cry of the savage, followed +quickly by a long, fierce yell of rage from the fallen man's comrades. + +Then the pursuit hung back a little, but it came on again soon, as +terrible and as tenacious as ever. He reloaded his rifle as he ran, but +he knew that unless some strange chance intervened soon he must turn and +fight for his life. The ground dropped suddenly and he ran down a steep +slope into a wide valley, the trend of which was from north to south. +Here he gained a little, but he heard a shout on his right and saw three +warriors coming up the valley, not thirty yards away. At the same time, +the long, fierce whine of the wolves was registered somewhere on his +brain, but he did not take definite note of it until afterward. + +The foremost of the Indians fired and missed, to receive in return the +bullet from Henry's reloaded rifle, but the other two came on, shouting. +He hurled his hatchet and struck down the second, but the third paused +twenty feet away and whirled his tomahawk about his head in glittering +circles. Henry instinctively raised his rifle to ward off the blade in +its flight, but he knew that the guard would not do. The tomahawk would +leave the warrior's hand like a thunderbolt, and it would go straight to +its destined mark. He saw the evil joy in the man's eyes, his +anticipation of quick and savage victory, and then the cloud of motes +before his own eyes increased to myriads. His heart, crying out against +so much exertion, beat so painfully that he thought he could not stand +it any longer, and a veil of thick mist was drawn down between him and +the triumphant warrior. Then he suddenly stood erect and the hair upon +his head lifted once more. + +There was a horrible growl and a gigantic wolf, shooting out of the +mist, launched himself straight at the warrior's throat. Henry heard the +man's terrible cry and saw him go down, and then he saw the figures of +other wolves, enlarged by the vapors, following their leader. But that +was all he beheld then. Uttering a cry of his own, wrenched from him by +the appalling sight, he snatched up his hatchet, turned and ran up +the valley, with strength coming from new and unknown sources. + +[Illustration: "A gigantic wolf ... launched himself straight at the +warrior's throat"] + +The heavy mists that were floating over the low ground enclosed Henry, +but he did not look back. He knew instinctively that he was no longer +followed. Once he thought he heard the horrible growling again, and +shouts, but he was not sure. Too much had impinged upon his mind for him +to distinguish between fancy and reality yet awhile, but a powerful +feeling that another miracle had been wrought in his behalf seized upon +him and would not let go. The wolves, whether it was chance or not so +far as they were concerned, had come in time and their giant leader +himself had cut down the warrior who was about to cleave the fugitive's +head with his tomahawk. + +The Indians would stop, appalled, and for a while would be overwhelmed +with superstition. But he knew that the paralyzing spell could not last +long. Blackstaffe and Wyatt at least would urge them on, and it was for +him to use the time that had been granted to him by miraculous chance. + +When exhaustion came he had will enough to stop again and remain quite +still until the fierce pains in his chest ceased and there was air for +his lungs once more. He was sure of a quarter of an hour, and a forest +runner such as he could do wonders in that space. A quarter of an hour +meant for him the difference between life and death, and although his +feet strove of their own accord to go on, his mind held them back at +least twothirds of the time. Then he allowed his body to have its way, +and he went down the valley not at a run, but a prudent walk, in order +to give his lungs, heart and muscles a chance for further recovery. + +The valley seemed to be about a quarter of a mile wide, heavily +forested, and with a small creek flowing down the center. The hills that +walled it in on either side were high and steep, and Henry thought it +would be wiser to take to them, but, for the present, he did not feel +like making the climb. He was not willing to put any check upon the new +store of strength that was flooding his veins. + +Ten minutes more and he heard a fierce whoop behind him. The Indians +evidently had driven off the wolves, and, under the insistence of the +renegades, would renew the pursuit. Another momentary sinking of his +heart came. The numbers of the warriors, who could spread out in every +direction, many of whom were yet comparatively fresh, were an obstacle +that he could not overcome. The wolves had brought delay, but not +escape. + +Then his courage came back, not slowly or gradually, but like a leaping +tide. He had seen only half of the new miracle. While he thought it +finished, the other half was coming, was upon hunted and hunters even +now. The veil of mist that had floated between him and the wolf and its +victim was spreading up and down the valley, rising from the wet ground, +dense and heavy, opaque like ink, despite its whiteness. Presently the +great whitish cloud would enclose him and the warriors, hiding them +from one another, and it would be strange if he could not escape them in +the white gloom, where only ears served. + +Turning his eyes upward to the skies that he could not now see, he gave +thanks to the superior powers that were guarding him so well. Then he +turned at a sharp angle, crossed the creek, and began to climb the hills +on the east. + +All the time the fog, thick and white, was pouring over the valley and +the slopes. Half way up the hill Henry paused and looked back, seeing +nothing but a vast white gulf. Then he heard the warriors in the gulf +calling to one another, and now the spirit to laugh at them came back to +him. They did not know that he was protected by a force greater than +theirs that snatched him again and again from the savage band before it +could close upon him. + +He sat down among the bushes and continued to look at the valley, which +reminded him now of a vast white river, all of it flowing northward, +with the signals of the warriors still coming out of its depths, puzzled +evidently, as they had a good right to be. Although they were only a few +hundred yards away, Henry felt that there was little danger. The miracle +was continuing. The great white flood poured steadily down the valley +and rose higher and higher on the slopes. He went to the top of the +hill, where it followed him and spread over the forest. + +When he found a comfortable place in a thicket he lay down and drew +around him the painted robe that had served him so often and so well. +He knew the warriors would ascend the slopes, but the chances were a +thousand to one against their finding him in so dense a mist, and the +longer he rested the better fitted he would be for flight. Meanwhile the +fog increased in thickness, rolling up continually in dense masses, and +he inferred that he could not be far from some large stream or a lake or +great flooded areas. Perhaps the creek that flowed down the valley +emptied not far away into a river. + +If he had not been so worn by the tremendous tests to which he had been +put he would have gone on, despite everything, in the fog over the +hills, but instead he lay close like an animal in its lair, adjusted +anew about him the blanket and the painted coat and luxuriated. At +intervals he heard the warriors calling in the valley, and once the +sound of footsteps not more than twenty yards away reached him, but he +was not disturbed. The chance that they would stumble upon him was still +only one in a thousand. + +He remained at least four hours in the bushes, and throughout that time +he scarcely moved, having acquired the forest art of keeping perfectly +still when there was nothing to be done. Then he saw the fog thinning +somewhat, but he was completely restored. Youth had its way. His nerves +and muscles were as strong as ever, and the great mental elation had +returned. Why not? It was obvious that he was protected by the supreme +powers. Miracle after miracle had occurred in his behalf. They had sent +the wolves just in time, and then they had drawn the fog from the earth, +hiding him from the warriors and giving him a covert in which he could +lie until his strength was restored. + +He rose now and began his cautious passage through the white veil over +the hills. The fog was not lifting yet, but it was continuing to thin. +He could see in it ten or fifteen feet, and he was not sorry, as the +distance was enough for the choosing of a path, but not enough for the +warriors to come within sight of him before they were heard. + +Twice, the sounds of the searching warriors came to him, but each time +he lay in the bush until they passed, when he would rise and continue +his judicious flight. + +Near the close of the day, and going toward the northeast, he was far +from the valley, but obviously was coming to another, as the hills were +sinking fast and he saw the tops of trees below him. The fog had been +thinning until it was mere wisps and tatters, and now a smart wind +seizing all these remnants whirled them off to the east, leaving a +glorious clear sky, suffused in the west with the red and gold of the +setting sun, a deep brilliant light that touched the whole horizon with +fire. + +Henry looked upon it and worshiped. He worshiped like a forest runner +and a man of the old, old time, when nothing of heaven or of religion +was revealed. He worshiped like an Indian to whom, as to many other +races, the sun was a symbol of warmth, of light and life, almost the +same as Manitou, that is to say, almost the same as God. Nor did he +forget to be grateful once more. It was not for any merit of his that +protection had been given to him so often, but because he was an +instrument in a good purpose. So thinking, he was full of humility and +meant to continue in the perilous path that he had chosen, the path of +service for others. + +The spiritual quality was strong in Henry's nature; in truth, it was +rooted in the characters of all the five, although it differed in its +manifestations, and he gazed long at the western heavens, where the +splendid colors of the setting sun blazed in their deepest hues and then +faded, leaving only a warm glow behind. The night, as the forecast +already showed, would be clear and cold, and he descended into the new +valley, which was much wider than the one he had left. It was +comparatively free of undergrowth, and he saw through the trees the +gleam of water which proved to be a river on his right, and of fair +size. + +He believed that the larger valley would receive the smaller one and its +draining creek not far ahead, and a new problem was presented. Unless he +swam the river and kept to the east the warriors would come on anew from +the west and pin him against the stream. + +Should he plunge into the cold waters? It was not a prospect that he +liked; but, while he considered it, he became aware that the miracle +created in his behalf was not yet finished. He had thought that it was +done when the wolves intervened, and again that it was done when the +great fog came, but there was yet another link in the lengthening chain +of marvelous events. + +A sound from the river and he stepped hastily to the shelter of a great +tree trunk. It was the plash of a paddle, and as he looked, peeping from +the side of the trunk, a warrior stepped from a canoe at the river's +brink and took a long look at the forest. Henry judged that he was an +outpost or sentinel of some kind, or perhaps a member of a provision +fleet. The man tied his canoe with a willow withe to a sapling and +strode away out of sight, doubtless intending to meet the band to which +he belonged. Henry's heart leaped. He was always quick to perceive and +to act, and he saw his opportunity. + +Twenty swift steps and he was at the margin of the stream, one slash of +his knife and the willow withe was cut, one sweep of the paddle and the +stout canoe was far out in the stream, bearing with it the brave youth +and his fortunes. + +Henry exulted. Truly chance--or was it chance?--served him well! He had +a singular feeling that the canoe had been put there especially for his +use. No more running through the forest. He could call a new set of +muscles into play, and there before him lay the stream, broad and deep +and straight, a clear path for the good canoe that he had made his own. + +He did not allow his exultation to steal away his caution, but after the +first few sweeps of the paddle he sent the canoe close to the eastern +bank, under the shadow of vast masses of overhanging willows. Here it +blended with the dusk, and he handled the paddle so smoothly that he +made no splash to betray his presence. + +Now he examined his canoe, and he saw that, in truth, it bore supplies +for a band, venison, buffalo meat, wild turkey, and, what he craved most +of all, bread of Indian corn. The supplies were sufficient to last him +two weeks at least, and he felt with all the power of conviction that +the miracle was still working. + +He sped down the stream with long, silent strokes, keeping always in the +dusk of the overhanging foliage. The stars came out, and with them a +full, bright moon, which he also worshiped as a sign and an emblem of +the Supreme Will that had saved him. He fell into an intense mood of +exaltation. The powers of earth and air and water had worked together in +a singular manner. Never was his fancy more vivid. The flowing of the +stream sang to him, and the willows over his head sang to him also. The +light from the moon and stars grew. The dusk was shot with a silver +glow. Apprehension, weariness went from him, and he shot down the river, +mile after mile, apparently the only figure in the ancient wilderness. + +He did not stop until two or three hours after midnight, when at a low +place in the bank he thrust the canoe into a dense mass of water weeds +and bushes, put the paddle beside him and ate freely of the captured +supplies. The venison and buffalo meat were excellent, and while the +water of the river was not as good as that of a spring, it was +nevertheless cold and refreshing. Fresh warmth and vigor flowed into +his body, and he declared to himself that he had never felt better and +stronger in his life. He looked with satisfaction at his stores, which +would last him so long, and he also saw in the canoe a folded green +blanket, which its owner evidently had left there for future use. He +would use it instead, since the cold was likely to increase and he meant +to be comfortable. + +Henry considered the canoe a godsend. It left no trail, and he had been +careful to leave none when he came to the bank for its capture. Perhaps +the Indian would think he had tied it carelessly and the current had +pulled its fastenings loose. In any event, the fugitive was gone and his +pathway was invisible, like that of a bird in the air. He looked up once +more at the cold, blue sky, the brilliant full moon, and the hosts of +shining stars. Cold the sky might be to others, but it was not so to +him. It bent over him like a protecting blue veil, shot with the silver +glow of moon and stars. + +The thicket into which he had pushed his canoe was of weeds, reeds and +willows, and very dense. The keenest eyes might search its very edge and +fail to see the fugitive within. There was no view except overhead, and +Henry resolved to remain there the whole of the next day. If the +warriors came pursuing on the river he would be once again the needle in +the haystack, and even if by some chance they should spy him out, he +could escape, refreshed and invigorated, to the land. + +Assured of his present safety, he spread his bed in the canoe, a +somewhat difficult task, as everything had to be adjusted with nicety, +but the close wall of reeds and bushes helped him to keep the balance, +and at last he lay on the bottom with the Indian's blanket under him and +his own and the painted robe above him. Then he went to sleep and did +not awaken until the next day was hours old. + +A bright sun was shining through the bushes over his head, but he was +glad that his body had been protected by an abundance of covers. The +painted robe was white with frost, which even the hours of day had not +yet melted, and near the edges there was a thin skin of ice on the +river. His breath made little clouds of vapor in the cold morning. He +was so warm and snug under the blankets that he felt the usual aversion +in such cases to rising, and turning gently on his side, lest he tilt +the canoe, he closed his eyes for that aftermath of sleep, a final and +pleasant doze. + +When he opened his eyes again he contemplated the sun through the veil +of bushes and reeds. It was great and red, but it had a chilly effect, +and he knew the day was quite cold. The willows began to shake and +quiver and the wind that stirred them was nipping. He did not care. Cold +stimulated him, and, making ready for new endeavors, he dipped for his +breakfast into the captured stores. + +Then he took note of the river, upon the surface of which much life was +already passing. He saw a flock of wild ducks swimming strong and true +against the current, and when they were gone a swarm of wild geese came +with many honks out of the air and swam in the same direction. He knew +that presently they would rise again and fly into the far south, +escaping the fierce winter of the north. + +The great fishing birds also wheeled and circled over the stream, and +now and then one shot downward for its prey. On the opposite shore two +deer pushed their bodies through the bushes and drank at the river's +edge. On his own shore the puffing of a bear in the woods came to his +ears. Evidently he had come from a region bare of game into a land of +plenty. + +The wild geese rose with a suddenness he had not anticipated and sped +southward in a long arrow, outlined sharply against the sky. The great +fishing birds silently disappeared, and Henry was alone on the river. He +knew that the quick flight of his feathered friends was not due to +chance. Undoubtedly man was coming, and he crouched low in his canoe, +with his rifle ready. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE WATCHFUL SQUIRREL + + +Henry saw about what he expected to see, two long canoes, containing a +dozen or more warriors each, with the Shawnee chief, Red Eagle, and +Braxton Wyatt in the first and Yellow Panther, the Miami chief, and +Blackstaffe in the second. Chiefs and renegades and warriors alike swept +the shore with questing eyes, but they did not see the one for whom they +had looked so long lying so near, and yet hidden so well among the +reeds. + +He watched them without apprehension. He had full confidence in the veil +about him, and he expected them to pass on in the relentless hunt. They, +too, looked worn, and he fancied that the eyes of chiefs and renegades +expressed disappointment and deep anger. Nobody in the long canoes +spoke, and, silent save for the plashing of the paddles they went on and +out of sight. + +Henry might have taken to the woods now, but he was too wary. He wished +to remain on the element that left no trail, and he felt also that he +had walked and run long enough. He intended to travel now chiefly with +the strength of his arms, and the longer he stayed in the canoe the +better he liked it. Its store of provisions was fine, and it was easier +to carry them in it than on his back. So he waited with the patience +that every true forest runner has, and saw the morning merge into the +afternoon. + +It was almost evening when the long canoes came back, passing his +covert. They had found the quest vain, and concluding, doubtless, that +they had gone too far, were returning to look elsewhere. But the +paddlers were weary, and the chiefs and renegades, too, drooped +somewhat. They did not show their usual alertness of eye as they came +back against the stream, and Henry judged that the pursuit would lapse +in energy, while they went ashore in search of warmth and food. + +A half hour after they were out of sight he came from the weeds, and, +with great sweeps of the paddle, sent the canoe shooting down the river. +He was so fresh and strong now that he felt as if he could go on +forever, and all through the night his powerful arms drove him toward +his unknown goal. He noticed that the river was broadening and the banks +were low, sometimes sandy, and he fancied that he was approaching its +outlet in one of the Great Lakes. And the chase had led so far! Nor was +it yet finished! The chiefs and the renegades, not finding him farther +back, would reorganize the pursuit and follow again. + +Day came bright and warm, much warmer than it had been farther south, +and Henry paddled until evening although he found the heat oppressive. +Paddling a full day and part of a night was a great task for anybody and +he grew weary again. When the night came, seeing no reeds and bushes in +which he could hide the canoe, he resolved to sleep on land. So he +lifted it from the river and carried it a short distance inland, where +he put it down in a thicket, choosing a resting place for himself not +far away. + +He spread one of the blankets as usual on dead leaves, and put the other +and the painted coat over himself. Then, knowing that he would be warm +and snug for the night, he relaxed and looked idly at the dusky woods, +feeling perfectly safe as the warriors must be far to the south. + +The only living being he saw was a gray squirrel on the trunk of a tree +about twenty feet away. But he was a friend of the squirrel, and he +regarded it with friendly eyes, noting the sharpness of its claws, the +bushiness of its tail, and the alertness of its keen little nose. It was +an uncommon squirrel, endowed with great curiosity, and perception, a +leader in its tribe, and it was intensely interested in the large, still +body lying on the leaves below. + +The squirrel came farther down the tree, and stared intently at Henry, +uncertain whether he was a friend or a foe. Yet he had all the aspect of +a friend. There was no hostile movement, and the bold and inquiring +fellow ventured another foot closer. Then he scuttled in alarm ten feet +back up the trunk, as the figure raised a hand, and threw something +small that fell at the foot of the tree. + +But as the human being did not move again, the courage and curiosity of +this uncommonly bold and inquiring squirrel returned, and, gradually +creeping down the tree, he inspected the small object that had fallen +there. It smelled good, and when he nibbled at it it tasted good. Then +he ate it all, went back up the bark a little distance and waited +gratefully for more of the same. Presently it came, and he ate that bit, +too, and after a while a third. Then the human figure threw him no more +such fine food, but went to sleep. + +The squirrel knew he was asleep, because he left the tree, walked +cautiously over the ground, and stood with his ears cocked up, scarcely +a yard from the vast, still figure that breathed so deeply and with such +regularity. He had seen gigantic beings before. From the safety of his +boughs he had looked upon those mountains, the buffaloes, and he had +often seen the stag in the forest. Mere size did not terrify him, and +now he did not feel in the least afraid. On the contrary, this was his +friend who had fed him, and he regarded him with benevolence. + +The squirrel went back up the tree, his claws pattering lightly on the +bark. He had a fine knot hole high up the trunk, and his family were +sound asleep in it, surrounded by a great store of nuts. There was a +warm place for him, the head of the family, but he could not stay in it. +After a while he was compelled to go out again, and look at the +unconscious human figure. + +Emboldened by his first experience which had been so free from ill +result, he descended upon the ground a second time and went toward +Henry. But in an instant he turned back again. His keen little ears had +heard something moving in the forest and it was not any small animal +like himself, but a large body, several of them in fact. He ran up the +tree, and then far out on a bough where he could see. + +Five Indian warriors walking in single file were approaching. They were +part of an outlying band, not perhaps looking for Henry, but, if they +continued on their course, they would be sure to see him. The squirrel +regarded them for a moment with little red eyes, and then ran back to +the trunk of the tree. + +Henry, meanwhile, slept soundly. There was nothing to disturb him. The +wind did not blow and so the dry branches of the forest did not rustle. +The footsteps of the approaching Indians made no noise, yet in a few +more moments he ceased to sleep so well. A sound penetrated at last to +his ear and he sat up. It was the chattering of the gray squirrel, and +the rattling of his claws on the dry bark of the tree, his bushy tail +curving far over his back, and his whole body seeming to be shaken by +violent convulsions. Henry stared at him, thinking at first that he was +threatened by some carnivorous prowler of the air, but, as he looked +away, he caught a glimpse through the bushes of a moving brown figure +and then of another and more. + +Henry Ware never struck camp with more smoothness and celerity. One hand +swept up his blankets and the painted robe, another grasped his rifle, +and, as silent as a night bird itself, he vanished into the deeper +thicket where the canoe lay. There, crouched beside it, he watched while +the warriors passed. They would certainly have seen his body had it been +lying where it had been, but they were not near enough to notice his +traces, and they had no cause to suspect his presence. So, the silent +file passed on, and disappeared in the deep woods. + +Henry stood up, and once more he felt a great access of wonder and +gratitude. The superior powers were surely protecting him, and were even +watching over him while he slept. He walked back a little and looked at +the tree, on which the gray squirrel had chattered and rattled his +claws. He thought he caught a glimpse of a bushy tail among the boughs, +but he was not sure. In any event, he bore in mind that while great +animals had served him, the little ones, too, had given help as good. +Then he bore the canoe back to the river, put in it all his precious +possessions, and continued his flight by water. + +There was a chance that warriors might see him from the banks, since he +had proof of their presence in the woods, but relying upon his skill and +the favors of fortune, he was willing to take the risk. He had an idea, +too, that he would soon come to the lake, and he meant to hide among the +dense thickets and forests, sure to line its low shores. + +His surmise was right, as some time before noon the river widened +abruptly, and a half hour later he came out on the border of a vast +lake, stretching blue to the horizon and beyond. A strong wind blowing +over the great expanse of water came sharp and cold, but to Henry, +naturally so strong and warmed by his exertions, it furnished only +exhilaration. He felt that now the great flight and chase had come to an +end. He could not cross this mighty inland sea in his light canoe, and +doubtless the chiefs and the renegades, unable to follow his trail by +water, where he left no trail at all, would give up at last, and hope +for more success another time. + +So believing, and confident in his belief, he looked around for a +temporary home, and marked a low island lying out about five miles from +the shore. The five had found good refuge on an island once before, and +he alone might do it again, and lie hidden there, until all danger from +the great hunt had passed. + +He acted with his usual boldness and decision, and paddled with a strong +arm toward the island which seemed to be about a mile each way and was a +mass of dense forest. His canoe rocked on the waves, which were running +high before the wind, but he came without mishap to the island, and, +pushing his canoe through thickets of reeds and willows, landed. + +Leaving the canoe well hidden, he examined the island and was well +pleased with it, as it seemed to be suited admirably to his purpose. The +forest was unbroken and very dense. Probably human beings never came +there, as the game seemed very tame. Two or three deer looked at him +with mild, inquiring eyes before they moved slowly away, and he saw +where wild turkey roosted in numbers at night. + +In the center of the island was a small dip, where only bushes grew, and +he decided that he would make his camp there, as the great height of the +trees surrounding it would hide the smoke that might arise from his +subdued campfire. But he did no work that day, as he wished to be sure +that his passage to the island had not been observed by any wandering +warriors on the mainland. There was no sign of pursuit, and he knew now +that fortune had favored him again. + +He slept the night through in the canoe, and the next morning he set to +work with his hatchet to make a bush shelter for himself, a task that +took two days and which he finished just in time, as a fierce wind with +hail swept over the island and the lake. He had removed all his supplies +from the canoe to the hut, and, wrapped in the painted robe, he watched +hail and wind beat upon the surface of the lake, until it drove in high +waves like the sea. There was no danger of warriors trying the passage +to the island in such weather, and his look was that of a spectator not +that of a sentinel. The great nervous strain of the long flight, and its +many and deadly perils, had passed, and he found a pleasure in watching +the turmoil of the elements. + +The old feeling that he belonged for the time to a far, far distant past +returned. He was alone on his island, as many a remote ancestor of his +must have been alone in the forest in his day, and yet he felt not the +least trace of loneliness or fear. Everything was wild, primeval and +grand to the last degree. The huge lake, curving up from the horizon, +had turned from blue to lead, save where the swift waves were crested +with white. The hail beat on the trees and bushes like myriads of +bullets, and the wind came with a high, shrill scream. The mainland was +lost in the mist and clouds, and he was not only alone on his island, +but alone in his world, and separated from his foes by tumbling and +impassable waters. + +Henry's mind was in tune with the storm. He looked upon it as a +celebration of his triumph, the end of the flight and the chase, a +flight that had been successful for him, a chase that had been +unsuccessful for the chiefs and the renegades, and the blood merely +flowed more swiftly in his veins, as the hail beat upon him. He did not +care how long wind and hail lasted; the longer the better for him, and, +flinging out his hands, he waved a salute to the storm god. + +He remained for hours looking upon the great spectacle, that pleased him +so much, and then kept dry by the huge painted coat, he went back to the +brush hut. But night only and the necessity to sleep could have sent him +there. He did not yet light a fire, contenting himself with the cold +food from the canoe, nor did he do so the next day, as the storm was +still raging. When it ceased on the third day all the trees and bushes +were coated with ice, and he was a dweller in the midst of a silver +forest. Then, with much difficulty he lighted a small fire before the +hut, warmed over some venison and a little of the precious bread. He +would not have to kill any game for a week or ten days and he was glad +that it was so, since he was still averse to slaying any member of the +kingdom of the animals that had befriended him so much. + +The peace of the elements lasted only a few hours. Then they were in a +more terrible turmoil than ever. The wind whistled and shrieked, and the +snow came down, driven here and there in whirling gusts, while the lake +roared and thundered beneath the drive of the hurricane. Although there +were lulls at times, yet as a whole the storm lasted a whole week, and +it was remembered long by the Indians living in those northern regions +as the week of the great storm, unexampled in its length and ferocity. + +But Henry found nothing in it to frighten him. Rather, the greater +powers were still watching over him, and it was sent for his protection. +His own bold and wild spirit remained in tune with it at all times. The +brush hut was warm and snug and it held fast against wind, hail and +snow. Now and then he lighted the fire anew to warm over his food or +merely to see the bright blaze. + +At the end of the week he shot a deer among a herd that had found +shelter in extremely deep woods at the north end of the island, and +never did he do a deed more reluctantly. But it gave an abundance of +fresh food, which he now needed badly, and he added to his stores two +wild turkeys. + +When the storm ceased entirely a very deep snow fell, and he put off his +intention to leave. He expected to use the canoe, but he might be +forced to leave it, and, traveling in the woods with the snow above a +man's knees, would be too hard. So he waited patiently, and made his +little home as comfortable as he could. + +In another week the snow began to melt fast, and he set forth on his +great return journey. The canoe was well supplied with provisions and +the lake was quiet. He paddled for the mouth of the river, and, when he +passed within the stream, the whole country looked so wintry that he +believed the Indians must have gone to their villages for warmth and +shelter. Firm in his opinion he paddled boldly against the current and +took his course southward, though he did not relax his caution, as the +Indians often sent out parties of hunters, despite cold or storm. They +were not a forehanded people, and the plenty of summer was no guard +against the scarcity of winter. They must find game or die, and Henry +had very little real fear of anything except these questing bands. + +But he paddled on all the day without interruption. The dense forest on +either shore was white and silent, and, when night came, he drew the +canoe into the bushes, making his camp on land. The temperature had +taken a great fall in the afternoon, and with the dark intense cold had +come. The mercury went far below zero and the bitter wind that blew bit +through the painted coat and all his clothing clean into the bone. It +was so intense that he resolved to risk everything and build a fire. + +He managed to set a heap of dead wood burning in the lee of a hill, and +he fed the fire for a long time, at last letting it die down into a +great mass of coals that threw out heat like a furnace. Over this he +hovered and felt the cold which had clutched him like a paralysis +leaving his body. Then he wrapped the two blankets around the painted +coat and slept in fair comfort till morning, sure that the intense cold +would prevent any movement of the Indians in the forest. + +But the dawn disclosed a river frozen over to the depth of four inches, +and his canoe, which he had taken the precaution to put on land, would +be useless, at least for several days, as the ice could not melt sooner. +Most forest runners, in such a case, would have abandoned the canoe, and +would have gone on through the forest as best they could, but Henry had +learned illimitable patience from the Indians. If the cold put a +paralysis on his movements it did as much for those of the warriors. So +he looked to the preservation of the canoe, and boldly built his fire +anew, eating abundantly of the deer and wild turkey and a little of the +bread, which he husbanded with such care. At night he slept in the canoe +and occasionally he scouted in the country around, although the +traveling was very hard, as the deep snow was covered with a sheet of +ice, and he was compelled to break his way. He saw no Indian trails and +he concluded that the hunting parties even had taken to their tepees, +and would wait until the thaw came. + +His task for the next seven or eight days was to keep warm, and to +preserve his canoe in such manner that it would be water tight when he +set it afloat once more on the river. He built another brush shelter, +very rude, but in a manner serviceable for himself, and with a fire +burning always before it he was able to fend off the fierce chill. The +mercury was fully thirty degrees below zero, but fortunately the wind +did not blow, or it would have been almost unbearable. + +Henry chafed greatly at the long delay, but he endured it as best he +could, and, when the huge thaw came and all the earth ran water, he put +his canoe in the river once more and began to paddle against the flooded +current. It was a delicate task even for one as strong and skillful as +he, as great blocks of ice came floating down and he was compelled to +watch continually lest his light craft be crushed by them. His perpetual +vigilance and incessant struggle against the stream made him so weary +that at the end of the day he lifted the canoe out of the water, crept +into it and slept the sleep of exhaustion. + +The next day was quite warm, and the floating ice in the river having +diminished greatly he resumed his journey without so much apprehension +of dangers from the stream, but with a keen watch for the hunting +parties of warriors which he was sure would be out. Now that the great +snow was gone, Miamis and Shawnees, Wyandots and Ottawas would be +roaming the forest to make up for the lack of food caused by their +customary improvidence. Moreover, it was barely possible that on his +return journey he might run into the host led by Yellow Panther and Red +Eagle. + +He kept close to the bank in the unbroken shadow of the thickets and +forests, and as he paddled with deliberation, saving his strength, a +warm wind began to blow from the south. The last ice disappeared from +the river and late in the afternoon he saw distant smoke which he was +sure came from an Indian camp, most likely hunters. + +It was to the east of the river, and hence he slept that night in the +dense forest to the west, the canoe reposing among the bushes by his +side. The following day was still warmer and seeing several smokes, some +to the east and some to the west, he became convinced that the forest +was now full of warriors. After being shut up a long time in their +villages by the great snow and great cold they would come forth not only +for game, but for the exercise and freedom that the wilderness afforded. +The air of the woods would be very pleasant to them after the close and +smoky lodges. + +Now Henry, who had been living, in a measure an idyll of lake and +forest, became Henry the warrior again, keen, watchful, ready to slay +those who would slay him. He never paddled far before he would turn in +to the bank, and examine the woods and thickets carefully to see whether +an enemy lay there in ambush. If he came to a curve he rounded it slowly +and cautiously, and, at last, when he saw remains from some camp farther +up floating in the stream he seriously considered the question of +abandoning the canoe altogether and of taking to the forest. But his +present mode of traveling was so smooth and easy that he did not like +to go on a winter trail through the woods again. + +The mouth of a smaller and tributary river about a mile farther on +solved the problem for him. The new stream seemed to lead in the general +direction in which he wished to go, and, as it was deep enough for a +canoe, he turned into it and paddled toward the southwest, going about +twenty miles in a narrow and rather deep channel. He stopped then for +the night, and, before dark came, saw several more smokes, but had the +satisfaction to note that they were all to the eastward, seeming to +indicate that he had flanked the bands. + +As usual, he took his canoe out of the water and laid it among the +bushes, finding a similar covert for himself near by, where he ate his +food and rested his arms and shoulders, wearied by their long labors +with the paddle. It was the warmest night since the big freeze, but he +was not very sleepy and after finishing his supper he went somewhat +farther than usual into the woods, not looking for anything in +particular, but partly to exercise his legs which had become somewhat +cramped by his long day in the canoe. But he became very much alive when +he heard a crash which he knew to be that of a falling tree. He leaped +instantly to the shelter of a great trunk and his hand sprang to his +gunlock, but no other sound followed, and he wondered. At first, he had +thought it indicated the presence of warriors, but Indians did not cut +down trees and doubtless it was due to some other cause, perhaps an old, +decayed trunk that had been weighted down by snow, falling through +sheer weariness. In any event he was going to see, and, emerging from +his shelter, he moved forward silently. + +He came to a thicket, and saw just beyond it a wide pool or backwater +formed by a tributary of the creek. In the water, stood a beaver colony, +the round domes of their houses showing like a happy village. It was +evident, however, that they were doing much delayed work for the winter, +as a half dozen stalwart fellows were busy with the tree, the falling +crash of which Henry had just heard, and which they had cut through with +their sharp teeth. + +He crouched in the thicket and, all unsuspected by the industrious +members of the colony, watched them a little while. He did not know just +what building operation they intended, but it must be an after thought. +The beaver was always industrious and full of foresight, and, if they +were adding now to the construction of their town carried out earlier in +the year, it must be due to a prevision that it was going to be a very +cold, long and hard winter. + +Henry watched them at work quite a while, and they furnished him both +amusement and interest. It was a sort of forest idyll. Their energy was +marvelous, and they worked always with method. One huge, gray old fellow +seemed to direct their movements, and Henry soon saw that he was an able +master who tolerated neither impudence nor trifling. In his town +everybody had not only to work, but to work when, where and how the +leader directed. It gave the hidden forest runner keen pleasure to +watch the village with its ordered life, industry and happiness. + +He felt once more his sense of kinship with the animals. He was a +thoughtful youth, and it often occurred to him that the world might be +made for them as well as for man. + +The beaver was an animal of uncommon intelligence and he could learn +from him. The big gray fellow was a general of ability, perhaps with a +touch of genius. All his soldiers were working according to his +directions with uncommon skill and dispatch. Henry concentrated his +attention upon him, and presently he had a feeling that the leader saw +him, had known all the time that he was lying there in the thicket, and +was not afraid of him, convinced that he would do no harm. It added to +his pleasure to think that it was so. The old fellow looked directly at +him at least a half dozen times, and presently Henry was compelled to +laugh to himself. As sure as he was living that big old beaver had +raised his head a little higher out of the water than usual, and +glancing his way had winked at him. + +He forgot everything else in the play between himself and the beaver +king, and a king he surely was, as he had time to direct, and to direct +ably, all the activities of his village, and also to carry on a kind of +wireless talk with the forest runner. Henry watched him to see if he +would give him the wink again, and as sure as day was day he dived +presently, came up at the near edge of the pool, wiped the dripping +water from his head and face and winked gravely with his left eye, his +expression being for the moment uncommonly like that of a human being. + +Henry was startled. It certainly seemed to be real. But then his fancy +was vivid and he knew it. The circumstances, too, were unusual and the +influences of certain remarkable instances was strong upon him. +Moreover, if the king of the beavers wanted to wink at him there was +nothing to keep him from winking back. So he winked and to his great +astonishment and delight the old king winked again. Then the beaver, +feeling as if he had condescended enough for the time, dived and came up +now on the far side of the pool, where he infused new energy into his +subject with a series of rapid commands, and hurried forward the work. + +Henry's delight remained with him. The old king had been willing to put +the forest runner on an equality with himself by winking at him. They +two were superior to all the others and the king alone was aware of his +presence. Since the monarch had distinctly winked at him several times +it was likely that he would wink once or twice more, when enough was +done for dignity's sake. So he waited with great patience. + +But for a little while the king seemed to have forgotten his existence +or to have repented of his condescension, as apparently he gave himself +up wholly to the tasks of kingship, telling how the work should be done, +and urging it on, as if apprehensive that another freeze might occur +before it could be finished. He was a fine old fellow, full of wisdom, +experience and decision, and Henry began to fear that he had been +forgotten in the crush of duties pertaining to the throne. + +In about ten minutes, the gray king dived and came up a second time on +the near side of the pool. It was quite evident, too, that he was +winking once more, and Henry winked back with vigor. Then the beaver +began to swim slowly back and forth in a doubtful fashion, as if he had +something on his mind. The humorous look which Henry persuaded himself +he had seen in his eye faded. His glance expressed indecision, +apprehension even, and Henry, with the feeling of kinship strong upon +him, strove to divine what his cousin, the beaver, was thinking. That he +was not thinking now what he had been thinking ten minutes before was +quite evident, and the youth wondered what could be the cause of a +change so abrupt and radical. + +He caught the beaver's eye and surely the old king was troubled. That +look said as plain as day to Henry that there was danger, and that he +must beware. Then the beaver suddenly raised up and struck the water +three powerful blows with his broad flat tail. The reports sounded like +rifle shots, and, before the echo of the last one died, the great and +wise king of his people sank like a stone beneath the water and did not +come into view again, disappearing into his royal palace, otherwise his +domed hut of stone-hard mud. All of his subjects shot from sight at the +same time and Henry saw only the domes of the beaver houses and the +silent pool. + +He never doubted for an instant that the royal warning was intended for +him as well as the beaver people, and he instantly slid back deeper into +the thicket, just as a dozen Shawnee warriors, their footsteps making no +noise, came through the woods on the other side, and looked at the +beaver pool. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE LETTER + + +Henry was quite sure that the beaver king had given him a direct +warning, and he never liked afterward to disturb or impair the belief, +and, moreover, he was so alive with gratitude that it was bound to be +so. Lying perfectly still in the depths of the thicket he watched the +Indians, powerful warriors, who, nevertheless, showed signs of strain +and travel. Doubtless they had come from the edge of the lake itself, +and he believed suddenly, but with all the certainty of conviction, that +they were following him. They were on the back trail, which, in some +unexplained manner, they had struck merely to lose again. Chance had +brought them to opposite sides of the pond, but he alone had received +the warning. + +They stood at the water's edge three or four minutes, looking at the +beaver houses and talking, although Henry was too far away to understand +what they said. He knew they would not remain long, but what they did +next was of vital moment to him. If they should chance to come his way +he would have to spring up and run for it, but if they went by another +he might lie still and think out his problem. + +The leader gave a word of command, and, dropping into the usual single +file, they marched silently into the south. Henry lay on the north side +of the pool, and when the last of the warriors was out of sight, he rose +and walked back to his canoe, which he must now reluctantly abandon. He +could not think of continuing on the water when he had proof of the eye +that many warriors were in the woods about the creek. + +The canoe had served him well. It had saved him often from weariness, +and sometimes from exhaustion, but dire need barred it now. He put on +the painted coat, made the blankets and provisions into a pack which he +fastened on his back, hid the light craft among weeds and bushes at the +creek's margin, and then struck off at a swift pace toward the west and +south. + +While bands would surely follow him, he did not believe the Indian hosts +could be got together again for his pursuit and capture. After their +great failure in the flight and pursuit northward they would melt away +largely, and winter would thin the new chase yet more. His thought now +was less of the danger from them than of his four brave comrades from +whom he had been separated so long and whom he was anxious to rejoin. It +was more than likely that they had left the oasis and had come a long +distance to the north, but where they were now was another of the +serious problems that confronted him from day to day. In a wilderness so +vast four men were like the proverbial needle in the haystack. + +But Henry trusted to luck, which in his mind was no luck at all, rather +the favor of the greater powers which had watched over him in his flight +and which had not withdrawn their protection on his return, as the king +of the beavers had shown. All the following day he fled southward, +despite the heavy pack he carried, and made great speed. Here, he +judged, the winter had not been severe, since the melting of the great +snow that he had encountered on his way toward the lake, and he slept +the next night in the lee of a hill, his blankets and the painted coat +still being sufficient for his comfort. + +At noon of the next day, coming into low ground, mostly a wilderness of +bushes and reeds, he heard shots and soon discovered that they came from +the rifles and muskets of Indians hunting buffalo and deer, which could +not easily escape them in the marshes. For fear of leaving a trail, sure +to be seen in such soft ground, he lay very close in a dense thicket of +bushes until night, which was fortunately very dark, came. Then he made +off under cover of the darkness, and saw Indian fires both to the right +and to the left of him. He passed so close to the one on his right that +he heard the warriors singing the song of plenty, indicating that the +day had yielded them rich store of deer and buffalo. Most of the Indians +were not delicate feeders and they would probably eat until they could +eat no more, then, lying in a stupor by the fire, they would sleep until +morning. + +He did not stop until after midnight, and slept again in the protection +of a steep hill, advancing the next day through a country that seemed to +swarm with warriors evidently taking advantage of the weather to refill +the wigwams, which must have become bare of food. Henry, knowing that +his danger had been tripled, advanced very slowly now, traveling usually +by night and lying in some close covert by day. His own supplies of food +fell very low, but at night, at the edge of a stream, he shot a deer +that came down to drink, and carried away the best portions of the body. +He took the risk because he believed that if the Indians heard the shot +they would think it was fired by one of their own number, or at least +would think so long enough for him to escape with his new and precious +supplies. + +He was correct in his calculations, as he was not able to detect any +trace of immediate pursuit, and, building a low fire between two hills, +he cooked and ate a tender piece of the deer meat. + +That night he saw a faint light on the horizon, and believing that it +came from an Indian camp, he decided to stalk it. Placing all his +supplies inside the blankets and the painted robe, he fastened the whole +pack to the high bough of a tree in such a manner that no roving wild +animal could get them, and then advanced toward the light, which grew +larger as he approached. It also became evident very soon that it was a +camp, as he had inferred, but a much larger one than his original +supposition. It had been pitched in a valley for the sake of shelter +from cold winds, and on the western side was a dense thicket, through +which Henry advanced. + +The Indians were keeping no watch, as they had nothing to guard against, +and he was able to come so near that he could see into the whole bowl, +where fully two hundred warriors sat about a great fire, eating all +kinds of game and enjoying to the full the warmth and food of savage +life. Henry, although they were his natural foes, felt a certain +sympathy with them. He understood their feelings. They had gone long in +their villages, half starved, while the great snow and the great cold +lasted, but now they were in the midst of plenty that they had obtained +by their skill and tenacity in hunting. So they rejoiced as they +supplied the wants of the primeval man. + +The scene was wild and savage to the last degree. Most of the warriors, +in the heat of the fires, had thrown off their blankets, and they were +bare to the waist, their brown bodies heavily painted and gleaming in +the firelight. Every man roasted or broiled for himself huge pieces of +buffalo, deer or wild turkey over the coals, and then sat down on the +ground, Turkish fashion, and ate. + +At intervals a warrior would spring to his feet and, waving aloft a +great buffalo bone, would dance back and forth, chanting meanwhile some +fierce song of war or the chase. Others would join him, and a dozen, +perhaps twenty, would be leaping and contorting their bodies and singing +as if they had been seized by a madness. The remainder went on with the +feast, which seemed to have no ending. + +The wind rose a little and blew, chill, through the forest. The dry +boughs rustled against one another, and the flames wavered, but roared +the louder as the drafts of air fanned them to greater strength. The +warriors, heated by the heaps of coals and the vast quantities of food +they were devouring, felt the cold not at all. Instead, the remaining +few who wore their blankets threw them off, and there was a solid array +of naked brown bodies, glistening with paint and heat. Innumerable +sparks rose from the fires and floated high overhead, to die there +against the clear, cold skies. When a group of singers and dancers +ceased, another took its place, and the fierce, weird chant never +stopped, the wintry forest continually giving back its echoes. + +The wilderness spectacle had a remarkable fascination for Henry, who +understood it so well, and, knowing that there was little danger from +men who were spending their time in what to them was a festival, he +crept closer, but was still well hidden in the dense thicket. Then his +pulses gave a great leap, as four figures which had been on the other +side of the fire came distinctly into his view. They were Red Eagle, +head chief of the Shawnees; Yellow Panther, head chief of the Miamis; +and the renegades, Braxton Wyatt and Moses Blackstaffe, who had pursued +him so long and with such tenacity. They were talking earnestly, and he +crept to the very edge of the thicket, where scarcely three feet divided +him from the open. + +He knew that only a chance would bring the four near enough for him to +understand their words, but after a half hour's waiting the chance came. +Blackstaffe, who took precedence over Wyatt because of his superior +years and experience, was doing most of the talking, and the subject, +chance or coincidence bringing it about, was Henry himself. + +"The warriors discovered a white trail, the trail of one," said the +renegade, "but we don't know it was Ware's. He may have perished in the +great freeze, and if so we are well rid of a dangerous foe, an eye that +has always watched over our movements, and a bold spirit that always +takes the alarm to the settlements below. I give him full credit for all +his skill and courage, but I'd rather his bones were lying in the +forest, picked clean by the wolves." + +Henry felt a little thrill of satisfaction. "Picked clean by the +wolves?" Why, the wolves themselves had saved him once! + +"I don't think he's dead," said Braxton Wyatt. "I don't know why, but I +believe I understand him better than any of you do. I tell you he's even +stronger and more resourceful than you suppose! Look how often he has +escaped us, when we were sure we held him fast! He'd find a way to live +in the big freeze, or anywhere. I've an idea that he's back up there by +the lake somewhere, and that the trail the warriors found was that of +another of the five, perhaps the traces of the fellow Shif'less Sol." + +Henry's pulse leaped again, now with joy. The shiftless one had not +been taken nor slain, and doubtless none of the others either, or they +would have referred to it. But he waited to hear more, and not a dead +leaf nor a twig stirred in the thicket, he was so still. + +"It seems strange," said Blackstaffe, thoughtfully, "that we have not +been able to take him, when more than a thousand warriors were in the +hunt, carried on without stopping, except during the big snow and the +big freeze. And the warriors are the best in the west, men who can come +pretty near seeing a trail through the air, men without fear. It almost +seems to me that there's been something miraculous about it." + +Then one of the chiefs spoke for the first time, and it was Yellow +Panther, the Miami. + +"Blackstaffe has spoken the truth," he said. "Ware is helped by evil +spirits, spirits evil to us, else he could not have slipped from our +traps so often. He has powerful medicine that calls them to his aid when +danger surrounds him." + +Yellow Panther spoke with all the gravity and earnestness that became a +great Miami chief, and, as he finished, he looked up at the skies from +which the fugitive had summoned spirits to his help. The great Shawnee +chief, Red Eagle, standing by his side, nodded in emphatic confirmation. +Henry felt a peculiar quiver run through his blood. Had he really +received miraculous help, as the two chiefs thought? Lying there in such +a place at such a time there was much to make him think as they did. + +"We've spread a mighty net, and we've caught nothing," said Braxton +Wyatt, deep disappointment showing in his tone. "We've not only failed +to get the leader of the five, but we've failed to take a single one of +them." + +Now Henry's heart gave a great leap. He had inferred that all of his +comrades were yet safe, but here was positive proof in the words of +Wyatt. Why had he ever feared? He might have known that when he drew off +the Indian power they would be able to take care of themselves. + +"I think," said Blackstaffe, "that we'd better continue our march to the +south, and also keep a large force in the north. If we don't stumble +upon him in a week or two our chance will be gone, at least until next +spring. All the wild fowl flew south very early and the old men and +women of the tribes have foretold the longest and hardest winter in two +generations. Is it not so, Yellow Panther?" + +"The cold will be so great that all the warriors will have to seek their +wigwams," replied the Miami chief, "and they will stay there many days +and nights, hanging over the fires. The war trail will be deserted and +the Ice King will rule over the forest." + +"I've no doubt the old men and old women are right," said Braxton Wyatt, +"and you make me shiver now when you tell me what they say. Perhaps the +spirits will turn over to our side and give all the five into our +hands." + +They moved on out of hearing, but Henry now knew enough. His comrades +were untaken and he understood their plan of campaign. If he and the +four could evade it a little longer, a mighty winter would shut in, and +that would be the end. He was glad he had come to spy upon the host. He +had been rewarded more richly than he had hoped. Now he crept silently +away, but for a long time, whenever he looked back, he still saw the +luminous glow of the great fires on the dusky horizon. + +He was so sure that no warriors would come, or, if they did come, that +his trained faculties would give him warning in time, that he slept in a +thicket within two miles of the camp. He was up before dawn and on the +southern trail, knowing that the Indian host would soon be on the same +course, though going more slowly. His trail lay to the east of that +which had led him north, but the country was of the same general +character. Everywhere, save for the little prairies, it was wooded +densely, and the countless streams, whether creeks or brooks, were +swollen by the winter thaw. + +The desire to rejoin his comrades was very strong upon Henry, and he +began to look for proofs that they had been in that region. He knew +their confidence in him, their absolute faith that he would elude the +pursuit and return in time. Therefore they would be waiting for him, and +wherever they had passed they would leave signs in the hope that he +might see them. So, as he fled, he watched not only for his enemies, but +for the trail of his friends. + +He was compelled to swim a large river, and the cold was so great that +he risked everything and built a fire, before which he warmed and dried +himself, staying there nearly two hours. A half hour before he left, he +saw distant smoke on his right and then smoke equally distant on his +left. Each smoke was ascending in spiral rings, and he knew that they +were talking together. He knew also that their engrossing topic was his +own smoke rising directly between. A fantastic mood seized him, and he +decided to take a part in the conversation. Passing one of his blankets +back and forth over his own fire, he, too, sent up a series of rings, +sometimes at regular intervals, and again with long breaks between. + +It was a weird and drunken chain of signals and he knew that it would +set the Indians on the right and the Indians on the left to wondering. +They would try their best to read his signals, which he could not read +himself; they would strive to put in them meaning, where there was no +meaning at all; and he worked with the blanket and the smoke with as +much zest and zeal as he had shown at any time in his flight for life. + +No such complicated signals had ever before been sent up in the +wilderness, and he enjoyed the perplexity of the warriors to the utmost +as he saw them talking to one another and also trying frantically to +talk to him. The more they said, the more he said and the more +complicated was the way in which he said it, until the smoke on his +right and the smoke on his left began to sweep around in gusts of +indignation and disappointment. + +His fantastic humor deepened. He sincerely hoped that Blackstaffe was +at the foot of one smoke and that Braxton Wyatt was at the foot of the +other, and the more they were puzzled and vexed the better it suited his +temper. He sent up the most extraordinary spirals of smoke. Sometimes +they rose straight up in the heavens, now they started off to the right, +and then they started off to the left. Although they meant nothing, one +could imagine that they meant anything or everything. They were a +frantic call for help or an insistent message that the trail of the +fugitive had been discovered, or merely a wild statement that the night +was not going to be cold, nor the next day either, or an exchange of +compliments, or whatever those who saw the things chose to imagine. + +After hoping for a while so intensely that Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe +were on either side of him, Henry felt sure it was true, so ready is +eager hope to turn its belief into a fact, and he rejoiced anew at their +vexation, laughing silently and long. Then he abruptly kicked the coals +apart, smothered the smoke, and taking up his pack fled again, much +amused and much heartened, for further efforts. He could not remember +when he had spent a more enjoyable half hour. + +He maintained his flight until far after midnight, when, coming into +stony ground, he found excellent shelter under a great ledge, one +projecting so widely that when he awoke in the morning and found it +raining, he was quite dry. It poured heavily until the afternoon, and he +did not stir from his covert, but, wrapped in the painted coat and +blankets, and taking occasional strips of the deer meat, he enjoyed the +period of rest. + +It rained so hard that he could not see more than fifty yards away, and +in the ravine before his ledge the water ran in a cold stream. The +forest looked desolate and mournful, and he would have been desolate and +mournful himself if it had not been for the single fact that he was able +to keep dry. That made all the difference in the world, and the contrast +between his own warm and sheltered lair and the chill and dripping woods +and thickets merely heightened his sense of comfort. + +When the rain stopped it was followed by an extremely cold night that +froze everything tight. Every tree, bush and the earth itself was +covered with glittering ice, a vast and intricate network, a wilderness +in white and silver. It was alike beautiful and majestic, and it made +its full appeal to Henry, but at the same time he knew that his +difficulties had been increased. He would have to walk over ice, and, as +he passed through the thickets, fragments of ice brushed from the twigs +would fall about him. For a while, at least, the Ice Age had returned. +It was sure, too, to make game very scarce, as all the animals would +stay in their coverts as long as they could at such a time, and he must +replenish his supplies of food soon. But that was a difficulty to which +he gave only a passing thought. Others pressed upon him with more +immediate force. + +His moccasins had become worn from long use and they slipped on the ice +as if it were glass. He met this difficulty by cutting pieces from one +of the blankets and tying them tightly over his feet with thin strips +from his buckskin garments. He was then able to walk without slipping, +and he made good progress again through the forest, the exertion of +travel keeping him warm. Meanwhile he watched everywhere for a sign, a +sign from the four, keeping an especial eye for the trees, for it was +upon them that the forest runners wrote their letters to one another. In +his soul he craved such a letter and he did not really know how +intensely he craved it. The bonds of friendship that united the five +were the ties of countless hardships and dangers shared, and not one of +them would have hesitated an instant to risk his life for any one of the +others. + +It was characteristic of Henry's patience and thoroughness that, though +he found nothing, he kept on looking. He wanted a letter, and he wanted +it so long and with so much concentration that he began to believe he +would find it. It was only a short letter that he wished, merely a word +from his friends saying they had passed that way. A straight, tall +figure, with eager, questing eyes, he went on through the silver forest. +When the light wind blew, fragments of the ice that sheathed every bough +and twig fell about him and rattled like silver coins as they struck the +ice below, but mostly the air was quiet, and the glow from a mighty +setting sun began to shoot such deep tints through the silver that it +was luminous with red gold. Thinking little now of its beauty and +majesty, the hunter pressed on, not the hunter of men nor even a hunter +of game, but a hunter for a word. + +The mighty sun sank farther. Most of the gold in its rays was gone, and +it burned with an intense red fire, lighting up the icy forest with the +glow of an old, old world. Henry still looked. The dark would come soon, +when he must abandon the search for the word and seek shelter instead. +But his hope was still high that he would find it before night closed +down. + +When the red glow was at its deepest he saw in the very core and heart +of it that for which he was looking. Eye-high on the stalwart trunk of +an oak were four parallel slashes from the keen blade of a tomahawk. +They could not have been put there by chance. A powerful hand had +wielded the weapon and the four cuts were precisely horizontal and close +together. He had found his word. It was as plain as day. The four had +passed there and they had left for him a letter telling him all about +it. This was only the first paragraph in the letter, and he would find +others farther on, but he devoted a little time to the examination of +the first. + +He studied minutely the cuts and the cloven edges of the bark, and he +decided that they were at least two weeks old. So the letter had been +posted some time since, and doubtless its writers had gone on to another +region. But if they posted one letter they would post others, and he +felt now that communication had been established. True, the chain +connecting them was long, but it could be shortened inch by inch. + +He made a series of widening circles about the tree, looking for the +second paragraph of the letter, and he found it about a hundred yards to +the eastward, exactly like the first, four parallel slashes of a +tomahawk, eye-high, deep into the trunk of a stalwart oak. He found a +third paragraph precisely like the first and the second, a hundred yards +farther on, and then no more. But three were enough. They indicated +clearly the course of the four which was into the northeast. In the +morning he would change his own direction to conform with theirs. + +The letter gave him a great surge of the heart, but the night came down +quickly, dark and cold, the bitter wind blew again, and the ice fell +about him in a rain of chill crystals. He knew that the temperature was +falling fast, and that it would be his hardest night so far. He must +have a fire, risk or no risk, and it was a full three hours before he +was able to coax one from dead wood that he dragged from sheltered +recesses. Then it felt so good that he built a second, intending to +sleep between them. His supply of food was low, but knowing how needful +it was to preserve his strength and the full fresh flow of his blood, he +ate of it heartily, and, then when the ground, wet between the fires +from the melted ice, had been dried by the heat, he made his bed and +slept well, although he awoke once in the night and finding the cold +intense put fresh wood on the fires. + +The next morning was one of the coldest he had felt, and he was +reluctant to leave the beds of coals, but his comrades had given him a +sign, and he would not dream of ignoring it. He threw ice upon the +fires, and with a sigh felt their heat disappear. Then he followed the +trail to the northeast, hunting at intervals for a renewal of the sign +lest he go wrong. Three times he found it, always the four cuts, +eye-high, always in the trunk of a stalwart oak, and always they led in +the direction in which he was going. The cuts were very deep, and he was +quite sure that they had been made by Shif'less Sol, who added to +remarkable strength wonderful cunning and mastery in the use of a +tomahawk. + +About noon, he came to a vast, shallow, flooded area, a third of a mile +or more across, but extending farther to north and south than he could +see either way. Doubtless the four had crossed there before the heavy +rains made the flood, and as he was unwilling to take the long circuit +to north or south he decided to make the passage on the ice which was +thick and strong. + +He had been so free from danger for some time that he took little +thought of it now, but when it was absent from his mind it came. When he +was well out upon the ice he heard the crack of a rifle behind him and a +bullet whizzed by his ear. He ran forward at great speed before he +looked back, and then he saw a dozen warriors standing at the edge of +the ice, but making no motion to pursue. As he was now out of range, he +stopped and examined them, wondering why they did not follow him. The +solution came quickly. + +The band suddenly united in a tremendous war whoop and from the woods on +the other side of the ice came an answering whoop. He was trapped +between them, and they could afford to be deliberate. His heart sank, +but as usual his courage came back in an instant, stronger than ever. +Alert, resourceful, the best marksman in all the West, he did not mean +to be taken or slain, and he looked about for the means of defense. As +it was not a lake, upon the frozen surface of which he stood, merely a +great shallow flooded area, there were clumps of bushes and little +islands of earth here and there, and he ran to one not twenty feet away, +a tiny place, well covered with big bushes. The Indians, seeing him take +refuge, set up a yell from both shores, and Henry, settling down in his +covert, waited for them to make the first move. + +He knew that the warriors would be deliberate. Considering their victim +secure in the trap, they would reckon time of no value, and would take +no unnecessary risk. He believed they were hunting bands, not those that +had trailed him directly, and that his encounter with them was chance, a +piece of bad fortune, nothing more than he should expect after such a +long run of good fortune. + +Warriors of the different bands sent far signals to one another across +the ice, and then slowly and with care each party built a large fire, +around which the men sat basking in the heat, and now and then, with a +cry or two, taunting the fugitive whom they considered so tight in the +trap. The red gleam of the flames upon the ice, contrasting with his own +situation, struck a chill into Henry. The wind had a clear sweep over +the frozen lagoon, and the rustling of the icy bushes above him was +like a whisper from the cold. He wrapped himself thoroughly in the +painted coat and the two blankets, put the rifle in front of him, where +he could snatch it up instantly, and beat his hands together at times to +keep them warm, and at other times held them under the blankets. + +He understood human nature, and he knew that they were rejoicing in +their own comfort, while he might be freezing. They felt that way +because it was their way, and he did not blame them. It was merely his +business to thwart their plans, so far as they concerned himself. He +recognized that it was a contest in which only superior skill could +defeat superior numbers, and he summoned to his aid every faculty he +possessed. + +The Indians did not move for an hour, luxuriating by their fires, and +occasionally taunting him with cries. Then four warriors from either +shore went upon the ice at the same time, and began to advance slowly +toward his island, making use of the clumps of bushes that thrust here +and there through the frozen surface of the lagoon. + +Henry slipped his hands from the blankets and watched both advancing +parties with swift glances, right and to left. They were using shelter +and advancing very slowly, but beyond a certain point both were bound to +come in range. He smiled a little. Much of his forest life recently had +been in the nature of an idyll, but now the wild man in him was +uppermost. They came to kill and they would find a killer. + +He knelt among the bushes, which were thin enough to allow him a clear +view in every direction, and put his powder horn and bullet pouch on the +snow in front of him. He could reload with amazing rapidity. They did +not know that. Nor did they know that they were advancing upon the king +of riflemen. Naturally, they would suppose him to be a wandering hunter +lost in a dangerous region. + +The party on the west presently began to pass from the shelter of one +tuft of bushes to another, twenty yards away, and in doing so the four +were wholly exposed. It was a long shot, much too long for any of the +Indians, but not too long for Henry. He fired at the leading warrior, +and, before he had time to see him crashing on the ice, he was reloading +his rifle with all the speed of dexterous fingers. He heard a yell of +rage from the Indians, and, glancing up, saw the three dragging away the +body of the fallen man. But the party on the other side, knowing that +his rifle had been emptied, but not knowing with what speed he could +reload, came running. + +His weapon flashed a second time, and with the same deadly aim. The +leading warrior in the second party fell also, dead, when his body +touched the ice, and his comrades gave back in fear. They had not known +such terrible sharpshooting before, and the man whom they had thought so +securely in the trap must have two rifles at least. Both parties, +carrying their dead with them, retreated swiftly to shore, and gathered +about the fires again. + +Henry reloaded a second time, patted affectionately the rifle that had +served him so well, put it once more in front of him, and sheltered his +hands as before under the blankets. The bands had received a dreadful +lesson. The loss of two good warriors was not to be passed over lightly, +and he knew they would delay some time before taking further action. +Meanwhile, the night was coming fast and the cold was increasing so +greatly that it alarmed him, despite the blankets and the painted robe. +The wind sweeping over the frozen surface of the lagoon had an edge that +cut like steel. The very blood in his veins seemed to grow chill, and he +felt alarm lest his hands grow too stiff with cold to handle the rifle. +The bushes, although they hid him from a distant enemy, did not afford +much protection. Instead, they were like so many icicles. + +The two bands built their fires higher, until the flames threw a glow +far out on the ice, and Henry saw their hovering figures outlined in +black against the red. They filled him with anger, because they could +maintain the siege in comfort, while he had to fight not only a human +foe, but the paralyzing cold as well. He stood up now, stretched his +arms, stamped his feet and exercised himself in every manner of which he +could think, until a certain amount of warmth came to his body. But he +knew it would not last long. Presently the cold would settle back +fiercer and more intense than ever. + +The night advanced, the dusk deepened and the siege of Henry by the +warriors and the cold grew more formidable. He was anxious for the +Indians to make another attack, but he knew now they would not do it. +They would wait patiently for the fugitive in the trap to fall inert +into their hands. After all he was in the trap! And it was a trap worse +than any other he had ever met. Then he said fiercely to himself that he +might be in the trap, but he would break out of it. + +For the second time, he took violent physical exercise to drive away the +creeping and paralyzing cold, and then he resolved upon his plan to +burst the trap. The night was fairly dark with streamers of cloud +floating across the heavens, and it might grow darker. Far to north and +south stretched the glimmering white ice, with dark spots here and +there, where the clumps of bushes or trees thrust themselves above the +frozen surface. + +Wrapping himself as thoroughly as he could, and yet in the best way to +leave freedom of action, he crept from the bushes and bending low on the +ice ran to a clump about thirty yards to the south, where he crouched a +while, watching the warriors at the two fires. He could still see very +clearly their figures outlined in a black tracery against the flames, +and they might have sentinels posted nearer, but evidently his own +change of base had not been suspected. Perhaps the fear of his deadly +rifle kept them from coming so near that they could see his movements, +and they relied upon the great cold to hold him within the original +clump of bushes. The blood in his veins that had grown chill seemed +suddenly to turn warm again. Even a passage of a few yards from one +little island to another was enough to create hope. There was no trap so +tight in which he could not find a crevice, or make one, and he prepared +for the second stage in his journey, a cluster of trees a full hundred +yards to the south. + +He would have dropped to his hands and knees if it had not been for the +fear of freezing his fingers, a risk that he could not afford to take +for a moment, alone in the desolate wilderness and surrounded by deadly +perils. So he merely stooped low and ran for the trees, the wrappings of +blanket on his feet saving him from slipping. + +But he gained them and there was yet no alarm. The black tracery of the +Indian figures still showed before the fires, where they were hovering +for the sake of the grateful heat, and, as well as he could judge, his +flight was unsuspected. + +The third island was much better than the first two. Although it was +only eight or ten yards across, it supported a cluster of large trees, +and had a little dip in the center, in which he lay, while the cruel +wind was broken off by the trees or passed over his head. There was an +access of warmth, and he had a tremendous temptation to lie there, but +he fought it. It was hard to distinguish warmth from numbness, and, if +he remained without motion, he would surely freeze to death, despite the +trees and the dip. + +Reluctantly he began the fourth stage in his flight, and his reluctance +was all the greater because the island for which he was making was at +least three hundred yards away, and the wind, cold as the Pole and cruel +as death, was rising to a hurricane. It made him waver as he ran, and +his fingers almost froze to his rifle. But he reached the fourth island, +where he sank down exhausted, the fierce wind having taken his breath +for the time. The fires now were far away and he could not distinguish +the Indians from the flames, but he did not believe any of them had come +upon the ice to attack him or to spy him out. While the tremendous cold +almost paralyzed him, it would also withhold their advance upon him for +a while. + +He rose from his covert and started again, although he felt that he was +growing weaker. Such intense exertion, under such conditions, was bound +to tell even upon a frame like his, but he would not let himself falter, +passing from island to island, resting a little at every one, bearing +toward the southeast, and intending to enter the forest about a mile +from the fire on that side. Meanwhile, the chill of the deadly cold and +elation over his escape fought for the mastery of him. He reached the +last little island, scarcely ten yards from the shore, and as he stepped +upon it, two dusky figures threw themselves upon him. + +Henry was thrown back upon the ice, but though the blow was like a +lightning flash, he realized, in an instant, what it meant. The warriors +had not been wholly paralyzed by the cold, and they had stationed guards +at other points along the lagoon to prevent his escape, but these two +were seeking so hard to protect themselves from the cruel wind that they +had not seen him until he was upon them. Knowing that the question of +his life or death would be decided within the next half minute, he put +forth every ounce of his mighty strength, and swept the two warriors +together in his arms. + +His rifle clattered upon the ice, and with the two men clinging to him, +struggling vainly to reach tomahawk or knife, he rose to his feet, still +clutching the warriors. But the feet of all three slipped from under +them, and down they went again with a tremendous impact. The warriors +were on the underside, and Henry fell upon them. There was a rending +crash, as the ice, thinner at that point, owing to the protection of the +island, broke beneath the blow. + +Henry felt the grappling fingers slip from him, and he sprang back just +in time to see the two warriors sink into a narrow but icy gulf, from +which they never rose again. Uttering a cry of horror, he picked up his +rifle and ran for the forest. He knew that chance, or perhaps the will +of the greater powers, had saved him again, but, as he ran, he shuddered +many times, not from the cold, but at the ghastly fate that had +overtaken the warriors. The impression faded by and by. When one is in a +bitter struggle for life he does not have time to think long of the fate +of others, and the savage wilderness through which he fled was too +bitter of aspect then to breed a long pity. + +He was quite sure that he had shaken off the Indians, for the time, +anyhow, and again the vital question with him was warmth. The running +was bringing a measure of it, but he could not run forever, and he soon +sank to a walk in order to save himself. But he maintained this gait for +a long time, in truth, until dawn was only three or four hours away, and +then he decided that he would build a fire. It was a risk, but he chose +to take the smaller risk in order to drive off the greater. + +It never before took him so long to kindle his blaze. He found a place +sheltered from the wind, whittled many shavings from dead wood, and used +his flint and steel until his hands ached, coaxing forth the elusive +sparks and trying to make them ignite the wood. They died by hundreds, +but, after infinite industry and patience, they took hold, and he +sheltered the tiny and timid blaze with his body, lest it change its +mind and go away after all. Though it sank several times, it concluded +finally to stay and grow, and, having decided, it showed vigor, burning +fast while Henry fed it. + +As the fire threw out abundant heat he reveled in it. Now he knew better +than ever before that fire was life. He could feel the blood which had +seemed to be ice in his veins thawing and flowing in a full warm flood +again. The beat of his heart grew stronger and the stiff hands acquired +their old flexibility. His face stung at first, but he rubbed ice over +it, and presently it too responded to the grateful heat. An immense +comfort seized him and he felt drowsy. Comfort would become luxury if he +could lie down and sleep, but he knew too much to yield to the demands +of his body. After spending two hours by the fire and becoming +thoroughly soaked in heat, he put out the coals and went on again. As he +walked, he ate the last of his food, and now he must soon find more. The +problem of his escape from the Indians had been solved, but the problem +of finding his comrades was upon his mind, though it must be put off +while he solved that of food. + +He considered it a miracle that his rifle had not gone into the water +with the two warriors. But was it a miracle? Was it not rather another +intercession of the greater powers in his favor? Alone in the wilderness +at such a time a rifle was at least half of life, even more, it was the +very staff of it. Without it he would surely perish. He patted the rifle +with the genuine affection one must feel for so true a weapon. It was a +fine rifle, beautiful in his eyes, with a long, slender barrel of blued +steel, and a polished and carved stock. It had never failed him, and he +knew that it would not fail him now. + +He thought of the rabbits which had been such an abundant resource once. +Many of them must be in their nests under the ice and snow, and he +searched for hours but found none. Yet he could go two or three days +without food, and he did not despair, showing all his usual pertinacity, +never ceasing to look. The hunt led him into rocky ground, and, between +the ledges, he noticed an opening that caused him to take a second look. +Several coarse hairs were on the stone at the entrance, and when he saw +them he knew. It was his animal brother at home, and he did not forget +his gratitude, but he must live. + +He seized a long stick and thrust it savagely inside. The bear, awakened +from the winter sleep which he had begun luxuriously not long ago, +growled fiercely and rushed out. Then Henry snatched up his rifle and +shot him. The bear had lost much of his fat, but he was a perfect +treasure house of supplies, nevertheless, and steaks from his body were +soon broiling over the coals. Henry, remembering how much food he needed +in such intense cold, and, while he was undergoing physical exertions so +great, ate heavily. As much more as he could conveniently carry he added +to his pack, knowing that he could freeze it at night, and that it would +keep indefinitely. He would have liked the bearskin too, but he did not +care to add so much to his burden, and so he left it reluctantly. + +He was a new man now, made over completely. The wilderness, so far from +being desolate and hostile, took on its old comfortable aspects. It was +a provider of food and shelter to one who knew how to find them, and +certainly none knew better than he. The wants of the body being +satisfied, he began to plan anew for the junction with his comrades. The +great cold would not last much longer. A temperature twenty or thirty +degrees below zero never endured more than a few days. Like as not, it +would break up in a warm rain, to be followed by moderate weather, and +then he could hunt the trail of the four in comfort. + +His pack was much heavier when he started and the icy coating of the +earth was still slippery, but he made excellent progress, and he was +able to fix in his mind the direction in which the marks on the trees +had pointed. He knew that he must turn back somewhat toward the north in +order to reach that line, and such a change in his course would increase +the danger from the Indians, but he did not hesitate. He made the angle +at once, and then he began to observe the trees with all the patience +and minuteness of which a forest runner in such a crisis was capable. + +It was almost dusk when he found the sign, four slashes of a tomahawk, +eye-high on the stalwart trunk of an oak, and a hundred yards farther on +a similar sign. He traced them fully a mile, and then as the night shut +down, dark and impenetrable, he was compelled to stop. He dared another +fire, the cold was so intense, and began his journey again the next +morning over the ice. + +The rise in the temperature that he had expected did not occur, nor were +there any signs of a change. Evidently the great cold had come to stay +much longer than usual, and, while it hindered his own journey, it also +hindered possible pursuit by the Indians, of whom he saw no traces +anywhere until the third day after he had killed the bear. Then he +observed a great smoke in the south, and he approached near enough to +discover that it was an Indian village, probably Shawnees. It seemed to +be snowed up for the winter, holed up like a bear, and, anticipating no +danger from it, he continued his leisurely hunt eastward. + +He lost the traces for a whole day, but recovered them the next morning, +and now they were much fresher. Sap, not yet dead in some of the trees, +had oozed but lately into the cuts, and his heart beat very hard. His +comrades could not be far away. He might reach them the next day or the +day after, and now he was actuated by a curious motive, and yet it was +not curious, when his character is considered. + +He built a fire by the side of one of the pools, with which the forest +was filled. Breaking the ice and daring the fierce chill of the water, +he took a quick bath. Then, while he was wrapped in the blankets and the +painted coat, he washed all his clothing thoroughly, as he had done once +before, and dried it by the fire. When he was able to put it on again, +he washed the blankets in their turn and dried them. He would have +served the painted coat in a similar manner, but, as that was +impossible, he rubbed and pounded it thoroughly. + +His forest toilet complete, Henry felt himself a new man once more, +inwardly and outwardly, freshened up, made presentable to the eye. He +knew that he was haggard and worn. Hercules himself would have been, +after such a flight and pursuit, but at least he was dressed as a forest +runner, neat by nature and careful in his attire, should be. + +Now he followed the traces with renewed strength and speed, and he found +that they came more closely together, a fact indicating the absence of +Indians from the immediate region, as the four would not leave so broad +a trail, unless they knew it would not bring a strong force of Indians +upon them. Straight now it led, and he crossed numerous frozen streams +and pools or lagoons, and then the night that he felt sure was to be the +last one came, as bitterly cold as ever. + +The next morning he did not put out his fire as usual, instead he built +it up higher, and, passing one of the blankets rapidly back and forth +over it, sent up ring after ring of smoke. They did not thin away and +vanish until they were high in the clear, intensely cold blue sky. + +When his eyes had followed the rings a little while he turned them +toward the eastern horizon and watched there closely. Despite all the +efforts of his will his heart throbbed hard. Would the answer come? He +waited a full half hour, and then his pulses gave a great leap. Rings of +smoke began to rise there under the sky's rim a full mile away, +ascending like his own into the cold air, where, high up, they thinned +away and vanished. Then his pulses gave another great leap as a second +series of rings rose close beside the first, to be followed quickly by a +third and a fourth. Four fires and four groups of smoke rings rising +into the air! The last doubt disappeared. Paul, the shiftless one, the +silent one, and Long Jim were there. Doubtless they had signaled before, +and now at last he had called to them. + +In his wild exultation he kicked the coals of his own fire apart and +started swiftly toward the four groups of smoke rings. On his way he +sent forth a long thrilling cry that pierced and echoed far through the +wintry forest, and like the distant song of a bugle a similar cry came +back. As he broke into a run, four human figures appeared upon the crest +of a low hill and burst into a simultaneous shout. Then they exclaimed, +also together: + +"Henry!" + +After that, although their emotion was deep, they made no great show of +it. The border was always terse. + +"I knowed you'd shake 'em off, Henry," said the shiftless one. + +"But it must have been a long chase," said Paul. + +"Wish I'd been with you," said Long Jim. + +"Big work," said Tom Ross. + +"I didn't do it all my myself," said Henry. "I was helped by the people +of the forest. They came to my aid again and again." + +Paul looked at him wondering, and Henry told them how he had been warned +by the animals one after another, and he could not believe it was mere +chance. + +"The woods are full o' strange things," said Shif'less Sol, +thoughtfully. "An' I never try to explain 'em all to myse'f. I let 'em +go fur what they are." + +"How has it been with all of you?" asked Henry. + +"We stayed a long time on the oasis in the swamp," replied Paul, "and +then we started toward the north, hanging on to the rear of the pursuit, +and trying for a chance to help you, though we never found it. At last +the great cold made us seek shelter, but we were sure it would compel +the warriors to abandon the chase and drive them into their villages." + +"After all, it was King Winter that intervened finally in my behalf." + +"That's true. And while we were hovering about, hoping to help you, we +left the long trail which I suppose you saw." + +"Yes, I came upon it, and it led me to you." + +"An' now," said Shif'less Sol, "sence all the warriors hev been drove +into winter quarters, an' none o' us hez been killed or took, s'pose we +go into them kind a' quarters ourselves, an' keep warm." + +"Whar?" asked Silent Tom. + +"Why, our old hollow in the cliff!" exclaimed Paul. "The warriors would +not think of marching against it again before next spring, if at all, +and it's the warmest, safest and finest place in all the wilderness." + +"A good choice," said Henry. + +"Right thar we'll go," said Shif'less Sol. + +"Ez soon ez we kin make tracks fur it," said Long Jim. + +"Shore," said Tom Ross. + +They started at once, and all things turned in their favor. The +wilderness remained frozen and bitter cold, but there was no pursuit. By +all rules, game should have been scarce at such a time, but they found +plenty of it. Day after day they traveled through the woods, crossing +the Ohio on the ice, and at last they drew near the rocky home they had +defended so valiantly, and which once more extended to them a silent +welcome. + +Now they built their fires anew, killed game and obtained abundant +supplies of food and furs, though for two weeks Henry was not allowed to +join the others in the chase, resting like Hercules after his mighty +labors. Then, while the great cold lasted, they, the eyes of the woods, +built up their strength and spirit for new labors and dangers in the +spring. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EYES OF THE WOODS*** + + +******* This file should be named 24758-8.txt or 24758-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/7/5/24758 + + + +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. 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Altsheler</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + + .sml { font-size: .8em; text-align: center; } + + h1,h2,h3 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + + h6 { text-align: center; font-size: 3em; + 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%; + } + + .pagenum { visibility: hidden; + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + .box { width: 600px; + margin: 0 auto; + text-align: center; + padding: 1em; + border-style: solid; } + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + a { text-decoration: none; color: #c15e34;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + hr.full { width: 100%; + margin-top: 3em; + margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + height: 4px; + border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ + border-style: solid; + border-color: #000000; + clear: both; } + pre {font-size: 85%;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Eyes of the Woods, by Joseph A. +Altsheler, Illustrated by D. C. Hutchison</h1> +<pre> +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 <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Eyes of the Woods</p> +<p> A story of the Ancient Wilderness</p> +<p>Author: Joseph A. Altsheler</p> +<p>Release Date: March 5, 2008 [eBook #24758]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EYES OF THE WOODS***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3>E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Anne Storer,<br /> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> + (http://www.pgdp.net)</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 383px;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="383" height="600" alt="cover" title="" /> +</div> + +<p> </p><p> </p> + +<h1><em>The</em> EYES <em>of</em><br /> +THE WOODS</h1> + +<p> </p><p> </p> + +<div class="box"> + + +<h1>By JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER</h1> + + +<h2>THE CIVIL WAR SERIES</h2> + +<p style="margin-left: 15em;"> +The Guns of Bull Run<br /> +The Guns of Shiloh<br /> +The Scouts of Stonewall<br /> +The Sword of Antietam<br /> +The Star of Gettysburg<br /> +The Rock of Chickamaugua<br /> +The Shades of the Wilderness<br /> +The Tree of Appomattox</p> + + +<h2>THE WORLD WAR SERIES</h2> + +<p style="margin-left: 15em;"> +The Guns of Europe<br /> +The Hosts of the Air<br /> +The Forest of Swords</p> + + +<h2>THE YOUNG TRAILERS SERIES</h2> + +<p style="margin-left: 15em;"> +The Young Trailers<br /> +The Forest Runners<br /> +The Keepers of the Trail<br /> +The Eyes of the Woods<br /> +The Free Rangers<br /> +The Riflemen of the Ohio<br /> +The Scouts of the Valley<br /> +The Border Watch</p> + + +<h2>THE TEXAN SERIES</h2> + +<p style="margin-left: 15em;"> +The Texan Star<br /> +The Texan Scouts<br /> +The Texan Triumph</p> + + +<h2>THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR SERIES</h2> + +<p style="margin-left: 15em;"> +The Hunters of the Hills<br /> +The Shadow of the North<br /> +The Rulers of the Lakes</p> + + +<h2>BOOKS NOT IN SERIES</h2> + +<p style="margin-left: 15em;"> +Apache Gold<br /> +The Quest of the Four<br /> +The Last of the Chiefs<br /> +In Circling Camps<br /> +A Soldier of Manhattan<br /> +The Sun of Saratoga<br /> +A Herald of the West<br /> +The Wilderness Road<br /> +My Captive</p> + +<hr style="width: 50%; color: black; margin-top: .2em; margin-bottom: .1em;" /> + +<h3>D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK</h3> + +</div> + +<p> </p><p> </p> + +<p><a name="frontis" id="frontis"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 354px;"> +<img src="images/frontis.jpg" width="354" height="550" alt="image" title="" /> +</div> + +<p class="center"><strong>“It was the shiftless one who had shot the bear, and he +was proud”</strong></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h6><em>The</em> EYES <em>of</em><br /> +THE WOODS</h6> + +<hr style="width: 50%; color: black; margin-top: .2em; margin-bottom: .1em;" /> + +<h2>A STORY OF THE<br /> +ANCIENT WILDERNESS</h2> + +<hr style="width: 50%; color: black; margin-top: .2em; margin-bottom: .1em;" /> + +<p> </p> + +<p class="center"><strong>BY</strong><br /> +<span style="font-size: 1.8em; font-weight: bold;">JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER</span></p> + +<p class="sml">AUTHOR OF<br /> +“THE YOUNG TRAILERS,” “THE SHADOW OF THE NORTH,”<br /> +“THE HUNTERS OF THE HILLS,” “THE TREE OF APPOMATTOX,” ETC.</p> + +<p> </p><p> </p> + +<p class="sml">ILLUSTRATED BY<br /> +<span style="font-size: 1.5em; font-weight: bold;">D. C. HUTCHISON</span></p> + +<p> </p> + +<hr style="width: 50%; color: black; margin-top: .2em; margin-bottom: .1em;" /> + +<h3>D. APPLETON AND COMPANY<br /> +NEW YORK AND LONDON: 1917</h3> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright</span>, 1917, <span class="smcap">by</span><br /> +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY</p> + +<p> </p><p> </p> + +<p class="center">Printed in the United States of America</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>FOREWORD</h2> + + +<p style="margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%;"> +“The Eyes of the Woods” is an independent story, telling of certain +remarkable events in the life of Henry Ware, Paul Cotter, Shif’less Sol +Hyde, Silent Tom Ross and Long Jim Hart. But it is also a part of the +series dealing with these characters, and is the fourth in point of +time, coming just after “The Keepers of the Trail.”</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr> <td align='right'><span class="smcap">chapter</span></td> <td align='left'></td> <td align='right'><span class="smcap">page</span></td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>I.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_1">The Flight</a></span></td> <td align='right'>1</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>II.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_23">The Great Joke</a></span></td> <td align='right'>23</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>III.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_45">A Merry Night</a></span></td> <td align='right'>45</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>IV.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_67">The Captured Canoe</a></span></td> <td align='right'>67</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>V.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_89">The Protecting River</a></span></td> <td align='right'>89</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>VI.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_111">The Oasis</a></span></td> <td align='right'>111</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>VII.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_130">Into the North</a></span></td> <td align='right'>130</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>VIII.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_149">The Buffalo Ring</a></span></td> <td align='right'>149</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>IX.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_168">The Covert</a></span></td> <td align='right'>168</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>X.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_186">The Bear Guide</a></span></td> <td align='right'>186</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>XI.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_209">The Greater Powers</a></span></td> <td align='right'>209</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>XII.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_225">The Stag’s Coming</a></span></td> <td align='right'>225</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>XIII.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_245">The Leaping Wolf</a></span></td> <td align='right'>245</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>XIV.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_266">The Watchful Squirrel</a></span></td> <td align='right'>266</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='right'>XV.</td> <td align='left'><span class="smcap"><a href="#Page_286">The Letter</a></span></td> <td align='right'>286</td> </tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr> <td align='left'><a href="#frontis">“It was the shiftless one who had shot the bear, and +he was proud”</a></td> <td align='right'><em>Frontispiece</em></td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='left'><a href="#illus1">“‘A lot of ’em are dancin’ the scalp dance’”</a></td> <td align='right'>78</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='left'><a href="#illus2">“Red Eagle rose to address his hosts”</a></td> <td align='right'>204</td> </tr> +<tr> <td align='left'><a href="#illus3">“A gigantic wolf ... launched himself straight at the +warrior’s throat”</a></td> <td align='right'>254</td> </tr> +</table></div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + +<h1>THE EYES<br /> +OF THE WOODS</h1> + +<p> </p> + +<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE FLIGHT</strong></p> + + +<p>A strong wind swept over the great forest, sending green leaves and +twigs in showers before it, and bringing clouds in battalions from the +west. The air presently grew cold, and then heavy drops of rain came, +pattering at first like shot, but soon settling into a hard and steady +fall that made the day dark and chill, tingeing the whole wilderness +with gloom and desolation.</p> + +<p>The deer sought its covert, a buffalo, grazing in a little prairie, +thrust its huge form into a thicket, the squirrel lay snug in its nest +in the hollow of a tree, and the bird in the shelter of the foliage +ceased to sing. The only sounds were those of the elements, and the +world seemed to have returned to the primeval state that had endured for +ages. It was the kingdom of fur, fin and feather, and, so far as the +casual eye could have seen, man had not yet come.</p> + +<p>But in the deep cleft of the cliff, from which coign of vantage they had +fought off Shawnee and Miami, Henry Ware, Paul Cotter and Long Jim Hart +sat snug,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> +warm and dry, and looked out at the bitter storm. Near them a +small fire burned, the smoke passing out at the entrance, and at the far +end of the hollow much more wood was heaped. There were five beds of dry +leaves with the blankets lying upon them, useful articles were stored in +the niches of the stone, and jerked meat lay upon the natural shelves. +It was a secret, but cheerful spot in that vast, wet and cold +wilderness. Long Jim felt its comfort and security, as he rose, put +another stick of wood on the fire, and then resumed his seat near the +others.</p> + +<p>“I’m sorry the storm came up so soon,” said Henry. “Of course, Sol and +Tom are hardened to all kinds of weather, but it’s not pleasant to be +caught in the woods at such a time.”</p> + +<p>“And our ammunition,” said Paul. “It wouldn’t hurt the lead, of course, +but it would be a disaster for the powder to be soaked through and +through. They’d have to go back to the settlements, and that would mean +a long journey and a lot of lost time.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t think we need be afraid about the powder,” said Henry. +“Whatever happens, Sol and Tom will protect it, even if their own bodies +suffer.”</p> + +<p>“Then I’m thinkin’ they’ll have to do a lot of protectin’,” said Long +Jim. “The wind is blowin’ plum’ horizontal, an’ the rain is sweepin’ +’long in sheets.”</p> + +<p>Henry, despite his consoling words, was very anxious. Since their great +battle with the invading Indian force and the destruction of the cannon, +their supply of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> +ammunition had run very low, and without powder and +bullets they were lost in the wilderness. He walked to the narrow +entrance of the cave, and, standing just where the rain could not reach +him, looked out upon the cold and dripping forest, a splendid figure +clothed in deerskin, specially adapted in both body and mind to +wilderness life.</p> + +<p>He saw nothing but the foliage bending before the wind and the chill +sheets sent down by the clouds. The somber sky and the desolation would +not have made him feel lonely, even had he been without his comrades. He +had faced primeval nature too often and he knew it too well to be +overcome or to be depressed by any of its dangers. Yet his heart would +have leaped had he beheld the shiftless and the silent ones, making +their way among the trees, the needed packs on their backs.</p> + +<p>“Any sign, Henry?” asked Paul.</p> + +<p>“None,” replied the tall youth, “but they said they’d be here today.”</p> + +<p>Paul, who was lying on a great buffalo robe with his feet to the fire, +shifted himself into an easier position. His face expressed content and +he felt no anxiety about the traveling two.</p> + +<p>“If Shif’less Sol promised to be here he’ll keep his word,” he said, +“and Silent Tom will come without making any promises.”</p> + +<p>“You do talk won’erful well sometimes, Paul,” said Long Jim, “an’ I +reckon you’ve put the facts jest right. I ain’t goin’ to be troubled in +my mind a-tall, a-tall ’bout<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> +them fellers. They’ll be here. Tom loves +nice tender buffler steak best, an’ I’m goin’ to have it ready fur him, +while Sol dotes most on fat juicy wild turkey, an’ that’ll be waitin’ +fur him, too.”</p> + +<p>He turned to his stores, and producing the delicacies his comrades loved +began to fry them over the coals. The pleasant odors filled their rocky +home.</p> + +<p>“I give them two a half hour more,” he said. “I ain’t got any gift uv +second sight. I don’t look into the future—nobody does—but I jest +figger on what they are an’ what they kin do, an’ then I feel shore that +a half hour more is enough.”</p> + +<p>“Henry,” asked Paul, “do you think the Miamis and the Shawnees will come +back after us?”</p> + +<p>“I reckon upon it,” replied Henry, still watching the wet forest. “Red +Eagle and Yellow Panther are shrewd and thoughtful chiefs, and Braxton +Wyatt and Blackstaffe are full of cunning. They are all able to put two +and two together, and they know that it was we who destroyed their +cannon when they attempted the big attack on the settlements. They’ll +look upon us as the scouts and sentinels who see everything they do.”</p> + +<p>“The eyes of the woods,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“Yes, that expresses it, and they’ll feel that they’re bound to destroy +us. As soon as the warriors get over their panic they’ll come back to +put out the eyes that see too much of their deeds. They know, of course, +that we hold this hollow and that we’ve made a home here for a while.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> +“But as they won’t return for some time I mean to take my comfort while +I can,” said Paul sleepily. “I wouldn’t exchange this buffalo robe, the +leaves under it, the fire before my feet and the roof of rock over my +head for the finest house in all the provinces. The power of contrast +makes my present situation one of great luxury.”</p> + +<p>“Power uv contrast! You do use a heap uv big words, Paul,” said Long +Jim, “but I ’spose they’re all right. Leastways I don’t know they ain’t. +Now, I’m holdin’ back this buffler steak an’ wild turkey, ’cause I want +’em to be jest right, when Sol an’ Tom set down afore the fire. See +anythin’ comin’ through the woods, Henry?”</p> + +<p>“No, Jim, nothing stirs there.”</p> + +<p>“It don’t bother me. They’ll ’pear in good time. They’ve a full ten +minutes yet, an’ thar dinners will be jest right fur ’em. I hate to brag +on myself, but I shorely kin cook. Ain’t we lucky fellers, Paul? It +seems to me sometimes that Providence has done picked us out ez speshul +favorites. Good fortune is plum’ showered on us. We’ve got a snug holler +like this, one uv the finest homes a man could live in, an’ round us is +a wilderness runnin’ thousands uv miles, chock full uv game, waitin’ to +be hunted by us. Ev’ry time the savages think they’ve got us, an’ it +looks too ez ef they wuz right, we slip right out uv thar hands an’ the +scalps are still growin’ full an’ free, squar’ly on top uv our heads. We +shorely do git away always, an’ it ’pears to me, Paul, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> that we are +’bout the happiest an’ most fort’nate people in the world.”</p> + +<p>Paul raised his head and looked at Jim, but it was evident to the lad +that his long comrade was in dead earnest, and perhaps he was right. The +lad shifted himself again and the light of the blaze flickered over his +finely-chiseled, scholarly face. Long Jim glanced at him with +understanding.</p> + +<p>“Ef you had a book or two, Paul,” he said, “you could stay here waitin’ +an’ be happy. Sometimes I wish that I liked to read. What’s in it, Paul, +that kin chain you to one place an’ make you content to be thar?”</p> + +<p>“Because in the wink of an eye, Jim, it transports you to another world. +You are in new lands, and with new people, seeing what they do and doing +it with them. It gives your mind change, though your body may lie still. +Do you see anything yet, Henry, besides the forest and the rain?”</p> + +<p>“A black dot among the trees, Paul, but it’s very small and very far, +and it may be a bear that’s wandered out in the wet. Besides, it’s two +dots that we want to see, not one, and—as sure as I live there are two, +moving this way, though they’re yet too distant for me to tell what they +are.”</p> + +<p>“But since they’re two, and they’re coming towards us, they ought to be +those whom we’re expecting.”</p> + +<p>“Now they’ve moved into a space free of undergrowth and I see them more +clearly. They’re not bears, nor yet deer. They’re living human beings +like ourselves.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> +“Keep looking, Henry, and tell us whether you recognize ’em.”</p> + +<p>“The first is a tall man, young, with light hair. He is bent over a +little because of the heavy pack on his back, and the long distance he +has come, but he walks with a swing that I’ve seen before.”</p> + +<p>“I reckon,” said Long Jim, “that he’s close kin to that lazy critter, +Shif’less Sol.”</p> + +<p>“Closer even than a twin brother,” continued Henry. “I’d know him +anywhere. The other just behind him, and bent also a little with his +heavy pack, is amazingly like a friend of ours, an old comrade who talks +little, but who does much.”</p> + +<p>“None other than Silent Tom,” said Paul joyfully, as he rose and joined +Henry at the door. “Yes, there they are, two men, staunch and true, and +they bring the powder and lead. Of course they’d come on time! Nothing +could stop ’em. The whole Shawnee and Miami nations might be in between, +but they’d find a way through.”</p> + +<p>“An’ the buffler steak an’ the wild turkey are jest right,” called Long +Jim. “Tell ’em to come straight in an’ set down to the table.”</p> + +<p>Henry, putting his fingers to his lips, uttered a long and cheerful +whistle. The shiftless one and the silent one, raising their heads, made +glad reply. They were soaked and tired, but success and journey’s end +lay just before them, and they advanced with brisker steps, to be +greeted with strong clasps of the hand and a warm +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>welcome. They entered +the rocky home, put aside the big packs with sighs of relief and spread +out their fingers to the grateful heat.</p> + +<p>“That’s the last work I mean to do fur a year,” said Shif’less Sol. +“’Twuz a big job, a mighty big job fur me, a lazy man, an’ now I’m goin’ +to rest fur months an’ months, while Long Jim waits on me an’ feeds me.”</p> + +<p>“Jest now I’m glad to do it, Sol,” said Jim. “Take off your clothes, you +an’ Tom, hang ’em on the shelf thar to dry, an’ now set to. The steaks +an’ the turkey are the finest I ever cooked, an’ they’re all fur you +two. An’ I kin tell you fellers that the sight uv you is good fur weak +eyes.”</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol and Silent Tom ate like epicures, while, denuded of their +wet deerskins but wrapped in dry blankets, they basked in the heat.</p> + +<p>“Not a drop of rain got at the powder,” said the shiftless one +presently, “an’ even ef we don’t capture any from the Injuns we ought to +hev enough thar to last us many months.”</p> + +<p>“Did you see anything of the warriors?” asked Henry.</p> + +<p>“We hit one trail ’bout fifty miles south uv here, but we didn’t have +time to foller it. Still, it’s ’nough to show that they’re in between us +an’ the settlements.”</p> + +<p>“We expected it. We discovered sufficient while you were gone to be sure +they’re going to make a great effort to end us. They look upon us as the +eyes of the woods, and they’ve concluded that their first business is +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> +with us before they make another attack on our villages.”</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol helped himself to a fresh piece of the wild turkey, and +made another fold of the blanket about his athletic body.</p> + +<p>“Paul hez talked so much ’bout them old Romans wrapped in their togys +that I feel like one now,” he said, “an’ I kin tell you I feel pow’ful +fine, too. That wuz a cold rain an’ a wet rain, an’ the fire an’ the +food are mighty good, but it tickles me even more to know how them +renegades an’ warriors rage ag’inst us. I’ve a heap o’ respeck fur Red +Eagle an’ Yellow Panther, who are great chiefs an’ who are fightin’ fur +thar rights ez they see ’em, but the madder Blackstaffe an’ Wyatt git +the better I like it.”</p> + +<p>“Me, too,” said Silent Tom with emphasis, relapsing then into silence +and his preoccupation with the buffalo steak. The shiftless one regarded +him with a measuring gaze.</p> + +<p>“Tom,” he said, “why can’t you let a feller finish his dinner without +chatterin’ furever? I see the day comin’ when you’ll talk us all plum’ +to death.”</p> + +<p>Silent Tom shook his head in dissent. He had exhausted speech.</p> + +<p>Paul, who had remained at the door, watching, announced an increase of +rain and wind. Both were driving so hard that leaves and twigs were +falling, and darkness as of twilight spread over the skies. The cold, +although but temporary, was like that of early winter.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> +“We needn’t expect any attack now,” said Henry. “Join us, Paul, around +the fire, and we’ll have a grand council, because we must decide how +we’re going to meet the great man hunt they’re organizing for us.”</p> + +<p>Paul left the cleft, and sat down on a doubled blanket with his back +against the wall. He felt the full gravity of the crisis, knowing that +hundreds of warriors would be put upon their trail, resolved never to +leave the search until the five were destroyed, but he had full +confidence in his comrades. In all the world there were not five others +so fit to overcome the dangers of the woods, and so able to endure their +hardships.</p> + +<p>“I suppose, Henry,” said Paul, with his mind full of ancient lore, “now +that the Roman Senate, or its successor, is in session you are its +presiding officer.”</p> + +<p>“If that’s the wish of the rest of you,” said Henry.</p> + +<p>“It is!” they said all together.</p> + +<p>Henry, like Paul, was sitting on his doubled blanket with his back +against the stony wall. Jim Hart, his long legs crossed, occupied a +similar position, and, by the flickering light of the fire, Shif’less +Sol and Silent Tom, wrapped in their blankets, looked in truth like +Roman senators.</p> + +<p>“Will you tell us, Henry, what you found out while we wuz away?” asked +the shiftless one. Henry had made a scouting expedition while the two +were gone for the powder and lead.</p> + +<p>“I made one journey across the Ohio,” replied their chief, “and at night +I went near a Shawnee village. Red<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +Eagle was there, and so were +Blackstaffe and Wyatt. Lying in the bushes near the fire by which they +sat, I could catch enough of their talk to learn that the Shawnee and +Miami nations are going to bend all their energies and powers to our +destruction. That is settled.”</p> + +<p>“I feel a heap flattered,” said Shif’less Sol, “that so many warriors +should be sent ag’inst us, who are only five. What wuz it that old +feller was always sayin’, Paul, every time he held up a bunch o’ fresh +figs before the noses o’ the Roman senators?”</p> + +<p>“<em>Delenda est Carthago</em>, which is Latin, Sol, and it means just now, +when I give it a liberal translation, that we five must be wiped clean +off the face of the earth.”</p> + +<p>“I’ve heard you say often, Paul, that Latin was a dead language, an’ so +all them old dead sayin’s won’t hev any meanin’ fur us. I kin live long +on the threats o’ Braxton Wyatt an’ Blackstaffe, an’ so kin all o’ us. +But go on, Henry. I ’pologize fur interruptin’ the presidin’ officer.”</p> + +<p>“I learned all I could there,” continued Henry, “but I was able to +gather only their general intention, that is their resolve to crush us, +a plan that both Wyatt and Blackstaffe urged. However, when I trailed a +large band two days later, and crept near their camp, I discovered +more.”</p> + +<p>“What wuz it?” exclaimed the shiftless one, leaning forward a little, +his face showing tense and eager in the glow of the flames.</p> + +<p>“They’re going to spread a net for us. Not one body +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> of warriors will +seek us, but many. Red Eagle will lead a band, Yellow Panther will be at +the head of another, Braxton Wyatt will be in charge of a third, +Blackstaffe will take a fourth, and there will be at least seven or +eight more, though some of them may unite later. Shif’less Sol has put +it right. We’ll be honored as men were never honored before in this +wilderness. At least a thousand warriors, brave and skillful men, all, +will be hunting us, two hundred to one and maybe more.”</p> + +<p>“And while they’re hunting us,” said Paul, his eyes glistening, “we’ll +draw ’em off from the settlements, and we’ll be serving our people just +as much as we did when we were destroying the big guns, and filling the +warriors with superstitious alarm.”</p> + +<p>“True in every word,” said Henry, his soul rising for the contest. “Let +’em come on and we’ll lead ’em such a chase that their feet will be worn +to the bone, and their minds will be full of despair!”</p> + +<p>“You put it right,” said the shiftless one. “I think I’ll enjoy bein’ a +fox fur awhile. The forest is full o’ holes an’ dens, an’ when they dig +me out o’ one I’ll be off fur another.”</p> + +<p>“We know the wilderness as well as they do,” said Henry, “and we can use +as many tricks as they can. Now, since they’re spreading a great net, we +must take the proper steps to evade it. Having besieged our refuge here +once, they’ll naturally look again for us in this place. If they catch +us inside they’ll sit outside until they starve us to death.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +“Which means,” said Paul regretfully, “that we must leave our nice dry +home.”</p> + +<p>“So it does, but not, I think, before tomorrow morning, and we’ll use +the hours meanwhile to good advantage. We must begin at once molding +into bullets the lead that Sol and Tom brought.”</p> + +<p>Every one of the five carried with him that necessary implement in the +wilderness, a bullet mold, and they began the task immediately, all save +Henry, who went outside, despite the fierce rain, and scouted a bit +among the bushes and trees. The four made bullets fast, melting the lead +in a ladle that Jim carried, pouring it into the molds, and then +dropping the shining and deadly pellets one by one into their pouches. +Three of them talked as they worked, but Silent Tom did not speak for a +full hour. Then he said:</p> + +<p>“We’ll have five hundred apiece.”</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol looked at him reprovingly.</p> + +<p>“Tom,” he said, “I predicted a while ago that the time wuz soon comin’ +when you’d talk us to death. You used five words then, when you know +your ’lowance is only one an hour.”</p> + +<p>Tom Ross flushed under his tan. He hated, above all things, to be +garrulous. “Sorry,” he muttered, and continued his work with renewed +energy and speed. The bullets seemed to drop in a shining stream from +his mold into his pouch. But Shif’less Sol talked without ceasing, his +pleasant chatter encouraging them, as music cheers troops for battle.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +“It ain’t right fur me to hev to work this way,” he said, “me sich a +lazy man. I ought to lay over thar on a blanket, an’ go to sleep while +Jim does my share ez well ez his own.”</p> + +<p>“When I’m doin’ your share, Sol Hyde,” said Long Jim, “you’ll be dead. +Not till then will I ever tech a finger to your work. You are a lazy +man, ez you say, an’ fur sev’ral years now I’ve been tryin’ to cure you +uv it, but I ain’t made no progress that I kin see.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t want you to make progress, Jim. I like to be lazy, an’ jest now +I feel pow’ful fine, fed well, an’ layin’ here, wrapped in a blanket +before a good warm fire.”</p> + +<p>Henry went back to the cleft, and took another long look. The conditions +had not changed, save that night was coming and the wilderness was chill +and hostile. The wind blew with a steady shrieking sound, and the +driving rain struck like sleet. Leaves fell before it, and in every +depression of the earth the water stood in pools. Over this desolate +scene the faint sun was sinking and the twilight, colder and more solemn +than the day, was creeping. He looked at the wet forest and the coming +dusk, and then back at the dry hollow and the warm fire behind him. The +contrast was powerful, but only one choice was left to them.</p> + +<p>“Boys,” he said, “we’ll have to make the most of tonight.”</p> + +<p>“Because we must leave our home in the morning?” said Paul.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> +“Yes, that’s it. We’ll have to take to the woods, no matter how hard it +is. Chance doesn’t favor us this time. I fancy the band led by Braxton +Wyatt will make straight for our house here.”</p> + +<p>“Since it’s the last dry bed I’ll have fur some time I’m goin’ to +sleep,” said Shif’less Sol plaintively. “Everybody pesters a lazy man, +an’ I mean to use the little time I hev.”</p> + +<p>“You’ve a right to it, Sol,” said Henry, “because you’ve walked long and +far, and you’ve brought what we needed most. The sooner you and Tom go +to sleep the better. Paul, you join ’em and Jim and I will watch.”</p> + +<p>The shiftless one and the silent one turned on their sides, rested their +heads on their arms and in a minute or two were off to the land of +slumber. Paul was slower, but in a quarter of an hour or so he followed +them to the same happy region. Long Jim put out the fire, lest the gleam +of the coals through the cleft should betray their presence to a +creeping enemy—although neither he nor Henry expected any danger at +present—and took his place beside his watchful comrade.</p> + +<p>The two did not talk, but in the long hours of rain and darkness they +guarded the entrance. Their eyes became so used to the dusk that they +could see far, but they saw nothing alive save, late in the night, a +lumbering black bear, driven abroad and in the storm by some restless +spirit. Long Jim watched the ungainly form, as it shambled out of sight +into a thicket.</p> + +<p>“A bad conscience, I reckon,” he said. “That b’ar +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> would be layin’ snug +in his den ef he didn’t hev somethin’ on his mind. He’s ramblin’ ’roun’ +in the rain an’ cold, cause’s he’s done a wrong deed, an’ can’t sleep +fur thinkin’ uv it. Stole his pardner’s berries an’ roots, mebbe.”</p> + +<p>“Perhaps you’re right, Jim,” Henry said, “and animals may have +consciences. We human beings are so conceited that we think we alone +feel the difference between right and wrong.”</p> + +<p>“I know one thing, Henry, I know that b’ars an’ panthers wouldn’t leave +thar own kind an’ fight ag’inst thar own race, as Braxton Wyatt an’ +Blackstaffe do. That black b’ar we jest saw may feel sore an’ bad, but +he ain’t goin’ to lead no expedition uv strange animals ag’inst the +other black b’ars.”</p> + +<p>“You’re right, Jim.”</p> + +<p>“An’ fur that reason, Henry, I respeck a decent honest black b’ar, even +ef he is mad at hisself fur some leetle mistake, an’ even ef he can’t +read an’ write an’ don’t know a knife from a fork more than I do a +renegade man who’s huntin’ the scalps uv them he ought to help.”</p> + +<p>“Well spoken, Jim. Your sense of right and wrong is correct nearly +always. Like you, I’ve a lot of respect for the black bear, and also for +the deer and the buffalo and the panther and the other people of the +woods. Do you think the rain is dying somewhat?”</p> + +<p>“’Pears so to me. It may stop by day an’ give us a chance to leave +without a soakin’.”</p> + +<p>They relapsed again into a long silence, but they saw +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> that their hope +was coming true. The wind was sinking, its shriek shrinking to a whisper +and then to a sigh. The rain ceased to beat so hard, coming by and by +only in fitful showers, while rays of moonlight, faint at first, began +to appear in the western sky. In another half hour the last shower came +and passed, but the forest was still heavy with dripping waters. Henry, +nevertheless, knew that it was time to go, and he awakened the sleepers.</p> + +<p>“We must make up our packs,” he said.</p> + +<p>The five worked with speed and skill. All the lead, newly brought, had +been molded into bullets, and the powder, save that in their horns, was +carried in bags. This, with the blankets and portions of food, +constituted most of their packs. Some furs and skins they left to those +who might come, and then they slipped from the warm hollow, which had +furnished such a grateful shelter to them.</p> + +<p>“It’s just as well,” said Henry, “that we should let ’em think we’re +still in there. Then they may waste a day or two in approaching, so hide +your footprints.”</p> + +<p>The earth was soft from the rain, but the stony outcrop ran a long +distance, and they walked on it cautiously so far as it went, after +which they continued on the fallen trunks and brush, with which the +forest had been littered by the winds of countless years. They were +able, without once touching foot to ground, to reach a brook, into which +they stepped, following its course at least two miles. When they emerged +at last<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +they sat down on stones and let the water run from their +moccasins and leggings.</p> + +<p>“I don’t like getting wet, this way,” said Henry, “but there was no +choice. At least, we know we’ve come a great distance and have left no +trail. There’ll be no chance to surprise us now. How long would you say +it is till day, Sol?”</p> + +<p>“’Bout two hours,” replied the shiftless one, “an’ I ’spose we might ez +well stay here a while. We’re south o’ the hollow an’ Wyatt an’ his band +are purty shore to come out o’ the north. The woods are mighty wet, but +the day is goin’ to be without rain, an’ a good sun will dry things +fast. What we want is to git a new home fur a day or two, in some deep +thicket.”</p> + +<p>They began to search and presently found a dense tangle, with several +large trees growing near the center of it, the trunk of one of them +hollowed out by time. In the opening they put their bags of powder, part +of their bullets and other supplies, and then, wrapped in their +blankets, sat down in the brush before it.</p> + +<p>“Now, Henry,” said Shif’less Sol, “it’s shore that we ain’t goin’ to be +besieged, though our empty holler may be, an’ that bein’ the case, an’ +the trouble bein’ passed fur the moment, you an’ Jim, who watched most +o’ the night, go to sleep, an’ Tom an’ Paul too might take up thar naps +whar they left ’em off. I’ll do the watchin’, an’ I’ll take a kind o’ +pride in doin’ it all by myself.”</p> + +<p>The others made no protest, but, leaning their backs against the tree +trunks, soon fell asleep, while the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> +shiftless one, rifle under his arm, +went to the edge of the canebrake, and began his patrol. He bore little +resemblance to a lazy man now. He was, next to Henry, the greatest +forest runner of the five, a marvel of skill, endurance and perception, +with a mighty heart beating beneath his deerskins, and an intellect of +wonderful native power, reasoning and drawing deductions under his +thatch of blonde hair.</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol listened to the drip, drip of water from the wet boughs +and leaves, and he watched a great sun, red and warm, creep slowly over +the eastern hills. He was not uncomfortable, nor was he afraid of +anything, but he was angry. He remembered with regret the pleasant +hollow, so dry and snug. It belonged, by right of discovery and +improvement, to his comrades and himself, but it might soon be defiled +by the presence of Indians, led by the hated renegade, Braxton Wyatt. +They would sleep on his favorite bed of leaves, they would cook where +Long Jim Hart had cooked so well, though they could never equal him, and +they would certainly take as their own the furs and skins they had been +compelled to leave behind.</p> + +<p>The more he thought of it the stronger his wrath grew. Had it not been +for his fear of leaving a betraying trail he would have gone back to see +if the warriors were already approaching the hollow; but his sense of +duty and obvious necessity kept him at the edge of the brake in which +his comrades lay, deep in happy slumber.</p> + +<p>Morning advanced, warm and beautiful, sprinkling the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> world at first +with silver and then with gold, the sky gradually turning to a deep +velvety blue, as intense as any that the shiftless one had ever seen. +The myriads of raindrops stood out at first like silver beads on grass +and leaves, and then dried up rapidly under the brilliant rays of the +sun. A light breeze blew through the foliage, and sang a pleasant song +as it blew.</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol felt a wonderful uplift of the spirits. In the darkness +and rain of the night before he might have been depressed somewhat at +leaving their good shelter for the wet wilderness, but in the splendid +dawn he was all buoyancy and confidence.</p> + +<p>“Let ’em come,” he said to himself. “Let Braxton Wyatt an’ Blackstaffe +an’ all the Miamis an’ Shawnees hunt us fur a year, but they won’t get +us, no, not one of us.”</p> + +<p>Then he sank silently in the deep grass and slid cautiously away, not +toward the dense brake, but to a point well to one side. His acute ear +had heard a sound which was not a part of the morning, and while it +might be made by a wild animal, then again it might be caused by wilder +man. He thanked his wary soul, when, looking above the tops of the +grass, he saw two warriors, Shawnees by their paint, emerge from the +woods and walk northward, to be followed presently by a full score more, +Braxton Wyatt himself at their head.</p> + +<p>And so the band had come out of the south, instead of the north! +Doubtless they had circled about before approaching, in order to make +the surprise complete,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +and the trigger drew the finger of the shiftless +one like a magnet, as he looked at the renegade, the most ruthless +hunter among those who hunted the five. Although the temptation to do so +was strong, Shif’less Sol did not fire, knowing that his bullet would +draw the attack of the band upon his comrades and himself. Instead, he +followed them cautiously about half a mile.</p> + +<p>He was confirmed in his opinion—in truth, little short of certainty in +the first instance—that they were marching against the hollow, and its +supposed inmates, as presently they began to advance with extreme care, +kneeling down in the undergrowth and sending out flankers. Shif’less Sol +laughed. It was a low laugh, but deep, and full of unction. He knew that +the farther march of Wyatt and his warriors would be very slow, having +in mind the deadly rifles of the five, the muzzles of which they would +feel sure were projecting from the mouth of the rocky retreat. It was +likely that the entire morning would be spent in an enveloping movement, +dusky figures creeping forward inch by inch in a semi-circle, and then +nothing would be inside the semi-circle.</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol laughed to himself again, and with the same deep and +heartfelt unction. Then he turned and went back to his comrades, who yet +slept soundly in the brake. The cane was so dense that they lay in the +dimness of the shadows, and there was no disturbing light upon their +eyes to awaken them. Shif’less Sol contemplated them with satisfaction, +and then he sat down silently near them. He saw no reason to awaken +them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> +Braxton Wyatt was now formally arranging the siege of the rocky +refuge and its vanished defenders, and he would not interrupt him for +worlds in that congenial task. For the third time he laughed to himself +with depth and unction.</p> + +<p>The sun rose higher in a sky that arched in its perfect blue over a day +of dazzling beauty. The last drop of rain on leaf or grass dried up, and +the forest was a deep green, suffused and tinted, though, with a +luminous golden glow from the splendid sun. The shiftless one raised his +head and inhaled its clear, sweet odors, the great heart under the +deerskins and the great brain under the thatch of hair alike sending +forth a challenge. Not all the Shawnees, not all the Miamis, not all the +renegades could drive the five from this mighty, unoccupied wilderness +of Kain-tuck-ee, which his comrades and he loved and in which they had +as good a right as any Indian or renegade that ever lived.</p> + +<p>It was so still in the canebrake that the birds over the head of the +watcher began to sing. Another black bear lumbered toward them, and, +catching the strange, human odor, lumbered away again. A deer, a tall +buck, holding up his head, sniffed the air, and then ran. Wild turkeys +in a distant tree gobbled, a bald eagle clove the air on swift wing, but +the sleepers slept placidly on.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE GREAT JOKE</strong></p> + + +<p>Mid-morning and Henry awoke, yawning a little and stretching himself +mightily. Then he looked questioningly at Shif’less Sol who sat in a +position of great luxury with his doubled blanket between his back and a +tree trunk, and his rifle across his knees. The look of satisfaction +that had come there in the morning like a noon glow still overspread his +tanned and benevolent countenance.</p> + +<p>“Well, Sol?”</p> + +<p>“Well, Henry?”</p> + +<p>“What has happened while we slept?”</p> + +<p>“Nothin’, ’cept that Braxton Wyatt an’ twenty Shawnee warriors passed, +takin’ no more notice o’ us than ef we wuz leaves o’ the forest.”</p> + +<p>“Advancing on our old house?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, they’ve set the siege by now.”</p> + +<p>“And we’re not there. I’ll wake the others. They must share in the +joke.”</p> + +<p>Paul, Long Jim and Silent Tom wiped the last wisp of sleep from their +eyes, and, when they heard the tale of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> a night and a morning, they too +laughed to themselves with keen enjoyment.</p> + +<p>“What will we do, Henry?” Paul asked.</p> + +<p>“First, we’ll eat breakfast, though it’s late. Then we’ll besiege the +besiegers. While they’re drawing the net which doesn’t enclose us we +might as well do ’em all the harm we can. We’re going to be dangerous +fugitives.”</p> + +<p>The five laughed in unison.</p> + +<p>“We’ll make Braxton Wyatt and the Shawnees think the forest is full of +enemies,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile they took their ease, and ate breakfast of wild turkey, +buffalo steak and a little corn bread that they hoarded jealously. The +sun continued its slow climb toward the zenith and Paul, looking up +through the canes, thought he had never seen a finer day. Then he +remembered something.</p> + +<p>“I suggest that we don’t move today,” he said. “They won’t approach the +hollow until night anyway, and it wouldn’t hurt for us to lie here in +the shelter of the brake and rest until dark.”</p> + +<p>Henry looked at him in surprise.</p> + +<p>“Your idea is sudden and I don’t understand it,” he said.</p> + +<p>“So it is, Henry, but it never occurred to me until a moment ago that +this was Sunday. We haven’t observed Sunday in a long time, and now is +our chance. We can’t wholly forget our training.”</p> + +<p>He spoke almost with apology, but the leader did not +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> upbraid him. +Instead, he looked at the others and found agreement in their eyes.</p> + +<p>“Paul talks in a cur’ous manner an’ has cur’ous notions sometimes,” said +Shif’less Sol, “but I don’t say they ain’t good. It’s a long time since +we’ve paid any ’tention to Sunday, but the idee sticks in my mind. Mebbe +it would be a good way fur us to start our big fight ag’inst the tribes +an’ the renegades.”</p> + +<p>“When Cromwell and his Ironsides advanced against the Royalists,” said +Paul, “they knelt down and prayed first on the very field of battle. +Then they advanced with their pikes in a solid line, and nothing was +ever able to stand before them.”</p> + +<p>“Then we’ll keep Sunday,” said Henry decisively.</p> + +<p>Paul, feeling a thrill of satisfaction, lay back on his blanket. The +idea that they should observe Sunday, that it would be a good omen and +beginning, had taken hold of him with singular power. His character was +devout and a life in the wilderness among its mighty manifestations +deepened its quality. Like the Indian he wanted the spirits of earth and +air on his side.</p> + +<p>The five had acquired the power of silence and to rest intensely when +nothing was to be done. Their food finished, they lay back against their +doubled blankets in a calm and peace that was deep and enduring. It was +not necessary to go to the edge of the canebrake, as in the brilliant +light of the day they might be noticed there, and, where they lay, they +could see anyone who came long before he arrived.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> +Paul, as he breathed, absorbed belief and confidence in their success. +Surely so bright a sky bending over them was a good omen! and the tall +canes themselves, as they bent before the wind, whispered to him that +all would be well. Henry in his own way was no less imaginative than his +young comrade. He let his eyelids droop, not to sleep, but to listen. +Then as no one of the five stirred, he too heard the voice of the wind, +but it sang to him a song far more clear than any Paul heard. It told of +triumphs achieved and others yet to come, and, as the great youth lifted +his lazy lids and looked around at the others, he felt that they were +equal to any task.</p> + +<p>The afternoon, keeping all its promise of brilliant beauty, waxed and +waned. The great sun dipped behind the forest. The twilight came, at +first a silver veil, then a robe of dusk, and after it a night luminous +with a clear moon and myriads of stars wrapped the earth, touching every +leaf and blade of grass with a white glow.</p> + +<p>Still the five did not stir. For a long time they had seemed a part of +the forest itself, and the wild animals and birds, rejoicing in the dry +and beautiful night after the stormy one that had passed, took them to +be such, growing uncommonly brave. The restless black bear came back, +looked at them, and then sniffing disdainfully went away to hunt for +roots. The great wings of the eagle almost brushed the cane that hung +over Henry’s head, but the little red eyes were satisfied that +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> what +they saw was not living, and the dark body flashed on in search of its +prey.</p> + +<p>“Three hours more at least, Paul,” said Henry at last, “until Sunday is +over.”</p> + +<p>“And I suggest that we wait the full three hours before we make any +movement. I know it looks foolish in me to say it, but the feeling is +very strong on me that it will be a good thing to do.”</p> + +<p>“Not foolish at all, Paul. I look at it just as you do, and since we’ve +begun the observance we ought to carry it through to the finish. You +agree with me, don’t you, boys?”</p> + +<p>“I shorely do,” said the shiftless one.</p> + +<p>“Ef Paul thinks it’s right it’s right,” said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>“Can’t hurt anythin’; it may help,” said Silent Tom.</p> + +<p>They resumed their silence and waiting, and meanwhile they listened +attentively for any sound that might come from those who were stalking +their old home. But the deep stillness continued, save for the light +song of the wind that sang continually among the leaves. Henry, in his +heart, was truly glad of Paul’s idea, and that they had concluded to +observe it. A spiritual atmosphere clothed them all. They had come of +religious parents, and the borderer, moreover, always personified the +great forces of nature, before which he was reverential. The five now +were like the Romans and the Greeks, who were anxious to propitiate the +gods ere going into action.</p> + +<p>Henry gazed at the moon, a silver globe in the heavens, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> and he +distinctly saw the man upon its surface, who returned his looks with +benevolence, while the countless stars about it quivered and glittered +and shed a propitious light. Then he gazed at his comrades, resting +against the trunks of the trees, and unreal in the silver mist. They +were yet so still that the wild animals might well take them to be +lifeless, and the power to sit there so long without stirring a muscle +was one acquired only by warriors and scouts.</p> + +<p>A faint whining cry came out of the silver dark, a sound that had +traveled a great distance on waves of air, and every one of the five +understood it, on the instant. It was one of the most ominous sounds of +the forest, a sound full of ferocity and menace, the howl of the wolf, +but they knew it came from human lips, that, in truth, it was a signal +ordered by the leader of the besieging band. Presently the reply, a +similar cry, came from another point of the compass, traveling like the +first on waves of air, until it died away in a savage undernote.</p> + +<p>“They’ve probably set their lines all the way around our hollow, and +they’re sure now they’ll hold us fast,” said Henry, with grim irony.</p> + +<p>“That’s ’bout it, I take it,” said Shif’less Sol, “an’ it ’pears to me +that this is the time for us to laugh, purvidin’ it won’t be in any way +breakin’ uv our agreement to keep the day till its very last minute.”</p> + +<p>He looked questioningly at Paul.</p> + +<p>“To laugh is not against our compact,” replied the lad, “since it has +such good cause. When a net is cast for +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> us, and those who cast it are +so confident we’re in it, we’ve a right to laugh as long as we’re +outside it.”</p> + +<p>“Then,” said Shif’less Sol with conviction, “ez thar’s so much to laugh +at, an’ we’ve all agreed to laugh, we’ll laugh.”</p> + +<p>The five accordingly laughed, but the laughs were soundless. Their eyes +twinkled, their lips twitched, but the canebrake, save for the ceaseless +rustle of the singing wind, was as silent as ever. No one five feet away +would have known that anybody was laughing.</p> + +<p>“Thar, I feel better,” said Shif’less Sol, when his face quit moving, +“but though they’re a long distance off I kin see with my mind’s eyes +Braxton Wyatt an’ his band stalkin’ us in our home in the rock, an’ +claspin’ us in a grip that can’t be shook off.”</p> + +<p>“Shettin’ down on us,” said Silent Tom.</p> + +<p>The shiftless one bent upon him a reproving look.</p> + +<p>“Thar you are, Tom!” he said, “talkin’ ’us to death ag’in. Can’t you +ever give your tongue no rest?”</p> + +<p>Silent Tom blushed once more under his tan, but said nothing, abashed by +his comrade’s stern rebuke.</p> + +<p>“Yes, I kin see Braxton Wyatt an’ his band stalkin’ us,” resumed +Shif’less Sol, having the floor, or rather the earth, again to himself. +“Braxton’s heart is full o’ unholy glee. He is sayin’ to hisself that we +can’t git away from him this time, that he’s stretched ’bout us a ring, +through which we’ll never break. He’s laughin’ to hisself jest az we +laugh to ourselves, though with less cause. He’s sayin’ that he an’ his +warriors will set down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +at a safe distance from our rifles an’ wait +patiently till we starve to death or give up an’ trust ourselves to his +tender mercy. He’s braggin’ to hisself ’bout his patience, how he kin +set thar fur a month, ef it’s needed, an’ I kin read his mind. He’s +thinkin’ that even ef we give up it won’t make no diff’unce. Our scalps +will hang up to dry jest the same, an’ he will take most joy in lookin’ +at yours, Henry, your ha’r is so fine an’ so thick an’ so yellow, an’ he +hez such a pizen hate o’ you.”</p> + +<p>“Your fancy is surely alive tonight, Sol,” said Henry, “and I believe +the thought of Braxton Wyatt’s disappointment later on is what has +stirred it up so much.”</p> + +<p>“I ’low you’re right, Henry, but I’m thinkin’ ’bout the grief o’ that +villain, Blackstaffe, too. Oh, he’ll be a terrible sorrowful man when +the net’s closed, an’ he finds thar’s nothin’ in it. It will be the +great big disappointment o’ his life an’ I ’low it will be some time +afore Moses Blackstaffe kin recover from the blow.”</p> + +<p>The silent laugh again overspread the countenance of the shiftless one +and lingered there. It was one of the happiest moments that he had ever +known. There was no malice in his nature, but he knew the renegades were +hunting for his life with a vindictiveness and cruelty surpassing that +of the Indians themselves, and he would not have been true to human +nature had he not obeyed the temptation to rejoice.</p> + +<p>“A half hour more and Sunday will have passed,” said Henry, who was +again attentively surveying the man in the moon.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +“An’ then,” said Long Jim, “we’ll take a look at what them fellers are +doin’.”</p> + +<p>“It will be a good move on our part, and if we can think of any device +to make ’em sure we’re still in the hollow it will help still more.”</p> + +<p>“Which means,” said Paul, “that one of us must pass through their lines +and fire upon them from the inside, that is, he must give concrete proof +that he’s in the net.”</p> + +<p>“Big words!” muttered Long Jim.</p> + +<p>“I think you put it about right,” said Henry.</p> + +<p>“Mighty dang’rous,” said Shif’less Sol.</p> + +<p>“I expected to undertake it,” said Henry.</p> + +<p>“You speak too quick,” said the shiftless one. “I said it wuz dang’rous +’cause I want it fur myself. It’s got to be a cunnin’ sort o’ deed, jest +the kind that will suit me.”</p> + +<p>“By agreement I’m the leader, and I’ve chosen this duty for myself,” +said Henry firmly.</p> + +<p>“Thar are times when I don’t like you a-tall, a-tall, Henry,” said +Shif’less Sol plaintively. “You’re always pickin’ out the good risky +adventures fur yourse’f. Ef thar’s any fine, lively thing that will make +a feller’s ha’r stan’ up straight on end an’ the chills chase one +another up an’ down his back, you’re sure to grab it off, an’ say it wuz +jest intended fur you. That ain’t the right way to treat the rest o’ us +nohow.”</p> + +<p>“No, it ain’t,” grumbled Silent Tom, but Shif’less Sol turned fiercely +on him.</p> + +<p>“Beginnin’ to talk us to death ag’in, are you, Tom Ross?” he exclaimed. +“Runnin’ on forever with that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> +garrylous tongue o’ yourn! You jest let +me have this out with Henry!”</p> + +<p>Again Tom Ross blushed in the darkness and under the tan. A terrible +fear seized him that he had indeed grown garrulous, a man of many and +empty words. It was all right for Shif’less Sol to talk on forever, +because the words flowed from his lips in a liquid stream, like water +coursing down a smooth channel, but it did not become Tom Ross, from +whom sentences were wrenched as one would extract a tooth. Paul laughed +softly but with intense enjoyment.</p> + +<p>“When I die, seventy or eighty years from now,” he said, “and go to +Heaven, I expect, when I pass through the golden gates, to hear a steady +and loud but pleasant buzz. It will go on and on, without ceasing. Maybe +it will be the droning of bees, but it won’t be. Maybe it will be the +roar of water over a fall, but it won’t be. Maybe it will be a strong +wind among the boughs, but it won’t be. Oh, no, it will be none of those +things. It will be one Solomon Hyde, formerly of Kentucky, and they’ll +tell me that his tongue has never stopped since he came to Heaven ten +years before, and off in one corner there’ll be a silent individual, Tom +Ross, who entered Heaven at the same time. And they’ll say that in all +the ten years he has spoken only once and that was when he passed the +gates, looked all around and said: ‘Good, but not much better than the +Ohio Country.’”</p> + +<p>Both Shif’less Sol and Silent Tom grinned, but the discussion was not +pursued, as Henry announced that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> +he was about to leave them in order to +enter the Indian ring, and make Wyatt and the warriors think the rocky +hollow was defended.</p> + +<p>“The rest of you would better stay in the canebrakes or the thickets,” +he said.</p> + +<p>“We won’t go so fur away that we can’t hear any signal you may make,” +said Long Jim Hart. “Give us the cry uv the wolf. Thar are lots uv +wolves in these woods, Injun an’ other kinds, but we know yourn from the +rest, Henry.”</p> + +<p>“And don’t take too big risks,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“I won’t,” said Henry, and he quickly vanished from their sight among +the bushes. Two hundred yards away, and he stopped, but he could not +hear them moving. Nor had he expected that any sound would come from +them to him, knowing that they would lie wholly still for a long time, +awaiting his passage through the Indian lines.</p> + +<p>The heart of the great youth swelled within him. As truly a son of the +wilderness as primitive man had been thousands of years ago, before +civilization had begun, when he depended upon the acuteness of his +senses to protect him from monstrous wild beasts, he was as much at home +now as the ordinary man felt in city streets, and he faced his great +task not only without apprehension, but with a certain delight. He had +the Indian’s cunning and the white man’s intellect as well, and he was +eager to match wits and cunning against those of the warriors.</p> + +<p>He would have been glad had the night turned a little +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> darker, but the +full burnished moon and showers of stars gave no promise of it, and he +must rely upon his own judgment to seek the shadows, and to pass where +they lay thickest. The forest, spread about him, was magnificent with +oak and beech and elm of great size, but the moonlight and the starshine +shone between the trunks, and moving objects would have been almost as +conspicuous there as in the day. Hence he sought the brushwood, and +advancing swiftly in its shelter, he approached the place that had been +such a comfortable home for the five, but which they had thought it wise +to abandon. A whimsical fancy, a desire to repay them for the evil they +were doing, seized him. He would not only draw the warriors on, but he +would annoy and tantalize them. He would make them think the evil +spirits were having sport with them.</p> + +<p>A half mile, and he sank to the earth, lying so still that anyone a yard +away could not have heard him breathe. Two warriors stood under the +boughs of an oak and they were looking in the direction of the hollow. +He had no doubt they were watchers, posted there to prevent the flight +of the besieged in that direction, and he was shaken with silent +laughter at this spectacle of men who stood guard that none might pass, +when there was none to pass. He was already having his revenge upon them +for the trouble they were causing and he felt that the task of repayment +was beginning well.</p> + +<p>The two Shawnees walked back and forth a little, searching everything +with their questing eyes, but they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +did not speak. Presently they turned +somewhat to one side, and Henry, still using the shelter of the +brushwood, flitted silently past them. Three or four hundred yards +farther and he lay down, laughing again to himself. It had been +ridiculously easy. All his wild instincts were alive and leaping, and +his senses became preternaturally acute. He heard some tiny animals of +the cat tribe, alarmed by his presence, stealing away among the bushes, +and the sound of an owl moving ever so slightly in the thick leaves on a +bough came to his ears. But he was so still that the owl became still +too, and did not know when he arose and moved on.</p> + +<p>Henry believed that the two warriors were merely guards on the outer rim +and that soon he would encounter more, a belief verified within ten +minutes. Then he heard talking and saw Braxton Wyatt himself and three +Shawnees, one a very large man who seemed to be second in command. Lying +at his ease and in a good covert he watched them, laughing again and +again to himself. For such as he this was, in truth, fine sport, and he +enjoyed it to the utmost. Wyatt was looking toward the point where the +cliffs that contained the rocky hollow showed dimly in the silver haze. +His face expressed neither triumph nor confidence, and Henry, seeing +that he was troubled, enjoyed it.</p> + +<p>“I wish we knew how well they are provided with food and ammunition,” he +heard him say.</p> + +<p>“They will have plenty,” the big warrior said. “The mighty young chief, +Ware, will see to it.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> +Henry felt a thrill at the words. The Shawnee was paying a tribute to +him, and he could not keep from hearing it.</p> + +<p>“They beat us off before,” said Wyatt gloomily. “We had them trapped in +the hollow, but we could not carry it.”</p> + +<p>“But this time,” said the warrior, “we will sit down before it, and wait +until they come out, trembling with weakness and begging us to give them +food that they may keep the life in their bodies.”</p> + +<p>“It will be a sight to make my eyes and heart rejoice,” said Braxton +Wyatt.</p> + +<p>The hammer and trigger of Henry’s rifle were a powerful magnet for his +hand. The young renegade’s voice expressed so much revenge and malice, +so much accumulated poison that the world would be a much better place +without him. Then why not rid it of his presence? He stood there +outlined sharp and clear in the silver dusk, and a marksman, such as +Henry, could not miss. But his will restrained the eager fingers. It was +not wise now, nor could he shoot even a renegade from ambush. Using the +extremest caution, lest the moving of a leaf or a blade of grass betray +his presence, he passed on, and now he was sure that he was well within +the Indian ring.</p> + +<p>Advancing more rapidly he ascended the slope, and came to the hollow, +which he reached while yet under cover. He waited a long time to see +whether Wyatt had posted any sentinels within eyeshot or earshot, as +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> he +had no desire to be trapped inside, and then, feeling sure that they +were not near, he entered.</p> + +<p>Their home was undisturbed. The dead ashes of their last fire lay +untouched. Various articles that they could not take with them were +undisturbed on the rocky shelves. But he gave the interior only a few +rapid and questing looks, and then he went outside again, his mind set +on a dense clump of bushes that grew near the entrance.</p> + +<p>He buried himself in the heavy shade, but he did not seek it alone +because of shelter. He saw that a good line of retreat led from it over +the shoulder of the hill, and then down a slope that admitted good +speed. Having made sure of his ground, he filled his lungs and sent +forth the cry of the wolf, long and sinister and full of a power that +carried far over the forest. He knew that the listening four would hear +it, and he knew, too, that it would reach the ears of Braxton Wyatt and +all the Shawnees. And hearing it, they would be absolutely sure that the +five were now in the hollow where they might be held until they dropped +dead of hunger or yielded themselves to the mercy of those who knew no +mercy.</p> + +<p>Fierce, triumphant yells came from all the points of the circle about +him, and once more and with deep content Henry laughed. He would fool +them, he would play with them, and meanwhile his comrades, to keep the +sport going, might sting them on the flank. After the yells, the night +resumed its usual silence, and Henry, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> +lying in his covert, watched on +all sides, while he laid his plans to vex and torment Braxton Wyatt and +his band. He knew it was an easy matter for his comrades and himself to +escape this particular expedition sent against them, but it was likely +that they would encounter other and larger forces farther south, and he +wished the battlefield, if it shifted at all, to shift northward. Hence +he intended to hold Wyatt there as long as possible.</p> + +<p>After a while, he was sure that he saw the tops of some bushes moving in +a direction not with the wind, and he was equally sure that Shawnees +were coming forward. Nearly half an hour passed and then a bead of fire +appeared as a rifle was discharged, and the shot had an uncommonly loud +sound in the clear, noiseless night. He heard, too, the click of the +bullet as it struck against the stone near the mouth of the hollow, and +once more he laughed. It was an amusing night for him. The warriors, now +that they had crept within range, would be sure to sprinkle the stone +around the cleft with bullets, and lead was too precious in the +wilderness to be wasted.</p> + +<p>He flattened himself upon the earth, merely keeping his rifle thrust +forward for an emergency, and he blended so perfectly with grass and +foliage that not even the keen eyes of Shawnees ten feet away could have +detected him. A second shot was fired, and he heard the bullet clipping +leaves not far away; a third followed and then a volley, all of the +bullets striking at some point near the entrance. The volley was +followed by a long and fierce war whoop and far down the valley Henry +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> +caught sight of a dusky form. Quick as lightning he raised his rifle, +pulled the trigger and the figure disappeared. Then another war whoop, +now expressing grief and rage, came, and he knew that the band would +think the bullet had been sent from the mouth of the rock fortress. He +crept a little farther away, lest a stalker should stumble upon him, and +reloaded his rifle.</p> + +<p>He lay quite still a long time, and the first sound he heard was of slow +and cautious footsteps. He listened to them attentively and he wondered. +A warrior surely would not come walking in a manner that soon became +shambling. Putting his ear to the earth he heard a soft and uncertain +crush, crush, and then, raising his head a little, he traced a dark, +ambiguous figure. But he knew it, nevertheless, by the two red eyes +blinking in doubt and dismay. It was a black bear, doubtless the same +one they had already disturbed.</p> + +<p>Here he was, like Henry himself, within the Shawnee ring, but, unlike +him, not there of his own free will. The shots and the war whoops had +terrified him to the utmost, and they had always driven him back toward +the center of the circle. Henry, moved by a spirit that was as much +friendliness as sport, uttered a low woof. The bear paused, raised his +head a little higher, and inhaled the wind. At any other time he would +have fled in dismay from the human odor, but he was a harried and +frightened black bear and that woof was the first friendly sound he had +heard in a day. So he remained where he was, his figure crouched, his +red eyes quivering<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +with curiosity. Henry smiled to himself. His feeling +for the animal was one of pure friendship, allied with sympathy. He knew +that if the bear tried to plunge through the Indian ring in his panic +they would certainly kill him. Moreover, they would cook him and eat him +the next day. The Indians liked fat young bear better than venison.</p> + +<p>It was a whimsical impulse of his generous nature to try to save the +bear, and he edged around until the puzzled animal was between him and +the mouth of the cave. The bear once started to run to the west, but a +rifle shot fired suddenly in that segment of the circle stopped him. He +remained again undecided, his tongue lolling out and his red eyes full +of dismay. Henry crept slowly toward him, uttering the low woof, woof, +several times, and bruin, disturbed in his mind and unable to judge +between friends and enemies, edged away as slowly, until his back was +almost at the mouth of the hollow. Then, with all the possibilities +against such a combination of chances, it occurred nevertheless. A +louder woof than usual from him was followed almost instantly by a +Shawnee rifle shot, and the frightened bear, giving back, almost fell +into the crevice. Then whirling, and seeing a refuge before him, he +darted inside.</p> + +<p>Henry, retreating into the dense bushes, flattened himself in the grass, +and laughed once more. He had laughed many times that night, but now his +mirth had a fresh savor. The bear and not the Indians had become the new +occupant of their old home, and, despite +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> the fact that it had been so +recently a human habitation, he felt quite sure the animal, owing to his +terror and the confusion of his ideas, would remain there until morning +at least. The Shawnees would exert all their patience and skill in the +siege of one bear that lived chiefly on roots, the greatest crime of +which was to rob bees of their stored honey.</p> + +<p>He raised himself until he could see the mouth of the cave, but all was +still and dark there. Evidently the bear was at home and was using all +available comforts. He would not come out to face the terror of the +shots and of human faces. Henry could imagine him with his head almost +hidden in one of their beds of leaves, and gradually acquiring +confidence because danger was no longer before his eyes.</p> + +<p>His whimsical little impulse having met with complete success he lay in +his shroud of bushes and intense enjoyment thrilled through every vein. +He had not known a happier night. All his primitive instincts were +gratified. The hunted was having sport with the hunters, and it was rare +sport too.</p> + +<p>The mournful howl of a wolf came faintly from the northern rim of the +forest. It made Henry start and wonder a little. He thought at first the +cry had been sent forth by Silent Tom or Shif’less Sol, but as it was +inside the Indian circle he concluded it must have been made by one of +the warriors. But he changed his mind again, when the long, whining cry +was repeated. His hearing was not less acute than his sight, able to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> +differentiate between the finest shades of sound, and he felt sure now +that the howl of a wolf was made by a wolf itself, the real genuine +article in howls, true to the wilderness. When several more of the +uneasy whines came doubt was left no longer. The Indian ring that had +enclosed the rocky hollow and the black bear had also enclosed an entire +pack of wolves. It complicated the situation, but for Wyatt and his +band, not for Henry, and once more the spontaneous laugh bubbled up from +his throat.</p> + +<p>He inferred now that he had not seen all of the Indian force. There were +probably other detachments to the west and north that had been drawn in +to complete the ring, but he did not care how many they might be. The +more they were the greater their troubles. A soft pad, pad in the +thicket roused him to the keenest attention. Some larger animal was +approaching him, unaware of his presence, the wind blowing in the wrong +direction. But the wind came right for Henry and soon he discovered a +strong feline odor. He knew that it was a panther, and presently he saw +it in the moonlight, yellowish and monstrous, the hugest beast of its +kind that he had ever beheld.</p> + +<p>But the panther, despite its size and strength, would run away from man, +and Henry understood. The Indian ring had closed about it too, and, +frightened, it was seeking refuge. Powerful, clawed and toothed for +battle, it would not fight unless it was driven into a corner, and then +it would fight with ferocity. Henry reflected +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> philosophically that the +net might miss the particular fish for which it was cast and yet catch +others. If the Indians closed in they had the panther and the black bear +and perhaps the pack of wolves too. What would they do with them? His +irrepressible mirth bubbled up. It was their problem, not his.</p> + +<p>Resolved not to intervene again in these delicate affairs, he crouched +as closely as he could to the earth, wishing the panther neither to see +nor to hear him, but curious himself to know what it would do. The beast +stalked out into the open, and it was magnified greatly by the luminous +quality of the moonlight. It looked like one of its primitive ancestors +in the far dawn of time, when man fought for his life with the stone +axe. But the panther was afraid. The howls of the wolf, both the real +and the false, frightened him. His instinct too told him that he was +walled around by beings that could slay at a distance, and, within a +certain area, he was a prisoner. He was sorely troubled and his great +body trembled with nervous quivers. The wolf pack howled again, and he +must have found something more alarming than ever in it, as he sheered +off to one side, and his tawny eyes caught a glimpse of a black opening +that almost certainly led to a magnificent den and refuge.</p> + +<p>But the panther was cautious. He lived a life in which the foresight +that comes from experience was compelled to play a great part. He did +not dive directly for the cleft, and he might not have gone in at all, +had not a sudden shift in the wind brought to him the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> human odor that +came from the body lying so near in the bushes. Driven by his impulse he +turned away and then sprang straight into the hollow.</p> + +<p>Henry had not expected this sudden movement on the part of the panther, +and he rose to his knees to see what would happen. A terrible growling +and snarling and the shuffling of heavy bodies came instantly from the +dusky interior. A moment or two later the panther bounded out, a huge +ball of yellowish fur, in which two frightened and angry red eyes +glared. Henry saw several streaks of blood on him and he stared at the +animal, amazed. He did not know that a black bear could make such a +fight against a powerful feline brute, but evidently, wild with terror, +he had used all his claws and teeth at once. The panther caught sight of +Henry looking at him, and, uttering a scream or two, bounded into the +bushes. In the cave, the bear remained silent and triumphant.</p> + +<p>“What will happen next?” said Henry to himself.</p> + +<p>The howl of the wolf pack came in reply.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>A MERRY NIGHT</strong></p> + + +<p>The long whine, a mingling of ferocity, fear and perhaps of hunger too, +came from a point nearer than before, and Henry was confirmed in his +opinion that Wyatt’s main band had been joined by other and smaller +ones, thus enabling them to form a circle practically continuous, +through which the wolves had not dared to break. The pack, moreover, was +steadily being driven in toward the center of the circle which was +naturally the rocky hollow. He foresaw further complications.</p> + +<p>Henry was very thoughtful. Affairs were not going as he had expected, +and yet he was not disappointed. He had believed that he would have to +show great activity himself, slipping here and there, and putting in a +timely shot or two, but other factors had entered into the situation, +and, with his normal flexibility of mind, he resolved at once to put +them to the best use.</p> + +<p>The wind was blowing from the pack toward him, and, if it shifted, he +meant to shift with it, but meanwhile he made himself as inconspicuous +as possible, finding a small<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +depression in which he stretched his body, +thus being hidden from any eye except the keenest. Although the night +was far advanced, it retained its quality of silky or luminous +brightness, the whole world still swimming in the silver haze which the +full moon and the countless stars cast.</p> + +<p>He wondered what had become of the scratched and angry panther. Endowed +with strength, but only with a fitful courage, it too must be lying +somewhere near in the forest, torn by wrath and perplexity. He was quite +sure that like the wolves it was encircled by the Indian ring, and would +not dare the attempt to break it. He was compelled to laugh once more to +himself. It was, in truth, a merry night.</p> + +<p>But as the laugh died in his throat his whole body gave a nervous +quiver. A cry came from a point not ten yards distant, a long, +melancholy, quavering sound, not without a hint of ferocity, in fact the +complaining voice of an owl. The imitation of the owl was a favorite +signal with the forest runners, both white and red, but Henry knew at +once that this cry was real. Looking long and thoroughly, he saw at last +the feathered and huddled shape on the bough of an oak. It was a huge +owl, and the rays of the moon struck it at such an angle that they made +it look ghostly and unsubstantial. Had Henry been superstitious, had he +been steeped too much in Indian lore, he would have called it a phantom +owl. Nay, it looked, in very truth, like such a phantom, taking the +shape of an owl, and, despite all his mind and courage, a little shudder +ran through him.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> +Again the great owl cried his loneliness and sorrows to the night. It +was a tremendous note, mournful, uncanny and ferocious, and it seemed to +Henry that it must go miles through the clear air, until it came back in +a dying echo, more sinister than its full strength had been. The Indian +cast was bringing into the net more than Wyatt or any of the warriors +had anticipated, but the owl at least was hooting its defiance.</p> + +<p>The singular combination of the night and circumstance affected Henry’s +own spirit. He was touched less by the present and reality than by his +sense of another time and the primordial elements became strong within +him. In effect he was transported far back into those dim ages, when man +fought with the stone axe, and his five senses were so preternaturally +acute to protect his life that he had a sixth and perhaps a seventh. A +whiff came on the wind. It was faint, because it had traveled far, but +he knew it to be the odor of the panther. The big cowardly beast was +crouched in a little valley to his right, and he was trembling, +trembling at the approaching warriors, trembling at the great youth who +lay in the depression, trembling at the unknown and monstrous creature +that had plunged its iron claws into him in the dark, and trembling at +the cry of the owl which it had heard so often before, but which struck +now with a new terror upon its small and frightened brain.</p> + +<p>Henry’s own feeling of the supernatural passed. It was merely the old, +old world in which he must fight for his life and turn aside the bands +from his comrades and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> +himself. Although the warriors had not called +again to one another he divined that they were closing in, and he +thought rapidly and with all the intensity and clearness demanded by the +situation.</p> + +<p>The owl hooted once more, the tremendous note swelling far over the +wilderness, and then returning in its melancholy whine. Instantly +setting his lips and swelling all the muscles of his mighty throat he +gave back the cry, long, full and a match in its loneliness and ferocity +for the owl’s own call. Then he crouched so close that he seemed fairly +to press himself into the earth.</p> + +<p>He saw the owl on the bough move a little and he knew that it was in a +state of stupid amazement. Like the panther its brain was adapted only +to its own affairs and environment, else it would have made some +progress in all the ages, and the cry of an owl coming from the ground +when owls usually cried from trees was more than it could understand. +Nevertheless it soon gave forth its long complaining note once more, and +Henry promptly matched it. He was thinking not so much of its effect +upon the owl as upon the Indians. Delicate as their senses were, they +were not as delicate as his, and they might think the two notes were +those of challenge indicating that the whole five, reinforced perhaps by +a half dozen stalwart hunters, were within the ring, ready and eager to +give battle, setting in very truth a trap of their own.</p> + +<p>He heard presently the cry of a wolf from a point at least a half mile +away, and it was answered from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +another segment of the circle at an +equal distance. The sounds, as he easily discerned, were made by +warriors, and it was absolutely certain now that the voices of the owls +had caused them to pause and think. Having thus started this train he +felt that he could wait and see what would happen, but he was stirred by +curiosity, and he pulled himself forward until the thicket ended, and +the earth fell away into the deep ravine that ran before the stony +hollow.</p> + +<p>He kept himself hidden in the edge of the dense bushes, but he could see +in various directions. The great owl on the bough was quivering a +little, as if it were still amazed and terrified by the answer to its +own calls, coming from the heart of the earth itself and surcharged with +mystery. The moonlight turned it to a feathery mass of silver in which +the cruel beak and claws showed like sharp pieces of steel. Yet the bird +did not fly away, and Henry knew that it was held by fear as well as +curiosity, the dangers near seeming less than those far.</p> + +<p>He looked then down into the ravine, and he was startled by the sight of +the wolf pack at full attention. The wolves of the Mississippi Valley +were not as large as the great timber wolf of the mountains, but when +driven by hunger they showed like their brethren elsewhere extreme +ferocity, and were known to devour human beings. Now the wolves like the +owl were magnified in the luminous moonlight, and one at their head +seemed to be truly of gigantic size. He reminded Henry of the king wolf +that had pursued Shif’less Sol and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>himself, and he had a singular fancy +that he was the same great brute, reincarnated. He shivered at his own +thought, and then chided himself fiercely. The king wolf had been +killed, he was as dead as a stone, and he could not come back to earth +to plague him.</p> + +<p>But the beast, like the bird, was truly monstrous. He stood upon a +slight mound at the bottom of the ravine, and his figure bathed in the +glow of the moon and the stars rose to twice its real height. Henry saw +the foam upon the red mouth, the white fangs and the savage eyes, in +which, his fancy still vivid, he read hunger, ferocity and terror too. +Around him but on the lower plane were gathered the full score of the +pack, gaunt and fierce. Suddenly, the leader raised his head and like a +dog bayed the moon. The score took up the cry and the long whine was +carried far on the light wind, to be followed by deep silence.</p> + +<p>The voice of the wolf bore Henry even farther back than the voice of the +owl, and his preternaturally acute senses took on an edge which the +modern man never knows in his civilized state. He heard the fluff of the +owl’s feathers as it moved and the panting of the wolves in the valley +below. Then he saw the leader walk from the low mound and take a slow +and deliberate course along the slope, with the others following in +single file like Indians. The king was leading them nearer to the rocky +hollow, and Henry suspected they were changing their position because +the ring of warriors was beginning to close in again. He heard a +flapping of wings, and a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> +huge bald-headed eagle settled on a bough near +him, whence it looked with red eyes at the owl, while the owl, with eyes +equally red, looked back again.</p> + +<p>The suspicious, not to say jealous, manner with which the two birds +regarded each other, when the forest was wide enough for both, and +countless millions more like them, amused Henry. Both were alarmed, and +it was easy enough for them to fly away, but they did not do so, drawn +in a kind of fascination toward the danger they feared. Meanwhile the +wolves were still coming up the slope, but the black bear in the snug +hollow never stirred.</p> + +<p>The warriors signaled once more to one another and now they were much +nearer. Henry retreated a little farther into the thicket, and then his +plan came to him. The Indians were bound to approach him from the east +and he would meet them with a weapon they little expected. The forest +was still in dense green, but the wood was dry from summer heats, the +effect of the great rain having passed quickly, and the ground was +littered as usual with the dead boughs and trunks fallen through +arboreal ages.</p> + +<p>He drew softly away toward the mouth of the hollow, and then passed +behind it, where, stooping in the thicket, he produced his flint and +steel, which he put upon the turf beside him. Then, he gathered together +a little pile of dry brushwood, and again took notice of the wind, which +was still blowing directly toward the east and down the ravine, the only +point from which the Indian attack could come. It had been repulsed +there once before, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> then Henry’s comrades were with him, and five +good rifles and the tremendous voice of Long Jim had prevailed. Now he +was alone, and he did not intend to rely upon bullets. The moonlight +held, clear and amazingly bright, and he distinctly saw the troubled owl +and the vexed eagle, apparently still staring at each other and +wondering what was the matter with the night and the place. The Indian +calls to one another sounded once more, their own natural voices now and +not the imitation of bird or animal, and their nearness indicated that +the circle was closing in fast.</p> + +<p>Henry had built up his heap of tinder wood, somewhat behind the mouth of +the hollow, and, kneeling down, he used flint and steel with amazing +rapidity and power. The sparks leaped forth in a shower, the dry wood +ignited, and up came little flames which swiftly grew into bigger ones. +Then he fanned his bonfire with all his might, and the flames sprang +high in the air, roaring as they set a fresh blaze to every dry thing +they touched. In less than two minutes a forest fire was in full and +great progress, sweeping eastward and down the ravine directly into the +faces of Braxton Wyatt and his advancing warriors. A great sheet of fire +in varying reds, pinks and yellows, and sometimes with a blue tint, rose +above the tops of the trees, and, as it rushed forward, it sent forth +showers of ashes and sparks in myriads from its crimson throat.</p> + +<p>Henry sprang up behind the fire and uttered terrific shouts, leaping and +dancing as that far dim ancestor of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> his must have leaped and danced +when he was glowing with a sudden and mighty triumph. The spirit of the +ages had descended upon him too and as he bounded back and forth in the +light of the flames he roared forth bitter taunts in a voice worthy of +Long Jim himself. He told the owl to be up and away, and, rising on +heavy wings and uttering a dismal hoot, it obeyed. Its big body was +outlined for a moment or two against the red, and then it flew away over +the forest. The eagle uttered a hoarse cry, drawn from its frightened +throat, and followed the owl.</p> + +<p>Then came another shriek, singularly like that of a human being, and the +huge panther, driven from its covert by the intense heat, leaped madly +forth and raced down the ravine before the pillar of flame. That panther +was in a sorely troubled state even before the fire began, and now the +collapse of its small intellect was complete. It saw the advancing +Indian warriors, but, in its madness, was reckless of them. It advanced +with great bounds straight at the line, cannoned against Braxton Wyatt +himself, knocking him senseless into a thicket, and, magnified to twice +its usual size before the amazed eyes of the Indians, disappeared at +last in a yellowish streak down the ravine.</p> + +<p>Terror tore at the hearts of the Indians themselves, brave warriors +though they were. The strange cries of the night, of such varying +character and coming from so many points, had depressed their spirits +and filled them with superstitious awe. There was more in this than the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +human mind could account for and the sudden upspringing of the fire, +bringing on its front the monstrous panther, if, in truth, it was a +panther and not some huge and legendary beast, sent them to the verge of +panic.</p> + +<p>Their white leader, who might have restored their courage, lay senseless +in the bush, and as the second in command, the big warrior, seized him +to drag him away from the fire, the wall of flame emitted something even +more terrifying than the magnificent figure of the mad panther. Out of +the red glare shot a huge gaunt figure with long white teeth and +slavering jaws, the king wolf, to the warriors the demon wolf. After him +came a full score or more of wolves, almost as large, and howling their +terror to the moon. Behind them was the gigantic figure of a phantom +black bear, rushing with all its might, and through the red wall itself +came the sound of threatening and awful cries.</p> + +<p>The Shawnees could stand no more. Uttering yells of fright they fled, +and fortunate it was for Braxton Wyatt that the big warrior slung him +over his shoulder and carried him away in the crush.</p> + +<p>Henry heard the cries of the warriors and he knew from their nature that +panic was in complete control of the band. All things had worked for +him. The bear in its fright, and as he had expected, had rushed from the +cave just in time to flee before the flames, and he knew very well that +his own shouts would be interpreted by the Indians as the menace of the +evil spirits.</p> + +<p>He followed the flames about a mile down the ravine, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> and then returned +slowly toward the hollow. He knew that the fire would soon reach a +prairie somewhat farther on, where it would probably die out, but he +knew also that his triumph was achieved. Circumstances and the presence +of the animals and the birds had helped him greatly, but his own quick +wit and infinity of resource had put the capstone on success. He began +to feel now the effect of the immense exertions he had made with both +body and mind, and, before he reached the hollow, he turned aside into +the woods where the fire had not passed and sat down on a rock.</p> + +<p>He saw two or three miles away the wall of flame still moving eastward, +but the distance even did not keep him from knowing that it had +diminished greatly in height and vigor. As he had surmised, it would die +presently at the prairie and the night would return to its wonted +silence, lighted now only by the moon and stars. He was weary, but he +had an immense feeling of satisfaction and he sat a while, looking at +the fire, which soon sank out of sight behind the horizon, although its +pathway, the broad swath that it had cut, still glowed with coals and +sparks.</p> + +<p>He wondered just where his comrades were. He might have sent forth a +call for them, but he decided that it would be wiser not to do so at +present, since they could reunite easily in the morning, and he +remained, sitting in an easy position, still looking at the luminous +point under the horizon, where the last embers of the fire were fading. +A long time passed, and the stillness was so +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> peaceful that he sank into +a doze, from which he was aroused by a flare of lightning in the west. +The beauty of the night had been too intense to last. The moon and stars +that he had admired so much were going away, and the silky blue robe, +shot with silver that was the sky, was dimmed by a long row of somber +clouds trailing up from the west. The wind that touched Henry’s face was +damp and he knew rain would soon come.</p> + +<p>He had no mind to have a wetting through and through after his great +strain and labors, and his thoughts turned at once to the rocky hollow. +The bear had rushed out of it madly and there must have been much heat +there for awhile, but it had probably cooled by this time, and would +afford him a good shelter.</p> + +<p>He found to his great delight and relief that the interior was free from +smoke, and not damaged at all. Some articles they had left on the +shelves were not even charred, and the leaves that made their beds had +escaped ignition. He would not have asked for anything better, and, +after eating some venison from his knapsack and drinking from the cold +water of the rivulet, he lay down on the bed nearest the cleft, where he +could see the ravine and the forest beyond.</p> + +<p>A storm was gathering, but secure in his shelter it soothed and lulled +his spirit. The lightning, now red and intense, flared from every +horizon, and the wilderness was filled with the deep roll of incessant +thunder. The wind ceased to blow, but he knew that soon it would spring +up again, and then the rain would come with it, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> although he would +remain dry and warm in the stony shelter that nature had provided. An +enormous sense of comfort, even luxury, pervaded him, both body and +mind. He was like his primordial ancestor who had escaped from the +dangers of the monstrous beasts and who now rested at ease in his cave. +The strain upon his nerves departed, and soon he felt fit and able to +meet any new danger, whenever it should come. But he was so sure that no +such danger would appear that he allowed himself to fall asleep, having +first covered his body with the blanket that he always carried at his +back, as the night, under the influence of the wind and rain, was +growing cold.</p> + +<p>When he awoke the day had not yet come and it was very dark. The rain +was pouring heavily, but not a drop reached him where he lay on his easy +bed of leaves with the warm blanket drawn around his body. Without +rising he pulled himself forward a little and looked forth. The last +ember from the forest fire had been blotted out long since, and he heard +the wash of the water as it rushed down the slopes, and the sweep of the +torrent in the ravine. The contrast heightened the splendor of his own +situation, which was all that one who was wild for the time could ask. +He thought of his comrades and of what a home the hollow would be to +them too, but he was not troubled about them. Such forest runners as +Shif’less Sol and the others would be sure to find protection from the +storm.</p> + +<p>He fell asleep again, and, when he awoke the second +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> time, dawn had come +more than an hour, the rain had stopped and the heavens were burnished +silver. Foliage and grass were already drying fast under a warm western +wind, and Henry, making a breakfast off what was left of his venison, +prepared to go forth. But he was halted by a shambling, dark figure that +appeared on the slope leading down into the ravine. It was the black +bear, and apparently it had some idea of returning to the fine shelter +it had abandoned in such fright the night before. Henry was surprised +that it should have come back. It must have been beaten about much in +the storm, and, either its memory was short, or it had sunk its terrors +in the recollection of the finest den that ever a bear had entered in +the northern part of Kain-tuck-ee.</p> + +<p>Henry had a friendly feeling for the bear, which he regarded as an +animal of a companionable disposition, and no enemy, unless driven in a +corner. Since he had to leave the hollow and his comrades would have to +go with him he preferred on the whole that the bear should have it, but +when he stood up in the entrance the animal caught sight of his tall +figure and scrambled away in the forest. His place was taken by the +figure of a huge cat which glared at Henry with yellowish-green eyes, +and then turned back among the trees, filled with rage that the +terrible, strange creature was yet there.</p> + +<p>“It seems that I’m still an object of terror,” thought Henry, with +amusement. “Now for the eagle and the owl.”</p> + +<p>A great bird came out of the blue, and sailed on slow +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> wing over the +hollow and ravine. He knew instinctively that it was the bald eagle of +the night before, drawn back with a fascination it could not resist to +the place where it had been frightened so badly. But it did not alight. +Keeping at a good height, it circled about and about and then +disappeared again and for the last time to the eastward.</p> + +<p>Henry’s eyes searched the opposite slope of the ravine, and at last he +discovered a mournful figure perched on the high bough of an oak. Its +feathers were drooping, its head was bent down until it was almost +buried in the feathers below its neck, and its entire attitude showed +despondency. The owl, too, had come back, but only a part of the way, +and, blinded by the sun, it sat there on the bough, mourning and +mourning.</p> + +<p>Henry laughed. He had laughed many times the night before and he could +not keep from laughing that morning. The owl was quite the saddest +spectacle the woods could afford, and he had no mind to disturb it.</p> + +<p>“Stay there and grieve, my solemn friend,” he said. “Truly, with the sun +on you, your eyes closed and your heart sunk you’ll be silent, but +tonight you’ll give forth your melancholy hoot, although I won’t be here +to hear it.”</p> + +<p>He looked to his ammunition, and stepped forth into a new and refreshed +world, filled with cool drying airs and the appealing odor of leaf and +grass. He descended into the ravine, the water falling in beads from the +leaves as he brushed by, and followed for a little distance in the bare +trail left by the fire. A mile farther on and a pair +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> of great red eyes +peering at him from a thicket saw in him a terrible beast that even the +master of the wolves should avoid.</p> + +<p>The huge leader gave a yelp, and as Henry turned suddenly, he saw the +great wolf flitting away up the ravine, followed by the twenty gaunt +figures of his pack. He could have dropped the big wolf with a bullet, +but there was no need to do so, and he merely watched them until they +disappeared in the forest, concluding that his companions of the night +were as much afraid of him in the day as in the dark. All of them, save +one band, had come back in a frightened way, but he knew that the +Indians would not return. He was sure that they were still on their +terrified flight toward the Ohio, and he followed in the path of the +fire, until he came to the prairie where it had burned itself out.</p> + +<p>It was only a little prairie, about two miles across, no other kind +having been found in Kentucky, and, on the far side, he picked up the +trail of the Indian band. He did not see any footsteps that turned out, +and he wondered at their absence. What had become of Braxton Wyatt? His +body had not been found in the path of the flames, and certainly he had +not perished. Henry, after some thought, came to the right conclusion, +namely, that he was being carried. But his hurt could not be any wound +received in battle, and probably he would recover soon, another correct +surmise, as a short distance farther on the trail of toes that turned +out appeared.</p> + +<p>All the steps seemed to be long, and Henry judged +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> hence that the band +was going fast, terror still stabbing at their hearts, long after the +night had passed. Braxton Wyatt would be the first to recover from it, +and Henry smiled at the thought of his rage when he should not be able +to persuade the Shawnees that evil spirits, sent by Manitou, had not +driven them from the valley. Their second defeat at the same place, and +this time by invisible forces, would persuade them they must never +return to the attack on the hollow.</p> + +<p>Henry dropped the pursuit for the present, knowing that it was time to +reunite his own forces, and he sent forth the cry of the wolf that the +five, in common with the Indians, used so much. No reply and he repeated +it a second and yet a third time before the answer came. Then it was in +the south and it was very faint, but he had no doubt it was the voice of +Shif’less Sol. Call and reply went on for a little while, and then, +after a long wait, he saw the figures of the four appearing among the +trees, the shiftless one leading.</p> + +<p>The greeting was not effusive, but joyful. Henry told them in rapid +words, tense and brief, all that had occurred the night before, and the +shoulders of the four shook with silent laughter.</p> + +<p>“You certainly scared them good, Henry,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“I was helped a lot by circumstances.”</p> + +<p>“But you used the chances when they came.”</p> + +<p>“Where did you four hide when the storm broke?”</p> + +<p>“We took refuge under the matted trees and boughs of a huge old windrow. +It wasn’t like the hollow, and some +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> water came through, but on the +whole we did fairly well, and soon dried out thoroughly this morning. We +were mighty glad to hear your call, but we hardly hoped you would +achieve as much as you did.”</p> + +<p>“An’ havin’ routed the first band that came ag’inst us,” said Long Jim, +“what do you ’low we ought to do next?”</p> + +<p>“We’ve broken only a piece of the iron ring they’re forging about us, +and they’ll soon mend that piece. It’s a good thing to hit first at +those you see are trying to hit at you, and so I think we ought to +follow up the success fortune has given us.”</p> + +<p>“An’ it ’pears we kin do that best by keepin’ right on the trail o’ +Braxton Wyatt an’ his band,” said Shif’less Sol.</p> + +<p>“That’s the way I see it,” said Henry. “How do you feel about it, Tom?”</p> + +<p>“Right plan,” replied Ross.</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol fixed upon him such a look of stern reproof that Silent +Tom reddened once more under his tan.</p> + +<p>“Here you go gettin’ volyble ag’in,” said the shiftless one. “You used +two words then, Tom Ross, when, ef you’d thought an’ hunted ’roun’ a +leetle you might hev found one that would hev done ez well.”</p> + +<p>“And you Paul?” said Harry.</p> + +<p>“I’m glad to follow where you lead.”</p> + +<p>“And you, Jim?”</p> + +<p>“I’m uv Paul’s mind.”</p> + +<p>“Then it’s settled. Now, we’ll have something to eat, and talk it +over.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> +They soon found a little valley in which a clear rivulet was flowing. +One was never more than a mile from running water in that country—and +Long Jim and Silent Tom produced food from their deerskin pouches.</p> + +<p>“Here’s some ven’son,” said Jim. “It’s cold an’ it’s tough, but I reckon +it’ll do.”</p> + +<p>“I’m thinkin’,” said Shif’less Sol, “that after a night like the one +Henry has had he’ll be pow’ful hungry fur somethin’ better than cold +ven’son.”</p> + +<p>“Mebbe so,” rejoined Long Jim, “an’ mebbe it’s true uv all uv us, but +whar are we goin’ to git it?”</p> + +<p>“I’m an eddycated man, Jim Hart, eddycated in the ways o’ the woods, an’ +one o’ the fust things you do when you’re gittin’ that sort o’ an +eddication is to learn to use your eyes. I hev used mine, an’ jest +before we set down here I noticed the fresh trail o’ buffler runnin’ off +to the right, ’bout a dozen, I’d say, an’ jest ez shore ez I’m here +they’re not more’n a mile away. I kin see ’em now, grazin’ in a little +open, an’ thar is a young cow among ’em, juicy an’ tender. Now I don’t +want to kill a young cow buffler, but we must hev supplies before we go +on this expedition.”</p> + +<p>“Sol is right,” said Henry, “and since he is so it’s his duty to go and +kill the buffalo. Tom, you’ll go with him, won’t you?”</p> + +<p>“O’ course,” replied Silent Tom.</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol rose and looked to his rifle.</p> + +<p>“I knowed I would hev to do all the work, besides supplyin’ the +thinkin’,” he said. “Here I tell what’s to be +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> done when the others +ain’t able to think it out, an’ then they tell me to go an’ do it. It +ain’t fair to a lazy man, one who furnishes the intelleck. The rest o’ +you ought to work fur him.”</p> + +<p>“Go on you, Sol Hyde,” said Long Jim Hart, rebukingly, “an’ kill that +buffler. Don’t you know that when you kill it I’ll hev to cook it, an’ I +ain’t complainin’?”</p> + +<p>“Quit braggin’ on yourse’f, Jim Hart. You ain’t complainin’, ’cause you +ain’t got sense ’nuff to complain. You’re plum’ sunk so deep in sloth +an’ ig’rance that you’re jest satisfied with anythin’, no matter how bad +it is. It’s men o’ intelleck like me who complain and look fur better +things, who make the world go forward.”</p> + +<p>“Your idea uv goin’ forward, Sol Hyde, is to do it ridin’ on my +shoulders.”</p> + +<p>“O’ course, Jim. Ain’t that what you’re made fur? You’re a hind—ain’t +that the beast, Paul, that carries burdens?—an’ I’m the knight with the +shinin’ lance that goes forth to slay dragons, an’ I go ridin’, too.”</p> + +<p>“You go ridin’, too! I don’t see no hoss! An’ you ain’t been astride no +hoss in years, Sol Hyde!”</p> + +<p>“You deserve to be what you are, a hind, a toter o’ burdens, Jim Hart, +’cause your mind is so slow an’ dull. You ain’t got no light, no +imagination, no bloom, a-tall, a-tall! Did I say I wuz ridin’ a real +hoss? No, sir, not fur a second! But in the fancy, in the sperrit, so to +speak, I’m ridin’ the finest hoss that ever pranced, an’ I’m settin’ in +a silver saddle, holdin’ reins o’ blue silk, an’ that proud hoss o’ mine +champs an’ champs his jaws on a bit +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> made o’ solid gold. Come on, Tom, I +ain’t ’preciated here. We’ll kill that buffler, ef you don’t talk me to +death on the way. Remember now to hold your volyble tongue. The last +time you spoke, ez I told you, you used two words when one would hev +done jest ez well. Don’t let your gabblin’ skeer the buffler plum’ to +the other side o’ the Ohio.”</p> + +<p>He stalked haughtily away, his rifle in the hollow of his arm, and +Silent Tom followed meekly. The admiring gaze of Jim Hart followed the +shiftless one as long as he was in sight.</p> + +<p>“Ain’t he the most beautiful talker you ever heard?” he asked. “Me an’ +him hev our little spats, but it’s a re’l pleasure to hear him fetch out +reasons an’ prove that the thing that ain’t is, an’ the thing that is +ain’t. That’s what I call a mighty smart man. Ef the Injuns ever git him +he’ll talk to ’em so hard that they’ll either make him thar head chief, +or turn him loose to keep from bein’ talked to death.”</p> + +<p>They heard the sound of a shot, and then a faint halloo from the +shiftless one, and when Henry went to the spot he found that he had +slain a young cow buffalo, just as he had predicted. Long Jim Hart +cooked the tender steaks in his finest style and they spent the rest of +the day preparing for the journey, which they believed would take them +across the Ohio, and which they knew would be full of dangers.</p> + +<p>They put out their fire and rested until dusk came. Then they took up +again the trail of Wyatt’s band and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> +traveled until midnight, when they +slept until morning, all save the watch. Henry reckoned that they would +reach the river by the next night, and there was a chance that the +warriors might recover sufficiently from their fright to rally at the +stream. But he felt that in any event he and his comrades must strike. +Blackstaffe, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle with their forces would soon +be in pursuit, and to escape the net would test the skill and courage of +the five to the utmost. Yet all of them believed attack to be the best +plan, and, after their sleep, they resumed the trail with renewed +strength and vigor, pressing northward at great speed through the deep +green wilderness.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE CAPTURED CANOE</strong></p> + + +<p>As the five advanced they read the trail with unfailing eye. Henry saw +more than once the traces of footsteps with the toes turned out, that is +those of Braxton Wyatt, and he noticed that they were wavering, not +leading in a straight line like those of the Indians.</p> + +<p>“Braxton must have had a nice crack of some kind or other on the head,” +he said, “and he still feels the effects of it, as now and then he +reels.”</p> + +<p>“’Twould hev been a good thing,” said Shif’less Sol, “ef the crack, +whatever it may hev been, hed been a lot harder, hard enough to finish +him. I ain’t bloodthirsty, but it would help a lot if Braxton Wyatt wuz +laid away. Paul, you’re eddicated, an’ you hev done a heap o’ thinkin’, +enough, I guess, to last a feller like Long Jim fur a half dozen o’ +lives, now what makes a man turn renegade an’ fight with strangers an’ +savages ag’inst his own people?”</p> + +<p>“I think,” replied Paul, “that it’s disappointment, and fancied +grievances. Some people want to be first, and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> when they can’t win the +place they’re apt to say the world is against ’em, in a conspiracy, so +to speak, to defraud ’em of what they consider their rights. Then their +whole system gets poisoned through and through, and they’re no longer +reasoning human beings. I look upon Braxton Wyatt as in a way a madman, +one poisoned permanently.”</p> + +<p>“I hev noticed them things, too,” said Shif’less Sol. “Thar are diff’unt +kinds o’ naturs, the good an’ the bad, an’ the bad can’t bear for other +people to lead ’em. Then they jest natchelly hate an’ hate. All through +the day they hate, an’ ef they ain’t got nothin’ to do, even ef the +weather is fine ’nuff to make an old man laugh, they jest spend that +time hatin’. An’ ef they happen to wake up at night, do they lay thar +an’ think what a fine world it is an’ what nice people thar are in it? +No, sir, they jest spend all the time between naps hatin’, an’ they fall +asleep ag’in, with a hate on thar lips an in’ thar hearts.”</p> + +<p>“You’re talkin’ re’l po’try an’ truth at the same time, Sol,” said Long +Jim. “It’s cur’ous how people hate them that kin do things better than +theirselves. Now, I’ve noticed when I’m cookin’ buffler steaks an’ deer +meat an’ wild turkey an’ nice, juicy fish, an’ cookin’ mebbe better than +anybody else in all Ameriky kin, how you, Shif’less Sol Hyde, turn plum’ +green with envy an’ begin makin’ disrespeckful remarks ’bout me, Jim +Hart, who hez too lofty an’ noble a natur ever to try to pull you down, +poor an’ ornery scrub that you be.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> +Shif’less Sol drew himself up with haughty dignity.</p> + +<p>“Jim Hart,” he said, “I’m wrapped ’bout with the mantle o’ my own merit +so well from head to foot that them invig’ous remarks o’ yours bounce +right off me like hail off solid granite. To tell you the truth, Jim +Hart, I feel like a big stone mountain, three miles high, with you +throwin’ harmless leetle pebbles at me.”</p> + +<p>“And yet,” said Paul, “while you two are always pretending to quarrel, +each would be eager to risk death for the other if need be.”</p> + +<p>“It’s only my sense o’ duty, an’ o’ what you call proportion,” said +Shif’less Sol. “Long Jim, ez you know, is six feet an’ a half tall. Ef +the Injuns wuz to take him an’ burn him at the stake he’d burn a heap +longer than the av’rage man. What a torch Jim would make! Knowin’ that +an’ always b’arin’ it in mind, I’m jest boun’ to save Jim from sech a +fate. It ain’t Jim speshully that I’m thinkin’ on, but I’d hate to know +that a man six an’ a half feet long wuz burnin’ ’long his whole len’th.”</p> + +<p>“Another band has joined Wyatt,” said Henry. “See, here comes the +trail!”</p> + +<p>The new force had arrived from the east, and it contained apparently +twenty warriors, raising Braxton Wyatt’s little army to about sixty men.</p> + +<p>“But they still run,” said Shif’less Sol. “The new ones hev ketched all +the terror an’ superstition that the old ones feel, an’ the whole crowd +is off fur the Ohio. Look how the trail widens!”</p> + +<p>“And Braxton Wyatt is beginning to feel better,” said +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> Henry. “His own +particular trail does not waver so much now. Ah, they’ve stopped here +for a council. Braxton probably stood on that old fallen log and +addressed them, because the traces of his footsteps lead directly to it. +Yes, the bark here is rubbed a little, where he stood. They gathered in +a half circle before him, as their footprints show very plainly, and +they listened to him respectfully. He, being white, was recovering from +the superstitious terror, but the Shawnees were still under its spell. +After hearing him they continued their flight. Here goes their trail, +all in a bunch, straight toward the north!”</p> + +<p>“An’ thar won’t be no stop ’til they strike the Ohio,” said Shif’less +Sol with conviction.</p> + +<p>“I agree with you,” said Henry.</p> + +<p>“And so do all of us,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“And of course we follow on,” said Henry, “right to the water’s edge!”</p> + +<p>“We do,” said the others all together.</p> + +<p>“The Ohio isn’t very far now,” said Henry.</p> + +<p>“Ten or fifteen miles, p’raps,” said Shif’less Sol.</p> + +<p>“And it’s likely that we’ll find a big force gathered there.”</p> + +<p>“Looks that way to me, Henry. Mebbe the band o’ Blackstaffe will be +waitin’ to join that o’ Wyatt. Then, feelin’ mighty strong, they’ll come +back after us.”</p> + +<p>“’Less we fill ’em full o’ fear whar they stan’. Mebbe they’ll stop at +the river a day or two, an’ then we kin git to work. Water which hides +will help us.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> +They passed on through the forest, noting that the trail was growing +wide and leisurely. At one point the Indians had stopped some time, and +had eaten heavily of game brought in by the hunters. The bones of +buffalo, deer and wild turkey were scattered all about.</p> + +<p>“They’re feeling better,” said Henry. “I don’t think now they’ll cross +the Ohio, but we must do so and attack from the other side. They’re not +looking for any enemy in the north, and we may be able to terrify ’em +again.”</p> + +<p>It was not long before they came to the great yellow stream of the Ohio, +and in an open space, not far from the shore, they saw the fires of the +Indian encampment.</p> + +<p>“I think we’ll have work to do here,” said Henry, “and we’ll keep well +into the deep woods until long after dark.”</p> + +<p>They did not light any fire, but lying close in the thicket, ate their +supper of cold food. Three or four hours after sunset Henry, telling the +others to await his return, crept near the Indian camp. As he had +surmised, two formidable forces had joined, and nearly two hundred +warriors sat around the fires. The new army, composed partly of Miamis +and partly of Shawnees, with a small sprinkling of Wyandots, was led by +Blackstaffe, who was now with Wyatt, the two talking together earnestly +and looking now and then toward the south.</p> + +<p>Henry had no doubt that the five were the subject of their conversation. +Wyatt must have recovered by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> +this time all his faculties and was +telling Blackstaffe that their enemies were only mortal and could be +taken, if the steel ring about them was recast promptly. Henry had no +doubt that an attempt to forge it anew would speedily be made by the +increased force, but his heart leaped at the thought that his comrades +and he would be able to break it again.</p> + +<p>As he crept a little nearer he saw to his surprise a fire blazing on the +opposite shore, and he was able to discover the forms of warriors +between him and the blaze. With the Indians bestride the stream the task +of the five was complicated somewhat, but Henry was of the kind that +meet fresh obstacles with fresh energy.</p> + +<p>He returned to his comrades and reported what he had seen, but all +agreed with him that they should cross the river, despite the encampment +on the far shore, and make the attack from the north.</p> + +<p>“We’ll do like that old Roman, Hannybul,” said Long Jim, “hit the enemy +at his weakest part, an’ jest when he ain’t expectin’ us.”</p> + +<p>“Hannibal was not a Roman, Jim,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“Well, then, he was a Rooshian or a Prooshian.”</p> + +<p>“Nor was he either of those.”</p> + +<p>“Well, it don’t make no diff’unce, nohow. He wuz a furriner, that’s +shore, an’ he’s dead, both uv which things is ag’inst him. It looks +strange to me, Paul, that a furriner with the outlandish ways that +furriners always hev should hev been sech a good gen’ral.”</p> + +<p>“He was probably the best the world has produced, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> Jim. He was able with +small forces to defeat larger ones, and we must imitate his example.”</p> + +<p>“And to do that,” said Henry, “we shall cross the Ohio tonight. I think +we’d better drop down a mile or two, beyond their fires and their +sentinels, and then make for the northern shore.”</p> + +<p>“The river must be ’bout a mile wide here,” objected Shif’less Sol. +“That’s a big swim with all our weepuns, an’ ef some o’ the warriors in +canoes should ketch us in the water then we’d be goners, shore.”</p> + +<p>“You’re right, there, Sol,” said Henry. “It would be foolish in us to +attempt to swim the river, when the warriors are looking for us, as they +probably are by now, since Blackstaffe and Wyatt have got them back to +realities.”</p> + +<p>“Then ef we don’t swim how do you expect us to git across, Henry? Ez fur +me, I can’t wade across a river a mile wide an’ twenty feet deep.”</p> + +<p>“That’s true, Sol. Even Long Jim isn’t long enough for that. I’m +planning for us to cross in state, untouched by water and entirely +comfortable; in fact, in a large, strong canoe.”</p> + +<p>“Nice good plan, Henry, ’cept in one thing; we ain’t got no canoe.”</p> + +<p>“I intend to borrow one from the Indians. You and I will slip along up +the bank and take it from under their noses. You’re a marvel at such +deeds, Sol.”</p> + +<p>“It’s ’cause he’s stealin’ somethin’ from somebody,” said Long Jim.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> +“Shut up, Jim,” said Henry. “It’s lawful to steal from an enemy to save +your own life, and these Indians mean to hunt us down if they have to +employ three thousand warriors and three months to do it. Suppose we go +now.”</p> + +<p>The five turned toward the south and west, making a deep curve away from +the camp, a precaution taken wisely, as they soon had evidence, hearing +shots here and there, which they were quite sure were those of red +hunters seeking game, wild turkeys on the bough, or deer drinking at the +small streams. They were compelled to go very slowly, in order to avoid +them, but the night, luckily, was dark enough to hide their trail from +all eyes, save those that might be looking especially for it.</p> + +<p>They spoke only in whispers, but the young leader himself said scarcely +anything, his mind being occupied with deep and intense thought. He knew +that the venture in search of an Indian canoe would be accompanied by +most imminent risks, the vigilance and skill of Shif’less Sol and +himself would be tested to the last degree, but a canoe they must have, +and they would dare every peril to get it.</p> + +<p>They had gone about a mile when Henry suddenly raised his hand, and the +five sank silently in the bush. A dozen warriors, treading without +noise, passed within twenty feet of them and their course led toward the +south. They flitted by so swiftly that it seemed almost as if shadows +had passed, but Henry, who saw their faces, knew that they were not mere +hunters. These<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +men were on the warpath. Perhaps they had seen the trail +of the five somewhere, and were going south to close up the broken +segment of the circle there.</p> + +<p>“They’ve probably had a hint from Blackstaffe,” said Henry. “Next to +Simon Girty he’s the shrewdest and most cunning of all the renegades. He +has reasoning power, and knowing that we’ll take the bolder method, he’s +probably concluded that we’ve followed Wyatt’s band.”</p> + +<p>“An’ so he hez sent that other band south to shut us in,” said Shif’less +Sol.</p> + +<p>“An’ we might hev fled south ourselves from the fust,” said Long Jim, +“but I cal’late we ain’t that kind uv people.”</p> + +<p>“No,” said Henry. “We can’t lead ’em in this chase back on the +settlements. So long as they’re trying to spread a net around us we’ll +draw ’em in the other direction. Now, boys, fall in behind me, and the +first one that causes a blade of grass to rustle will have to make a +present of his rifle to the others.”</p> + +<p>Following the great curve which they were traveling it was a full five +miles to the point on the river they wished to reach. The forest, they +knew, was full of warriors, some hunting, perhaps, but many thrown out +on the great encircling movement intended to enclose the five. Now, the +trailers, with deadly peril all about them, gave a superb exhibition of +skill. There was no danger of any one losing his rifle, because no blade +of grass rustled, nor did any leaf give back the sound of a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>brushing +body. They were endowed peculiarly by birth and long habit to the life +they lived and the dangers they faced. Their hearts beat high, but not +with fear. Their muscles were steady, and eye and ear were attuned to +the utmost for any strange presence in the forest.</p> + +<p>Henry led, Paul followed, Long Jim came next, then Silent Tom, and +Shif’less Sol defended the rear. This was usually their order, the +greatest trailer at the head of the line, and the next greatest at the +end of it. They invariably fell into place with the quickness and +precision of trained soldiers.</p> + +<p>A panther, not as large and fierce as the one that Henry had driven in +fright down the ravine, saw them, looking upon human beings for the +first time. It was his first impulse to make off through the woods, but +they were soundless and in flight, and curiosity began to get the better +of fear. He followed swiftly, somewhat to one side, but where he could +see, and the silent line went so fast that the panther himself was +compelled to extend his muscles. He saw them come to a brook. The +foremost leaped it, the others in turn did the same, landing exactly in +his footsteps, and they went on without losing speed. Then the panther +turned back, satisfied that he could not solve the problem his curiosity +had raised.</p> + +<p>Henry caught a yellow gleam through the leaves, and he knew that it was +the Ohio. In two or three minutes, they were at the low shore, although +the opposite bank was high. Both were wooded densely. The stream +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> itself +was here a full mile in width, a vast mass of water flowing slowly in +silent majesty. They thought they saw far up the channel a faint +reflection of the Indian fires, but they were not sure. Where they stood +the river was as lone and desolate as it had been before man had come. +The moonlight was not good, and their view of the farther shore was dim, +leaving them only the certainty that it was lofty and thick with forest.</p> + +<p>“Paul, you and Jim and Tom lie here, where this little spit of land runs +out into the water,” said Henry. “There’s good cover for you to wait in, +and Sol and I will come down the river in our new canoe, or we won’t.”</p> + +<p>“At any rate come,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“You can trust us,” replied Henry, and he and the shiftless one started +at once along the edge of the river toward the northeast, where the +Indian camp lay. Henry reckoned that it was about three miles away, but +it would have to be approached with great care. As they advanced they +kept a watch on the farther shore also, and rounding a curve in the +river they caught their first sight of its reflection.</p> + +<p>“It’s fur up the stream,” said Shif’less Sol, “an’ I cal’late it’s ’bout +opposite the big camp. Thar must be some warriors passin’ back an’ forth +from band to band, an’ that, I reckon, will give us our chance fur a +canoe.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, if we can make off with it without being seen,” said Henry. “A +pursuit would spoil everything. We’d have to abandon the canoe and +retreat back from the southern shore.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p> +<p>“’Spose we go a leetle further up,” said Shif’less Sol. “The bank’s low +here, but it’s high enough to hide us, an’ the bushes are mighty thick. +The nearer we come to the Indian camp the greater the danger is, but the +greater is our chance, too, to git a canoe.”</p> + +<p>“That’s right, Sol. We’ll try it.”</p> + +<p>They edged along yard by yard and soon could see through the intervening +trees and bushes the light of the great camp, from which came a +monotonous hum.</p> + +<p>“A lot of ’em are dancin’ the scalp dance,” said the shiftless one. +“Will you ’scuse me, Henry, while I laugh a leetle to myself?”</p> + +<p>“Of course, Sol, but why do you want to laugh?”</p> + +<p>“’Cause they’re dancin’ the scalp dance when they ain’t goin’ to take no +scalps. It’s ourn they’re thinkin’ of, but I kin tell you right now, +Henry, that a year from today they’ll be growin’ squa’rly on top o’ our +heads, right whar they are this minute.”</p> + +<p>“I hope and believe you’re right, Sol. Isn’t that a canoe putting out +from the far shore?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, a big one, with four warriors in it, an’ they’re comin’ straight +across to the main camp, paddlin’ like the strong men they are.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, I can see them clearly now, as they come nearer the middle of the +stream. That would be a good canoe for us, Sol. It looks big enough.”</p> + +<p>“But I’m afraid we ain’t goin’ to hev it, Henry. It’s comin’ straight on +to the main camp, an’ it’ll be tied to the bank right in the glow o’ +thar fires. Hevin’ wanted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> +that canoe, ez we both do, we’d better quit +wantin’ it an’ want suthin’ else.”</p> + +<p> </p> +<p><a name="illus1" id="illus1"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 366px;"> +<img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="366" height="550" alt="image" title="" /> +</div> +<p class="center"><strong>“‘A lot of ’em are dancin’ the scalp dance’”</strong></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>Henry laughed softly.</p> + +<p>“You’re a true philosopher, Sol,” he said.</p> + +<p>“You hev to be in the woods, Henry. Here we learn to take what we can, +an’ let alone what we can’t. I guess the wilderness jerks all the +foolishness out o’ a man, an’ brings him plum’ down to his level. Ain’t +I right ’bout thar comin’ straight to the main camp?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, Sol, and they’ll land in a few more minutes. Those are big +warriors, Miamis as their paint and dress show. Well, they’re out of our +reckoning, so we’d better move a little farther up.”</p> + +<p>“We’ll be shore to find canoes tied to the bank, an’ thar will be our +chance. Ef our luck’s good we’ll git it, an’ I find that luck is +gen’ally with the bold.”</p> + +<p>The situation into which they had entered was one of extreme danger, but +their surprising skill as trailers helped them greatly. The bank at this +point was about eight feet high, with rather a sharp slope, covered with +a dense growth of bushes, in which their figures were well hidden, but +they were so near now to the main camp that its luminous glow passed +over their heads, and lay in a broad band of light on the yellow surface +of the river. A canoe put out from the southern shore, and was paddled +by two warriors to the northern bank. Evidently there was constant +communication between the two forces.</p> + +<p>From the bank above them came the steady drone of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> the scalp song, and +they heard the measured beat of the dance. Voices, too, came to them as +they advanced a little farther, and once Henry distinguished that of +Blackstaffe, although he was not able to understand the words. The light +from the great fire was steadily growing stronger on the river and it +would be a peril, disclosing their movements, if they took a canoe. From +the southern forest came the cries of wolves and owls which were the +signals of the Indians to one another, and Henry felt sure they were +talking of the five. He was thoroughly convinced now that their trail +had been discovered, and that the warriors, sure they were in the ring, +were seeking to draw in the steel girdle enclosing them. And unless the +canoe was secured quickly it was likely they would succeed. The two +paused, their minds in a state of painful indecision.</p> + +<p>“What do you think, Henry?” whispered the shiftless one.</p> + +<p>“Nothing that amounts to anything.”</p> + +<p>“When you don’t know what to do the best thing to do is to do nothin’. +’Spose we jest wait a while. We’re well kivered here, an’ they’d never +think o’ lookin’ so close by fur us, anyway. Besides, hev you noticed, +Henry, that it’s growin’ a lot darker? ’Tain’t goin’ to rain, but the +moon an’ all the stars are goin’ away, fur a rest, I s’pose, so they kin +shine all the brighter tomorrow night.”</p> + +<p>“It’s so, Sol, and a good heavy blanket of darkness will help us a +lot.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> +They lay perfectly still and waited with all the patience of those who +know they must be patient to live. A full hour passed, and the welcome +darkness increased, the heavens turning into a solid canopy, black and +vast. The light from the great campfire sank, and its luminous glow no +longer appeared on the river. The stream itself showed but faintly +yellow under the darkness. Henry’s heart began to beat high. Nature, as +it so often did, was coming to their help. The droning song of the scalp +dance had ceased and with it the voices of the warriors talking. No +sound came from the river, save the soft swish of the flowing waters, +and now and then a gurgle and a splash, when some huge catfish raised +part of his body above the surface, and then let it fall back again.</p> + +<p>Another canoe came presently from the northern shore. Henry and +Shif’less Sol, although they could not see it at first, knew it had +started, because their keen ears caught the plash of the paddles.</p> + +<p>“It’s a big one, Henry,” whispered Shif’less Sol. “How many paddles do +you make out by the sound?”</p> + +<p>“Six. Is that your count, too?”</p> + +<p>“Yes. Now I kin see it. One, two, three, four, five, six. We wuz right +in the number an’ it’s a big fine canoe, jest the canoe we want, Henry, +an’ it’ll land ’bout twenty yards ’bove us. Somethin’ tells me our +chance is comin’!”</p> + +<p>“I hope the something telling you is telling you right. In any case +you’re correct about their landing. It will be almost exactly twenty +yards away.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> +The great canoe emerged from the darkness, six powerful Miamis swinging +the paddles, and it came in a straight line for the bank, leaving a +trailing yellow wake. Henry admired their strength and dexterity. They +were splendid canoemen, and he never felt any hatred of the Indians. He +knew that they acted according to such guidance as they had, and it was +merely circumstances that placed him and his kind in opposition to them +and their kind.</p> + +<p>The light but strong craft touched the bank gently, and the six canoemen +stepped out, a figure that appeared among the bushes confronting them. +Henry, with a thrill, recognized Blackstaffe, and the canoe must have +arrived on an errand of importance or the renegade would not have been +there to meet the six warriors.</p> + +<p>“You will come into the camp and hear the reports of the scouts,” said +Blackstaffe, speaking in Miami, which both Henry and the shiftless one +understood perfectly. “It will take some time to do this, because not +all of them have returned yet. Then two of you had better go back with +the canoe, while the others stay here to help us. I think we have these +five rovers trapped at last, and we’ll make an end of ’em. They’ve +certainly caused us enough trouble, and I’m bound to say they’re masters +of forest war.”</p> + +<p>One of the warriors tied the canoe to a bush with a willow withe, and +then all six following Blackstaffe disappeared among the trees, going +toward the campfire.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> +“At least Blackstaffe compliments us before sending us to the next +world,” whispered Henry.</p> + +<p>“Ez fur me,” Shif’less Sol whispered back, “I ain’t goin’ to no next +world, jest to oblige a villyun renegade. Besides, I like this +wilderness o’ ours too much to leave it fur anybody. They think they’re +mighty smart an’ that they’re plannin’ somethin’ big right now, but all +the same they’re givin’ us our chance.”</p> + +<p>“What do you mean, Sol?”</p> + +<p>“Didn’t you hear the villyun say that two o’ the warriors wuz to go back +with the boat?”</p> + +<p>“Well, what of it?”</p> + +<p>“Then two warriors is goin’ to be me an’ you, Henry.”</p> + +<p>“Of course. I ought to have thought of it, too.”</p> + +<p>“Thar must be sent’nels on the bank, but waitin’ ’bout ten minutes we’ll +git into the canoe an’ paddle off. The sent’nels will know that two +warriors are to go back in it, an’ they’ll think we’re them. This +darkness which has come up, heavy an’ black, on purpose to help us, will +keep ’em from seein’ that we ain’t warriors. When we git into the middle +o’ the river, whar thar eyes can’t even make out the canoe, we’ll go +down stream like a flash o’ lightnin’, pick up the boys and then be off +ag’in like another flash o’ lightnin’.”</p> + +<p>“A good plan, Sol, and we’ll try it. As you say, luck is always on the +side of the bold, and I don’t see why we can’t succeed.”</p> + +<p>But to wait the necessary fifteen minutes was one of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> the hardest tasks +they ever undertook. It would not do to take the canoe at once, as +suspicion would certainly be aroused. They must conform to Blackstaffe’s +own plan. It seemed to them that they must actually hold themselves with +their own hands to keep from creeping forward to the canoe, yet they did +it, though the minutes doubled and redoubled in length, and then +tripled; but, after a time that both judged sufficient, they slid +forward, and Henry’s knife cut the willow withe. Then they lifted +themselves gently into the canoe, took up two of the paddles and were +away.</p> + +<p>Henry’s back was to the southern bank, and despite all his experience +and courage shivers ran through his body at the thought that a bullet +from the forest might strike him any moment. Yet he did not wish to seem +in a hurry, and restrained his eagerness to paddle with all his might.</p> + +<p>“Softly, Sol, softly,” he said. “We must not be in too much haste.”</p> + +<p>“Don’t I know it, Henry? Don’t I know that we must ’pear to be the two +warriors whose business it is to take back the canoe? Ain’t I jest +strainin’ an’ achin’ to make the biggest sweep with my paddle I ever +swep’, an’ ain’t my mind pullin’ ag’inst my hands all the time, tryin’ +to keep ’em at the proper gait? Are you shore you ain’t felt no bullet +in your back yet, Henry?”</p> + +<p>“No, Sol. What makes you ask such a question?”</p> + +<p>“’Cause I reckon I wuz so much afeared o’ one that I imagined the place +whar it’s track would be in me, ef +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> it had been really fired. My fancy +is pow’ful lively at sech a time.”</p> + +<p>“There has been no alarm, at least not yet, and we’re near the middle of +the river. The canoe must be invisible, although I can see the fires on +either shore. Now, Sol, we’ll turn down stream and paddle with all our +might, showing what canoemen we really are!”</p> + +<p>It was with actual physical as well as mental joy that they turned the +prow of the canoe toward the southeast, that is, with the current, and +began to do their best with the paddles. They no longer had that +horrible fear of a bullet in the back, and muscles seemed to leap +together with the spirit into greater strength and elasticity.</p> + +<p>“Come on you, Henry,” said Shif’less Sol exultantly. “Keep up your side! +Prove that you’re jest ez good a man with the paddle ez me! We ain’t +makin’ more’n a mile a minute, an’ fur sech ez we are that’s nothin’ but +standin’ still!”</p> + +<p>The two bent their powerful backs a little and their great arms swept +the paddles through the water at an amazing rate. The soul of Shif’less +Sol surged up to the heights. He became dithyrambic and he spoke in a +tone not loud, but full of concentrated fire and feeling.</p> + +<p>“Fine, you Henry, you!” he said. “But we kin do better! The canoe is +goin’ fast, but one or two canoes in the hist’ry o’ the world hez gone +ez fast! We must go faster by ten or fifteen miles an hour an’ set the +record that will stan’! It’s so dark in here I can’t see either bank, +but I wish sometimes I could, warriors or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> +no warriors! Then I could see +’em whizzin’ by, jest streaks, with all the trees and bushes meltin’ +into one another like a green ribbon! Now, that’s the way to do it, +Henry! Our speed is jumpin’! I ain’t shore whether the canoe is touchin’ +the water or not! I think mebbe it’s jest our paddles that dip in, an’ +that the canoe is flyin’ through the air! An’ not a soun’ from ’em yet! +They haven’t discovered that the wrong warriors hev took thar boat, but +they will soon! Now we’ll turn her in toward the southern bank, Henry, +’cause in the battin’ o’ an eye or two we’ll be whar the rest o’ the +boys are a-lyin’ hid in the bushes! Now, slow an’ slower! I kin see the +trees an’ bushes separatin’ tharselves, an’ thar’s the bank, an’ now I +see the face o’ Long Jim, ’bout seven feet above the groun’! He’s an +onery, ugly cuss, never givin’ me all the respeck that’s due me, but +somehow I like him, an’ he never looked better nor more welcome than he +does now, God bless the long-armed, long-legged, fightin’, gen’rous, +kind-hearted cuss! An’ thar’s Paul, too, lookin’ fur all the world like +a scholar, crammed full o’ book l’arnin’, ’stead o’ the ring-tailed +forest runner, half hoss, half alligator, that he is, though he’s got +the book l’arnin’ an’ is one o’ the greatest scholars the world ever +seed! An’ that’s Tom Ross, with his mouth openin’ ez ef he wuz ’bout to +speak a word, though he’ll conclude, likely, that he oughtn’t, an’ all +three o’ ’em are pow’ful glad to see us comin’ in our triumphal Roman +gallus that we hev captured from the enemy.”</p> + +<p>“Galley, Sol, galley! Not gallus!”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> +“It’s all the same, galley or gallus. We hev got it, an’ we are in it, +an’ it’s a fine big canoe with six paddles, one for ev’ry one o’ us an’ +one to spare! Now here we are ag’in the bank, an’ thar they are ready to +jump in!”</p> + +<p>There was no time for hesitation, as a long and tremendous war whoop +from a point up the stream seemed to surcharge the whole night with rage +and ferocity. It was evident that the warriors had discovered that the +wrong men had taken the canoe, as they were bound to do soon, and the +chase would be on at once, conducted with all the power and tenacity of +those who devoted their lives to such deeds.</p> + +<p>“They’ll know, of course, that we’ve come down the stream, not daring to +go against the current,” said Henry, “and they’ll follow with every +canoe they have.”</p> + +<p>“An’ more will run along either bank hopin’ fur a shot,” said the +shiftless one, “an’ so while we turn our canoe into a shootin’ star +ag’in we’ll hev to remember to keep in the middle o’ the stream. A lot +o’ the dark that helped us to git the canoe is fadin’ away, leavin’ us +to make our race fur our lives mostly in the open.”</p> + +<p>The great war whoop came again, filling the forest with its fierce +echoes, and then followed silence, a silence which every one of the five +knew would be broken later by the plash of paddles. The valley Indians +had great canoes, sometimes carrying as many as twenty paddles, and when +twenty strong backs were bent into one of them +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> it could come at greater +speed than any five in the world could command.</p> + +<p>But this five, calm and ready to face any danger, put their rifles where +they could reach them in an instant, and then their canoe shot down the +stream.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE PROTECTING RIVER</strong></p> + + +<p>The Ohio was the great stream of the borderers. It was the artery that +led into the vast, rich new lands of the west, upon its waters many of +them came, and upon its current and along its banks were fought +thrilling battles between white men and red. Many a race for life was +made upon its bosom, but none was ever carried on with more courage and +energy than the one now occurring.</p> + +<p>They kept well to the middle of the stream, which was still of great +width, a full mile across, where they would be safe from shots from +either shore, until the river narrowed, and although they sent the canoe +along very fast, they did not use their full strength, keeping a reserve +for the greater emergency which was sure to come.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile they worked like a machine. The arms of five rose together and +five paddles made a single plash. In the returning moonlight the water +took on a silver color, and it fell away in masses of shimmering bubbles +from the paddle blades. Before them the river spread its vast width, at +once a channel of escape and of danger. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> The forest yet rose on either +bank, a solid mass of green, in which nothing stirred, and from which no +sound came.</p> + +<p>The silence, save for the swish of the paddles, was brooding and full of +menace. Paul, so sensitive to circumstance, felt as if it were a sullen +sky, out of which would suddenly come a blazing flash of lightning. But +to Henry the greatest anxiety was the narrowing of the river which must +come before long. The Ohio was not a mile wide everywhere, and when that +straightening of the stream occurred they would be within rifle shot of +the warriors on one bank or the other. And while the Indians were not +good marksmen, it was true that where there were many bullets not all +missed.</p> + +<p>A quarter of an hour passed, and they heard the war-whoop behind them, +and then a few moments later the faint, rhythmic swish of paddles. The +moonlight had been deepening fast, and Henry saw two of the great canoes +appear, although they were yet a full half mile away. But they came on +at a mighty pace, and it was evident that unless bullets stopped them +they would overtake the fugitives. Henry put aside his paddle, leaving +the work for the present to the others, and studied the long canoes. He +and his comrades might strain as they would, but in an hour the big +boats filled with muscular warriors would be alongside. They must devise +some other method to elude the pursuit. A shout from Paul caused him to +turn.</p> + +<p>A peninsula from the south projected into the river, making its width at +this point much less than half a mile, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> and upon the spit, which was +bare, stood several Indian warriors, rifle in hand and waiting.</p> + +<p>“Turn the canoe in toward the northern shore,” said Henry. “We must +chance a shot from that quarter, dealing with the seen danger, and +letting the unseen go. Sol, you and Tom take your rifles, and I’ll take +mine too. Paul, you and Jim do the paddling and we’ll see whether those +warriors on the sand stop us, or are just taking a heavy risk +themselves.”</p> + +<p>The canoe sheered off violently toward the northern bank, but did not +cease to move swiftly, as Paul and Jim alone were able to send it along +at a great rate. Henry, with his rifle lying in the hollow of his arm, +watched a large warrior standing on the edge of the water.</p> + +<p>“I’ll take the big fellow with the waving scalp lock,” he said.</p> + +<p>“The short, broad one by the side o’ him is mine,” said Shif’less Sol. +“Which is yours, Tom?”</p> + +<p>“One with red blanket looped over his shoulder,” replied the taciturn +rover.</p> + +<p>“Be sure of your aim,” said Henry. “We’re running a gauntlet, but it’s +likely to be as much of a gauntlet for those warriors as it is for us.”</p> + +<p>Perhaps the Indians on the spit did not know that the canoe contained +the best marksmen in the West, as they crowded closer to the water’s +edge, uttered a yell or two of triumph and raised their own weapons. The +three rifles in the canoe flashed together and the big +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> warrior, the +short, broad one, and the one with the red blanket looped over his +shoulder, fell on the sand. One of them got up again and fled with his +unhurt comrades into the forest, but the others lay quite still, with +their feet in the water. As the marksmen reloaded rapidly, Henry cried +to the paddlers:</p> + +<p>“Now, boys, back toward the middle of the river and put all your might +in it!”</p> + +<p>Paul and Long Jim swung the canoe into the main current, which had +increased greatly in strength here, owing to the narrowing of the +stream, and their paddles flashed fast. Two of the Indians who had fled +into the woods reappeared and fired at them, but their bullets fell +wide, and Henry, who had now rammed in the second charge, wounded one of +them, whereupon they fled to cover as quickly as they did the first +time.</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol and Tom Ross had also reloaded, but put their rifles in +the bottom of the boat and resumed their paddles. The danger on the land +spit had been passed, but the great canoes behind them were hanging on +tenaciously and were gaining, not rapidly, but with certainty. Henry +swept them again with a measuring eye, and he saw no reason to change +his calculations.</p> + +<p>“They’ll come within rifle shot in just about an hour,” he repeated. +“We’d pick off some of them with our bullets, but they’d keep on coming +anyhow, and that would be the end of us.”</p> + +<p>Such a solemn statement would have daunted any but those who had escaped +many great dangers. Imminent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> +and deadly as was the peril, it did not +occur to any of the five that they would not evade it, the problem now +being one of method rather than result.</p> + +<p>“What are we going to do, Henry?” asked Paul.</p> + +<p>“I don’t know yet,” replied the leader, “but we’ll keep going until +something develops.”</p> + +<p>“Thar’s your development!” exclaimed the shiftless one, as a rifle was +fired from the northern shore, and a bullet plashed in the water just +ahead of them. Then came a second shot from the same source which struck +the inoffensive river behind them. They were now being attacked from +both banks while the great canoes followed tenaciously.</p> + +<p>“We don’t have to bother about one thing,” said Paul grimly. “We know +which way to go, and it’s the only way that’s open to us.”</p> + +<p>But the threat offered by the northern shore did not seem to be so +menacing. The river began to widen again and rapidly, and the scattered +shots fired later on came from a great distance, falling short. Those +discharged from the southern bank also missed the mark as widely. Henry +no longer paid any attention to them, but was examining the forest and +the curves of the river with a minute scrutiny. His look, which had been +very grave, brightened suddenly, and a reassuring flash appeared in his +eye.</p> + +<p>“What is it, Henry?” asked Shif’less Sol, who had noticed the change.</p> + +<p>“We’ve been along here before,” replied the great +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> youth. “I know the +shores now, and it’s mighty lucky for us that we are just where we are.”</p> + +<p>The shiftless one looked at the northern, then at the southern forest, +and shook his head.</p> + +<p>“I don’t ’pear to recall it,” he said. “The woods, at this distance +away, look like any other woods at night, black an’ mighty nigh solid.”</p> + +<p>“It’s not so much the forest, because, like you, I couldn’t tell it from +any other, as it is the curve of the river. I thought I saw something +familiar in it a little while ago, and now I know by the sound that I’m +right.”</p> + +<p>“Sound! What sound?”</p> + +<p>“Turn your ears down the river and listen as hard as you can. After a +while you’ll hear a faint humming.”</p> + +<p>“So I do, Henry, but I wouldn’t hev noticed it ef you hadn’t told me +about it, an’ even ef I do hear it I don’t know what it means.”</p> + +<p>“It’s made by the rush of a great volume of water, Sol. It’s the Falls +of the Ohio, that not many white men have yet seen, a gradual sort of +fall, one that boats can go over without trouble most of the time, but +which, owing to the state of the river, are just now at their highest.”</p> + +<p>“An’ you mean fur them falls to come in between us an’ the big canoes? +You’re reckonin’ on water to save us?”</p> + +<p>“That’s what I have in mind, Sol. The falls are dangerous at this stage +of the river, no doubt about it, but we’re not canoemen for nothing, and +with our lives at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> +stake we’ll not think twice before shooting ’em. What +say you, boys?”</p> + +<p>“The falls fur me!” replied the shiftless one, quickly.</p> + +<p>“Nothin’ could keep me from takin’ the tumble. I jest love them falls,” +said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>“It’s that or nothing,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“On!” said Silent Tom.</p> + +<p>“Then ease a little with your paddles,” said Henry. “The Indians know, +of course, that the falls are just ahead, and I notice they are not now +pushing us so hard. It follows, then, that the falls are at a dangerous +height they don’t often reach, and they expect to trap us.”</p> + +<p>“In which they will be mighty well fooled.”</p> + +<p>“I think so. I’ll sit in the prow of the boat and do my best with my +paddle to guide. I believe we can shoot the falls all right, but maybe +we’ll be swamped in the rapids below. But we’re all good swimmers, and, +if we do go over, every fellow must swim for the northern bank, where +the Indians are fewest. Some one of us must manage to save his rifle and +ammunition or we’d be lost, even if we happened to reach the land. +Still, it’s possible that we can keep afloat. It’s a good canoe.”</p> + +<p>“A good canoe!” exclaimed the shiftless one, in whom the spirit of +achievement and of triumph was rising again. “It’s the finest canoe on +all this great river, and didn’t I tell you boys that them that’s bold +always win! Jest when our last chance ’peared to be gone, these falls +wuz put squar’ly in our track to save us! Will they +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> wreck us? No, they +won’t! We’ll shoot ’em like a bird on the wing!”</p> + +<p>He looked back at their pursuers, and gave utterance suddenly to a long, +piercing shout of defiance. The Indians in the canoes replied with war +whoops that Henry could read easily. They expressed faith in speedy +triumph, and joy over the destruction of the five. He saw, moreover, +that they were using only half strength now, preferring to take their +ease while the game struggled vainly in the net. But as well as many of +these warriors knew the five they did not know them to the full.</p> + +<p>The shiftless one waited until their last war whoop died, and then, +sending forth once more his long, thrilling note of defiance, he burst +again into his triumphal chant.</p> + +<p>“Steady now with the paddles, boys,” he cried, “an’ we’ll ride the water +ez ef we’d done nothin’ else all our lives! Oh, I love rivers, big +rivers, speshully when they hev a strong current like this that takes +your boat ’long an’ you don’t hev to do no work! Now it reaches up a +thousand hands that grab our canoe an’ sail ’long with it! Don’t paddle +any more, boys, but jest hold yourselves ready to do it, when needed! +The river’s doin’ all the work, an’ it never gits tired! Look, now, how +the current’s a-rushin’, an’ a-dancin’, an’ a-hummin’! Look at the white +water ’roun’ us! Look at the water behind us, an’ hear the roarin’ +before us! Thar, she rocks, but never min’ that! Wait till the water +comes spillin’ in! Then it will be time to use the paddles!”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +He burst once more into that irrepressible yell of defiance, and then he +cried exultantly:</p> + +<p>“They slow up! They’re gittin’ afeard! We’ve made the race too fast fur +’em! Come on, you warriors! Ain’t you ready to go whar we will? These +falls are fine an’ we jest love to play with ’em! We are goin’ to sail +down ’em, an’ then we’re goin’ to sail back up ’em ag’in! Don’t you hear +all that roarin’? It’s the tumblin’ o’ the water, an’ it’s singin’ a +song to you, tellin’ you to come!”</p> + +<p>The shiftless one’s own tremendous song had a thrilling effect upon his +comrades. Their spirits leaped with it. The rushing canoe was now +dancing upon the surface of the river, but somehow they were not afraid. +They were at that reach of the river where a great city was destined to +grow upon the southern shore, and which was to be the scene, a year or +two later, of other activities of theirs, but now both banks were in +solid, black forest, and no human habitation had yet appeared.</p> + +<p>The canoe was rocking dangerously and all five began to use the paddles +now and then, as the white water foamed around them. It required the +utmost quickness of eye and hand to keep afloat, and the flying spray +soon wet them through and through. Yet the soul of Shif’less Sol was +still undaunted. He sang his song of victory, and although most of the +words were lost amid the crash and roar of the waters, their triumphant +note rose above every other sound, and found an echo in the hearts of +the others.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> +Henry, looking back, saw that the long canoes had turned and were making +for the southern shore. Great as was the prize they sought, they would +not dare the falls, and half the battle was won.</p> + +<p>“They don’t follow!” he shouted at the top of his voice. “And now for +the miracle that will keep us afloat!”</p> + +<p>The canoe raced down the watery slope and the spray continued to drench +them, though they had taken the precaution to cover up their rifles and +ammunition. But their surpassing skill had its reward. The descent soon +became more gradual, the torrents of white water sank, and then they +slid forward in the rapids, still going at a great rate, but no longer +in danger.</p> + +<p>“An’ we’ve left the enemy behind!” sang the shiftless one, looking back +at the white masses. “He thought he had us, but he hadn’t! He turned +back at the steep slope, but we came on! Thar’s nothin’ like havin’ a +fall between you an’ a lot o’ pursuin’ Injun canoes, is thar, Paul?”</p> + +<p>Paul laughed, half in amusement and half in nervous relief.</p> + +<p>“No, Sol, there isn’t, at least not now,” he replied. “It looks as if +these falls had been put here especially to save us.”</p> + +<p>“I like to think so, too,” said the shiftless one.</p> + +<p>The river was still very wide and they kept the canoe in its center, +although they no longer dreaded Indian shots, feeling quite sure that no +warriors were on either shore below the falls. So they went on three or +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> +four miles, until Paul asked what was the next plan.</p> + +<p>“We must talk it over, all of us,” said Henry. “The canoe is of no +particular use to us except as a way of escape from immediate danger.”</p> + +<p>“But it and the falls together saved us,” said Shif’less Sol. “Oh, it’s +a good boat, a fine boat, a friendly boat!”</p> + +<p>“I hate to desert a friend.”</p> + +<p>“It must be done. We can’t stay forever on the river in a canoe. That +would merely invite destruction. The Indians can take their canoes out +of the water, carry them around the falls and resume the pursuit.”</p> + +<p>“O’ course I know you’re right, Henry. I wuz jest droppin’ a tear or two +over the partin’ with our faithful canoe. We make fur the north bank, I +s’pose.”</p> + +<p>“That seems to me to be the right course, because the warriors will be +thicker on the south side. We’ll keep our policy of defense against them +by resuming the offense. What say you, Paul?”</p> + +<p>“I choose the north bank.”</p> + +<p>“And you, Jim?”</p> + +<p>“North, uv course.”</p> + +<p>“And you, Tom?”</p> + +<p>“North.”</p> + +<p>“And Sol and I have already spoken. We’ll make for the low point across +there, sink the canoe and go into the forest. The Indians will be sure +in time to pick up our trail and follow us, but we’ll escape ’em as +we’ve escaped twice already.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> +“Red Eagle and Yellow Panther will come for us now,” said Paul. “It’s +their turn next.”</p> + +<p>“Let ’em,” said Long Jim in sanguine tones. “They can’t beat us.”</p> + +<p>They were now out of the rapids and were paddling swiftly toward the +northern shore, with their eyes on a small cove, where the bushes grew +thick to the water’s edge. When they reached it they pushed the canoe +into the dense thicket and sank it.</p> + +<p>“After all,” said Shif’less Sol, “we’re not partin’ wholly with our +friend. We know whar he is, an’ he’ll wait here until some time or other +when we want him ag’in.”</p> + +<p>Gathering up their arms, ammunition and supplies, they traveled +northward through the dense forest until they came to a small and well +sheltered valley, where they concluded to rest, it being full time, as +collapse was coming fast after their great exertions and intense strain. +Nevertheless, Silent Tom was able to keep the first watch, while the +others threw themselves on the ground and went to sleep almost +instantly.</p> + +<p>Tom had promised to awaken Shif’less Sol in two hours, but he did not do +so. He knew how much his comrades needed rest, and being willing to +sacrifice himself, he watched until dawn, which came bright, cold at +first, and then full of grateful warmth, a great sun hanging in a vast +disc of reddish gold over the eastern forest.</p> + +<p>Silent Tom Ross, in his most talkative moments, was a man of few words, +at other times of none, but he felt +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> deeply. A life spent wholly in the +woods into which he fitted so supremely had given him much of the Indian +feeling. He, too, peopled earth, air and water with spirits, and to him +the wild became incarnate. The great burning sun, at which he took +occasional glances, was almost the same as the God of the white man and +the Manitou of the red man. He had keenly appreciated their danger, both +when Henry was at the hollow, and when they were in the canoe on the +river, hemmed in on three sides. And yet they had come safely from both +nets. The skill of the five had been great, but more than human skill +had helped them to escape from such watchful and powerful enemies.</p> + +<p>Tom Ross, as he looked at the faces of his comrades, knitted to him by +so many hardships and perils shared, was deeply grateful. He took one or +two more glances at the great burning sun, and the sky that looked like +illimitable depths of velvet blue, and then he surveyed the whole circle +of the forest curving around them. It was silent there, no sign of a foe +appeared, all seemed to be as peaceful as a great park in the Old World. +Tom said no words, not even to himself, but his prayer of thanks ran:</p> + +<p>“O Lord, I offer my gratitude to Thee for the friends whom Thou hast +given me. As they have been faithful to me in every danger, so shall I +try to be faithful to them. Perhaps my mind moves more slowly than +theirs, but I strive always to make it move in the right way. They are +younger than I am, and I feel it my duty and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> my pleasure, too, to watch +over them, despite their strength of body, mind and spirit. I have not +the gift of words, nor do I pray for it, but help me in other things +that I may do my part and more.”</p> + +<p>Then Tom Ross felt uplifted. The dangers passed were passed, and those +to come could not press upon him yet. He was singularly light of heart, +and the wind sang among the leaves for him, though not in words, as it +sang often for Henry.</p> + +<p>He took another look at his comrades, and they still slept as if they +would never awake. The strain of the preceding nights and days had been +tremendous, and their spirits, having gone away with old King Sleep to +his untroubled realms, showed no signs of a wish to come back again to a +land of unlimited peril. He had promised faithfully to awaken one of +them long ago for the second turn at the watch, and he knew that all of +them expected to be up at sunrise, but he had broken his promise and he +was happy in the breaking of it.</p> + +<p>Nor did he awaken them now. Instead he made a wide circle through the +forest, using his good eyes and good ears to their utmost. The stillness +had gone, because birds were singing from pure joy at the dawn, and the +thickets rustled with the movements of small animals setting about the +day’s work and play. But Silent Tom knew all these sounds, and he paid +no attention to them. Instead he listened for man, man the vengeful, the +dangerous and the deadly, and hearing nothing from him and being sure +that he was not near, he went back to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> the place where the four sleepers +lay. Examining them critically he saw that they had not stirred a +particle. They had been so absolutely still that they had grown into the +landscape itself.</p> + +<p>Tom Ross smiled a deep smile that brought his mouth well across his face +and made his eyes crinkle up, and then, disregarding their wishes with +the utmost lightness of heart, he sat himself down, calmly letting them +sleep on. He produced from an inside pocket a long stretch of fine, +thin, but very strong cord, and ran it through his fingers until he came +to the sharp hook on the end. It was all in good trim, and his questing +eye soon saw where a long, slender pole could be cut. Then he put thread +and hook back in his pocket, and sat as silent as the sleepers, but +bright-eyed and watchful. No one could come near without his knowledge.</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol awoke first, yawning mightily, but he did not yet open his +eyes.</p> + +<p>“Who’s watchin’?” he called.</p> + +<p>“Me,” replied Ross.</p> + +<p>“Is it day yet?”</p> + +<p>“Look up an’ see.”</p> + +<p>The shiftless one did look up, and when he beheld the great sun shining +almost directly over his head he exclaimed in surprise:</p> + +<p>“Why, Tom, is it today or tomorrer?”</p> + +<p>“It’s today, though I guess it’s well on to noon.”</p> + +<p>“Seein’ the sun whar it is, an’ feelin’ now ez ef I had slep’ so long, I +thought mebbe it might be tomorrer.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +An’ it bein’ so late an’ me +sleepin’, too, it looks ez ef the warriors ought to hev us.”</p> + +<p>“But they hevn’t, Sol. All safe.”</p> + +<p>“No, Tom, they hevn’t got us, an’ now, hevin’ learned from your long an’ +volyble conversation that it ain’t tomorrer an’ that we are free, ’stead +o’ bein’ taken captive an’ bein’ burned at the stake by the Injuns, I’m +feelin’ mighty fine.”</p> + +<p>“Sol, you talk real foolish at times. How could we be took by the Injuns +an’ be burned alive at the stake, an’ not know nothin’ ’bout it?”</p> + +<p>“Don’t ask me, Tom. Thar are lots o’ strange things that I don’t pretend +to understan’, an’ me a smart man, too. Here, you, Jim Hart! Wake up! +Shake them long legs an’ arms o’ yours an’ cook our breakfast!”</p> + +<p>Silent Tom began to laugh, not audibly, but his lips moved in such a +manner that they betrayed risibility. The shiftless one looked at him +suspiciously.</p> + +<p>“Tom Ross,” he said, “what you laughin’ at?”</p> + +<p>“You told Long Jim to cook breakfast, didn’t you?”</p> + +<p>“I shorely did, an’ I meant it, too.”</p> + +<p>“He ain’t.”</p> + +<p>“Why ain’t he?”</p> + +<p>“Because he ain’t.”</p> + +<p>“Ef he ain’t, then why ain’t he?”</p> + +<p>“Because thar ain’t any.”</p> + +<p>“Thar ain’t any breakfast, you mean?”</p> + +<p>“Jest what I say. He ain’t goin’ to cook breakfast, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> ’cause thar ain’t +any to cook, an’ thar ain’t no more to say.”</p> + +<p>Henry and Paul, awakening at the sound of the voices, sat up and caught +the last words.</p> + +<p>“Do you mean to tell us, Tom,” exclaimed Paul, “that we have nothing to +eat?”</p> + +<p>“Shorely,” said Silent Tom triumphantly. “Look! See!”</p> + +<p>All of them examined their packs quickly, but they had eaten the last +scrap of food the day before. Silent Tom’s mouth again stretched across +his face with triumph and his eyes crinkled up.</p> + +<p>“Right, ain’t it?” he asked exultantly.</p> + +<p>“Look here you, Tom Ross,” exclaimed Shif’less Sol, indignantly, “you’d +rather be right an’ starve to death than be wrong an’ live!”</p> + +<p>“Right, ain’t I?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, right, ain’t you, ’bout the food, an’ wrong in everythin’ else. Ef +you say ’ain’t’ to me ag’in, Tom Ross, inside o’ a week, I’ll club you +so hard over the head with your own gun that you won’t be able to speak +another word fur a year! The idee o’ you laughin’ an’ me plum’ dead with +hunger! Why, I could eat a hull big buffler by myself, an’ ef he wuzn’t +cooked I could eat him alive, an’ on the hoof too, so I could!”</p> + +<p>Tom Ross continued to laugh silently with his eyes and lips.</p> + +<p>“What are we to do?” asked Paul in dismay. “If we were to find game we +wouldn’t dare fire at it with the Indians perhaps so near.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> +“True,” said Tom Ross.</p> + +<p>“And if we can’t fire at it we certainly can’t catch it with our hands.”</p> + +<p>“True,” said Tom Ross.</p> + +<p>“And then are we to starve to death?”</p> + +<p>“No,” said Tom Ross.</p> + +<p>Paul did not ask anything more, but his questioning look was on the +silent man.</p> + +<p>“Fish,” said Tom Ross, showing his line and hook.</p> + +<p>“Where?” asked Shif’less Sol.</p> + +<p>“Fine, clear creek, only hundred yards away.”</p> + +<p>“Do you know that it hez any fish in it?”</p> + +<p>“Saw ’em little while ago. Fine big fellers, bass.”</p> + +<p>“Then be quick an’ ketch a lot, ’cause the pangs o’ starvation are +already on me.”</p> + +<p>Tom Ross cut the slim pole that he had already picked out and measured +with his eye, took squirming bait from the soft earth under a stone, +just as millions of boys in the Mississippi valley have done, and +started for the creek, Paul being delegated to accompany him, while +Henry, Long Jim and the shiftless one proceeded to build a fire in the +most secluded spot they could find. There was danger in a fire, but they +could shield the smoke, or at least most of it, and the risk must be +taken anyhow. They could not eat raw the fish which they did not doubt +for a moment Tom Ross would soon bring.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Paul and Tom reached the banks of the creek, which was all the +silent one had claimed for it,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +fifteen feet wide, two feet deep, clear +water, flowing over a pebbly bottom. Tom tied his string to the pole, +and threw in the hook and bait.</p> + +<p>“You watch, I fish,” he said.</p> + +<p>Paul, his rifle in the crook of his arm, strolled a little bit down the +stream, examining the forest and listening attentively for any hostile +sound. Since it was his business to protect the fisherman while he +fished, he meant to protect him well, and no enemy could have come near +without being observed by him. And yet he had enough detachment from the +dangers of their situation to drink deep in the beauty of the +wilderness, which was here a tangle of green forest, shot with wild +flowers and cut by clear running waters.</p> + +<p>But he did not go so far that he failed to hear a thump where Tom Ross +was sitting, and he knew that a fine fish had been landed. Presently a +second thump came to his ear, and, glancing through the bushes, he saw +Tom taking the fish off the hook, a look of intense satisfaction on his +face. Then the silent fisherman threw in the line again and leaned back +luxuriously against the trunk of a tree, while he waited for his third +bite. Paul smiled. He knew that Silent Tom was happy, happy because he +had prepared for and was achieving a necessary task.</p> + +<p>Paul went on in a circuit about the fisherman, crossing the creek lower +down, where it was narrower, on a fallen log, and discovered no sign of +a foe, though he did come to a bed of wild flowers, the delicate pale +blue<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> +of which pleased him so much that he broke off two blossoms and +thrust them into his deerskin tunic. Then he came back to Silent Tom, to +find that he had caught four fine large fish, and, having thrown away +his pole, was winding up his line.</p> + +<p>“’Nuff,” said the silent one.</p> + +<p>“I think so, too,” said Paul, “and now we’ll hurry back with ’em.”</p> + +<p>“Look like a flower garden, you!”</p> + +<p>“If I do I’m glad of it.”</p> + +<p>“Like it myself.”</p> + +<p>“I know you do, Tom. I know that however you may appear, and that +however fierce and warlike you may be at times, your character rests +upon a solid bedrock of poetry.”</p> + +<p>Tom stared and then smiled, and by this time the two had returned with +their spoils to a little valley in which a little fire was burning, with +the blaze smothered already, but a fine bed of coals left. The fish were +cleaned with amazing quickness, and then Long Jim broiled them in a +manner fit for kings. The five ate hungrily, but with due regard for +manners.</p> + +<p>“You’re a good fisherman, Tom Ross,” said Shif’less Sol, “but it ought +to be my job.”</p> + +<p>“Why?”</p> + +<p>“’Cause it’s the job o’ a lazy man. I reckon that all fishermen, +leastways them that fish in creeks an’ rivers, are lazy, nothin’ to do +but set still an’ doze till a fish comes along an’ hooks hisself on to +your bait. Then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> +you jest hev to heave him in an’ put the hook back in +the water ag’in.”</p> + +<p>“There’s enough of the fish left for another meal,” said Henry, “and I +think we’d better put it in our packs and be off.”</p> + +<p>“You still favor a retreat into the north?” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“Yes, and toward the northeast, too. We’ll go in the direction of Piqua +and Chillicothe, their big towns. As we’ve concluded over and over +again, the offensive is the best defensive, and we’ll push it to the +utmost. What’s your opinion, Sol? Who do you think will be the next +leader to come against us?”</p> + +<p>“Red Eagle an’ the Shawnees. I’m thinkin’ they’re curvin’ out now to +trap us, an’ that Red Eagle is a mighty crafty fellow.”</p> + +<p>They trod out the coals, threw some dead leaves over them, and took a +course toward the northeast. It seemed pretty safe to assume that the +ring of warriors was thickest in the south, and that they might slip +through in the north. Time and distance were of little importance to +them, and they felt able to find their rations as they went in the +forest.</p> + +<p>They had been traveling about an hour at the easy walk of the border, +when they heard a long cry behind them.</p> + +<p>“They’ve found the dead coals o’ our fire,” said Shif’less Sol.</p> + +<p>“Which means that they’re not so far away,” said Paul.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> +“But we’ve been comin’ over rocky ground, an’ the trail ain’t picked up +so easy. An’ we might make it a lot harder by wadin’ a while up this +branch.”</p> + +<p>The brook fortunately led in the direction in which they wished to go. +They walked in it a full half mile, and as it had a sandy bottom their +footprints vanished almost at once. When they emerged at last they heard +the long cry again, now from a point toward the east, and then a distant +answer from a point in the west. Shif’less Sol laughed with intense +enjoyment.</p> + +<p>“Guessin’! Jest guessin’!” he said. “They’ve found the dead coals an’ +they know that we wuz thar once, but that now we ain’t, an’ it’s not +whar we wuz but whar we ain’t that’s botherin’ ’em.”</p> + +<p>“Still,” said Paul, “the more distance we put between them and us the +better I, for one, will like it.”</p> + +<p>“You’re right, Paul,” said Shif’less Sol. “I guess we’d better shake our +feet to a lively tune.”</p> + +<p>They increased their walk to a trot, and fled through the great forest.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE OASIS</strong></p> + + +<p>The five continued their flight all that day, seeing no enemies and +hearing no further signal from them. But Henry knew intuitively that the +warriors were still in pursuit. They would spread out in every +direction, and some one among them would, in time, pick up the trail. +After a while, they permitted their own gait to sink to an easy walk, +but they did not veer from their northeastern course. Henry, all the +time, was a keen observer of the country, and he noticed with pleasure +the change that was occurring.</p> + +<p>They were coming to a low sunken land, cut by many streams, nearly all +sluggish and muddy. The season had been rainy, and there was an odor of +dampness over all things. Great thickets of reeds and cane began to +appear, and now and then they trod into deep banks of moss.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps we’d better turn to the north and avoid it,” said Paul. “This +marsh region seems to be extensive.”</p> + +<p>Henry shook his head.</p> + +<p>“We won’t avoid it,” he said. “On the contrary it’s +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> just what we want. +I’m thinking that we’re being watched over. You know the forest fire +came in time to save us, then the falls appeared just when we needed +’em, and now this huge marsh, extending miles and miles in every +direction, cuts across our path, not as an enemy, but as a friend.”</p> + +<p>“That is, we are to hide in it?”</p> + +<p>“Where could we find a better refuge?”</p> + +<p>“Then you lead the way, Henry,” said Shif’less Sol. “Ef you sink in it +we’ll pull you out, purvidin’ you don’t go in it over your neck.”</p> + +<p>Henry went ahead, his wary eye examining the ground which had already +grown alarmingly soft save for those trained for such marchings. But he +was able to pick out the firm places, though the earth would quickly +close over their footsteps, as they passed, and, now and then, they +walked on the upthrust roots of trees, their moccasins giving them a +securer hold.</p> + +<p>It was precarious and dangerous work, but they went deeper and deeper +into the heart of the great swamp, through thickets of bushes, cane and +reeds, the soil continually growing softer and the vegetation ranker and +more gloomy. Often the canes and reeds were so dense that they had +difficulty in seeing their leader, as he slipped on ahead. Sometimes +snakes trailed a slimy length from their path, and, hardened foresters +though they were, they shuddered. Occasionally an incautious foot sank +to the knee and it was pulled out again with a choking sigh as the mud +closed where it had been. Mosquitoes and many +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> other buzzing and +stinging insects assailed them, but they pressed on without hesitation.</p> + +<p>They came to a great black pond on which marsh fowl were swimming, but +Henry led around its miry edges, and they pressed on into the deeper +depths of the vast swamp. He judged that they had now penetrated it a +full two miles, but he had no intention of stopping. The four behind him +knew without his telling for what he was looking. The swamp, partly a +product of an extremely rainy season, must have bits of solid ground +somewhere within its area, and, when they came to such a place, they +would stop. Yet it would be all the better if they did not reach it for +a long time, as the farther they were from the edge of the swamp the +safer they could rest.</p> + +<p>No island of firm earth appeared, and the traveling grew more difficult. +Often they helped themselves along with vines that drooped from scrubby +trees, swinging their bodies over places that would not bear their +weight, but always, whether slow or fast, they made progress, +penetrating farther and farther into the huge blind maze.</p> + +<p>The sun was low when they stopped for a long rest, hoping they would +reach refuge very soon.</p> + +<p>“I don’t think the warriors kin ever find us in here,” said Long Jim, +“but what’s troublin’ me is whether we’ll ever be able to git out +ag’in.”</p> + +<p>“Mebbe you wouldn’t be so anxious to show yourse’f, Jim Hart, on solid +ground ef you could only see yourse’f ez I see you,” said Shif’less Sol. +“You’re a sight, plastered over with black mud, an’ scratched with +briers an’ bushes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> +Lookin’ at you, an’ sizin’ you up, I reckon that +jest now you’re ’bout the ugliest man in this hull round world.”</p> + +<p>“Ef I ain’t, you are,” said Long Jim, grinning. “Fact is, thar ain’t a +beauty among us. I don’t mind mud so much, but I don’t like it when it’s +black an’ slimy. How fur do you reckon this flooded country goes, +Henry?”</p> + +<p>“Twenty miles, maybe, Jim, but the farther the better for us. Here’s an +old fallen log which I think will hold our weight. Suppose we stop here +and rest a little.”</p> + +<p>They were glad enough to do so. When they sat down they heard the +mournful sigh of a light wind through the black and marshy jungle, and +the splash now and then of a muskrat in the water. Their refuge seemed +dim and inexpressibly remote, as if it belonged to the wet and ferny +world of dim antiquity. But every one of the five felt that they were +safe, at least for the present, from pursuit.</p> + +<p>“We might plough a trail a yard deep,” said Shif’less Sol, “but the mud +would close over it ag’in in five minutes, an’ Red Eagle with five +hundred o’ the best trailers in the hull Shawnee nation couldn’t foller +us.”</p> + +<p>“It’s strange and grim,” said Paul, “but, when you look at it a long +time there’s a certain kind of forbidding beauty about it, and you’re +bound to admit that it’s a friendly swamp, since it’s hiding us from +ruthless pursuers.”</p> + +<p>“Perhaps that’s why you find the beauty in it,” said Henry. “Come on, +though. The Shawnees are not likely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> +to reach us here, but we must find +some snug place in which we can camp.”</p> + +<p>“After all,” said Paul, “we’re like travelers in a great desert looking +for an oasis.”</p> + +<p>“We ain’t as hungry ez all that,” said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>“You won’t get angry if I laugh, Jim, will you?” asked Paul.</p> + +<p>“Don’t mind me. Go ahead an’ laugh all you want.”</p> + +<p>“An oasis is not something to eat, Jim. It’s a green and watered place +in an ocean of sand.”</p> + +<p>“Seems to me that we waste time lookin’ fur a place that’s more watered +than all these we’re crossin’. What I want is a dry place, a piece out +uv that ocean uv sand you’re talkin’ ’bout.”</p> + +<p>“The conditions are merely reversed. My illustration holds good.”</p> + +<p>“What did you say, Paul? Them wuz mighty big words.”</p> + +<p>“Never mind. You’ll find out in due time. Just you pray for an oasis in +this swamp, because that is what we want, and we want it bad.”</p> + +<p>“All right, Paul, I’m prayin’. I ain’t shore what I’m prayin’ fur, but I +take your word fur it.”</p> + +<p>Henry rose and led on again, anxious of heart. They were well hidden, it +was true, in the great swamp, but they must find some place to lay their +heads. It was impossible to rest in the black ooze that surrounded them, +and if they did not reach firmer ground soon he did not know what they +would do. The sun was already low, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> and, in the east, the shadows were +gathering. Around them all things were clothed in gloom. Even that touch +of forbidding beauty, of which Paul had spoken was gone and the whole +swamp became dark and sinister.</p> + +<p>Henry was compelled to walk with the utmost care, lest he become +engulfed, and finally all of them cut lengths of cane with which they +felt about in the mire before they advanced.</p> + +<p>“Pray hard, Long Jim,” said Paul. “Pray hard for that oasis, because the +night will soon be here, and if we don’t find our oasis we’ll have to +stand in our tracks until day, and that’s a mighty hard thing to do.”</p> + +<p>“I wuz never wishin’ an prayin’ harder in my life.”</p> + +<p>“I think your prayer is answered,” interrupted Henry, who was thrusting +here and there with his cane. “To the right the ground seems to be +growing more solid. The mire is not more than a foot deep. I think I’ll +venture in that direction. What do you say, boys?”</p> + +<p>“Might ez well try it,” said Shif’less Sol. “It may be a last chance, +but sometimes a last chance wins.”</p> + +<p>Henry, feeling carefully with the long, stout cane, plunged into the +slough. He was more anxious than he was willing to say, but at the same +time he was hopeful. As the swamp was due, at least in large part, to +the great rains, it must have firm ground somewhere, and he had noticed +also in the thickening twilight that the bushes ahead seemed much larger +than usual. A dozen steps and the mire was not more than six inches +deep. Then with a subdued cry of triumph he seized the bushes, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> pulled +himself among them, and stood not more than moccasin deep in the mud.</p> + +<p>“It’s the best place we’ve come to yet,” he said. “I can’t see over the +thicket, but I’m hoping that we’ll find beyond it some kind of a hill +and dry ground.”</p> + +<p>“I know we will,” said Long Jim, confidently. “It’s ’cause I wished an’ +prayed so hard. It’s a lucky thing, Paul, that you had me to do the +wishin’ an’ prayin’, ’stead o’ Shif’less Sol, ’cause then we’d hev +walked into black mire a thousan’ feet deep. Ef the prayers uv the +sinners are answered a-tall, a-tall, they’re answered wrong.”</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol shook his head scornfully.</p> + +<p>“Let’s go on, Henry,” he said, “afore Long Jim talks us plum’ to death, +a thing I’d hate to hev happen to me, jest when we’re ’bout to reach the +promised land.”</p> + +<p>Henry pushed his way through dense bushes and trailing vines, and he +noticed with intense joy that all the time the earth was growing firmer. +The others followed silently in his tracks. In five minutes he emerged +from the thicket, and then he could not repress an exclamation of +pleasure. They had come upon a low hill, an acre perhaps in extent, as +firm as any soil and well grown with thick low oaks. Where the shade was +not too deep the grass was rich, and the five, the others repeating +Henry’s cry of joy, threw themselves upon it and luxuriated.</p> + +<p>“It’s fine,” said Shif’less Sol, “to lay here an’ to feel that the earth +under you ain’t quiverin’ like a heap o’ jelly. I turn from one side to +the other an’ then back ag’in, an’ I don’t sink into no mud, a-tall, +a-tall.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> +“An’ this, Paul, is the o-sis that you wuz talkin’ ’bout, an’ that I +wished an’ prayed into the right place fur us?” said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>“Oasis, Jim, not o-sis,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“Oasis or o-sis, it’s jest ez good to me by either name, an’ I think +I’ll stick to o-sis, ’cause it’s easier to say. But, Paul, did you ever +see a finer piece uv land? Did you ever see finer, richer soil? Did you +ever see more splendiferous grass or grander oaks?”</p> + +<p>“I feel about it just as you do,” laughed Paul.</p> + +<p>Henry lay still a full ten minutes, resting after their tremendous +efforts in the swamp, then he rose, walked through their oasis and +discovered that at the far edge a fine large brook was running, +apparently and in some mysterious way, escaping at that point the +contamination of the mud, although he could see that farther on it lost +itself in the swamp. But its cool, sparkling waters were a heavenly +sight, and, walking back, he announced his discovery to the others.</p> + +<p>“All of you know what you can do,” he said.</p> + +<p>“We do,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“First thought in my mind,” said Shif’less Sol.</p> + +<p>“An’ we’ll do it,” said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>“Now!” said Silent Tom.</p> + +<p>They took off their clothing, scraped from it as much mud as they could, +and took a long and luxurious bath in the brook. Then they came out on +the bank and let themselves dry, the night which had now fully come, +fortunately being warm. As they lay in the grass +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> they felt a great +content, and Long Jim gave it utterance.</p> + +<p>“An o-sis is a fine thing,” he said. “I’m glad you invented ’em, Paul, +’cause I don’t know what we’d a-done without this un.”</p> + +<p>Henry rose and began to dress. The others did likewise.</p> + +<p>“I think we’d better eat the rest of Tom’s fish and then go to sleep,” +he said. “Tomorrow morning we’ll have to hold a grand council, and +consider the question of food, as I think we’re very likely to stay in +here quite a while.”</p> + +<p>“Are you really looking for a long stay?” asked Paul.</p> + +<p>“Yes, because the Indians will be beating up the woods for us so +thoroughly that it will be best for us not to move from our hiding +place. It’s a fine swamp! A glorious swamp! And because it’s so big and +black and miry it’s all the better for us. The only problem before us is +to get food.”</p> + +<p>“And we always get it somehow or other.”</p> + +<p>They wrapped themselves in their blankets to keep off any chill that +might come later in the night, lay down under the boughs of the dwarf +oaks, and slept soundly until the next day, keeping no watch, because +they were sure they needed none. Tom Ross himself never opened his eyes +once until the sun rose. Then the problem of food, imminent and +pressing, as the last of the fish was gone, presented itself.</p> + +<p>“I think that branch is big enough to hold fish,” said +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> Tom Ross, +bringing forth his hook and line again, “an’ ef any are thar they’ll be +purty tame, seein’ that the water wuz never fished afore. Anyway I’ll +soon see.”</p> + +<p>The others watched him anxiously, as he threw in his bait, and their +delight was immense, when a half hour’s effort was rewarded with a half +dozen perch, of fair size and obviously succulent.</p> + +<p>“At any rate, we won’t starve,” said Henry, “though it would be hard to +live on fish alone, and besides it’s not healthy.”</p> + +<p>“But we’ll get something else,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“What else?”</p> + +<p>“I don’t know, but I notice when we keep on looking we’re always sure to +find.”</p> + +<p>“You’re right, Paul. It’s a good thing to have faith, and I’ll have it, +too. But we can eat fish for several meals yet, and then see what will +happen.”</p> + +<p>They devoted the morning to a thorough washing and cleaning of their +clothing, which they dried in the sun, and they also made a further +examination of the oasis. The swamp came up to its very edge on all +three sides except that of the brook, and a little distance beyond the +brook it was swamp again. It would have been hard to imagine a more +secluded and secure retreat, and Henry dismissed from his mind the +thought of immediate pursuit there by the Indians. Their present +problems were those of food and shelter.</p> + +<p>“I think,” he said, “that we ought to build a bark hut. There’s a +natural site between the four big trees which +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> will be the corners of +our house, and the ground is just covered with the kind of bark we +want.”</p> + +<p>In the warm sunshine and with a clear sky above them they seemed to have +no need of a house, but all of them knew how quickly the weather could +change in the great valley. It would be hard to stand a fierce storm on +the oasis, and one of the secrets of the great and continued success of +the five was to prepare for every emergency of which they could think.</p> + +<p>Long practice had given them high skill, and four of them set to work +with their tomahawks to build a hut of bark and poles, working swiftly, +dextrously and mostly in silence, while Silent Tom went back to the +fishing. They toiled that day and at least half the night with poles and +bark, and by noon the next day they had finished a little cabin, which +they were sure would hold, with the aid of the great trees, against +anything. It had a floor of poles smoothed with dead leaves, one small +window and a low door, over which they purposed to hang blankets if a +blowing rain came.</p> + +<p>Throughout their hard labors they had an abundance of fish, but nothing +else, and they not only began to long for other food, but health +demanded it as well.</p> + +<p>“Ef Long Jim Hart offers fish to me, ag’in,” said the shiftless one, +“I’ll take it an’ cram it down his own throat.”</p> + +<p>“And then how’ll you live?” asked Paul.</p> + +<p>“I think I’ll take Long Jim hisself an’ eat him, beginnin’ at his head, +which is the softest part o’ him.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> +“Now that the cabin is done,” said Henry, “maybe we can devote some +attention to hunting.”</p> + +<p>“Huntin’ in black mud that’ll suck you down to your waist in a second?” +said Shif’less Sol.</p> + +<p>“I think I might find a pathway on the other side of the stream, and +this swamp ought to hold a lot of game. Bears love swamps, and I might +run across a deer.”</p> + +<p>“Would the Indians hear you if you fired?” asked Paul.</p> + +<p>“No, we’re too far in for the sound of a rifle to reach ’em. Still, I +won’t start today. I suppose we can stand the fish until tomorrow.”</p> + +<p>“We have to stand ’em,” said Shif’less Sol, “an’ that bein’ the case I +think I’ll look ag’in at our beautiful house which hasn’t a nail or a +spike in it, but is jest held together by withes an’ vines, but held +together well jest the same.”</p> + +<p>“Ain’t it fine?” said Long Jim with genuine admiration. “It’s jest ’bout +the finest house that ever stood on this o-sis.”</p> + +<p>“That, at least, is true,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>They did not sleep in the cabin that night, as they intended to use it +only in bad weather, but made good beds on the leaves outside. Shif’less +Sol was the first to awake, and it was scarcely dawn when he arose. +Happening to look toward the brook delight overspread his face like a +sunrise, and laughing softly to himself he took his own rifle and Long +Jim’s. Then he crept forward without noise, and making sure of his aim, +fired both rifles so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> +closely together that one would have thought it +was a double barreled weapon.</p> + +<p>The four leaped to their feet, and, clearing the sleep from their eyes, +ran in the direction of the shots. But the shiftless one was already +walking proudly back toward them.</p> + +<p>“What is it, Sol?” cried Paul.</p> + +<p>“Only these,” replied Shif’less Sol, and he held up a fat wild duck in +either hand. “They wuz swimmin’ in the branch, waitin’ to be cooked an’ +et by five good fellers like us, an’ seein’ they wuz in earnest ’bout it +I hev obliged ’em. So here they are, an’ you, Long Jim, you, you set to +work at once an’ cook ’em, ’cause I’m mighty hungry fur nice fat duck, +not hevin’ et anythin’ but fish fur the last year or two.”</p> + +<p>“Jest watch me do it,” said Long Jim. “Ain’t I been waitin’ fur a chance +uv this kind? While I’m cookin’ ’em you fellers will stan’ ’roun’, an’ +them sav’ry smells will make you so hungry you can’t bear to wait, but +you’ll hev to, ’cause I won’t let you touch a duck till it’s br’iled +jest right. Are thar any more whar these come from, Sol?”</p> + +<p>“Not jest at this minute, Jim, but thar wuz, an’ thar will be. A dozen +jest ez good ez these fat fellers flew away when I fired, an’ whar some +hez been more will come.”</p> + +<p>“Curious we didn’t think of the wild fowl,” said Henry. “We noticed that +the swamp had big permanent ponds besides running water, and it was a +certainty that wild ducks and wild geese would come in search of their +kind of food, which is so plentiful in here.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> +“Maybe we can set up traps and snares and catch game,” said Paul. “It +will save our ammunition, and besides there would be no danger that a +wandering Indian in the swamp might hear our shots and carry the news of +our location.”</p> + +<p>“Wise words, Paul,” said Henry. “We must put our minds on the question +of traps.”</p> + +<p>“But not this minute,” said Long Jim. “Bigger things are to the front. +Here, you lazy Sol, he’p me clean these ducks, an’ Paul, you an’ Tom +build me a fire quicker’n lightnin’. The sooner you do what I tell you +the sooner you’ll git juicy duck to eat.”</p> + +<p>They worked rapidly, with such an incentive to effort, and soon the +savory odors of which Long Jim had boasted incited their hunger to an +extreme pitch. He did not keep them waiting long, and when they were +through nothing was left of the ducks but bones.</p> + +<p>“It would be better to have bread, too,” said Paul, as he sighed with +satisfaction, “but since we can’t have it we must manage to get along +without it.”</p> + +<p>“Mustn’t ask fur too much,” said Silent Tom.</p> + +<p>“Sol,” said Henry, “after we rest an hour or so suppose you and I set +the snares for the ducks and geese. Likely no human being has ever been +in here before, and they won’t be on guard against us. The rest of you +might do more work on the house. We ought to provide food and shelter as +well as we can before stormy weather comes.”</p> + +<p>While Henry and the shiftless one were busy down the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> stream, the other +three put more strength into the hut, lashing the poles and bark fast +with additional tenacious withes and feeling all the interest that +people have when they erect a fine new house.</p> + +<p>“It’s surely a tight little cabin,” said Paul, standing off and +examining it with a critical eye. “I don’t think a drop of rain could +get in even in the heaviest storm. There, did you hear that?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, a rifle shot,” said Long Jim. “It wuz Henry or Sol, but it don’t +mean no enemy. They hev got some kind uv game that they didn’t expect.”</p> + +<p>The shot was followed in a few moments by a shout of triumph, and Henry +and Sol emerged from the swamp carrying between them a small but very +fat black bear.</p> + +<p>“Thar’s rations fur some time to come,” said Long Jim. “I guess he wuz +huntin’ berries in the swamp when Sol or Henry picked him off, an’ I’m +shore thar’ll be more uv the same kind. It begins to look like a mighty +fine swamp to me.”</p> + +<p>It was the shiftless one who had shot the bear, and he was proud of his +triumph, as he had a right to be, having secured such a supply of good +food, because there was nothing better that the forest furnished than +fat young bear. It did not take experts, such as they, long to clean the +bear, and cut its flesh into strips for drying.</p> + +<p>“I think our snares will hold something in the morning,” said Henry, +“and that will be a big help, too. What was it you said about the swamp, +Jim?”</p> + +<p>“I said it wuz gittin’ to be a mighty fine swamp. First +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> time I saw it I +thought it wuz an ugly place, ugliest I ever seed, but now it’s growin’ +plum’ beautiful. Reckon it’s the safest place now in all the wilderness. +Knowin’ that, helps it a lot, an’ its yieldin’ up good food helps it +more. The sun is gildin’ the trees, an’ the bushes an’ the mud an’ the +water a heap, an’ all them things don’t hurt my eyes when they linger on +’em.”</p> + +<p>“Jim is turnin’ into a poet,” said the shiftless one, “but I reckon he +hez cause. I’m gittin’ to feel ’bout the swamp jest ez he does. It’s a +splendid place, jest full o’ beauty!”</p> + +<p>They slept under the trees again, putting the strips of bear meat in the +house to secure them from marauders of the air, and awoke the next +morning to find the swamp still improving. Powerful factors in the +improvement were two ducks and a fat wild goose caught in the snares, +and, with more fish from Silent Tom, they had a variety for breakfast.</p> + +<p>“I jest love wild goose,” said Shif’less Sol, “speshully when it’s fat +an’ tender, an’ I’m thinkin’ this swamp is a good place for wild geese. +When we come in here we didn’t think what a fine home we wuz findin’. +Since the tribes an’ the renegades have sworn to wipe us out, an’ we’re +hid here so snug an’ so tight, I don’t keer how long I stay.”</p> + +<p>“Nor me either,” said Long Jim. “This o-sis makes me think sure uv that +island in the lake on which we stayed once, but it’s safer here. Nothin’ +but the longest kind uv chance would make the warriors find us.”</p> + +<p>“That’s true,” said Henry thoughtfully. “We might +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> have searched the +whole continent, and we couldn’t have discovered a better refuge, for +our purpose. I know we can lie hid here a long time and let them hunt +us.”</p> + +<p>Shif’less Sol began to laugh, not loud, but with great intensity, and +his laugh was continued long.</p> + +<p>“What you laffin’ at, you Sol Hyde?” asked Long Jim suspiciously.</p> + +<p>“Not at you, Jim,” replied the shiftless one. “I wuz thinkin’ ’bout them +renegades, Wyatt and Blackstaffe. I would shorely like to see ’em now, +an’ look into thar faces, an’ behold ’em wonderin’ an’ wonderin’ what +hez become o’ us that they expected to ketch between thar fingers, an’ +squash to death. They look on the earth, an’ they don’t see no trail o’ +ourn. They look in the sky an’ they don’t see us flyin’ ’roun’ anywhar +thar. The warriors circle an’ circle an’ circle an’ they don’t put their +hands on us. That ring is tight an’ fast, an’ we can’t break out o’ it. +We ain’t on the outside o’ it, an’ they can’t find us on the inside o’ +it. So, whar are we? They don’t know but we do. We hev melted away like +witches. Them renegades is shorely hoppin’, t’arin’ mad, but the madder +they are the better we like it. ’Scuse me, Jim, while I laff ag’in, an’ +it wouldn’t hurt you, Jim, if you wuz to laff with me.”</p> + +<p>“I think I will,” said Long Jim, and action followed word. Later in the +day Henry and Paul penetrated a short distance deeper into the swamp, +but did not find another oasis like theirs. The entire area seemed to be +occupied by mire and ponds and thickets of reeds and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> cane, mingled with +briars. They stirred up another black bear, but they did not get a +chance for a shot at him, and they also saw the footprints of a panther. +They returned to the oasis satisfied with their exploration. The +swampier the swamp and the greater its extent the safer they were.</p> + +<p>That night as they slept under the trees they were awakened by the +rushing of many wings. When they sat up they found the sky dark above +them, although the moon was shining and all the stars were out. It was a +flight of wild pigeons and they had settled in countless thousands on +the trees of the oasis. The five with sticks knocked off as many as they +thought they could use, and stored them for the night in the hut. They +devoted the next day to picking and dressing their spoils, the living +birds having gone on, and on the following day, Henry, who had entered +the swamp on another trip of exploration, returned with the most welcome +news of all. He had discovered a salt spring only a short distance away, +and with labor they were able to boil out the salt which was invaluable +to them in curing their food supply.</p> + +<p>“Now, if we had bread, we’d be entirely happy,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“Shucks, Paul,” said Shif’less Sol with asperity, “you’re entirely happy +ez it is. Never ask too much an’ then you won’t git too little. This +splendid, magnificent swamp o’ ourn furnishes everythin’ any reasonin’ +human bein’ could want.”</p> + +<p>Henry shot another black bear, very small but quite fat +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> and tender, and +he was quickly added to their store. More wild ducks and wild geese were +caught in the snares, and they had now been on the oasis more than a +week without the slightest sign from their foes. Danger seemed so far +away that it could never come near, and they enjoyed the interval of +peace and quiet, devoted to the homely business of mere living.</p> + +<p>Then came a day when great mists and vapors rose from the swamp, and the +air grew heavy. Everything turned to a sullen, leaden color. Henry +glanced at their hut.</p> + +<p>“We have built in time,” he said. “All this heaviness and cloudiness +foretells a storm and I think we’ll sleep under a roof tonight. What say +you, Sol?”</p> + +<p>“I shorely will, Henry. Them that wants to lay on the ground, an’ take a +wettin’ kin take it, but, ez fur me, a floor, a roof an’ four walls is +jest what I want.”</p> + +<p>“Everybody will agree with you on that,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>No one spoke again for a long time. Meanwhile the vapors and mists +thickened and the skies became almost as black as night. The whole +swamp, save the little island on which they sat, was lost in the dusk, +and a wind, heavy with damp, came moaning out of the vast wilderness. +Thunder rumbled on the horizon, then cracked directly overhead, and +flashes of lightning cut the blackness.</p> + +<p>The five retreated to their hut, and, with a mighty rushing of wind and +a great sweep of rain, the storm burst over the oasis.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>INTO THE NORTH</strong></p> + + +<p>When the wilderness was under the beat of wind or rain or hail or snow +Henry and Paul, if sheltered well, never failed to feel an increase of +comfort, even of luxury. The contrast between the storm without and the +dryness within gave an elemental feeling of relaxation and content that +nothing else could supply. It had been so at the rocky hollow, and it +was so here.</p> + +<p>Their first anxiety had been for the little house. Being built of poles +and bark it quivered and trembled, as the wind smote it hard, but it +held fast and did not lose a timber. That apprehension passed, they +looked to see whether it would turn the rain, and noted with joy in +their workmanship and pleasure in their security that not a drop made +its way between the poles and bark.</p> + +<p>These early fugitive fears gone, they settled down to ease and +observation of the storm, being able to leave the door open about a +foot, as the wind was driving against the back of the house. It was +almost as dark as night, with gusts that whistled and screamed, and the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> +rain seemed to come in great waves of water. Despite the dusk, they saw +leaves torn from the trees and whirled away in showers. Every phase and +change of the storm was watched by them with the keenest attention and +interest. Weather was a tremendous factor in the life of the borderer, +and he was compelled to guide most of his actions by it.</p> + +<p>“How long do you think it will last, Sol?” asked Henry.</p> + +<p>“I don’t see no break in the clouds,” replied the shiftless one. “This +wind will die after a while, but the rain will keep right on. I look for +it to last all today, an’ all the night that’s comin’.”</p> + +<p>“I think you’re right, Sol, an’ it’s a mighty big rain, too. The whole +swamp except our island will be swimming in water.”</p> + +<p>“But it won’t be no flood, that is, like the big flood,” said Long Jim. +“But ef one did come I wouldn’t mind it much ef we had an ark same ez +Noah. Ef you could only furgit all them poor people that got theirselves +drowned it would be mighty fine, sailin’ ’roun’ in an ark a mile or so +long, guessin’ at the places whar the towns hev stood, an’ lettin’ down +a line now an’ then to sound fur the tops uv the highest mountains in +the world.”</p> + +<p>“You wouldn’t hev no time fur lettin’ down lines fur mountain tops, Jim +Hart,” said Shif’less Sol.</p> + +<p>“An’ why wouldn’t I hev time fur lettin’ down lines fur anythin’ I +wanted, you lazy Solomon Hyde?”</p> + +<p>“’Cause it would be your job to feed the animals, an’ +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> to do it right +you’d hev to git up early in the mornin’ an’ work purty nigh to midnight +all the forty days the flood lasted. Me an’ Henry an’ Paul an’ Tom would +spen’ most o’ our time settin’ on the edge o’ the ark with our +umbrellers h’isted, lookin’ at the scenery, while you wuz down in the +bowels o’ the ark, heavin’ in more meat to the lions an’ tigers, which +wuz allus roarin’ fur more.”</p> + +<p>“I wouldn’t feed no animals, not ef every one uv ’em starved to death. +Besides, what would be the use uv it? ’Cause when the flood dried up the +woods would soon be full uv ’em ag’in.”</p> + +<p>“Jim Hart, hevn’t you no sense a-tall, a-tall? Ef all the animals wuz +drowned, ev’ry last one o’ ’em, how could the woods be full o’ ’em +ag’in?”</p> + +<p>“Don’t ask me, Sol Hyde. Thar are lots uv things that are too deep fur +you an’ me both. Now, how did the animals git into the woods in the fust +place?”</p> + +<p>“I can’t answer, o’ course.”</p> + +<p>“Nor can I, but I reckon they’d git into the woods in the second place, +which is after the flood, we’re s’posin’, jest the same way they did in +the fust place, which wuz afore the flood, an’ that, I reckon, settles +it. I don’t feed no wild animals, nohow.”</p> + +<p>“What will the big storm and the deluge of rain mean to us, anyway?” +asked Paul.</p> + +<p>“It will help us,” replied Henry promptly. “I’ve been worried about all +those mists and vapors rising from the decayed or sodden vegetation. +There was malaria in them. Our systems have resisted it, because the +life we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> +lead has made us so tough and hard, but maybe the poison would +have soaked in some time or other. Now the flood of clean rain will +freshen up the whole swamp. It will lay the mists and vapors and wash +everything till it’s pure.”</p> + +<p>“An’ it will flood the swamp so tremenjeously,” said the shiftless one, +“that fur days thar will be no gittin’ in or gittin’ out. Anybody that +tries it will sink over his head afore he goes a hundred yards.”</p> + +<p>“Which makes us all the more secure,” said Paul. “It certainly appears +as if the elements fight for us. For a week at least we’re as safe here +as if we were surrounded by a stone wall, a thousand feet thick and a +mile high. And in that time I intend to enjoy myself. It will be the +first rest in two or three years for us to have, absolutely free from +care. Here we are with good shelter, plenty of food, nothing to do, and, +such being the happy case, I intend to take a big sleep.”</p> + +<p>He rolled himself in a blanket, stretched his body on a bed of leaves, +and soon was in slumber. The others also luxuriated in a mighty sleep, +after their great labors and anxiety, and the little hut that they had +builded with their own hands not only held fast against the wind, but +kept out the least drop of water. The rain, true to Shif’less Sol’s +prediction, lasted all night, but the morning came, beautiful and clear, +with a pleasant, cool touch.</p> + +<p>The swamp was turned into a vast lake, and they shot two deer that had +taken refuge from the flood on their +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> oasis. Henry, despite the rising +waters, was able to reach the salt spring, and they cured the flesh of +the deer, adding to it a day or two later several wild turkeys that +alighted in their trees. They continued to prepare themselves for a long +stay, and they were not at all averse to it. Rest and freedom from +danger were a rare luxury that every one of the five enjoyed.</p> + +<p>Henry’s assumption that the great rain would freshen the swamp proved +true. All the mists and vapors were gone. There was no odor of decaying +wood or of slime. It seemed as if the place had been cleaned and +scrubbed until it was like a fine lake. Silent Tom caught bigger fish +than ever, and they agreed that they were better to the taste, although +they agreed also that it might be an effect of fancy. The island itself +was dry and sunny, but from their home they looked upon a wilderness of +bushes, cane and reeds, growing in what was now clear water. The effect +of the whole was beautiful. The swamp had become transformed.</p> + +<p>“It will all settle back after a while,” said Henry quietly.</p> + +<p>But a second rain, though not so hard and long as the first, filled up +the basin again, and they foresaw a delay of at least two weeks before +it returned to its old condition. They accepted the increased time with +thankfulness, and remained in their camp, doing nothing but little +tasks, and gathering strength for the future.</p> + +<p>“I should fancy that the warriors would hunt us here some time or +other,” said Paul. “Shrewd and cunning +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> as they are, and missing us as +they have, they’d think to penetrate it!”</p> + +<p>“It seems so to me,” said Henry. “Red Eagle is a great chief, and, after +he searches everywhere else for us and fails to find us, he’ll try for a +way into this swamp, unlikely though it looks as a home.”</p> + +<p>“But lookin’ at the water an’ the canes, an’ the reeds an’ the bushes +I’ve figgered it out that he can’t come fur two weeks,” said Shif’less +Sol, “an’ so I’ve made up my mind to enjoy myse’f. Think o’ it! A hull +two weeks fur a lazy man to do nothin’ in! An’ I reckon I kin do nothin’ +harder an’ better than any other man that ever lived. Ef it wuzn’t fur +gittin’ stiff I wouldn’t move hand or foot fur the next two weeks. I’d +jest lay on my back on the softest bed I could make, an’ Long Jim Hart +would come an’ feed me three times ev’ry day.”</p> + +<p>“I think,” said Henry, “we’d better build a raft. It’ll help us with +both the fishing and the hunting, and with plenty of willow withes we +ought to hold enough timbers together.”</p> + +<p>The raft was made in about a day. It was a crude structure, but as it +was intended to have a cruising radius of only a few hundred yards, +pushing its way through strong vegetation, to which the bold navigators +could cling, it sufficed, proving to be very useful in visiting the +snares and decoys they set for the wild ducks and wild geese. The swamp, +in truth, now fairly swarmed with feathered game, and, had they cared to +expend their ammunition, they could have killed enough +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> for twenty men, +but they preferred to save powder and lead, and rely upon the traps, and +fish which were abundant.</p> + +<p>The skies were very clear now and they watched them for threads of +Indian smoke which could be seen far, many miles in such a thin +atmosphere, but the bright heavens were never defiled by any such sign. +It was the opinion of Henry that the main Indian band, under Red Eagle, +had gone northward in the search, but it would be folly to leave the +swamp now, since other detachments had certainly been left to the +southward. The ring might be looser and much larger, but it was sure to +be still there, and it was not hard for such as they, trained in +patience and enjoying a rare peace, to wait. Thus the days passed +without event, and the five felt their muscles growing bigger and +stronger for the great tasks bound to come. But a curious feeling that +war and danger were half a world away grew upon them. They were in love +for a time with peace and all its ways. They were reluctant even to +shoot any of the larger wild animals that wandered through the swamp, +and they felt actual pain when they slew the wild ducks and wild geese +caught in their snares.</p> + +<p>“I’m bein’ gentled fast,” said Shif’less Sol. “Ef this keeps on fur a +month or so I won’t hev the heart to shoot at any Injun who may come +ag’inst me. I’ll jest say: ‘Here, Mr. Warrior, hop up an’ take my skelp. +It’s a good skelp, a fine head o’ hair an’ I wuz proud o’ it. I would +like to hev kep’ it, but seein’ that you want it +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> bad, snatch it off, +hang it in your wigwam, tell the neighbors that thar is the skelp o’ +Solomon Hyde, an’ I’ll git along the best I kin without it.’”</p> + +<p>“You may feel that way now, Sol,” said Long Jim, “but you jest wait till +the Injun comes at you fur your skelp. Then you’ll change your mind +quicker’n lightnin’, an’ you’ll reach fur your gun, an’ blow his head +off.”</p> + +<p>“Reckon you’re right, Jim,” said the shiftless one.</p> + +<p>Silent Tom stared at them in amazement.</p> + +<p>“What’s the matter, Tom?” asked Paul. “Why do you look at them in that +manner?”</p> + +<p>“Agreed!” replied Silent Tom.</p> + +<p>“What?”</p> + +<p>“Agreed!”</p> + +<p>“Agreed? Oh, I understand what you mean! Sol and Jim hold the same +opinion about something.”</p> + +<p>“Yes. Fust time!”</p> + +<p>“Don’t you be worried, Tom Ross,” said Shif’less Sol, “I’ll see that it +never happens ag’in.”</p> + +<p>“Me, too,” said Long Jim Hart. “You see, Tom, that wuz the only time in +his life that Sol wuz ever right when he wuz disputin’ with me, an’ me +bein’ a truthful man had to agree with him.”</p> + +<p>Another week passed and the atmosphere of peace and content that clothed +the great marsh grew deeper. The waters subsided somewhat, but it was +still impossible to pass from the oasis to the firm land without, except +in a canoe, and that they did not have. Nor was it likely that the +Indians would produce a canoe merely to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> navigate a flooded marsh. While +sure that none would come, all nevertheless kept a good watch for a +possible invader.</p> + +<p>The weather began to turn cooler and the first fading tints appeared on +the foliage. It was the time when one season passed into another, +usually accompanied by rains and winds, but they were more numerous than +usual this year. The strong little hut again and again proved its +usefulness, not only as a storehouse, but as a shelter, although it was +so crowded now with stores that scarcely room was left for the five to +sleep there. The skins of the two bears had been dressed and Henry and +Paul slept upon them, while much of their cured food hung from pegs +which they contrived to fix into the walls.</p> + +<p>As the waters sank still farther, they noticed that the swamp was full +of life. What had seemed to be a waste was inhabited in reality by many +of the people of the wilderness. The five had approached it from the +west, and now Henry, who was able to go farther east than they had been +before, found a small beaver colony at a point on the brook, where there +was enough firm ground to support a little grove of fine trees.</p> + +<p>The beavers had dammed the stream and were already building their houses +for the distant winter. Henry, hidden among the bushes, watched them +quite a while, interested in their work, and observing their methods of +construction. He could easily have shot two or three, and beaver tail +was good to eat, but he had no +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> +thought of molesting them, and, after he +had seen enough, drew off cautiously, lest he disturb them in their +pursuits.</p> + +<p>He saw many muskrats and rabbits and also the footprints of wildcats. A +magnificent stag, standing knee deep in the water, looked at him with +startled eyes. He would have been a grand trophy, but Henry did not +fire, and, a moment or two later, the stag floundered away, leaving the +young leader very thoughtful. What had the big deer been doing in such +difficult territory? It would scarcely come of its own accord into so +deep a marsh, and Henry concluded that it must have fled there for +refuge from hunters, and the only hunters in that region were Indians. +Then they must still be not far away from the marsh!</p> + +<p>It was such a serious matter and he was so preoccupied with it that a +huge black bear, springing up almost at his feet, passed unnoticed. The +bear lumbered away, splashing mud and water, stopping once to look back +fearfully at the strange creature that had disturbed it, but Henry went +on, caring nothing for bears or any other wild animals just then.</p> + +<p>When he returned, however, he was bound to take notice of the vast +quantity of wild fowl in the swamp. Every pond or lagoon swarmed with +wild ducks and wild geese, and hawks and eagles swooped from the air, +splashed the water, and then rose again with fish in their talons. Two +big owls, blinking in the light, sat on the bough of an oak. Another +flight of wild pigeons<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> +streamed southward. The life of the swamp was so +multitudinous that Henry and his comrades could have lived in it +indefinitely, even without bread.</p> + +<p>When he was back on the oasis he said nothing of his meeting with the +deer and the significance that he had read in it, thinking it not worth +while to cause alarm until he had something more tangible. Another week, +and there was a perceptible increase in the autumnal tints. All the +green was gone from the leaves. Red and yellow dyes, not yet glowing, +but giving promise of what they would be, appeared. The early flights +southward of more wild fowl, taking time by the forelock, increased, and +in the minds of some of the five came thoughts of leaving the swamp.</p> + +<p>“They must have given up the pursuit by this time,” said Paul. “They +wouldn’t hunt us forever.”</p> + +<p>“Looks that way to me, too,” said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>Henry shook his head.</p> + +<p>“Some of the warriors have gone away,” he said, “but not all of them. +Red Eagle, the Shawnee chief, is a man who thinks, and a man who holds +on. He knows that we couldn’t sink through the earth or fly above the +clouds, and the time will come when he will look into this matter of the +swamp. It appears to be impenetrable, but he will conclude at last that +there is a way.”</p> + +<p>“I’m o’ your mind,” said Shif’less Sol. “When you’re carryin’ on a war +it ain’t jest a matter o’ guns an’ ammunition, an’ the lay o’ the land. +You’ve got to think what kind o’ a gen’ral is leadin’ the warriors +ag’inst you.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> +You must take his mind into account. Ain’t that so, Paul? +Wuzn’t it true o’ that old Roman, Hannybul?”</p> + +<p>“Hannibal was not a Roman, not by a great deal, Sol, as I told you +before.”</p> + +<p>“Well, he wuz a Rooshian, or mebbe an Eyetalian. What diff’unce does it +make? He wuz some kind o’ a furriner, an’ ef what you tell us ’bout him +is true, Paul, as I reckon it is, it wuz his mind that led his men on to +victory over the Rooshians an’ the Prooshians an’ the French an’ the +Dutch.”</p> + +<p>“Over the Romans, Sol.”</p> + +<p>“Ez I told you once, Paul, it makes no diff’unce. They’re all furriners, +an’ all furriners are jest the same. Hannybul wuz the kind that wouldn’t +give up. You’ve talked so much ’bout him, Paul, that I kin see him in my +fancy an’ I know jest how he done. Often a big battle seemed to be goin’ +ag’inst him. His men hev shot away all thar powder an’ bullets. The +Shawnees an’ the Miamis an’ the Wyandots are comin’ on hard, shoutin’ +the war whoop, swingin’ thar glitterin’ tomahawks ’bout thar fierce +heads. The Romans already feel the hands o’ the warriors on thar skelps, +an’ they are tremblin’, ready to run. But Hannybul swings his rifle, +clubs the leadin’ Injun over the head with it, an’ yells to his men: +‘Come on, fellers! Draw your hatchets an’ knives! Drive ’em into the +brush! We kin whip ’em yet!’ An’ the Romans, gittin’ courage from thar +leader, go in an’ thrash the hull band. Now, that’s the kind o’ a leader +Red Eagle is. I give him credit fur doin’ a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> power o’ thinking an’ +holdin’ on. Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe will say to him: ‘Come, chief, +let’s go away. They slipped through our lines in the night, an’ they’re +somewhar up on the shore o’ one o’ the big lakes, a-laffin’ an’ +a-laffin’ at us. We’ll go up thar, trail ’em down an’ make ’em laff if +they kin, a-settin’ among the live coals.’ But that Red Eagle, wise old +chief that he is, will up an’ say: ‘They haven’t got through. They +couldn’t without bein’ seen by our scouts an’ watchers. An’ since they +haven’t passed, it follers that they’re somewhar inside the ring. So, +we’ll jest thresh out ev’ry inch o’ ground in thar, ef it takes ten +years to do it.’”</p> + +<p>Silent Tom looked at him with admiration.</p> + +<p>“Mighty long speech,” he said. “How do you find so many words?”</p> + +<p>“Oh, they’re all in the dictionary,” replied the shiftless one, “an’ a +heap more, too. I’m an eddicated man, ez all o’ you kin see, though +bein’ jealous some o’ you won’t admit it. Thar are nigh onto a million +good words in the dictionary, an’ ev’ry one o’ ’em is known to me. Ev’ry +one o’ ’em would reckernize me ez a friend, an’ would ask me to use it +ef I looked at it, but I’m mighty pertickler an’ I take only the best +ones. Returnin’ to the subject from which we hev traveled far, I think +we’d better be on the lookout fur old Red Eagle an’ his Shawnees.”</p> + +<p>“Think so, too,” said Silent Tom.</p> + +<p>Henry announced the next morning that he would start at once on a scout, +and that he probably would go outside the swamp.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> +“I go with you, o’ course,” said Shif’less Sol.</p> + +<p>“I think it best to travel alone.”</p> + +<p>“Why, you couldn’t git along without me, Henry!”</p> + +<p>“I’ll have to try, Sol.”</p> + +<p>“I wouldn’t talk you to death,” said Silent Tom.</p> + +<p>Long Jim and Paul also wanted to go, but the young leader rejected them +all, and they knew that it was a waste of time to argue with him. He +started in the early morning and they waved farewell to him from the +oasis.</p> + +<p>Henry was not averse to action. The long period of idleness on the +island, much as he had enjoyed it, was coming to its natural end, and +his active mind and body looked forward to new events. The swamp had +returned to the state in which they had found it, and remembering the +path by which they had come he had no great difficulty in making his +journey.</p> + +<p>Three hundred yards away and the oasis was hidden completely by the +marshy thickets. He could not even see the tops of the trees, and he +reflected that it was the merest chance that had led them there. It was +not likely that the chance would be repeated in the case of any of Red +Eagle’s warriors, and perhaps it would be better for all of the five to +stay snug and tight on the oasis, even if they did not move until full +winter came. But second thought told him that Red Eagle would surely +thresh up the swamp. The reasoning of Shif’less Sol was correct, and it +was better to go on and see what was being prepared for them by their +enemies.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> +His progress was necessarily slow, as he was compelled to pick his way, +but he had plenty of strength and patience, and noon found him near the +outer rim, where he paused to watch the sky. Henry had an idea that he +might see smoke, betraying the presence of Indian bands, but not even +his keen eyes were able to make out any dark traces against the heavens, +which had all the thinness and clearness of early autumn. Reflection +convinced him, however, that if Red Eagle were meditating a movement +against the swamp he would avoid anything that might warn its occupants. +He abided by his second thought, and began anew his cautious progress +toward the edge of the bushes and reeds.</p> + +<p>The ending of the swamp was abrupt, the marshy ground becoming firm in +the space of a few yards, and Henry, emerging upon what was in a sense +the mainland, crept into a dense clump of alders, where he lay hidden +for some time, examining from his covert the country about him. He did +not see or hear anything to betoken a hostile presence, but, as wary as +any wild animal that inhabited the forest, he ventured forth, still +using every kind of cover that he could find.</p> + +<p>His course took him toward the east, and a quarter of a mile passed, his +eye was caught by the red gleam of a feather in the grass. He retrieved +it, and saw at once that it was painted. Hence, it had fallen from the +scalplock of an Indian. It was not bedraggled, so it had fallen +recently, as the winds had not beaten it about. It was sure, too, that a +warrior or warriors had gone +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> +that way within a few hours. He searched +for the trail, stooping among the bushes, lest he fall into an ambush, +and presently he came upon the faint imprint of moccasins, judging that +they had been made by about a half dozen warriors.</p> + +<p>The trail led to the east, and Henry followed it promptly, finding as he +advanced that it was growing plainer. Other and smaller trails met it +and merged with it, and he became confident that he would soon locate a +large band. He was no longer dealing with supposition, he had +actualities, the tangible, before him, and his pulses began to leap in +expectation. The shiftless one and he had been right. Red Eagle had +never left the neighborhood of the swamp, and Henry believed that he +would soon know what the wily old Indian chief was intending. There was +a certain exhilaration in matching his wits against those of the great +Shawnee, and he knew that he would need to exercise every power of his +mind to the utmost. He followed the trail steadily about a half hour as +it led on among trees and bushes, and he reckoned that it was made now +by at least twenty warriors who had no wish to conceal their traces. +Presently he came to one of the little prairies, numerous in that +region, and as the trail led directly into it he paused, lest he be seen +and be trapped when he was in the open.</p> + +<p>But as he examined the prairie from the shelter of the bushes, he became +convinced that the warriors must have increased their speed when they +crossed it, and were now some distance ahead. At the far edge, two +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +buffaloes, a bull and a cow, and two half-grown calves, were grazing in +peace. Two deer strolled from the forest, nosed the grass and then +strolled back again. The wild animals would not have been so peaceful +and unconcerned, if Indians were near, and, trusting to his logic, Henry +boldly crossed the open. The four buffaloes sniffed him and lurched away +to the shelter of the trees, thus proving to him that they were +vigilant, and that he was the only human being in their neighborhood.</p> + +<p>He entered the forest again and followed on the broad trail, increasing +his own speed, but neglecting nothing of watchfulness. The country was a +striking contrast to the great swamp, firm soil, hilly and often rocky, +cut with many small, clear streams. He judged that the swamp was the +bowl into which all these rivulets emptied.</p> + +<p>Reaching the crest of one of the low hills he caught a red gleam among +the bushes ahead of him and he sank down instantly. He knew that the +flash of scarlet was made by a fire, and he suspected that the warriors +whom he was following had gone into camp there. Then he began his +cautious approach after the border fashion, creeping forward inch by +inch among the bushes and fallen leaves. It was necessary to use his +utmost skill, too, as the dry leaves easily gave back a rustle. Yet he +persisted, despite the danger, because he needed to know what band it +was that sat there in the thicket.</p> + +<p>A hundred yards further and he looked into a tiny valley, where was +burning a fire of small sticks, over which Indian warriors were broiling +strips of venison.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +But the majority of the band sat on the ground in a +half circle about the fire, and Henry drew a long breath when he saw +that Red Eagle, the Shawnee chief, was among them. Then he no longer had +the slightest doubt that the hunt was at its full height, that the +Shawnees were still using every device they knew to destroy the five who +had troubled them so much.</p> + +<p>Red Eagle was a man of massive features and grave demeanor, one of the +great Indian chiefs who, their circumstances considered, were inferior +in intellectual power to nobody. Henry watched him as he sat now with +his legs crossed and arms folded, staring into the flames. He was a +picturesque figure, and he looked the warlike sage, as he sat there +brooding. The little feathers in his scalplock were dyed red, his +leggings and moccasins were of the same color, and a blanket of the +finest red cloth was draped about his shoulders like a Roman toga. He +was a man to arouse interest, respect and even admiration.</p> + +<p>Red Eagle did not speak until the strips of meat were cooked and eaten +and all were sitting about the fire, when he arose and addressed them in +a slow, solemn and weighty manner. Henry would have given much to +understand the words, as he believed they referred to the five and might +tell the chief’s plans, but he was too far away to hear anything except +a murmur that meant nothing.</p> + +<p>He saw, however, that Red Eagle was intensely earnest, and that the +warriors listened with fixed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> +attention, hanging on every word and +watching his face. Their only interruptions were exclamations of +approval now and then, and, when he finished and sat down, all together +uttered the same deep notes. Then eight of the warriors arose, and to +Henry’s great surprise, came back on the trail.</p> + +<p>He recognized at once that a sudden danger had presented itself. The +Shawnees would presently find his trail mingled with theirs, and they +were sure to give immediate pursuit. He thrust himself back into the +bushes, crawled a hundred yards or so, then rose and ran, curving about +the fire and passing to the eastward of it. Three hundred yards, and he +sank down again, listening. A single fierce shout came from the portion +of the band that had turned back. He understood. They had come upon his +trail, and in another minute Red Eagle would organize a pursuit by all +the warriors, a pursuit that would hang on through everything.</p> + +<p>Henry, knowing well the formidable nature of the danger, felt, +nevertheless, no dismay. He had matched himself against the warriors +many times, and he was ready to do so once more. He swung into the long +frontier run that not even the Indians themselves could match in speed +and ease.</p> + +<p>It was characteristic of him that he did not turn toward the swamp, in +which he could speedily have found refuge. Instead, wishing to draw the +enemy away from his comrades, he offered himself as bait, and fled on +the firm ground toward the east.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE BUFFALO RING</strong></p> + + +<p>Henry, feeling some alarm at first over the discovery of his trail, soon +felt elation instead. He was at the very height of his powers. The long +rest on the oasis had restored all his physical vigor. Every nerve and +muscle was flexible and strong, as if made of steel wire. His eye had +never before been so clear, nor his ear so acute, and above all, that +sixth sense, the power of divination almost, which came from a perfect +correlation of the five senses, developed to the utmost degree, was +alive in him. Nothing could stir in the brush without his knowing it, +and, welcoming the pursuit, the spirit of challenge was so strong in him +that he threw back his head and uttered a long, thrilling cry, the note +of defiance, just as the trumpet of the mediæval knight sang to his +enemy to come to the field of battle.</p> + +<p>Then he continued his flight toward the northwest, not too fast, because +he wished his trail to remain warm for the warriors who followed, but +stooping low, lest some wanderers from the main band should see him as +he ran. No answer came to his cry, but he knew well enough that the +Indians had heard it, and he knew, too, that it +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> filled them with rage +because any of the five had been bold enough to defy their full power.</p> + +<p>Reaching the crest of one of the low hills in which the region abounded, +he looked toward the southwest and saw the vast maze of the swamp in +which his comrades lay hidden. He had not been able to think of any plan +to turn aside the forces of Red Eagle, but now it came to him suddenly. +He intended when the pursuit ended to be far away from the swamp, and +then he could rejoin the four at some other point.</p> + +<p>He reached a brook, leaped it and passed on. He could have followed the +bed of the stream, hiding his trail for a space, but he knew the +pursuers would soon find it again, and after all he did not wish his +trail to be hidden. He laughed a little as he planted his moccasin +purposely in a soft spot in the earth, and noticed the deep imprint he +left. There was no warrior so blind who would not see the trace, and he +sped on, leaving other such marks here and there, and finally sending +forth another thrilling note of defiance that swelled far over the +forest, a cry that was at once an invitation, a challenge and a taunt. +It bade the warriors to use the utmost speed, because they would need +it. It asked them to pursue, because the one who fled wished to be +followed, and so wishing, he did not hide his trail from them. He would +be bitterly disappointed if they did not come. It told them, too, that +if they did come, no matter how great their speed, the hunters could +never catch the hunted.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> +He stopped two minutes perhaps, long enough for the fleetest of the +warriors to come within sight. Just as their brown bodies appeared among +the trees he uttered his piercing cry a third time and took to flight +again at a speed greater than any of theirs. Two shots were fired, but +the bullets cut only the uncomplaining leaves, falling far short. He +gained a full hundred yards, and then he turned abruptly toward the +north. His sixth sense, in which this time the supreme development of +hearing was predominant, warned him that other warriors were coming up +from the south. In truth they were approaching so fast that they uttered +a cry of triumph in reply to his own cry, but, increasing his speed, he +merely laughed to himself once more, knowing that he had evaded the +trap. His elation grew. His plan was succeeding better than he had +hoped. One after another he was drawing the Indian bands upon his trail, +and he hoped to have them all. He hoped that Red Eagle would lead the +pursuit and he hoped that Blackstaffe and Wyatt would be there.</p> + +<p>His ear had given warning before, and now it was his eye that told him +of the menace. He caught a glimpse of a flitting figure in the north, +and then of two more. And so a third band was bearing down upon him, but +from a point of the compass opposite the second. Any one of ordinary +powers might well have been trapped now, but he yet had strength in +reserve, and now he put forth an amazing burst of speed that carried him +well ahead of all three bands.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> +Then he entered another low region covered with bushes and reeds, and, +lest they lose his trail, he took occasion, as he fled, to trample down +a clump of reeds here and a bush there. On the far side of this sunken +land he came to a creek, in which the water rose to his knees, but he +forded it without hesitation, and even took the time to make a plain +trail after he had crossed.</p> + +<p>He knew that the warriors would pursue, in spite of every obstacle, and +he knew, too, that they would divine who it was whom they followed. +Using a new burst of speed, he widened the gap as he surmised to a full +quarter of a mile. And then he let his gait sink to not much more than a +long walk, wishing to recover his full physical powers. His spirit of +elation remained. In very truth, he was enjoying himself, and he felt +that he could lead them on forever. He was even able to note the +character of the country as he passed, the numerous brooks, the splendor +of the forest, the brown leaves as they fell before the light wind, and +then a great patch of early blackberries hanging ripe and rich. He +paused a moment or two, long enough to gather many of the berries and +eat them, noting that they were the juiciest and best he could recall to +have tasted.</p> + +<p>Then he came into a country that the animal kingdom seemed to have made +its own. He could not remember having seen anywhere else such an +abundance of game. Buffaloes, puffing and snorting, ran to one side as +he crossed the little prairies. Deer, some big and some little, sped +away through the thickets. Bears, hidden +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> in their coverts, gazed at him +with curious eyes. Rabbits leaped away in the grass, squirrels ran in +alarm out on the farthest boughs, and flocks of wild fowl rose with a +whirr and a rush.</p> + +<p>Henry was so sure of himself, so sure he could not be overtaken, that he +noted the character of this country which seemed to be so much favored +by the creatures of earth and air. Some time, when all their present +dangers were over, he and his comrades would come back there and have a +pleasant and peaceful hunt. Doubtless it had been neglected a long time +by the Indians, who were in the habit of using a region for a season or +two and then of letting it lie fallow until the wild animals should +forget and come back again.</p> + +<p>He ascended a hill larger and higher than the others, and bare, being +mostly a stony outcrop. Here he sat down in the shadow of a ledge and +took long breaths. He felt that the pursuit was then fully a mile +behind, and he could afford to stop for a little while. From the lofty +summit he saw a great distance. Toward the southwest was where the swamp +lay, but, despite the height, it was invisible now. Behind him was the +deep forest through which his pursuers were coming, to the north lay the +same forest, but to the east he caught a shimmer of blue through the +browning leaves. It was so faint that at first he was not certain of its +nature, but a second look told him it was one of the little lakes often +to be found in the country north of the Ohio.</p> + +<p>His flight, as he was making it, would take him straight +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> against that +body of blue water, impassable to him then, and as he drew a deep breath +of gratitude he felt that he was in truth being watched over by a +supreme power. If not, why were all the turns of chance in his favor? +Why had he stopped to rest a moment or two by the stony ledge, and why +in doing so had he caught a glimpse of the lake which soon would have +been an insuperable bar across his path, enabling the Indians to hem him +in on either flank?</p> + +<p>He breathed his thanks, and then he lay back against the ledge for +another minute or two of rest. Near grew a dwarf oak, still thick in +green foliage, and as if by command the wind suddenly began to sing +among its leaves, and the leaves, as if touched by the hand of a master +artist, gave back a song. Henry had heard that song before. It came to +him in his greatest moments of spiritual exaltation. Always it was a +song of strength and encouragement, telling him that he would succeed, +and now its note was not changed.</p> + +<p>He opened his eyes, sure that his pursuers were not yet within rifle +shot, and rising, refreshed, passed over the hill and into the forest +again, curving now toward the north. When he was sure he was well hidden +by the bushes, he ran at great speed, intending to pass between the +northern wing of his pursuers and the lake. They, of course, had known +of the water there and were expecting to catch him in the trap, and as +he ran he heard the two wings calling distantly to each other. His +silent laugh came once more. He had invisible guides +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> who always led him +out of traps, and he had heard the voice that sang to him so often +saying this pursuit, like so many others, might be long, but in vain.</p> + +<p>Fifteen minutes more, and he caught another view of the lake, which +appeared to be about two miles long and a quarter of a mile across, a +fine sheet of water, on which great numbers of wild fowl swam, or over +which they hovered. It was heavily wooded on all sides, and had he not +seen it earlier it would surely have proved an obstacle leading to his +capture or destruction. The pursuing bands, evidently believing that the +trap had been closed with the fugitive in it, began to exchange signals +again, and Henry discerned in their cries the note of triumph. It gave +the great youth satisfaction to feel that they would soon be undeceived.</p> + +<p>Now he called up all the reserves of strength that he had been saving +for some such emergency as this, and sped toward the northeast at a pace +few could equal, cleaving the thickets, leaping gullies, and racing +across the open. The lake on his right came nearer and nearer, but he +was rapidly approaching the northern end, and he knew that he would pass +it before the band pursuing in that quarter could close in upon him.</p> + +<p>Now the critical time came and he increased his speed to the utmost, +running through a thicket, passing the extreme northern curve of the +lake, and entering a wood where only firm ground lay before him. The +great obstacle was passed and he felt a mighty surge of triumph. He was +for the time being primitive and wild, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> like the warriors who pursued +him, thinking as they thought, and acting as they acted. Feeling now +that he was victorious anew, he raised his voice and sent forth once +more that tremendous thrilling cry, a compound of triumph, defiance and +mockery. Yells of disappointment came from the deep woods behind him, +and to hear them gave him all the satisfaction he had anticipated.</p> + +<p>He kept a steady course toward the east, not running so fast as before, +but maintaining a steady pace, nevertheless. As he ran he began to think +now of hiding his trail, not in such a manner that it could be lost +permanently, that being impossible, but long enough for him to take +rest. However great one’s natural powers might be and however severely +and often one might have been hardened in the fire, one could not run on +forever. He must lie down in the forest by and by, and the time would +come, too, when he must sleep.</p> + +<p>He glanced up at the sun and saw that the day would not last more than +two hours longer. There were no clouds and the night was likely to be +bright, furnishing enough light for the warriors to find an ordinary +trail, and willing to delude them now he began to take pains to make his +own trail one that was not ordinary. He resorted to all the usual forest +devices, walking on hard ground, stones and fallen trees, and wading in +water whenever he came to it, methods that he knew would merely delay +the warriors, but that could not baffle them long.</p> + +<p>He did not hear the bands signaling again and he +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>surmised that the one +on the south would pass around the southern end of the lake, reuniting +with the other as soon afterward as possible. Nevertheless he curved off +in that direction, and, sinking now to a long walk, he went steadily +ahead, until the great sun went down in a sea of gold behind the forest +and night threw a dusky veil over the wilderness. Then he stopped +entirely, and standing against a huge tree trunk, with which his figure +blended in the night, he took deep breaths.</p> + +<p>At first he felt weakness. No one, no matter how powerful and well +trained, could run so long without putting an immense strain upon the +nerves, and for a little space bushes and trees danced before him. Then +the world steadied itself, his heart ceased to beat so hard and the +suffusion of blood retreated from his head. He saw nothing nor heard +anything of his foes, but he knew that the pursuit would not cease. He +felt that this was his great flight, one that might go on for days and +nights, in which every faculty he had would be tested to the utmost, but +he was willing for it to be so. The longer the flight continued the +further he would draw away from the Indian power, and that was what he +wished most of all. He would make such a fugitive as the chiefs had +never known before.</p> + +<p>Henry stood a full fifteen minutes beside the brown trunk of the tree, +of which in the dark he seemed to be a part, and so great was his +physical power and elasticity that the time was sufficient to restore +all his strength. When he thought he caught a glimpse of a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> bush moving +behind him, he resumed the long running walk that covered ground so +rapidly. An hour later he came to a brook, in the bed of which he walked +fully a mile. But he did not expect this to bother his pursuers very +long. They would send warriors up and down either bank until in the +moonlight they struck the trail anew, and then they would follow as +before. But it would give him time, and not doubting that he would find +some new circumstance to aid him, it came sooner than he had expected or +hoped.</p> + +<p>Less than half a mile farther he encountered the wreckage left by a +hurricane of some former season, a path not more than three hundred +yards wide, a perfect tangle of fallen trees, amid which bushes were +already growing. The windrow led two or three miles to the northeast, +and he walked all the way on the trunks, slipping lightly from tree to +tree. It was now late, and as the night fortunately began to turn +considerably darker, he bethought himself of a place in which to sleep, +because in time sleep one must have, whether or not a fugitive.</p> + +<p>As he considered, he heard ahead of him a faint puffing and blowing +which he knew to come from buffaloes, and their presence indicated one +of the little prairies in which the country north of the Ohio abounded. +He made his way through the bushes, came to the prairie and saw that it +was black with the herd.</p> + +<p>The buffalo, although numerous east of the Mississippi, invariably +grazed in small bands, owing to the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> wooded nature of the country, and +the present herd, four or five hundred at least, was the largest that +Henry had ever seen away from the Great Plains. As the wind was blowing +from him toward them, and they showed, nevertheless, no sign of flight, +he surmised that the weaker members had been harassed much by wolves, +and that the herd was unwilling to move from its present place of rest. +They shuffled and puffed and panted, but there was no alarm.</p> + +<p>He stood a few moments and gazed at them, his look full of friendliness. +The Indians hunted the buffalo and they also hunted him. For the time +being these, the most gigantic of North American animals, were his +brethren, and then came his idea.</p> + +<p>A little ridge ran into the prairie, terminating in a hillock, and it +was clear of the buffaloes, as they naturally lay in the lower places. +Henry walked down among the buffaloes along the ridge until he came to +the hillock, where he took the blanket from his back, wrapped it about +him, and reclined with his head on his arm. The buffaloes puffed and +snorted and some of them moved uneasily, but they did not get up. +Perhaps Henry was wholly a wild creature himself then and they discerned +in him something akin to themselves, or perhaps they had been harassed +by wolves so much that they would not stir for anything now. But as the +human intruder lay soundless and motionless, they, too, settled into +quiet.</p> + +<p>Henry’s friendly feeling for the buffaloes increased, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> and it had full +warrant. He was surrounded by an army of sentinels. He knew that if the +Indians attempted to cross the prairie, coming in a band, they would +rise up at once in alarm, and if he fell asleep he would be awakened +immediately by such a multitudinous sound. Hence he would go to sleep, +and quickly.</p> + +<p>If the buffaloes felt their kinship with Henry, he felt his kinship with +them as strongly. Since they had sunk into silence they were like so +many friends around him, ready to fend off danger or to warn him. From +the crest of the low mound upon which he lay he saw the big black forms +dotting the prairie, a ring about him. Then he calmly composed himself +for the slumber which he needed so much.</p> + +<p>But sleep did not come as speedily as he had expected. Wolves howled in +the forest, and he knew they were real wolves, hanging on the flank of +the buffalo herd, cutting out the calves or the weak. The big bull +buffaloes moved and snorted again at the sound, but, when it was not +repeated, returned to their rest, all except one that lumbered forward a +step or two and then sank down directly on the little ridge by which +Henry had come to his hillock, as if he were a rear guard, closing the +way to the fugitive. He saw in it at once an omen. The superior power +that was watching over him had put the buffalo there to protect him, +and, free from any further apprehension, he closed his eyes, falling +asleep without delay.</p> + +<p>Henry always felt afterward that he must have been +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> wholly a creature of +the wild that night, else the buffaloes would have taken alarm at his +presence and probably would have stampeded. But the kinship they +recognized in him must have endured, or they had been harried so much by +the wolves that they did not feel like moving because of an intruder who +was so quiet and harmless that he was really no intruder at all. The +huge bull, crouched across the path by which he had come, puffed and +groaned at intervals, but he did not stir from his place. He was in very +truth, if not in intent, a guardian of the way.</p> + +<p>And yet, while Henry slept amid the herd, the pursuit of him was +conducted with the energy, thoroughness and tenacity of which the +Indians were capable. The spirit of the great Shawnee chief, Red Eagle, +had been stung by his failure to overtake the fugitive, whom he knew to +be the youth Ware, their greatest foe, and he was resolved that Henry +should not escape. With him now were the renegades Blackstaffe and +Wyatt, and they, too, urged on the chase. They felt that if Henry could +be taken or destroyed, the four would fall easier victims, and then the +eyes of the woods that watched so well for the settlers would have gone +out forever.</p> + +<p>All through the night the warriors ranged the forest, hunting for the +trail. The moon and the stars returned, bringing with them a light that +helped, and an hour or two after midnight a Shawnee found traces that +led toward the prairie. He called to his comrades and they followed it +to the prairie, where they lost it. The Indian +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> warriors, looking +cautiously from the brush, saw in the open the clustered black forms, +looming gigantic in the moonlight, and they heard the heavings and +puffings and groanings of the big bulls. Directly in front of them, +across a low narrow ridge, lay the biggest bull of them all, a buffalo +that stirred now and then as if he were glad to rub his body against the +soil, which was rougher there than elsewhere. On the far side of the +prairie, wolves yapped and barked, longing to get at the calves inside +the ring of their elders.</p> + +<p>The warriors crept away and began the entire circuit of the open, +looking for the lost trail. It had entered it on the western side, and +it would pass out somewhere, probably on the eastern. Red Eagle, +Blackstaffe and Wyatt themselves came up and directed the chase, but +they were mystified when their runners, completing the entire circling +movement, reported that there was no sign of the trail’s reappearance. +Red Eagle, after taking thought, refused to believe it. The fugitive had +surpassing skill, as all of them knew, but a human being could not take +a flight through the air, like an eagle or a wild duck, and leave no +trail behind him. They must have overlooked the traces in the moonlight, +and he sent out the warriors anew, to right and to left.</p> + +<p>Henry meanwhile slept the sleep of one who was weary and unafraid. He +had not only the feeling, but the conviction, as he lay down, that he +was within an inviolable ring of sentinels, and having dismissed all +care and apprehension from his mind, he fell into a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> slumber so deep +that for a long time nothing could disturb it. The yapping and barking +of the wolves fell upon an unhearing ear. The puffings and groanings of +the buffaloes were merely whispers to dull him into more powerful sleep. +When the Indian scouts, not fifty yards away, looked at the body of the +big bull that blocked the path, nothing whispered to him that danger was +near. Nor was the whisper needed, as the danger passed as quickly as it +had come.</p> + +<p>He awoke at the first streak of dawn, stirred a little in his blanket, +but did not rise yet. He saw the buffaloes all around him and realized +that his faith in them had not been misplaced. The great bull, like a +black mountain, still barred the path to him.</p> + +<p>It was warm and snug in his blanket and he yawned prodigiously. It would +have been pleasant to have remained there a few hours longer, but when +one was pursued by a whole Indian nation he could not remain long in one +place. He took the last strips of venison from his pack and ate them as +he lay. Meanwhile the buffaloes themselves began to move somewhat, as if +they were making ready for their day’s work, and Henry wondered at their +disregard of him. Perhaps his presence for a night, and the fact that he +had been harmless, removed their fear of him.</p> + +<p>He rose to his knees, and then suddenly sank back again. He had caught +the gleam of red feathers in the forest to the west, and he knew they +were in the scalplock of a Shawnee. Raising his head cautiously he saw +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> +several more. It was a small band passing toward the north. But he had +too much experience to imagine that they were chance travelers. Beyond a +doubt they were a part of Red Eagle’s army, and that army had come up in +the night and had surrounded him.</p> + +<p>He lay back and listened. An Indian call arose in the west and another +in the east, and then they came from north and south and points between. +They were on all sides of him and he had been trapped as he slept. He +saw that the danger was the most formidable he had yet encountered, but +he did not despair. It was characteristic of him that when there seemed +to be no hope, he yet had hope, and plenty of it. His heart beat a +little faster, but he lay quiet in his blanket, taking thought with +himself.</p> + +<p>He had been aided before by storms, but there was not the remotest +chance now of one. The sun was rising in the full splendor of an early +autumn morning, and the thin, clear air had the brightness of silver. +The blue skies held not a single cloud. Far over his head a flock of +wild fowl in arrow formation flew southward, and for the moment they +expressed to him, as he lay in the snare, the very quintessence of +freedom. But he spent no time in vain longings. His eyes came back to +the earth and that which surrounded him. Once more he caught the gleam +of feathers in the forest and he was sure that the line about the +prairie was now continuous.</p> + +<p>He must find a way through that line, and he poured all his mind upon +one point. When one thinks for life, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> one thinks fast and hard. +Stratagem after stratagem flitted before him, to be cast aside one after +another. Meanwhile the buffaloes were stirring more and more, and some +of them began to nip at the dry grass of the prairie, but the big black +bull on the little ridge remained crouched and motionless. He was not +fifteen feet away and between him and Henry lay fragments of dead wood +which had been blown from the forest by some old wind. His eyes alighted +upon them idly, but remained there in interest, and then, in a sudden +burst of intuition, came his plan. Hesitating not a single instant, he +prepared for it.</p> + +<p>Henry slid forward, recovered a long dead stick, and rapidly whittled +from it a lot of shavings. He never knew why the buffaloes did not take +alarm at his presence and actions, but he always supposed that the +mystic tie of kinship still endured. Then using his flint and steel with +all the energy and power that imminent danger could inspire, he lighted +first the shavings and then the end of the long stick.</p> + +<p>The buffaloes at last began to puff and snort and show alarm, and Henry, +springing to his feet, whirled the torch in a circle of living fire +around his head. The whole herd broke in an instant into a frightful +panic, and with much snorting and bellowing rushed away in a black mass +toward the east. He threw down his torch, and grasping his rifle and +throwing his pack over his shoulder, followed close upon them, so close +that not even the keenest eye in the forest could have +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>distinguished +him from the herd in the great cloud of dust that quickly rose.</p> + +<p>It was for this cloud of dust that he had bargained. The soil of the +prairie became dry in the autumn, and the tramplings of four or five +hundred huge beasts churned it into a powder which the wind picked up +and blew into a blinding stream. Henry felt it in his eyes, his nose, +his ears and his mouth, but he was glad and he laughed aloud in his joy. +The rush and bellowings of the buffaloes made it a mighty roar, and the +soul within him was wild and triumphant, as became one who was the very +spirit and essence of the wilderness. He shouted aloud like Long Jim +Hart, knowing that his voice would be lost in the thunder of the herd +and could not reach the Indians.</p> + +<p>“On, my gallant beasts!” he cried. “Charge ’em! Break their line! They +can’t stand before you! Faster! Faster!”</p> + +<p>He struck one of them across the body with the butt of his rifle, but +the herd was already running as fast as it could, while the cloud of +dust was continually rising in greater and thicker volume. In the midst +of this cloud, and hanging almost bodily to the herd itself, Henry was +invisible as he rushed on, shouting his battle song of triumph and +defiance, although no word of it reached the warriors who had lain in +the brushwood and who were now fleeing in fright before the rush of the +mad herd.</p> + +<p>Mad it certainly was, said Red Eagle, for the chief +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> himself, with Wyatt +and Blackstaffe, had been directly in its path, and they had been +compelled to run in undignified haste, while the great pillar of dust, +filled with the dim figures of buffaloes, crashed and thundered past, +trampling down bushes, crushing saplings, and driving off to the east, +the pillar of dust still visible long after the buffaloes were deep in +the forest. Red Eagle stared after it. He was a wise old chief, and he +had seen buffaloes before in a panic, but he did not understand the +cause of this sudden and terrific flight.</p> + +<p>“It is strange,” he said, “but we must let them run. We will go back now +and look for Ware.”</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE COVERT</strong></p> + + +<p>It was one of the most thrilling moments in the life of Henry Ware. He +was in a kind of exaltation that made him equal to any task or danger, +and rather to court, instead of avoiding them. His feeling of kinship +with the herd that was saving him had grown stronger with the dawn. The +dust entering his eyes and mouth, nose and ears, had a singular quality +like burned gun powder that excited him and stimulated him to efforts +far beyond the normal. He was for the time being a physical superman out +of that old dim past, and he was scarcely conscious of anything he was +doing, save that he ran with the great beasts, and was their friend.</p> + +<p>His exalted state increased. He continued to shout to the buffaloes to +run faster, and to hurl challenge and defiance at the warriors who could +not hear him. Once more he swung his clubbed rifle and hit a buffalo on +the side, not in anger, but as a salute from one hardy friend to +another, and the buffalo, uttering a bellow, rushed on with mighty +leaps.</p> + +<p>Although he could not see them for the dust, Henry +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> knew now by the +crashing and crackling of boughs that they were among the bushes, but +they did not trouble him, as the herd, like a huge wedge, first clearing +the way trampled everything under foot. How long the race lasted and how +long they ran he never knew, but after a lapse of time that was +surcharged with an enormous elation and an unexampled display of +physical power the herd began to recover in some degree from its panic. +Its speed decreased. The great cloud of dust that had wrapped Henry +around and that had saved him sank fast. Then he came suddenly to +himself, out of the exalted regions of the spirit in which he had been +dwelling. His throat was sore from excessive shouting and the sting of +the dust, and it was a few minutes before he was able to clear his eyes +and see with his usual keenness. Then he found that his body, too, ached +from his flight with the buffaloes and his excessive exertions.</p> + +<p>But he had escaped. Nothing could alter the fact. When he had been +surrounded so completely by powerful foes that his destruction seemed +inevitable a miraculous way had been opened through their lines. Kindly +chance had drooped about him an impenetrable veil and he had passed his +enemies unseen. His first emotion was of deep thankfulness and gratitude +to the power that had saved him.</p> + +<p>The pace of the herd sank to a walk. The light wind caught the last +streamers of dust and carried them away over the trees. Then some of the +buffaloes, puffing with exhaustion, stopped, and Henry, coming back +wholly to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> +himself, turned aside into the deep forest. But he gave a +parting wave of his hand to the great animals that had enabled him to +make his invisible flight. Never again would he kill a buffalo without +reluctance.</p> + +<p>An immense weariness came suddenly upon him. One could not run so far +with a herd without draining to their depths the reservoirs of human +endurance, but he would not let his body collapse. He knew he must put +the danger far behind him before it was a danger passed or even a danger +deferred. Calling upon his will anew, he turned toward the southeast and +walked many miles through a stony region. Here again he felt that he was +watched over by the greater powers, as leaping from stone to stone it +was easy to hide his trail, for the time at least. When the last ounce +of strength was exhausted he came to a blue pool, ten or fifteen yards +across, clear and deep.</p> + +<p>He looked at the pool and was about to make another effort to go on, but +the blue waters crinkled up and laughed under a light wind, and looked +so inviting that he concluded to take the risk. He still felt the dust +in eye and ear, mouth and nose. He knew that it was caked upon his face +by perspiration, until it had become a mask, and now his whole body +tingled like fire with the tiny particles that had stopped up the pores. +And there was the pool, clear, blue and beautiful, inviting him to come.</p> + +<p>Delaying not an instant longer he threw off his clothing and sprang into +the water. It was cold, but it was full of life. New strength shot into +every vein. He dived again and again, but without noise, and then, +swimming<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> +about a minute or two, emerged clean, shining and refreshed. +While he stretched himself, flexing and tensing his muscles and drying +his body in the sun, a stag, seeking water, came through the forest on +the other side of the pool. Perhaps that sense of kinship was felt by +the stag, too. It may be that Henry was in spirit an absolute creature +of the wild that morning, and by some unknown transmission of knowledge +the stag knew it.</p> + +<p>However it was, the great deer took no fright, but, sniffing the air +once or twice, looked at the great youth, and the great youth looked +back at him. Henry would not have harmed any inhabitant of the forest +then, and the deer may have read it in his eye, as after his first +hesitation he came boldly to the pool and drank his fill. Henry on the +other side was dressing rapidly. When the stag had drunk enough he +raised his head and gazed out of great mild eyes at the human being who +was perhaps the first he had ever seen. Then he turned and stalked +majestically into the forest, his mighty antlers visible after his body +was hidden.</p> + +<p>Henry, lying down in the brown grass, remained a half hour by the pool, +and he became a part of the wilderness, recognized as such by the others +that dwelled in it. Wild fowl descended upon the water, swam there a +while and then flew away, but not because of him. A black bear made +havoc in a patch of berries, and paid no attention to the youth.</p> + +<p>When he started anew he still kept to the northeast, but he was +uncertain about his immediate action. He did not +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> doubt that Red Eagle +and his host would pick up his trail some time or other, and would +follow with a patience that nothing could discourage. It would not be +wise to turn back to the oasis and his comrades, as that would merely +bring upon them the attack that he had drawn aside. Not knowing what to +do he kept on in his present course until certainty should come to him.</p> + +<p>Hunger assailed him and, imitating the bear, he ate great quantities of +berries which were numerous everywhere in the forest. They were not +substantial food, but they must suffice for a time. After a while, when +he felt that he was far beyond the hearing of Red Eagle’s men, he would +shoot game, though in his present mood he did not like to kill anything +that lived in the forest. But he knew that he must, in time, overcome +his reluctance, as such a frame as his, in the absence of bread, could +not live without meat.</p> + +<p>He saw ahead of him a line of blue hills, much such a region as that in +which lay their warm, stony hollow, and he believed that he might find +kindred shelter there. At least it would be safer from pursuit, and, +keeping a straight course, he reached the ridges in about two hours. He +found an abundance of rocky outcrop, so much of it that he was able to +walk on it a full mile without putting a foot on earth, but there was no +deep hollow, although he did come to a tiny valley or cup among the +stones, well sheltered from the winds, and here he lay for a long time +on a bed that he made for himself on dead leaves. Toward night he went +out and was fortunate enough to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> +find a wild turkey, which, overcoming +his reluctance, he shot. Then he cleaned it, and, daring all dangers, +lighted a fire in the cup and cooked it.</p> + +<p>But before taking a bite of the turkey he made a wide and careful +circuit about the dip to discover whether any wandering warrior had seen +the glow of his little fire, and, satisfied that none had been within +sight, he returned and ate, putting what was left in his pack for future +use. Then he lay down again and felt very grateful. The stars were out, +and, in their courses, they had undoubtedly fought for him. He did not +ascribe his great successes in the face of obstacles that seemed +insurmountable to any especial virtue in himself, but the idea that, for +some unknown cause, he was favored by the greater powers was still +strong within him. He could but thank them and looking up at the sky he +did so without words.</p> + +<p>Then, feeling sure that his trail could not be found for hours, he +wrapped his blanket about his body and pillowing his head on a heap of +leaves fell asleep. The sense of watching remained so strong that it was +alive while he slept, and about midnight it awakened him to see what a +noise meant. It was, however, only the hungry whining of two wolves, +drawn by the odor of the turkey, and, throwing a stick at them, he went +back to sleep.</p> + +<p>He did not awaken again until morning, and then he felt so warm and snug +in his blanket and on the bed of leaves that he was loath to move. The +dawn was clear and cold, the first frost of the season touching his +blanket with white, and he yawned mightily. While his body was +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> +refreshed, his spirit was not as high as it had been the night before, +and he would have been glad for the pursuit to stop, a day at least, +while he dawdled there among the hills. He reflected that his four +comrades were probably lying at their ease in the oasis, and the thought +brought a certain envy, though the envy contained no trace of malice. He +wished that he was back with them, but the wish vanished in an instant, +and he was his old self, ingenious, resourceful, resolute.</p> + +<p>He rose from his bed, folded the blanket into the usual tight square, +which he fastened on his back, and took a look at his surroundings. +There was no human presence save his own, but innumerable tracks showed +him that the hills were full of game. Then sharp hunger assailed him, +and he ate another portion of the wild turkey, calculating that enough +would be left for several more meals. He considered himself extremely +lucky in securing the turkey, as it undoubtedly would be dangerous now +to fire his rifle, since the warriors must have come much nearer in the +course of the night.</p> + +<p>Going to the crest of the highest hill, whence he could get a long view, +he saw smoke in the west, not more than three miles away, and he was +quite certain it was made by some portion of Red Eagle’s band. They +would not allow so much smoke to rise, unless it was intended as a +signal, and his eyes followed the circle of the horizon in search of the +answer.</p> + +<p>From his lofty perch he saw far over the tumbled mass of hills to the +eastern sky, and there he caught a faint +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> trace across the sunlit blue. +It was miles away and only eyes of the keenest, like his, would have +noticed the vague smudge, but he did not doubt that it was a response to +the first signal. They could not see from the first to the third smoke, +but there must be a second in between, probably to the north, where the +hills shut out his view, and the messages were transmitted from the +extremes through it.</p> + +<p>He gazed a long time at the eastern smoke, trying to read what it was +saying. The warriors of Red Eagle’s band were not likely to have gone so +far in the night, and, at last, he came to the conclusion that Yellow +Panther and the Miamis had come up. The more he thought about it the +more thoroughly he was convinced that it was so, and that his situation +had become extremely dangerous again. The Shawnees were bound to pick up +his trail in time, they would find that it led into the hills, and then, +by means of signals of one kind or another, they would tell their +allies, the Miamis, to close in on him. They would also send warriors to +both north and south, and he would be surrounded completely.</p> + +<p>Henry did not despair. It was characteristic of him that his spirits +should rise to the highest when the danger was greatest. The lassitude +of the soul that he had felt for a few moments disappeared and once more +he was alert, powerful, with all his marvelous senses attuned, and with +that sixth sense which came from the perfect coordination of the others +ready to help him.</p> + +<p>He examined as well as he could from his summit the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> maze of hills in +which he stood, and it seemed to him to be a region three or four miles +square, a network of crests, ridges, cups, and narrow valleys like +ravines. He resolved that for the present, at least, he would make no +attempt to break from it and pass the Indian lines. He would be for a +day or two the needle in the haystack. One might move from cover to +cover and evade pursuit for a long time in a tumbled and tangled mass of +country fifteen or sixteen miles square, covered moreover with heavy +vegetation of all kinds.</p> + +<p>He had been the panther before, now he would be the fox, and leaping +from stone to stone, and from fallen trunk to fallen trunk he plunged +into the very heart of the maze, finding it wilder and even more broken +than he had hoped. Small streams were flowing in several of the gullies +or ravines, and there were pools, around which reeds and bushes grew +thickly. At least he would not suffer for water while he lay in hiding.</p> + +<p>Near the center of the little wilderness was a valley larger than the +others, but before he descended into it he climbed a hill, and took +another long look around the whole horizon. The smoke signals had +increased to nearly a dozen, making a complete circuit of the hills, and +it would have been obvious, even to an intelligence much less acute than +his, that they were sure he was in the hills, and had drawn their lines +about him.</p> + +<p>Well, it would be a chase, he said to himself grimly. He did not +particularly like the rôle of fox, but once he had undertaken it he +would play it to the last detail. He +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> went down into the valley which +was like a bowl filled with a vast mass of bushes and briars, many of +the briars covered with ripe berries, a fact of which he made a mental +note, as he might need those berries later on, and picked a way through +them until he came to the other slope, which was as rough and broken as +if it had been taken up by an earthquake, shaken for several days, and +then allowed to lie as the pieces fell. There were many blind openings, +like the box cañons of the west, running back into the hills, and they +were crossed by other gullies and ravines, and he decided that he would +find a temporary covert somewhere among them.</p> + +<p>As he wandered about in the maze of bushes and stones, he did not +neglect the least possible precaution to hide all traces of footsteps, +and he knew that he had left a trail invisible like that of a bird +through the air. There were many able warriors among the Shawnees and +Miamis, but if they found him at all it must be by currying the maze as +if with a comb, and not by following directly in his path.</p> + +<p>A ravine that he was following led a little distance up the slope, and +then another crossed it at right angles. A small stream, rising above, +flowed down the first ravine, and he resolved that he would not go far +from it, as he could not lie long in hiding without water. The smaller +cross ravine, which was pretty well choked with briars and bushes, ended +under an overhanging stony ledge, and here he stopped.</p> + +<p>As the place had a floor of dead leaves and was +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> sheltered well he +thought it likely that in some former time it had been a den of a large +wild beast, but it could not have been put to such a use recently, as +there was no odor. He was thankful that he had found the ledge. It would +protect him from any rain except one driven fiercely into the face of it +by the wind, and, if it came to the last resort and he had to make a +fight, it would prove a formidable little fortress.</p> + +<p>Having located his refuge he went back to the stream and took a long, +deep drink of the water, which was cold and good. Then he returned to +the ledge and lay down in its shadow, his eyes on the briars and bushes, +through which alone one could approach.</p> + +<p>He saw a few coarse hairs in the crevices of the rocks and he was +confirmed in his opinion that it had once been a lair. Perhaps the +original owner would return to it and claim it while he was there, and +Henry smiled at the thought of the meeting. It would not be easy to +displace him. The feeling that he too was wild, a creature of the +forest, was growing upon him. He was hunted like one and he began to +display their characteristics, lying perfectly still, facing the opening +and ready to strike, the moment a foe appeared. However dangerous may +have been the wild beast that once lived under the ledge it was far less +formidable than its successor.</p> + +<p>Henry was at his ease, watching the briars and bushes and with his rifle +thrust forward a little, but a sort of cold rage grew upon him. It was +the rage that a fierce animal must feel, when hunted beyond endurance, +it turns<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> +at last. He rather hoped that one or two of their scouts would +appear and try to force the ravine. They would pay for it richly, and he +would take some revenge for being forced into such a hard and long +flight.</p> + +<p>But no scalplock appeared in the bushes, nor did he hear any sound of +advancing men. But he was not deceived by the false appearance of peace. +The Shawnees and Miamis had drawn their lines about the hills and they +would search until they found. Now they had two great chiefs instead of +one, both Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, to drive them on. Meanwhile he +would wait patiently and take his ease until they did find him.</p> + +<p>He was conscious of the passage of time, but he took little measure of +it until he noticed that the sun was low. Then he ate another portion of +the turkey, rolled himself into a new position on the leaves, and +resumed the patient waiting which was not so hard for one trained as he +had been in a school, the most important rule of which was patience.</p> + +<p>The entire day passed. At times he dozed, but so lightly that the +slightest movement in the thickets would have awakened him. He was +neither lonely nor afraid, and his sense of comfort grew. He had been +carried back farther than he knew into the old primitive world, in which +shelter and ease were the first of all things. He was content now to +wait any length of time while the warriors searched for him, and he was +so still, he blended so thoroughly into his surroundings, that the other +people of the maze accepted him as one of themselves.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> +He saw a splash of flame over his head, and a scarlet tanager, alighting +on a bush not a yard from him, prinked and preened itself, until it felt +that its toilet was perfect, when it deliberately flew away again. It +had not shown the slightest fear of the motionless youth, and Henry was +pleased. He intended no harm to the creatures of the forest then, and he +was glad they understood it.</p> + +<p>A small gray bird, far less brilliant in plumage than the tanager, +alighted even nearer, and poured forth a flood of song to which Henry +listened without moving. Then the gray bird also flew away, not in fear, +but because its variable mind moved it to do so. It too had come as a +friend and it departed without changing. A rabbit hopped through the +brush, stared at him a moment or two, and then hopped calmly out of +sight. Its visit had all the appearance of a friendly nature, and Henry +was pleased once more.</p> + +<p>When the twilight came, he crept through the bushes to the little stream +in the ravine and drank deep again. His glance caught a pair of red eyes +gleaming through the dusk and he saw a wildcat treading lightly. But the +cat did not snarl or arch its back. Instead it moved away without any +sign of hostility and climbed a big oak, in the brown foliage of which +it was lost to Henry’s sight. In his mind the thought grew stronger that +he was being accepted as a brother to the wild, and it gave him a +thrill, a compound of pleasure and of wonder. Had he really reverted so +far? It seemed to be so, for the time, at least.</p> + +<p>He crawled back through the bushes to his lair, ate +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> another portion of +the wild turkey and disposed his lodgings for the night, which he +foresaw was going to be cold, drawing the dead leaves into a heap with a +depression in the center, in which he could lie with the blanket over +him.</p> + +<p>The full dark had now come, and, as he finished his bed, he heard a +light step which caused him to seize his rifle and sit silent, awaiting +a possible enemy. The light step was repeated once, twice, thrice, and +then stopped. But he knew it was not that of a human being. He had heard +the pad, pad of an animal too often to be mistaken, and his tension +relaxed, though he still waited.</p> + +<p>He gradually made out an ungainly figure in the dusk, and then two small +red eyes. The figure moved about a little and the eyes seemed to +question. Henry smiled once more to himself. It was a large black bear, +and he knew instinctively that it had not come as an enemy. Its visit +was one of inquiry, perhaps of search for an old and comfortable home, +which it remembered dimly. As it stared at him, showing no sign of +fright and making no movement to run away, he knew then that he was in +truth in a former home of the bear.</p> + +<p>He was sorry that he had dispossessed any one. He would not willingly +keep from his home a friendly and worthy black bear, but since it was +the only home of the kind he needed that he could find, he must keep his +place. The bear was not hunted as he was, and required less to give him +comfort and shelter. He could improvise elsewhere a home that would +suffice for him.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> +He waved his hand, but the bear did not withdraw, uttering instead a low +growl which had some of the quality of a purr, and which was not at all +hostile. Henry felt real grief at ousting such an amiable animal, and he +realized anew that he had become, in fact, a creature of the wild. It +was obvious that the bear looked upon him as a brother, else it would +have taken to hasty flight long since. Instead it continued to stare at +him, as if asking to come in that it might have a share of the leaves. +But Henry shook his head. There was room for only one, and while not +selfish he needed it worse than the bear, which, after a minute more of +gazing, uttered another growling purr and then shambled away among the +bushes. Henry felt real sorrow at its departure. Obviously it had been a +good and kind bear, and he was regretful at having crowded it out of +house and home.</p> + +<p>But as bears were adaptable creatures and the dispossessed tenant would +find quarters elsewhere, he settled himself back to further rest and +contemplation. The lair under the ledge was really a better place than +he had at first thought it. The leaves were so abundant that he had a +soft bed, and they contributed not only to warmth in themselves, but he +was able to throw them up in little ridges beside him, where they would +cut off the cold air. He felt himself splendidly hidden, and both body +and mind were invaded by a dreamy sense of peace and ease.</p> + +<p>Believing that the invasion of the valley would yet be delayed some +time, he dared to go to sleep, though he +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> awoke at frequent intervals. +All these awakenings told him that the warriors had not yet come nor was +their vanguard even at hand. The bear was not the only wild animal to +inhabit the valley and now and then he saw their dim figures moving in +the leisurely manner that betokened no alarm brought by sight, scent or +sound. He silently made them his sentinels, his watchers, the bear, the +rabbit, the squirrel, the wildcat and even the tawny yellow panther.</p> + +<p>Morning broke, the air heavy and clouds betokening rain. He strengthened +his banks of leaves with some dead wood, and, after eating half the +remaining portion of wild turkey, crouched again in the lair. In an hour +it began to rain, not to the accompaniment of wind, but came down +steadily, as if it meant to fall all day long.</p> + +<p>Having a good shelter Henry was glad of the rain, as he knew that it +would cause the warriors further delay in the search. The wilderness, +cold and dripping with water, is a funereal sight, full of discomforts, +and savage man himself avoids it if he can. The warriors, feeling that +they had the fugitive within the inescapable circle, would wait. Henry +would willingly wait with them. He had but one problem that troubled him +greatly, and it was food. But perhaps the ravens would provide, as they +had provided for the holy man in the olden time.</p> + +<p>As he had foreseen, the chilling rain fell all day long, and no sign +came from his pursuers. The valley grew sodden. He saw pools standing in +low places, and cold<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +vapors arose. At night he ate the last of the +turkey, and, resolutely dismissing the question of more food from his +mind for the time, fell asleep again and slept well.</p> + +<p>The second dawn came, clear and cool, and the foliage and the earth +dried rapidly under the bright sun. Henry’s powerful frame craved +breakfast but there was none, and, from necessity, he made up his mind +to do without, as long as he could. But the cravings became so strong by +noon that he stole out to the blackberry briars and ate his fill of the +berries. He also found some ripening wild plums and ate those, too. +Fruit alone was not very staying and he also saw the risk of disclosing +his trail, but he felt that he must have it. One might talk lightly of +enduring hunger, but to endure it was much harder. If he only had two or +three more wild turkeys he felt that he might defy the siege.</p> + +<p>That afternoon he heard the signals of Indians, showing that they were +in the maze, looking for him. They imitated the cries of birds and +animals, but they did not deceive him a single time. None was nearer +than a quarter of a mile, and he was sure that they had a long hunt +before them. Then he resolved upon a daring venture. If the coming night +was dark he would make the Indians themselves provide him with food. It +was tremendously risky, but the kind of life he lived was full of such +risks.</p> + +<p>His plan in mind, he watched the setting of the sun. It had mists and +vapors around it, and he knew that he was about to have what he wished. +Then the night <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> +settled down, heavy and dark, and he slipped cautiously +from his lair. The last signal that he had heard came from the south and +he advanced in that direction.</p> + +<p>He calculated that boldness, as usual, might win. The warriors, daring +themselves, nevertheless would not dream of an inroad upon them by the +fugitive himself, and were likely to be careless in their night camp. It +was possible that they would leave their own food where he could reach +it unseen.</p> + +<p>His progress was slow, owing to the extremely rough and broken nature of +the ground, and his own great caution, a caution that made no sound, and +that left no trail, as he always walked on rock. In an hour he saw the +glimmer of a fire, and then he redoubled his caution, as he approached.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE BEAR GUIDE</strong></p> + + +<p>The fire was just beyond the thicket of reeds, and Henry addressed +himself to the task of penetrating them without noise, a difficult thing +to do, but which he accomplished in about five minutes, stopping just +short of the outer edge, where he was still hidden well.</p> + +<p>He was then able to see a small opening in which about a dozen warriors +lay around a low fire, with two who were sentinels sitting up but +nodding. He saw by their paint that they were Miamis, and thus he was +confirmed in his belief that Yellow Panther had come with a large force +from his tribe.</p> + +<p>He knew that the sentinels had been set largely as a matter of form, +since the Indians in the bowl itself would not anticipate any attack +from a lone fugitive. The true watch would be kept on the outermost rim. +So reasoning he waited, hoping that the two sentinels who were nodding +so suggestively would fall asleep. Even as he looked their nods began to +increase in violence. Their heads would fall over on their shoulders, +hang there for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> +a few moments and then their owners would bring them +back with a jerk.</p> + +<p>Indians, like white people, have to sleep, and Henry knew that the two +warriors must have been up long, else they would not have to fight so +hard to keep awake. That they would yield before long he did not now +doubt, and he began to watch with an amused interest to see which would +give in first. One was an old warrior, the other a youth of about +twenty. Henry believed the lad would lead the way, and he was justified +in his opinion, as the younger warrior, after bringing his head back +into position two or three times with violent jerks, finally let it +hang, while his chest rose with the long and deep breathing of one who +slumbers. The older man looked at him with heavy-laden eyes and then +followed him to the pleasant land of oblivion.</p> + +<p>Henry now examined the camp with questioning eyes. In such a land of +plentiful game they would be sure to have abundant supplies, and he saw +there a haunch of deer well cooked, buffalo meat, two or three wild +turkeys and wild ducks. His eyes rested longest on the haunch of the +deer, and, making up his mind that it should be his, he began to creep +again through the undergrowth to the sheltered point that lay nearest +it, a task in which he exercised to the utmost his supreme gifts as a +stalker, since these were the most critical moments of all.</p> + +<p>The haunch lay not more than eight feet from the reeds, and he believed +he could reach it without <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> +awakening any of the warriors. Once the older +sentinel opened his eyes and looked around sleepily, and Henry instantly +stopped dead, but it was merely a momentary return from slumberland, to +which the man went back in a second or two, and then the stalker resumed +his slow creeping.</p> + +<p>At the point he sought, he slipped noiselessly into the open, seized the +haunch and slid back in the same way, stopping in the shelter of the +reeds to see if he had been noticed. But all the warriors still slept, +and, thankful once more to the greater powers who had favored him, he +made his way back to his shelter, provisioned now for several days. Then +he ate a hearty supper, gathering more of the berries as a sauce, and +drinking from the little stream.</p> + +<p>He was well aware that the Indians, when they missed the haunch, would +know that he lay somewhere in the bowl; but, with starvation as the +alternative, he was compelled to take the risk. Before dawn, it rained +again, removing all apprehensions that he may have felt about his trail, +and he took a nap of two or three hours, relying upon his heightened +senses to give him an alarm, if they drew near, even while he slept.</p> + +<p>The next dawn came, cold and raw, with the rain ceasing after a while, +but followed by a heavy fog that filled the whole bowl. Henry, sharp as +his eyes were, could not see twenty feet in front of him, and, just like +the bear that had once occupied it, he lay very close in his lair. The +confinement was growing irksome to one +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> +of his youth and strength, as he +felt his muscles stiffening, but it was necessary, because he heard the +signals of the Indians to one another through the fog, sometimes not +more than two or three hundred yards away. Their proximity, he knew, was +due to chance, as there was nothing to disclose to them where he lay. +They were merely following the plan of threshing out all the hay in the +haystack in order to find the needle, and he knew that they would +complete it even to the last wisp.</p> + +<p>Another day and night passed in the lair, and the inactivity, +confinement and suspense became frightful. He began to feel that he must +move, even if he plunged directly into the Indian ranks, and the +warriors permitted no doubt that they were near, since the calls of +birds and animals were frequent. Two or three times he heard shots, and +he knew it was the warriors killing game. He resented it, as all the +animals in this little valley had proved themselves his friends, and he +felt an actual grief for those that had been slain.</p> + +<p>It was the truth that in these days of hiding and waiting Henry was +reverting to some ancient type, not one necessarily ruder or more +ferocious, but a primitive golden age in its way, in which man and beast +were more nearly friends. There was proof in the fact that birds hopped +about within a foot or two of him and showed no alarm, and that a rabbit +boldly rested among the leaves not a yard away.</p> + +<p>It would be, in truth, his happy valley were it not for the presence of +the Indians. But they were drawing +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> +nearer. Call now answered to call, +and they were only a few hundred yards away. He divined that they had +threshed up most of the maze, and that a close circle was being drawn +about him in the bowl. The next night, when he went out for water, he +caught a glimpse of warriors stalking in the brush, and he did not +believe that his lair would hide him more than a day or two longer. He +must find some way to creep through the ring, but, for the present, he +could think of none.</p> + +<p>Another day passed, and he did not sleep at all in the night that +followed, as the warriors were so near now that his keen ear often heard +them moving, and once the sound of the men talking to one another came +to him distinctly. It was obvious that he must soon make his attempt to +break through the ring. Fortunately the night was foggy again, and while +he was deliberating anew, concentrating all the power of his mind upon +the attempt to find a plan, he heard a faint rustle in the thicket +directly in front of him, and he instantly threw his rifle forward, sure +that the warriors were upon him. Instead, a shambling figure poked its +head through the thicket and looked curiously at him out of little red +eyes.</p> + +<p>It was the black bear that he had ousted, and Henry thought he saw +sympathy as well as curiosity in the red eyes. The bear, far from +upbraiding him for driving it from its home, had pity, and no fear at +all. He could not see any sign of either alarm or hostility in the red +eyes. The gaze expressed kinship, and his own was reciprocal.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> +“I hope the warriors won’t get you, but you’re running a mighty big +risk,” was his thought. Then came a second thought quick upon the heels +of the first. How had the bear come through the ring of the warriors? +Had the Indians seen it they would certainly have shot at it, because +they loved bear meat. Not only had no shot been fired, but the bear was +deliberate and free from apprehension. Then like lightning came a third +thought. The bear had come in some providential way to save him. It had +been sent by the greater powers.</p> + +<p>There was something almost human in the gaze of the bear and Henry could +never persuade himself afterward that its look did not have +understanding. It began to withdraw slowly through the thicket, and, +rising up, taking his rifle, blanket and supplies, he followed. A +strange feeling seized him. He was transported out of himself. He +believed that the miraculous was going to happen. And it happened.</p> + +<p>The bear led ten or fifteen feet ahead, and then turned sharply to the +right, where apparently it would come up dead against the blank stone +wall of the hill. But it turned to look once at Henry and disappeared in +the wall. He stood in amazement, but followed nevertheless. Then he saw. +There was a narrow cleft in the stone, the entrance to which was +completely hidden by three or four bushes growing closely together. The +wariest eye would have passed over it a hundred times without seeing it, +but the bear had gone in without hesitation, and now Henry, parting the +bushes, went in, too.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> +He found a ravine not more than three feet wide that seemed to lead +completely through the hill. The foliage met above it, and it was dark +there, but he saw well enough to make his way. He could also trace the +dim figure of the bear shambling on ahead, and his heart made a violent +leap as he realized that in very truth and fact he was being led out of +the Indian ring. Chance or intent? What did it matter? Who was he to +question when favors were showered upon him? It was merely for him to +take the gifts the greater powers gave, and, with voiceless thanks, he +followed the lead of the animal which shambled steadily ahead.</p> + +<p>The narrow ravine, or rather crack in the stone, might have ended +against a wall, or it might have led up to the crest of the hill where +Indian warriors lay watching, but he knew that it would do neither. He +felt with all the certainty of actual knowledge that it would go on +until it came out on the far side of the circling hills, and beyond the +Indian ring.</p> + +<p>He walked a full mile, his dumb guide leading faithfully. Sometimes the +ravine widened a little, but always the foliage met overhead, and he was +never able to catch more than glimpses of the sky. At last the width +increased steadily, and then he came out into the forest with the hills +behind him. The form of the bear was disappearing among the trees, but +Henry sent after him his voiceless thanks. Again he felt that he could +not question whether it was chance or intent, but must accept with +gratitude the great favor that had been granted to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> him. Behind him, as +reminders, came from far across the hills the faint calls of wolf and +owl, the cries of the Indians to one another, as the chiefs directed the +closing in of the ring upon the fugitive who was no longer there, the +fugitive who had been guided in a miraculous manner to the only way of +escape.</p> + +<p>He sat down upon a fallen tree trunk, laughing silently at the chagrin +his pursuers would feel when they came upon the lair, the empty lair. +Braxton Wyatt would rage, Blackstaffe would rage, and while Red Eagle +and Yellow Panther might not rage openly, they would burn with internal +fire. Then his laughter gave way to far more solemn feelings. Who was he +to laugh at two great Indian chiefs who certainly would have taken or +slain him had it not been for the intervening miracle?</p> + +<p>Henry’s heart was filled with admiration and gratitude. He had been a +friend for a day or two to the beasts of the forest and one of them had +come to his rescue. The feeling of reversion to a primitive golden age +was still strong within him, and doubtless the bear, too, had really +felt the sense of kinship. He looked in the direction in which the +shambling animal had gone, but there was no sign of him. Perhaps he had +disappeared forever, because his mission was done.</p> + +<p>Again came the calls of animals to one another, the cries of the owl and +wolf, and then their own natural voices, in which Henry now, in fancy or +in fact, detected the note of chagrin. They had found the lair at last, +and they had found it empty! A long yell, fiercer than +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> any of the +others, confirmed him in the belief, and despite the solemnity of his +own feelings at such a time, when he had been saved in such a manner, he +was compelled to laugh silently, but with intense enjoyment.</p> + +<p>Then he addressed himself to his new problems. Because he had escaped +with his life, it did not mean that his troubles were ended. The +warriors would come quickly out of the maze and Red Eagle and Yellow +Panther, with the host at their command, would send innumerable scouts +and trailers in every direction to find his new traces. It would be with +them not only a question of removing their enemy, but a matter of pride +as well, and they were sure to make a supreme effort.</p> + +<p>It was his knowledge of the minds of the chiefs that had kept him from +turning back to the oasis and his comrades. To return would be merely to +draw a fresh attack upon them, and he resolved to continue his flight to +the northeast. It was characteristic of him that he should not be +headlong, exhausting himself, but he sat down calmly, ate a slice of the +deer meat, and waited until he should hear the Indian signals again. +They came presently from the segment of the circling hills nearest to +him, and he knew that the pursuit had been organized anew and +thoroughly. Then he rose and fled in the direction he had chosen.</p> + +<p>He did not stop until the next night, covering a distance of about +thirty miles, and although he heard nothing further then from the +warriors, he knew the pursuit was still on. But he was so far ahead that +he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> +believed he could take rest with safety, and, creeping into a +thicket, he made his bed once more among the leaves of last year. He +slept soundly, but awakening at midnight, he scouted a bit about his +retreat. Finding no evidence that the enemy was near, he slept again +until dawn. Then he renewed the flight, turning a little more toward the +north.</p> + +<p>He yet had enough of the deer meat to last, with economy, three or four +days, and he did not trouble himself for the present about the question +of a further food supply. Instead he began to rejoice in his own flight. +He was now fifty or sixty miles further north than the oasis, and as the +country was higher and some time had elapsed since his departure, autumn +was much more advanced. It was a season in which he was always uplifted. +It struck for him no note of decay and dissolution. The crispness and +freshness that came into the air always expanded his lungs and made his +muscles more elastic and powerful. He had the full delight of the eye in +the glorious colors that came over the mighty wilderness. He saw the +leaves a glossy brown, or glowing in reds or yellows. The sumac bushes +burned like fire. Everything was sharp, clear, intense and vital.</p> + +<p>There was never another forest like that of the Mississippi Valley, a +million square miles of unbroken woods, cut by a myriad of streams, +varying in size from the tiniest of brooks to the great Father of Waters +himself. Henry loved it and gloried in it, and he knew it well, too. It +now contained various kinds of ripening berries that +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> served as a sauce +for his deer meat, and occasionally he would crack some of the early +nuts that had ripened and fallen. The need for food would not be strong +enough for some days yet to make him fire upon any of his new comrades, +the wild animals.</p> + +<p>But it is true that Henry still remained a creature of that primitive +golden age. Never were his senses more acute. The lost faculties of man +when he lived wholly in the woodland came back to him. He detected the +presence of the hidden deer in the thickets, and he knew that the +buffaloes were on the little prairies long before he came to them. He +might have shot any number of the big beasts with ease, but he passed +them by as he continued his steady flight into the north.</p> + +<p>He had not seen any sign of his pursuers in two days, and now he stopped +for them to come up, meanwhile eating plentifully in a berry patch. The +berries were rich and large, and he took his time and ease, enjoying his +stay there all the more because of his new comrades. Two black bears +preyed upon the farther edge of the patch, and he laughed at them when +their noses were covered with crimson stains. They seemed to be +friendly, but he did not put the tie of friendship to too severe a test +by approaching closely. Instead, he watched them from a little distance, +when, after having eaten enormously, they played with each other like +two boys, pushing and pulling, their reddened noses giving them the look +of the comedians they were.</p> + +<p>A stag watched the sportive bears from a little +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>distance, standing body +deep among the bushes, and regarding them with gravity. It pleased Henry +to see a twinkle of amusement in the great eyes of the deer, which kept +his ground unafraid, despite the presence of his usual enemy, man.</p> + +<p>The bears, which were young, and hence festive, continued their sport, +encouraged, perhaps, by a gathering and appreciative audience. A wildcat +ran out on a long bough, looked at them and yowled twice. As they paid +no attention to him, he concluded that it was best to be in a good humor +after all, as obviously nobody meant him any harm. So he lay on the +bough and watched the game. His eyes showed green and yellow in the +sunlight, but it pleased Henry to think that they also held a look of +laughter.</p> + +<p>Three gray squirrels rattled the bark of an oak that overhung the berry +patch. Then came a fox squirrel, with his more glowing color and big +bushy tail, and all four looked at the bears. Sometimes they seemed +glued to the bark. Then they would scuttle a short distance, to become +glued again. Their beady eyes were twinkling. Henry could not see them, +but he knew it must be so.</p> + +<p>A slender nose and a pointed head pushed through the bushes, and then a +long, strong figure followed. A great gray wolf! A beast of prey, but no +thought of the hunt seemed to be in his mind now. He was about twenty +feet from the rolling bears, and he regarded Henry with a look that said +very plainly: “I enjoy the sport, but I would not do it myself.” Henry +gave back<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> +the look in kind, and the two, who would have been natural +enemies at any other time, stood at opposite sides of the berry patch, +looking with grave amusement at the sportive animals which still tumbled +about, crushing the ripe berries under them, until not only their noses +but almost their entire bodies were streaked with red stains.</p> + +<p>A tiny spot appeared in the blue sky far overhead, grew with astonishing +swiftness, as a great bald eagle, descending with the utmost velocity, +and then abruptly checking its flight, alighted on the bough of a tree +over Henry’s head, where it sat, its eyes upon the comedy passing in the +berry patch. At any other time the eagle would have regarded the youth +as his natural enemy, but now there was no hostility between them. They +were merely innocent spectators.</p> + +<p>A rabbit, disturbed in its cosy nest under the briars, hopped out, sat +on a little mound and looked on with interest, unafraid of the bears, +the wolf, the eagle or the human being. A red bird flew in a circle over +the berry patch and then alighted among the leaves of a tree, where it +burned in a splash of flame against the glossy brown. Another bird, in a +more sober garb, poured forth a joyous song.</p> + +<p>The wilderness was at peace. Moreover, it was witnessing a comedy, +presented by the true comedians of the forest, the young bears, and +Henry’s sense of kinship grew stronger. It gave him a feeling of great +warmth, too, to see that they were not afraid of him. In a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>measure and +for the time at least he was received into the forest family.</p> + +<p>A quarter of an hour passed, and the comedy was not yet finished, but +Henry heard a lone far cry in the south, and he knew it was the signal +of warrior to warrior. In a minute the answering signal was given, but +much nearer, and the two bears stopped in their play, standing up, their +stained noses in the air and their streaked bodies quivering with +apprehension. A third time came the call, and the figures of the bears +stiffened. Then they slid through the berry patch and disappeared in the +forest, going like shadows. The eagle unfolded his wings, shot upward +like a bolt and was lost in the vast blue vault. The wolf vanished so +silently that Henry found himself merely looking at the place where he +had been. The rabbit disappeared from the mound. The spot of flame on +the glossy brown that marked the presence of the tanager was gone, and +the sober brown bird ceased to sing. The forest idyll was over and Henry +was alone in the berry patch.</p> + +<p>He felt bitter anger against the approaching warriors. Before he had +regarded them merely as enemies whose interests put them in opposition +to him. In their place, doubtless, he would do as they were doing, but +now, seeking his death, they had broken the wilderness peace. A desire +for revenge, a wish to show them that pursuers as well as pursued could +be in danger, grew upon him, and, as he fled again, he used little +speed, allowing them to gain until he saw one of the brown figures among +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> +tree trunks. Then he fired, and, when the figure fell, he uttered a +shout of triumph in the Indian fashion. A yell of rage answered him, and +now, reloading as he ran, he fled at a great rate. Twice he heard the +distant cries, and then no more, but he knew that Shawnees and Miamis +still followed on. The death of the warrior would be an additional +incentive to the pursuit. He would seem to them to be taunting them, +and, in truth, he was.</p> + +<p>But he had been refreshed so much by his stay in the berry patch that +his speed now was amazing, wishing to leave them far behind as usual +when the time came for sleep. A river, narrow but deep, suddenly threw +itself across his path. It was an unwelcome obstruction, but, managing +to keep his arms and ammunition dry, he swam it. The water was cold, and +when he was on the other side he ran faster than ever in order to keep +the blood warm in his veins and dry his clothing.</p> + +<p>There was but little sunshine now, and a raw, damp wind came out of the +northwest. He looked at the skies anxiously, and they gave back no +assurance. He knew the region had been steadily rising, and he had his +apprehensions. In an hour they were justified. The raw, damp wind +brought with it something that touched his face like the brush of a +feather. It was the year’s first flake of snow, premature and tentative, +but it was followed soon by others, until they became a thin white veil, +driven by the wind. The brown leaves rustled and fell before them, and +the appearance of the forest, that +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> +had been glowing in color an hour or +two before, suddenly became wintry and chill. The advance of twilight +made the wilderness all the more somber, and Henry’s anxiety increased. +He must find shelter for the night somewhere, and he did not yet know +where.</p> + +<p>He came out upon the crest of a low ridge, and searched the forest with +his eyes, hopeful that he might find again a rocky hollow equipped with +dead leaves, or even a windrow matted with bushes and vines, but he saw +neither. He beheld instead, and to his great surprise, a smoke in the +north, a smoke that must be large or it would not be so plain in the +dusk. He studied it, and finally came to the conclusion that it marked +the presence of an Indian village. This region was not known to him, but +as obviously it was a splendid hunting ground it was not at all strange +that he should come upon such a town.</p> + +<p>It was Indian smoke, but it beckoned to him, because there was warmth +beneath it. It was not likely to be a large village, but the skin lodges +and the log cabins perhaps would give ample protection against snow and +cold. In every age, whether stone, cave or golden, man had to have +something over his head on winter nights, and Henry, acting upon his +usual belief that boldness was the best policy, went straight toward the +village. He had some sort of an idea that he might pilfer the +hospitality of his enemies. That would be a great joke upon them, and +the more he thought of it the better he liked it.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> +He used the last precaution as he approached. He was quite sure that the +village stood in the woods, and he did not really fear anything except +the stray curs usually found around Indian homes. But none barked as he +drew near and he began to believe that his luck would find the place +without them. Presently he saw the lights of two or three fires +glimmering through the bushes, and then he came to a heap of bones, +those of buffalo, wild turkey, deer, bear and every other kind of game, +like one of the kitchen middens of ancient man in Europe. He drew at +once the conclusion that the village, though small, was as nearly +permanent as an Indian village could be.</p> + +<p>He went closer. Nobody sat by the fire. Apparently there was no watch, +which was not strange, as here in the heart of their own country no +enemy was likely to come. He counted fourteen lodges, four small log +cabins and a larger one standing among the trees apart from the others. +Thin threads of smoke rose from the four cabins and several of the +tepees, but not from the larger cabin. It was certain now that there +were no dogs, as, scenting him, they would have given tongue earlier. +The fortune in which he trusted had not betrayed him.</p> + +<p>His eyes passed again over the lodges and the smaller cabins and rested +on the larger one, which was built of poles and had a wooden figure, +carved rudely, standing at every one of the four corners. He noted these +figures with intense satisfaction, and, having followed bold +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>tactics, +he became yet bolder, creeping through the forest toward the long cabin.</p> + +<p>The snow was still falling in fine, feathery flakes, not enough to make +a real snow, but enough to cause great discomfort, and he exercised all +his skill and caution.</p> + +<p>While the Indians slept, yet someone among them always slept lightly, +and he knew better than to bring such a swarm of hornets upon him. He +reached the long cabin and saw in it a door opening toward the eastern +forest and away from the village.</p> + +<p>The door was closed with a heavy curtain of buffalo robe, but lifting it +without hesitation he entered. Then he stood a little while near the +entrance until his eyes grew accustomed to the dusk. The room, which had +a floor of bark, was empty save for skins of buffalo or other animals +hanging from poles, and two curtained recesses, in which stood totem +figures like those at the corners of the house.</p> + +<p>Henry knew that it was a council house or house of worship. He had known +that as soon as he saw the figures outside. No one would enter it until +the chiefs came from a greater village to hold council or make worship. +Any possible trail that he might have left would soon be covered by the +falling snow, and, going within one of the curtained alcoves, he lifted +the wooden figure there a little to one side. Then he spread one of the +buffalo robes within the space and, folding his blanket about himself, +lay down upon it. Soon he was asleep, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> while nearly a hundred of his +enemies, men, women and children, also slept but fifty yards away.</p> + +<p>Henry did not awaken while the night lasted. He had reached the limit of +endurance, and every nerve and muscle in him cried aloud for rest. +Moreover, his freedom from apprehension conduced to quick and sound +slumber, and it was long after daylight when his eyes opened and he +stretched himself. He remembered at once where he was, and he felt a +great sense of comfort. It was very warm and pleasant on the buffalo +robe, with his blanket wrapped about his body, and sitting up he looked +out through a narrow crevice between the poles.</p> + +<p>He saw a cold morning, with a skim of snow on the ground, already +melting fast before the sun, and destined to be gone in a half hour, +fires that had been built anew until they burned brightly, and squaws +cooking before them, while warriors, with blankets drawn about their +shoulders, sat near and ate. Children ran about, also eating or doing +errands. It was a homely wilderness scene, and Henry knew at once that +these people had nothing to do with the great hunt for him that was +being conducted by Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, though they would seize +him quickly enough if they knew of his presence.</p> + +<p>They were neither Miamis nor Shawnees, nor any other tribe he knew. They +might be a detached fragment of some northwestern tribe with which he +had never come in contact, or they might be a tiny tribe in themselves. +In the vast American wilderness old tribes +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> were continually +perishing, and new tribes were continually being formed from the pieces +of the old. The people of this village seemed to Henry a fine Indian +race, much like the great warrior nation, the Wyandots. The men were +well built and powerful, and the women were taller than usual.</p> + +<p><a name="illus2" id="illus2"></a></p> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 366px;"> +<img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="366" height="550" alt="image" title="" /> +</div> +<p class="center"><strong>“Red Eagle rose to address his hosts”</strong></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>He saw that it was a village of plenty. It was usually a feast or a +famine with the Indians, but now it was unquestionably a period of +feast. The squaws were broiling buffalo, deer, wild turkey, smaller game +and fish over the coals. They were also cooking corn cakes, and Henry +looked at these hungrily. It had been many days since he had eaten +bread, and, craving it with a fierce craving, he resolved to pilfer some +of the cakes if a chance offered.</p> + +<p>The odors, so pleasant in his nostrils and yet so tantalizing, reminded +him that he had with him the haunch of venison, of which a large portion +was yet left. He ate, but it was cold. There was no water to drink with +it, and he was not satisfied. His resolve to become an uninvited guest +at their table, as well as under their roof, grew stronger.</p> + +<p>Yet he liked these Indians and he became convinced that they were in +truth a little tribe of their own or a fragment split off from a larger +tribe, buried here in the woods, to be the germ of bigger things. He was +seeing them at their best, leading, amid abundance, the life to which +they had been born and which they loved. All, men, women and children, +ate until they could eat no +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> +more. Then they idled about, the sun +driving away the last of the snow and warming earth and air again. In a +cleared space the half-grown boys began to play ball with the +earnestness and vigor the Indians always showed in the game. The men, +full and content, sat on their blankets and looked on. Thus the morning +passed.</p> + +<p>In the hours before noon Henry did not chafe. He rather enjoyed the +rest; but in the latter half of the day he grew impatient. He longed to +be up and away again, but there would be no chance to leave until night, +and he forced himself to lie still. He yet had no fear that any one +would come into the council room. Such chambers were little used, unless +the occasion was one of state.</p> + +<p>The afternoon was warm. The cold and light snow of the night before had +been premature, and the vanguard of autumn returned to its normal state. +While many leaves had fallen, more remained, and the colors were deeper +and more vivid than ever. The whole forest burned with red fire. Through +a narrow opening among the trees Henry saw a small field, full of +ripened maize, with yellow pumpkins between the stalks. The sight made +him hungrier than ever for bread.</p> + +<p>About the middle of the afternoon, the warriors who were lying on their +blankets rose suddenly and stood in an attitude of attention. They +seemed to be listening, rather than looking, and Henry strained his ears +also. He heard what appeared to be an echo, and then one of the warriors +in the village replied with a long, thrilling whoop that penetrated far +through the forest.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> +He divined at once that the pursuit was at hand, not because the +warriors had been led there by his trail, which in truth was invisible +now, but because some portion of the net they had spread out must in +time reach the village.</p> + +<p>The whole population gathered in the cleared space where the fires had +burned and looked toward the southern forest. Henry, from his crack +between the poles, saw ripples of interest running among them, the +warriors exchanging sober comment with one another, the women and +children not hesitating to talk and chatter as in a white village when +visitors of interest were approaching. It was on the whole a bright and +animated picture, and he did not feel any hostility to a soul in that +lost little town in the wilderness.</p> + +<p>Another cry came in five minutes from the forest, and now it was clear +and piercing. A warrior in the village replied, and then they all +waited, a vivid, eager crowd, to see who came. The whole space was +within visible range of Henry’s crevice, and he watched with equal +interest.</p> + +<p>A tall figure emerged from the forest, the figure of an elderly man, +powerful despite his years, and with a face of authority. It was Red +Eagle, head chief of the Shawnees, and behind him came the renegades, +Wyatt and Blackstaffe, and twenty warriors. Despite their haughty +bearing they showed signs of weariness.</p> + +<p>The chief of the village stepped forward and gravely saluted Red Eagle, +who replied with equal gravity. They +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> exchanged a few words, and with a +wave of the arms the chief made them welcome. The fires were built anew, +and, the guests sitting about them, smoked with their hosts a pipe of +peace which was passed from one to another. Then food was brought and +Red Eagle, his warriors and the renegades ate.</p> + +<p>Henry would have given much to hear what they said, but he knew they +would not speak of their errand for a while. Some time must be allowed +for courtesy and for talk that had nothing to do with their purpose. +Nevertheless he saw that Red Eagle and all his band were worn to the +bone, and he was glad. He had led them on such a chase as they had never +pursued before, and he would lead them yet farther. He could afford to +laugh.</p> + +<p>The guests ate hungrily and the women continued to serve food to them +until they were satisfied. Then all except the adult male population of +the village withdrew, and Red Eagle rose to address his hosts.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE GREATER POWERS</strong></p> + + +<p>When the Shawnee chief rose to talk he stood at one side of the open +space, scarcely twenty feet from the corner of the council house in +which Henry lay hidden, and as he said what he had to say in the usual +oratorical manner of the Indians upon such occasions, the youth easily +heard every word.</p> + +<p>Red Eagle spoke in Shawnee, which Henry surmised was a kindred language +to that of the village, and which it was obvious they easily understood. +He told them a startling tale. He said that far in the south five white +scouts and foresters, two of whom were only boys in years, although one +of the boys was the largest and strongest of the five, had kept the +Indians from destroying the white settlements in Kain-tuck-ee. By trick +and device, by wile and stratagem, they had turned back many an attack. +It was not their numbers, but the cunning they used and the evil spirits +they summoned to their aid that made them so powerful and dangerous. +Until the five were removed the Indians could not roam their ancient +hunting grounds in content.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> +So the Shawnees, the Miamis, the Wyandots, the Delawares and the kindred +tribes had organized to pursue the five to the death. They had struck +the trail of one, the youth who was the largest, the strongest and the +most formidable of them all, and they had never ceased to follow it. +Twice they had drawn around him a ring through which it seemed possible +for nothing human to break, but on each occasion he had called to the +evil spirits, his friends, and they had answered him with such effect +that he had vanished like a bird at night.</p> + +<p>Murmurs of wonder came from the listening crowd. Truly, the young white +warrior was of marvelous prowess, and it would not be well for one of +them alone to meet him, when he not only had his formidable weapons, but +could summon to his help spirits yet more dreadful. They cast +apprehensive glances at the deep woods into which he had fled.</p> + +<p>Red Eagle was an impressive orator, and the forest setting was +admirable. The great Shawnee chief stood full six feet in height, his +brow was broad and his eyes clear and sparkling. He made but few +gestures, and he spoke in a full voice that carried far. Before him were +the people of the village, and behind him was the great forest, blazing +in autumn red. The renegades, Blackstaffe and Wyatt, stood near, each +leaning against a tree trunk, following closely all that Red Eagle said. +They, too, wished the destruction of the great youth, but their enmity +to him was baser than that of the Indians, since it +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> was an innate +jealousy and hatred, and not a hostility based upon difference of race +and interest.</p> + +<p>When Henry looked at the renegades the desire to laugh was strong again. +What rage they would feel if they ever came to know that when Red Eagle +was making his address with his veteran warriors around him, the +fugitive, for whose capture or death a red army had striven in vain for +days, lay at his ease within fifty or sixty feet of them, a buffalo robe +of the Indians’ themselves, his bed, and one of their own houses his +shelter!</p> + +<p>Red Eagle continued, in his round, full voice, telling them he had +tracked the fugitive northward, his warriors picking up the trail again, +and that he must have passed near their village. He wished to know if +they had seen any trace of him, and he asked their help in the hunt. A +middle-aged man, evidently the head of the village, replied with equal +dignity, but in a dialect that Henry could not understand. Still, he +assumed that it was a full assent, as, a few minutes after he had +finished, ten warriors of the village, taking their weapons, went into +the forest, and Henry knew that they were looking for him or his trail. +But Red Eagle, his warriors and the renegades remained by the fire, +still resting, because they were weary, very weary, no fugitive before +ever having led them such a troublesome chase.</p> + +<p>Red Eagle, the Shawnee chief, was a statesman as well as a warrior. +While it was true that young Ware was helped by evil spirits, he felt +that the pursuit must be maintained nevertheless. Ware was the great +champion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> +of the white people, who far to the south were cutting down +the forest and building houses. He had acquired a wonderful name. His +own deeds were marvelous, but superstition had added to the terror that +he carried among the Indians. He must be removed. The necessity for it +grew greater and more pressing every day. All the Indian power must be +turned upon him, and when the task was achieved they could deal with his +four comrades. He had talked over the problem with Yellow Panther, first +chief of the Miamis, a man full of years, wise in council and great on +the war path, and he had agreed with him fully that the pursuit must be +maintained, even if it went to the Great Lakes, or those other great +lakes in the far misty Canadian region beyond.</p> + +<p>Now, Red Eagle, as he rested by the fire and received the hospitality of +the tiny tribe in the wilderness, was very thoughtful. Intellect as well +as prowess had made him a great chief; like the one whom he pursued, he +loved the forest, and when he looked upon it now, in all its glowing +colors of autumn, the glossy browns, the blazing reds and the soft +yellows, he was not willing for a single one of its trees to be cut +down. And while he meant to carry the pursuit to the very rim of the +world he knew, if need be, he did not withhold admiration and a certain +liking for the fugitive.</p> + +<p>Red Eagle glanced at the renegades, who had sat down now before the fire +and who were in a half doze. Although they were useful to the Indians, +who valued them for many reasons, he felt a strong aversion toward them +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> +at that moment. He knew that if Ware were taken they would clamor at +once for his life. None would be more eager for the torture than they, +but Red Eagle had another plan in his mind. The principle of adoption +was strong among the Indians. Captives were often received into the +tribes, and Ware, with death as the alternative, might become a splendid +young adopted son for him and, in time, the greatest chief of the +Shawnees. He would not come as a renegade, like Blackstaffe and Wyatt, +but as a valiant prisoner taken fairly in battle, to whom was left no +other choice.</p> + +<p>It was to the credit of Red Eagle’s heart and brain, as he sat deeply +pondering, that he evolved such a plan, but he made one mistake. High as +he estimated the mental and physical powers of the fugitive to be, he +did not estimate them high enough. Few would have had the strength of +will that Henry displayed then to lie quiet in the council house while +his enemies were all about him and the warriors were searching the +forest around for his trail. It was fortunate, in truth, that the snow +had come and passed, hiding any possible traces he might have left.</p> + +<p>His conviction that he was safe, for the present at least, remained. He +knew there was no occasion for the chiefs to enter the sacred building +in which he lay, and the others would not dare to do so. Nothing +troubled him at present but thirst. His throat and mouth were dry and +craved water, as one in the desert, but he knew that he must endure.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> +Late in the day, the warriors of the village who had gone out to look +for his trail began to return, and when they had made their reports, +Henry knew by the disappointment evident on the faces of Red Eagle and +the renegades, that they had found nothing. He saw the Shawnee chief +give orders to his own men, half of whom plunged into the forest to the +northward and disappeared. They reckoned that he had gone on, and, +spreading out in the usual fan fashion, would continue the pursuit. But +it seemed that Red Eagle, with the remainder of his immediate force and +the renegades, intended to pass the night in the village.</p> + +<p>A supper of great abundance and variety was served to the Shawnee chief +and his men, and, when he saw the pure fresh drinking water brought to +them, Henry raged inwardly. They had not taken him yet, but already he +was being put to the torture. It was bitter irony that he should suffer +so much for water when the forest contained countless streams and pools. +He shut his teeth tight together and waited for the coming of the night, +now not far away. The lack of water would drive him out of the council +house, and in the dark he must seize anything that looked like an +opportunity.</p> + +<p>He hoped for the clouds again and another veil of snow, however thin, +but his hopes were not fulfilled. When the slow dusk came, he lifted the +buffalo curtain and emerged from his corner, feeling an intense relief, +despite the shooting pain, because he could stand up again. Then he +stretched and rubbed himself until all +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> the soreness was gone from his +muscles, and, standing there, tried to think of a way to escape.</p> + +<p>His eyes, used to the dark of the room, fell upon a great headdress of +twisted buffalo horns, profusely decorated with feathers. A long coat of +buffalo skin adorned with feathers and porcupine quills in strange +designs lay beside it upon the poles. He had seen many such equipments. +It was a sort of regalia worn by Indian dancers, and now and then by +great chiefs upon solemn occasions.</p> + +<p>He looked at it, idly at first, and then with growing interest, as an +idea was born in his brain. The dress must be almost sacred in +character, or it would not be left here in the council house, and kind +fortune had certainly put it on the poles for his particular use. Once +more he was thoroughly convinced that he was watched over by the greater +powers, not because of any especial merit of his, but for reasons of +their own, and he clothed himself in the headdress and the strange, +variegated robe that fell to his ankles. Then even Shif’less Sol would +have had to take a third look to know him.</p> + +<p>Henry’s heart beat high and fast. He was thoroughly convinced that he +had found a way. He had now only to use that rarest and greatest of +qualities, patience, and, by a supreme exertion of the will, he managed +to wait until it was far into the night.</p> + +<p>Red Eagle had gone into one of the log cabins, and was probably asleep. +Henry, from the crack, was not able to see what had become of the +renegades, but he surmised that they, too, were sleeping somewhere. Two +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> +of the fires still burned in the open, but nobody watched beside them, +and he judged that the time was ripe for the trial.</p> + +<p>He gave a final touch to the headdress and the buffalo robe. He would +have been glad to have seen himself in a glass, but he was sure, +nevertheless, that he looked his part of a great medicine man, a +reincarnation of some ancient chief who had come back to spend a while +within the sacred precincts of the council house. His rifle he managed +to hide beneath the great painted coat, at the same time holding it +convenient for his use, and, lifting the curtain of buffalo robe, he +stepped out.</p> + +<p>It was neither a dark nor a fair night, but much fleecy vapor was +floating between earth and sky, imparting to the village and the forest +a misty, unreal effect which was suited admirably to Henry’s purpose, +enlarging his figure and giving to it a fantastic and weird effect. +Knowing it, and having the utmost confidence in himself, he chose a path +directly through the center of the open, walking slowly, but taking +strides of great length and stepping from tiptoe to tiptoe.</p> + +<p>Two Indian sentinels, a Shawnee and a native of the village, were dozing +by the wall of one of the log cabins, when they heard the step in the +open. They lifted heavy eyelids and beheld a gigantic figure, attired in +a garb that ordinary mortals do not wear, stalking toward the forest, +caring nothing for the sentinels, the village or anything else. They +were in the midway region between sleeping and waking, when images are +printed upon the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> +brain in confused or exaggerated shapes, and the +mysterious visitor, who was even then taking his departure, seemed to +them at least fifteen feet high, while, from under the headdress of +twisted buffalo horns, two great eyes, hot and blazing like coals, +stared at them. This terrifying figure, as they gazed upon it, raised a +huge hand full of menace and shook it at them. They gave a yell of +terror and darted into the forest.</p> + +<p>Red Eagle, sleeping the sleep of the just and tired, heard the shout of +alarm, and it impinged so heavily upon his unconscious brain that he was +shocked at once into an awakening. He leaped to his feet and ran out of +the cabin, just in time to meet the head chief of the village coming out +of another one. The two stared at each other, and then they saw the +great figure, in its mystic apparel, just where forest and open met. +Each uttered a gasp, and, before they could gasp a second time, the +apparition was gone among the trees, vanishing from their stupefied gaze +like a wisp of smoke before the wind. Then Red Eagle and his host, great +and wise chiefs though they were, looked at each other again and +trembled.</p> + +<p>Henry meanwhile was racing through the forest and toward the north, +always toward the north, and as he ran he shook with laughter. He had +seen the look of dismay on the faces of the Indians and he rejoiced. He +was sorry that he had not seen Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe too. Their +minds were less subject to superstition than those of the red men, but +no doubt in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> +first minute or two they were frightened also if they +saw him.</p> + +<p>Yet he believed that the renegades would arouse the Indians and perhaps +would suspect that the terrific stranger, who had come and departed so +mysteriously, was none other than the fugitive himself. He did not care +if they did; in truth, he rather hoped they would. He could imagine +their mortification and disappointment, and since they had gone to dwell +with strangers and fight their own people, it was only a fraction of +what they deserved.</p> + +<p>The great headdress of twisted buffalo horns was heavy and the big +painted buffalo coat flapped around him, but he would not discard them +yet. Stray warriors might be in the forest near the village, and, if so, +he wished to reserve for them his awful and threatening appearance. But +he could not stand them more than a mile. Then he threw the headdress +into a creek, hoping that it would float away with the current, but, +thinking he would have further use for it, he kept the painted coat. +Then he crossed the creek and resumed his northward flight at great +speed.</p> + +<p>He did not stop until dawn, when he felt that he was safe, for a day at +least, from pursuit. He had brought with him what was left of the deer +meat, and, sitting down by the bank of a small brook, he ate, drinking +afterward of the clear stream and giving thanks. He had been saved again +in a miraculous manner. When skill and strength themselves would have +been of no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> +avail, fortune had put the council house and the ceremonial +robes in his way. He could not doubt that the greater powers were +working in his behalf, and he felt all the elation that comes from the +assurance of continued victory.</p> + +<p>But it was a bleak dawn. A cold sun was rising in a cold, blue sky. +There was no snow now, but the dry grass was white with frost, and +whenever the wind stirred a little, the dead leaves fell with a dry +rustle. He retreated deeper into the thicket, and he was glad that he +had kept the great painted coat, as he wrapped himself in it from head +to foot and lay down between two fallen logs, with the dense bushes over +his head.</p> + +<p>He must find another interval of rest and sleep, and feeling that his +best chance lay here, he drew the coat very close. It kept him +thoroughly warm, and, as soon as his nerves settled into their normal +condition, he slept.</p> + +<p>He awoke before noon, and the morning was still frosty and cold. Yet the +wilderness was more beautiful than ever. The frost had merely deepened +its colors. While many dead leaves had fallen, myriads remained, and +they had taken on more intense and glowing tints. The air had all the +purity and tonic of an American autumn. The light winds were the breath +of life itself.</p> + +<p>He ate the last of the deer, and then he found bunches of wild grapes, +small and bitter sweet, but refreshing. Later in the day he must secure +game, though he still felt averse to shooting anything, since the +creatures of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> +the forest had saved him more than once. But in the end it +would come to it.</p> + +<p>It was a rolling country, and, walking to the crest of the highest +ridge, he examined it in all directions. He saw only the great forest in +its reds and yellows and browns, and he was alone in it, its uncrowned +king, if he chose to call himself so.</p> + +<p>Although the country was new to him, Henry believed that he was about +two hundred and fifty miles north of the Ohio and in the region +inhabited by the warlike northwestern tribes. Several of their great +villages must lie not very far to the east of him, and he smiled at the +thought that he was leading the pursuit back to the homes of the +pursuers. He wondered what his comrades were doing, but he believed that +they would remain in the swamp, or near it, until he came back.</p> + +<p>Not knowing what else to do, he moved northward again, and presently +heard a low, monotonous sound, which after a little listening he decided +to be Indian squaws chanting. Further listening convinced him that there +were only two voices, and he approached cautiously among the trees.</p> + +<p>Two Indian women, one quite young and the other quite old, were cooking +by the side of a small brook, in which they had evidently been washing +deerskin clothing earlier in the day, as it now lay drying on the bank. +Probably they were the wife and mother of some warrior preparing for his +return from the hunt. Henry took little interest in the deerskins they +had washed, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> +his attention was concentrated quickly upon their +cooking.</p> + +<p>They were broiling a fat, juicy wild turkey. He had an especially tender +tooth for wild turkey, particularly when it was young and fat. It, more +than anything else, was his staff of life, and now he set covetous eyes +upon the one that was broiling over the coals. He did not like to rob +women, but it must be done, and he bethought himself of his painted +coat. Pulling it high over his head, concealing his rifle under it and +uttering a tremendous woof, he stalked into the open in which the fire +was burning.</p> + +<p>The two Indian women, when they beheld the apparition, uttered +simultaneous screams and fled into the forest, while the hungry young +robber, lifting their turkey from the fire, where it was already well +broiled, disappeared among the trees in the opposite direction, happy to +have secured his rations through the aid of fright only and without +violence. He knew, however, that he could not afford to satisfy his +hunger just then. Warriors, and perhaps a village, could not be far +away, and the men, divining that the fright of the women was caused by a +human being, would soon come in pursuit. So he went at least two or +three miles before he sat down and ate a substantial dinner, reserving +the remainder for future use. Truly the wild turkey was his best friend.</p> + +<p>That night he lay again in the forest, and he was devoutly glad that he +had saved the painted robe. The climate of the great valley is fickle, +and it rapidly turned colder again. Raw winds whistled through the +woods,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> +and he had difficulty in finding a sheltered place where, even +with the aid of the robe, he could keep warm. He selected at last a tiny +glen, well grown with tall bushes on every side, heaped up parallel rows +of dead leaves, and then, lying down between them, wrapped in the robe, +fell asleep.</p> + +<p>When he awoke his face felt cold, and opening his eyes, he found that it +had good reason to be so. It was covered with snow, and upon the robe +itself the snow lay deep. The whole forest was white, and, as he stood +up, he heard branches cracking beneath the weight that had gathered on +them in the night. It had come down in thick and great flakes, but so +softly that it had failed to awaken him.</p> + +<p>Henry, despite his courage and strength, was alarmed. It is one thing +even for the best trained to live in the forest in summer, but quite +another in winter. Nor was the aspect of the sky encouraging. It was +somber with clouds, and, even as he looked at it, the snow began to fall +again. It was not an ordinary snow, but the clouds just ripped their +bottoms out and let their entire burden fall at once. A huge white +cataract seemed to fill the whole air, and Henry’s alarm deepened into +dismay. The snow would soon be six inches deep, then a foot, and what +was he to do?</p> + +<p>He was thankful once more for the painted robe, and also for the wild +turkey that he had pilfered, and knowing that he must keep warm, he +started on a dreary walk toward the north. The snow was pouring so hard +that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> +he could scarcely see, but he heard a sound to his right, and +presently he was able to discern an immense stag floundering in some +undergrowth in which its hoofs seemed to be caught.</p> + +<p>Henry could easily have shot the deer and it would have furnished an +unlimited supply of food, at a time when he might be snowed up for days. +He always believed afterward, too, that the deer expected to be killed, +as it ceased its struggles and looked at him with great, pathetic eyes. +It was a magnificent stag, the largest he had ever seen, but he had no +heart to shoot. His own eyes met the appealing gaze from those of the +king of the woods and he felt sorry. Nothing could have induced him to +shoot. He sincerely hoped that the stag would pull free, and as the +thought came to him the wish was fulfilled.</p> + +<p>The left forefoot, which was entangled, suddenly came loose and unhurt. +Never did Henry see a transformation more rapid and complete. The stag, +before pathetic and depressed, a beaten beast, expanded in the twinkling +of an eye into a mighty monarch of the forest. He stood erect, threw +back his great head in a gesture of triumph, looked once more at the +human being whom nature had taught him instinctively to dread, but who +had not harmed him when he was at his mercy, then stalked away, until he +was lost behind the white veil of the snowy fall.</p> + +<p>Henry felt gladness. He was glad that he had not shot, and he was glad +that the stag had released his foot, or otherwise he would have perished +under the teeth of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> +wolves. Then he addressed himself to his own peril, +which was great and increasing. He hunted the deepest portions of the +woods, but the snow sought him there. He stood under the trees of the +thickest boughs, but the white fall gradually poured through, heaping +upon his head, his shoulders and the folds of his robe. He would brush +it off and move on to another place, merely to find it gathering again, +and, by and by, his great muscles began to feel weariness. He plodded +for hours in the deepening snow, seeking a refuge from this persistent +and deadly fall, but finding none. A sort of despair, almost unknown to +him, oppressed him for a little while. He had fought off innumerable +attacks of warlike and powerful savages, he had triumphed over hardships +and dangers the very name of which would make the ordinary man shudder, +and here he was about to be conquered by a mere shift of the wind that +brought snow.</p> + +<p>He could have shouted aloud in anger, but instead he summoned all his +courage and strength anew and continued his hunt for a refuge.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE STAG’S COMING</strong></p> + + +<p>The snow, famous in the annals of the tribes as one of the greatest that +ever fell so early in the autumn, continued to pour down. Where Henry +had sunk to his ankles, he now sank almost to his knees, and the +wilderness stretched away, without offering the shelter of any covert or +rocky hollow. His exertions made him very warm, but he was too wise to +take off the painted coat, lest he cool too fast. To fall ill in the +snowy forest, hunted by savages, was a thought to make the boldest +shudder, and he took no chances.</p> + +<p>He fought the storm for hours. Rightly it could be called no storm, as +it was merely the placid fall of snow in huge quantities, but in the +long run it contained more elements of danger than a hurricane. Night +came and he was still struggling among the drifts, not walking now with +firm, straight steps, but staggering. Nearly all of his tremendous +strength was gone, exhausted, fighting against the impassive snowy +depths that always held him back. Once or twice he fell, but his will +brought him to his feet again, and he went on, his mind now +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> directing +wholly the almost inert mass that was his body.</p> + +<p>Twilight came, adding a new gloom to the somber heavens. All the animals +themselves seemed to have gone, and he strove alone for life amid the +vast desolation. Then he recalled his courage once more. On this great +expedition, when he was offering himself as a sacrifice for his people, +the miracles were always happening. At the last moment, when it did not +seem possible for him to be saved, he had always been saved, and surely +the miracle would occur once more!</p> + +<p>He came to a huge tree, blown down by the wind, but yet projecting above +the snow, and sitting down on the trunk he leaned against an upthrust +root. He closed his eyes, for a moment or two, and the desire to keep +them shut, and sink into happy forgetfulness, was almost more than he +could resist. He made a gigantic effort and pulled himself back to full +consciousness, knowing that the easiest way, which in this case was the +way of yielding, would be the fatal way. Drawing up the last ounces of +his strength he staggered on, remembering to keep his rifle protected by +the painted coat, and clinging also to the turkey.</p> + +<p>He looked up at the heavens, but they gave no promise. They were without +a break in the massed clouds, and the snow poured down in an unceasing +white fall. The range of vision was so short that he could not tell the +character of country into which he was coming, and, presently, he struck +marshy ground, into which his moccasined feet sank deep, coming forth +wet and cold. It was a new +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> +danger, and he stamped his feet hard and +walked faster in an endeavor to keep the circulation going and to keep +them from freezing. It was a peril that he had not foreseen, and it +would, in truth, be the very irony of fate if, after so many miracles +had intervened to save him from pressing dangers, he should perish in a +premature snow storm.</p> + +<p>Usually, one could find shelter of a sort in the wilderness. The forest +of the great valley had become in the course of ages so dense with +thickets and matted tangles of fallen trees that one did not have to go +far before coming to a lair into which he could creep. But now +everything of the kind evaded Henry. His eyes, almost blinded by the +snow, saw only the straight trunks of trees, and open ground that +offered no protection at all. Moreover, the chill from his wet feet, in +spite of all his efforts, was extending and he shivered.</p> + +<p>But he would not despair. He might have had such moments, but they were +moments only, and he fought on, as those, whose souls are made of +courage, fight. Yet the wilderness became gloomier, more desolate and +more menacing than ever. The fall of snow was less heavy, but a bitter +wind rose and it came with an alternate shriek and moan. The air grew +colder and the chill of the wind struck into Henry’s bones. Nevertheless +he struggled on in the darkening night, going he knew not where, nor to +what.</p> + +<p>Courage and will can triumph over most things, but not over all things. +There comes a time when hour, place +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> and circumstances seem to combine +against the individual, and such an hour had come for Henry. He searched +everywhere for some place in which he could lie until the storm had +passed, but it was always nothing, nothing, just the open forest, and +the driving wind, and the creeping chill which was steadily going into +all his bones.</p> + +<p>At last, scarcely able to raise a foot, he sank down on a fallen log and +stared into the gloomy woods which gave back not a single ray of hope. +Again he felt the dreamy desire to sink into rest and complete oblivion, +and again he fought it off, knowing that it was the way of death. Then +he looked up at the somber skies, and prayed for one more miracle.</p> + +<p>Henry, despite his wild, rough life, had much reverence in his nature. +The wilderness, too, with its varied manifestations, encouraged the +belief in a supreme power, just as it had given birth among the Indians +to a natural religion closely akin to the revealed religion of the white +man. Now, he was hopeful that in the extreme moment help would be sent +to him, and that the last of the miracles had not yet been performed. +Closing his eyes he said his prayer over and over again to himself, and +then opening them he stared as before at the desolate forest, empty of +everything living save his own presence.</p> + +<p>But was it empty? Straight ahead of him he seemed to see an outline +through the falling snow, like a dim and dusky figure behind a veil. He +rose, new strength flowing into his veins, and took a step or two +forward, fearful that he had been deceived by one of the fancies or +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> +visions, supposed to float before the eyes of the dying. Then he saw. +The dim outlines on the other side of the snowy veil grew clearer and he +traced the figure of a stag, larger than any other stag that had ever +trod the earth, gigantic and majestic.</p> + +<p>The stag, too, was staring at him, and he knew it to be the same that he +had seen earlier in the day, though it had grown wonderfully in size +since then. It showed not the slightest trace of fear, but, instead, the +great luminous eyes seemed to him to express pity.</p> + +<p>A thrill of superstitious awe ran through him. But it was awe, not fear. +The stag, gigantic and almost a phantom, did not threaten. It pitied, +and as Henry gazed at it with the fascinated eyes of one in a dream or +in an illusion so deep that it was a twin brother to reality, the deer +turned and walked slowly among the trees. Twenty paces, and, stopping an +instant, it looked back. The human figure was following and the deer +walked on, its stride measured and magnificent.</p> + +<p>Henry did not doubt that his prayers had been answered, and that another +miracle had been ordered for his salvation. He became transformed as if +by magic. His head, which had been so heavy that it sagged upon his +shoulders, grew singularly light. The blood, stagnant before, leaped in +his veins like quicksilver, and his steps were straight and firm. The +size of the deer did not decrease for him. It loomed immense and +powerful through the driving snow, and, as it led steadily on, never +looking back now, he followed with equal steadiness.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> +The stag turned once, going sharply to the right, and, in a few more +minutes, the ground grew quite rough. Then he saw through the veil of +the snow high hills rising on either side, but the stag led into a deep +and narrow valley between them. As they advanced, it narrowed yet +further, and the trees and bushes on the crests above them were so dense +that the snow was not deep there, and the bitter wind was cut off +entirely. Either hope and confidence or some measure of returning warmth +drove the chill from Henry’s bones, as he forgot the wet and cold and +pressed forward eagerly when the stag increased his pace.</p> + +<p>Henry’s mental state became one of exaltation. He did not know to what +he was going, but he knew that life lay at the end of the stag’s trail, +and he was willing to follow as long as need be. Nor did he ever know +how long he followed, but he did notice that the cleft was growing +deeper and narrower. After an unknown time he emerged into a tiny valley +that was more like a well, it was set so deep in the hills and its +slopes were so steep, the cliffs in truth overhanging on two sides.</p> + +<p>He uttered a cry of joy. This was to be his refuge, and here he would be +saved. Stretches of ground under the hanging cliffs were bare of snow, +and heaped high with dead leaves. Dead wood lay all about. The bitter +wind, with its alternate shriek and whistle, swept overhead, but it did +not touch the floor of the well. The air was still and it did not bite.</p> + +<p>The stag turned and looked back for the second and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> last time, and +Henry, either in reality or in an illusion so deep that it was as vivid +as reality, saw an expression of kinship in the great luminous eyes. +Once more, for him at least, the old golden age when men and animals +were friends had come back to endure an hour or two. Then, lifting its +head very high and seeming taller and more majestic than ever, it passed +out of the valley at a narrow opening on the other side.</p> + +<p>Henry, shaking himself violently to bring back his wandering faculties, +concentrated them upon his present needs, which were still urgent. +Crouching in the best shelter that the hanging cliff furnished, he +rapidly whittled shavings from the dead wood, until he had formed a heap +close to the stony wall. Then, with the flint and steel that every +hunter carried and laboring desperately, he managed to extract from the +flint enough sparks to set fire to the shavings, hanging over the tiny +blaze and shielding it with his body lest it go out and leave him alone +in the cold and the dark.</p> + +<p>The flame persisted and grew, reached out, and bit into more shavings, +and then into larger pieces of dead wood that Henry presented to its +teeth. Dead leaves helped it along, and he fed to it larger and larger +sticks, until he had a splendid leaping fire, the very finest fire that +was ever built in this world, a fire that sent up many high flames, red +in the center and yellow at the edges, a fire that made great, glowing +coals in beds, capable of keeping their heat all night.</p> + +<p>Then Henry knew that in very truth and fact he was +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> saved. Let the wind +whistle and shriek above his head! He cared nothing for it. He took off +his wet leggings and moccasins, and dried them and his feet and legs +before the fire. The spirit of a youth returned to him. He tried to see +how near he could hold his flesh to those wonderful coals and flames +without burning it, and with the fire, which is a twin brother to life, +he felt life itself flowing anew into his body.</p> + +<p>His vitality was so great that his strength seemed to return all at +once, and he built another fire as fine as the first, but a little +distance from it. Then he lay between the two, and was warmed on both +sides. Exposed to the double heat also, his moccasins and leggings soon +dried and he put them on again. His feeling was now one of extraordinary +comfort, and warming the turkey on the coals, he ate an abundant supper, +while he listened to the wind overhead and saw snow drop in the valley, +but not on him, where he lay well within the lee of the stone wall.</p> + +<p>After resting awhile between the fires he began to gather wood, the +whole valley being littered with it. He did not know how long the storm +would hold him there, and he intended to have sufficient heat. He also +heaped up the wood into a species of rude wall, until no drop of snow +could blow into his cleft under the cliff, and then contemplated his +work with satisfaction. He could stay here as long as the storm lasted, +even for days, nor did he forget to give thanks once more for the +wonderful manner in which the stag had saved him. It was first the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> +buffaloes, then the bear and now the deer. What would it be next?</p> + +<p>Henry let the two fires sink to glowing heaps of coals, and then, +warming thoroughly before them the great painted buffalo coat, he +retreated to the alcove behind his wooden wall and made his bed on the +leaves. He felt for all the world like a bear gone into its snug den for +the long winter sleep, and, as he drew the big coat about his body, he +looked lazily at the fires, which were so placed that the heat from them +warmed his corner despite the wooden barrier.</p> + +<p>Then the usual relaxation, after a tremendous mental and physical +struggle came over him, and he began to feel the extraordinary luxury of +lying dry, warm, well fed and in safety. It was all the primitive man +desired, the best he ever received, and Henry, who had been put in their +position, rejoiced as one of those far, faraway men might have rejoiced, +when he, too, attained all his wishes.</p> + +<p>The feeling of luxurious ease kept him in a dreamy state a long time. +Although he felt strong and active again, able to cope with any crisis, +he had really been very near the end for the time being to the +extraordinary powers with which nature had endowed him. Now, as his +great vitality flowed back and he knew that he was safe, it was just a +pleasure to lie still, to feel the warmth, and to see dreamily the glow +of the fires, in truth, to feel as his ancestors had felt in like +comfort forty thousand years ago.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> +Meanwhile the air turned a little warmer, just enough to admit a return +of the heavy snowfall and the big flakes began to pour down again. Some +of them, blown by the wind, fell on the sheltered fires, and hissed as +they melted. But Henry was not troubled. He knew they could not reach +him.</p> + +<p>At the same time, but many miles to the south, a great force of Indian +warriors, led by the two wise and valiant chiefs, Red Eagle, the +Shawnee, and Yellow Panther, the Miami, was going into camp. Yellow +Panther had come up with a force also and they had struck again the +trail of the fugitive, but the coming of the storm had hidden it, of +course, and as the snow deepened they were compelled to abandon, until +the next day at least, all thought of catching Henry Ware, taking +instead measures for their own preservation. Among them were men who +knew the country, and they soon found a deep valley, in which they built +their fires and ate their venison.</p> + +<p>Red Eagle and Yellow Panther sat with the renegades, Blackstaffe and +Wyatt, by one of the fires, and talked earnestly of the pursuit. The +chiefs did not like the white men who had gone with strangers to fight +against their own, but they respected their knowledge and tenacity. The +chase had been long and arduous, it had drawn off much strength from the +tribes, but they were in unanimous agreement that it should be +continued, no matter how long, until their object was achieved. The +great snow itself, deep and premature though it was, should not turn +them back.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> +Henry could not see this council through the miles of hills and driving +snow, but had his thoughts been turned in that direction he would have +made to himself a picture just like it, nor would he ever have doubted +for an instant that the chiefs and the renegades would pursue him as +long as pursuit was possible.</p> + +<p>It was well into the night, when his eyes closed and the sleep that took +hold of him was far deeper than usual, carrying him into an oblivion +that lasted until far after the sun had risen over a world, still white +and misty with the falling snow.</p> + +<p>He was surprised to see that the storm had not yet stopped, but he was +not alarmed. The two fires were still smouldering, and the dead wood +that he had heaped up was sufficient to last many days. It was true that +he had only the wild turkey for food, but he was sure, in time, to +discover other resources. He had seen the proof over and over again, +that, for the time at least, he was a favorite of the greater powers. He +was too modest to think it due to any particular merit of his own, but +it seemed to him that he had been chosen as an instrument, and, for that +reason, he was being preserved through every hardship and danger.</p> + +<p>Secure in his belief, which was more than a belief, a conviction rather, +he began to make a home for himself in his tiny valley, which was not +more than fifty feet across, and above which the hills, steep like the +side of a house, rose three or four hundred feet. His first precaution +was to build the fires anew, not with a high flame, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> but with a slow +steady burning that would make great beds of coals, glowing with heat. +Then he examined the pass by which he had come, to find it choked with +seven or eight feet of snow, and he looked next at the one by which the +deer had gone, to discover that it was much like the first, leading a +distance that was yet indefinite to him, as he did not care to follow it +through the deep snow to its end.</p> + +<p>Shaking the snow from the painted robe he came back to the covert and +waited with as much patience as he could summon. Now he missed greatly +his four comrades, and their talk. With them the time would have passed +easily, but since they were not there he must do the best he could +without them. The problem of food which he had resolutely pushed away, +forced itself back again. A big, powerful body such as his was like an +active engine. It required much fuel. There would be no food but animal +food, and he was in no mood for killing an animal now. But he could not +hide from himself the fact that it must be done, sooner or later.</p> + +<p>On the second day he went through the pass by which the deer had gone, +beating down the snow under his feet, until it was hard enough to +sustain him, and, after about two miles of such difficult traveling, +came upon fairly level ground. Here, hunting about, he surprised several +rabbits in their deep nests, and killed them with blows of his rifle +muzzle.</p> + +<p>The hunt took nearly all day, and, when he returned to the cove with his +game, night was coming. He was +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> +surprised to find how welcome the place +was to him and how much it looked like a home. There was his sheltered +alcove, with the wall of dead wood in front of it, and there were two +heaps of coals sending their friendly glow to him through the cold dusk.</p> + +<p>It <em>was</em> a home, and it was more. It was a refuge and a fortress. He had +been guided to it by the greater powers, and he should value it for all +it had afforded him, warmth, shelter and protection from his foes. He +was not one to be lacking in gratitude or appreciation, and he sent +admiring glances about his well, for it was more like a well than a +valley. Lonely it might be, but bodily comforts it offered in abundance +to such as Henry.</p> + +<p>He cleaned the rabbits and hung them up in the alcove, knowing that +their bodies would freeze hard in the night, and thus would be +preserved, giving him with the wild turkey a supply of food sufficient +for two or three days.</p> + +<p>He was awakened the second night by cries, faint but very fierce, and he +knew they were made by wolves howling. The ferocity, however, was not +for him, as during that singular period his feeling of kinship for the +animals extended even to the wolf. He knew that they howled because of +hunger. The deep snow was hard on the wolves, making it difficult to +find or pursue their prey, and they sent forth the angry lament because +they were famished.</p> + +<p>Henry merely drew the painted robe more closely about his body, looked +contentedly at the glow from the two fine beds of coals, closed his eyes +once more and went to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> +sleep. He did not look for wolves in his well, +although he heard them howling again the next night, the note plaintive +and fierce alike with the call of intense hunger. The fourth day, he +went out through the pass and killed more rabbits, adding them to his +store. He saw a deer floundering in the deep snow, but he would not +shoot it. The time might come when he would slay a deer, but he could +not do it that week.</p> + +<p>Now he began to study the skies. He knew that the premature snow, deep +as it was, could not last long, and, likely enough, it would be followed +by heavy rain. Then the snow would certainly pour in a deluge down the +hillsides, and the water might rage in a torrent in the ravine. His well +would be flooded and he would have to take to flight, but it would be no +harder on pursued than on pursuers.</p> + +<p>Two more days passed and the warm weather did not come. The snow ceased +to fall, but it lay gleaming and deep on the ground, and the sound of +boughs, cracking beneath its weight, was almost incessant. Indifferent +to the deep trail he left, he climbed again to the heights and ranged +over a considerable area. A second time, a floundering deer presented +itself to his rifle, and a second time he refused to fire. The deer +seemed to expect no danger, as it gazed at him with fearless eyes, and, +waving to it a friendly farewell, he passed on among the trees, every +one of which stood up an individual cone of white.</p> + +<p>Then he heard the howl of wolves and traveling on to a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> valley beyond he +saw a pack running far ahead. Twenty they were, at least, and whether or +not they chased a deer he could not tell, but the fierce note of hunger +was in their voices, and whatever it was they pursued they followed it +fast.</p> + +<p>Then he turned back toward his home, weary with walking through snow so +deep, too deep yet for his further flight northward, and the fires in +the covert seemed fairly to shine with welcome for him. That night he +broiled and ate an entire rabbit for supper, but felt that he must have +a more varied diet soon, if he was to preserve his strength. He looked +again for the clouds which were to bring the great rain, destroyer of +great snows, but the skies were clear, frosty and starry, and his eager +eyes did not find a single blur.</p> + +<p>It was evident that he must use all his patience and keep on waiting. So +he set himself to the task of putting his body in the best possible +trim, until such time as he would have to subject it to severe tests. He +exercised himself daily and he always saw that his bed under the ledge +was dry and warm. He never permitted the fires to go out, and gradually, +as the snow about them melted from the heat, the ground there became +hard and dry.</p> + +<p>He was still able to procure food without firing a shot, finding plenty +of rabbits in the deep snow on the hills, but he grew intensely weary of +such a diet, and he felt that if he had to linger much longer he would +kill a deer, although he had been saved by one. Every hour he scanned +the heavens looking for the clouds which he +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> knew would come in time, +since the cold could not endure at such an early period in the autumn.</p> + +<p>He had been in his retreat a week when he felt a light and soft touch on +his face, the breath of the west wind. It had almost a summer warmth, +and, then he knew that one of the great changes in temperature, to which +the valley is subject, was coming. Throughout the afternoon the wind +blew, and water began to trickle in the ravine. The sound of soft snow +sliding down the hill was almost constant in his ears. Toward dusk, the +clouds that he had expected came floating up from the horizon’s rim, but +he did not believe rain would fall before the next day.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, he took precautions, building a rough floor of dead wood +in the alcove, and arranging to protect himself from the downpour which +he considered inevitable. He also put his stores in the place that would +remain safest and dryest, and lying down, high upon the dead wood, he +fell asleep. He was awakened in the night by a rushing sound. The great +rain that was to destroy the great snow had come, several hours earlier +than he had expected it, and it was a deluge.</p> + +<p>The trickle in the ravine became a torrent, and he heard it roaring. The +floor of his little valley was soon covered with six inches of water and +he was devoutly glad that he had built his platform of dead wood, upon +which he could remain untouched by the flood, at least for the present. +That it would suffice permanently he was not sure, as the rain was +coming down at a prodigious +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> +rate, and there was no sign that it would +decrease in violence.</p> + +<p>He did not sleep any more that night, but sat up, watching and +listening. It was pitchy dark, but he heard the roar of distant and new +streams, and the sliding avalanches of sodden snow. He felt an awe of +the elements, but he was not lonely now, nor was he afraid. That which +he wished was coming, though with more violence and suddenness than he +liked, but one must take the gifts of the gods, as they gave them, and +not complain.</p> + +<p>Dawn arrived, thick with vapors and mists, and dark with the pouring +rain. From his place under the cliff he could not see far, but he knew +that the snow was dissolving in floods. The six inches of water in his +valley grew to a foot, and he began to be apprehensive lest the whole +place be deluged to such an extent that he be driven out, a fear that +was soon confirmed, as he saw two or three hours after dawn that he must +go.</p> + +<p>It would be impossible to keep the lower half of his body dry, but he +was thankful once more for the great painted coat, under which he was +able to secure his rifle and powder against rain. He also fastened in +his belt two of the rabbits that he had cooked, and then with the rest +of his baggage in a pack, he made his start.</p> + +<p>He was forced to wade in chilly water almost to his knees, and it was +impossible to leave the valley by either end of the ravine, as it was +filled with a roaring flood many feet deep; but with the aid of bushes +and stony<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> +outcrop he climbed the lofty slope, a slow and painful task +attended by danger, as now and then a bush would pull out with his +weight. But, at last, his hands torn, and his face running with +perspiration, he attained the summit, where he turned his face once more +toward the north.</p> + +<p>He decided that he would keep to the ridges as the snow would leave them +first, and he could also find some protection in the dense, scrubby +growth that covered them.</p> + +<p>He never passed a more trying day. The actual danger of Indian presence +even would have been a relief. The rain beat in an unceasing deluge, and +he was hard put to it to keep his rifle and ammunition dry. The sliding +snow made his foothold so treacherous that he was compelled to keep +among the wet and flapping bushes, where he could grasp support on an +instant’s notice.</p> + +<p>At noon, though there was no sun to tell him that it had come, he +stopped in a dense thicket and ate one of the rabbits, reflecting rather +grimly that though he had been anxious for the rain to come it was +making him thoroughly uncomfortable. Yet even these clouds covering all +the heavens had at least one strip of silver lining. The harder and more +persistently the rain fell the quicker the snow would be gone, and once +more the wilderness would be fit for travel and habitation.</p> + +<p>When he had eaten the rabbit, although he longed for some other kind of +food, he felt better. He had at least furnished fuel for the engine, +and, bending his head to the storm, he left the thicket and continued +his journey, a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> +journey the end of which he could not foresee, as he +never doubted for an instant that the Indian host was still pursuing. He +left no trail, of course, in such a storm, but the rain could not last +forever, and, when it ceased, some warrior would be sure to pick it up +again.</p> + +<p>When night came he was thoroughly soaked, save for his precious +ammunition, around which he had wrapped his blanket also. Most of the +snow was gone, but pools stood in every depression, and turbid streams +raced in every gully and ravine. Where he had trodden in snow before he +now trod in mud, and every bone in him ached with weariness. Many a man, +making no further effort, would have lain down and died, but it was not +the spirit of Henry. He continually sought shelter and far in the night +crowded himself into the hollow of a huge decayed tree. He was compelled +to stand in a leaning position, but with the aid of the buffalo coat he +managed to protect himself from further inroads of the rain, and by and +by he actually fell asleep.</p> + +<p>The sun was high when he awoke, and he was very stiff and sore from the +awkward manner in which his body had been placed, but the rain had +stopped and for that he was devoutly thankful, although the earth was +sodden from the vast amount of water that had fallen.</p> + +<p>It took him three hours to light a fire, so difficult was it to procure +dry shavings, but, in the end, the task was achieved and it was a +glorious triumph. Once more fire was king and he basked in it, drying +his body and his wet clothing thoroughly, and lingering beside it all +the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> +afternoon. But at night he put it out reluctantly, since the +warriors were sure to be abroad now, and he could not risk the light or +the smoke.</p> + +<p>He slept under the bushes, but in the morning he saw in the south smoke +answering to smoke, and he did not doubt that it was detachments of the +Indian host signaling to one another. Perhaps they had come upon his +trail, and it was sure, if they had not done so, that they would soon +find it. Watching the signals a little while, he turned and fled once +more into the north.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE LEAPING WOLF</strong></p> + + +<p>Henry came presently into lower ground, where he judged the snowfall had +not been so great, as the amount of standing water was much less and the +streams were not so swollen. The air, too, was decidedly warmer, and +while the forest had been stripped of all its leaves, it did not look so +gloomy. A brilliant sun came out, flooded trees and bushes with light, +and gave to the earth an appearance of youth and vitality that it has so +often and so peculiarly in autumn, although that is the period of decay. +He felt its tonic thrill, and when he came to a clear creek he decided +that he would put himself in tune with the purity and clearness of the +world about him.</p> + +<p>He had lain so long in his clothes that he felt he must have the touch +of clean water upon him, and, daring everything, he put his arms aside, +removed his clothing and plunged into the creek. It made him shiver and +gasp at first, but he kicked and dived and swam so hard that presently +warmth returned to his veins, and with it a wonderful increase of +spirits.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> +When he came out he washed his clothing as well as deerskin could be +washed, and, wrapped in the blanket and painted coat, ran up and down +the bank, or otherwise exercised himself vigorously, while it dried in +the bright sun. It was a matter of hours, but it pleased him to feel +that he was purified again and that he could carry out the purification +in the very face of Indian pursuit itself. When he put on his clothing +again he felt remade and reinvigorated in both body and mind, and, +resuming his weapons, he set out once more upon his northward way.</p> + +<p>The day continued warm and most brilliant, as if atonement were being +made to him for the storms of snow and rain. He came to a stretch of +country in which it was obvious that very little snow, if any, had +fallen, as the trees were still thick with leaves in the deep colors of +autumn, and it was satisfying to the eye to look upon the red glow +again.</p> + +<p>Late in the afternoon he saw five smokes in a half curve to the south, +and he knew well enough that they were made by his pursuers. They were +much nearer than those he had seen earlier in the day, but it was due to +the long delay made necessary by his swim and the drying of his clothes. +The rapid gain did not make him feel any particular apprehension. The +joy of the struggle came over him. He was matched against the whole +power of the Shawnee, Miami and kindred nations, and if they thought +they could catch him, well, let them keep on trying. They should bear in +mind, too,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> +that the hunted sometimes would turn and rend the hunter.</p> + +<p>In order to gain once more upon the pursuit and give himself a chance to +rest later on, he increased his speed greatly and also took precautions +to hide his trail, which was not difficult where there were so many +little streams. When he stopped about midnight he believed that he was +at least ten or twelve miles ahead of the nearest warriors, who must +have lost a great deal of time looking for his traces; and, secure in +the belief, he crept into a thicket, drew about him the blanket and the +buffalo robe, which were now sufficient, and slept soundly until he was +awakened by the howling of wolves. He was quite able to tell the +difference between the voices of real wolves and the imitation of the +Indians, and he knew that these were real.</p> + +<p>He raised up a little and listened. The long, whining yelp came again +and again, and he was somewhat surprised. He concluded at last that the +wolves, driven hard by hunger, were hunting assiduously in large packs. +When mad for food they would attack man, but Henry anticipated no +danger. He felt himself too good a friend of the animals just then to be +molested by any of them, and he went back to sleep.</p> + +<p>When he awoke again just before dawn he heard the wolves still howling, +but much nearer, and he thought it possible that they had been driven +ahead by the Indian forces. If so, it betokened a pursuit rather swifter +than he had expected, and, girding himself afresh, he fled once more +before the sun was fairly up.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> +It was the usual rolling country that lies immediately south of the +Great Lakes, forested heavily then and cut by innumerable streams, great +and small. The creeks and brooks were not swollen as much as those +farther south, and Henry judged from the fact that here also the +snowstorm had not passed. Nevertheless, he crossed many muddy reaches +and he was compelled to ford two or three creeks the water of which +reached to his knees. But his moccasins and leggings dried again as he +ran on, and he was not troubled greatly by the cold.</p> + +<p>It was a country that should abound in game, but no deer started up from +his path, no wild turkeys gobbled among the boughs, and the little +prairies that he crossed were bare of buffaloes. He assumed at once that +it had been hunted over so thoroughly by the Indians that the surviving +game had moved on. When the warriors found a new hunting ground it would +come back and increase. He believed now that this accounted for the +howling of the wolves deprived of their food supply and perhaps not yet +finding where it had gone.</p> + +<p>He maintained a rapid pace, and his wet leggings and moccasins dried +gradually. The morning was frosty and cold, but wonderfully brilliant +with sunlight, and here, where the forest had been free from snow, it +glowed in autumnal colors.</p> + +<p>He came to a deep river, but fortunately it flowed toward the northeast, +the direction in which he was willing to go, and he was glad to find it, +as he kept in the woods near its bank, thus protecting his left flank +from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> +any encircling movement. But a strong wind was blowing toward him +and he not only heard the howling of the wolves, but the faint cry of +the savages far behind them. It made him very thoughtful. Something +unusual was going forward, since the wolves themselves were taking part +in the pursuit or were pursued also. He could not understand it, but he +resolved to dismiss it from his mind until it disclosed its own meaning.</p> + +<p>He kept near the river, seeing it occasionally through the forest on his +left, a fine sheet of clear water, over which wild ducks and wild geese +flew, although the woods through which he ran seemed to be absolutely +bare of game.</p> + +<p>Then the river took a sudden curve farther east and he was compelled to +turn with it. On his first impulse the thought of swimming the stream +came to him, but he dismissed it, lest some swift warrior might come up +and open fire while he was in the water, in which case, being +practically helpless, he might become an easy victim. So he turned with +the stream and, keeping its bank close on his left, he fled eastward. +But he was fully aware that the change in the course of the river +brought to him a new and great danger. The right wing of the pursuing +host, traveling not much more than half the distance, would gain upon +him very fast. Anxious not to be entrapped in such a manner he ran now +at great speed for several miles, but was compelled then to slow down, +owing to the nature of the country, which was growing very marshy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> +Evidently heavy rains had fallen in this region recently, as he came to +extensive flooded areas. It annoyed him, too, that the soft ground +compelled him to leave so plain a trail, as often for considerable +stretches he sank over his moccasins at every step. He walked on fallen +timber whenever he could find it, making a break now and then in his +trail, but he knew it would not delay the Indians long.</p> + +<p>In order to save his breath and strength he was compelled to go yet +slower, and finally he sat on a log for a rest of five minutes. Then the +wind brought him a single Indian shout, not more than a quarter of a +mile away, and he knew its meaning. The warriors on the right flank, +coming up on a tangent of the curve, had seen his footsteps. They had +not run more than half the distance he had and so must be comparatively +fresh. His danger had increased greatly, but his command over himself +was so complete that, instead of resting five minutes, he rested ten. He +knew now that he would need all his strength, all the power of his +lungs, because the chase had closed in and for a while it would be a +test of speed. So he rested that every muscle might have its original +strength, and he was willing for the Indians to come almost within rifle +shot before he took to flight once more.</p> + +<p>So strong was the command of his mind over his body that he saw two +warriors appear among the trees about four hundred yards away before he +rose. They saw him, too, and uttered the war whoop of triumph, but +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> +Henry was refreshed and he ran so fast that they sank out of sight +behind him. Then he exulted, taunting them, not in words, but with his +thoughts. They could never capture him, and once more he said to himself +that he would keep on, even if his flight took him to the Great Lakes +and beyond.</p> + +<p>But the swampy ground intervened again, and his progress of necessity +became slow. Then he heard the Indian yell once more, and he knew that +the difficult country was enabling them to close up the gap anew. The +wolves howled also, but more toward the south, a far, faint, ferocious +sound that traveled on the wind like an echo. He did not understand it, +and he had a premonition that something extraordinary was going to +happen. It was curious, uncanny, and the hair on the back of his neck +lifted a little.</p> + +<p>He came through the swampy belt and to a considerable stretch of dry +ground, but he heard the Indian yell for a third time, and again not +more than a quarter of a mile away. The fact that this portion of the +band had not run that day more than half as far as he was telling, and +he recognized it. Perhaps the swamps had not been to his disadvantage, +because on the dry ground they could use their reserves of strength and +speed to much greater advantage.</p> + +<p>Now he knew that his danger had become imminent and deadly and that +every resource within him would be tested to the utmost. Out of the +south came the Indian cry also, and it was answered triumphantly from +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> +west. A shudder ran through Henry’s blood. He was in the trap. The +Indians knew it and they were signaling the truth to one another.</p> + +<p>Now he made a great burst of speed, resolving to be well beyond their +reach before the jaws of the vise closed in, and, as he ran, he longed +to hear the howl of the wolves once more, a sound that he had used to +hate always, but which would come now almost like the call of a friend. +While he was wishing for it, the long whine rose, toward the south also, +but a little ahead of the Indian cry. As before it was strange, uncanny, +and a second time the hair on the back of his neck lifted a little. +Evidently the wolves—instinct told him they were a great pack—were +running parallel with the Indians, but for what purpose he could not +surmise, unless it was the hope of food abandoned by the warriors.</p> + +<p>His own feet grew heavy, and he heard the triumphant shouts of the +Indians only a few hundred yards away. He was powerful, more powerful +than any of them, but he could not run twice as long as these lean, wiry +and trained children of the forest. His muscles began to complain. He +had been putting them to the severest of tests, and the effect was now +cumulative. A brown figure appeared among the bushes behind him and he +heard the report of a shot. A bullet cut the dead leaves ten yards away, +but he knew that the warriors would soon come nearer and then their aim +would be better.</p> + +<p>Now he called upon the last reserve of strength and tenacity, the +portion that is left to the brave when to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>ordinary minds all seems +exhausted, and made a final and splendid burst of speed, drawing away +from the brown figures and once more opening the gap between hunted and +hunters. But the shout came again from the south and on his right flank +where fresh warriors were closing in, and despite himself his heart sank +for a moment or two in despair. Was he to fall after so many escapes? +How Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe would rejoice!</p> + +<p>Despair could not last long with him. There was still another ounce of +strength left, and now he used it, fairly springing through the thicket, +while his heart beat hard and painfully and clouds of black motes danced +before his eyes.</p> + +<p>He saw a warrior appear among the bushes on the right, and, raising his +own rifle, he fired. The stream of flame that leaped from the muzzle of +his weapon was accompanied by the death cry of the savage, followed +quickly by a long, fierce yell of rage from the fallen man’s comrades.</p> + +<p>Then the pursuit hung back a little, but it came on again soon, as +terrible and as tenacious as ever. He reloaded his rifle as he ran, but +he knew that unless some strange chance intervened soon he must turn and +fight for his life. The ground dropped suddenly and he ran down a steep +slope into a wide valley, the trend of which was from north to south. +Here he gained a little, but he heard a shout on his right and saw three +warriors coming up the valley, not thirty yards away. At the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> same time, +the long, fierce whine of the wolves was registered somewhere on his +brain, but he did not take definite note of it until afterward.</p> + +<p>The foremost of the Indians fired and missed, to receive in return the +bullet from Henry’s reloaded rifle, but the other two came on, shouting. +He hurled his hatchet and struck down the second, but the third paused +twenty feet away and whirled his tomahawk about his head in glittering +circles. Henry instinctively raised his rifle to ward off the blade in +its flight, but he knew that the guard would not do. The tomahawk would +leave the warrior’s hand like a thunderbolt, and it would go straight to +its destined mark. He saw the evil joy in the man’s eyes, his +anticipation of quick and savage victory, and then the cloud of motes +before his own eyes increased to myriads. His heart, crying out against +so much exertion, beat so painfully that he thought he could not stand +it any longer, and a veil of thick mist was drawn down between him and +the triumphant warrior. Then he suddenly stood erect and the hair upon +his head lifted once more.</p> + +<p>There was a horrible growl and a gigantic wolf, shooting out of the +mist, launched himself straight at the warrior’s throat. Henry heard the +man’s terrible cry and saw him go down, and then he saw the figures of +other wolves, enlarged by the vapors, following their leader. But that +was all he beheld then. Uttering a cry of his own, wrenched from him by +the appalling sight, he snatched up his hatchet, turned and ran up +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> +valley, with strength coming from new and unknown sources.</p> + +<p><a name="illus3" id="illus3"></a></p> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 366px;"> +<img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="366" height="550" alt="image" title="" /> +</div> +<p class="center"><strong>“A gigantic wolf ... launched himself straight at the +warrior’s throat”</strong></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>The heavy mists that were floating over the low ground enclosed Henry, +but he did not look back. He knew instinctively that he was no longer +followed. Once he thought he heard the horrible growling again, and +shouts, but he was not sure. Too much had impinged upon his mind for him +to distinguish between fancy and reality yet awhile, but a powerful +feeling that another miracle had been wrought in his behalf seized upon +him and would not let go. The wolves, whether it was chance or not so +far as they were concerned, had come in time and their giant leader +himself had cut down the warrior who was about to cleave the fugitive’s +head with his tomahawk.</p> + +<p>The Indians would stop, appalled, and for a while would be overwhelmed +with superstition. But he knew that the paralyzing spell could not last +long. Blackstaffe and Wyatt at least would urge them on, and it was for +him to use the time that had been granted to him by miraculous chance.</p> + +<p>When exhaustion came he had will enough to stop again and remain quite +still until the fierce pains in his chest ceased and there was air for +his lungs once more. He was sure of a quarter of an hour, and a forest +runner such as he could do wonders in that space. A quarter of an hour +meant for him the difference between life and death, and although his +feet strove of their own accord to go on, his mind held them back at +least two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> +thirds of the time. Then he allowed his body to have its way, +and he went down the valley not at a run, but a prudent walk, in order +to give his lungs, heart and muscles a chance for further recovery.</p> + +<p>The valley seemed to be about a quarter of a mile wide, heavily +forested, and with a small creek flowing down the center. The hills that +walled it in on either side were high and steep, and Henry thought it +would be wiser to take to them, but, for the present, he did not feel +like making the climb. He was not willing to put any check upon the new +store of strength that was flooding his veins.</p> + +<p>Ten minutes more and he heard a fierce whoop behind him. The Indians +evidently had driven off the wolves, and, under the insistence of the +renegades, would renew the pursuit. Another momentary sinking of his +heart came. The numbers of the warriors, who could spread out in every +direction, many of whom were yet comparatively fresh, were an obstacle +that he could not overcome. The wolves had brought delay, but not +escape.</p> + +<p>Then his courage came back, not slowly or gradually, but like a leaping +tide. He had seen only half of the new miracle. While he thought it +finished, the other half was coming, was upon hunted and hunters even +now. The veil of mist that had floated between him and the wolf and its +victim was spreading up and down the valley, rising from the wet ground, +dense and heavy, opaque like ink, despite its whiteness. Presently the +great whitish cloud would enclose him and the warriors, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> hiding them +from one another, and it would be strange if he could not escape them in +the white gloom, where only ears served.</p> + +<p>Turning his eyes upward to the skies that he could not now see, he gave +thanks to the superior powers that were guarding him so well. Then he +turned at a sharp angle, crossed the creek, and began to climb the hills +on the east.</p> + +<p>All the time the fog, thick and white, was pouring over the valley and +the slopes. Half way up the hill Henry paused and looked back, seeing +nothing but a vast white gulf. Then he heard the warriors in the gulf +calling to one another, and now the spirit to laugh at them came back to +him. They did not know that he was protected by a force greater than +theirs that snatched him again and again from the savage band before it +could close upon him.</p> + +<p>He sat down among the bushes and continued to look at the valley, which +reminded him now of a vast white river, all of it flowing northward, +with the signals of the warriors still coming out of its depths, puzzled +evidently, as they had a good right to be. Although they were only a few +hundred yards away, Henry felt that there was little danger. The miracle +was continuing. The great white flood poured steadily down the valley +and rose higher and higher on the slopes. He went to the top of the +hill, where it followed him and spread over the forest.</p> + +<p>When he found a comfortable place in a thicket he lay down and drew +around him the painted robe that had +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> +served him so often and so well. +He knew the warriors would ascend the slopes, but the chances were a +thousand to one against their finding him in so dense a mist, and the +longer he rested the better fitted he would be for flight. Meanwhile the +fog increased in thickness, rolling up continually in dense masses, and +he inferred that he could not be far from some large stream or a lake or +great flooded areas. Perhaps the creek that flowed down the valley +emptied not far away into a river.</p> + +<p>If he had not been so worn by the tremendous tests to which he had been +put he would have gone on, despite everything, in the fog over the +hills, but instead he lay close like an animal in its lair, adjusted +anew about him the blanket and the painted coat and luxuriated. At +intervals he heard the warriors calling in the valley, and once the +sound of footsteps not more than twenty yards away reached him, but he +was not disturbed. The chance that they would stumble upon him was still +only one in a thousand.</p> + +<p>He remained at least four hours in the bushes, and throughout that time +he scarcely moved, having acquired the forest art of keeping perfectly +still when there was nothing to be done. Then he saw the fog thinning +somewhat, but he was completely restored. Youth had its way. His nerves +and muscles were as strong as ever, and the great mental elation had +returned. Why not? It was obvious that he was protected by the supreme +powers. Miracle after miracle had occurred in his +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>behalf. They had sent +the wolves just in time, and then they had drawn the fog from the earth, +hiding him from the warriors and giving him a covert in which he could +lie until his strength was restored.</p> + +<p>He rose now and began his cautious passage through the white veil over +the hills. The fog was not lifting yet, but it was continuing to thin. +He could see in it ten or fifteen feet, and he was not sorry, as the +distance was enough for the choosing of a path, but not enough for the +warriors to come within sight of him before they were heard.</p> + +<p>Twice, the sounds of the searching warriors came to him, but each time +he lay in the bush until they passed, when he would rise and continue +his judicious flight.</p> + +<p>Near the close of the day, and going toward the northeast, he was far +from the valley, but obviously was coming to another, as the hills were +sinking fast and he saw the tops of trees below him. The fog had been +thinning until it was mere wisps and tatters, and now a smart wind +seizing all these remnants whirled them off to the east, leaving a +glorious clear sky, suffused in the west with the red and gold of the +setting sun, a deep brilliant light that touched the whole horizon with +fire.</p> + +<p>Henry looked upon it and worshiped. He worshiped like a forest runner +and a man of the old, old time, when nothing of heaven or of religion +was revealed. He worshiped like an Indian to whom, as to many other +races, the sun was a symbol of warmth, of light and life, almost +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> the +same as Manitou, that is to say, almost the same as God. Nor did he +forget to be grateful once more. It was not for any merit of his that +protection had been given to him so often, but because he was an +instrument in a good purpose. So thinking, he was full of humility and +meant to continue in the perilous path that he had chosen, the path of +service for others.</p> + +<p>The spiritual quality was strong in Henry’s nature; in truth, it was +rooted in the characters of all the five, although it differed in its +manifestations, and he gazed long at the western heavens, where the +splendid colors of the setting sun blazed in their deepest hues and then +faded, leaving only a warm glow behind. The night, as the forecast +already showed, would be clear and cold, and he descended into the new +valley, which was much wider than the one he had left. It was +comparatively free of undergrowth, and he saw through the trees the +gleam of water which proved to be a river on his right, and of fair +size.</p> + +<p>He believed that the larger valley would receive the smaller one and its +draining creek not far ahead, and a new problem was presented. Unless he +swam the river and kept to the east the warriors would come on anew from +the west and pin him against the stream.</p> + +<p>Should he plunge into the cold waters? It was not a prospect that he +liked; but, while he considered it, he became aware that the miracle +created in his behalf was not yet finished. He had thought that it was +done when the wolves intervened, and again that it was done when +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> the +great fog came, but there was yet another link in the lengthening chain +of marvelous events.</p> + +<p>A sound from the river and he stepped hastily to the shelter of a great +tree trunk. It was the plash of a paddle, and as he looked, peeping from +the side of the trunk, a warrior stepped from a canoe at the river’s +brink and took a long look at the forest. Henry judged that he was an +outpost or sentinel of some kind, or perhaps a member of a provision +fleet. The man tied his canoe with a willow withe to a sapling and +strode away out of sight, doubtless intending to meet the band to which +he belonged. Henry’s heart leaped. He was always quick to perceive and +to act, and he saw his opportunity.</p> + +<p>Twenty swift steps and he was at the margin of the stream, one slash of +his knife and the willow withe was cut, one sweep of the paddle and the +stout canoe was far out in the stream, bearing with it the brave youth +and his fortunes.</p> + +<p>Henry exulted. Truly chance—or was it chance?—served him well! He had +a singular feeling that the canoe had been put there especially for his +use. No more running through the forest. He could call a new set of +muscles into play, and there before him lay the stream, broad and deep +and straight, a clear path for the good canoe that he had made his own.</p> + +<p>He did not allow his exultation to steal away his caution, but after the +first few sweeps of the paddle he sent the canoe close to the eastern +bank, under the shadow of vast masses of overhanging willows. Here it +blended<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> +with the dusk, and he handled the paddle so smoothly that he +made no splash to betray his presence.</p> + +<p>Now he examined his canoe, and he saw that, in truth, it bore supplies +for a band, venison, buffalo meat, wild turkey, and, what he craved most +of all, bread of Indian corn. The supplies were sufficient to last him +two weeks at least, and he felt with all the power of conviction that +the miracle was still working.</p> + +<p>He sped down the stream with long, silent strokes, keeping always in the +dusk of the overhanging foliage. The stars came out, and with them a +full, bright moon, which he also worshiped as a sign and an emblem of +the Supreme Will that had saved him. He fell into an intense mood of +exaltation. The powers of earth and air and water had worked together in +a singular manner. Never was his fancy more vivid. The flowing of the +stream sang to him, and the willows over his head sang to him also. The +light from the moon and stars grew. The dusk was shot with a silver +glow. Apprehension, weariness went from him, and he shot down the river, +mile after mile, apparently the only figure in the ancient wilderness.</p> + +<p>He did not stop until two or three hours after midnight, when at a low +place in the bank he thrust the canoe into a dense mass of water weeds +and bushes, put the paddle beside him and ate freely of the captured +supplies. The venison and buffalo meat were excellent, and while the +water of the river was not as good as that of a spring, it was +nevertheless cold and refreshing. Fresh +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> warmth and vigor flowed into +his body, and he declared to himself that he had never felt better and +stronger in his life. He looked with satisfaction at his stores, which +would last him so long, and he also saw in the canoe a folded green +blanket, which its owner evidently had left there for future use. He +would use it instead, since the cold was likely to increase and he meant +to be comfortable.</p> + +<p>Henry considered the canoe a godsend. It left no trail, and he had been +careful to leave none when he came to the bank for its capture. Perhaps +the Indian would think he had tied it carelessly and the current had +pulled its fastenings loose. In any event, the fugitive was gone and his +pathway was invisible, like that of a bird in the air. He looked up once +more at the cold, blue sky, the brilliant full moon, and the hosts of +shining stars. Cold the sky might be to others, but it was not so to +him. It bent over him like a protecting blue veil, shot with the silver +glow of moon and stars.</p> + +<p>The thicket into which he had pushed his canoe was of weeds, reeds and +willows, and very dense. The keenest eyes might search its very edge and +fail to see the fugitive within. There was no view except overhead, and +Henry resolved to remain there the whole of the next day. If the +warriors came pursuing on the river he would be once again the needle in +the haystack, and even if by some chance they should spy him out, he +could escape, refreshed and invigorated, to the land.</p> + +<p>Assured of his present safety, he spread his bed in +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> the canoe, a +somewhat difficult task, as everything had to be adjusted with nicety, +but the close wall of reeds and bushes helped him to keep the balance, +and at last he lay on the bottom with the Indian’s blanket under him and +his own and the painted robe above him. Then he went to sleep and did +not awaken until the next day was hours old.</p> + +<p>A bright sun was shining through the bushes over his head, but he was +glad that his body had been protected by an abundance of covers. The +painted robe was white with frost, which even the hours of day had not +yet melted, and near the edges there was a thin skin of ice on the +river. His breath made little clouds of vapor in the cold morning. He +was so warm and snug under the blankets that he felt the usual aversion +in such cases to rising, and turning gently on his side, lest he tilt +the canoe, he closed his eyes for that aftermath of sleep, a final and +pleasant doze.</p> + +<p>When he opened his eyes again he contemplated the sun through the veil +of bushes and reeds. It was great and red, but it had a chilly effect, +and he knew the day was quite cold. The willows began to shake and +quiver and the wind that stirred them was nipping. He did not care. Cold +stimulated him, and, making ready for new endeavors, he dipped for his +breakfast into the captured stores.</p> + +<p>Then he took note of the river, upon the surface of which much life was +already passing. He saw a flock of wild ducks swimming strong and true +against the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> +current, and when they were gone a swarm of wild geese came +with many honks out of the air and swam in the same direction. He knew +that presently they would rise again and fly into the far south, +escaping the fierce winter of the north.</p> + +<p>The great fishing birds also wheeled and circled over the stream, and +now and then one shot downward for its prey. On the opposite shore two +deer pushed their bodies through the bushes and drank at the river’s +edge. On his own shore the puffing of a bear in the woods came to his +ears. Evidently he had come from a region bare of game into a land of +plenty.</p> + +<p>The wild geese rose with a suddenness he had not anticipated and sped +southward in a long arrow, outlined sharply against the sky. The great +fishing birds silently disappeared, and Henry was alone on the river. He +knew that the quick flight of his feathered friends was not due to +chance. Undoubtedly man was coming, and he crouched low in his canoe, +with his rifle ready.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE WATCHFUL SQUIRREL</strong></p> + + +<p>Henry saw about what he expected to see, two long canoes, containing a +dozen or more warriors each, with the Shawnee chief, Red Eagle, and +Braxton Wyatt in the first and Yellow Panther, the Miami chief, and +Blackstaffe in the second. Chiefs and renegades and warriors alike swept +the shore with questing eyes, but they did not see the one for whom they +had looked so long lying so near, and yet hidden so well among the +reeds.</p> + +<p>He watched them without apprehension. He had full confidence in the veil +about him, and he expected them to pass on in the relentless hunt. They, +too, looked worn, and he fancied that the eyes of chiefs and renegades +expressed disappointment and deep anger. Nobody in the long canoes +spoke, and, silent save for the plashing of the paddles they went on and +out of sight.</p> + +<p>Henry might have taken to the woods now, but he was too wary. He wished +to remain on the element that left no trail, and he felt also that he +had walked and run long enough. He intended to travel now chiefly with +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> +the strength of his arms, and the longer he stayed in the canoe the +better he liked it. Its store of provisions was fine, and it was easier +to carry them in it than on his back. So he waited with the patience +that every true forest runner has, and saw the morning merge into the +afternoon.</p> + +<p>It was almost evening when the long canoes came back, passing his +covert. They had found the quest vain, and concluding, doubtless, that +they had gone too far, were returning to look elsewhere. But the +paddlers were weary, and the chiefs and renegades, too, drooped +somewhat. They did not show their usual alertness of eye as they came +back against the stream, and Henry judged that the pursuit would lapse +in energy, while they went ashore in search of warmth and food.</p> + +<p>A half hour after they were out of sight he came from the weeds, and, +with great sweeps of the paddle, sent the canoe shooting down the river. +He was so fresh and strong now that he felt as if he could go on +forever, and all through the night his powerful arms drove him toward +his unknown goal. He noticed that the river was broadening and the banks +were low, sometimes sandy, and he fancied that he was approaching its +outlet in one of the Great Lakes. And the chase had led so far! Nor was +it yet finished! The chiefs and the renegades, not finding him farther +back, would reorganize the pursuit and follow again.</p> + +<p>Day came bright and warm, much warmer than it had been farther south, +and Henry paddled until evening +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> +although he found the heat oppressive. +Paddling a full day and part of a night was a great task for anybody and +he grew weary again. When the night came, seeing no reeds and bushes in +which he could hide the canoe, he resolved to sleep on land. So he +lifted it from the river and carried it a short distance inland, where +he put it down in a thicket, choosing a resting place for himself not +far away.</p> + +<p>He spread one of the blankets as usual on dead leaves, and put the other +and the painted coat over himself. Then, knowing that he would be warm +and snug for the night, he relaxed and looked idly at the dusky woods, +feeling perfectly safe as the warriors must be far to the south.</p> + +<p>The only living being he saw was a gray squirrel on the trunk of a tree +about twenty feet away. But he was a friend of the squirrel, and he +regarded it with friendly eyes, noting the sharpness of its claws, the +bushiness of its tail, and the alertness of its keen little nose. It was +an uncommon squirrel, endowed with great curiosity, and perception, a +leader in its tribe, and it was intensely interested in the large, still +body lying on the leaves below.</p> + +<p>The squirrel came farther down the tree, and stared intently at Henry, +uncertain whether he was a friend or a foe. Yet he had all the aspect of +a friend. There was no hostile movement, and the bold and inquiring +fellow ventured another foot closer. Then he scuttled in alarm ten feet +back up the trunk, as the figure raised a hand, and threw something +small that fell at the foot of the tree.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> +But as the human being did not move again, the courage and curiosity of +this uncommonly bold and inquiring squirrel returned, and, gradually +creeping down the tree, he inspected the small object that had fallen +there. It smelled good, and when he nibbled at it it tasted good. Then +he ate it all, went back up the bark a little distance and waited +gratefully for more of the same. Presently it came, and he ate that bit, +too, and after a while a third. Then the human figure threw him no more +such fine food, but went to sleep.</p> + +<p>The squirrel knew he was asleep, because he left the tree, walked +cautiously over the ground, and stood with his ears cocked up, scarcely +a yard from the vast, still figure that breathed so deeply and with such +regularity. He had seen gigantic beings before. From the safety of his +boughs he had looked upon those mountains, the buffaloes, and he had +often seen the stag in the forest. Mere size did not terrify him, and +now he did not feel in the least afraid. On the contrary, this was his +friend who had fed him, and he regarded him with benevolence.</p> + +<p>The squirrel went back up the tree, his claws pattering lightly on the +bark. He had a fine knot hole high up the trunk, and his family were +sound asleep in it, surrounded by a great store of nuts. There was a +warm place for him, the head of the family, but he could not stay in it. +After a while he was compelled to go out again, and look at the +unconscious human figure.</p> + +<p>Emboldened by his first experience which had been so free from ill +result, he descended upon the ground a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>second time and went toward +Henry. But in an instant he turned back again. His keen little ears had +heard something moving in the forest and it was not any small animal +like himself, but a large body, several of them in fact. He ran up the +tree, and then far out on a bough where he could see.</p> + +<p>Five Indian warriors walking in single file were approaching. They were +part of an outlying band, not perhaps looking for Henry, but, if they +continued on their course, they would be sure to see him. The squirrel +regarded them for a moment with little red eyes, and then ran back to +the trunk of the tree.</p> + +<p>Henry, meanwhile, slept soundly. There was nothing to disturb him. The +wind did not blow and so the dry branches of the forest did not rustle. +The footsteps of the approaching Indians made no noise, yet in a few +more moments he ceased to sleep so well. A sound penetrated at last to +his ear and he sat up. It was the chattering of the gray squirrel, and +the rattling of his claws on the dry bark of the tree, his bushy tail +curving far over his back, and his whole body seeming to be shaken by +violent convulsions. Henry stared at him, thinking at first that he was +threatened by some carnivorous prowler of the air, but, as he looked +away, he caught a glimpse through the bushes of a moving brown figure +and then of another and more.</p> + +<p>Henry Ware never struck camp with more smoothness and celerity. One hand +swept up his blankets and the painted robe, another grasped his rifle, +and, as silent as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> +a night bird itself, he vanished into the deeper +thicket where the canoe lay. There, crouched beside it, he watched while +the warriors passed. They would certainly have seen his body had it been +lying where it had been, but they were not near enough to notice his +traces, and they had no cause to suspect his presence. So, the silent +file passed on, and disappeared in the deep woods.</p> + +<p>Henry stood up, and once more he felt a great access of wonder and +gratitude. The superior powers were surely protecting him, and were even +watching over him while he slept. He walked back a little and looked at +the tree, on which the gray squirrel had chattered and rattled his +claws. He thought he caught a glimpse of a bushy tail among the boughs, +but he was not sure. In any event, he bore in mind that while great +animals had served him, the little ones, too, had given help as good. +Then he bore the canoe back to the river, put in it all his precious +possessions, and continued his flight by water.</p> + +<p>There was a chance that warriors might see him from the banks, since he +had proof of their presence in the woods, but relying upon his skill and +the favors of fortune, he was willing to take the risk. He had an idea, +too, that he would soon come to the lake, and he meant to hide among the +dense thickets and forests, sure to line its low shores.</p> + +<p>His surmise was right, as some time before noon the river widened +abruptly, and a half hour later he came out +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> on the border of a vast +lake, stretching blue to the horizon and beyond. A strong wind blowing +over the great expanse of water came sharp and cold, but to Henry, +naturally so strong and warmed by his exertions, it furnished only +exhilaration. He felt that now the great flight and chase had come to an +end. He could not cross this mighty inland sea in his light canoe, and +doubtless the chiefs and the renegades, unable to follow his trail by +water, where he left no trail at all, would give up at last, and hope +for more success another time.</p> + +<p>So believing, and confident in his belief, he looked around for a +temporary home, and marked a low island lying out about five miles from +the shore. The five had found good refuge on an island once before, and +he alone might do it again, and lie hidden there, until all danger from +the great hunt had passed.</p> + +<p>He acted with his usual boldness and decision, and paddled with a strong +arm toward the island which seemed to be about a mile each way and was a +mass of dense forest. His canoe rocked on the waves, which were running +high before the wind, but he came without mishap to the island, and, +pushing his canoe through thickets of reeds and willows, landed.</p> + +<p>Leaving the canoe well hidden, he examined the island and was well +pleased with it, as it seemed to be suited admirably to his purpose. The +forest was unbroken and very dense. Probably human beings never came +there, as the game seemed very tame. Two or three deer looked at him +with mild, inquiring eyes before they moved +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> slowly away, and he saw +where wild turkey roosted in numbers at night.</p> + +<p>In the center of the island was a small dip, where only bushes grew, and +he decided that he would make his camp there, as the great height of the +trees surrounding it would hide the smoke that might arise from his +subdued campfire. But he did no work that day, as he wished to be sure +that his passage to the island had not been observed by any wandering +warriors on the mainland. There was no sign of pursuit, and he knew now +that fortune had favored him again.</p> + +<p>He slept the night through in the canoe, and the next morning he set to +work with his hatchet to make a bush shelter for himself, a task that +took two days and which he finished just in time, as a fierce wind with +hail swept over the island and the lake. He had removed all his supplies +from the canoe to the hut, and, wrapped in the painted robe, he watched +hail and wind beat upon the surface of the lake, until it drove in high +waves like the sea. There was no danger of warriors trying the passage +to the island in such weather, and his look was that of a spectator not +that of a sentinel. The great nervous strain of the long flight, and its +many and deadly perils, had passed, and he found a pleasure in watching +the turmoil of the elements.</p> + +<p>The old feeling that he belonged for the time to a far, far distant past +returned. He was alone on his island, as many a remote ancestor of his +must have been alone in the forest in his day, and yet he felt not the +least trace<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> +of loneliness or fear. Everything was wild, primeval and +grand to the last degree. The huge lake, curving up from the horizon, +had turned from blue to lead, save where the swift waves were crested +with white. The hail beat on the trees and bushes like myriads of +bullets, and the wind came with a high, shrill scream. The mainland was +lost in the mist and clouds, and he was not only alone on his island, +but alone in his world, and separated from his foes by tumbling and +impassable waters.</p> + +<p>Henry’s mind was in tune with the storm. He looked upon it as a +celebration of his triumph, the end of the flight and the chase, a +flight that had been successful for him, a chase that had been +unsuccessful for the chiefs and the renegades, and the blood merely +flowed more swiftly in his veins, as the hail beat upon him. He did not +care how long wind and hail lasted; the longer the better for him, and, +flinging out his hands, he waved a salute to the storm god.</p> + +<p>He remained for hours looking upon the great spectacle, that pleased him +so much, and then kept dry by the huge painted coat, he went back to the +brush hut. But night only and the necessity to sleep could have sent him +there. He did not yet light a fire, contenting himself with the cold +food from the canoe, nor did he do so the next day, as the storm was +still raging. When it ceased on the third day all the trees and bushes +were coated with ice, and he was a dweller in the midst of a silver +forest. Then, with much difficulty he lighted a small fire before the +hut, warmed over some venison and a little of the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> precious bread. He +would not have to kill any game for a week or ten days and he was glad +that it was so, since he was still averse to slaying any member of the +kingdom of the animals that had befriended him so much.</p> + +<p>The peace of the elements lasted only a few hours. Then they were in a +more terrible turmoil than ever. The wind whistled and shrieked, and the +snow came down, driven here and there in whirling gusts, while the lake +roared and thundered beneath the drive of the hurricane. Although there +were lulls at times, yet as a whole the storm lasted a whole week, and +it was remembered long by the Indians living in those northern regions +as the week of the great storm, unexampled in its length and ferocity.</p> + +<p>But Henry found nothing in it to frighten him. Rather, the greater +powers were still watching over him, and it was sent for his protection. +His own bold and wild spirit remained in tune with it at all times. The +brush hut was warm and snug and it held fast against wind, hail and +snow. Now and then he lighted the fire anew to warm over his food or +merely to see the bright blaze.</p> + +<p>At the end of the week he shot a deer among a herd that had found +shelter in extremely deep woods at the north end of the island, and +never did he do a deed more reluctantly. But it gave an abundance of +fresh food, which he now needed badly, and he added to his stores two +wild turkeys.</p> + +<p>When the storm ceased entirely a very deep snow fell, and he put off his +intention to leave. He expected to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> use the canoe, but he might be +forced to leave it, and, traveling in the woods with the snow above a +man’s knees, would be too hard. So he waited patiently, and made his +little home as comfortable as he could.</p> + +<p>In another week the snow began to melt fast, and he set forth on his +great return journey. The canoe was well supplied with provisions and +the lake was quiet. He paddled for the mouth of the river, and, when he +passed within the stream, the whole country looked so wintry that he +believed the Indians must have gone to their villages for warmth and +shelter. Firm in his opinion he paddled boldly against the current and +took his course southward, though he did not relax his caution, as the +Indians often sent out parties of hunters, despite cold or storm. They +were not a forehanded people, and the plenty of summer was no guard +against the scarcity of winter. They must find game or die, and Henry +had very little real fear of anything except these questing bands.</p> + +<p>But he paddled on all the day without interruption. The dense forest on +either shore was white and silent, and, when night came, he drew the +canoe into the bushes, making his camp on land. The temperature had +taken a great fall in the afternoon, and with the dark intense cold had +come. The mercury went far below zero and the bitter wind that blew bit +through the painted coat and all his clothing clean into the bone. It +was so intense that he resolved to risk everything and build a fire.</p> + +<p>He managed to set a heap of dead wood burning in +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> the lee of a hill, and +he fed the fire for a long time, at last letting it die down into a +great mass of coals that threw out heat like a furnace. Over this he +hovered and felt the cold which had clutched him like a paralysis +leaving his body. Then he wrapped the two blankets around the painted +coat and slept in fair comfort till morning, sure that the intense cold +would prevent any movement of the Indians in the forest.</p> + +<p>But the dawn disclosed a river frozen over to the depth of four inches, +and his canoe, which he had taken the precaution to put on land, would +be useless, at least for several days, as the ice could not melt sooner. +Most forest runners, in such a case, would have abandoned the canoe, and +would have gone on through the forest as best they could, but Henry had +learned illimitable patience from the Indians. If the cold put a +paralysis on his movements it did as much for those of the warriors. So +he looked to the preservation of the canoe, and boldly built his fire +anew, eating abundantly of the deer and wild turkey and a little of the +bread, which he husbanded with such care. At night he slept in the canoe +and occasionally he scouted in the country around, although the +traveling was very hard, as the deep snow was covered with a sheet of +ice, and he was compelled to break his way. He saw no Indian trails and +he concluded that the hunting parties even had taken to their tepees, +and would wait until the thaw came.</p> + +<p>His task for the next seven or eight days was to keep warm, and to +preserve his canoe in such manner that it +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> would be water tight when he +set it afloat once more on the river. He built another brush shelter, +very rude, but in a manner serviceable for himself, and with a fire +burning always before it he was able to fend off the fierce chill. The +mercury was fully thirty degrees below zero, but fortunately the wind +did not blow, or it would have been almost unbearable.</p> + +<p>Henry chafed greatly at the long delay, but he endured it as best he +could, and, when the huge thaw came and all the earth ran water, he put +his canoe in the river once more and began to paddle against the flooded +current. It was a delicate task even for one as strong and skillful as +he, as great blocks of ice came floating down and he was compelled to +watch continually lest his light craft be crushed by them. His perpetual +vigilance and incessant struggle against the stream made him so weary +that at the end of the day he lifted the canoe out of the water, crept +into it and slept the sleep of exhaustion.</p> + +<p>The next day was quite warm, and the floating ice in the river having +diminished greatly he resumed his journey without so much apprehension +of dangers from the stream, but with a keen watch for the hunting +parties of warriors which he was sure would be out. Now that the great +snow was gone, Miamis and Shawnees, Wyandots and Ottawas would be +roaming the forest to make up for the lack of food caused by their +customary improvidence. Moreover, it was barely possible that on his +return journey he might run into the host led by Yellow Panther and Red +Eagle.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> +He kept close to the bank in the unbroken shadow of the thickets and +forests, and as he paddled with deliberation, saving his strength, a +warm wind began to blow from the south. The last ice disappeared from +the river and late in the afternoon he saw distant smoke which he was +sure came from an Indian camp, most likely hunters.</p> + +<p>It was to the east of the river, and hence he slept that night in the +dense forest to the west, the canoe reposing among the bushes by his +side. The following day was still warmer and seeing several smokes, some +to the east and some to the west, he became convinced that the forest +was now full of warriors. After being shut up a long time in their +villages by the great snow and great cold they would come forth not only +for game, but for the exercise and freedom that the wilderness afforded. +The air of the woods would be very pleasant to them after the close and +smoky lodges.</p> + +<p>Now Henry, who had been living, in a measure an idyll of lake and +forest, became Henry the warrior again, keen, watchful, ready to slay +those who would slay him. He never paddled far before he would turn in +to the bank, and examine the woods and thickets carefully to see whether +an enemy lay there in ambush. If he came to a curve he rounded it slowly +and cautiously, and, at last, when he saw remains from some camp farther +up floating in the stream he seriously considered the question of +abandoning the canoe altogether and of taking to the forest. But his +present mode of traveling was so smooth +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> and easy that he did not like +to go on a winter trail through the woods again.</p> + +<p>The mouth of a smaller and tributary river about a mile farther on +solved the problem for him. The new stream seemed to lead in the general +direction in which he wished to go, and, as it was deep enough for a +canoe, he turned into it and paddled toward the southwest, going about +twenty miles in a narrow and rather deep channel. He stopped then for +the night, and, before dark came, saw several more smokes, but had the +satisfaction to note that they were all to the eastward, seeming to +indicate that he had flanked the bands.</p> + +<p>As usual, he took his canoe out of the water and laid it among the +bushes, finding a similar covert for himself near by, where he ate his +food and rested his arms and shoulders, wearied by their long labors +with the paddle. It was the warmest night since the big freeze, but he +was not very sleepy and after finishing his supper he went somewhat +farther than usual into the woods, not looking for anything in +particular, but partly to exercise his legs which had become somewhat +cramped by his long day in the canoe. But he became very much alive when +he heard a crash which he knew to be that of a falling tree. He leaped +instantly to the shelter of a great trunk and his hand sprang to his +gunlock, but no other sound followed, and he wondered. At first, he had +thought it indicated the presence of warriors, but Indians did not cut +down trees and doubtless it was due to some other cause, perhaps an old, +decayed trunk that had been +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> +weighted down by snow, falling through +sheer weariness. In any event he was going to see, and, emerging from +his shelter, he moved forward silently.</p> + +<p>He came to a thicket, and saw just beyond it a wide pool or backwater +formed by a tributary of the creek. In the water, stood a beaver colony, +the round domes of their houses showing like a happy village. It was +evident, however, that they were doing much delayed work for the winter, +as a half dozen stalwart fellows were busy with the tree, the falling +crash of which Henry had just heard, and which they had cut through with +their sharp teeth.</p> + +<p>He crouched in the thicket and, all unsuspected by the industrious +members of the colony, watched them a little while. He did not know just +what building operation they intended, but it must be an after thought. +The beaver was always industrious and full of foresight, and, if they +were adding now to the construction of their town carried out earlier in +the year, it must be due to a prevision that it was going to be a very +cold, long and hard winter.</p> + +<p>Henry watched them at work quite a while, and they furnished him both +amusement and interest. It was a sort of forest idyll. Their energy was +marvelous, and they worked always with method. One huge, gray old fellow +seemed to direct their movements, and Henry soon saw that he was an able +master who tolerated neither impudence nor trifling. In his town +everybody had not only to work, but to work when, where and how the +leader directed. It gave the hidden forest runner keen pleasure +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> to +watch the village with its ordered life, industry and happiness.</p> + +<p>He felt once more his sense of kinship with the animals. He was a +thoughtful youth, and it often occurred to him that the world might be +made for them as well as for man.</p> + +<p>The beaver was an animal of uncommon intelligence and he could learn +from him. The big gray fellow was a general of ability, perhaps with a +touch of genius. All his soldiers were working according to his +directions with uncommon skill and dispatch. Henry concentrated his +attention upon him, and presently he had a feeling that the leader saw +him, had known all the time that he was lying there in the thicket, and +was not afraid of him, convinced that he would do no harm. It added to +his pleasure to think that it was so. The old fellow looked directly at +him at least a half dozen times, and presently Henry was compelled to +laugh to himself. As sure as he was living that big old beaver had +raised his head a little higher out of the water than usual, and +glancing his way had winked at him.</p> + +<p>He forgot everything else in the play between himself and the beaver +king, and a king he surely was, as he had time to direct, and to direct +ably, all the activities of his village, and also to carry on a kind of +wireless talk with the forest runner. Henry watched him to see if he +would give him the wink again, and as sure as day was day he dived +presently, came up at the near edge of the pool, wiped the dripping +water from his head and face and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> +winked gravely with his left eye, his +expression being for the moment uncommonly like that of a human being.</p> + +<p>Henry was startled. It certainly seemed to be real. But then his fancy +was vivid and he knew it. The circumstances, too, were unusual and the +influences of certain remarkable instances was strong upon him. +Moreover, if the king of the beavers wanted to wink at him there was +nothing to keep him from winking back. So he winked and to his great +astonishment and delight the old king winked again. Then the beaver, +feeling as if he had condescended enough for the time, dived and came up +now on the far side of the pool, where he infused new energy into his +subject with a series of rapid commands, and hurried forward the work.</p> + +<p>Henry’s delight remained with him. The old king had been willing to put +the forest runner on an equality with himself by winking at him. They +two were superior to all the others and the king alone was aware of his +presence. Since the monarch had distinctly winked at him several times +it was likely that he would wink once or twice more, when enough was +done for dignity’s sake. So he waited with great patience.</p> + +<p>But for a little while the king seemed to have forgotten his existence +or to have repented of his condescension, as apparently he gave himself +up wholly to the tasks of kingship, telling how the work should be done, +and urging it on, as if apprehensive that another freeze might occur +before it could be finished. He was a fine old fellow, full of wisdom, +experience and decision, and Henry +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>began to fear that he had been +forgotten in the crush of duties pertaining to the throne.</p> + +<p>In about ten minutes, the gray king dived and came up a second time on +the near side of the pool. It was quite evident, too, that he was +winking once more, and Henry winked back with vigor. Then the beaver +began to swim slowly back and forth in a doubtful fashion, as if he had +something on his mind. The humorous look which Henry persuaded himself +he had seen in his eye faded. His glance expressed indecision, +apprehension even, and Henry, with the feeling of kinship strong upon +him, strove to divine what his cousin, the beaver, was thinking. That he +was not thinking now what he had been thinking ten minutes before was +quite evident, and the youth wondered what could be the cause of a +change so abrupt and radical.</p> + +<p>He caught the beaver’s eye and surely the old king was troubled. That +look said as plain as day to Henry that there was danger, and that he +must beware. Then the beaver suddenly raised up and struck the water +three powerful blows with his broad flat tail. The reports sounded like +rifle shots, and, before the echo of the last one died, the great and +wise king of his people sank like a stone beneath the water and did not +come into view again, disappearing into his royal palace, otherwise his +domed hut of stone-hard mud. All of his subjects shot from sight at the +same time and Henry saw only the domes of the beaver houses and the +silent pool.</p> + +<p>He never doubted for an instant that the royal +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>warning was intended for +him as well as the beaver people, and he instantly slid back deeper into +the thicket, just as a dozen Shawnee warriors, their footsteps making no +noise, came through the woods on the other side, and looked at the +beaver pool.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<p class="center"><strong>THE LETTER</strong></p> + + +<p>Henry was quite sure that the beaver king had given him a direct +warning, and he never liked afterward to disturb or impair the belief, +and, moreover, he was so alive with gratitude that it was bound to be +so. Lying perfectly still in the depths of the thicket he watched the +Indians, powerful warriors, who, nevertheless, showed signs of strain +and travel. Doubtless they had come from the edge of the lake itself, +and he believed suddenly, but with all the certainty of conviction, that +they were following him. They were on the back trail, which, in some +unexplained manner, they had struck merely to lose again. Chance had +brought them to opposite sides of the pond, but he alone had received +the warning.</p> + +<p>They stood at the water’s edge three or four minutes, looking at the +beaver houses and talking, although Henry was too far away to understand +what they said. He knew they would not remain long, but what they did +next was of vital moment to him. If they should chance to come his way +he would have to spring up and run +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> +for it, but if they went by another +he might lie still and think out his problem.</p> + +<p>The leader gave a word of command, and, dropping into the usual single +file, they marched silently into the south. Henry lay on the north side +of the pool, and when the last of the warriors was out of sight, he rose +and walked back to his canoe, which he must now reluctantly abandon. He +could not think of continuing on the water when he had proof of the eye +that many warriors were in the woods about the creek.</p> + +<p>The canoe had served him well. It had saved him often from weariness, +and sometimes from exhaustion, but dire need barred it now. He put on +the painted coat, made the blankets and provisions into a pack which he +fastened on his back, hid the light craft among weeds and bushes at the +creek’s margin, and then struck off at a swift pace toward the west and +south.</p> + +<p>While bands would surely follow him, he did not believe the Indian hosts +could be got together again for his pursuit and capture. After their +great failure in the flight and pursuit northward they would melt away +largely, and winter would thin the new chase yet more. His thought now +was less of the danger from them than of his four brave comrades from +whom he had been separated so long and whom he was anxious to rejoin. It +was more than likely that they had left the oasis and had come a long +distance to the north, but where they were now was another of the +serious problems that confronted him from day to day. In a wilderness so +vast<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> +four men were like the proverbial needle in the haystack.</p> + +<p>But Henry trusted to luck, which in his mind was no luck at all, rather +the favor of the greater powers which had watched over him in his flight +and which had not withdrawn their protection on his return, as the king +of the beavers had shown. All the following day he fled southward, +despite the heavy pack he carried, and made great speed. Here, he +judged, the winter had not been severe, since the melting of the great +snow that he had encountered on his way toward the lake, and he slept +the next night in the lee of a hill, his blankets and the painted coat +still being sufficient for his comfort.</p> + +<p>At noon of the next day, coming into low ground, mostly a wilderness of +bushes and reeds, he heard shots and soon discovered that they came from +the rifles and muskets of Indians hunting buffalo and deer, which could +not easily escape them in the marshes. For fear of leaving a trail, sure +to be seen in such soft ground, he lay very close in a dense thicket of +bushes until night, which was fortunately very dark, came. Then he made +off under cover of the darkness, and saw Indian fires both to the right +and to the left of him. He passed so close to the one on his right that +he heard the warriors singing the song of plenty, indicating that the +day had yielded them rich store of deer and buffalo. Most of the Indians +were not delicate feeders and they would probably eat until they could +eat no more, then, lying in a stupor by the fire, they would sleep until +morning.</p> + +<p>He did not stop until after midnight, and slept again +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> in the protection +of a steep hill, advancing the next day through a country that seemed to +swarm with warriors evidently taking advantage of the weather to refill +the wigwams, which must have become bare of food. Henry, knowing that +his danger had been tripled, advanced very slowly now, traveling usually +by night and lying in some close covert by day. His own supplies of food +fell very low, but at night, at the edge of a stream, he shot a deer +that came down to drink, and carried away the best portions of the body. +He took the risk because he believed that if the Indians heard the shot +they would think it was fired by one of their own number, or at least +would think so long enough for him to escape with his new and precious +supplies.</p> + +<p>He was correct in his calculations, as he was not able to detect any +trace of immediate pursuit, and, building a low fire between two hills, +he cooked and ate a tender piece of the deer meat.</p> + +<p>That night he saw a faint light on the horizon, and believing that it +came from an Indian camp, he decided to stalk it. Placing all his +supplies inside the blankets and the painted robe, he fastened the whole +pack to the high bough of a tree in such a manner that no roving wild +animal could get them, and then advanced toward the light, which grew +larger as he approached. It also became evident very soon that it was a +camp, as he had inferred, but a much larger one than his original +supposition. It had been pitched in a valley for the sake of shelter +from cold winds, and on the western side +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> was a dense thicket, through +which Henry advanced.</p> + +<p>The Indians were keeping no watch, as they had nothing to guard against, +and he was able to come so near that he could see into the whole bowl, +where fully two hundred warriors sat about a great fire, eating all +kinds of game and enjoying to the full the warmth and food of savage +life. Henry, although they were his natural foes, felt a certain +sympathy with them. He understood their feelings. They had gone long in +their villages, half starved, while the great snow and the great cold +lasted, but now they were in the midst of plenty that they had obtained +by their skill and tenacity in hunting. So they rejoiced as they +supplied the wants of the primeval man.</p> + +<p>The scene was wild and savage to the last degree. Most of the warriors, +in the heat of the fires, had thrown off their blankets, and they were +bare to the waist, their brown bodies heavily painted and gleaming in +the firelight. Every man roasted or broiled for himself huge pieces of +buffalo, deer or wild turkey over the coals, and then sat down on the +ground, Turkish fashion, and ate.</p> + +<p>At intervals a warrior would spring to his feet and, waving aloft a +great buffalo bone, would dance back and forth, chanting meanwhile some +fierce song of war or the chase. Others would join him, and a dozen, +perhaps twenty, would be leaping and contorting their bodies and singing +as if they had been seized by a madness. The remainder went on with the +feast, which seemed to have no ending.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> +The wind rose a little and blew, chill, through the forest. The dry +boughs rustled against one another, and the flames wavered, but roared +the louder as the drafts of air fanned them to greater strength. The +warriors, heated by the heaps of coals and the vast quantities of food +they were devouring, felt the cold not at all. Instead, the remaining +few who wore their blankets threw them off, and there was a solid array +of naked brown bodies, glistening with paint and heat. Innumerable +sparks rose from the fires and floated high overhead, to die there +against the clear, cold skies. When a group of singers and dancers +ceased, another took its place, and the fierce, weird chant never +stopped, the wintry forest continually giving back its echoes.</p> + +<p>The wilderness spectacle had a remarkable fascination for Henry, who +understood it so well, and, knowing that there was little danger from +men who were spending their time in what to them was a festival, he +crept closer, but was still well hidden in the dense thicket. Then his +pulses gave a great leap, as four figures which had been on the other +side of the fire came distinctly into his view. They were Red Eagle, +head chief of the Shawnees; Yellow Panther, head chief of the Miamis; +and the renegades, Braxton Wyatt and Moses Blackstaffe, who had pursued +him so long and with such tenacity. They were talking earnestly, and he +crept to the very edge of the thicket, where scarcely three feet divided +him from the open.</p> + +<p>He knew that only a chance would bring the four near +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> enough for him to +understand their words, but after a half hour’s waiting the chance came. +Blackstaffe, who took precedence over Wyatt because of his superior +years and experience, was doing most of the talking, and the subject, +chance or coincidence bringing it about, was Henry himself.</p> + +<p>“The warriors discovered a white trail, the trail of one,” said the +renegade, “but we don’t know it was Ware’s. He may have perished in the +great freeze, and if so we are well rid of a dangerous foe, an eye that +has always watched over our movements, and a bold spirit that always +takes the alarm to the settlements below. I give him full credit for all +his skill and courage, but I’d rather his bones were lying in the +forest, picked clean by the wolves.”</p> + +<p>Henry felt a little thrill of satisfaction. “Picked clean by the +wolves?” Why, the wolves themselves had saved him once!</p> + +<p>“I don’t think he’s dead,” said Braxton Wyatt. “I don’t know why, but I +believe I understand him better than any of you do. I tell you he’s even +stronger and more resourceful than you suppose! Look how often he has +escaped us, when we were sure we held him fast! He’d find a way to live +in the big freeze, or anywhere. I’ve an idea that he’s back up there by +the lake somewhere, and that the trail the warriors found was that of +another of the five, perhaps the traces of the fellow Shif’less Sol.”</p> + +<p>Henry’s pulse leaped again, now with joy. The +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>shiftless one had not +been taken nor slain, and doubtless none of the others either, or they +would have referred to it. But he waited to hear more, and not a dead +leaf nor a twig stirred in the thicket, he was so still.</p> + +<p>“It seems strange,” said Blackstaffe, thoughtfully, “that we have not +been able to take him, when more than a thousand warriors were in the +hunt, carried on without stopping, except during the big snow and the +big freeze. And the warriors are the best in the west, men who can come +pretty near seeing a trail through the air, men without fear. It almost +seems to me that there’s been something miraculous about it.”</p> + +<p>Then one of the chiefs spoke for the first time, and it was Yellow +Panther, the Miami.</p> + +<p>“Blackstaffe has spoken the truth,” he said. “Ware is helped by evil +spirits, spirits evil to us, else he could not have slipped from our +traps so often. He has powerful medicine that calls them to his aid when +danger surrounds him.”</p> + +<p>Yellow Panther spoke with all the gravity and earnestness that became a +great Miami chief, and, as he finished, he looked up at the skies from +which the fugitive had summoned spirits to his help. The great Shawnee +chief, Red Eagle, standing by his side, nodded in emphatic confirmation. +Henry felt a peculiar quiver run through his blood. Had he really +received miraculous help, as the two chiefs thought? Lying there in such +a place at such a time there was much to make him think as they did.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> +“We’ve spread a mighty net, and we’ve caught nothing,” said Braxton +Wyatt, deep disappointment showing in his tone. “We’ve not only failed +to get the leader of the five, but we’ve failed to take a single one of +them.”</p> + +<p>Now Henry’s heart gave a great leap. He had inferred that all of his +comrades were yet safe, but here was positive proof in the words of +Wyatt. Why had he ever feared? He might have known that when he drew off +the Indian power they would be able to take care of themselves.</p> + +<p>“I think,” said Blackstaffe, “that we’d better continue our march to the +south, and also keep a large force in the north. If we don’t stumble +upon him in a week or two our chance will be gone, at least until next +spring. All the wild fowl flew south very early and the old men and +women of the tribes have foretold the longest and hardest winter in two +generations. Is it not so, Yellow Panther?”</p> + +<p>“The cold will be so great that all the warriors will have to seek their +wigwams,” replied the Miami chief, “and they will stay there many days +and nights, hanging over the fires. The war trail will be deserted and +the Ice King will rule over the forest.”</p> + +<p>“I’ve no doubt the old men and old women are right,” said Braxton Wyatt, +“and you make me shiver now when you tell me what they say. Perhaps the +spirits will turn over to our side and give all the five into our +hands.”</p> + +<p>They moved on out of hearing, but Henry now knew +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> enough. His comrades +were untaken and he understood their plan of campaign. If he and the +four could evade it a little longer, a mighty winter would shut in, and +that would be the end. He was glad he had come to spy upon the host. He +had been rewarded more richly than he had hoped. Now he crept silently +away, but for a long time, whenever he looked back, he still saw the +luminous glow of the great fires on the dusky horizon.</p> + +<p>He was so sure that no warriors would come, or, if they did come, that +his trained faculties would give him warning in time, that he slept in a +thicket within two miles of the camp. He was up before dawn and on the +southern trail, knowing that the Indian host would soon be on the same +course, though going more slowly. His trail lay to the east of that +which had led him north, but the country was of the same general +character. Everywhere, save for the little prairies, it was wooded +densely, and the countless streams, whether creeks or brooks, were +swollen by the winter thaw.</p> + +<p>The desire to rejoin his comrades was very strong upon Henry, and he +began to look for proofs that they had been in that region. He knew +their confidence in him, their absolute faith that he would elude the +pursuit and return in time. Therefore they would be waiting for him, and +wherever they had passed they would leave signs in the hope that he +might see them. So, as he fled, he watched not only for his enemies, but +for the trail of his friends.</p> + +<p>He was compelled to swim a large river, and the cold +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> was so great that +he risked everything and built a fire, before which he warmed and dried +himself, staying there nearly two hours. A half hour before he left, he +saw distant smoke on his right and then smoke equally distant on his +left. Each smoke was ascending in spiral rings, and he knew that they +were talking together. He knew also that their engrossing topic was his +own smoke rising directly between. A fantastic mood seized him, and he +decided to take a part in the conversation. Passing one of his blankets +back and forth over his own fire, he, too, sent up a series of rings, +sometimes at regular intervals, and again with long breaks between.</p> + +<p>It was a weird and drunken chain of signals and he knew that it would +set the Indians on the right and the Indians on the left to wondering. +They would try their best to read his signals, which he could not read +himself; they would strive to put in them meaning, where there was no +meaning at all; and he worked with the blanket and the smoke with as +much zest and zeal as he had shown at any time in his flight for life.</p> + +<p>No such complicated signals had ever before been sent up in the +wilderness, and he enjoyed the perplexity of the warriors to the utmost +as he saw them talking to one another and also trying frantically to +talk to him. The more they said, the more he said and the more +complicated was the way in which he said it, until the smoke on his +right and the smoke on his left began to sweep around in gusts of +indignation and disappointment.</p> + +<p>His fantastic humor deepened. He sincerely hoped +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> that Blackstaffe was +at the foot of one smoke and that Braxton Wyatt was at the foot of the +other, and the more they were puzzled and vexed the better it suited his +temper. He sent up the most extraordinary spirals of smoke. Sometimes +they rose straight up in the heavens, now they started off to the right, +and then they started off to the left. Although they meant nothing, one +could imagine that they meant anything or everything. They were a +frantic call for help or an insistent message that the trail of the +fugitive had been discovered, or merely a wild statement that the night +was not going to be cold, nor the next day either, or an exchange of +compliments, or whatever those who saw the things chose to imagine.</p> + +<p>After hoping for a while so intensely that Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe +were on either side of him, Henry felt sure it was true, so ready is +eager hope to turn its belief into a fact, and he rejoiced anew at their +vexation, laughing silently and long. Then he abruptly kicked the coals +apart, smothered the smoke, and taking up his pack fled again, much +amused and much heartened, for further efforts. He could not remember +when he had spent a more enjoyable half hour.</p> + +<p>He maintained his flight until far after midnight, when, coming into +stony ground, he found excellent shelter under a great ledge, one +projecting so widely that when he awoke in the morning and found it +raining, he was quite dry. It poured heavily until the afternoon, and he +did not stir from his covert, but, wrapped in the painted +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> coat and +blankets, and taking occasional strips of the deer meat, he enjoyed the +period of rest.</p> + +<p>It rained so hard that he could not see more than fifty yards away, and +in the ravine before his ledge the water ran in a cold stream. The +forest looked desolate and mournful, and he would have been desolate and +mournful himself if it had not been for the single fact that he was able +to keep dry. That made all the difference in the world, and the contrast +between his own warm and sheltered lair and the chill and dripping woods +and thickets merely heightened his sense of comfort.</p> + +<p>When the rain stopped it was followed by an extremely cold night that +froze everything tight. Every tree, bush and the earth itself was +covered with glittering ice, a vast and intricate network, a wilderness +in white and silver. It was alike beautiful and majestic, and it made +its full appeal to Henry, but at the same time he knew that his +difficulties had been increased. He would have to walk over ice, and, as +he passed through the thickets, fragments of ice brushed from the twigs +would fall about him. For a while, at least, the Ice Age had returned. +It was sure, too, to make game very scarce, as all the animals would +stay in their coverts as long as they could at such a time, and he must +replenish his supplies of food soon. But that was a difficulty to which +he gave only a passing thought. Others pressed upon him with more +immediate force.</p> + +<p>His moccasins had become worn from long use and they slipped on the ice +as if it were glass. He met this +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> +difficulty by cutting pieces from one +of the blankets and tying them tightly over his feet with thin strips +from his buckskin garments. He was then able to walk without slipping, +and he made good progress again through the forest, the exertion of +travel keeping him warm. Meanwhile he watched everywhere for a sign, a +sign from the four, keeping an especial eye for the trees, for it was +upon them that the forest runners wrote their letters to one another. In +his soul he craved such a letter and he did not really know how +intensely he craved it. The bonds of friendship that united the five +were the ties of countless hardships and dangers shared, and not one of +them would have hesitated an instant to risk his life for any one of the +others.</p> + +<p>It was characteristic of Henry’s patience and thoroughness that, though +he found nothing, he kept on looking. He wanted a letter, and he wanted +it so long and with so much concentration that he began to believe he +would find it. It was only a short letter that he wished, merely a word +from his friends saying they had passed that way. A straight, tall +figure, with eager, questing eyes, he went on through the silver forest. +When the light wind blew, fragments of the ice that sheathed every bough +and twig fell about him and rattled like silver coins as they struck the +ice below, but mostly the air was quiet, and the glow from a mighty +setting sun began to shoot such deep tints through the silver that it +was luminous with red gold. Thinking little now of its beauty and +majesty, the hunter pressed +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> +on, not the hunter of men nor even a hunter +of game, but a hunter for a word.</p> + +<p>The mighty sun sank farther. Most of the gold in its rays was gone, and +it burned with an intense red fire, lighting up the icy forest with the +glow of an old, old world. Henry still looked. The dark would come soon, +when he must abandon the search for the word and seek shelter instead. +But his hope was still high that he would find it before night closed +down.</p> + +<p>When the red glow was at its deepest he saw in the very core and heart +of it that for which he was looking. Eye-high on the stalwart trunk of +an oak were four parallel slashes from the keen blade of a tomahawk. +They could not have been put there by chance. A powerful hand had +wielded the weapon and the four cuts were precisely horizontal and close +together. He had found his word. It was as plain as day. The four had +passed there and they had left for him a letter telling him all about +it. This was only the first paragraph in the letter, and he would find +others farther on, but he devoted a little time to the examination of +the first.</p> + +<p>He studied minutely the cuts and the cloven edges of the bark, and he +decided that they were at least two weeks old. So the letter had been +posted some time since, and doubtless its writers had gone on to another +region. But if they posted one letter they would post others, and he +felt now that communication had been established. True, the chain +connecting them was long, but it could be shortened inch by inch.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> +He made a series of widening circles about the tree, looking for the +second paragraph of the letter, and he found it about a hundred yards to +the eastward, exactly like the first, four parallel slashes of a +tomahawk, eye-high, deep into the trunk of a stalwart oak. He found a +third paragraph precisely like the first and the second, a hundred yards +farther on, and then no more. But three were enough. They indicated +clearly the course of the four which was into the northeast. In the +morning he would change his own direction to conform with theirs.</p> + +<p>The letter gave him a great surge of the heart, but the night came down +quickly, dark and cold, the bitter wind blew again, and the ice fell +about him in a rain of chill crystals. He knew that the temperature was +falling fast, and that it would be his hardest night so far. He must +have a fire, risk or no risk, and it was a full three hours before he +was able to coax one from dead wood that he dragged from sheltered +recesses. Then it felt so good that he built a second, intending to +sleep between them. His supply of food was low, but knowing how needful +it was to preserve his strength and the full fresh flow of his blood, he +ate of it heartily, and, then when the ground, wet between the fires +from the melted ice, had been dried by the heat, he made his bed and +slept well, although he awoke once in the night and finding the cold +intense put fresh wood on the fires.</p> + +<p>The next morning was one of the coldest he had felt, and he was +reluctant to leave the beds of coals, but his comrades had given him a +sign, and he would not dream +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> +of ignoring it. He threw ice upon the +fires, and with a sigh felt their heat disappear. Then he followed the +trail to the northeast, hunting at intervals for a renewal of the sign +lest he go wrong. Three times he found it, always the four cuts, +eye-high, always in the trunk of a stalwart oak, and always they led in +the direction in which he was going. The cuts were very deep, and he was +quite sure that they had been made by Shif’less Sol, who added to +remarkable strength wonderful cunning and mastery in the use of a +tomahawk.</p> + +<p>About noon, he came to a vast, shallow, flooded area, a third of a mile +or more across, but extending farther to north and south than he could +see either way. Doubtless the four had crossed there before the heavy +rains made the flood, and as he was unwilling to take the long circuit +to north or south he decided to make the passage on the ice which was +thick and strong.</p> + +<p>He had been so free from danger for some time that he took little +thought of it now, but when it was absent from his mind it came. When he +was well out upon the ice he heard the crack of a rifle behind him and a +bullet whizzed by his ear. He ran forward at great speed before he +looked back, and then he saw a dozen warriors standing at the edge of +the ice, but making no motion to pursue. As he was now out of range, he +stopped and examined them, wondering why they did not follow him. The +solution came quickly.</p> + +<p>The band suddenly united in a tremendous war whoop and from the woods on +the other side of the ice came an +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> +answering whoop. He was trapped +between them, and they could afford to be deliberate. His heart sank, +but as usual his courage came back in an instant, stronger than ever. +Alert, resourceful, the best marksman in all the West, he did not mean +to be taken or slain, and he looked about for the means of defense. As +it was not a lake, upon the frozen surface of which he stood, merely a +great shallow flooded area, there were clumps of bushes and little +islands of earth here and there, and he ran to one not twenty feet away, +a tiny place, well covered with big bushes. The Indians, seeing him take +refuge, set up a yell from both shores, and Henry, settling down in his +covert, waited for them to make the first move.</p> + +<p>He knew that the warriors would be deliberate. Considering their victim +secure in the trap, they would reckon time of no value, and would take +no unnecessary risk. He believed they were hunting bands, not those that +had trailed him directly, and that his encounter with them was chance, a +piece of bad fortune, nothing more than he should expect after such a +long run of good fortune.</p> + +<p>Warriors of the different bands sent far signals to one another across +the ice, and then slowly and with care each party built a large fire, +around which the men sat basking in the heat, and now and then, with a +cry or two, taunting the fugitive whom they considered so tight in the +trap. The red gleam of the flames upon the ice, contrasting with his own +situation, struck a chill into Henry. The wind had a clear sweep over +the frozen lagoon, and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> +the rustling of the icy bushes above him was +like a whisper from the cold. He wrapped himself thoroughly in the +painted coat and the two blankets, put the rifle in front of him, where +he could snatch it up instantly, and beat his hands together at times to +keep them warm, and at other times held them under the blankets.</p> + +<p>He understood human nature, and he knew that they were rejoicing in +their own comfort, while he might be freezing. They felt that way +because it was their way, and he did not blame them. It was merely his +business to thwart their plans, so far as they concerned himself. He +recognized that it was a contest in which only superior skill could +defeat superior numbers, and he summoned to his aid every faculty he +possessed.</p> + +<p>The Indians did not move for an hour, luxuriating by their fires, and +occasionally taunting him with cries. Then four warriors from either +shore went upon the ice at the same time, and began to advance slowly +toward his island, making use of the clumps of bushes that thrust here +and there through the frozen surface of the lagoon.</p> + +<p>Henry slipped his hands from the blankets and watched both advancing +parties with swift glances, right and to left. They were using shelter +and advancing very slowly, but beyond a certain point both were bound to +come in range. He smiled a little. Much of his forest life recently had +been in the nature of an idyll, but now the wild man in him was +uppermost. They came to kill and they would find a killer.</p> + +<p>He knelt among the bushes, which were thin enough +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> +to allow him a clear +view in every direction, and put his powder horn and bullet pouch on the +snow in front of him. He could reload with amazing rapidity. They did +not know that. Nor did they know that they were advancing upon the king +of riflemen. Naturally, they would suppose him to be a wandering hunter +lost in a dangerous region.</p> + +<p>The party on the west presently began to pass from the shelter of one +tuft of bushes to another, twenty yards away, and in doing so the four +were wholly exposed. It was a long shot, much too long for any of the +Indians, but not too long for Henry. He fired at the leading warrior, +and, before he had time to see him crashing on the ice, he was reloading +his rifle with all the speed of dexterous fingers. He heard a yell of +rage from the Indians, and, glancing up, saw the three dragging away the +body of the fallen man. But the party on the other side, knowing that +his rifle had been emptied, but not knowing with what speed he could +reload, came running.</p> + +<p>His weapon flashed a second time, and with the same deadly aim. The +leading warrior in the second party fell also, dead, when his body +touched the ice, and his comrades gave back in fear. They had not known +such terrible sharpshooting before, and the man whom they had thought so +securely in the trap must have two rifles at least. Both parties, +carrying their dead with them, retreated swiftly to shore, and gathered +about the fires again.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> +Henry reloaded a second time, patted affectionately the rifle that had +served him so well, put it once more in front of him, and sheltered his +hands as before under the blankets. The bands had received a dreadful +lesson. The loss of two good warriors was not to be passed over lightly, +and he knew they would delay some time before taking further action. +Meanwhile, the night was coming fast and the cold was increasing so +greatly that it alarmed him, despite the blankets and the painted robe. +The wind sweeping over the frozen surface of the lagoon had an edge that +cut like steel. The very blood in his veins seemed to grow chill, and he +felt alarm lest his hands grow too stiff with cold to handle the rifle. +The bushes, although they hid him from a distant enemy, did not afford +much protection. Instead, they were like so many icicles.</p> + +<p>The two bands built their fires higher, until the flames threw a glow +far out on the ice, and Henry saw their hovering figures outlined in +black against the red. They filled him with anger, because they could +maintain the siege in comfort, while he had to fight not only a human +foe, but the paralyzing cold as well. He stood up now, stretched his +arms, stamped his feet and exercised himself in every manner of which he +could think, until a certain amount of warmth came to his body. But he +knew it would not last long. Presently the cold would settle back +fiercer and more intense than ever.</p> + +<p>The night advanced, the dusk deepened and the siege of Henry by the +warriors and the cold grew more +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> +formidable. He was anxious for the +Indians to make another attack, but he knew now they would not do it. +They would wait patiently for the fugitive in the trap to fall inert +into their hands. After all he was in the trap! And it was a trap worse +than any other he had ever met. Then he said fiercely to himself that he +might be in the trap, but he would break out of it.</p> + +<p>For the second time, he took violent physical exercise to drive away the +creeping and paralyzing cold, and then he resolved upon his plan to +burst the trap. The night was fairly dark with streamers of cloud +floating across the heavens, and it might grow darker. Far to north and +south stretched the glimmering white ice, with dark spots here and +there, where the clumps of bushes or trees thrust themselves above the +frozen surface.</p> + +<p>Wrapping himself as thoroughly as he could, and yet in the best way to +leave freedom of action, he crept from the bushes and bending low on the +ice ran to a clump about thirty yards to the south, where he crouched a +while, watching the warriors at the two fires. He could still see very +clearly their figures outlined in a black tracery against the flames, +and they might have sentinels posted nearer, but evidently his own +change of base had not been suspected. Perhaps the fear of his deadly +rifle kept them from coming so near that they could see his movements, +and they relied upon the great cold to hold him within the original +clump of bushes. The blood in his veins that had grown chill seemed +suddenly to turn warm again. Even a passage of a few yards from +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> one +little island to another was enough to create hope. There was no trap so +tight in which he could not find a crevice, or make one, and he prepared +for the second stage in his journey, a cluster of trees a full hundred +yards to the south.</p> + +<p>He would have dropped to his hands and knees if it had not been for the +fear of freezing his fingers, a risk that he could not afford to take +for a moment, alone in the desolate wilderness and surrounded by deadly +perils. So he merely stooped low and ran for the trees, the wrappings of +blanket on his feet saving him from slipping.</p> + +<p>But he gained them and there was yet no alarm. The black tracery of the +Indian figures still showed before the fires, where they were hovering +for the sake of the grateful heat, and, as well as he could judge, his +flight was unsuspected.</p> + +<p>The third island was much better than the first two. Although it was +only eight or ten yards across, it supported a cluster of large trees, +and had a little dip in the center, in which he lay, while the cruel +wind was broken off by the trees or passed over his head. There was an +access of warmth, and he had a tremendous temptation to lie there, but +he fought it. It was hard to distinguish warmth from numbness, and, if +he remained without motion, he would surely freeze to death, despite the +trees and the dip.</p> + +<p>Reluctantly he began the fourth stage in his flight, and his reluctance +was all the greater because the island +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> +for which he was making was at +least three hundred yards away, and the wind, cold as the Pole and cruel +as death, was rising to a hurricane. It made him waver as he ran, and +his fingers almost froze to his rifle. But he reached the fourth island, +where he sank down exhausted, the fierce wind having taken his breath +for the time. The fires now were far away and he could not distinguish +the Indians from the flames, but he did not believe any of them had come +upon the ice to attack him or to spy him out. While the tremendous cold +almost paralyzed him, it would also withhold their advance upon him for +a while.</p> + +<p>He rose from his covert and started again, although he felt that he was +growing weaker. Such intense exertion, under such conditions, was bound +to tell even upon a frame like his, but he would not let himself falter, +passing from island to island, resting a little at every one, bearing +toward the southeast, and intending to enter the forest about a mile +from the fire on that side. Meanwhile, the chill of the deadly cold and +elation over his escape fought for the mastery of him. He reached the +last little island, scarcely ten yards from the shore, and as he stepped +upon it, two dusky figures threw themselves upon him.</p> + +<p>Henry was thrown back upon the ice, but though the blow was like a +lightning flash, he realized, in an instant, what it meant. The warriors +had not been wholly paralyzed by the cold, and they had stationed guards +at other points along the lagoon to prevent his escape, but +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> these two +were seeking so hard to protect themselves from the cruel wind that they +had not seen him until he was upon them. Knowing that the question of +his life or death would be decided within the next half minute, he put +forth every ounce of his mighty strength, and swept the two warriors +together in his arms.</p> + +<p>His rifle clattered upon the ice, and with the two men clinging to him, +struggling vainly to reach tomahawk or knife, he rose to his feet, still +clutching the warriors. But the feet of all three slipped from under +them, and down they went again with a tremendous impact. The warriors +were on the underside, and Henry fell upon them. There was a rending +crash, as the ice, thinner at that point, owing to the protection of the +island, broke beneath the blow.</p> + +<p>Henry felt the grappling fingers slip from him, and he sprang back just +in time to see the two warriors sink into a narrow but icy gulf, from +which they never rose again. Uttering a cry of horror, he picked up his +rifle and ran for the forest. He knew that chance, or perhaps the will +of the greater powers, had saved him again, but, as he ran, he shuddered +many times, not from the cold, but at the ghastly fate that had +overtaken the warriors. The impression faded by and by. When one is in a +bitter struggle for life he does not have time to think long of the fate +of others, and the savage wilderness through which he fled was too +bitter of aspect then to breed a long pity.</p> + +<p>He was quite sure that he had shaken off the Indians, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> for the time, +anyhow, and again the vital question with him was warmth. The running +was bringing a measure of it, but he could not run forever, and he soon +sank to a walk in order to save himself. But he maintained this gait for +a long time, in truth, until dawn was only three or four hours away, and +then he decided that he would build a fire. It was a risk, but he chose +to take the smaller risk in order to drive off the greater.</p> + +<p>It never before took him so long to kindle his blaze. He found a place +sheltered from the wind, whittled many shavings from dead wood, and used +his flint and steel until his hands ached, coaxing forth the elusive +sparks and trying to make them ignite the wood. They died by hundreds, +but, after infinite industry and patience, they took hold, and he +sheltered the tiny and timid blaze with his body, lest it change its +mind and go away after all. Though it sank several times, it concluded +finally to stay and grow, and, having decided, it showed vigor, burning +fast while Henry fed it.</p> + +<p>As the fire threw out abundant heat he reveled in it. Now he knew better +than ever before that fire was life. He could feel the blood which had +seemed to be ice in his veins thawing and flowing in a full warm flood +again. The beat of his heart grew stronger and the stiff hands acquired +their old flexibility. His face stung at first, but he rubbed ice over +it, and presently it too responded to the grateful heat. An immense +comfort seized him and he felt drowsy. Comfort would become luxury if he +could lie down and sleep, but he knew too much to yield +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> to the demands +of his body. After spending two hours by the fire and becoming +thoroughly soaked in heat, he put out the coals and went on again. As he +walked, he ate the last of his food, and now he must soon find more. The +problem of his escape from the Indians had been solved, but the problem +of finding his comrades was upon his mind, though it must be put off +while he solved that of food.</p> + +<p>He considered it a miracle that his rifle had not gone into the water +with the two warriors. But was it a miracle? Was it not rather another +intercession of the greater powers in his favor? Alone in the wilderness +at such a time a rifle was at least half of life, even more, it was the +very staff of it. Without it he would surely perish. He patted the rifle +with the genuine affection one must feel for so true a weapon. It was a +fine rifle, beautiful in his eyes, with a long, slender barrel of blued +steel, and a polished and carved stock. It had never failed him, and he +knew that it would not fail him now.</p> + +<p>He thought of the rabbits which had been such an abundant resource once. +Many of them must be in their nests under the ice and snow, and he +searched for hours but found none. Yet he could go two or three days +without food, and he did not despair, showing all his usual pertinacity, +never ceasing to look. The hunt led him into rocky ground, and, between +the ledges, he noticed an opening that caused him to take a second look. +Several coarse hairs were on the stone at the entrance, and when he saw +them he knew. It was his animal brother +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span> at home, and he did not forget +his gratitude, but he must live.</p> + +<p>He seized a long stick and thrust it savagely inside. The bear, awakened +from the winter sleep which he had begun luxuriously not long ago, +growled fiercely and rushed out. Then Henry snatched up his rifle and +shot him. The bear had lost much of his fat, but he was a perfect +treasure house of supplies, nevertheless, and steaks from his body were +soon broiling over the coals. Henry, remembering how much food he needed +in such intense cold, and, while he was undergoing physical exertions so +great, ate heavily. As much more as he could conveniently carry he added +to his pack, knowing that he could freeze it at night, and that it would +keep indefinitely. He would have liked the bearskin too, but he did not +care to add so much to his burden, and so he left it reluctantly.</p> + +<p>He was a new man now, made over completely. The wilderness, so far from +being desolate and hostile, took on its old comfortable aspects. It was +a provider of food and shelter to one who knew how to find them, and +certainly none knew better than he. The wants of the body being +satisfied, he began to plan anew for the junction with his comrades. The +great cold would not last much longer. A temperature twenty or thirty +degrees below zero never endured more than a few days. Like as not, it +would break up in a warm rain, to be followed by moderate weather, and +then he could hunt the trail of the four in comfort.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> +His pack was much heavier when he started and the icy coating of the +earth was still slippery, but he made excellent progress, and he was +able to fix in his mind the direction in which the marks on the trees +had pointed. He knew that he must turn back somewhat toward the north in +order to reach that line, and such a change in his course would increase +the danger from the Indians, but he did not hesitate. He made the angle +at once, and then he began to observe the trees with all the patience +and minuteness of which a forest runner in such a crisis was capable.</p> + +<p>It was almost dusk when he found the sign, four slashes of a tomahawk, +eye-high on the stalwart trunk of an oak, and a hundred yards farther on +a similar sign. He traced them fully a mile, and then as the night shut +down, dark and impenetrable, he was compelled to stop. He dared another +fire, the cold was so intense, and began his journey again the next +morning over the ice.</p> + +<p>The rise in the temperature that he had expected did not occur, nor were +there any signs of a change. Evidently the great cold had come to stay +much longer than usual, and, while it hindered his own journey, it also +hindered possible pursuit by the Indians, of whom he saw no traces +anywhere until the third day after he had killed the bear. Then he +observed a great smoke in the south, and he approached near enough to +discover that it was an Indian village, probably Shawnees. It seemed to +be snowed up for the winter, holed up like a bear, and, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> anticipating no +danger from it, he continued his leisurely hunt eastward.</p> + +<p>He lost the traces for a whole day, but recovered them the next morning, +and now they were much fresher. Sap, not yet dead in some of the trees, +had oozed but lately into the cuts, and his heart beat very hard. His +comrades could not be far away. He might reach them the next day or the +day after, and now he was actuated by a curious motive, and yet it was +not curious, when his character is considered.</p> + +<p>He built a fire by the side of one of the pools, with which the forest +was filled. Breaking the ice and daring the fierce chill of the water, +he took a quick bath. Then, while he was wrapped in the blankets and the +painted coat, he washed all his clothing thoroughly, as he had done once +before, and dried it by the fire. When he was able to put it on again, +he washed the blankets in their turn and dried them. He would have +served the painted coat in a similar manner, but, as that was +impossible, he rubbed and pounded it thoroughly.</p> + +<p>His forest toilet complete, Henry felt himself a new man once more, +inwardly and outwardly, freshened up, made presentable to the eye. He +knew that he was haggard and worn. Hercules himself would have been, +after such a flight and pursuit, but at least he was dressed as a forest +runner, neat by nature and careful in his attire, should be.</p> + +<p>Now he followed the traces with renewed strength and speed, and he found +that they came more closely +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> +together, a fact indicating the absence of +Indians from the immediate region, as the four would not leave so broad +a trail, unless they knew it would not bring a strong force of Indians +upon them. Straight now it led, and he crossed numerous frozen streams +and pools or lagoons, and then the night that he felt sure was to be the +last one came, as bitterly cold as ever.</p> + +<p>The next morning he did not put out his fire as usual, instead he built +it up higher, and, passing one of the blankets rapidly back and forth +over it, sent up ring after ring of smoke. They did not thin away and +vanish until they were high in the clear, intensely cold blue sky.</p> + +<p>When his eyes had followed the rings a little while he turned them +toward the eastern horizon and watched there closely. Despite all the +efforts of his will his heart throbbed hard. Would the answer come? He +waited a full half hour, and then his pulses gave a great leap. Rings of +smoke began to rise there under the sky’s rim a full mile away, +ascending like his own into the cold air, where, high up, they thinned +away and vanished. Then his pulses gave another great leap as a second +series of rings rose close beside the first, to be followed quickly by a +third and a fourth. Four fires and four groups of smoke rings rising +into the air! The last doubt disappeared. Paul, the shiftless one, the +silent one, and Long Jim were there. Doubtless they had signaled before, +and now at last he had called to them.</p> + +<p>In his wild exultation he kicked the coals of his own +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> fire apart and +started swiftly toward the four groups of smoke rings. On his way he +sent forth a long thrilling cry that pierced and echoed far through the +wintry forest, and like the distant song of a bugle a similar cry came +back. As he broke into a run, four human figures appeared upon the crest +of a low hill and burst into a simultaneous shout. Then they exclaimed, +also together:</p> + +<p>“Henry!”</p> + +<p>After that, although their emotion was deep, they made no great show of +it. The border was always terse.</p> + +<p>“I knowed you’d shake ’em off, Henry,” said the shiftless one.</p> + +<p>“But it must have been a long chase,” said Paul.</p> + +<p>“Wish I’d been with you,” said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>“Big work,” said Tom Ross.</p> + +<p>“I didn’t do it all my myself,” said Henry. “I was helped by the people +of the forest. They came to my aid again and again.”</p> + +<p>Paul looked at him wondering, and Henry told them how he had been warned +by the animals one after another, and he could not believe it was mere +chance.</p> + +<p>“The woods are full o’ strange things,” said Shif’less Sol, +thoughtfully. “An’ I never try to explain ’em all to myse’f. I let ’em +go fur what they are.”</p> + +<p>“How has it been with all of you?” asked Henry.</p> + +<p>“We stayed a long time on the oasis in the swamp,” replied Paul, “and +then we started toward the north, hanging on to the rear of the pursuit, +and trying for a chance to help you, though we never found it. At last +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> +the great cold made us seek shelter, but we were sure it would compel +the warriors to abandon the chase and drive them into their villages.”</p> + +<p>“After all, it was King Winter that intervened finally in my behalf.”</p> + +<p>“That’s true. And while we were hovering about, hoping to help you, we +left the long trail which I suppose you saw.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, I came upon it, and it led me to you.”</p> + +<p>“An’ now,” said Shif’less Sol, “sence all the warriors hev been drove +into winter quarters, an’ none o’ us hez been killed or took, s’pose we +go into them kind a’ quarters ourselves, an’ keep warm.”</p> + +<p>“Whar?” asked Silent Tom.</p> + +<p>“Why, our old hollow in the cliff!” exclaimed Paul. “The warriors would +not think of marching against it again before next spring, if at all, +and it’s the warmest, safest and finest place in all the wilderness.”</p> + +<p>“A good choice,” said Henry.</p> + +<p>“Right thar we’ll go,” said Shif’less Sol.</p> + +<p>“Ez soon ez we kin make tracks fur it,” said Long Jim.</p> + +<p>“Shore,” said Tom Ross.</p> + +<p>They started at once, and all things turned in their favor. The +wilderness remained frozen and bitter cold, but there was no pursuit. By +all rules, game should have been scarce at such a time, but they found +plenty of it. Day after day they traveled through the woods, crossing +the Ohio on the ice, and at last they drew near the rocky +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> home they had +defended so valiantly, and which once more extended to them a silent +welcome.</p> + +<p>Now they built their fires anew, killed game and obtained abundant +supplies of food and furs, though for two weeks Henry was not allowed to +join the others in the chase, resting like Hercules after his mighty +labors. Then, while the great cold lasted, they, the eyes of the woods, +built up their strength and spirit for new labors and dangers in the +spring.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EYES OF THE WOODS***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 24758-h.txt or 24758-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/7/5/24758">http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/5/24758</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>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. 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C. Hutchison + + +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 Eyes of the Woods + A story of the Ancient Wilderness + + +Author: Joseph A. Altsheler + + + +Release Date: March 5, 2008 [eBook #24758] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EYES OF THE WOODS*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Anne Storer, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 24758-h.htm or 24758-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/7/5/24758/24758-h/24758-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/7/5/24758/24758-h.zip) + + + + + +THE EYES OF THE WOODS + + * * * * * + +By JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + + +THE CIVIL WAR SERIES + +The Guns of Bull Run +The Guns of Shiloh +The Scouts of Stonewall +The Sword of Antietam +The Star of Gettysburg +The Rock of Chickamaugua +The Shades of the Wilderness +The Tree of Appomattox + + +THE WORLD WAR SERIES + +The Guns of Europe +The Hosts of the Air +The Forest of Swords + + +THE YOUNG TRAILERS SERIES + +The Young Trailers +The Forest Runners +The Keepers of the Trail +The Eyes of the Woods +The Free Rangers +The Riflemen of the Ohio +The Scouts of the Valley +The Border Watch + + +THE TEXAN SERIES + +The Texan Star +The Texan Scouts +The Texan Triumph + + +THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR SERIES + +The Hunters of the Hills +The Shadow of the North +The Rulers of the Lakes + + +BOOKS NOT IN SERIES + +Apache Gold +The Quest of the Four +The Last of the Chiefs +In Circling Camps +A Soldier of Manhattan +The Sun of Saratoga +A Herald of the West +The Wilderness Road +My Captive + + +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK + + * * * * * + + +THE EYES OF THE WOODS + +A Story of the Ancient Wilderness + +by + +JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + +Author of +"The Young Trailers," "The Shadow of the North," +"The Hunters of the Hills," "The Tree of Appomattox," Etc. + +Illustrated by D. C. Hutchison + + + + + + + +[Illustration: "It was the shiftless one who had shot the bear, +and he was proud"] + + + +D. Appleton and Company +New York and London: 1917 + +Copyright, 1917, by +D. Appleton and Company + +Printed in the United States of America + + + + +FOREWORD + + +"The Eyes of the Woods" is an independent story, telling of certain +remarkable events in the life of Henry Ware, Paul Cotter, Shif'less Sol +Hyde, Silent Tom Ross and Long Jim Hart. But it is also a part of the +series dealing with these characters, and is the fourth in point of +time, coming just after "The Keepers of the Trail." + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER PAGE + + I. THE FLIGHT 1 + + II. THE GREAT JOKE 23 + + III. A MERRY NIGHT 45 + + IV. THE CAPTURED CANOE 67 + + V. THE PROTECTING RIVER 89 + + VI. THE OASIS 111 + + VII. INTO THE NORTH 130 + +VIII. THE BUFFALO RING 149 + + IX. THE COVERT 168 + + X. THE BEAR GUIDE 186 + + XI. THE GREATER POWERS 209 + + XII. THE STAG'S COMING 225 + +XIII. THE LEAPING WOLF 245 + + XIV. THE WATCHFUL SQUIRREL 266 + + XV. THE LETTER 286 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +"It was the shiftless one who had shot the bear, and +he was proud" _Frontispiece_ + +"'A lot of 'em are dancin' the scalp dance'" 78 + +"Red Eagle rose to address his hosts" 204 + +"A gigantic wolf ... launched himself straight at the +warrior's throat" 254 + + + + +THE EYES +OF THE WOODS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE FLIGHT + + +A strong wind swept over the great forest, sending green leaves and +twigs in showers before it, and bringing clouds in battalions from the +west. The air presently grew cold, and then heavy drops of rain came, +pattering at first like shot, but soon settling into a hard and steady +fall that made the day dark and chill, tingeing the whole wilderness +with gloom and desolation. + +The deer sought its covert, a buffalo, grazing in a little prairie, +thrust its huge form into a thicket, the squirrel lay snug in its nest +in the hollow of a tree, and the bird in the shelter of the foliage +ceased to sing. The only sounds were those of the elements, and the +world seemed to have returned to the primeval state that had endured for +ages. It was the kingdom of fur, fin and feather, and, so far as the +casual eye could have seen, man had not yet come. + +But in the deep cleft of the cliff, from which coign of vantage they had +fought off Shawnee and Miami, Henry Ware, Paul Cotter and Long Jim Hart +sat snug, warm and dry, and looked out at the bitter storm. Near them a +small fire burned, the smoke passing out at the entrance, and at the far +end of the hollow much more wood was heaped. There were five beds of dry +leaves with the blankets lying upon them, useful articles were stored in +the niches of the stone, and jerked meat lay upon the natural shelves. +It was a secret, but cheerful spot in that vast, wet and cold +wilderness. Long Jim felt its comfort and security, as he rose, put +another stick of wood on the fire, and then resumed his seat near the +others. + +"I'm sorry the storm came up so soon," said Henry. "Of course, Sol and +Tom are hardened to all kinds of weather, but it's not pleasant to be +caught in the woods at such a time." + +"And our ammunition," said Paul. "It wouldn't hurt the lead, of course, +but it would be a disaster for the powder to be soaked through and +through. They'd have to go back to the settlements, and that would mean +a long journey and a lot of lost time." + +"I don't think we need be afraid about the powder," said Henry. +"Whatever happens, Sol and Tom will protect it, even if their own bodies +suffer." + +"Then I'm thinkin' they'll have to do a lot of protectin'," said Long +Jim. "The wind is blowin' plum' horizontal, an' the rain is sweepin' +'long in sheets." + +Henry, despite his consoling words, was very anxious. Since their great +battle with the invading Indian force and the destruction of the cannon, +their supply of ammunition had run very low, and without powder and +bullets they were lost in the wilderness. He walked to the narrow +entrance of the cave, and, standing just where the rain could not reach +him, looked out upon the cold and dripping forest, a splendid figure +clothed in deerskin, specially adapted in both body and mind to +wilderness life. + +He saw nothing but the foliage bending before the wind and the chill +sheets sent down by the clouds. The somber sky and the desolation would +not have made him feel lonely, even had he been without his comrades. He +had faced primeval nature too often and he knew it too well to be +overcome or to be depressed by any of its dangers. Yet his heart would +have leaped had he beheld the shiftless and the silent ones, making +their way among the trees, the needed packs on their backs. + +"Any sign, Henry?" asked Paul. + +"None," replied the tall youth, "but they said they'd be here today." + +Paul, who was lying on a great buffalo robe with his feet to the fire, +shifted himself into an easier position. His face expressed content and +he felt no anxiety about the traveling two. + +"If Shif'less Sol promised to be here he'll keep his word," he said, +"and Silent Tom will come without making any promises." + +"You do talk won'erful well sometimes, Paul," said Long Jim, "an' I +reckon you've put the facts jest right. I ain't goin' to be troubled in +my mind a-tall, a-tall 'bout them fellers. They'll be here. Tom loves +nice tender buffler steak best, an' I'm goin' to have it ready fur him, +while Sol dotes most on fat juicy wild turkey, an' that'll be waitin' +fur him, too." + +He turned to his stores, and producing the delicacies his comrades loved +began to fry them over the coals. The pleasant odors filled their rocky +home. + +"I give them two a half hour more," he said. "I ain't got any gift uv +second sight. I don't look into the future--nobody does--but I jest +figger on what they are an' what they kin do, an' then I feel shore that +a half hour more is enough." + +"Henry," asked Paul, "do you think the Miamis and the Shawnees will come +back after us?" + +"I reckon upon it," replied Henry, still watching the wet forest. "Red +Eagle and Yellow Panther are shrewd and thoughtful chiefs, and Braxton +Wyatt and Blackstaffe are full of cunning. They are all able to put two +and two together, and they know that it was we who destroyed their +cannon when they attempted the big attack on the settlements. They'll +look upon us as the scouts and sentinels who see everything they do." + +"The eyes of the woods," said Paul. + +"Yes, that expresses it, and they'll feel that they're bound to destroy +us. As soon as the warriors get over their panic they'll come back to +put out the eyes that see too much of their deeds. They know, of course, +that we hold this hollow and that we've made a home here for a while." + +"But as they won't return for some time I mean to take my comfort while +I can," said Paul sleepily. "I wouldn't exchange this buffalo robe, the +leaves under it, the fire before my feet and the roof of rock over my +head for the finest house in all the provinces. The power of contrast +makes my present situation one of great luxury." + +"Power uv contrast! You do use a heap uv big words, Paul," said Long +Jim, "but I 'spose they're all right. Leastways I don't know they ain't. +Now, I'm holdin' back this buffler steak an' wild turkey, 'cause I want +'em to be jest right, when Sol an' Tom set down afore the fire. See +anythin' comin' through the woods, Henry?" + +"No, Jim, nothing stirs there." + +"It don't bother me. They'll 'pear in good time. They've a full ten +minutes yet, an' thar dinners will be jest right fur 'em. I hate to brag +on myself, but I shorely kin cook. Ain't we lucky fellers, Paul? It +seems to me sometimes that Providence has done picked us out ez speshul +favorites. Good fortune is plum' showered on us. We've got a snug holler +like this, one uv the finest homes a man could live in, an' round us is +a wilderness runnin' thousands uv miles, chock full uv game, waitin' to +be hunted by us. Ev'ry time the savages think they've got us, an' it +looks too ez ef they wuz right, we slip right out uv thar hands an' the +scalps are still growin' full an' free, squar'ly on top uv our heads. We +shorely do git away always, an' it 'pears to me, Paul, that we are +'bout the happiest an' most fort'nate people in the world." + +Paul raised his head and looked at Jim, but it was evident to the lad +that his long comrade was in dead earnest, and perhaps he was right. The +lad shifted himself again and the light of the blaze flickered over his +finely-chiseled, scholarly face. Long Jim glanced at him with +understanding. + +"Ef you had a book or two, Paul," he said, "you could stay here waitin' +an' be happy. Sometimes I wish that I liked to read. What's in it, Paul, +that kin chain you to one place an' make you content to be thar?" + +"Because in the wink of an eye, Jim, it transports you to another world. +You are in new lands, and with new people, seeing what they do and doing +it with them. It gives your mind change, though your body may lie still. +Do you see anything yet, Henry, besides the forest and the rain?" + +"A black dot among the trees, Paul, but it's very small and very far, +and it may be a bear that's wandered out in the wet. Besides, it's two +dots that we want to see, not one, and--as sure as I live there are two, +moving this way, though they're yet too distant for me to tell what they +are." + +"But since they're two, and they're coming towards us, they ought to be +those whom we're expecting." + +"Now they've moved into a space free of undergrowth and I see them more +clearly. They're not bears, nor yet deer. They're living human beings +like ourselves." + +"Keep looking, Henry, and tell us whether you recognize 'em." + +"The first is a tall man, young, with light hair. He is bent over a +little because of the heavy pack on his back, and the long distance he +has come, but he walks with a swing that I've seen before." + +"I reckon," said Long Jim, "that he's close kin to that lazy critter, +Shif'less Sol." + +"Closer even than a twin brother," continued Henry. "I'd know him +anywhere. The other just behind him, and bent also a little with his +heavy pack, is amazingly like a friend of ours, an old comrade who talks +little, but who does much." + +"None other than Silent Tom," said Paul joyfully, as he rose and joined +Henry at the door. "Yes, there they are, two men, staunch and true, and +they bring the powder and lead. Of course they'd come on time! Nothing +could stop 'em. The whole Shawnee and Miami nations might be in between, +but they'd find a way through." + +"An' the buffler steak an' the wild turkey are jest right," called Long +Jim. "Tell 'em to come straight in an' set down to the table." + +Henry, putting his fingers to his lips, uttered a long and cheerful +whistle. The shiftless one and the silent one, raising their heads, made +glad reply. They were soaked and tired, but success and journey's end +lay just before them, and they advanced with brisker steps, to be +greeted with strong clasps of the hand and a warm welcome. They entered +the rocky home, put aside the big packs with sighs of relief and spread +out their fingers to the grateful heat. + +"That's the last work I mean to do fur a year," said Shif'less Sol. +"'Twuz a big job, a mighty big job fur me, a lazy man, an' now I'm goin' +to rest fur months an' months, while Long Jim waits on me an' feeds me." + +"Jest now I'm glad to do it, Sol," said Jim. "Take off your clothes, you +an' Tom, hang 'em on the shelf thar to dry, an' now set to. The steaks +an' the turkey are the finest I ever cooked, an' they're all fur you +two. An' I kin tell you fellers that the sight uv you is good fur weak +eyes." + +Shif'less Sol and Silent Tom ate like epicures, while, denuded of their +wet deerskins but wrapped in dry blankets, they basked in the heat. + +"Not a drop of rain got at the powder," said the shiftless one +presently, "an' even ef we don't capture any from the Injuns we ought to +hev enough thar to last us many months." + +"Did you see anything of the warriors?" asked Henry. + +"We hit one trail 'bout fifty miles south uv here, but we didn't have +time to foller it. Still, it's 'nough to show that they're in between us +an' the settlements." + +"We expected it. We discovered sufficient while you were gone to be sure +they're going to make a great effort to end us. They look upon us as the +eyes of the woods, and they've concluded that their first business is +with us before they make another attack on our villages." + +Shif'less Sol helped himself to a fresh piece of the wild turkey, and +made another fold of the blanket about his athletic body. + +"Paul hez talked so much 'bout them old Romans wrapped in their togys +that I feel like one now," he said, "an' I kin tell you I feel pow'ful +fine, too. That wuz a cold rain an' a wet rain, an' the fire an' the +food are mighty good, but it tickles me even more to know how them +renegades an' warriors rage ag'inst us. I've a heap o' respeck fur Red +Eagle an' Yellow Panther, who are great chiefs an' who are fightin' fur +thar rights ez they see 'em, but the madder Blackstaffe an' Wyatt git +the better I like it." + +"Me, too," said Silent Tom with emphasis, relapsing then into silence +and his preoccupation with the buffalo steak. The shiftless one regarded +him with a measuring gaze. + +"Tom," he said, "why can't you let a feller finish his dinner without +chatterin' furever? I see the day comin' when you'll talk us all plum' +to death." + +Silent Tom shook his head in dissent. He had exhausted speech. + +Paul, who had remained at the door, watching, announced an increase of +rain and wind. Both were driving so hard that leaves and twigs were +falling, and darkness as of twilight spread over the skies. The cold, +although but temporary, was like that of early winter. + +"We needn't expect any attack now," said Henry. "Join us, Paul, around +the fire, and we'll have a grand council, because we must decide how +we're going to meet the great man hunt they're organizing for us." + +Paul left the cleft, and sat down on a doubled blanket with his back +against the wall. He felt the full gravity of the crisis, knowing that +hundreds of warriors would be put upon their trail, resolved never +to leave the search until the five were destroyed, but he had full +confidence in his comrades. In all the world there were not five others +so fit to overcome the dangers of the woods, and so able to endure their +hardships. + +"I suppose, Henry," said Paul, with his mind full of ancient lore, "now +that the Roman Senate, or its successor, is in session you are its +presiding officer." + +"If that's the wish of the rest of you," said Henry. + +"It is!" they said all together. + +Henry, like Paul, was sitting on his doubled blanket with his back +against the stony wall. Jim Hart, his long legs crossed, occupied a +similar position, and, by the flickering light of the fire, Shif'less +Sol and Silent Tom, wrapped in their blankets, looked in truth like +Roman senators. + +"Will you tell us, Henry, what you found out while we wuz away?" asked +the shiftless one. Henry had made a scouting expedition while the two +were gone for the powder and lead. + +"I made one journey across the Ohio," replied their chief, "and at +night I went near a Shawnee village. Red Eagle was there, and so were +Blackstaffe and Wyatt. Lying in the bushes near the fire by which they +sat, I could catch enough of their talk to learn that the Shawnee and +Miami nations are going to bend all their energies and powers to our +destruction. That is settled." + +"I feel a heap flattered," said Shif'less Sol, "that so many warriors +should be sent ag'inst us, who are only five. What wuz it that old +feller was always sayin', Paul, every time he held up a bunch o' fresh +figs before the noses o' the Roman senators?" + +"_Delenda est Carthago_, which is Latin, Sol, and it means just now, +when I give it a liberal translation, that we five must be wiped clean +off the face of the earth." + +"I've heard you say often, Paul, that Latin was a dead language, an' so +all them old dead sayin's won't hev any meanin' fur us. I kin live long +on the threats o' Braxton Wyatt an' Blackstaffe, an' so kin all o' us. +But go on, Henry. I 'pologize fur interruptin' the presidin' officer." + +"I learned all I could there," continued Henry, "but I was able to +gather only their general intention, that is their resolve to crush us, +a plan that both Wyatt and Blackstaffe urged. However, when I trailed a +large band two days later, and crept near their camp, I discovered +more." + +"What wuz it?" exclaimed the shiftless one, leaning forward a little, +his face showing tense and eager in the glow of the flames. + +"They're going to spread a net for us. Not one body of warriors will +seek us, but many. Red Eagle will lead a band, Yellow Panther will be +at the head of another, Braxton Wyatt will be in charge of a third, +Blackstaffe will take a fourth, and there will be at least seven or +eight more, though some of them may unite later. Shif'less Sol has put +it right. We'll be honored as men were never honored before in this +wilderness. At least a thousand warriors, brave and skillful men, all, +will be hunting us, two hundred to one and maybe more." + +"And while they're hunting us," said Paul, his eyes glistening, "we'll +draw 'em off from the settlements, and we'll be serving our people just +as much as we did when we were destroying the big guns, and filling the +warriors with superstitious alarm." + +"True in every word," said Henry, his soul rising for the contest. "Let +'em come on and we'll lead 'em such a chase that their feet will be worn +to the bone, and their minds will be full of despair!" + +"You put it right," said the shiftless one. "I think I'll enjoy bein' a +fox fur awhile. The forest is full o' holes an' dens, an' when they dig +me out o' one I'll be off fur another." + +"We know the wilderness as well as they do," said Henry, "and we can use +as many tricks as they can. Now, since they're spreading a great net, we +must take the proper steps to evade it. Having besieged our refuge here +once, they'll naturally look again for us in this place. If they catch +us inside they'll sit outside until they starve us to death." + +"Which means," said Paul regretfully, "that we must leave our nice dry +home." + +"So it does, but not, I think, before tomorrow morning, and we'll use +the hours meanwhile to good advantage. We must begin at once molding +into bullets the lead that Sol and Tom brought." + +Every one of the five carried with him that necessary implement in the +wilderness, a bullet mold, and they began the task immediately, all save +Henry, who went outside, despite the fierce rain, and scouted a bit +among the bushes and trees. The four made bullets fast, melting the +lead in a ladle that Jim carried, pouring it into the molds, and then +dropping the shining and deadly pellets one by one into their pouches. +Three of them talked as they worked, but Silent Tom did not speak for a +full hour. Then he said: + +"We'll have five hundred apiece." + +Shif'less Sol looked at him reprovingly. + +"Tom," he said, "I predicted a while ago that the time wuz soon comin' +when you'd talk us to death. You used five words then, when you know +your 'lowance is only one an hour." + +Tom Ross flushed under his tan. He hated, above all things, to be +garrulous. "Sorry," he muttered, and continued his work with renewed +energy and speed. The bullets seemed to drop in a shining stream from +his mold into his pouch. But Shif'less Sol talked without ceasing, his +pleasant chatter encouraging them, as music cheers troops for battle. + +"It ain't right fur me to hev to work this way," he said, "me sich a +lazy man. I ought to lay over thar on a blanket, an' go to sleep while +Jim does my share ez well ez his own." + +"When I'm doin' your share, Sol Hyde," said Long Jim, "you'll be dead. +Not till then will I ever tech a finger to your work. You are a lazy +man, ez you say, an' fur sev'ral years now I've been tryin' to cure you +uv it, but I ain't made no progress that I kin see." + +"I don't want you to make progress, Jim. I like to be lazy, an' jest now +I feel pow'ful fine, fed well, an' layin' here, wrapped in a blanket +before a good warm fire." + +Henry went back to the cleft, and took another long look. The conditions +had not changed, save that night was coming and the wilderness was chill +and hostile. The wind blew with a steady shrieking sound, and the +driving rain struck like sleet. Leaves fell before it, and in every +depression of the earth the water stood in pools. Over this desolate +scene the faint sun was sinking and the twilight, colder and more solemn +than the day, was creeping. He looked at the wet forest and the coming +dusk, and then back at the dry hollow and the warm fire behind him. The +contrast was powerful, but only one choice was left to them. + +"Boys," he said, "we'll have to make the most of tonight." + +"Because we must leave our home in the morning?" said Paul. + +"Yes, that's it. We'll have to take to the woods, no matter how hard it +is. Chance doesn't favor us this time. I fancy the band led by Braxton +Wyatt will make straight for our house here." + +"Since it's the last dry bed I'll have fur some time I'm goin' to +sleep," said Shif'less Sol plaintively. "Everybody pesters a lazy man, +an' I mean to use the little time I hev." + +"You've a right to it, Sol," said Henry, "because you've walked long and +far, and you've brought what we needed most. The sooner you and Tom go +to sleep the better. Paul, you join 'em and Jim and I will watch." + +The shiftless one and the silent one turned on their sides, rested their +heads on their arms and in a minute or two were off to the land of +slumber. Paul was slower, but in a quarter of an hour or so he followed +them to the same happy region. Long Jim put out the fire, lest the gleam +of the coals through the cleft should betray their presence to a +creeping enemy--although neither he nor Henry expected any danger at +present--and took his place beside his watchful comrade. + +The two did not talk, but in the long hours of rain and darkness they +guarded the entrance. Their eyes became so used to the dusk that they +could see far, but they saw nothing alive save, late in the night, a +lumbering black bear, driven abroad and in the storm by some restless +spirit. Long Jim watched the ungainly form, as it shambled out of sight +into a thicket. + +"A bad conscience, I reckon," he said. "That b'ar would be layin' snug +in his den ef he didn't hev somethin' on his mind. He's ramblin' 'roun' +in the rain an' cold, cause's he's done a wrong deed, an' can't sleep +fur thinkin' uv it. Stole his pardner's berries an' roots, mebbe." + +"Perhaps you're right, Jim," Henry said, "and animals may have +consciences. We human beings are so conceited that we think we alone +feel the difference between right and wrong." + +"I know one thing, Henry, I know that b'ars an' panthers wouldn't leave +thar own kind an' fight ag'inst thar own race, as Braxton Wyatt an' +Blackstaffe do. That black b'ar we jest saw may feel sore an' bad, but +he ain't goin' to lead no expedition uv strange animals ag'inst the +other black b'ars." + +"You're right, Jim." + +"An' fur that reason, Henry, I respeck a decent honest black b'ar, even +ef he is mad at hisself fur some leetle mistake, an' even ef he can't +read an' write an' don't know a knife from a fork more than I do a +renegade man who's huntin' the scalps uv them he ought to help." + +"Well spoken, Jim. Your sense of right and wrong is correct nearly +always. Like you, I've a lot of respect for the black bear, and also for +the deer and the buffalo and the panther and the other people of the +woods. Do you think the rain is dying somewhat?" + +"'Pears so to me. It may stop by day an' give us a chance to leave +without a soakin'." + +They relapsed again into a long silence, but they saw that their hope +was coming true. The wind was sinking, its shriek shrinking to a whisper +and then to a sigh. The rain ceased to beat so hard, coming by and by +only in fitful showers, while rays of moonlight, faint at first, began +to appear in the western sky. In another half hour the last shower came +and passed, but the forest was still heavy with dripping waters. Henry, +nevertheless, knew that it was time to go, and he awakened the sleepers. + +"We must make up our packs," he said. + +The five worked with speed and skill. All the lead, newly brought, had +been molded into bullets, and the powder, save that in their horns, +was carried in bags. This, with the blankets and portions of food, +constituted most of their packs. Some furs and skins they left to those +who might come, and then they slipped from the warm hollow, which had +furnished such a grateful shelter to them. + +"It's just as well," said Henry, "that we should let 'em think we're +still in there. Then they may waste a day or two in approaching, so hide +your footprints." + +The earth was soft from the rain, but the stony outcrop ran a long +distance, and they walked on it cautiously so far as it went, after +which they continued on the fallen trunks and brush, with which the +forest had been littered by the winds of countless years. They were +able, without once touching foot to ground, to reach a brook, into which +they stepped, following its course at least two miles. When they emerged +at last they sat down on stones and let the water run from their +moccasins and leggings. + +"I don't like getting wet, this way," said Henry, "but there was no +choice. At least, we know we've come a great distance and have left no +trail. There'll be no chance to surprise us now. How long would you say +it is till day, Sol?" + +"'Bout two hours," replied the shiftless one, "an' I 'spose we might ez +well stay here a while. We're south o' the hollow an' Wyatt an' his band +are purty shore to come out o' the north. The woods are mighty wet, but +the day is goin' to be without rain, an' a good sun will dry things +fast. What we want is to git a new home fur a day or two, in some deep +thicket." + +They began to search and presently found a dense tangle, with several +large trees growing near the center of it, the trunk of one of them +hollowed out by time. In the opening they put their bags of powder, part +of their bullets and other supplies, and then, wrapped in their +blankets, sat down in the brush before it. + +"Now, Henry," said Shif'less Sol, "it's shore that we ain't goin' to be +besieged, though our empty holler may be, an' that bein' the case, an' +the trouble bein' passed fur the moment, you an' Jim, who watched most +o' the night, go to sleep, an' Tom an' Paul too might take up thar naps +whar they left 'em off. I'll do the watchin', an' I'll take a kind o' +pride in doin' it all by myself." + +The others made no protest, but, leaning their backs against the tree +trunks, soon fell asleep, while the shiftless one, rifle under his arm, +went to the edge of the canebrake, and began his patrol. He bore little +resemblance to a lazy man now. He was, next to Henry, the greatest +forest runner of the five, a marvel of skill, endurance and perception, +with a mighty heart beating beneath his deerskins, and an intellect of +wonderful native power, reasoning and drawing deductions under his +thatch of blonde hair. + +Shif'less Sol listened to the drip, drip of water from the wet boughs +and leaves, and he watched a great sun, red and warm, creep slowly over +the eastern hills. He was not uncomfortable, nor was he afraid of +anything, but he was angry. He remembered with regret the pleasant +hollow, so dry and snug. It belonged, by right of discovery and +improvement, to his comrades and himself, but it might soon be defiled +by the presence of Indians, led by the hated renegade, Braxton Wyatt. +They would sleep on his favorite bed of leaves, they would cook where +Long Jim Hart had cooked so well, though they could never equal him, and +they would certainly take as their own the furs and skins they had been +compelled to leave behind. + +The more he thought of it the stronger his wrath grew. Had it not been +for his fear of leaving a betraying trail he would have gone back to see +if the warriors were already approaching the hollow; but his sense of +duty and obvious necessity kept him at the edge of the brake in which +his comrades lay, deep in happy slumber. + +Morning advanced, warm and beautiful, sprinkling the world at first +with silver and then with gold, the sky gradually turning to a deep +velvety blue, as intense as any that the shiftless one had ever seen. +The myriads of raindrops stood out at first like silver beads on grass +and leaves, and then dried up rapidly under the brilliant rays of the +sun. A light breeze blew through the foliage, and sang a pleasant song +as it blew. + +Shif'less Sol felt a wonderful uplift of the spirits. In the darkness +and rain of the night before he might have been depressed somewhat at +leaving their good shelter for the wet wilderness, but in the splendid +dawn he was all buoyancy and confidence. + +"Let 'em come," he said to himself. "Let Braxton Wyatt an' Blackstaffe +an' all the Miamis an' Shawnees hunt us fur a year, but they won't get +us, no, not one of us." + +Then he sank silently in the deep grass and slid cautiously away, not +toward the dense brake, but to a point well to one side. His acute ear +had heard a sound which was not a part of the morning, and while it +might be made by a wild animal, then again it might be caused by wilder +man. He thanked his wary soul, when, looking above the tops of the +grass, he saw two warriors, Shawnees by their paint, emerge from the +woods and walk northward, to be followed presently by a full score more, +Braxton Wyatt himself at their head. + +And so the band had come out of the south, instead of the north! +Doubtless they had circled about before approaching, in order to make +the surprise complete, and the trigger drew the finger of the shiftless +one like a magnet, as he looked at the renegade, the most ruthless +hunter among those who hunted the five. Although the temptation to do so +was strong, Shif'less Sol did not fire, knowing that his bullet would +draw the attack of the band upon his comrades and himself. Instead, he +followed them cautiously about half a mile. + +He was confirmed in his opinion--in truth, little short of certainty in +the first instance--that they were marching against the hollow, and its +supposed inmates, as presently they began to advance with extreme care, +kneeling down in the undergrowth and sending out flankers. Shif'less Sol +laughed. It was a low laugh, but deep, and full of unction. He knew that +the farther march of Wyatt and his warriors would be very slow, having +in mind the deadly rifles of the five, the muzzles of which they would +feel sure were projecting from the mouth of the rocky retreat. It was +likely that the entire morning would be spent in an enveloping movement, +dusky figures creeping forward inch by inch in a semi-circle, and then +nothing would be inside the semi-circle. + +Shif'less Sol laughed to himself again, and with the same deep and +heartfelt unction. Then he turned and went back to his comrades, who yet +slept soundly in the brake. The cane was so dense that they lay in the +dimness of the shadows, and there was no disturbing light upon their +eyes to awaken them. Shif'less Sol contemplated them with satisfaction, +and then he sat down silently near them. He saw no reason to awaken +them. Braxton Wyatt was now formally arranging the siege of the rocky +refuge and its vanished defenders, and he would not interrupt him for +worlds in that congenial task. For the third time he laughed to himself +with depth and unction. + +The sun rose higher in a sky that arched in its perfect blue over a day +of dazzling beauty. The last drop of rain on leaf or grass dried up, and +the forest was a deep green, suffused and tinted, though, with a +luminous golden glow from the splendid sun. The shiftless one raised his +head and inhaled its clear, sweet odors, the great heart under the +deerskins and the great brain under the thatch of hair alike sending +forth a challenge. Not all the Shawnees, not all the Miamis, not all the +renegades could drive the five from this mighty, unoccupied wilderness +of Kain-tuck-ee, which his comrades and he loved and in which they had +as good a right as any Indian or renegade that ever lived. + +It was so still in the canebrake that the birds over the head of the +watcher began to sing. Another black bear lumbered toward them, and, +catching the strange, human odor, lumbered away again. A deer, a tall +buck, holding up his head, sniffed the air, and then ran. Wild turkeys +in a distant tree gobbled, a bald eagle clove the air on swift wing, but +the sleepers slept placidly on. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE GREAT JOKE + + +Mid-morning and Henry awoke, yawning a little and stretching himself +mightily. Then he looked questioningly at Shif'less Sol who sat in a +position of great luxury with his doubled blanket between his back and +a tree trunk, and his rifle across his knees. The look of satisfaction +that had come there in the morning like a noon glow still overspread his +tanned and benevolent countenance. + +"Well, Sol?" + +"Well, Henry?" + +"What has happened while we slept?" + +"Nothin', 'cept that Braxton Wyatt an' twenty Shawnee warriors passed, +takin' no more notice o' us than ef we wuz leaves o' the forest." + +"Advancing on our old house?" + +"Yes, they've set the siege by now." + +"And we're not there. I'll wake the others. They must share in the +joke." + +Paul, Long Jim and Silent Tom wiped the last wisp of sleep from their +eyes, and, when they heard the tale of a night and a morning, they too +laughed to themselves with keen enjoyment. + +"What will we do, Henry?" Paul asked. + +"First, we'll eat breakfast, though it's late. Then we'll besiege the +besiegers. While they're drawing the net which doesn't enclose us we +might as well do 'em all the harm we can. We're going to be dangerous +fugitives." + +The five laughed in unison. + +"We'll make Braxton Wyatt and the Shawnees think the forest is full of +enemies," said Paul. + +Meanwhile they took their ease, and ate breakfast of wild turkey, +buffalo steak and a little corn bread that they hoarded jealously. The +sun continued its slow climb toward the zenith and Paul, looking up +through the canes, thought he had never seen a finer day. Then he +remembered something. + +"I suggest that we don't move today," he said. "They won't approach the +hollow until night anyway, and it wouldn't hurt for us to lie here in +the shelter of the brake and rest until dark." + +Henry looked at him in surprise. + +"Your idea is sudden and I don't understand it," he said. + +"So it is, Henry, but it never occurred to me until a moment ago that +this was Sunday. We haven't observed Sunday in a long time, and now is +our chance. We can't wholly forget our training." + +He spoke almost with apology, but the leader did not upbraid him. +Instead, he looked at the others and found agreement in their eyes. + +"Paul talks in a cur'ous manner an' has cur'ous notions sometimes," said +Shif'less Sol, "but I don't say they ain't good. It's a long time since +we've paid any 'tention to Sunday, but the idee sticks in my mind. Mebbe +it would be a good way fur us to start our big fight ag'inst the tribes +an' the renegades." + +"When Cromwell and his Ironsides advanced against the Royalists," said +Paul, "they knelt down and prayed first on the very field of battle. +Then they advanced with their pikes in a solid line, and nothing was +ever able to stand before them." + +"Then we'll keep Sunday," said Henry decisively. + +Paul, feeling a thrill of satisfaction, lay back on his blanket. The +idea that they should observe Sunday, that it would be a good omen and +beginning, had taken hold of him with singular power. His character was +devout and a life in the wilderness among its mighty manifestations +deepened its quality. Like the Indian he wanted the spirits of earth and +air on his side. + +The five had acquired the power of silence and to rest intensely when +nothing was to be done. Their food finished, they lay back against their +doubled blankets in a calm and peace that was deep and enduring. It was +not necessary to go to the edge of the canebrake, as in the brilliant +light of the day they might be noticed there, and, where they lay, they +could see anyone who came long before he arrived. + +Paul, as he breathed, absorbed belief and confidence in their success. +Surely so bright a sky bending over them was a good omen! and the tall +canes themselves, as they bent before the wind, whispered to him that +all would be well. Henry in his own way was no less imaginative than his +young comrade. He let his eyelids droop, not to sleep, but to listen. +Then as no one of the five stirred, he too heard the voice of the wind, +but it sang to him a song far more clear than any Paul heard. It told of +triumphs achieved and others yet to come, and, as the great youth lifted +his lazy lids and looked around at the others, he felt that they were +equal to any task. + +The afternoon, keeping all its promise of brilliant beauty, waxed and +waned. The great sun dipped behind the forest. The twilight came, at +first a silver veil, then a robe of dusk, and after it a night luminous +with a clear moon and myriads of stars wrapped the earth, touching every +leaf and blade of grass with a white glow. + +Still the five did not stir. For a long time they had seemed a part of +the forest itself, and the wild animals and birds, rejoicing in the dry +and beautiful night after the stormy one that had passed, took them to +be such, growing uncommonly brave. The restless black bear came back, +looked at them, and then sniffing disdainfully went away to hunt for +roots. The great wings of the eagle almost brushed the cane that hung +over Henry's head, but the little red eyes were satisfied that what +they saw was not living, and the dark body flashed on in search of its +prey. + +"Three hours more at least, Paul," said Henry at last, "until Sunday is +over." + +"And I suggest that we wait the full three hours before we make any +movement. I know it looks foolish in me to say it, but the feeling is +very strong on me that it will be a good thing to do." + +"Not foolish at all, Paul. I look at it just as you do, and since we've +begun the observance we ought to carry it through to the finish. You +agree with me, don't you, boys?" + +"I shorely do," said the shiftless one. + +"Ef Paul thinks it's right it's right," said Long Jim. + +"Can't hurt anythin'; it may help," said Silent Tom. + +They resumed their silence and waiting, and meanwhile they listened +attentively for any sound that might come from those who were stalking +their old home. But the deep stillness continued, save for the light +song of the wind that sang continually among the leaves. Henry, in his +heart, was truly glad of Paul's idea, and that they had concluded to +observe it. A spiritual atmosphere clothed them all. They had come of +religious parents, and the borderer, moreover, always personified the +great forces of nature, before which he was reverential. The five now +were like the Romans and the Greeks, who were anxious to propitiate the +gods ere going into action. + +Henry gazed at the moon, a silver globe in the heavens, and he +distinctly saw the man upon its surface, who returned his looks with +benevolence, while the countless stars about it quivered and glittered +and shed a propitious light. Then he gazed at his comrades, resting +against the trunks of the trees, and unreal in the silver mist. They +were yet so still that the wild animals might well take them to be +lifeless, and the power to sit there so long without stirring a muscle +was one acquired only by warriors and scouts. + +A faint whining cry came out of the silver dark, a sound that had +traveled a great distance on waves of air, and every one of the five +understood it, on the instant. It was one of the most ominous sounds of +the forest, a sound full of ferocity and menace, the howl of the wolf, +but they knew it came from human lips, that, in truth, it was a signal +ordered by the leader of the besieging band. Presently the reply, a +similar cry, came from another point of the compass, traveling like the +first on waves of air, until it died away in a savage undernote. + +"They've probably set their lines all the way around our hollow, and +they're sure now they'll hold us fast," said Henry, with grim irony. + +"That's 'bout it, I take it," said Shif'less Sol, "an' it 'pears to me +that this is the time for us to laugh, purvidin' it won't be in any way +breakin' uv our agreement to keep the day till its very last minute." + +He looked questioningly at Paul. + +"To laugh is not against our compact," replied the lad, "since it has +such good cause. When a net is cast for us, and those who cast it are +so confident we're in it, we've a right to laugh as long as we're +outside it." + +"Then," said Shif'less Sol with conviction, "ez thar's so much to laugh +at, an' we've all agreed to laugh, we'll laugh." + +The five accordingly laughed, but the laughs were soundless. Their eyes +twinkled, their lips twitched, but the canebrake, save for the ceaseless +rustle of the singing wind, was as silent as ever. No one five feet away +would have known that anybody was laughing. + +"Thar, I feel better," said Shif'less Sol, when his face quit moving, +"but though they're a long distance off I kin see with my mind's eyes +Braxton Wyatt an' his band stalkin' us in our home in the rock, an' +claspin' us in a grip that can't be shook off." + +"Shettin' down on us," said Silent Tom. + +The shiftless one bent upon him a reproving look. + +"Thar you are, Tom!" he said, "talkin' 'us to death ag'in. Can't you +ever give your tongue no rest?" + +Silent Tom blushed once more under his tan, but said nothing, abashed by +his comrade's stern rebuke. + +"Yes, I kin see Braxton Wyatt an' his band stalkin' us," resumed +Shif'less Sol, having the floor, or rather the earth, again to himself. +"Braxton's heart is full o' unholy glee. He is sayin' to hisself that we +can't git away from him this time, that he's stretched 'bout us a ring, +through which we'll never break. He's laughin' to hisself jest az we +laugh to ourselves, though with less cause. He's sayin' that he an' his +warriors will set down at a safe distance from our rifles an' wait +patiently till we starve to death or give up an' trust ourselves to his +tender mercy. He's braggin' to hisself 'bout his patience, how he kin +set thar fur a month, ef it's needed, an' I kin read his mind. He's +thinkin' that even ef we give up it won't make no diff'unce. Our scalps +will hang up to dry jest the same, an' he will take most joy in lookin' +at yours, Henry, your ha'r is so fine an' so thick an' so yellow, an' he +hez such a pizen hate o' you." + +"Your fancy is surely alive tonight, Sol," said Henry, "and I believe +the thought of Braxton Wyatt's disappointment later on is what has +stirred it up so much." + +"I 'low you're right, Henry, but I'm thinkin' 'bout the grief o' that +villain, Blackstaffe, too. Oh, he'll be a terrible sorrowful man when +the net's closed, an' he finds thar's nothin' in it. It will be the +great big disappointment o' his life an' I 'low it will be some time +afore Moses Blackstaffe kin recover from the blow." + +The silent laugh again overspread the countenance of the shiftless one +and lingered there. It was one of the happiest moments that he had ever +known. There was no malice in his nature, but he knew the renegades were +hunting for his life with a vindictiveness and cruelty surpassing that +of the Indians themselves, and he would not have been true to human +nature had he not obeyed the temptation to rejoice. + +"A half hour more and Sunday will have passed," said Henry, who was +again attentively surveying the man in the moon. + +"An' then," said Long Jim, "we'll take a look at what them fellers are +doin'." + +"It will be a good move on our part, and if we can think of any device +to make 'em sure we're still in the hollow it will help still more." + +"Which means," said Paul, "that one of us must pass through their lines +and fire upon them from the inside, that is, he must give concrete proof +that he's in the net." + +"Big words!" muttered Long Jim. + +"I think you put it about right," said Henry. + +"Mighty dang'rous," said Shif'less Sol. + +"I expected to undertake it," said Henry. + +"You speak too quick," said the shiftless one. "I said it wuz dang'rous +'cause I want it fur myself. It's got to be a cunnin' sort o' deed, jest +the kind that will suit me." + +"By agreement I'm the leader, and I've chosen this duty for myself," +said Henry firmly. + +"Thar are times when I don't like you a-tall, a-tall, Henry," said +Shif'less Sol plaintively. "You're always pickin' out the good risky +adventures fur yourse'f. Ef thar's any fine, lively thing that will +make a feller's ha'r stan' up straight on end an' the chills chase one +another up an' down his back, you're sure to grab it off, an' say it wuz +jest intended fur you. That ain't the right way to treat the rest o' us +nohow." + +"No, it ain't," grumbled Silent Tom, but Shif'less Sol turned fiercely +on him. + +"Beginnin' to talk us to death ag'in, are you, Tom Ross?" he exclaimed. +"Runnin' on forever with that garrylous tongue o' yourn! You jest let +me have this out with Henry!" + +Again Tom Ross blushed in the darkness and under the tan. A terrible +fear seized him that he had indeed grown garrulous, a man of many and +empty words. It was all right for Shif'less Sol to talk on forever, +because the words flowed from his lips in a liquid stream, like water +coursing down a smooth channel, but it did not become Tom Ross, from +whom sentences were wrenched as one would extract a tooth. Paul laughed +softly but with intense enjoyment. + +"When I die, seventy or eighty years from now," he said, "and go to +Heaven, I expect, when I pass through the golden gates, to hear a steady +and loud but pleasant buzz. It will go on and on, without ceasing. Maybe +it will be the droning of bees, but it won't be. Maybe it will be the +roar of water over a fall, but it won't be. Maybe it will be a strong +wind among the boughs, but it won't be. Oh, no, it will be none of those +things. It will be one Solomon Hyde, formerly of Kentucky, and they'll +tell me that his tongue has never stopped since he came to Heaven ten +years before, and off in one corner there'll be a silent individual, Tom +Ross, who entered Heaven at the same time. And they'll say that in all +the ten years he has spoken only once and that was when he passed the +gates, looked all around and said: 'Good, but not much better than the +Ohio Country.'" + +Both Shif'less Sol and Silent Tom grinned, but the discussion was not +pursued, as Henry announced that he was about to leave them in order to +enter the Indian ring, and make Wyatt and the warriors think the rocky +hollow was defended. + +"The rest of you would better stay in the canebrakes or the thickets," +he said. + +"We won't go so fur away that we can't hear any signal you may make," +said Long Jim Hart. "Give us the cry uv the wolf. Thar are lots uv +wolves in these woods, Injun an' other kinds, but we know yourn from the +rest, Henry." + +"And don't take too big risks," said Paul. + +"I won't," said Henry, and he quickly vanished from their sight among +the bushes. Two hundred yards away, and he stopped, but he could not +hear them moving. Nor had he expected that any sound would come from +them to him, knowing that they would lie wholly still for a long time, +awaiting his passage through the Indian lines. + +The heart of the great youth swelled within him. As truly a son of the +wilderness as primitive man had been thousands of years ago, before +civilization had begun, when he depended upon the acuteness of his +senses to protect him from monstrous wild beasts, he was as much at home +now as the ordinary man felt in city streets, and he faced his great +task not only without apprehension, but with a certain delight. He had +the Indian's cunning and the white man's intellect as well, and he was +eager to match wits and cunning against those of the warriors. + +He would have been glad had the night turned a little darker, but the +full burnished moon and showers of stars gave no promise of it, and he +must rely upon his own judgment to seek the shadows, and to pass where +they lay thickest. The forest, spread about him, was magnificent with +oak and beech and elm of great size, but the moonlight and the starshine +shone between the trunks, and moving objects would have been almost as +conspicuous there as in the day. Hence he sought the brushwood, and +advancing swiftly in its shelter, he approached the place that had been +such a comfortable home for the five, but which they had thought it wise +to abandon. A whimsical fancy, a desire to repay them for the evil they +were doing, seized him. He would not only draw the warriors on, but he +would annoy and tantalize them. He would make them think the evil +spirits were having sport with them. + +A half mile, and he sank to the earth, lying so still that anyone a yard +away could not have heard him breathe. Two warriors stood under the +boughs of an oak and they were looking in the direction of the hollow. +He had no doubt they were watchers, posted there to prevent the flight +of the besieged in that direction, and he was shaken with silent +laughter at this spectacle of men who stood guard that none might pass, +when there was none to pass. He was already having his revenge upon them +for the trouble they were causing and he felt that the task of repayment +was beginning well. + +The two Shawnees walked back and forth a little, searching everything +with their questing eyes, but they did not speak. Presently they turned +somewhat to one side, and Henry, still using the shelter of the +brushwood, flitted silently past them. Three or four hundred yards +farther and he lay down, laughing again to himself. It had been +ridiculously easy. All his wild instincts were alive and leaping, and +his senses became preternaturally acute. He heard some tiny animals of +the cat tribe, alarmed by his presence, stealing away among the bushes, +and the sound of an owl moving ever so slightly in the thick leaves on a +bough came to his ears. But he was so still that the owl became still +too, and did not know when he arose and moved on. + +Henry believed that the two warriors were merely guards on the outer rim +and that soon he would encounter more, a belief verified within ten +minutes. Then he heard talking and saw Braxton Wyatt himself and three +Shawnees, one a very large man who seemed to be second in command. Lying +at his ease and in a good covert he watched them, laughing again and +again to himself. For such as he this was, in truth, fine sport, and he +enjoyed it to the utmost. Wyatt was looking toward the point where the +cliffs that contained the rocky hollow showed dimly in the silver haze. +His face expressed neither triumph nor confidence, and Henry, seeing +that he was troubled, enjoyed it. + +"I wish we knew how well they are provided with food and ammunition," he +heard him say. + +"They will have plenty," the big warrior said. "The mighty young chief, +Ware, will see to it." + +Henry felt a thrill at the words. The Shawnee was paying a tribute to +him, and he could not keep from hearing it. + +"They beat us off before," said Wyatt gloomily. "We had them trapped in +the hollow, but we could not carry it." + +"But this time," said the warrior, "we will sit down before it, and wait +until they come out, trembling with weakness and begging us to give them +food that they may keep the life in their bodies." + +"It will be a sight to make my eyes and heart rejoice," said Braxton +Wyatt. + +The hammer and trigger of Henry's rifle were a powerful magnet for his +hand. The young renegade's voice expressed so much revenge and malice, +so much accumulated poison that the world would be a much better place +without him. Then why not rid it of his presence? He stood there +outlined sharp and clear in the silver dusk, and a marksman, such as +Henry, could not miss. But his will restrained the eager fingers. It was +not wise now, nor could he shoot even a renegade from ambush. Using the +extremest caution, lest the moving of a leaf or a blade of grass betray +his presence, he passed on, and now he was sure that he was well within +the Indian ring. + +Advancing more rapidly he ascended the slope, and came to the hollow, +which he reached while yet under cover. He waited a long time to see +whether Wyatt had posted any sentinels within eyeshot or earshot, as he +had no desire to be trapped inside, and then, feeling sure that they +were not near, he entered. + +Their home was undisturbed. The dead ashes of their last fire lay +untouched. Various articles that they could not take with them were +undisturbed on the rocky shelves. But he gave the interior only a few +rapid and questing looks, and then he went outside again, his mind set +on a dense clump of bushes that grew near the entrance. + +He buried himself in the heavy shade, but he did not seek it alone +because of shelter. He saw that a good line of retreat led from it over +the shoulder of the hill, and then down a slope that admitted good +speed. Having made sure of his ground, he filled his lungs and sent +forth the cry of the wolf, long and sinister and full of a power that +carried far over the forest. He knew that the listening four would hear +it, and he knew, too, that it would reach the ears of Braxton Wyatt and +all the Shawnees. And hearing it, they would be absolutely sure that the +five were now in the hollow where they might be held until they dropped +dead of hunger or yielded themselves to the mercy of those who knew no +mercy. + +Fierce, triumphant yells came from all the points of the circle about +him, and once more and with deep content Henry laughed. He would fool +them, he would play with them, and meanwhile his comrades, to keep the +sport going, might sting them on the flank. After the yells, the night +resumed its usual silence, and Henry, lying in his covert, watched on +all sides, while he laid his plans to vex and torment Braxton Wyatt and +his band. He knew it was an easy matter for his comrades and himself to +escape this particular expedition sent against them, but it was likely +that they would encounter other and larger forces farther south, and he +wished the battlefield, if it shifted at all, to shift northward. Hence +he intended to hold Wyatt there as long as possible. + +After a while, he was sure that he saw the tops of some bushes moving in +a direction not with the wind, and he was equally sure that Shawnees +were coming forward. Nearly half an hour passed and then a bead of fire +appeared as a rifle was discharged, and the shot had an uncommonly loud +sound in the clear, noiseless night. He heard, too, the click of the +bullet as it struck against the stone near the mouth of the hollow, and +once more he laughed. It was an amusing night for him. The warriors, now +that they had crept within range, would be sure to sprinkle the stone +around the cleft with bullets, and lead was too precious in the +wilderness to be wasted. + +He flattened himself upon the earth, merely keeping his rifle thrust +forward for an emergency, and he blended so perfectly with grass and +foliage that not even the keen eyes of Shawnees ten feet away could have +detected him. A second shot was fired, and he heard the bullet clipping +leaves not far away; a third followed and then a volley, all of the +bullets striking at some point near the entrance. The volley was +followed by a long and fierce war whoop and far down the valley Henry +caught sight of a dusky form. Quick as lightning he raised his rifle, +pulled the trigger and the figure disappeared. Then another war whoop, +now expressing grief and rage, came, and he knew that the band would +think the bullet had been sent from the mouth of the rock fortress. He +crept a little farther away, lest a stalker should stumble upon him, and +reloaded his rifle. + +He lay quite still a long time, and the first sound he heard was of slow +and cautious footsteps. He listened to them attentively and he wondered. +A warrior surely would not come walking in a manner that soon became +shambling. Putting his ear to the earth he heard a soft and uncertain +crush, crush, and then, raising his head a little, he traced a dark, +ambiguous figure. But he knew it, nevertheless, by the two red eyes +blinking in doubt and dismay. It was a black bear, doubtless the same +one they had already disturbed. + +Here he was, like Henry himself, within the Shawnee ring, but, unlike +him, not there of his own free will. The shots and the war whoops had +terrified him to the utmost, and they had always driven him back toward +the center of the circle. Henry, moved by a spirit that was as much +friendliness as sport, uttered a low woof. The bear paused, raised his +head a little higher, and inhaled the wind. At any other time he would +have fled in dismay from the human odor, but he was a harried and +frightened black bear and that woof was the first friendly sound he had +heard in a day. So he remained where he was, his figure crouched, his +red eyes quivering with curiosity. Henry smiled to himself. His feeling +for the animal was one of pure friendship, allied with sympathy. He knew +that if the bear tried to plunge through the Indian ring in his panic +they would certainly kill him. Moreover, they would cook him and eat him +the next day. The Indians liked fat young bear better than venison. + +It was a whimsical impulse of his generous nature to try to save the +bear, and he edged around until the puzzled animal was between him and +the mouth of the cave. The bear once started to run to the west, but a +rifle shot fired suddenly in that segment of the circle stopped him. He +remained again undecided, his tongue lolling out and his red eyes full +of dismay. Henry crept slowly toward him, uttering the low woof, woof, +several times, and bruin, disturbed in his mind and unable to judge +between friends and enemies, edged away as slowly, until his back was +almost at the mouth of the hollow. Then, with all the possibilities +against such a combination of chances, it occurred nevertheless. A +louder woof than usual from him was followed almost instantly by a +Shawnee rifle shot, and the frightened bear, giving back, almost fell +into the crevice. Then whirling, and seeing a refuge before him, he +darted inside. + +Henry, retreating into the dense bushes, flattened himself in the grass, +and laughed once more. He had laughed many times that night, but now his +mirth had a fresh savor. The bear and not the Indians had become the new +occupant of their old home, and, despite the fact that it had been so +recently a human habitation, he felt quite sure the animal, owing to his +terror and the confusion of his ideas, would remain there until morning +at least. The Shawnees would exert all their patience and skill in the +siege of one bear that lived chiefly on roots, the greatest crime of +which was to rob bees of their stored honey. + +He raised himself until he could see the mouth of the cave, but all was +still and dark there. Evidently the bear was at home and was using all +available comforts. He would not come out to face the terror of the +shots and of human faces. Henry could imagine him with his head almost +hidden in one of their beds of leaves, and gradually acquiring +confidence because danger was no longer before his eyes. + +His whimsical little impulse having met with complete success he lay in +his shroud of bushes and intense enjoyment thrilled through every vein. +He had not known a happier night. All his primitive instincts were +gratified. The hunted was having sport with the hunters, and it was rare +sport too. + +The mournful howl of a wolf came faintly from the northern rim of the +forest. It made Henry start and wonder a little. He thought at first the +cry had been sent forth by Silent Tom or Shif'less Sol, but as it was +inside the Indian circle he concluded it must have been made by one of +the warriors. But he changed his mind again, when the long, whining cry +was repeated. His hearing was not less acute than his sight, able to +differentiate between the finest shades of sound, and he felt sure now +that the howl of a wolf was made by a wolf itself, the real genuine +article in howls, true to the wilderness. When several more of the +uneasy whines came doubt was left no longer. The Indian ring that had +enclosed the rocky hollow and the black bear had also enclosed an entire +pack of wolves. It complicated the situation, but for Wyatt and his +band, not for Henry, and once more the spontaneous laugh bubbled up from +his throat. + +He inferred now that he had not seen all of the Indian force. There were +probably other detachments to the west and north that had been drawn in +to complete the ring, but he did not care how many they might be. The +more they were the greater their troubles. A soft pad, pad in the +thicket roused him to the keenest attention. Some larger animal was +approaching him, unaware of his presence, the wind blowing in the wrong +direction. But the wind came right for Henry and soon he discovered a +strong feline odor. He knew that it was a panther, and presently he saw +it in the moonlight, yellowish and monstrous, the hugest beast of its +kind that he had ever beheld. + +But the panther, despite its size and strength, would run away from man, +and Henry understood. The Indian ring had closed about it too, and, +frightened, it was seeking refuge. Powerful, clawed and toothed for +battle, it would not fight unless it was driven into a corner, and then +it would fight with ferocity. Henry reflected philosophically that the +net might miss the particular fish for which it was cast and yet catch +others. If the Indians closed in they had the panther and the black bear +and perhaps the pack of wolves too. What would they do with them? His +irrepressible mirth bubbled up. It was their problem, not his. + +Resolved not to intervene again in these delicate affairs, he crouched +as closely as he could to the earth, wishing the panther neither to see +nor to hear him, but curious himself to know what it would do. The beast +stalked out into the open, and it was magnified greatly by the luminous +quality of the moonlight. It looked like one of its primitive ancestors +in the far dawn of time, when man fought for his life with the stone +axe. But the panther was afraid. The howls of the wolf, both the real +and the false, frightened him. His instinct too told him that he was +walled around by beings that could slay at a distance, and, within a +certain area, he was a prisoner. He was sorely troubled and his great +body trembled with nervous quivers. The wolf pack howled again, and he +must have found something more alarming than ever in it, as he sheered +off to one side, and his tawny eyes caught a glimpse of a black opening +that almost certainly led to a magnificent den and refuge. + +But the panther was cautious. He lived a life in which the foresight +that comes from experience was compelled to play a great part. He did +not dive directly for the cleft, and he might not have gone in at all, +had not a sudden shift in the wind brought to him the human odor that +came from the body lying so near in the bushes. Driven by his impulse he +turned away and then sprang straight into the hollow. + +Henry had not expected this sudden movement on the part of the panther, +and he rose to his knees to see what would happen. A terrible growling +and snarling and the shuffling of heavy bodies came instantly from the +dusky interior. A moment or two later the panther bounded out, a huge +ball of yellowish fur, in which two frightened and angry red eyes +glared. Henry saw several streaks of blood on him and he stared at the +animal, amazed. He did not know that a black bear could make such a +fight against a powerful feline brute, but evidently, wild with terror, +he had used all his claws and teeth at once. The panther caught sight of +Henry looking at him, and, uttering a scream or two, bounded into the +bushes. In the cave, the bear remained silent and triumphant. + +"What will happen next?" said Henry to himself. + +The howl of the wolf pack came in reply. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A MERRY NIGHT + + +The long whine, a mingling of ferocity, fear and perhaps of hunger too, +came from a point nearer than before, and Henry was confirmed in his +opinion that Wyatt's main band had been joined by other and smaller +ones, thus enabling them to form a circle practically continuous, +through which the wolves had not dared to break. The pack, moreover, was +steadily being driven in toward the center of the circle which was +naturally the rocky hollow. He foresaw further complications. + +Henry was very thoughtful. Affairs were not going as he had expected, +and yet he was not disappointed. He had believed that he would have to +show great activity himself, slipping here and there, and putting in a +timely shot or two, but other factors had entered into the situation, +and, with his normal flexibility of mind, he resolved at once to put +them to the best use. + +The wind was blowing from the pack toward him, and, if it shifted, he +meant to shift with it, but meanwhile he made himself as inconspicuous +as possible, finding a small depression in which he stretched his body, +thus being hidden from any eye except the keenest. Although the night +was far advanced, it retained its quality of silky or luminous +brightness, the whole world still swimming in the silver haze which the +full moon and the countless stars cast. + +He wondered what had become of the scratched and angry panther. Endowed +with strength, but only with a fitful courage, it too must be lying +somewhere near in the forest, torn by wrath and perplexity. He was quite +sure that like the wolves it was encircled by the Indian ring, and would +not dare the attempt to break it. He was compelled to laugh once more to +himself. It was, in truth, a merry night. + +But as the laugh died in his throat his whole body gave a nervous +quiver. A cry came from a point not ten yards distant, a long, +melancholy, quavering sound, not without a hint of ferocity, in fact the +complaining voice of an owl. The imitation of the owl was a favorite +signal with the forest runners, both white and red, but Henry knew at +once that this cry was real. Looking long and thoroughly, he saw at last +the feathered and huddled shape on the bough of an oak. It was a huge +owl, and the rays of the moon struck it at such an angle that they made +it look ghostly and unsubstantial. Had Henry been superstitious, had he +been steeped too much in Indian lore, he would have called it a phantom +owl. Nay, it looked, in very truth, like such a phantom, taking the +shape of an owl, and, despite all his mind and courage, a little shudder +ran through him. + +Again the great owl cried his loneliness and sorrows to the night. It +was a tremendous note, mournful, uncanny and ferocious, and it seemed to +Henry that it must go miles through the clear air, until it came back in +a dying echo, more sinister than its full strength had been. The Indian +cast was bringing into the net more than Wyatt or any of the warriors +had anticipated, but the owl at least was hooting its defiance. + +The singular combination of the night and circumstance affected Henry's +own spirit. He was touched less by the present and reality than by his +sense of another time and the primordial elements became strong within +him. In effect he was transported far back into those dim ages, when man +fought with the stone axe, and his five senses were so preternaturally +acute to protect his life that he had a sixth and perhaps a seventh. A +whiff came on the wind. It was faint, because it had traveled far, but +he knew it to be the odor of the panther. The big cowardly beast was +crouched in a little valley to his right, and he was trembling, +trembling at the approaching warriors, trembling at the great youth who +lay in the depression, trembling at the unknown and monstrous creature +that had plunged its iron claws into him in the dark, and trembling at +the cry of the owl which it had heard so often before, but which struck +now with a new terror upon its small and frightened brain. + +Henry's own feeling of the supernatural passed. It was merely the old, +old world in which he must fight for his life and turn aside the bands +from his comrades and himself. Although the warriors had not called +again to one another he divined that they were closing in, and he +thought rapidly and with all the intensity and clearness demanded by the +situation. + +The owl hooted once more, the tremendous note swelling far over the +wilderness, and then returning in its melancholy whine. Instantly +setting his lips and swelling all the muscles of his mighty throat he +gave back the cry, long, full and a match in its loneliness and ferocity +for the owl's own call. Then he crouched so close that he seemed fairly +to press himself into the earth. + +He saw the owl on the bough move a little and he knew that it was in a +state of stupid amazement. Like the panther its brain was adapted only +to its own affairs and environment, else it would have made some +progress in all the ages, and the cry of an owl coming from the ground +when owls usually cried from trees was more than it could understand. +Nevertheless it soon gave forth its long complaining note once more, and +Henry promptly matched it. He was thinking not so much of its effect +upon the owl as upon the Indians. Delicate as their senses were, they +were not as delicate as his, and they might think the two notes were +those of challenge indicating that the whole five, reinforced perhaps by +a half dozen stalwart hunters, were within the ring, ready and eager to +give battle, setting in very truth a trap of their own. + +He heard presently the cry of a wolf from a point at least a half mile +away, and it was answered from another segment of the circle at an +equal distance. The sounds, as he easily discerned, were made by +warriors, and it was absolutely certain now that the voices of the owls +had caused them to pause and think. Having thus started this train he +felt that he could wait and see what would happen, but he was stirred by +curiosity, and he pulled himself forward until the thicket ended, and +the earth fell away into the deep ravine that ran before the stony +hollow. + +He kept himself hidden in the edge of the dense bushes, but he could see +in various directions. The great owl on the bough was quivering a +little, as if it were still amazed and terrified by the answer to its +own calls, coming from the heart of the earth itself and surcharged with +mystery. The moonlight turned it to a feathery mass of silver in which +the cruel beak and claws showed like sharp pieces of steel. Yet the bird +did not fly away, and Henry knew that it was held by fear as well as +curiosity, the dangers near seeming less than those far. + +He looked then down into the ravine, and he was startled by the sight of +the wolf pack at full attention. The wolves of the Mississippi Valley +were not as large as the great timber wolf of the mountains, but when +driven by hunger they showed like their brethren elsewhere extreme +ferocity, and were known to devour human beings. Now the wolves like the +owl were magnified in the luminous moonlight, and one at their head +seemed to be truly of gigantic size. He reminded Henry of the king wolf +that had pursued Shif'less Sol and himself, and he had a singular fancy +that he was the same great brute, reincarnated. He shivered at his own +thought, and then chided himself fiercely. The king wolf had been +killed, he was as dead as a stone, and he could not come back to earth +to plague him. + +But the beast, like the bird, was truly monstrous. He stood upon a +slight mound at the bottom of the ravine, and his figure bathed in the +glow of the moon and the stars rose to twice its real height. Henry saw +the foam upon the red mouth, the white fangs and the savage eyes, in +which, his fancy still vivid, he read hunger, ferocity and terror too. +Around him but on the lower plane were gathered the full score of the +pack, gaunt and fierce. Suddenly, the leader raised his head and like a +dog bayed the moon. The score took up the cry and the long whine was +carried far on the light wind, to be followed by deep silence. + +The voice of the wolf bore Henry even farther back than the voice of the +owl, and his preternaturally acute senses took on an edge which the +modern man never knows in his civilized state. He heard the fluff of the +owl's feathers as it moved and the panting of the wolves in the valley +below. Then he saw the leader walk from the low mound and take a slow +and deliberate course along the slope, with the others following in +single file like Indians. The king was leading them nearer to the rocky +hollow, and Henry suspected they were changing their position because +the ring of warriors was beginning to close in again. He heard a +flapping of wings, and a huge bald-headed eagle settled on a bough near +him, whence it looked with red eyes at the owl, while the owl, with eyes +equally red, looked back again. + +The suspicious, not to say jealous, manner with which the two birds +regarded each other, when the forest was wide enough for both, and +countless millions more like them, amused Henry. Both were alarmed, and +it was easy enough for them to fly away, but they did not do so, drawn +in a kind of fascination toward the danger they feared. Meanwhile the +wolves were still coming up the slope, but the black bear in the snug +hollow never stirred. + +The warriors signaled once more to one another and now they were much +nearer. Henry retreated a little farther into the thicket, and then his +plan came to him. The Indians were bound to approach him from the east +and he would meet them with a weapon they little expected. The forest +was still in dense green, but the wood was dry from summer heats, the +effect of the great rain having passed quickly, and the ground was +littered as usual with the dead boughs and trunks fallen through +arboreal ages. + +He drew softly away toward the mouth of the hollow, and then passed +behind it, where, stooping in the thicket, he produced his flint and +steel, which he put upon the turf beside him. Then, he gathered together +a little pile of dry brushwood, and again took notice of the wind, which +was still blowing directly toward the east and down the ravine, the only +point from which the Indian attack could come. It had been repulsed +there once before, but then Henry's comrades were with him, and five +good rifles and the tremendous voice of Long Jim had prevailed. Now he +was alone, and he did not intend to rely upon bullets. The moonlight +held, clear and amazingly bright, and he distinctly saw the troubled +owl and the vexed eagle, apparently still staring at each other and +wondering what was the matter with the night and the place. The Indian +calls to one another sounded once more, their own natural voices now and +not the imitation of bird or animal, and their nearness indicated that +the circle was closing in fast. + +Henry had built up his heap of tinder wood, somewhat behind the mouth of +the hollow, and, kneeling down, he used flint and steel with amazing +rapidity and power. The sparks leaped forth in a shower, the dry wood +ignited, and up came little flames which swiftly grew into bigger ones. +Then he fanned his bonfire with all his might, and the flames sprang +high in the air, roaring as they set a fresh blaze to every dry thing +they touched. In less than two minutes a forest fire was in full and +great progress, sweeping eastward and down the ravine directly into the +faces of Braxton Wyatt and his advancing warriors. A great sheet of fire +in varying reds, pinks and yellows, and sometimes with a blue tint, rose +above the tops of the trees, and, as it rushed forward, it sent forth +showers of ashes and sparks in myriads from its crimson throat. + +Henry sprang up behind the fire and uttered terrific shouts, leaping and +dancing as that far dim ancestor of his must have leaped and danced +when he was glowing with a sudden and mighty triumph. The spirit of the +ages had descended upon him too and as he bounded back and forth in the +light of the flames he roared forth bitter taunts in a voice worthy of +Long Jim himself. He told the owl to be up and away, and, rising on +heavy wings and uttering a dismal hoot, it obeyed. Its big body was +outlined for a moment or two against the red, and then it flew away over +the forest. The eagle uttered a hoarse cry, drawn from its frightened +throat, and followed the owl. + +Then came another shriek, singularly like that of a human being, and the +huge panther, driven from its covert by the intense heat, leaped madly +forth and raced down the ravine before the pillar of flame. That panther +was in a sorely troubled state even before the fire began, and now the +collapse of its small intellect was complete. It saw the advancing +Indian warriors, but, in its madness, was reckless of them. It advanced +with great bounds straight at the line, cannoned against Braxton Wyatt +himself, knocking him senseless into a thicket, and, magnified to twice +its usual size before the amazed eyes of the Indians, disappeared at +last in a yellowish streak down the ravine. + +Terror tore at the hearts of the Indians themselves, brave warriors +though they were. The strange cries of the night, of such varying +character and coming from so many points, had depressed their spirits +and filled them with superstitious awe. There was more in this than the +human mind could account for and the sudden upspringing of the fire, +bringing on its front the monstrous panther, if, in truth, it was a +panther and not some huge and legendary beast, sent them to the verge of +panic. + +Their white leader, who might have restored their courage, lay senseless +in the bush, and as the second in command, the big warrior, seized him +to drag him away from the fire, the wall of flame emitted something even +more terrifying than the magnificent figure of the mad panther. Out of +the red glare shot a huge gaunt figure with long white teeth and +slavering jaws, the king wolf, to the warriors the demon wolf. After him +came a full score or more of wolves, almost as large, and howling their +terror to the moon. Behind them was the gigantic figure of a phantom +black bear, rushing with all its might, and through the red wall itself +came the sound of threatening and awful cries. + +The Shawnees could stand no more. Uttering yells of fright they fled, +and fortunate it was for Braxton Wyatt that the big warrior slung him +over his shoulder and carried him away in the crush. + +Henry heard the cries of the warriors and he knew from their nature that +panic was in complete control of the band. All things had worked for +him. The bear in its fright, and as he had expected, had rushed from the +cave just in time to flee before the flames, and he knew very well that +his own shouts would be interpreted by the Indians as the menace of the +evil spirits. + +He followed the flames about a mile down the ravine, and then returned +slowly toward the hollow. He knew that the fire would soon reach a +prairie somewhat farther on, where it would probably die out, but he +knew also that his triumph was achieved. Circumstances and the presence +of the animals and the birds had helped him greatly, but his own quick +wit and infinity of resource had put the capstone on success. He began +to feel now the effect of the immense exertions he had made with both +body and mind, and, before he reached the hollow, he turned aside into +the woods where the fire had not passed and sat down on a rock. + +He saw two or three miles away the wall of flame still moving eastward, +but the distance even did not keep him from knowing that it had +diminished greatly in height and vigor. As he had surmised, it would die +presently at the prairie and the night would return to its wonted +silence, lighted now only by the moon and stars. He was weary, but he +had an immense feeling of satisfaction and he sat a while, looking at +the fire, which soon sank out of sight behind the horizon, although its +pathway, the broad swath that it had cut, still glowed with coals and +sparks. + +He wondered just where his comrades were. He might have sent forth a +call for them, but he decided that it would be wiser not to do so at +present, since they could reunite easily in the morning, and he +remained, sitting in an easy position, still looking at the luminous +point under the horizon, where the last embers of the fire were fading. +A long time passed, and the stillness was so peaceful that he sank into +a doze, from which he was aroused by a flare of lightning in the west. +The beauty of the night had been too intense to last. The moon and stars +that he had admired so much were going away, and the silky blue robe, +shot with silver that was the sky, was dimmed by a long row of somber +clouds trailing up from the west. The wind that touched Henry's face was +damp and he knew rain would soon come. + +He had no mind to have a wetting through and through after his great +strain and labors, and his thoughts turned at once to the rocky hollow. +The bear had rushed out of it madly and there must have been much heat +there for awhile, but it had probably cooled by this time, and would +afford him a good shelter. + +He found to his great delight and relief that the interior was free from +smoke, and not damaged at all. Some articles they had left on the +shelves were not even charred, and the leaves that made their beds had +escaped ignition. He would not have asked for anything better, and, +after eating some venison from his knapsack and drinking from the cold +water of the rivulet, he lay down on the bed nearest the cleft, where he +could see the ravine and the forest beyond. + +A storm was gathering, but secure in his shelter it soothed and lulled +his spirit. The lightning, now red and intense, flared from every +horizon, and the wilderness was filled with the deep roll of incessant +thunder. The wind ceased to blow, but he knew that soon it would spring +up again, and then the rain would come with it, although he would +remain dry and warm in the stony shelter that nature had provided. An +enormous sense of comfort, even luxury, pervaded him, both body and +mind. He was like his primordial ancestor who had escaped from the +dangers of the monstrous beasts and who now rested at ease in his cave. +The strain upon his nerves departed, and soon he felt fit and able to +meet any new danger, whenever it should come. But he was so sure that no +such danger would appear that he allowed himself to fall asleep, having +first covered his body with the blanket that he always carried at his +back, as the night, under the influence of the wind and rain, was +growing cold. + +When he awoke the day had not yet come and it was very dark. The rain +was pouring heavily, but not a drop reached him where he lay on his easy +bed of leaves with the warm blanket drawn around his body. Without +rising he pulled himself forward a little and looked forth. The last +ember from the forest fire had been blotted out long since, and he heard +the wash of the water as it rushed down the slopes, and the sweep of the +torrent in the ravine. The contrast heightened the splendor of his own +situation, which was all that one who was wild for the time could ask. +He thought of his comrades and of what a home the hollow would be to +them too, but he was not troubled about them. Such forest runners as +Shif'less Sol and the others would be sure to find protection from the +storm. + +He fell asleep again, and, when he awoke the second time, dawn had come +more than an hour, the rain had stopped and the heavens were burnished +silver. Foliage and grass were already drying fast under a warm western +wind, and Henry, making a breakfast off what was left of his venison, +prepared to go forth. But he was halted by a shambling, dark figure that +appeared on the slope leading down into the ravine. It was the black +bear, and apparently it had some idea of returning to the fine shelter +it had abandoned in such fright the night before. Henry was surprised +that it should have come back. It must have been beaten about much in +the storm, and, either its memory was short, or it had sunk its terrors +in the recollection of the finest den that ever a bear had entered in +the northern part of Kain-tuck-ee. + +Henry had a friendly feeling for the bear, which he regarded as an +animal of a companionable disposition, and no enemy, unless driven in a +corner. Since he had to leave the hollow and his comrades would have to +go with him he preferred on the whole that the bear should have it, but +when he stood up in the entrance the animal caught sight of his tall +figure and scrambled away in the forest. His place was taken by the +figure of a huge cat which glared at Henry with yellowish-green eyes, +and then turned back among the trees, filled with rage that the +terrible, strange creature was yet there. + +"It seems that I'm still an object of terror," thought Henry, with +amusement. "Now for the eagle and the owl." + +A great bird came out of the blue, and sailed on slow wing over the +hollow and ravine. He knew instinctively that it was the bald eagle of +the night before, drawn back with a fascination it could not resist to +the place where it had been frightened so badly. But it did not alight. +Keeping at a good height, it circled about and about and then +disappeared again and for the last time to the eastward. + +Henry's eyes searched the opposite slope of the ravine, and at last he +discovered a mournful figure perched on the high bough of an oak. Its +feathers were drooping, its head was bent down until it was almost +buried in the feathers below its neck, and its entire attitude showed +despondency. The owl, too, had come back, but only a part of the way, +and, blinded by the sun, it sat there on the bough, mourning and +mourning. + +Henry laughed. He had laughed many times the night before and he could +not keep from laughing that morning. The owl was quite the saddest +spectacle the woods could afford, and he had no mind to disturb it. + +"Stay there and grieve, my solemn friend," he said. "Truly, with the sun +on you, your eyes closed and your heart sunk you'll be silent, but +tonight you'll give forth your melancholy hoot, although I won't be here +to hear it." + +He looked to his ammunition, and stepped forth into a new and refreshed +world, filled with cool drying airs and the appealing odor of leaf and +grass. He descended into the ravine, the water falling in beads from the +leaves as he brushed by, and followed for a little distance in the bare +trail left by the fire. A mile farther on and a pair of great red eyes +peering at him from a thicket saw in him a terrible beast that even the +master of the wolves should avoid. + +The huge leader gave a yelp, and as Henry turned suddenly, he saw the +great wolf flitting away up the ravine, followed by the twenty gaunt +figures of his pack. He could have dropped the big wolf with a bullet, +but there was no need to do so, and he merely watched them until they +disappeared in the forest, concluding that his companions of the night +were as much afraid of him in the day as in the dark. All of them, save +one band, had come back in a frightened way, but he knew that the +Indians would not return. He was sure that they were still on their +terrified flight toward the Ohio, and he followed in the path of the +fire, until he came to the prairie where it had burned itself out. + +It was only a little prairie, about two miles across, no other kind +having been found in Kentucky, and, on the far side, he picked up the +trail of the Indian band. He did not see any footsteps that turned out, +and he wondered at their absence. What had become of Braxton Wyatt? His +body had not been found in the path of the flames, and certainly he had +not perished. Henry, after some thought, came to the right conclusion, +namely, that he was being carried. But his hurt could not be any wound +received in battle, and probably he would recover soon, another correct +surmise, as a short distance farther on the trail of toes that turned +out appeared. + +All the steps seemed to be long, and Henry judged hence that the band +was going fast, terror still stabbing at their hearts, long after the +night had passed. Braxton Wyatt would be the first to recover from it, +and Henry smiled at the thought of his rage when he should not be able +to persuade the Shawnees that evil spirits, sent by Manitou, had not +driven them from the valley. Their second defeat at the same place, and +this time by invisible forces, would persuade them they must never +return to the attack on the hollow. + +Henry dropped the pursuit for the present, knowing that it was time to +reunite his own forces, and he sent forth the cry of the wolf that the +five, in common with the Indians, used so much. No reply and he repeated +it a second and yet a third time before the answer came. Then it was in +the south and it was very faint, but he had no doubt it was the voice of +Shif'less Sol. Call and reply went on for a little while, and then, +after a long wait, he saw the figures of the four appearing among the +trees, the shiftless one leading. + +The greeting was not effusive, but joyful. Henry told them in rapid +words, tense and brief, all that had occurred the night before, and the +shoulders of the four shook with silent laughter. + +"You certainly scared them good, Henry," said Paul. + +"I was helped a lot by circumstances." + +"But you used the chances when they came." + +"Where did you four hide when the storm broke?" + +"We took refuge under the matted trees and boughs of a huge old windrow. +It wasn't like the hollow, and some water came through, but on the +whole we did fairly well, and soon dried out thoroughly this morning. We +were mighty glad to hear your call, but we hardly hoped you would +achieve as much as you did." + +"An' havin' routed the first band that came ag'inst us," said Long Jim, +"what do you 'low we ought to do next?" + +"We've broken only a piece of the iron ring they're forging about us, +and they'll soon mend that piece. It's a good thing to hit first at +those you see are trying to hit at you, and so I think we ought to +follow up the success fortune has given us." + +"An' it 'pears we kin do that best by keepin' right on the trail o' +Braxton Wyatt an' his band," said Shif'less Sol. + +"That's the way I see it," said Henry. "How do you feel about it, Tom?" + +"Right plan," replied Ross. + +Shif'less Sol fixed upon him such a look of stern reproof that Silent +Tom reddened once more under his tan. + +"Here you go gettin' volyble ag'in," said the shiftless one. "You used +two words then, Tom Ross, when, ef you'd thought an' hunted 'roun' a +leetle you might hev found one that would hev done ez well." + +"And you Paul?" said Harry. + +"I'm glad to follow where you lead." + +"And you, Jim?" + +"I'm uv Paul's mind." + +"Then it's settled. Now, we'll have something to eat, and talk it +over." + +They soon found a little valley in which a clear rivulet was flowing. +One was never more than a mile from running water in that country--and +Long Jim and Silent Tom produced food from their deerskin pouches. + +"Here's some ven'son," said Jim. "It's cold an' it's tough, but I reckon +it'll do." + +"I'm thinkin'," said Shif'less Sol, "that after a night like the one +Henry has had he'll be pow'ful hungry fur somethin' better than cold +ven'son." + +"Mebbe so," rejoined Long Jim, "an' mebbe it's true uv all uv us, but +whar are we goin' to git it?" + +"I'm an eddycated man, Jim Hart, eddycated in the ways o' the woods, an' +one o' the fust things you do when you're gittin' that sort o' an +eddication is to learn to use your eyes. I hev used mine, an' jest +before we set down here I noticed the fresh trail o' buffler runnin' off +to the right, 'bout a dozen, I'd say, an' jest ez shore ez I'm here +they're not more'n a mile away. I kin see 'em now, grazin' in a little +open, an' thar is a young cow among 'em, juicy an' tender. Now I don't +want to kill a young cow buffler, but we must hev supplies before we go +on this expedition." + +"Sol is right," said Henry, "and since he is so it's his duty to go and +kill the buffalo. Tom, you'll go with him, won't you?" + +"O' course," replied Silent Tom. + +Shif'less Sol rose and looked to his rifle. + +"I knowed I would hev to do all the work, besides supplyin' the +thinkin'," he said. "Here I tell what's to be done when the others +ain't able to think it out, an' then they tell me to go an' do it. It +ain't fair to a lazy man, one who furnishes the intelleck. The rest o' +you ought to work fur him." + +"Go on you, Sol Hyde," said Long Jim Hart, rebukingly, "an' kill that +buffler. Don't you know that when you kill it I'll hev to cook it, an' I +ain't complainin'?" + +"Quit braggin' on yourse'f, Jim Hart. You ain't complainin', 'cause you +ain't got sense 'nuff to complain. You're plum' sunk so deep in sloth +an' ig'rance that you're jest satisfied with anythin', no matter how bad +it is. It's men o' intelleck like me who complain and look fur better +things, who make the world go forward." + +"Your idea uv goin' forward, Sol Hyde, is to do it ridin' on my +shoulders." + +"O' course, Jim. Ain't that what you're made fur? You're a hind--ain't +that the beast, Paul, that carries burdens?--an' I'm the knight with the +shinin' lance that goes forth to slay dragons, an' I go ridin', too." + +"You go ridin', too! I don't see no hoss! An' you ain't been astride no +hoss in years, Sol Hyde!" + +"You deserve to be what you are, a hind, a toter o' burdens, Jim Hart, +'cause your mind is so slow an' dull. You ain't got no light, no +imagination, no bloom, a-tall, a-tall! Did I say I wuz ridin' a real +hoss? No, sir, not fur a second! But in the fancy, in the sperrit, so to +speak, I'm ridin' the finest hoss that ever pranced, an' I'm settin' in +a silver saddle, holdin' reins o' blue silk, an' that proud hoss o' mine +champs an' champs his jaws on a bit made o' solid gold. Come on, Tom, I +ain't 'preciated here. We'll kill that buffler, ef you don't talk me to +death on the way. Remember now to hold your volyble tongue. The last +time you spoke, ez I told you, you used two words when one would hev +done jest ez well. Don't let your gabblin' skeer the buffler plum' to +the other side o' the Ohio." + +He stalked haughtily away, his rifle in the hollow of his arm, and +Silent Tom followed meekly. The admiring gaze of Jim Hart followed the +shiftless one as long as he was in sight. + +"Ain't he the most beautiful talker you ever heard?" he asked. "Me an' +him hev our little spats, but it's a re'l pleasure to hear him fetch out +reasons an' prove that the thing that ain't is, an' the thing that is +ain't. That's what I call a mighty smart man. Ef the Injuns ever git him +he'll talk to 'em so hard that they'll either make him thar head chief, +or turn him loose to keep from bein' talked to death." + +They heard the sound of a shot, and then a faint halloo from the +shiftless one, and when Henry went to the spot he found that he had +slain a young cow buffalo, just as he had predicted. Long Jim Hart +cooked the tender steaks in his finest style and they spent the rest of +the day preparing for the journey, which they believed would take them +across the Ohio, and which they knew would be full of dangers. + +They put out their fire and rested until dusk came. Then they took up +again the trail of Wyatt's band and traveled until midnight, when they +slept until morning, all save the watch. Henry reckoned that they would +reach the river by the next night, and there was a chance that the +warriors might recover sufficiently from their fright to rally at the +stream. But he felt that in any event he and his comrades must strike. +Blackstaffe, Yellow Panther and Red Eagle with their forces would soon +be in pursuit, and to escape the net would test the skill and courage of +the five to the utmost. Yet all of them believed attack to be the best +plan, and, after their sleep, they resumed the trail with renewed +strength and vigor, pressing northward at great speed through the deep +green wilderness. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE CAPTURED CANOE + + +As the five advanced they read the trail with unfailing eye. Henry saw +more than once the traces of footsteps with the toes turned out, that is +those of Braxton Wyatt, and he noticed that they were wavering, not +leading in a straight line like those of the Indians. + +"Braxton must have had a nice crack of some kind or other on the head," +he said, "and he still feels the effects of it, as now and then he +reels." + +"'Twould hev been a good thing," said Shif'less Sol, "ef the crack, +whatever it may hev been, hed been a lot harder, hard enough to finish +him. I ain't bloodthirsty, but it would help a lot if Braxton Wyatt wuz +laid away. Paul, you're eddicated, an' you hev done a heap o' thinkin', +enough, I guess, to last a feller like Long Jim fur a half dozen o' +lives, now what makes a man turn renegade an' fight with strangers an' +savages ag'inst his own people?" + +"I think," replied Paul, "that it's disappointment, and fancied +grievances. Some people want to be first, and when they can't win the +place they're apt to say the world is against 'em, in a conspiracy, so +to speak, to defraud 'em of what they consider their rights. Then their +whole system gets poisoned through and through, and they're no longer +reasoning human beings. I look upon Braxton Wyatt as in a way a madman, +one poisoned permanently." + +"I hev noticed them things, too," said Shif'less Sol. "Thar are diff'unt +kinds o' naturs, the good an' the bad, an' the bad can't bear for other +people to lead 'em. Then they jest natchelly hate an' hate. All through +the day they hate, an' ef they ain't got nothin' to do, even ef the +weather is fine 'nuff to make an old man laugh, they jest spend that +time hatin'. An' ef they happen to wake up at night, do they lay thar +an' think what a fine world it is an' what nice people thar are in it? +No, sir, they jest spend all the time between naps hatin', an' they fall +asleep ag'in, with a hate on thar lips an in' thar hearts." + +"You're talkin' re'l po'try an' truth at the same time, Sol," said Long +Jim. "It's cur'ous how people hate them that kin do things better than +theirselves. Now, I've noticed when I'm cookin' buffler steaks an' deer +meat an' wild turkey an' nice, juicy fish, an' cookin' mebbe better than +anybody else in all Ameriky kin, how you, Shif'less Sol Hyde, turn plum' +green with envy an' begin makin' disrespeckful remarks 'bout me, Jim +Hart, who hez too lofty an' noble a natur ever to try to pull you down, +poor an' ornery scrub that you be." + +Shif'less Sol drew himself up with haughty dignity. + +"Jim Hart," he said, "I'm wrapped 'bout with the mantle o' my own merit +so well from head to foot that them invig'ous remarks o' yours bounce +right off me like hail off solid granite. To tell you the truth, Jim +Hart, I feel like a big stone mountain, three miles high, with you +throwin' harmless leetle pebbles at me." + +"And yet," said Paul, "while you two are always pretending to quarrel, +each would be eager to risk death for the other if need be." + +"It's only my sense o' duty, an' o' what you call proportion," said +Shif'less Sol. "Long Jim, ez you know, is six feet an' a half tall. Ef +the Injuns wuz to take him an' burn him at the stake he'd burn a heap +longer than the av'rage man. What a torch Jim would make! Knowin' that +an' always b'arin' it in mind, I'm jest boun' to save Jim from sech a +fate. It ain't Jim speshully that I'm thinkin' on, but I'd hate to know +that a man six an' a half feet long wuz burnin' 'long his whole len'th." + +"Another band has joined Wyatt," said Henry. "See, here comes the +trail!" + +The new force had arrived from the east, and it contained apparently +twenty warriors, raising Braxton Wyatt's little army to about sixty men. + +"But they still run," said Shif'less Sol. "The new ones hev ketched all +the terror an' superstition that the old ones feel, an' the whole crowd +is off fur the Ohio. Look how the trail widens!" + +"And Braxton Wyatt is beginning to feel better," said Henry. "His own +particular trail does not waver so much now. Ah, they've stopped here +for a council. Braxton probably stood on that old fallen log and +addressed them, because the traces of his footsteps lead directly to it. +Yes, the bark here is rubbed a little, where he stood. They gathered in +a half circle before him, as their footprints show very plainly, and +they listened to him respectfully. He, being white, was recovering from +the superstitious terror, but the Shawnees were still under its spell. +After hearing him they continued their flight. Here goes their trail, +all in a bunch, straight toward the north!" + +"An' thar won't be no stop 'til they strike the Ohio," said Shif'less +Sol with conviction. + +"I agree with you," said Henry. + +"And so do all of us," said Paul. + +"And of course we follow on," said Henry, "right to the water's edge!" + +"We do," said the others all together. + +"The Ohio isn't very far now," said Henry. + +"Ten or fifteen miles, p'raps," said Shif'less Sol. + +"And it's likely that we'll find a big force gathered there." + +"Looks that way to me, Henry. Mebbe the band o' Blackstaffe will be +waitin' to join that o' Wyatt. Then, feelin' mighty strong, they'll come +back after us." + +"'Less we fill 'em full o' fear whar they stan'. Mebbe they'll stop at +the river a day or two, an' then we kin git to work. Water which hides +will help us." + +They passed on through the forest, noting that the trail was growing +wide and leisurely. At one point the Indians had stopped some time, and +had eaten heavily of game brought in by the hunters. The bones of +buffalo, deer and wild turkey were scattered all about. + +"They're feeling better," said Henry. "I don't think now they'll cross +the Ohio, but we must do so and attack from the other side. They're not +looking for any enemy in the north, and we may be able to terrify 'em +again." + +It was not long before they came to the great yellow stream of the Ohio, +and in an open space, not far from the shore, they saw the fires of the +Indian encampment. + +"I think we'll have work to do here," said Henry, "and we'll keep well +into the deep woods until long after dark." + +They did not light any fire, but lying close in the thicket, ate their +supper of cold food. Three or four hours after sunset Henry, telling the +others to await his return, crept near the Indian camp. As he had +surmised, two formidable forces had joined, and nearly two hundred +warriors sat around the fires. The new army, composed partly of Miamis +and partly of Shawnees, with a small sprinkling of Wyandots, was led by +Blackstaffe, who was now with Wyatt, the two talking together earnestly +and looking now and then toward the south. + +Henry had no doubt that the five were the subject of their conversation. +Wyatt must have recovered by this time all his faculties and was +telling Blackstaffe that their enemies were only mortal and could be +taken, if the steel ring about them was recast promptly. Henry had no +doubt that an attempt to forge it anew would speedily be made by the +increased force, but his heart leaped at the thought that his comrades +and he would be able to break it again. + +As he crept a little nearer he saw to his surprise a fire blazing on the +opposite shore, and he was able to discover the forms of warriors +between him and the blaze. With the Indians bestride the stream the task +of the five was complicated somewhat, but Henry was of the kind that +meet fresh obstacles with fresh energy. + +He returned to his comrades and reported what he had seen, but all +agreed with him that they should cross the river, despite the encampment +on the far shore, and make the attack from the north. + +"We'll do like that old Roman, Hannybul," said Long Jim, "hit the enemy +at his weakest part, an' jest when he ain't expectin' us." + +"Hannibal was not a Roman, Jim," said Paul. + +"Well, then, he was a Rooshian or a Prooshian." + +"Nor was he either of those." + +"Well, it don't make no diff'unce, nohow. He wuz a furriner, that's +shore, an' he's dead, both uv which things is ag'inst him. It looks +strange to me, Paul, that a furriner with the outlandish ways that +furriners always hev should hev been sech a good gen'ral." + +"He was probably the best the world has produced, Jim. He was able with +small forces to defeat larger ones, and we must imitate his example." + +"And to do that," said Henry, "we shall cross the Ohio tonight. I think +we'd better drop down a mile or two, beyond their fires and their +sentinels, and then make for the northern shore." + +"The river must be 'bout a mile wide here," objected Shif'less Sol. +"That's a big swim with all our weepuns, an' ef some o' the warriors in +canoes should ketch us in the water then we'd be goners, shore." + +"You're right, there, Sol," said Henry. "It would be foolish in us to +attempt to swim the river, when the warriors are looking for us, as they +probably are by now, since Blackstaffe and Wyatt have got them back to +realities." + +"Then ef we don't swim how do you expect us to git across, Henry? Ez fur +me, I can't wade across a river a mile wide an' twenty feet deep." + +"That's true, Sol. Even Long Jim isn't long enough for that. I'm +planning for us to cross in state, untouched by water and entirely +comfortable; in fact, in a large, strong canoe." + +"Nice good plan, Henry, 'cept in one thing; we ain't got no canoe." + +"I intend to borrow one from the Indians. You and I will slip along up +the bank and take it from under their noses. You're a marvel at such +deeds, Sol." + +"It's 'cause he's stealin' somethin' from somebody," said Long Jim. + +"Shut up, Jim," said Henry. "It's lawful to steal from an enemy to save +your own life, and these Indians mean to hunt us down if they have to +employ three thousand warriors and three months to do it. Suppose we go +now." + +The five turned toward the south and west, making a deep curve away from +the camp, a precaution taken wisely, as they soon had evidence, hearing +shots here and there, which they were quite sure were those of red +hunters seeking game, wild turkeys on the bough, or deer drinking at the +small streams. They were compelled to go very slowly, in order to avoid +them, but the night, luckily, was dark enough to hide their trail from +all eyes, save those that might be looking especially for it. + +They spoke only in whispers, but the young leader himself said scarcely +anything, his mind being occupied with deep and intense thought. He knew +that the venture in search of an Indian canoe would be accompanied by +most imminent risks, the vigilance and skill of Shif'less Sol and +himself would be tested to the last degree, but a canoe they must have, +and they would dare every peril to get it. + +They had gone about a mile when Henry suddenly raised his hand, and the +five sank silently in the bush. A dozen warriors, treading without +noise, passed within twenty feet of them and their course led toward the +south. They flitted by so swiftly that it seemed almost as if shadows +had passed, but Henry, who saw their faces, knew that they were not mere +hunters. These men were on the warpath. Perhaps they had seen the trail +of the five somewhere, and were going south to close up the broken +segment of the circle there. + +"They've probably had a hint from Blackstaffe," said Henry. "Next to +Simon Girty he's the shrewdest and most cunning of all the renegades. He +has reasoning power, and knowing that we'll take the bolder method, he's +probably concluded that we've followed Wyatt's band." + +"An' so he hez sent that other band south to shut us in," said Shif'less +Sol. + +"An' we might hev fled south ourselves from the fust," said Long Jim, +"but I cal'late we ain't that kind uv people." + +"No," said Henry. "We can't lead 'em in this chase back on the +settlements. So long as they're trying to spread a net around us we'll +draw 'em in the other direction. Now, boys, fall in behind me, and the +first one that causes a blade of grass to rustle will have to make a +present of his rifle to the others." + +Following the great curve which they were traveling it was a full five +miles to the point on the river they wished to reach. The forest, they +knew, was full of warriors, some hunting, perhaps, but many thrown out +on the great encircling movement intended to enclose the five. Now, the +trailers, with deadly peril all about them, gave a superb exhibition of +skill. There was no danger of any one losing his rifle, because no blade +of grass rustled, nor did any leaf give back the sound of a brushing +body. They were endowed peculiarly by birth and long habit to the life +they lived and the dangers they faced. Their hearts beat high, but not +with fear. Their muscles were steady, and eye and ear were attuned to +the utmost for any strange presence in the forest. + +Henry led, Paul followed, Long Jim came next, then Silent Tom, and +Shif'less Sol defended the rear. This was usually their order, the +greatest trailer at the head of the line, and the next greatest at the +end of it. They invariably fell into place with the quickness and +precision of trained soldiers. + +A panther, not as large and fierce as the one that Henry had driven in +fright down the ravine, saw them, looking upon human beings for the +first time. It was his first impulse to make off through the woods, but +they were soundless and in flight, and curiosity began to get the better +of fear. He followed swiftly, somewhat to one side, but where he could +see, and the silent line went so fast that the panther himself was +compelled to extend his muscles. He saw them come to a brook. The +foremost leaped it, the others in turn did the same, landing exactly in +his footsteps, and they went on without losing speed. Then the panther +turned back, satisfied that he could not solve the problem his curiosity +had raised. + +Henry caught a yellow gleam through the leaves, and he knew that it was +the Ohio. In two or three minutes, they were at the low shore, although +the opposite bank was high. Both were wooded densely. The stream itself +was here a full mile in width, a vast mass of water flowing slowly in +silent majesty. They thought they saw far up the channel a faint +reflection of the Indian fires, but they were not sure. Where they stood +the river was as lone and desolate as it had been before man had come. +The moonlight was not good, and their view of the farther shore was dim, +leaving them only the certainty that it was lofty and thick with forest. + +"Paul, you and Jim and Tom lie here, where this little spit of land runs +out into the water," said Henry. "There's good cover for you to wait in, +and Sol and I will come down the river in our new canoe, or we won't." + +"At any rate come," said Paul. + +"You can trust us," replied Henry, and he and the shiftless one started +at once along the edge of the river toward the northeast, where the +Indian camp lay. Henry reckoned that it was about three miles away, but +it would have to be approached with great care. As they advanced they +kept a watch on the farther shore also, and rounding a curve in the +river they caught their first sight of its reflection. + +"It's fur up the stream," said Shif'less Sol, "an' I cal'late it's 'bout +opposite the big camp. Thar must be some warriors passin' back an' forth +from band to band, an' that, I reckon, will give us our chance fur a +canoe." + +"Yes, if we can make off with it without being seen," said Henry. "A +pursuit would spoil everything. We'd have to abandon the canoe and +retreat back from the southern shore." + +"'Spose we go a leetle further up," said Shif'less Sol. "The bank's low +here, but it's high enough to hide us, an' the bushes are mighty thick. +The nearer we come to the Indian camp the greater the danger is, but the +greater is our chance, too, to git a canoe." + +"That's right, Sol. We'll try it." + +They edged along yard by yard and soon could see through the intervening +trees and bushes the light of the great camp, from which came a +monotonous hum. + +"A lot of 'em are dancin' the scalp dance," said the shiftless one. +"Will you 'scuse me, Henry, while I laugh a leetle to myself?" + +"Of course, Sol, but why do you want to laugh?" + +"'Cause they're dancin' the scalp dance when they ain't goin' to take no +scalps. It's ourn they're thinkin' of, but I kin tell you right now, +Henry, that a year from today they'll be growin' squa'rly on top o' our +heads, right whar they are this minute." + +"I hope and believe you're right, Sol. Isn't that a canoe putting out +from the far shore?" + +"Yes, a big one, with four warriors in it, an' they're comin' straight +across to the main camp, paddlin' like the strong men they are." + +"Yes, I can see them clearly now, as they come nearer the middle of the +stream. That would be a good canoe for us, Sol. It looks big enough." + +"But I'm afraid we ain't goin' to hev it, Henry. It's comin' straight on +to the main camp, an' it'll be tied to the bank right in the glow o' +thar fires. Hevin' wanted that canoe, ez we both do, we'd better quit +wantin' it an' want suthin' else." + +[Illustration: "'A lot of 'em are dancin' the scalp dance'"] + +Henry laughed softly. + +"You're a true philosopher, Sol," he said. + +"You hev to be in the woods, Henry. Here we learn to take what we can, +an' let alone what we can't. I guess the wilderness jerks all the +foolishness out o' a man, an' brings him plum' down to his level. Ain't +I right 'bout thar comin' straight to the main camp?" + +"Yes, Sol, and they'll land in a few more minutes. Those are big +warriors, Miamis as their paint and dress show. Well, they're out of our +reckoning, so we'd better move a little farther up." + +"We'll be shore to find canoes tied to the bank, an' thar will be our +chance. Ef our luck's good we'll git it, an' I find that luck is +gen'ally with the bold." + +The situation into which they had entered was one of extreme danger, but +their surprising skill as trailers helped them greatly. The bank at this +point was about eight feet high, with rather a sharp slope, covered with +a dense growth of bushes, in which their figures were well hidden, but +they were so near now to the main camp that its luminous glow passed +over their heads, and lay in a broad band of light on the yellow surface +of the river. A canoe put out from the southern shore, and was paddled +by two warriors to the northern bank. Evidently there was constant +communication between the two forces. + +From the bank above them came the steady drone of the scalp song, and +they heard the measured beat of the dance. Voices, too, came to them as +they advanced a little farther, and once Henry distinguished that of +Blackstaffe, although he was not able to understand the words. The light +from the great fire was steadily growing stronger on the river and it +would be a peril, disclosing their movements, if they took a canoe. From +the southern forest came the cries of wolves and owls which were the +signals of the Indians to one another, and Henry felt sure they were +talking of the five. He was thoroughly convinced now that their trail +had been discovered, and that the warriors, sure they were in the ring, +were seeking to draw in the steel girdle enclosing them. And unless the +canoe was secured quickly it was likely they would succeed. The two +paused, their minds in a state of painful indecision. + +"What do you think, Henry?" whispered the shiftless one. + +"Nothing that amounts to anything." + +"When you don't know what to do the best thing to do is to do nothin'. +'Spose we jest wait a while. We're well kivered here, an' they'd never +think o' lookin' so close by fur us, anyway. Besides, hev you noticed, +Henry, that it's growin' a lot darker? 'Tain't goin' to rain, but the +moon an' all the stars are goin' away, fur a rest, I s'pose, so they kin +shine all the brighter tomorrow night." + +"It's so, Sol, and a good heavy blanket of darkness will help us a +lot." + +They lay perfectly still and waited with all the patience of those who +know they must be patient to live. A full hour passed, and the welcome +darkness increased, the heavens turning into a solid canopy, black and +vast. The light from the great campfire sank, and its luminous glow no +longer appeared on the river. The stream itself showed but faintly +yellow under the darkness. Henry's heart began to beat high. Nature, as +it so often did, was coming to their help. The droning song of the scalp +dance had ceased and with it the voices of the warriors talking. No +sound came from the river, save the soft swish of the flowing waters, +and now and then a gurgle and a splash, when some huge catfish raised +part of his body above the surface, and then let it fall back again. + +Another canoe came presently from the northern shore. Henry and +Shif'less Sol, although they could not see it at first, knew it had +started, because their keen ears caught the plash of the paddles. + +"It's a big one, Henry," whispered Shif'less Sol. "How many paddles do +you make out by the sound?" + +"Six. Is that your count, too?" + +"Yes. Now I kin see it. One, two, three, four, five, six. We wuz right +in the number an' it's a big fine canoe, jest the canoe we want, Henry, +an' it'll land 'bout twenty yards 'bove us. Somethin' tells me our +chance is comin'!" + +"I hope the something telling you is telling you right. In any case +you're correct about their landing. It will be almost exactly twenty +yards away." + +The great canoe emerged from the darkness, six powerful Miamis swinging +the paddles, and it came in a straight line for the bank, leaving a +trailing yellow wake. Henry admired their strength and dexterity. They +were splendid canoemen, and he never felt any hatred of the Indians. He +knew that they acted according to such guidance as they had, and it was +merely circumstances that placed him and his kind in opposition to them +and their kind. + +The light but strong craft touched the bank gently, and the six canoemen +stepped out, a figure that appeared among the bushes confronting them. +Henry, with a thrill, recognized Blackstaffe, and the canoe must have +arrived on an errand of importance or the renegade would not have been +there to meet the six warriors. + +"You will come into the camp and hear the reports of the scouts," said +Blackstaffe, speaking in Miami, which both Henry and the shiftless one +understood perfectly. "It will take some time to do this, because not +all of them have returned yet. Then two of you had better go back with +the canoe, while the others stay here to help us. I think we have these +five rovers trapped at last, and we'll make an end of 'em. They've +certainly caused us enough trouble, and I'm bound to say they're masters +of forest war." + +One of the warriors tied the canoe to a bush with a willow withe, and +then all six following Blackstaffe disappeared among the trees, going +toward the campfire. + +"At least Blackstaffe compliments us before sending us to the next +world," whispered Henry. + +"Ez fur me," Shif'less Sol whispered back, "I ain't goin' to no next +world, jest to oblige a villyun renegade. Besides, I like this +wilderness o' ours too much to leave it fur anybody. They think they're +mighty smart an' that they're plannin' somethin' big right now, but all +the same they're givin' us our chance." + +"What do you mean, Sol?" + +"Didn't you hear the villyun say that two o' the warriors wuz to go back +with the boat?" + +"Well, what of it?" + +"Then two warriors is goin' to be me an' you, Henry." + +"Of course. I ought to have thought of it, too." + +"Thar must be sent'nels on the bank, but waitin' 'bout ten minutes we'll +git into the canoe an' paddle off. The sent'nels will know that two +warriors are to go back in it, an' they'll think we're them. This +darkness which has come up, heavy an' black, on purpose to help us, will +keep 'em from seein' that we ain't warriors. When we git into the middle +o' the river, whar thar eyes can't even make out the canoe, we'll go +down stream like a flash o' lightnin', pick up the boys and then be off +ag'in like another flash o' lightnin'." + +"A good plan, Sol, and we'll try it. As you say, luck is always on the +side of the bold, and I don't see why we can't succeed." + +But to wait the necessary fifteen minutes was one of the hardest tasks +they ever undertook. It would not do to take the canoe at once, as +suspicion would certainly be aroused. They must conform to Blackstaffe's +own plan. It seemed to them that they must actually hold themselves with +their own hands to keep from creeping forward to the canoe, yet they did +it, though the minutes doubled and redoubled in length, and then +tripled; but, after a time that both judged sufficient, they slid +forward, and Henry's knife cut the willow withe. Then they lifted +themselves gently into the canoe, took up two of the paddles and were +away. + +Henry's back was to the southern bank, and despite all his experience +and courage shivers ran through his body at the thought that a bullet +from the forest might strike him any moment. Yet he did not wish to seem +in a hurry, and restrained his eagerness to paddle with all his might. + +"Softly, Sol, softly," he said. "We must not be in too much haste." + +"Don't I know it, Henry? Don't I know that we must 'pear to be the two +warriors whose business it is to take back the canoe? Ain't I jest +strainin' an' achin' to make the biggest sweep with my paddle I ever +swep', an' ain't my mind pullin' ag'inst my hands all the time, tryin' +to keep 'em at the proper gait? Are you shore you ain't felt no bullet +in your back yet, Henry?" + +"No, Sol. What makes you ask such a question?" + +"'Cause I reckon I wuz so much afeared o' one that I imagined the place +whar it's track would be in me, ef it had been really fired. My fancy +is pow'ful lively at sech a time." + +"There has been no alarm, at least not yet, and we're near the middle of +the river. The canoe must be invisible, although I can see the fires on +either shore. Now, Sol, we'll turn down stream and paddle with all our +might, showing what canoemen we really are!" + +It was with actual physical as well as mental joy that they turned the +prow of the canoe toward the southeast, that is, with the current, and +began to do their best with the paddles. They no longer had that +horrible fear of a bullet in the back, and muscles seemed to leap +together with the spirit into greater strength and elasticity. + +"Come on you, Henry," said Shif'less Sol exultantly. "Keep up your side! +Prove that you're jest ez good a man with the paddle ez me! We ain't +makin' more'n a mile a minute, an' fur sech ez we are that's nothin' but +standin' still!" + +The two bent their powerful backs a little and their great arms swept +the paddles through the water at an amazing rate. The soul of Shif'less +Sol surged up to the heights. He became dithyrambic and he spoke in a +tone not loud, but full of concentrated fire and feeling. + +"Fine, you Henry, you!" he said. "But we kin do better! The canoe is +goin' fast, but one or two canoes in the hist'ry o' the world hez gone +ez fast! We must go faster by ten or fifteen miles an hour an' set the +record that will stan'! It's so dark in here I can't see either bank, +but I wish sometimes I could, warriors or no warriors! Then I could see +'em whizzin' by, jest streaks, with all the trees and bushes meltin' +into one another like a green ribbon! Now, that's the way to do it, +Henry! Our speed is jumpin'! I ain't shore whether the canoe is touchin' +the water or not! I think mebbe it's jest our paddles that dip in, an' +that the canoe is flyin' through the air! An' not a soun' from 'em yet! +They haven't discovered that the wrong warriors hev took thar boat, but +they will soon! Now we'll turn her in toward the southern bank, Henry, +'cause in the battin' o' an eye or two we'll be whar the rest o' the +boys are a-lyin' hid in the bushes! Now, slow an' slower! I kin see the +trees an' bushes separatin' tharselves, an' thar's the bank, an' now I +see the face o' Long Jim, 'bout seven feet above the groun'! He's an +onery, ugly cuss, never givin' me all the respeck that's due me, but +somehow I like him, an' he never looked better nor more welcome than he +does now, God bless the long-armed, long-legged, fightin', gen'rous, +kind-hearted cuss! An' thar's Paul, too, lookin' fur all the world like +a scholar, crammed full o' book l'arnin', 'stead o' the ring-tailed +forest runner, half hoss, half alligator, that he is, though he's got +the book l'arnin' an' is one o' the greatest scholars the world ever +seed! An' that's Tom Ross, with his mouth openin' ez ef he wuz 'bout to +speak a word, though he'll conclude, likely, that he oughtn't, an' all +three o' 'em are pow'ful glad to see us comin' in our triumphal Roman +gallus that we hev captured from the enemy." + +"Galley, Sol, galley! Not gallus!" + +"It's all the same, galley or gallus. We hev got it, an' we are in it, +an' it's a fine big canoe with six paddles, one for ev'ry one o' us an' +one to spare! Now here we are ag'in the bank, an' thar they are ready to +jump in!" + +There was no time for hesitation, as a long and tremendous war whoop +from a point up the stream seemed to surcharge the whole night with rage +and ferocity. It was evident that the warriors had discovered that the +wrong men had taken the canoe, as they were bound to do soon, and the +chase would be on at once, conducted with all the power and tenacity of +those who devoted their lives to such deeds. + +"They'll know, of course, that we've come down the stream, not daring to +go against the current," said Henry, "and they'll follow with every +canoe they have." + +"An' more will run along either bank hopin' fur a shot," said the +shiftless one, "an' so while we turn our canoe into a shootin' star +ag'in we'll hev to remember to keep in the middle o' the stream. A lot +o' the dark that helped us to git the canoe is fadin' away, leavin' us +to make our race fur our lives mostly in the open." + +The great war whoop came again, filling the forest with its fierce +echoes, and then followed silence, a silence which every one of the five +knew would be broken later by the plash of paddles. The valley Indians +had great canoes, sometimes carrying as many as twenty paddles, and when +twenty strong backs were bent into one of them it could come at greater +speed than any five in the world could command. + +But this five, calm and ready to face any danger, put their rifles where +they could reach them in an instant, and then their canoe shot down the +stream. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE PROTECTING RIVER + + +The Ohio was the great stream of the borderers. It was the artery that +led into the vast, rich new lands of the west, upon its waters many of +them came, and upon its current and along its banks were fought +thrilling battles between white men and red. Many a race for life was +made upon its bosom, but none was ever carried on with more courage and +energy than the one now occurring. + +They kept well to the middle of the stream, which was still of great +width, a full mile across, where they would be safe from shots from +either shore, until the river narrowed, and although they sent the canoe +along very fast, they did not use their full strength, keeping a reserve +for the greater emergency which was sure to come. + +Meanwhile they worked like a machine. The arms of five rose together and +five paddles made a single plash. In the returning moonlight the water +took on a silver color, and it fell away in masses of shimmering bubbles +from the paddle blades. Before them the river spread its vast width, at +once a channel of escape and of danger. The forest yet rose on either +bank, a solid mass of green, in which nothing stirred, and from which no +sound came. + +The silence, save for the swish of the paddles, was brooding and full of +menace. Paul, so sensitive to circumstance, felt as if it were a sullen +sky, out of which would suddenly come a blazing flash of lightning. But +to Henry the greatest anxiety was the narrowing of the river which must +come before long. The Ohio was not a mile wide everywhere, and when that +straightening of the stream occurred they would be within rifle shot of +the warriors on one bank or the other. And while the Indians were not +good marksmen, it was true that where there were many bullets not all +missed. + +A quarter of an hour passed, and they heard the war-whoop behind them, +and then a few moments later the faint, rhythmic swish of paddles. The +moonlight had been deepening fast, and Henry saw two of the great canoes +appear, although they were yet a full half mile away. But they came on +at a mighty pace, and it was evident that unless bullets stopped them +they would overtake the fugitives. Henry put aside his paddle, leaving +the work for the present to the others, and studied the long canoes. He +and his comrades might strain as they would, but in an hour the big +boats filled with muscular warriors would be alongside. They must devise +some other method to elude the pursuit. A shout from Paul caused him to +turn. + +A peninsula from the south projected into the river, making its width at +this point much less than half a mile, and upon the spit, which was +bare, stood several Indian warriors, rifle in hand and waiting. + +"Turn the canoe in toward the northern shore," said Henry. "We must +chance a shot from that quarter, dealing with the seen danger, and +letting the unseen go. Sol, you and Tom take your rifles, and I'll take +mine too. Paul, you and Jim do the paddling and we'll see whether those +warriors on the sand stop us, or are just taking a heavy risk +themselves." + +The canoe sheered off violently toward the northern bank, but did not +cease to move swiftly, as Paul and Jim alone were able to send it along +at a great rate. Henry, with his rifle lying in the hollow of his arm, +watched a large warrior standing on the edge of the water. + +"I'll take the big fellow with the waving scalp lock," he said. + +"The short, broad one by the side o' him is mine," said Shif'less Sol. +"Which is yours, Tom?" + +"One with red blanket looped over his shoulder," replied the taciturn +rover. + +"Be sure of your aim," said Henry. "We're running a gauntlet, but it's +likely to be as much of a gauntlet for those warriors as it is for us." + +Perhaps the Indians on the spit did not know that the canoe contained +the best marksmen in the West, as they crowded closer to the water's +edge, uttered a yell or two of triumph and raised their own weapons. The +three rifles in the canoe flashed together and the big warrior, the +short, broad one, and the one with the red blanket looped over his +shoulder, fell on the sand. One of them got up again and fled with his +unhurt comrades into the forest, but the others lay quite still, with +their feet in the water. As the marksmen reloaded rapidly, Henry cried +to the paddlers: + +"Now, boys, back toward the middle of the river and put all your might +in it!" + +Paul and Long Jim swung the canoe into the main current, which had +increased greatly in strength here, owing to the narrowing of the +stream, and their paddles flashed fast. Two of the Indians who had fled +into the woods reappeared and fired at them, but their bullets fell +wide, and Henry, who had now rammed in the second charge, wounded one of +them, whereupon they fled to cover as quickly as they did the first +time. + +Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross had also reloaded, but put their rifles in +the bottom of the boat and resumed their paddles. The danger on the land +spit had been passed, but the great canoes behind them were hanging on +tenaciously and were gaining, not rapidly, but with certainty. Henry +swept them again with a measuring eye, and he saw no reason to change +his calculations. + +"They'll come within rifle shot in just about an hour," he repeated. +"We'd pick off some of them with our bullets, but they'd keep on coming +anyhow, and that would be the end of us." + +Such a solemn statement would have daunted any but those who had escaped +many great dangers. Imminent and deadly as was the peril, it did not +occur to any of the five that they would not evade it, the problem now +being one of method rather than result. + +"What are we going to do, Henry?" asked Paul. + +"I don't know yet," replied the leader, "but we'll keep going until +something develops." + +"Thar's your development!" exclaimed the shiftless one, as a rifle was +fired from the northern shore, and a bullet plashed in the water just +ahead of them. Then came a second shot from the same source which struck +the inoffensive river behind them. They were now being attacked from +both banks while the great canoes followed tenaciously. + +"We don't have to bother about one thing," said Paul grimly. "We know +which way to go, and it's the only way that's open to us." + +But the threat offered by the northern shore did not seem to be so +menacing. The river began to widen again and rapidly, and the scattered +shots fired later on came from a great distance, falling short. Those +discharged from the southern bank also missed the mark as widely. Henry +no longer paid any attention to them, but was examining the forest and +the curves of the river with a minute scrutiny. His look, which had been +very grave, brightened suddenly, and a reassuring flash appeared in his +eye. + +"What is it, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol, who had noticed the change. + +"We've been along here before," replied the great youth. "I know the +shores now, and it's mighty lucky for us that we are just where we are." + +The shiftless one looked at the northern, then at the southern forest, +and shook his head. + +"I don't 'pear to recall it," he said. "The woods, at this distance +away, look like any other woods at night, black an' mighty nigh solid." + +"It's not so much the forest, because, like you, I couldn't tell it from +any other, as it is the curve of the river. I thought I saw something +familiar in it a little while ago, and now I know by the sound that I'm +right." + +"Sound! What sound?" + +"Turn your ears down the river and listen as hard as you can. After a +while you'll hear a faint humming." + +"So I do, Henry, but I wouldn't hev noticed it ef you hadn't told me +about it, an' even ef I do hear it I don't know what it means." + +"It's made by the rush of a great volume of water, Sol. It's the Falls +of the Ohio, that not many white men have yet seen, a gradual sort of +fall, one that boats can go over without trouble most of the time, but +which, owing to the state of the river, are just now at their highest." + +"An' you mean fur them falls to come in between us an' the big canoes? +You're reckonin' on water to save us?" + +"That's what I have in mind, Sol. The falls are dangerous at this stage +of the river, no doubt about it, but we're not canoemen for nothing, and +with our lives at stake we'll not think twice before shooting 'em. What +say you, boys?" + +"The falls fur me!" replied the shiftless one, quickly. + +"Nothin' could keep me from takin' the tumble. I jest love them falls," +said Long Jim. + +"It's that or nothing," said Paul. + +"On!" said Silent Tom. + +"Then ease a little with your paddles," said Henry. "The Indians know, +of course, that the falls are just ahead, and I notice they are not now +pushing us so hard. It follows, then, that the falls are at a dangerous +height they don't often reach, and they expect to trap us." + +"In which they will be mighty well fooled." + +"I think so. I'll sit in the prow of the boat and do my best with my +paddle to guide. I believe we can shoot the falls all right, but maybe +we'll be swamped in the rapids below. But we're all good swimmers, and, +if we do go over, every fellow must swim for the northern bank, where +the Indians are fewest. Some one of us must manage to save his rifle and +ammunition or we'd be lost, even if we happened to reach the land. +Still, it's possible that we can keep afloat. It's a good canoe." + +"A good canoe!" exclaimed the shiftless one, in whom the spirit of +achievement and of triumph was rising again. "It's the finest canoe on +all this great river, and didn't I tell you boys that them that's bold +always win! Jest when our last chance 'peared to be gone, these falls +wuz put squar'ly in our track to save us! Will they wreck us? No, they +won't! We'll shoot 'em like a bird on the wing!" + +He looked back at their pursuers, and gave utterance suddenly to a long, +piercing shout of defiance. The Indians in the canoes replied with war +whoops that Henry could read easily. They expressed faith in speedy +triumph, and joy over the destruction of the five. He saw, moreover, +that they were using only half strength now, preferring to take their +ease while the game struggled vainly in the net. But as well as many of +these warriors knew the five they did not know them to the full. + +The shiftless one waited until their last war whoop died, and then, +sending forth once more his long, thrilling note of defiance, he burst +again into his triumphal chant. + +"Steady now with the paddles, boys," he cried, "an' we'll ride the water +ez ef we'd done nothin' else all our lives! Oh, I love rivers, big +rivers, speshully when they hev a strong current like this that takes +your boat 'long an' you don't hev to do no work! Now it reaches up a +thousand hands that grab our canoe an' sail 'long with it! Don't paddle +any more, boys, but jest hold yourselves ready to do it, when needed! +The river's doin' all the work, an' it never gits tired! Look, now, how +the current's a-rushin', an' a-dancin', an' a-hummin'! Look at the white +water 'roun' us! Look at the water behind us, an' hear the roarin' +before us! Thar, she rocks, but never min' that! Wait till the water +comes spillin' in! Then it will be time to use the paddles!" + +He burst once more into that irrepressible yell of defiance, and then he +cried exultantly: + +"They slow up! They're gittin' afeard! We've made the race too fast fur +'em! Come on, you warriors! Ain't you ready to go whar we will? These +falls are fine an' we jest love to play with 'em! We are goin' to sail +down 'em, an' then we're goin' to sail back up 'em ag'in! Don't you hear +all that roarin'? It's the tumblin' o' the water, an' it's singin' a +song to you, tellin' you to come!" + +The shiftless one's own tremendous song had a thrilling effect upon his +comrades. Their spirits leaped with it. The rushing canoe was now +dancing upon the surface of the river, but somehow they were not afraid. +They were at that reach of the river where a great city was destined to +grow upon the southern shore, and which was to be the scene, a year or +two later, of other activities of theirs, but now both banks were in +solid, black forest, and no human habitation had yet appeared. + +The canoe was rocking dangerously and all five began to use the paddles +now and then, as the white water foamed around them. It required the +utmost quickness of eye and hand to keep afloat, and the flying spray +soon wet them through and through. Yet the soul of Shif'less Sol was +still undaunted. He sang his song of victory, and although most of the +words were lost amid the crash and roar of the waters, their triumphant +note rose above every other sound, and found an echo in the hearts of +the others. + +Henry, looking back, saw that the long canoes had turned and were making +for the southern shore. Great as was the prize they sought, they would +not dare the falls, and half the battle was won. + +"They don't follow!" he shouted at the top of his voice. "And now for +the miracle that will keep us afloat!" + +The canoe raced down the watery slope and the spray continued to drench +them, though they had taken the precaution to cover up their rifles and +ammunition. But their surpassing skill had its reward. The descent soon +became more gradual, the torrents of white water sank, and then they +slid forward in the rapids, still going at a great rate, but no longer +in danger. + +"An' we've left the enemy behind!" sang the shiftless one, looking back +at the white masses. "He thought he had us, but he hadn't! He turned +back at the steep slope, but we came on! Thar's nothin' like havin' a +fall between you an' a lot o' pursuin' Injun canoes, is thar, Paul?" + +Paul laughed, half in amusement and half in nervous relief. + +"No, Sol, there isn't, at least not now," he replied. "It looks as if +these falls had been put here especially to save us." + +"I like to think so, too," said the shiftless one. + +The river was still very wide and they kept the canoe in its center, +although they no longer dreaded Indian shots, feeling quite sure that no +warriors were on either shore below the falls. So they went on three or +four miles, until Paul asked what was the next plan. + +"We must talk it over, all of us," said Henry. "The canoe is of no +particular use to us except as a way of escape from immediate danger." + +"But it and the falls together saved us," said Shif'less Sol. "Oh, it's +a good boat, a fine boat, a friendly boat!" + +"I hate to desert a friend." + +"It must be done. We can't stay forever on the river in a canoe. That +would merely invite destruction. The Indians can take their canoes out +of the water, carry them around the falls and resume the pursuit." + +"O' course I know you're right, Henry. I wuz jest droppin' a tear or two +over the partin' with our faithful canoe. We make fur the north bank, I +s'pose." + +"That seems to me to be the right course, because the warriors will be +thicker on the south side. We'll keep our policy of defense against them +by resuming the offense. What say you, Paul?" + +"I choose the north bank." + +"And you, Jim?" + +"North, uv course." + +"And you, Tom?" + +"North." + +"And Sol and I have already spoken. We'll make for the low point across +there, sink the canoe and go into the forest. The Indians will be sure +in time to pick up our trail and follow us, but we'll escape 'em as +we've escaped twice already." + +"Red Eagle and Yellow Panther will come for us now," said Paul. "It's +their turn next." + +"Let 'em," said Long Jim in sanguine tones. "They can't beat us." + +They were now out of the rapids and were paddling swiftly toward the +northern shore, with their eyes on a small cove, where the bushes grew +thick to the water's edge. When they reached it they pushed the canoe +into the dense thicket and sank it. + +"After all," said Shif'less Sol, "we're not partin' wholly with our +friend. We know whar he is, an' he'll wait here until some time or other +when we want him ag'in." + +Gathering up their arms, ammunition and supplies, they traveled +northward through the dense forest until they came to a small and well +sheltered valley, where they concluded to rest, it being full time, as +collapse was coming fast after their great exertions and intense strain. +Nevertheless, Silent Tom was able to keep the first watch, while the +others threw themselves on the ground and went to sleep almost +instantly. + +Tom had promised to awaken Shif'less Sol in two hours, but he did not do +so. He knew how much his comrades needed rest, and being willing to +sacrifice himself, he watched until dawn, which came bright, cold at +first, and then full of grateful warmth, a great sun hanging in a vast +disc of reddish gold over the eastern forest. + +Silent Tom Ross, in his most talkative moments, was a man of few words, +at other times of none, but he felt deeply. A life spent wholly in the +woods into which he fitted so supremely had given him much of the Indian +feeling. He, too, peopled earth, air and water with spirits, and to him +the wild became incarnate. The great burning sun, at which he took +occasional glances, was almost the same as the God of the white man and +the Manitou of the red man. He had keenly appreciated their danger, both +when Henry was at the hollow, and when they were in the canoe on the +river, hemmed in on three sides. And yet they had come safely from both +nets. The skill of the five had been great, but more than human skill +had helped them to escape from such watchful and powerful enemies. + +Tom Ross, as he looked at the faces of his comrades, knitted to him by +so many hardships and perils shared, was deeply grateful. He took one or +two more glances at the great burning sun, and the sky that looked like +illimitable depths of velvet blue, and then he surveyed the whole circle +of the forest curving around them. It was silent there, no sign of a foe +appeared, all seemed to be as peaceful as a great park in the Old World. +Tom said no words, not even to himself, but his prayer of thanks ran: + +"O Lord, I offer my gratitude to Thee for the friends whom Thou hast +given me. As they have been faithful to me in every danger, so shall I +try to be faithful to them. Perhaps my mind moves more slowly than +theirs, but I strive always to make it move in the right way. They are +younger than I am, and I feel it my duty and my pleasure, too, to watch +over them, despite their strength of body, mind and spirit. I have not +the gift of words, nor do I pray for it, but help me in other things +that I may do my part and more." + +Then Tom Ross felt uplifted. The dangers passed were passed, and those +to come could not press upon him yet. He was singularly light of heart, +and the wind sang among the leaves for him, though not in words, as it +sang often for Henry. + +He took another look at his comrades, and they still slept as if they +would never awake. The strain of the preceding nights and days had been +tremendous, and their spirits, having gone away with old King Sleep to +his untroubled realms, showed no signs of a wish to come back again to a +land of unlimited peril. He had promised faithfully to awaken one of +them long ago for the second turn at the watch, and he knew that all of +them expected to be up at sunrise, but he had broken his promise and he +was happy in the breaking of it. + +Nor did he awaken them now. Instead he made a wide circle through the +forest, using his good eyes and good ears to their utmost. The stillness +had gone, because birds were singing from pure joy at the dawn, and the +thickets rustled with the movements of small animals setting about the +day's work and play. But Silent Tom knew all these sounds, and he paid +no attention to them. Instead he listened for man, man the vengeful, the +dangerous and the deadly, and hearing nothing from him and being sure +that he was not near, he went back to the place where the four sleepers +lay. Examining them critically he saw that they had not stirred a +particle. They had been so absolutely still that they had grown into the +landscape itself. + +Tom Ross smiled a deep smile that brought his mouth well across his face +and made his eyes crinkle up, and then, disregarding their wishes with +the utmost lightness of heart, he sat himself down, calmly letting them +sleep on. He produced from an inside pocket a long stretch of fine, +thin, but very strong cord, and ran it through his fingers until he came +to the sharp hook on the end. It was all in good trim, and his questing +eye soon saw where a long, slender pole could be cut. Then he put thread +and hook back in his pocket, and sat as silent as the sleepers, but +bright-eyed and watchful. No one could come near without his knowledge. + +Shif'less Sol awoke first, yawning mightily, but he did not yet open his +eyes. + +"Who's watchin'?" he called. + +"Me," replied Ross. + +"Is it day yet?" + +"Look up an' see." + +The shiftless one did look up, and when he beheld the great sun shining +almost directly over his head he exclaimed in surprise: + +"Why, Tom, is it today or tomorrer?" + +"It's today, though I guess it's well on to noon." + +"Seein' the sun whar it is, an' feelin' now ez ef I had slep' so long, I +thought mebbe it might be tomorrer. An' it bein' so late an' me +sleepin', too, it looks ez ef the warriors ought to hev us." + +"But they hevn't, Sol. All safe." + +"No, Tom, they hevn't got us, an' now, hevin' learned from your long an' +volyble conversation that it ain't tomorrer an' that we are free, 'stead +o' bein' taken captive an' bein' burned at the stake by the Injuns, I'm +feelin' mighty fine." + +"Sol, you talk real foolish at times. How could we be took by the Injuns +an' be burned alive at the stake, an' not know nothin' 'bout it?" + +"Don't ask me, Tom. Thar are lots o' strange things that I don't pretend +to understan', an' me a smart man, too. Here, you, Jim Hart! Wake up! +Shake them long legs an' arms o' yours an' cook our breakfast!" + +Silent Tom began to laugh, not audibly, but his lips moved in such a +manner that they betrayed risibility. The shiftless one looked at him +suspiciously. + +"Tom Ross," he said, "what you laughin' at?" + +"You told Long Jim to cook breakfast, didn't you?" + +"I shorely did, an' I meant it, too." + +"He ain't." + +"Why ain't he?" + +"Because he ain't." + +"Ef he ain't, then why ain't he?" + +"Because thar ain't any." + +"Thar ain't any breakfast, you mean?" + +"Jest what I say. He ain't goin' to cook breakfast, 'cause thar ain't +any to cook, an' thar ain't no more to say." + +Henry and Paul, awakening at the sound of the voices, sat up and caught +the last words. + +"Do you mean to tell us, Tom," exclaimed Paul, "that we have nothing to +eat?" + +"Shorely," said Silent Tom triumphantly. "Look! See!" + +All of them examined their packs quickly, but they had eaten the last +scrap of food the day before. Silent Tom's mouth again stretched across +his face with triumph and his eyes crinkled up. + +"Right, ain't it?" he asked exultantly. + +"Look here you, Tom Ross," exclaimed Shif'less Sol, indignantly, "you'd +rather be right an' starve to death than be wrong an' live!" + +"Right, ain't I?" + +"Yes, right, ain't you, 'bout the food, an' wrong in everythin' else. Ef +you say 'ain't' to me ag'in, Tom Ross, inside o' a week, I'll club you +so hard over the head with your own gun that you won't be able to speak +another word fur a year! The idee o' you laughin' an' me plum' dead with +hunger! Why, I could eat a hull big buffler by myself, an' ef he wuzn't +cooked I could eat him alive, an' on the hoof too, so I could!" + +Tom Ross continued to laugh silently with his eyes and lips. + +"What are we to do?" asked Paul in dismay. "If we were to find game we +wouldn't dare fire at it with the Indians perhaps so near." + +"True," said Tom Ross. + +"And if we can't fire at it we certainly can't catch it with our hands." + +"True," said Tom Ross. + +"And then are we to starve to death?" + +"No," said Tom Ross. + +Paul did not ask anything more, but his questioning look was on the +silent man. + +"Fish," said Tom Ross, showing his line and hook. + +"Where?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"Fine, clear creek, only hundred yards away." + +"Do you know that it hez any fish in it?" + +"Saw 'em little while ago. Fine big fellers, bass." + +"Then be quick an' ketch a lot, 'cause the pangs o' starvation are +already on me." + +Tom Ross cut the slim pole that he had already picked out and measured +with his eye, took squirming bait from the soft earth under a stone, +just as millions of boys in the Mississippi valley have done, and +started for the creek, Paul being delegated to accompany him, while +Henry, Long Jim and the shiftless one proceeded to build a fire in the +most secluded spot they could find. There was danger in a fire, but they +could shield the smoke, or at least most of it, and the risk must be +taken anyhow. They could not eat raw the fish which they did not doubt +for a moment Tom Ross would soon bring. + +Meanwhile Paul and Tom reached the banks of the creek, which was all the +silent one had claimed for it, fifteen feet wide, two feet deep, clear +water, flowing over a pebbly bottom. Tom tied his string to the pole, +and threw in the hook and bait. + +"You watch, I fish," he said. + +Paul, his rifle in the crook of his arm, strolled a little bit down the +stream, examining the forest and listening attentively for any hostile +sound. Since it was his business to protect the fisherman while he +fished, he meant to protect him well, and no enemy could have come near +without being observed by him. And yet he had enough detachment from the +dangers of their situation to drink deep in the beauty of the +wilderness, which was here a tangle of green forest, shot with wild +flowers and cut by clear running waters. + +But he did not go so far that he failed to hear a thump where Tom Ross +was sitting, and he knew that a fine fish had been landed. Presently a +second thump came to his ear, and, glancing through the bushes, he saw +Tom taking the fish off the hook, a look of intense satisfaction on his +face. Then the silent fisherman threw in the line again and leaned back +luxuriously against the trunk of a tree, while he waited for his third +bite. Paul smiled. He knew that Silent Tom was happy, happy because he +had prepared for and was achieving a necessary task. + +Paul went on in a circuit about the fisherman, crossing the creek lower +down, where it was narrower, on a fallen log, and discovered no sign of +a foe, though he did come to a bed of wild flowers, the delicate pale +blue of which pleased him so much that he broke off two blossoms and +thrust them into his deerskin tunic. Then he came back to Silent Tom, to +find that he had caught four fine large fish, and, having thrown away +his pole, was winding up his line. + +"'Nuff," said the silent one. + +"I think so, too," said Paul, "and now we'll hurry back with 'em." + +"Look like a flower garden, you!" + +"If I do I'm glad of it." + +"Like it myself." + +"I know you do, Tom. I know that however you may appear, and that +however fierce and warlike you may be at times, your character rests +upon a solid bedrock of poetry." + +Tom stared and then smiled, and by this time the two had returned with +their spoils to a little valley in which a little fire was burning, with +the blaze smothered already, but a fine bed of coals left. The fish were +cleaned with amazing quickness, and then Long Jim broiled them in a +manner fit for kings. The five ate hungrily, but with due regard for +manners. + +"You're a good fisherman, Tom Ross," said Shif'less Sol, "but it ought +to be my job." + +"Why?" + +"'Cause it's the job o' a lazy man. I reckon that all fishermen, +leastways them that fish in creeks an' rivers, are lazy, nothin' to do +but set still an' doze till a fish comes along an' hooks hisself on to +your bait. Then you jest hev to heave him in an' put the hook back in +the water ag'in." + +"There's enough of the fish left for another meal," said Henry, "and I +think we'd better put it in our packs and be off." + +"You still favor a retreat into the north?" said Paul. + +"Yes, and toward the northeast, too. We'll go in the direction of Piqua +and Chillicothe, their big towns. As we've concluded over and over +again, the offensive is the best defensive, and we'll push it to the +utmost. What's your opinion, Sol? Who do you think will be the next +leader to come against us?" + +"Red Eagle an' the Shawnees. I'm thinkin' they're curvin' out now to +trap us, an' that Red Eagle is a mighty crafty fellow." + +They trod out the coals, threw some dead leaves over them, and took a +course toward the northeast. It seemed pretty safe to assume that the +ring of warriors was thickest in the south, and that they might slip +through in the north. Time and distance were of little importance to +them, and they felt able to find their rations as they went in the +forest. + +They had been traveling about an hour at the easy walk of the border, +when they heard a long cry behind them. + +"They've found the dead coals o' our fire," said Shif'less Sol. + +"Which means that they're not so far away," said Paul. + +"But we've been comin' over rocky ground, an' the trail ain't picked up +so easy. An' we might make it a lot harder by wadin' a while up this +branch." + +The brook fortunately led in the direction in which they wished to go. +They walked in it a full half mile, and as it had a sandy bottom their +footprints vanished almost at once. When they emerged at last they heard +the long cry again, now from a point toward the east, and then a distant +answer from a point in the west. Shif'less Sol laughed with intense +enjoyment. + +"Guessin'! Jest guessin'!" he said. "They've found the dead coals an' +they know that we wuz thar once, but that now we ain't, an' it's not +whar we wuz but whar we ain't that's botherin' 'em." + +"Still," said Paul, "the more distance we put between them and us the +better I, for one, will like it." + +"You're right, Paul," said Shif'less Sol. "I guess we'd better shake our +feet to a lively tune." + +They increased their walk to a trot, and fled through the great forest. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE OASIS + + +The five continued their flight all that day, seeing no enemies and +hearing no further signal from them. But Henry knew intuitively that the +warriors were still in pursuit. They would spread out in every +direction, and some one among them would, in time, pick up the trail. +After a while, they permitted their own gait to sink to an easy walk, +but they did not veer from their northeastern course. Henry, all the +time, was a keen observer of the country, and he noticed with pleasure +the change that was occurring. + +They were coming to a low sunken land, cut by many streams, nearly all +sluggish and muddy. The season had been rainy, and there was an odor of +dampness over all things. Great thickets of reeds and cane began to +appear, and now and then they trod into deep banks of moss. + +"Perhaps we'd better turn to the north and avoid it," said Paul. "This +marsh region seems to be extensive." + +Henry shook his head. + +"We won't avoid it," he said. "On the contrary it's just what we want. +I'm thinking that we're being watched over. You know the forest fire +came in time to save us, then the falls appeared just when we needed +'em, and now this huge marsh, extending miles and miles in every +direction, cuts across our path, not as an enemy, but as a friend." + +"That is, we are to hide in it?" + +"Where could we find a better refuge?" + +"Then you lead the way, Henry," said Shif'less Sol. "Ef you sink in it +we'll pull you out, purvidin' you don't go in it over your neck." + +Henry went ahead, his wary eye examining the ground which had already +grown alarmingly soft save for those trained for such marchings. But he +was able to pick out the firm places, though the earth would quickly +close over their footsteps, as they passed, and, now and then, they +walked on the upthrust roots of trees, their moccasins giving them a +securer hold. + +It was precarious and dangerous work, but they went deeper and deeper +into the heart of the great swamp, through thickets of bushes, cane and +reeds, the soil continually growing softer and the vegetation ranker and +more gloomy. Often the canes and reeds were so dense that they had +difficulty in seeing their leader, as he slipped on ahead. Sometimes +snakes trailed a slimy length from their path, and, hardened foresters +though they were, they shuddered. Occasionally an incautious foot sank +to the knee and it was pulled out again with a choking sigh as the mud +closed where it had been. Mosquitoes and many other buzzing and +stinging insects assailed them, but they pressed on without hesitation. + +They came to a great black pond on which marsh fowl were swimming, but +Henry led around its miry edges, and they pressed on into the deeper +depths of the vast swamp. He judged that they had now penetrated it a +full two miles, but he had no intention of stopping. The four behind him +knew without his telling for what he was looking. The swamp, partly a +product of an extremely rainy season, must have bits of solid ground +somewhere within its area, and, when they came to such a place, they +would stop. Yet it would be all the better if they did not reach it for +a long time, as the farther they were from the edge of the swamp the +safer they could rest. + +No island of firm earth appeared, and the traveling grew more difficult. +Often they helped themselves along with vines that drooped from scrubby +trees, swinging their bodies over places that would not bear their +weight, but always, whether slow or fast, they made progress, +penetrating farther and farther into the huge blind maze. + +The sun was low when they stopped for a long rest, hoping they would +reach refuge very soon. + +"I don't think the warriors kin ever find us in here," said Long Jim, +"but what's troublin' me is whether we'll ever be able to git out +ag'in." + +"Mebbe you wouldn't be so anxious to show yourse'f, Jim Hart, on solid +ground ef you could only see yourse'f ez I see you," said Shif'less Sol. +"You're a sight, plastered over with black mud, an' scratched with +briers an' bushes. Lookin' at you, an' sizin' you up, I reckon that +jest now you're 'bout the ugliest man in this hull round world." + +"Ef I ain't, you are," said Long Jim, grinning. "Fact is, thar ain't a +beauty among us. I don't mind mud so much, but I don't like it when it's +black an' slimy. How fur do you reckon this flooded country goes, +Henry?" + +"Twenty miles, maybe, Jim, but the farther the better for us. Here's an +old fallen log which I think will hold our weight. Suppose we stop here +and rest a little." + +They were glad enough to do so. When they sat down they heard the +mournful sigh of a light wind through the black and marshy jungle, and +the splash now and then of a muskrat in the water. Their refuge seemed +dim and inexpressibly remote, as if it belonged to the wet and ferny +world of dim antiquity. But every one of the five felt that they were +safe, at least for the present, from pursuit. + +"We might plough a trail a yard deep," said Shif'less Sol, "but the mud +would close over it ag'in in five minutes, an' Red Eagle with five +hundred o' the best trailers in the hull Shawnee nation couldn't foller +us." + +"It's strange and grim," said Paul, "but, when you look at it a long +time there's a certain kind of forbidding beauty about it, and you're +bound to admit that it's a friendly swamp, since it's hiding us from +ruthless pursuers." + +"Perhaps that's why you find the beauty in it," said Henry. "Come on, +though. The Shawnees are not likely to reach us here, but we must find +some snug place in which we can camp." + +"After all," said Paul, "we're like travelers in a great desert looking +for an oasis." + +"We ain't as hungry ez all that," said Long Jim. + +"You won't get angry if I laugh, Jim, will you?" asked Paul. + +"Don't mind me. Go ahead an' laugh all you want." + +"An oasis is not something to eat, Jim. It's a green and watered place +in an ocean of sand." + +"Seems to me that we waste time lookin' fur a place that's more watered +than all these we're crossin'. What I want is a dry place, a piece out +uv that ocean uv sand you're talkin' 'bout." + +"The conditions are merely reversed. My illustration holds good." + +"What did you say, Paul? Them wuz mighty big words." + +"Never mind. You'll find out in due time. Just you pray for an oasis in +this swamp, because that is what we want, and we want it bad." + +"All right, Paul, I'm prayin'. I ain't shore what I'm prayin' fur, but I +take your word fur it." + +Henry rose and led on again, anxious of heart. They were well hidden, it +was true, in the great swamp, but they must find some place to lay their +heads. It was impossible to rest in the black ooze that surrounded them, +and if they did not reach firmer ground soon he did not know what they +would do. The sun was already low, and, in the east, the shadows were +gathering. Around them all things were clothed in gloom. Even that touch +of forbidding beauty, of which Paul had spoken was gone and the whole +swamp became dark and sinister. + +Henry was compelled to walk with the utmost care, lest he become +engulfed, and finally all of them cut lengths of cane with which they +felt about in the mire before they advanced. + +"Pray hard, Long Jim," said Paul. "Pray hard for that oasis, because the +night will soon be here, and if we don't find our oasis we'll have to +stand in our tracks until day, and that's a mighty hard thing to do." + +"I wuz never wishin' an prayin' harder in my life." + +"I think your prayer is answered," interrupted Henry, who was thrusting +here and there with his cane. "To the right the ground seems to be +growing more solid. The mire is not more than a foot deep. I think I'll +venture in that direction. What do you say, boys?" + +"Might ez well try it," said Shif'less Sol. "It may be a last chance, +but sometimes a last chance wins." + +Henry, feeling carefully with the long, stout cane, plunged into the +slough. He was more anxious than he was willing to say, but at the same +time he was hopeful. As the swamp was due, at least in large part, to +the great rains, it must have firm ground somewhere, and he had noticed +also in the thickening twilight that the bushes ahead seemed much larger +than usual. A dozen steps and the mire was not more than six inches +deep. Then with a subdued cry of triumph he seized the bushes, pulled +himself among them, and stood not more than moccasin deep in the mud. + +"It's the best place we've come to yet," he said. "I can't see over the +thicket, but I'm hoping that we'll find beyond it some kind of a hill +and dry ground." + +"I know we will," said Long Jim, confidently. "It's 'cause I wished an' +prayed so hard. It's a lucky thing, Paul, that you had me to do the +wishin' an' prayin', 'stead o' Shif'less Sol, 'cause then we'd hev +walked into black mire a thousan' feet deep. Ef the prayers uv the +sinners are answered a-tall, a-tall, they're answered wrong." + +Shif'less Sol shook his head scornfully. + +"Let's go on, Henry," he said, "afore Long Jim talks us plum' to death, +a thing I'd hate to hev happen to me, jest when we're 'bout to reach the +promised land." + +Henry pushed his way through dense bushes and trailing vines, and he +noticed with intense joy that all the time the earth was growing firmer. +The others followed silently in his tracks. In five minutes he emerged +from the thicket, and then he could not repress an exclamation of +pleasure. They had come upon a low hill, an acre perhaps in extent, as +firm as any soil and well grown with thick low oaks. Where the shade was +not too deep the grass was rich, and the five, the others repeating +Henry's cry of joy, threw themselves upon it and luxuriated. + +"It's fine," said Shif'less Sol, "to lay here an' to feel that the earth +under you ain't quiverin' like a heap o' jelly. I turn from one side to +the other an' then back ag'in, an' I don't sink into no mud, a-tall, +a-tall." + +"An' this, Paul, is the o-sis that you wuz talkin' 'bout, an' that I +wished an' prayed into the right place fur us?" said Long Jim. + +"Oasis, Jim, not o-sis," said Paul. + +"Oasis or o-sis, it's jest ez good to me by either name, an' I think +I'll stick to o-sis, 'cause it's easier to say. But, Paul, did you ever +see a finer piece uv land? Did you ever see finer, richer soil? Did you +ever see more splendiferous grass or grander oaks?" + +"I feel about it just as you do," laughed Paul. + +Henry lay still a full ten minutes, resting after their tremendous +efforts in the swamp, then he rose, walked through their oasis and +discovered that at the far edge a fine large brook was running, +apparently and in some mysterious way, escaping at that point the +contamination of the mud, although he could see that farther on it lost +itself in the swamp. But its cool, sparkling waters were a heavenly +sight, and, walking back, he announced his discovery to the others. + +"All of you know what you can do," he said. + +"We do," said Paul. + +"First thought in my mind," said Shif'less Sol. + +"An' we'll do it," said Long Jim. + +"Now!" said Silent Tom. + +They took off their clothing, scraped from it as much mud as they could, +and took a long and luxurious bath in the brook. Then they came out on +the bank and let themselves dry, the night which had now fully come, +fortunately being warm. As they lay in the grass they felt a great +content, and Long Jim gave it utterance. + +"An o-sis is a fine thing," he said. "I'm glad you invented 'em, Paul, +'cause I don't know what we'd a-done without this un." + +Henry rose and began to dress. The others did likewise. + +"I think we'd better eat the rest of Tom's fish and then go to sleep," +he said. "Tomorrow morning we'll have to hold a grand council, and +consider the question of food, as I think we're very likely to stay in +here quite a while." + +"Are you really looking for a long stay?" asked Paul. + +"Yes, because the Indians will be beating up the woods for us so +thoroughly that it will be best for us not to move from our hiding +place. It's a fine swamp! A glorious swamp! And because it's so big and +black and miry it's all the better for us. The only problem before us is +to get food." + +"And we always get it somehow or other." + +They wrapped themselves in their blankets to keep off any chill that +might come later in the night, lay down under the boughs of the dwarf +oaks, and slept soundly until the next day, keeping no watch, because +they were sure they needed none. Tom Ross himself never opened his eyes +once until the sun rose. Then the problem of food, imminent and +pressing, as the last of the fish was gone, presented itself. + +"I think that branch is big enough to hold fish," said Tom Ross, +bringing forth his hook and line again, "an' ef any are thar they'll be +purty tame, seein' that the water wuz never fished afore. Anyway I'll +soon see." + +The others watched him anxiously, as he threw in his bait, and their +delight was immense, when a half hour's effort was rewarded with a half +dozen perch, of fair size and obviously succulent. + +"At any rate, we won't starve," said Henry, "though it would be hard to +live on fish alone, and besides it's not healthy." + +"But we'll get something else," said Paul. + +"What else?" + +"I don't know, but I notice when we keep on looking we're always sure to +find." + +"You're right, Paul. It's a good thing to have faith, and I'll have it, +too. But we can eat fish for several meals yet, and then see what will +happen." + +They devoted the morning to a thorough washing and cleaning of their +clothing, which they dried in the sun, and they also made a further +examination of the oasis. The swamp came up to its very edge on all +three sides except that of the brook, and a little distance beyond the +brook it was swamp again. It would have been hard to imagine a more +secluded and secure retreat, and Henry dismissed from his mind the +thought of immediate pursuit there by the Indians. Their present +problems were those of food and shelter. + +"I think," he said, "that we ought to build a bark hut. There's a +natural site between the four big trees which will be the corners of +our house, and the ground is just covered with the kind of bark we +want." + +In the warm sunshine and with a clear sky above them they seemed to have +no need of a house, but all of them knew how quickly the weather could +change in the great valley. It would be hard to stand a fierce storm on +the oasis, and one of the secrets of the great and continued success of +the five was to prepare for every emergency of which they could think. + +Long practice had given them high skill, and four of them set to work +with their tomahawks to build a hut of bark and poles, working swiftly, +dextrously and mostly in silence, while Silent Tom went back to the +fishing. They toiled that day and at least half the night with poles and +bark, and by noon the next day they had finished a little cabin, which +they were sure would hold, with the aid of the great trees, against +anything. It had a floor of poles smoothed with dead leaves, one small +window and a low door, over which they purposed to hang blankets if a +blowing rain came. + +Throughout their hard labors they had an abundance of fish, but nothing +else, and they not only began to long for other food, but health +demanded it as well. + +"Ef Long Jim Hart offers fish to me, ag'in," said the shiftless one, +"I'll take it an' cram it down his own throat." + +"And then how'll you live?" asked Paul. + +"I think I'll take Long Jim hisself an' eat him, beginnin' at his head, +which is the softest part o' him." + +"Now that the cabin is done," said Henry, "maybe we can devote some +attention to hunting." + +"Huntin' in black mud that'll suck you down to your waist in a second?" +said Shif'less Sol. + +"I think I might find a pathway on the other side of the stream, and +this swamp ought to hold a lot of game. Bears love swamps, and I might +run across a deer." + +"Would the Indians hear you if you fired?" asked Paul. + +"No, we're too far in for the sound of a rifle to reach 'em. Still, I +won't start today. I suppose we can stand the fish until tomorrow." + +"We have to stand 'em," said Shif'less Sol, "an' that bein' the case I +think I'll look ag'in at our beautiful house which hasn't a nail or a +spike in it, but is jest held together by withes an' vines, but held +together well jest the same." + +"Ain't it fine?" said Long Jim with genuine admiration. "It's jest 'bout +the finest house that ever stood on this o-sis." + +"That, at least, is true," said Paul. + +They did not sleep in the cabin that night, as they intended to use it +only in bad weather, but made good beds on the leaves outside. Shif'less +Sol was the first to awake, and it was scarcely dawn when he arose. +Happening to look toward the brook delight overspread his face like a +sunrise, and laughing softly to himself he took his own rifle and Long +Jim's. Then he crept forward without noise, and making sure of his aim, +fired both rifles so closely together that one would have thought it +was a double barreled weapon. + +The four leaped to their feet, and, clearing the sleep from their eyes, +ran in the direction of the shots. But the shiftless one was already +walking proudly back toward them. + +"What is it, Sol?" cried Paul. + +"Only these," replied Shif'less Sol, and he held up a fat wild duck in +either hand. "They wuz swimmin' in the branch, waitin' to be cooked an' +et by five good fellers like us, an' seein' they wuz in earnest 'bout it +I hev obliged 'em. So here they are, an' you, Long Jim, you, you set to +work at once an' cook 'em, 'cause I'm mighty hungry fur nice fat duck, +not hevin' et anythin' but fish fur the last year or two." + +"Jest watch me do it," said Long Jim. "Ain't I been waitin' fur a chance +uv this kind? While I'm cookin' 'em you fellers will stan' 'roun', an' +them sav'ry smells will make you so hungry you can't bear to wait, but +you'll hev to, 'cause I won't let you touch a duck till it's br'iled +jest right. Are thar any more whar these come from, Sol?" + +"Not jest at this minute, Jim, but thar wuz, an' thar will be. A dozen +jest ez good ez these fat fellers flew away when I fired, an' whar some +hez been more will come." + +"Curious we didn't think of the wild fowl," said Henry. "We noticed that +the swamp had big permanent ponds besides running water, and it was a +certainty that wild ducks and wild geese would come in search of their +kind of food, which is so plentiful in here." + +"Maybe we can set up traps and snares and catch game," said Paul. "It +will save our ammunition, and besides there would be no danger that a +wandering Indian in the swamp might hear our shots and carry the news of +our location." + +"Wise words, Paul," said Henry. "We must put our minds on the question +of traps." + +"But not this minute," said Long Jim. "Bigger things are to the front. +Here, you lazy Sol, he'p me clean these ducks, an' Paul, you an' Tom +build me a fire quicker'n lightnin'. The sooner you do what I tell you +the sooner you'll git juicy duck to eat." + +They worked rapidly, with such an incentive to effort, and soon the +savory odors of which Long Jim had boasted incited their hunger to an +extreme pitch. He did not keep them waiting long, and when they were +through nothing was left of the ducks but bones. + +"It would be better to have bread, too," said Paul, as he sighed with +satisfaction, "but since we can't have it we must manage to get along +without it." + +"Mustn't ask fur too much," said Silent Tom. + +"Sol," said Henry, "after we rest an hour or so suppose you and I set +the snares for the ducks and geese. Likely no human being has ever been +in here before, and they won't be on guard against us. The rest of you +might do more work on the house. We ought to provide food and shelter as +well as we can before stormy weather comes." + +While Henry and the shiftless one were busy down the stream, the other +three put more strength into the hut, lashing the poles and bark fast +with additional tenacious withes and feeling all the interest that +people have when they erect a fine new house. + +"It's surely a tight little cabin," said Paul, standing off and +examining it with a critical eye. "I don't think a drop of rain could +get in even in the heaviest storm. There, did you hear that?" + +"Yes, a rifle shot," said Long Jim. "It wuz Henry or Sol, but it don't +mean no enemy. They hev got some kind uv game that they didn't expect." + +The shot was followed in a few moments by a shout of triumph, and Henry +and Sol emerged from the swamp carrying between them a small but very +fat black bear. + +"Thar's rations fur some time to come," said Long Jim. "I guess he wuz +huntin' berries in the swamp when Sol or Henry picked him off, an' I'm +shore thar'll be more uv the same kind. It begins to look like a mighty +fine swamp to me." + +It was the shiftless one who had shot the bear, and he was proud of his +triumph, as he had a right to be, having secured such a supply of good +food, because there was nothing better that the forest furnished than +fat young bear. It did not take experts, such as they, long to clean the +bear, and cut its flesh into strips for drying. + +"I think our snares will hold something in the morning," said Henry, +"and that will be a big help, too. What was it you said about the swamp, +Jim?" + +"I said it wuz gittin' to be a mighty fine swamp. First time I saw it I +thought it wuz an ugly place, ugliest I ever seed, but now it's growin' +plum' beautiful. Reckon it's the safest place now in all the wilderness. +Knowin' that, helps it a lot, an' its yieldin' up good food helps it +more. The sun is gildin' the trees, an' the bushes an' the mud an' the +water a heap, an' all them things don't hurt my eyes when they linger on +'em." + +"Jim is turnin' into a poet," said the shiftless one, "but I reckon he +hez cause. I'm gittin' to feel 'bout the swamp jest ez he does. It's a +splendid place, jest full o' beauty!" + +They slept under the trees again, putting the strips of bear meat in the +house to secure them from marauders of the air, and awoke the next +morning to find the swamp still improving. Powerful factors in the +improvement were two ducks and a fat wild goose caught in the snares, +and, with more fish from Silent Tom, they had a variety for breakfast. + +"I jest love wild goose," said Shif'less Sol, "speshully when it's fat +an' tender, an' I'm thinkin' this swamp is a good place for wild geese. +When we come in here we didn't think what a fine home we wuz findin'. +Since the tribes an' the renegades have sworn to wipe us out, an' we're +hid here so snug an' so tight, I don't keer how long I stay." + +"Nor me either," said Long Jim. "This o-sis makes me think sure uv that +island in the lake on which we stayed once, but it's safer here. Nothin' +but the longest kind uv chance would make the warriors find us." + +"That's true," said Henry thoughtfully. "We might have searched the +whole continent, and we couldn't have discovered a better refuge, for +our purpose. I know we can lie hid here a long time and let them hunt +us." + +Shif'less Sol began to laugh, not loud, but with great intensity, and +his laugh was continued long. + +"What you laffin' at, you Sol Hyde?" asked Long Jim suspiciously. + +"Not at you, Jim," replied the shiftless one. "I wuz thinkin' 'bout them +renegades, Wyatt and Blackstaffe. I would shorely like to see 'em now, +an' look into thar faces, an' behold 'em wonderin' an' wonderin' what +hez become o' us that they expected to ketch between thar fingers, an' +squash to death. They look on the earth, an' they don't see no trail o' +ourn. They look in the sky an' they don't see us flyin' 'roun' anywhar +thar. The warriors circle an' circle an' circle an' they don't put their +hands on us. That ring is tight an' fast, an' we can't break out o' it. +We ain't on the outside o' it, an' they can't find us on the inside o' +it. So, whar are we? They don't know but we do. We hev melted away like +witches. Them renegades is shorely hoppin', t'arin' mad, but the madder +they are the better we like it. 'Scuse me, Jim, while I laff ag'in, an' +it wouldn't hurt you, Jim, if you wuz to laff with me." + +"I think I will," said Long Jim, and action followed word. Later in the +day Henry and Paul penetrated a short distance deeper into the swamp, +but did not find another oasis like theirs. The entire area seemed to be +occupied by mire and ponds and thickets of reeds and cane, mingled with +briars. They stirred up another black bear, but they did not get a +chance for a shot at him, and they also saw the footprints of a panther. +They returned to the oasis satisfied with their exploration. The +swampier the swamp and the greater its extent the safer they were. + +That night as they slept under the trees they were awakened by the +rushing of many wings. When they sat up they found the sky dark above +them, although the moon was shining and all the stars were out. It was a +flight of wild pigeons and they had settled in countless thousands on +the trees of the oasis. The five with sticks knocked off as many as they +thought they could use, and stored them for the night in the hut. They +devoted the next day to picking and dressing their spoils, the living +birds having gone on, and on the following day, Henry, who had entered +the swamp on another trip of exploration, returned with the most welcome +news of all. He had discovered a salt spring only a short distance away, +and with labor they were able to boil out the salt which was invaluable +to them in curing their food supply. + +"Now, if we had bread, we'd be entirely happy," said Paul. + +"Shucks, Paul," said Shif'less Sol with asperity, "you're entirely happy +ez it is. Never ask too much an' then you won't git too little. This +splendid, magnificent swamp o' ourn furnishes everythin' any reasonin' +human bein' could want." + +Henry shot another black bear, very small but quite fat and tender, and +he was quickly added to their store. More wild ducks and wild geese were +caught in the snares, and they had now been on the oasis more than a +week without the slightest sign from their foes. Danger seemed so far +away that it could never come near, and they enjoyed the interval of +peace and quiet, devoted to the homely business of mere living. + +Then came a day when great mists and vapors rose from the swamp, and the +air grew heavy. Everything turned to a sullen, leaden color. Henry +glanced at their hut. + +"We have built in time," he said. "All this heaviness and cloudiness +foretells a storm and I think we'll sleep under a roof tonight. What say +you, Sol?" + +"I shorely will, Henry. Them that wants to lay on the ground, an' take a +wettin' kin take it, but, ez fur me, a floor, a roof an' four walls is +jest what I want." + +"Everybody will agree with you on that," said Paul. + +No one spoke again for a long time. Meanwhile the vapors and mists +thickened and the skies became almost as black as night. The whole +swamp, save the little island on which they sat, was lost in the dusk, +and a wind, heavy with damp, came moaning out of the vast wilderness. +Thunder rumbled on the horizon, then cracked directly overhead, and +flashes of lightning cut the blackness. + +The five retreated to their hut, and, with a mighty rushing of wind and +a great sweep of rain, the storm burst over the oasis. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +INTO THE NORTH + + +When the wilderness was under the beat of wind or rain or hail or snow +Henry and Paul, if sheltered well, never failed to feel an increase of +comfort, even of luxury. The contrast between the storm without and the +dryness within gave an elemental feeling of relaxation and content that +nothing else could supply. It had been so at the rocky hollow, and it +was so here. + +Their first anxiety had been for the little house. Being built of poles +and bark it quivered and trembled, as the wind smote it hard, but it +held fast and did not lose a timber. That apprehension passed, they +looked to see whether it would turn the rain, and noted with joy in +their workmanship and pleasure in their security that not a drop made +its way between the poles and bark. + +These early fugitive fears gone, they settled down to ease and +observation of the storm, being able to leave the door open about a +foot, as the wind was driving against the back of the house. It was +almost as dark as night, with gusts that whistled and screamed, and the +rain seemed to come in great waves of water. Despite the dusk, they saw +leaves torn from the trees and whirled away in showers. Every phase and +change of the storm was watched by them with the keenest attention and +interest. Weather was a tremendous factor in the life of the borderer, +and he was compelled to guide most of his actions by it. + +"How long do you think it will last, Sol?" asked Henry. + +"I don't see no break in the clouds," replied the shiftless one. "This +wind will die after a while, but the rain will keep right on. I look for +it to last all today, an' all the night that's comin'." + +"I think you're right, Sol, an' it's a mighty big rain, too. The whole +swamp except our island will be swimming in water." + +"But it won't be no flood, that is, like the big flood," said Long Jim. +"But ef one did come I wouldn't mind it much ef we had an ark same ez +Noah. Ef you could only furgit all them poor people that got theirselves +drowned it would be mighty fine, sailin' 'roun' in an ark a mile or so +long, guessin' at the places whar the towns hev stood, an' lettin' down +a line now an' then to sound fur the tops uv the highest mountains in +the world." + +"You wouldn't hev no time fur lettin' down lines fur mountain tops, Jim +Hart," said Shif'less Sol. + +"An' why wouldn't I hev time fur lettin' down lines fur anythin' I +wanted, you lazy Solomon Hyde?" + +"'Cause it would be your job to feed the animals, an' to do it right +you'd hev to git up early in the mornin' an' work purty nigh to midnight +all the forty days the flood lasted. Me an' Henry an' Paul an' Tom would +spen' most o' our time settin' on the edge o' the ark with our +umbrellers h'isted, lookin' at the scenery, while you wuz down in the +bowels o' the ark, heavin' in more meat to the lions an' tigers, which +wuz allus roarin' fur more." + +"I wouldn't feed no animals, not ef every one uv 'em starved to death. +Besides, what would be the use uv it? 'Cause when the flood dried up the +woods would soon be full uv 'em ag'in." + +"Jim Hart, hevn't you no sense a-tall, a-tall? Ef all the animals wuz +drowned, ev'ry last one o' 'em, how could the woods be full o' 'em +ag'in?" + +"Don't ask me, Sol Hyde. Thar are lots uv things that are too deep fur +you an' me both. Now, how did the animals git into the woods in the fust +place?" + +"I can't answer, o' course." + +"Nor can I, but I reckon they'd git into the woods in the second place, +which is after the flood, we're s'posin', jest the same way they did in +the fust place, which wuz afore the flood, an' that, I reckon, settles +it. I don't feed no wild animals, nohow." + +"What will the big storm and the deluge of rain mean to us, anyway?" +asked Paul. + +"It will help us," replied Henry promptly. "I've been worried about all +those mists and vapors rising from the decayed or sodden vegetation. +There was malaria in them. Our systems have resisted it, because the +life we lead has made us so tough and hard, but maybe the poison would +have soaked in some time or other. Now the flood of clean rain will +freshen up the whole swamp. It will lay the mists and vapors and wash +everything till it's pure." + +"An' it will flood the swamp so tremenjeously," said the shiftless one, +"that fur days thar will be no gittin' in or gittin' out. Anybody that +tries it will sink over his head afore he goes a hundred yards." + +"Which makes us all the more secure," said Paul. "It certainly appears +as if the elements fight for us. For a week at least we're as safe here +as if we were surrounded by a stone wall, a thousand feet thick and a +mile high. And in that time I intend to enjoy myself. It will be the +first rest in two or three years for us to have, absolutely free from +care. Here we are with good shelter, plenty of food, nothing to do, and, +such being the happy case, I intend to take a big sleep." + +He rolled himself in a blanket, stretched his body on a bed of leaves, +and soon was in slumber. The others also luxuriated in a mighty sleep, +after their great labors and anxiety, and the little hut that they had +builded with their own hands not only held fast against the wind, but +kept out the least drop of water. The rain, true to Shif'less Sol's +prediction, lasted all night, but the morning came, beautiful and clear, +with a pleasant, cool touch. + +The swamp was turned into a vast lake, and they shot two deer that had +taken refuge from the flood on their oasis. Henry, despite the rising +waters, was able to reach the salt spring, and they cured the flesh of +the deer, adding to it a day or two later several wild turkeys that +alighted in their trees. They continued to prepare themselves for a long +stay, and they were not at all averse to it. Rest and freedom from +danger were a rare luxury that every one of the five enjoyed. + +Henry's assumption that the great rain would freshen the swamp proved +true. All the mists and vapors were gone. There was no odor of decaying +wood or of slime. It seemed as if the place had been cleaned and +scrubbed until it was like a fine lake. Silent Tom caught bigger fish +than ever, and they agreed that they were better to the taste, although +they agreed also that it might be an effect of fancy. The island itself +was dry and sunny, but from their home they looked upon a wilderness of +bushes, cane and reeds, growing in what was now clear water. The effect +of the whole was beautiful. The swamp had become transformed. + +"It will all settle back after a while," said Henry quietly. + +But a second rain, though not so hard and long as the first, filled up +the basin again, and they foresaw a delay of at least two weeks before +it returned to its old condition. They accepted the increased time with +thankfulness, and remained in their camp, doing nothing but little +tasks, and gathering strength for the future. + +"I should fancy that the warriors would hunt us here some time or +other," said Paul. "Shrewd and cunning as they are, and missing us as +they have, they'd think to penetrate it!" + +"It seems so to me," said Henry. "Red Eagle is a great chief, and, after +he searches everywhere else for us and fails to find us, he'll try for a +way into this swamp, unlikely though it looks as a home." + +"But lookin' at the water an' the canes, an' the reeds an' the bushes +I've figgered it out that he can't come fur two weeks," said Shif'less +Sol, "an' so I've made up my mind to enjoy myse'f. Think o' it! A hull +two weeks fur a lazy man to do nothin' in! An' I reckon I kin do nothin' +harder an' better than any other man that ever lived. Ef it wuzn't fur +gittin' stiff I wouldn't move hand or foot fur the next two weeks. I'd +jest lay on my back on the softest bed I could make, an' Long Jim Hart +would come an' feed me three times ev'ry day." + +"I think," said Henry, "we'd better build a raft. It'll help us with +both the fishing and the hunting, and with plenty of willow withes we +ought to hold enough timbers together." + +The raft was made in about a day. It was a crude structure, but as it +was intended to have a cruising radius of only a few hundred yards, +pushing its way through strong vegetation, to which the bold navigators +could cling, it sufficed, proving to be very useful in visiting the +snares and decoys they set for the wild ducks and wild geese. The swamp, +in truth, now fairly swarmed with feathered game, and, had they cared to +expend their ammunition, they could have killed enough for twenty men, +but they preferred to save powder and lead, and rely upon the traps, and +fish which were abundant. + +The skies were very clear now and they watched them for threads of +Indian smoke which could be seen far, many miles in such a thin +atmosphere, but the bright heavens were never defiled by any such sign. +It was the opinion of Henry that the main Indian band, under Red Eagle, +had gone northward in the search, but it would be folly to leave the +swamp now, since other detachments had certainly been left to the +southward. The ring might be looser and much larger, but it was sure to +be still there, and it was not hard for such as they, trained in +patience and enjoying a rare peace, to wait. Thus the days passed +without event, and the five felt their muscles growing bigger and +stronger for the great tasks bound to come. But a curious feeling that +war and danger were half a world away grew upon them. They were in love +for a time with peace and all its ways. They were reluctant even to +shoot any of the larger wild animals that wandered through the swamp, +and they felt actual pain when they slew the wild ducks and wild geese +caught in their snares. + +"I'm bein' gentled fast," said Shif'less Sol. "Ef this keeps on fur a +month or so I won't hev the heart to shoot at any Injun who may come +ag'inst me. I'll jest say: 'Here, Mr. Warrior, hop up an' take my skelp. +It's a good skelp, a fine head o' hair an' I wuz proud o' it. I would +like to hev kep' it, but seein' that you want it bad, snatch it off, +hang it in your wigwam, tell the neighbors that thar is the skelp o' +Solomon Hyde, an' I'll git along the best I kin without it.'" + +"You may feel that way now, Sol," said Long Jim, "but you jest wait till +the Injun comes at you fur your skelp. Then you'll change your mind +quicker'n lightnin', an' you'll reach fur your gun, an' blow his head +off." + +"Reckon you're right, Jim," said the shiftless one. + +Silent Tom stared at them in amazement. + +"What's the matter, Tom?" asked Paul. "Why do you look at them in that +manner?" + +"Agreed!" replied Silent Tom. + +"What?" + +"Agreed!" + +"Agreed? Oh, I understand what you mean! Sol and Jim hold the same +opinion about something." + +"Yes. Fust time!" + +"Don't you be worried, Tom Ross," said Shif'less Sol, "I'll see that it +never happens ag'in." + +"Me, too," said Long Jim Hart. "You see, Tom, that wuz the only time in +his life that Sol wuz ever right when he wuz disputin' with me, an' me +bein' a truthful man had to agree with him." + +Another week passed and the atmosphere of peace and content that clothed +the great marsh grew deeper. The waters subsided somewhat, but it was +still impossible to pass from the oasis to the firm land without, except +in a canoe, and that they did not have. Nor was it likely that the +Indians would produce a canoe merely to navigate a flooded marsh. While +sure that none would come, all nevertheless kept a good watch for a +possible invader. + +The weather began to turn cooler and the first fading tints appeared on +the foliage. It was the time when one season passed into another, +usually accompanied by rains and winds, but they were more numerous than +usual this year. The strong little hut again and again proved its +usefulness, not only as a storehouse, but as a shelter, although it was +so crowded now with stores that scarcely room was left for the five to +sleep there. The skins of the two bears had been dressed and Henry and +Paul slept upon them, while much of their cured food hung from pegs +which they contrived to fix into the walls. + +As the waters sank still farther, they noticed that the swamp was full +of life. What had seemed to be a waste was inhabited in reality by many +of the people of the wilderness. The five had approached it from the +west, and now Henry, who was able to go farther east than they had been +before, found a small beaver colony at a point on the brook, where there +was enough firm ground to support a little grove of fine trees. + +The beavers had dammed the stream and were already building their houses +for the distant winter. Henry, hidden among the bushes, watched them +quite a while, interested in their work, and observing their methods of +construction. He could easily have shot two or three, and beaver tail +was good to eat, but he had no thought of molesting them, and, after he +had seen enough, drew off cautiously, lest he disturb them in their +pursuits. + +He saw many muskrats and rabbits and also the footprints of wildcats. A +magnificent stag, standing knee deep in the water, looked at him with +startled eyes. He would have been a grand trophy, but Henry did not +fire, and, a moment or two later, the stag floundered away, leaving the +young leader very thoughtful. What had the big deer been doing in such +difficult territory? It would scarcely come of its own accord into so +deep a marsh, and Henry concluded that it must have fled there for +refuge from hunters, and the only hunters in that region were Indians. +Then they must still be not far away from the marsh! + +It was such a serious matter and he was so preoccupied with it that a +huge black bear, springing up almost at his feet, passed unnoticed. The +bear lumbered away, splashing mud and water, stopping once to look back +fearfully at the strange creature that had disturbed it, but Henry went +on, caring nothing for bears or any other wild animals just then. + +When he returned, however, he was bound to take notice of the vast +quantity of wild fowl in the swamp. Every pond or lagoon swarmed with +wild ducks and wild geese, and hawks and eagles swooped from the air, +splashed the water, and then rose again with fish in their talons. Two +big owls, blinking in the light, sat on the bough of an oak. Another +flight of wild pigeons streamed southward. The life of the swamp was so +multitudinous that Henry and his comrades could have lived in it +indefinitely, even without bread. + +When he was back on the oasis he said nothing of his meeting with the +deer and the significance that he had read in it, thinking it not worth +while to cause alarm until he had something more tangible. Another week, +and there was a perceptible increase in the autumnal tints. All the +green was gone from the leaves. Red and yellow dyes, not yet glowing, +but giving promise of what they would be, appeared. The early flights +southward of more wild fowl, taking time by the forelock, increased, and +in the minds of some of the five came thoughts of leaving the swamp. + +"They must have given up the pursuit by this time," said Paul. "They +wouldn't hunt us forever." + +"Looks that way to me, too," said Long Jim. + +Henry shook his head. + +"Some of the warriors have gone away," he said, "but not all of them. +Red Eagle, the Shawnee chief, is a man who thinks, and a man who holds +on. He knows that we couldn't sink through the earth or fly above the +clouds, and the time will come when he will look into this matter of the +swamp. It appears to be impenetrable, but he will conclude at last that +there is a way." + +"I'm o' your mind," said Shif'less Sol. "When you're carryin' on a war +it ain't jest a matter o' guns an' ammunition, an' the lay o' the land. +You've got to think what kind o' a gen'ral is leadin' the warriors +ag'inst you. You must take his mind into account. Ain't that so, Paul? +Wuzn't it true o' that old Roman, Hannybul?" + +"Hannibal was not a Roman, not by a great deal, Sol, as I told you +before." + +"Well, he wuz a Rooshian, or mebbe an Eyetalian. What diff'unce does it +make? He wuz some kind o' a furriner, an' ef what you tell us 'bout him +is true, Paul, as I reckon it is, it wuz his mind that led his men on to +victory over the Rooshians an' the Prooshians an' the French an' the +Dutch." + +"Over the Romans, Sol." + +"Ez I told you once, Paul, it makes no diff'unce. They're all furriners, +an' all furriners are jest the same. Hannybul wuz the kind that wouldn't +give up. You've talked so much 'bout him, Paul, that I kin see him in my +fancy an' I know jest how he done. Often a big battle seemed to be goin' +ag'inst him. His men hev shot away all thar powder an' bullets. The +Shawnees an' the Miamis an' the Wyandots are comin' on hard, shoutin' +the war whoop, swingin' thar glitterin' tomahawks 'bout thar fierce +heads. The Romans already feel the hands o' the warriors on thar skelps, +an' they are tremblin', ready to run. But Hannybul swings his rifle, +clubs the leadin' Injun over the head with it, an' yells to his men: +'Come on, fellers! Draw your hatchets an' knives! Drive 'em into the +brush! We kin whip 'em yet!' An' the Romans, gittin' courage from thar +leader, go in an' thrash the hull band. Now, that's the kind o' a leader +Red Eagle is. I give him credit fur doin' a power o' thinking an' +holdin' on. Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe will say to him: 'Come, chief, +let's go away. They slipped through our lines in the night, an' they're +somewhar up on the shore o' one o' the big lakes, a-laffin' an' +a-laffin' at us. We'll go up thar, trail 'em down an' make 'em laff if +they kin, a-settin' among the live coals.' But that Red Eagle, wise old +chief that he is, will up an' say: 'They haven't got through. They +couldn't without bein' seen by our scouts an' watchers. An' since they +haven't passed, it follers that they're somewhar inside the ring. So, +we'll jest thresh out ev'ry inch o' ground in thar, ef it takes ten +years to do it.'" + +Silent Tom looked at him with admiration. + +"Mighty long speech," he said. "How do you find so many words?" + +"Oh, they're all in the dictionary," replied the shiftless one, "an' a +heap more, too. I'm an eddicated man, ez all o' you kin see, though +bein' jealous some o' you won't admit it. Thar are nigh onto a million +good words in the dictionary, an' ev'ry one o' 'em is known to me. Ev'ry +one o' 'em would reckernize me ez a friend, an' would ask me to use it +ef I looked at it, but I'm mighty pertickler an' I take only the best +ones. Returnin' to the subject from which we hev traveled far, I think +we'd better be on the lookout fur old Red Eagle an' his Shawnees." + +"Think so, too," said Silent Tom. + +Henry announced the next morning that he would start at once on a scout, +and that he probably would go outside the swamp. + +"I go with you, o' course," said Shif'less Sol. + +"I think it best to travel alone." + +"Why, you couldn't git along without me, Henry!" + +"I'll have to try, Sol." + +"I wouldn't talk you to death," said Silent Tom. + +Long Jim and Paul also wanted to go, but the young leader rejected them +all, and they knew that it was a waste of time to argue with him. He +started in the early morning and they waved farewell to him from the +oasis. + +Henry was not averse to action. The long period of idleness on the +island, much as he had enjoyed it, was coming to its natural end, and +his active mind and body looked forward to new events. The swamp had +returned to the state in which they had found it, and remembering the +path by which they had come he had no great difficulty in making his +journey. + +Three hundred yards away and the oasis was hidden completely by the +marshy thickets. He could not even see the tops of the trees, and he +reflected that it was the merest chance that had led them there. It was +not likely that the chance would be repeated in the case of any of Red +Eagle's warriors, and perhaps it would be better for all of the five to +stay snug and tight on the oasis, even if they did not move until full +winter came. But second thought told him that Red Eagle would surely +thresh up the swamp. The reasoning of Shif'less Sol was correct, and it +was better to go on and see what was being prepared for them by their +enemies. + +His progress was necessarily slow, as he was compelled to pick his way, +but he had plenty of strength and patience, and noon found him near the +outer rim, where he paused to watch the sky. Henry had an idea that he +might see smoke, betraying the presence of Indian bands, but not even +his keen eyes were able to make out any dark traces against the heavens, +which had all the thinness and clearness of early autumn. Reflection +convinced him, however, that if Red Eagle were meditating a movement +against the swamp he would avoid anything that might warn its occupants. +He abided by his second thought, and began anew his cautious progress +toward the edge of the bushes and reeds. + +The ending of the swamp was abrupt, the marshy ground becoming firm in +the space of a few yards, and Henry, emerging upon what was in a sense +the mainland, crept into a dense clump of alders, where he lay hidden +for some time, examining from his covert the country about him. He did +not see or hear anything to betoken a hostile presence, but, as wary as +any wild animal that inhabited the forest, he ventured forth, still +using every kind of cover that he could find. + +His course took him toward the east, and a quarter of a mile passed, his +eye was caught by the red gleam of a feather in the grass. He retrieved +it, and saw at once that it was painted. Hence, it had fallen from the +scalplock of an Indian. It was not bedraggled, so it had fallen +recently, as the winds had not beaten it about. It was sure, too, that a +warrior or warriors had gone that way within a few hours. He searched +for the trail, stooping among the bushes, lest he fall into an ambush, +and presently he came upon the faint imprint of moccasins, judging that +they had been made by about a half dozen warriors. + +The trail led to the east, and Henry followed it promptly, finding as he +advanced that it was growing plainer. Other and smaller trails met it +and merged with it, and he became confident that he would soon locate a +large band. He was no longer dealing with supposition, he had +actualities, the tangible, before him, and his pulses began to leap in +expectation. The shiftless one and he had been right. Red Eagle had +never left the neighborhood of the swamp, and Henry believed that he +would soon know what the wily old Indian chief was intending. There was +a certain exhilaration in matching his wits against those of the great +Shawnee, and he knew that he would need to exercise every power of his +mind to the utmost. He followed the trail steadily about a half hour as +it led on among trees and bushes, and he reckoned that it was made now +by at least twenty warriors who had no wish to conceal their traces. +Presently he came to one of the little prairies, numerous in that +region, and as the trail led directly into it he paused, lest he be seen +and be trapped when he was in the open. + +But as he examined the prairie from the shelter of the bushes, he became +convinced that the warriors must have increased their speed when they +crossed it, and were now some distance ahead. At the far edge, two +buffaloes, a bull and a cow, and two half-grown calves, were grazing in +peace. Two deer strolled from the forest, nosed the grass and then +strolled back again. The wild animals would not have been so peaceful +and unconcerned, if Indians were near, and, trusting to his logic, Henry +boldly crossed the open. The four buffaloes sniffed him and lurched away +to the shelter of the trees, thus proving to him that they were +vigilant, and that he was the only human being in their neighborhood. + +He entered the forest again and followed on the broad trail, increasing +his own speed, but neglecting nothing of watchfulness. The country was a +striking contrast to the great swamp, firm soil, hilly and often rocky, +cut with many small, clear streams. He judged that the swamp was the +bowl into which all these rivulets emptied. + +Reaching the crest of one of the low hills he caught a red gleam among +the bushes ahead of him and he sank down instantly. He knew that the +flash of scarlet was made by a fire, and he suspected that the warriors +whom he was following had gone into camp there. Then he began his +cautious approach after the border fashion, creeping forward inch by +inch among the bushes and fallen leaves. It was necessary to use his +utmost skill, too, as the dry leaves easily gave back a rustle. Yet he +persisted, despite the danger, because he needed to know what band it +was that sat there in the thicket. + +A hundred yards further and he looked into a tiny valley, where was +burning a fire of small sticks, over which Indian warriors were broiling +strips of venison. But the majority of the band sat on the ground in a +half circle about the fire, and Henry drew a long breath when he saw +that Red Eagle, the Shawnee chief, was among them. Then he no longer had +the slightest doubt that the hunt was at its full height, that the +Shawnees were still using every device they knew to destroy the five who +had troubled them so much. + +Red Eagle was a man of massive features and grave demeanor, one of the +great Indian chiefs who, their circumstances considered, were inferior +in intellectual power to nobody. Henry watched him as he sat now with +his legs crossed and arms folded, staring into the flames. He was a +picturesque figure, and he looked the warlike sage, as he sat there +brooding. The little feathers in his scalplock were dyed red, his +leggings and moccasins were of the same color, and a blanket of the +finest red cloth was draped about his shoulders like a Roman toga. He +was a man to arouse interest, respect and even admiration. + +Red Eagle did not speak until the strips of meat were cooked and eaten +and all were sitting about the fire, when he arose and addressed them in +a slow, solemn and weighty manner. Henry would have given much to +understand the words, as he believed they referred to the five and might +tell the chief's plans, but he was too far away to hear anything except +a murmur that meant nothing. + +He saw, however, that Red Eagle was intensely earnest, and that the +warriors listened with fixed attention, hanging on every word and +watching his face. Their only interruptions were exclamations of +approval now and then, and, when he finished and sat down, all together +uttered the same deep notes. Then eight of the warriors arose, and to +Henry's great surprise, came back on the trail. + +He recognized at once that a sudden danger had presented itself. The +Shawnees would presently find his trail mingled with theirs, and they +were sure to give immediate pursuit. He thrust himself back into the +bushes, crawled a hundred yards or so, then rose and ran, curving about +the fire and passing to the eastward of it. Three hundred yards, and he +sank down again, listening. A single fierce shout came from the portion +of the band that had turned back. He understood. They had come upon his +trail, and in another minute Red Eagle would organize a pursuit by all +the warriors, a pursuit that would hang on through everything. + +Henry, knowing well the formidable nature of the danger, felt, +nevertheless, no dismay. He had matched himself against the warriors +many times, and he was ready to do so once more. He swung into the long +frontier run that not even the Indians themselves could match in speed +and ease. + +It was characteristic of him that he did not turn toward the swamp, in +which he could speedily have found refuge. Instead, wishing to draw the +enemy away from his comrades, he offered himself as bait, and fled on +the firm ground toward the east. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE BUFFALO RING + + +Henry, feeling some alarm at first over the discovery of his trail, soon +felt elation instead. He was at the very height of his powers. The long +rest on the oasis had restored all his physical vigor. Every nerve and +muscle was flexible and strong, as if made of steel wire. His eye had +never before been so clear, nor his ear so acute, and above all, that +sixth sense, the power of divination almost, which came from a perfect +correlation of the five senses, developed to the utmost degree, was +alive in him. Nothing could stir in the brush without his knowing it, +and, welcoming the pursuit, the spirit of challenge was so strong in him +that he threw back his head and uttered a long, thrilling cry, the note +of defiance, just as the trumpet of the mediaeval knight sang to his +enemy to come to the field of battle. + +Then he continued his flight toward the northwest, not too fast, because +he wished his trail to remain warm for the warriors who followed, but +stooping low, lest some wanderers from the main band should see him as +he ran. No answer came to his cry, but he knew well enough that the +Indians had heard it, and he knew, too, that it filled them with rage +because any of the five had been bold enough to defy their full power. + +Reaching the crest of one of the low hills in which the region abounded, +he looked toward the southwest and saw the vast maze of the swamp in +which his comrades lay hidden. He had not been able to think of any plan +to turn aside the forces of Red Eagle, but now it came to him suddenly. +He intended when the pursuit ended to be far away from the swamp, and +then he could rejoin the four at some other point. + +He reached a brook, leaped it and passed on. He could have followed the +bed of the stream, hiding his trail for a space, but he knew the +pursuers would soon find it again, and after all he did not wish his +trail to be hidden. He laughed a little as he planted his moccasin +purposely in a soft spot in the earth, and noticed the deep imprint he +left. There was no warrior so blind who would not see the trace, and he +sped on, leaving other such marks here and there, and finally sending +forth another thrilling note of defiance that swelled far over the +forest, a cry that was at once an invitation, a challenge and a taunt. +It bade the warriors to use the utmost speed, because they would need +it. It asked them to pursue, because the one who fled wished to be +followed, and so wishing, he did not hide his trail from them. He would +be bitterly disappointed if they did not come. It told them, too, that +if they did come, no matter how great their speed, the hunters could +never catch the hunted. + +He stopped two minutes perhaps, long enough for the fleetest of the +warriors to come within sight. Just as their brown bodies appeared among +the trees he uttered his piercing cry a third time and took to flight +again at a speed greater than any of theirs. Two shots were fired, but +the bullets cut only the uncomplaining leaves, falling far short. He +gained a full hundred yards, and then he turned abruptly toward the +north. His sixth sense, in which this time the supreme development of +hearing was predominant, warned him that other warriors were coming up +from the south. In truth they were approaching so fast that they uttered +a cry of triumph in reply to his own cry, but, increasing his speed, he +merely laughed to himself once more, knowing that he had evaded the +trap. His elation grew. His plan was succeeding better than he had +hoped. One after another he was drawing the Indian bands upon his trail, +and he hoped to have them all. He hoped that Red Eagle would lead the +pursuit and he hoped that Blackstaffe and Wyatt would be there. + +His ear had given warning before, and now it was his eye that told him +of the menace. He caught a glimpse of a flitting figure in the north, +and then of two more. And so a third band was bearing down upon him, but +from a point of the compass opposite the second. Any one of ordinary +powers might well have been trapped now, but he yet had strength in +reserve, and now he put forth an amazing burst of speed that carried him +well ahead of all three bands. + +Then he entered another low region covered with bushes and reeds, and, +lest they lose his trail, he took occasion, as he fled, to trample down +a clump of reeds here and a bush there. On the far side of this sunken +land he came to a creek, in which the water rose to his knees, but he +forded it without hesitation, and even took the time to make a plain +trail after he had crossed. + +He knew that the warriors would pursue, in spite of every obstacle, and +he knew, too, that they would divine who it was whom they followed. +Using a new burst of speed, he widened the gap as he surmised to a full +quarter of a mile. And then he let his gait sink to not much more than a +long walk, wishing to recover his full physical powers. His spirit of +elation remained. In very truth, he was enjoying himself, and he felt +that he could lead them on forever. He was even able to note the +character of the country as he passed, the numerous brooks, the splendor +of the forest, the brown leaves as they fell before the light wind, and +then a great patch of early blackberries hanging ripe and rich. He +paused a moment or two, long enough to gather many of the berries and +eat them, noting that they were the juiciest and best he could recall to +have tasted. + +Then he came into a country that the animal kingdom seemed to have made +its own. He could not remember having seen anywhere else such an +abundance of game. Buffaloes, puffing and snorting, ran to one side as +he crossed the little prairies. Deer, some big and some little, sped +away through the thickets. Bears, hidden in their coverts, gazed at him +with curious eyes. Rabbits leaped away in the grass, squirrels ran in +alarm out on the farthest boughs, and flocks of wild fowl rose with a +whirr and a rush. + +Henry was so sure of himself, so sure he could not be overtaken, that he +noted the character of this country which seemed to be so much favored +by the creatures of earth and air. Some time, when all their present +dangers were over, he and his comrades would come back there and have a +pleasant and peaceful hunt. Doubtless it had been neglected a long time +by the Indians, who were in the habit of using a region for a season or +two and then of letting it lie fallow until the wild animals should +forget and come back again. + +He ascended a hill larger and higher than the others, and bare, being +mostly a stony outcrop. Here he sat down in the shadow of a ledge and +took long breaths. He felt that the pursuit was then fully a mile +behind, and he could afford to stop for a little while. From the lofty +summit he saw a great distance. Toward the southwest was where the swamp +lay, but, despite the height, it was invisible now. Behind him was the +deep forest through which his pursuers were coming, to the north lay the +same forest, but to the east he caught a shimmer of blue through the +browning leaves. It was so faint that at first he was not certain of its +nature, but a second look told him it was one of the little lakes often +to be found in the country north of the Ohio. + +His flight, as he was making it, would take him straight against that +body of blue water, impassable to him then, and as he drew a deep breath +of gratitude he felt that he was in truth being watched over by a +supreme power. If not, why were all the turns of chance in his favor? +Why had he stopped to rest a moment or two by the stony ledge, and why +in doing so had he caught a glimpse of the lake which soon would have +been an insuperable bar across his path, enabling the Indians to hem him +in on either flank? + +He breathed his thanks, and then he lay back against the ledge for +another minute or two of rest. Near grew a dwarf oak, still thick in +green foliage, and as if by command the wind suddenly began to sing +among its leaves, and the leaves, as if touched by the hand of a master +artist, gave back a song. Henry had heard that song before. It came to +him in his greatest moments of spiritual exaltation. Always it was a +song of strength and encouragement, telling him that he would succeed, +and now its note was not changed. + +He opened his eyes, sure that his pursuers were not yet within rifle +shot, and rising, refreshed, passed over the hill and into the forest +again, curving now toward the north. When he was sure he was well hidden +by the bushes, he ran at great speed, intending to pass between the +northern wing of his pursuers and the lake. They, of course, had known +of the water there and were expecting to catch him in the trap, and as +he ran he heard the two wings calling distantly to each other. His +silent laugh came once more. He had invisible guides who always led him +out of traps, and he had heard the voice that sang to him so often +saying this pursuit, like so many others, might be long, but in vain. + +Fifteen minutes more, and he caught another view of the lake, which +appeared to be about two miles long and a quarter of a mile across, a +fine sheet of water, on which great numbers of wild fowl swam, or over +which they hovered. It was heavily wooded on all sides, and had he not +seen it earlier it would surely have proved an obstacle leading to his +capture or destruction. The pursuing bands, evidently believing that the +trap had been closed with the fugitive in it, began to exchange signals +again, and Henry discerned in their cries the note of triumph. It gave +the great youth satisfaction to feel that they would soon be undeceived. + +Now he called up all the reserves of strength that he had been saving +for some such emergency as this, and sped toward the northeast at a pace +few could equal, cleaving the thickets, leaping gullies, and racing +across the open. The lake on his right came nearer and nearer, but he +was rapidly approaching the northern end, and he knew that he would pass +it before the band pursuing in that quarter could close in upon him. + +Now the critical time came and he increased his speed to the utmost, +running through a thicket, passing the extreme northern curve of the +lake, and entering a wood where only firm ground lay before him. The +great obstacle was passed and he felt a mighty surge of triumph. He was +for the time being primitive and wild, like the warriors who pursued +him, thinking as they thought, and acting as they acted. Feeling now +that he was victorious anew, he raised his voice and sent forth once +more that tremendous thrilling cry, a compound of triumph, defiance and +mockery. Yells of disappointment came from the deep woods behind him, +and to hear them gave him all the satisfaction he had anticipated. + +He kept a steady course toward the east, not running so fast as before, +but maintaining a steady pace, nevertheless. As he ran he began to think +now of hiding his trail, not in such a manner that it could be lost +permanently, that being impossible, but long enough for him to take +rest. However great one's natural powers might be and however severely +and often one might have been hardened in the fire, one could not run on +forever. He must lie down in the forest by and by, and the time would +come, too, when he must sleep. + +He glanced up at the sun and saw that the day would not last more than +two hours longer. There were no clouds and the night was likely to be +bright, furnishing enough light for the warriors to find an ordinary +trail, and willing to delude them now he began to take pains to make his +own trail one that was not ordinary. He resorted to all the usual forest +devices, walking on hard ground, stones and fallen trees, and wading in +water whenever he came to it, methods that he knew would merely delay +the warriors, but that could not baffle them long. + +He did not hear the bands signaling again and he surmised that the one +on the south would pass around the southern end of the lake, reuniting +with the other as soon afterward as possible. Nevertheless he curved off +in that direction, and, sinking now to a long walk, he went steadily +ahead, until the great sun went down in a sea of gold behind the forest +and night threw a dusky veil over the wilderness. Then he stopped +entirely, and standing against a huge tree trunk, with which his figure +blended in the night, he took deep breaths. + +At first he felt weakness. No one, no matter how powerful and well +trained, could run so long without putting an immense strain upon the +nerves, and for a little space bushes and trees danced before him. Then +the world steadied itself, his heart ceased to beat so hard and the +suffusion of blood retreated from his head. He saw nothing nor heard +anything of his foes, but he knew that the pursuit would not cease. He +felt that this was his great flight, one that might go on for days and +nights, in which every faculty he had would be tested to the utmost, but +he was willing for it to be so. The longer the flight continued the +further he would draw away from the Indian power, and that was what he +wished most of all. He would make such a fugitive as the chiefs had +never known before. + +Henry stood a full fifteen minutes beside the brown trunk of the tree, +of which in the dark he seemed to be a part, and so great was his +physical power and elasticity that the time was sufficient to restore +all his strength. When he thought he caught a glimpse of a bush moving +behind him, he resumed the long running walk that covered ground so +rapidly. An hour later he came to a brook, in the bed of which he walked +fully a mile. But he did not expect this to bother his pursuers very +long. They would send warriors up and down either bank until in the +moonlight they struck the trail anew, and then they would follow as +before. But it would give him time, and not doubting that he would find +some new circumstance to aid him, it came sooner than he had expected or +hoped. + +Less than half a mile farther he encountered the wreckage left by a +hurricane of some former season, a path not more than three hundred +yards wide, a perfect tangle of fallen trees, amid which bushes were +already growing. The windrow led two or three miles to the northeast, +and he walked all the way on the trunks, slipping lightly from tree to +tree. It was now late, and as the night fortunately began to turn +considerably darker, he bethought himself of a place in which to sleep, +because in time sleep one must have, whether or not a fugitive. + +As he considered, he heard ahead of him a faint puffing and blowing +which he knew to come from buffaloes, and their presence indicated one +of the little prairies in which the country north of the Ohio abounded. +He made his way through the bushes, came to the prairie and saw that it +was black with the herd. + +The buffalo, although numerous east of the Mississippi, invariably +grazed in small bands, owing to the wooded nature of the country, and +the present herd, four or five hundred at least, was the largest that +Henry had ever seen away from the Great Plains. As the wind was blowing +from him toward them, and they showed, nevertheless, no sign of flight, +he surmised that the weaker members had been harassed much by wolves, +and that the herd was unwilling to move from its present place of rest. +They shuffled and puffed and panted, but there was no alarm. + +He stood a few moments and gazed at them, his look full of friendliness. +The Indians hunted the buffalo and they also hunted him. For the time +being these, the most gigantic of North American animals, were his +brethren, and then came his idea. + +A little ridge ran into the prairie, terminating in a hillock, and it +was clear of the buffaloes, as they naturally lay in the lower places. +Henry walked down among the buffaloes along the ridge until he came to +the hillock, where he took the blanket from his back, wrapped it about +him, and reclined with his head on his arm. The buffaloes puffed and +snorted and some of them moved uneasily, but they did not get up. +Perhaps Henry was wholly a wild creature himself then and they discerned +in him something akin to themselves, or perhaps they had been harassed +by wolves so much that they would not stir for anything now. But as the +human intruder lay soundless and motionless, they, too, settled into +quiet. + +Henry's friendly feeling for the buffaloes increased, and it had full +warrant. He was surrounded by an army of sentinels. He knew that if the +Indians attempted to cross the prairie, coming in a band, they would +rise up at once in alarm, and if he fell asleep he would be awakened +immediately by such a multitudinous sound. Hence he would go to sleep, +and quickly. + +If the buffaloes felt their kinship with Henry, he felt his kinship with +them as strongly. Since they had sunk into silence they were like so +many friends around him, ready to fend off danger or to warn him. From +the crest of the low mound upon which he lay he saw the big black forms +dotting the prairie, a ring about him. Then he calmly composed himself +for the slumber which he needed so much. + +But sleep did not come as speedily as he had expected. Wolves howled in +the forest, and he knew they were real wolves, hanging on the flank of +the buffalo herd, cutting out the calves or the weak. The big bull +buffaloes moved and snorted again at the sound, but, when it was not +repeated, returned to their rest, all except one that lumbered forward a +step or two and then sank down directly on the little ridge by which +Henry had come to his hillock, as if he were a rear guard, closing the +way to the fugitive. He saw in it at once an omen. The superior power +that was watching over him had put the buffalo there to protect him, +and, free from any further apprehension, he closed his eyes, falling +asleep without delay. + +Henry always felt afterward that he must have been wholly a creature of +the wild that night, else the buffaloes would have taken alarm at his +presence and probably would have stampeded. But the kinship they +recognized in him must have endured, or they had been harried so much by +the wolves that they did not feel like moving because of an intruder who +was so quiet and harmless that he was really no intruder at all. The +huge bull, crouched across the path by which he had come, puffed and +groaned at intervals, but he did not stir from his place. He was in very +truth, if not in intent, a guardian of the way. + +And yet, while Henry slept amid the herd, the pursuit of him was +conducted with the energy, thoroughness and tenacity of which the +Indians were capable. The spirit of the great Shawnee chief, Red Eagle, +had been stung by his failure to overtake the fugitive, whom he knew to +be the youth Ware, their greatest foe, and he was resolved that Henry +should not escape. With him now were the renegades Blackstaffe and +Wyatt, and they, too, urged on the chase. They felt that if Henry could +be taken or destroyed, the four would fall easier victims, and then the +eyes of the woods that watched so well for the settlers would have gone +out forever. + +All through the night the warriors ranged the forest, hunting for the +trail. The moon and the stars returned, bringing with them a light that +helped, and an hour or two after midnight a Shawnee found traces that +led toward the prairie. He called to his comrades and they followed it +to the prairie, where they lost it. The Indian warriors, looking +cautiously from the brush, saw in the open the clustered black forms, +looming gigantic in the moonlight, and they heard the heavings and +puffings and groanings of the big bulls. Directly in front of them, +across a low narrow ridge, lay the biggest bull of them all, a buffalo +that stirred now and then as if he were glad to rub his body against the +soil, which was rougher there than elsewhere. On the far side of the +prairie, wolves yapped and barked, longing to get at the calves inside +the ring of their elders. + +The warriors crept away and began the entire circuit of the open, +looking for the lost trail. It had entered it on the western side, and +it would pass out somewhere, probably on the eastern. Red Eagle, +Blackstaffe and Wyatt themselves came up and directed the chase, but +they were mystified when their runners, completing the entire circling +movement, reported that there was no sign of the trail's reappearance. +Red Eagle, after taking thought, refused to believe it. The fugitive had +surpassing skill, as all of them knew, but a human being could not take +a flight through the air, like an eagle or a wild duck, and leave no +trail behind him. They must have overlooked the traces in the moonlight, +and he sent out the warriors anew, to right and to left. + +Henry meanwhile slept the sleep of one who was weary and unafraid. He +had not only the feeling, but the conviction, as he lay down, that he +was within an inviolable ring of sentinels, and having dismissed all +care and apprehension from his mind, he fell into a slumber so deep +that for a long time nothing could disturb it. The yapping and barking +of the wolves fell upon an unhearing ear. The puffings and groanings of +the buffaloes were merely whispers to dull him into more powerful sleep. +When the Indian scouts, not fifty yards away, looked at the body of the +big bull that blocked the path, nothing whispered to him that danger was +near. Nor was the whisper needed, as the danger passed as quickly as it +had come. + +He awoke at the first streak of dawn, stirred a little in his blanket, +but did not rise yet. He saw the buffaloes all around him and realized +that his faith in them had not been misplaced. The great bull, like a +black mountain, still barred the path to him. + +It was warm and snug in his blanket and he yawned prodigiously. It would +have been pleasant to have remained there a few hours longer, but when +one was pursued by a whole Indian nation he could not remain long in one +place. He took the last strips of venison from his pack and ate them as +he lay. Meanwhile the buffaloes themselves began to move somewhat, as if +they were making ready for their day's work, and Henry wondered at their +disregard of him. Perhaps his presence for a night, and the fact that he +had been harmless, removed their fear of him. + +He rose to his knees, and then suddenly sank back again. He had caught +the gleam of red feathers in the forest to the west, and he knew they +were in the scalplock of a Shawnee. Raising his head cautiously he saw +several more. It was a small band passing toward the north. But he had +too much experience to imagine that they were chance travelers. Beyond a +doubt they were a part of Red Eagle's army, and that army had come up in +the night and had surrounded him. + +He lay back and listened. An Indian call arose in the west and another +in the east, and then they came from north and south and points between. +They were on all sides of him and he had been trapped as he slept. He +saw that the danger was the most formidable he had yet encountered, but +he did not despair. It was characteristic of him that when there seemed +to be no hope, he yet had hope, and plenty of it. His heart beat a +little faster, but he lay quiet in his blanket, taking thought with +himself. + +He had been aided before by storms, but there was not the remotest +chance now of one. The sun was rising in the full splendor of an early +autumn morning, and the thin, clear air had the brightness of silver. +The blue skies held not a single cloud. Far over his head a flock of +wild fowl in arrow formation flew southward, and for the moment they +expressed to him, as he lay in the snare, the very quintessence of +freedom. But he spent no time in vain longings. His eyes came back to +the earth and that which surrounded him. Once more he caught the gleam +of feathers in the forest and he was sure that the line about the +prairie was now continuous. + +He must find a way through that line, and he poured all his mind upon +one point. When one thinks for life, one thinks fast and hard. +Stratagem after stratagem flitted before him, to be cast aside one after +another. Meanwhile the buffaloes were stirring more and more, and some +of them began to nip at the dry grass of the prairie, but the big black +bull on the little ridge remained crouched and motionless. He was not +fifteen feet away and between him and Henry lay fragments of dead wood +which had been blown from the forest by some old wind. His eyes alighted +upon them idly, but remained there in interest, and then, in a sudden +burst of intuition, came his plan. Hesitating not a single instant, he +prepared for it. + +Henry slid forward, recovered a long dead stick, and rapidly whittled +from it a lot of shavings. He never knew why the buffaloes did not take +alarm at his presence and actions, but he always supposed that the +mystic tie of kinship still endured. Then using his flint and steel with +all the energy and power that imminent danger could inspire, he lighted +first the shavings and then the end of the long stick. + +The buffaloes at last began to puff and snort and show alarm, and Henry, +springing to his feet, whirled the torch in a circle of living fire +around his head. The whole herd broke in an instant into a frightful +panic, and with much snorting and bellowing rushed away in a black mass +toward the east. He threw down his torch, and grasping his rifle and +throwing his pack over his shoulder, followed close upon them, so close +that not even the keenest eye in the forest could have distinguished +him from the herd in the great cloud of dust that quickly rose. + +It was for this cloud of dust that he had bargained. The soil of the +prairie became dry in the autumn, and the tramplings of four or five +hundred huge beasts churned it into a powder which the wind picked up +and blew into a blinding stream. Henry felt it in his eyes, his nose, +his ears and his mouth, but he was glad and he laughed aloud in his joy. +The rush and bellowings of the buffaloes made it a mighty roar, and the +soul within him was wild and triumphant, as became one who was the very +spirit and essence of the wilderness. He shouted aloud like Long Jim +Hart, knowing that his voice would be lost in the thunder of the herd +and could not reach the Indians. + +"On, my gallant beasts!" he cried. "Charge 'em! Break their line! They +can't stand before you! Faster! Faster!" + +He struck one of them across the body with the butt of his rifle, but +the herd was already running as fast as it could, while the cloud of +dust was continually rising in greater and thicker volume. In the midst +of this cloud, and hanging almost bodily to the herd itself, Henry was +invisible as he rushed on, shouting his battle song of triumph and +defiance, although no word of it reached the warriors who had lain in +the brushwood and who were now fleeing in fright before the rush of the +mad herd. + +Mad it certainly was, said Red Eagle, for the chief himself, with Wyatt +and Blackstaffe, had been directly in its path, and they had been +compelled to run in undignified haste, while the great pillar of dust, +filled with the dim figures of buffaloes, crashed and thundered past, +trampling down bushes, crushing saplings, and driving off to the east, +the pillar of dust still visible long after the buffaloes were deep in +the forest. Red Eagle stared after it. He was a wise old chief, and he +had seen buffaloes before in a panic, but he did not understand the +cause of this sudden and terrific flight. + +"It is strange," he said, "but we must let them run. We will go back now +and look for Ware." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE COVERT + + +It was one of the most thrilling moments in the life of Henry Ware. He +was in a kind of exaltation that made him equal to any task or danger, +and rather to court, instead of avoiding them. His feeling of kinship +with the herd that was saving him had grown stronger with the dawn. The +dust entering his eyes and mouth, nose and ears, had a singular quality +like burned gun powder that excited him and stimulated him to efforts +far beyond the normal. He was for the time being a physical superman out +of that old dim past, and he was scarcely conscious of anything he was +doing, save that he ran with the great beasts, and was their friend. + +His exalted state increased. He continued to shout to the buffaloes to +run faster, and to hurl challenge and defiance at the warriors who could +not hear him. Once more he swung his clubbed rifle and hit a buffalo on +the side, not in anger, but as a salute from one hardy friend to +another, and the buffalo, uttering a bellow, rushed on with mighty +leaps. + +Although he could not see them for the dust, Henry knew now by the +crashing and crackling of boughs that they were among the bushes, but +they did not trouble him, as the herd, like a huge wedge, first clearing +the way trampled everything under foot. How long the race lasted and how +long they ran he never knew, but after a lapse of time that was +surcharged with an enormous elation and an unexampled display of +physical power the herd began to recover in some degree from its panic. +Its speed decreased. The great cloud of dust that had wrapped Henry +around and that had saved him sank fast. Then he came suddenly to +himself, out of the exalted regions of the spirit in which he had been +dwelling. His throat was sore from excessive shouting and the sting of +the dust, and it was a few minutes before he was able to clear his eyes +and see with his usual keenness. Then he found that his body, too, ached +from his flight with the buffaloes and his excessive exertions. + +But he had escaped. Nothing could alter the fact. When he had been +surrounded so completely by powerful foes that his destruction seemed +inevitable a miraculous way had been opened through their lines. Kindly +chance had drooped about him an impenetrable veil and he had passed his +enemies unseen. His first emotion was of deep thankfulness and gratitude +to the power that had saved him. + +The pace of the herd sank to a walk. The light wind caught the last +streamers of dust and carried them away over the trees. Then some of the +buffaloes, puffing with exhaustion, stopped, and Henry, coming back +wholly to himself, turned aside into the deep forest. But he gave a +parting wave of his hand to the great animals that had enabled him to +make his invisible flight. Never again would he kill a buffalo without +reluctance. + +An immense weariness came suddenly upon him. One could not run so far +with a herd without draining to their depths the reservoirs of human +endurance, but he would not let his body collapse. He knew he must put +the danger far behind him before it was a danger passed or even a danger +deferred. Calling upon his will anew, he turned toward the southeast and +walked many miles through a stony region. Here again he felt that he was +watched over by the greater powers, as leaping from stone to stone it +was easy to hide his trail, for the time at least. When the last ounce +of strength was exhausted he came to a blue pool, ten or fifteen yards +across, clear and deep. + +He looked at the pool and was about to make another effort to go on, but +the blue waters crinkled up and laughed under a light wind, and looked +so inviting that he concluded to take the risk. He still felt the dust +in eye and ear, mouth and nose. He knew that it was caked upon his face +by perspiration, until it had become a mask, and now his whole body +tingled like fire with the tiny particles that had stopped up the pores. +And there was the pool, clear, blue and beautiful, inviting him to come. + +Delaying not an instant longer he threw off his clothing and sprang into +the water. It was cold, but it was full of life. New strength shot into +every vein. He dived again and again, but without noise, and then, +swimming about a minute or two, emerged clean, shining and refreshed. +While he stretched himself, flexing and tensing his muscles and drying +his body in the sun, a stag, seeking water, came through the forest on +the other side of the pool. Perhaps that sense of kinship was felt by +the stag, too. It may be that Henry was in spirit an absolute creature +of the wild that morning, and by some unknown transmission of knowledge +the stag knew it. + +However it was, the great deer took no fright, but, sniffing the air +once or twice, looked at the great youth, and the great youth looked +back at him. Henry would not have harmed any inhabitant of the forest +then, and the deer may have read it in his eye, as after his first +hesitation he came boldly to the pool and drank his fill. Henry on the +other side was dressing rapidly. When the stag had drunk enough he +raised his head and gazed out of great mild eyes at the human being who +was perhaps the first he had ever seen. Then he turned and stalked +majestically into the forest, his mighty antlers visible after his body +was hidden. + +Henry, lying down in the brown grass, remained a half hour by the pool, +and he became a part of the wilderness, recognized as such by the others +that dwelled in it. Wild fowl descended upon the water, swam there a +while and then flew away, but not because of him. A black bear made +havoc in a patch of berries, and paid no attention to the youth. + +When he started anew he still kept to the northeast, but he was +uncertain about his immediate action. He did not doubt that Red Eagle +and his host would pick up his trail some time or other, and would +follow with a patience that nothing could discourage. It would not be +wise to turn back to the oasis and his comrades, as that would merely +bring upon them the attack that he had drawn aside. Not knowing what to +do he kept on in his present course until certainty should come to him. + +Hunger assailed him and, imitating the bear, he ate great quantities of +berries which were numerous everywhere in the forest. They were not +substantial food, but they must suffice for a time. After a while, when +he felt that he was far beyond the hearing of Red Eagle's men, he would +shoot game, though in his present mood he did not like to kill anything +that lived in the forest. But he knew that he must, in time, overcome +his reluctance, as such a frame as his, in the absence of bread, could +not live without meat. + +He saw ahead of him a line of blue hills, much such a region as that in +which lay their warm, stony hollow, and he believed that he might find +kindred shelter there. At least it would be safer from pursuit, and, +keeping a straight course, he reached the ridges in about two hours. He +found an abundance of rocky outcrop, so much of it that he was able to +walk on it a full mile without putting a foot on earth, but there was no +deep hollow, although he did come to a tiny valley or cup among the +stones, well sheltered from the winds, and here he lay for a long time +on a bed that he made for himself on dead leaves. Toward night he went +out and was fortunate enough to find a wild turkey, which, overcoming +his reluctance, he shot. Then he cleaned it, and, daring all dangers, +lighted a fire in the cup and cooked it. + +But before taking a bite of the turkey he made a wide and careful +circuit about the dip to discover whether any wandering warrior had seen +the glow of his little fire, and, satisfied that none had been within +sight, he returned and ate, putting what was left in his pack for future +use. Then he lay down again and felt very grateful. The stars were out, +and, in their courses, they had undoubtedly fought for him. He did not +ascribe his great successes in the face of obstacles that seemed +insurmountable to any especial virtue in himself, but the idea that, for +some unknown cause, he was favored by the greater powers was still +strong within him. He could but thank them and looking up at the sky he +did so without words. + +Then, feeling sure that his trail could not be found for hours, he +wrapped his blanket about his body and pillowing his head on a heap of +leaves fell asleep. The sense of watching remained so strong that it was +alive while he slept, and about midnight it awakened him to see what a +noise meant. It was, however, only the hungry whining of two wolves, +drawn by the odor of the turkey, and, throwing a stick at them, he went +back to sleep. + +He did not awaken again until morning, and then he felt so warm and snug +in his blanket and on the bed of leaves that he was loath to move. The +dawn was clear and cold, the first frost of the season touching his +blanket with white, and he yawned mightily. While his body was +refreshed, his spirit was not as high as it had been the night before, +and he would have been glad for the pursuit to stop, a day at least, +while he dawdled there among the hills. He reflected that his four +comrades were probably lying at their ease in the oasis, and the thought +brought a certain envy, though the envy contained no trace of malice. He +wished that he was back with them, but the wish vanished in an instant, +and he was his old self, ingenious, resourceful, resolute. + +He rose from his bed, folded the blanket into the usual tight square, +which he fastened on his back, and took a look at his surroundings. +There was no human presence save his own, but innumerable tracks showed +him that the hills were full of game. Then sharp hunger assailed him, +and he ate another portion of the wild turkey, calculating that enough +would be left for several more meals. He considered himself extremely +lucky in securing the turkey, as it undoubtedly would be dangerous now +to fire his rifle, since the warriors must have come much nearer in the +course of the night. + +Going to the crest of the highest hill, whence he could get a long view, +he saw smoke in the west, not more than three miles away, and he was +quite certain it was made by some portion of Red Eagle's band. They +would not allow so much smoke to rise, unless it was intended as a +signal, and his eyes followed the circle of the horizon in search of the +answer. + +From his lofty perch he saw far over the tumbled mass of hills to the +eastern sky, and there he caught a faint trace across the sunlit blue. +It was miles away and only eyes of the keenest, like his, would have +noticed the vague smudge, but he did not doubt that it was a response to +the first signal. They could not see from the first to the third smoke, +but there must be a second in between, probably to the north, where the +hills shut out his view, and the messages were transmitted from the +extremes through it. + +He gazed a long time at the eastern smoke, trying to read what it was +saying. The warriors of Red Eagle's band were not likely to have gone so +far in the night, and, at last, he came to the conclusion that Yellow +Panther and the Miamis had come up. The more he thought about it the +more thoroughly he was convinced that it was so, and that his situation +had become extremely dangerous again. The Shawnees were bound to pick up +his trail in time, they would find that it led into the hills, and then, +by means of signals of one kind or another, they would tell their +allies, the Miamis, to close in on him. They would also send warriors to +both north and south, and he would be surrounded completely. + +Henry did not despair. It was characteristic of him that his spirits +should rise to the highest when the danger was greatest. The lassitude +of the soul that he had felt for a few moments disappeared and once more +he was alert, powerful, with all his marvelous senses attuned, and with +that sixth sense which came from the perfect coordination of the others +ready to help him. + +He examined as well as he could from his summit the maze of hills in +which he stood, and it seemed to him to be a region three or four miles +square, a network of crests, ridges, cups, and narrow valleys like +ravines. He resolved that for the present, at least, he would make no +attempt to break from it and pass the Indian lines. He would be for a +day or two the needle in the haystack. One might move from cover to +cover and evade pursuit for a long time in a tumbled and tangled mass of +country fifteen or sixteen miles square, covered moreover with heavy +vegetation of all kinds. + +He had been the panther before, now he would be the fox, and leaping +from stone to stone, and from fallen trunk to fallen trunk he plunged +into the very heart of the maze, finding it wilder and even more broken +than he had hoped. Small streams were flowing in several of the gullies +or ravines, and there were pools, around which reeds and bushes grew +thickly. At least he would not suffer for water while he lay in hiding. + +Near the center of the little wilderness was a valley larger than the +others, but before he descended into it he climbed a hill, and took +another long look around the whole horizon. The smoke signals had +increased to nearly a dozen, making a complete circuit of the hills, and +it would have been obvious, even to an intelligence much less acute than +his, that they were sure he was in the hills, and had drawn their lines +about him. + +Well, it would be a chase, he said to himself grimly. He did not +particularly like the role of fox, but once he had undertaken it he +would play it to the last detail. He went down into the valley which +was like a bowl filled with a vast mass of bushes and briars, many of +the briars covered with ripe berries, a fact of which he made a mental +note, as he might need those berries later on, and picked a way through +them until he came to the other slope, which was as rough and broken as +if it had been taken up by an earthquake, shaken for several days, and +then allowed to lie as the pieces fell. There were many blind openings, +like the box canyons of the west, running back into the hills, and they +were crossed by other gullies and ravines, and he decided that he would +find a temporary covert somewhere among them. + +As he wandered about in the maze of bushes and stones, he did not +neglect the least possible precaution to hide all traces of footsteps, +and he knew that he had left a trail invisible like that of a bird +through the air. There were many able warriors among the Shawnees and +Miamis, but if they found him at all it must be by currying the maze as +if with a comb, and not by following directly in his path. + +A ravine that he was following led a little distance up the slope, and +then another crossed it at right angles. A small stream, rising above, +flowed down the first ravine, and he resolved that he would not go far +from it, as he could not lie long in hiding without water. The smaller +cross ravine, which was pretty well choked with briars and bushes, ended +under an overhanging stony ledge, and here he stopped. + +As the place had a floor of dead leaves and was sheltered well he +thought it likely that in some former time it had been a den of a large +wild beast, but it could not have been put to such a use recently, as +there was no odor. He was thankful that he had found the ledge. It would +protect him from any rain except one driven fiercely into the face of it +by the wind, and, if it came to the last resort and he had to make a +fight, it would prove a formidable little fortress. + +Having located his refuge he went back to the stream and took a long, +deep drink of the water, which was cold and good. Then he returned to +the ledge and lay down in its shadow, his eyes on the briars and bushes, +through which alone one could approach. + +He saw a few coarse hairs in the crevices of the rocks and he was +confirmed in his opinion that it had once been a lair. Perhaps the +original owner would return to it and claim it while he was there, and +Henry smiled at the thought of the meeting. It would not be easy to +displace him. The feeling that he too was wild, a creature of the +forest, was growing upon him. He was hunted like one and he began to +display their characteristics, lying perfectly still, facing the opening +and ready to strike, the moment a foe appeared. However dangerous may +have been the wild beast that once lived under the ledge it was far less +formidable than its successor. + +Henry was at his ease, watching the briars and bushes and with his rifle +thrust forward a little, but a sort of cold rage grew upon him. It was +the rage that a fierce animal must feel, when hunted beyond endurance, +it turns at last. He rather hoped that one or two of their scouts would +appear and try to force the ravine. They would pay for it richly, and he +would take some revenge for being forced into such a hard and long +flight. + +But no scalplock appeared in the bushes, nor did he hear any sound of +advancing men. But he was not deceived by the false appearance of peace. +The Shawnees and Miamis had drawn their lines about the hills and they +would search until they found. Now they had two great chiefs instead of +one, both Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, to drive them on. Meanwhile he +would wait patiently and take his ease until they did find him. + +He was conscious of the passage of time, but he took little measure of +it until he noticed that the sun was low. Then he ate another portion of +the turkey, rolled himself into a new position on the leaves, and +resumed the patient waiting which was not so hard for one trained as he +had been in a school, the most important rule of which was patience. + +The entire day passed. At times he dozed, but so lightly that the +slightest movement in the thickets would have awakened him. He was +neither lonely nor afraid, and his sense of comfort grew. He had been +carried back farther than he knew into the old primitive world, in which +shelter and ease were the first of all things. He was content now to +wait any length of time while the warriors searched for him, and he was +so still, he blended so thoroughly into his surroundings, that the other +people of the maze accepted him as one of themselves. + +He saw a splash of flame over his head, and a scarlet tanager, alighting +on a bush not a yard from him, prinked and preened itself, until it felt +that its toilet was perfect, when it deliberately flew away again. It +had not shown the slightest fear of the motionless youth, and Henry was +pleased. He intended no harm to the creatures of the forest then, and he +was glad they understood it. + +A small gray bird, far less brilliant in plumage than the tanager, +alighted even nearer, and poured forth a flood of song to which Henry +listened without moving. Then the gray bird also flew away, not in fear, +but because its variable mind moved it to do so. It too had come as a +friend and it departed without changing. A rabbit hopped through the +brush, stared at him a moment or two, and then hopped calmly out of +sight. Its visit had all the appearance of a friendly nature, and Henry +was pleased once more. + +When the twilight came, he crept through the bushes to the little stream +in the ravine and drank deep again. His glance caught a pair of red eyes +gleaming through the dusk and he saw a wildcat treading lightly. But the +cat did not snarl or arch its back. Instead it moved away without any +sign of hostility and climbed a big oak, in the brown foliage of which +it was lost to Henry's sight. In his mind the thought grew stronger that +he was being accepted as a brother to the wild, and it gave him a +thrill, a compound of pleasure and of wonder. Had he really reverted so +far? It seemed to be so, for the time, at least. + +He crawled back through the bushes to his lair, ate another portion of +the wild turkey and disposed his lodgings for the night, which he +foresaw was going to be cold, drawing the dead leaves into a heap with a +depression in the center, in which he could lie with the blanket over +him. + +The full dark had now come, and, as he finished his bed, he heard a +light step which caused him to seize his rifle and sit silent, awaiting +a possible enemy. The light step was repeated once, twice, thrice, and +then stopped. But he knew it was not that of a human being. He had heard +the pad, pad of an animal too often to be mistaken, and his tension +relaxed, though he still waited. + +He gradually made out an ungainly figure in the dusk, and then two small +red eyes. The figure moved about a little and the eyes seemed to +question. Henry smiled once more to himself. It was a large black bear, +and he knew instinctively that it had not come as an enemy. Its visit +was one of inquiry, perhaps of search for an old and comfortable home, +which it remembered dimly. As it stared at him, showing no sign of +fright and making no movement to run away, he knew then that he was in +truth in a former home of the bear. + +He was sorry that he had dispossessed any one. He would not willingly +keep from his home a friendly and worthy black bear, but since it was +the only home of the kind he needed that he could find, he must keep his +place. The bear was not hunted as he was, and required less to give him +comfort and shelter. He could improvise elsewhere a home that would +suffice for him. + +He waved his hand, but the bear did not withdraw, uttering instead a low +growl which had some of the quality of a purr, and which was not at all +hostile. Henry felt real grief at ousting such an amiable animal, and he +realized anew that he had become, in fact, a creature of the wild. It +was obvious that the bear looked upon him as a brother, else it would +have taken to hasty flight long since. Instead it continued to stare at +him, as if asking to come in that it might have a share of the leaves. +But Henry shook his head. There was room for only one, and while not +selfish he needed it worse than the bear, which, after a minute more of +gazing, uttered another growling purr and then shambled away among the +bushes. Henry felt real sorrow at its departure. Obviously it had been a +good and kind bear, and he was regretful at having crowded it out of +house and home. + +But as bears were adaptable creatures and the dispossessed tenant would +find quarters elsewhere, he settled himself back to further rest and +contemplation. The lair under the ledge was really a better place than +he had at first thought it. The leaves were so abundant that he had a +soft bed, and they contributed not only to warmth in themselves, but he +was able to throw them up in little ridges beside him, where they would +cut off the cold air. He felt himself splendidly hidden, and both body +and mind were invaded by a dreamy sense of peace and ease. + +Believing that the invasion of the valley would yet be delayed some +time, he dared to go to sleep, though he awoke at frequent intervals. +All these awakenings told him that the warriors had not yet come nor was +their vanguard even at hand. The bear was not the only wild animal to +inhabit the valley and now and then he saw their dim figures moving in +the leisurely manner that betokened no alarm brought by sight, scent or +sound. He silently made them his sentinels, his watchers, the bear, the +rabbit, the squirrel, the wildcat and even the tawny yellow panther. + +Morning broke, the air heavy and clouds betokening rain. He strengthened +his banks of leaves with some dead wood, and, after eating half the +remaining portion of wild turkey, crouched again in the lair. In an hour +it began to rain, not to the accompaniment of wind, but came down +steadily, as if it meant to fall all day long. + +Having a good shelter Henry was glad of the rain, as he knew that it +would cause the warriors further delay in the search. The wilderness, +cold and dripping with water, is a funereal sight, full of discomforts, +and savage man himself avoids it if he can. The warriors, feeling that +they had the fugitive within the inescapable circle, would wait. Henry +would willingly wait with them. He had but one problem that troubled him +greatly, and it was food. But perhaps the ravens would provide, as they +had provided for the holy man in the olden time. + +As he had foreseen, the chilling rain fell all day long, and no sign +came from his pursuers. The valley grew sodden. He saw pools standing in +low places, and cold vapors arose. At night he ate the last of the +turkey, and, resolutely dismissing the question of more food from his +mind for the time, fell asleep again and slept well. + +The second dawn came, clear and cool, and the foliage and the earth +dried rapidly under the bright sun. Henry's powerful frame craved +breakfast but there was none, and, from necessity, he made up his mind +to do without, as long as he could. But the cravings became so strong by +noon that he stole out to the blackberry briars and ate his fill of the +berries. He also found some ripening wild plums and ate those, too. +Fruit alone was not very staying and he also saw the risk of disclosing +his trail, but he felt that he must have it. One might talk lightly of +enduring hunger, but to endure it was much harder. If he only had two or +three more wild turkeys he felt that he might defy the siege. + +That afternoon he heard the signals of Indians, showing that they were +in the maze, looking for him. They imitated the cries of birds and +animals, but they did not deceive him a single time. None was nearer +than a quarter of a mile, and he was sure that they had a long hunt +before them. Then he resolved upon a daring venture. If the coming night +was dark he would make the Indians themselves provide him with food. It +was tremendously risky, but the kind of life he lived was full of such +risks. + +His plan in mind, he watched the setting of the sun. It had mists and +vapors around it, and he knew that he was about to have what he wished. +Then the night settled down, heavy and dark, and he slipped cautiously +from his lair. The last signal that he had heard came from the south and +he advanced in that direction. + +He calculated that boldness, as usual, might win. The warriors, daring +themselves, nevertheless would not dream of an inroad upon them by the +fugitive himself, and were likely to be careless in their night camp. It +was possible that they would leave their own food where he could reach +it unseen. + +His progress was slow, owing to the extremely rough and broken nature of +the ground, and his own great caution, a caution that made no sound, and +that left no trail, as he always walked on rock. In an hour he saw the +glimmer of a fire, and then he redoubled his caution, as he approached. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE BEAR GUIDE + + +The fire was just beyond the thicket of reeds, and Henry addressed +himself to the task of penetrating them without noise, a difficult thing +to do, but which he accomplished in about five minutes, stopping just +short of the outer edge, where he was still hidden well. + +He was then able to see a small opening in which about a dozen warriors +lay around a low fire, with two who were sentinels sitting up but +nodding. He saw by their paint that they were Miamis, and thus he was +confirmed in his belief that Yellow Panther had come with a large force +from his tribe. + +He knew that the sentinels had been set largely as a matter of form, +since the Indians in the bowl itself would not anticipate any attack +from a lone fugitive. The true watch would be kept on the outermost rim. +So reasoning he waited, hoping that the two sentinels who were nodding +so suggestively would fall asleep. Even as he looked their nods began to +increase in violence. Their heads would fall over on their shoulders, +hang there for a few moments and then their owners would bring them +back with a jerk. + +Indians, like white people, have to sleep, and Henry knew that the two +warriors must have been up long, else they would not have to fight so +hard to keep awake. That they would yield before long he did not now +doubt, and he began to watch with an amused interest to see which would +give in first. One was an old warrior, the other a youth of about +twenty. Henry believed the lad would lead the way, and he was justified +in his opinion, as the younger warrior, after bringing his head back +into position two or three times with violent jerks, finally let it +hang, while his chest rose with the long and deep breathing of one who +slumbers. The older man looked at him with heavy-laden eyes and then +followed him to the pleasant land of oblivion. + +Henry now examined the camp with questioning eyes. In such a land of +plentiful game they would be sure to have abundant supplies, and he saw +there a haunch of deer well cooked, buffalo meat, two or three wild +turkeys and wild ducks. His eyes rested longest on the haunch of the +deer, and, making up his mind that it should be his, he began to creep +again through the undergrowth to the sheltered point that lay nearest +it, a task in which he exercised to the utmost his supreme gifts as a +stalker, since these were the most critical moments of all. + +The haunch lay not more than eight feet from the reeds, and he believed +he could reach it without awakening any of the warriors. Once the older +sentinel opened his eyes and looked around sleepily, and Henry instantly +stopped dead, but it was merely a momentary return from slumberland, to +which the man went back in a second or two, and then the stalker resumed +his slow creeping. + +At the point he sought, he slipped noiselessly into the open, seized the +haunch and slid back in the same way, stopping in the shelter of the +reeds to see if he had been noticed. But all the warriors still slept, +and, thankful once more to the greater powers who had favored him, he +made his way back to his shelter, provisioned now for several days. Then +he ate a hearty supper, gathering more of the berries as a sauce, and +drinking from the little stream. + +He was well aware that the Indians, when they missed the haunch, would +know that he lay somewhere in the bowl; but, with starvation as the +alternative, he was compelled to take the risk. Before dawn, it rained +again, removing all apprehensions that he may have felt about his trail, +and he took a nap of two or three hours, relying upon his heightened +senses to give him an alarm, if they drew near, even while he slept. + +The next dawn came, cold and raw, with the rain ceasing after a while, +but followed by a heavy fog that filled the whole bowl. Henry, sharp as +his eyes were, could not see twenty feet in front of him, and, just like +the bear that had once occupied it, he lay very close in his lair. The +confinement was growing irksome to one of his youth and strength, as he +felt his muscles stiffening, but it was necessary, because he heard the +signals of the Indians to one another through the fog, sometimes not +more than two or three hundred yards away. Their proximity, he knew, was +due to chance, as there was nothing to disclose to them where he lay. +They were merely following the plan of threshing out all the hay in the +haystack in order to find the needle, and he knew that they would +complete it even to the last wisp. + +Another day and night passed in the lair, and the inactivity, +confinement and suspense became frightful. He began to feel that he must +move, even if he plunged directly into the Indian ranks, and the +warriors permitted no doubt that they were near, since the calls of +birds and animals were frequent. Two or three times he heard shots, and +he knew it was the warriors killing game. He resented it, as all the +animals in this little valley had proved themselves his friends, and he +felt an actual grief for those that had been slain. + +It was the truth that in these days of hiding and waiting Henry was +reverting to some ancient type, not one necessarily ruder or more +ferocious, but a primitive golden age in its way, in which man and beast +were more nearly friends. There was proof in the fact that birds hopped +about within a foot or two of him and showed no alarm, and that a rabbit +boldly rested among the leaves not a yard away. + +It would be, in truth, his happy valley were it not for the presence of +the Indians. But they were drawing nearer. Call now answered to call, +and they were only a few hundred yards away. He divined that they had +threshed up most of the maze, and that a close circle was being drawn +about him in the bowl. The next night, when he went out for water, he +caught a glimpse of warriors stalking in the brush, and he did not +believe that his lair would hide him more than a day or two longer. He +must find some way to creep through the ring, but, for the present, he +could think of none. + +Another day passed, and he did not sleep at all in the night that +followed, as the warriors were so near now that his keen ear often heard +them moving, and once the sound of the men talking to one another came +to him distinctly. It was obvious that he must soon make his attempt to +break through the ring. Fortunately the night was foggy again, and while +he was deliberating anew, concentrating all the power of his mind upon +the attempt to find a plan, he heard a faint rustle in the thicket +directly in front of him, and he instantly threw his rifle forward, sure +that the warriors were upon him. Instead, a shambling figure poked its +head through the thicket and looked curiously at him out of little red +eyes. + +It was the black bear that he had ousted, and Henry thought he saw +sympathy as well as curiosity in the red eyes. The bear, far from +upbraiding him for driving it from its home, had pity, and no fear at +all. He could not see any sign of either alarm or hostility in the red +eyes. The gaze expressed kinship, and his own was reciprocal. + +"I hope the warriors won't get you, but you're running a mighty big +risk," was his thought. Then came a second thought quick upon the heels +of the first. How had the bear come through the ring of the warriors? +Had the Indians seen it they would certainly have shot at it, because +they loved bear meat. Not only had no shot been fired, but the bear was +deliberate and free from apprehension. Then like lightning came a third +thought. The bear had come in some providential way to save him. It had +been sent by the greater powers. + +There was something almost human in the gaze of the bear and Henry could +never persuade himself afterward that its look did not have +understanding. It began to withdraw slowly through the thicket, and, +rising up, taking his rifle, blanket and supplies, he followed. A +strange feeling seized him. He was transported out of himself. He +believed that the miraculous was going to happen. And it happened. + +The bear led ten or fifteen feet ahead, and then turned sharply to the +right, where apparently it would come up dead against the blank stone +wall of the hill. But it turned to look once at Henry and disappeared in +the wall. He stood in amazement, but followed nevertheless. Then he saw. +There was a narrow cleft in the stone, the entrance to which was +completely hidden by three or four bushes growing closely together. The +wariest eye would have passed over it a hundred times without seeing it, +but the bear had gone in without hesitation, and now Henry, parting the +bushes, went in, too. + +He found a ravine not more than three feet wide that seemed to lead +completely through the hill. The foliage met above it, and it was dark +there, but he saw well enough to make his way. He could also trace the +dim figure of the bear shambling on ahead, and his heart made a violent +leap as he realized that in very truth and fact he was being led out of +the Indian ring. Chance or intent? What did it matter? Who was he to +question when favors were showered upon him? It was merely for him to +take the gifts the greater powers gave, and, with voiceless thanks, he +followed the lead of the animal which shambled steadily ahead. + +The narrow ravine, or rather crack in the stone, might have ended +against a wall, or it might have led up to the crest of the hill where +Indian warriors lay watching, but he knew that it would do neither. He +felt with all the certainty of actual knowledge that it would go on +until it came out on the far side of the circling hills, and beyond the +Indian ring. + +He walked a full mile, his dumb guide leading faithfully. Sometimes the +ravine widened a little, but always the foliage met overhead, and he was +never able to catch more than glimpses of the sky. At last the width +increased steadily, and then he came out into the forest with the hills +behind him. The form of the bear was disappearing among the trees, but +Henry sent after him his voiceless thanks. Again he felt that he could +not question whether it was chance or intent, but must accept with +gratitude the great favor that had been granted to him. Behind him, as +reminders, came from far across the hills the faint calls of wolf and +owl, the cries of the Indians to one another, as the chiefs directed the +closing in of the ring upon the fugitive who was no longer there, the +fugitive who had been guided in a miraculous manner to the only way of +escape. + +He sat down upon a fallen tree trunk, laughing silently at the chagrin +his pursuers would feel when they came upon the lair, the empty lair. +Braxton Wyatt would rage, Blackstaffe would rage, and while Red Eagle +and Yellow Panther might not rage openly, they would burn with internal +fire. Then his laughter gave way to far more solemn feelings. Who was he +to laugh at two great Indian chiefs who certainly would have taken or +slain him had it not been for the intervening miracle? + +Henry's heart was filled with admiration and gratitude. He had been a +friend for a day or two to the beasts of the forest and one of them had +come to his rescue. The feeling of reversion to a primitive golden age +was still strong within him, and doubtless the bear, too, had really +felt the sense of kinship. He looked in the direction in which the +shambling animal had gone, but there was no sign of him. Perhaps he had +disappeared forever, because his mission was done. + +Again came the calls of animals to one another, the cries of the owl and +wolf, and then their own natural voices, in which Henry now, in fancy or +in fact, detected the note of chagrin. They had found the lair at last, +and they had found it empty! A long yell, fiercer than any of the +others, confirmed him in the belief, and despite the solemnity of his +own feelings at such a time, when he had been saved in such a manner, he +was compelled to laugh silently, but with intense enjoyment. + +Then he addressed himself to his new problems. Because he had escaped +with his life, it did not mean that his troubles were ended. The +warriors would come quickly out of the maze and Red Eagle and Yellow +Panther, with the host at their command, would send innumerable scouts +and trailers in every direction to find his new traces. It would be with +them not only a question of removing their enemy, but a matter of pride +as well, and they were sure to make a supreme effort. + +It was his knowledge of the minds of the chiefs that had kept him from +turning back to the oasis and his comrades. To return would be merely to +draw a fresh attack upon them, and he resolved to continue his flight to +the northeast. It was characteristic of him that he should not be +headlong, exhausting himself, but he sat down calmly, ate a slice of the +deer meat, and waited until he should hear the Indian signals again. +They came presently from the segment of the circling hills nearest to +him, and he knew that the pursuit had been organized anew and +thoroughly. Then he rose and fled in the direction he had chosen. + +He did not stop until the next night, covering a distance of about +thirty miles, and although he heard nothing further then from the +warriors, he knew the pursuit was still on. But he was so far ahead that +he believed he could take rest with safety, and, creeping into a +thicket, he made his bed once more among the leaves of last year. He +slept soundly, but awakening at midnight, he scouted a bit about his +retreat. Finding no evidence that the enemy was near, he slept again +until dawn. Then he renewed the flight, turning a little more toward the +north. + +He yet had enough of the deer meat to last, with economy, three or four +days, and he did not trouble himself for the present about the question +of a further food supply. Instead he began to rejoice in his own flight. +He was now fifty or sixty miles further north than the oasis, and as the +country was higher and some time had elapsed since his departure, autumn +was much more advanced. It was a season in which he was always uplifted. +It struck for him no note of decay and dissolution. The crispness and +freshness that came into the air always expanded his lungs and made his +muscles more elastic and powerful. He had the full delight of the eye in +the glorious colors that came over the mighty wilderness. He saw the +leaves a glossy brown, or glowing in reds or yellows. The sumac bushes +burned like fire. Everything was sharp, clear, intense and vital. + +There was never another forest like that of the Mississippi Valley, a +million square miles of unbroken woods, cut by a myriad of streams, +varying in size from the tiniest of brooks to the great Father of Waters +himself. Henry loved it and gloried in it, and he knew it well, too. It +now contained various kinds of ripening berries that served as a sauce +for his deer meat, and occasionally he would crack some of the early +nuts that had ripened and fallen. The need for food would not be strong +enough for some days yet to make him fire upon any of his new comrades, +the wild animals. + +But it is true that Henry still remained a creature of that primitive +golden age. Never were his senses more acute. The lost faculties of man +when he lived wholly in the woodland came back to him. He detected the +presence of the hidden deer in the thickets, and he knew that the +buffaloes were on the little prairies long before he came to them. He +might have shot any number of the big beasts with ease, but he passed +them by as he continued his steady flight into the north. + +He had not seen any sign of his pursuers in two days, and now he stopped +for them to come up, meanwhile eating plentifully in a berry patch. The +berries were rich and large, and he took his time and ease, enjoying his +stay there all the more because of his new comrades. Two black bears +preyed upon the farther edge of the patch, and he laughed at them when +their noses were covered with crimson stains. They seemed to be +friendly, but he did not put the tie of friendship to too severe a test +by approaching closely. Instead, he watched them from a little distance, +when, after having eaten enormously, they played with each other like +two boys, pushing and pulling, their reddened noses giving them the look +of the comedians they were. + +A stag watched the sportive bears from a little distance, standing body +deep among the bushes, and regarding them with gravity. It pleased Henry +to see a twinkle of amusement in the great eyes of the deer, which kept +his ground unafraid, despite the presence of his usual enemy, man. + +The bears, which were young, and hence festive, continued their sport, +encouraged, perhaps, by a gathering and appreciative audience. A wildcat +ran out on a long bough, looked at them and yowled twice. As they paid +no attention to him, he concluded that it was best to be in a good humor +after all, as obviously nobody meant him any harm. So he lay on the +bough and watched the game. His eyes showed green and yellow in the +sunlight, but it pleased Henry to think that they also held a look of +laughter. + +Three gray squirrels rattled the bark of an oak that overhung the berry +patch. Then came a fox squirrel, with his more glowing color and big +bushy tail, and all four looked at the bears. Sometimes they seemed +glued to the bark. Then they would scuttle a short distance, to become +glued again. Their beady eyes were twinkling. Henry could not see them, +but he knew it must be so. + +A slender nose and a pointed head pushed through the bushes, and then a +long, strong figure followed. A great gray wolf! A beast of prey, but no +thought of the hunt seemed to be in his mind now. He was about twenty +feet from the rolling bears, and he regarded Henry with a look that said +very plainly: "I enjoy the sport, but I would not do it myself." Henry +gave back the look in kind, and the two, who would have been natural +enemies at any other time, stood at opposite sides of the berry patch, +looking with grave amusement at the sportive animals which still tumbled +about, crushing the ripe berries under them, until not only their noses +but almost their entire bodies were streaked with red stains. + +A tiny spot appeared in the blue sky far overhead, grew with astonishing +swiftness, as a great bald eagle, descending with the utmost velocity, +and then abruptly checking its flight, alighted on the bough of a tree +over Henry's head, where it sat, its eyes upon the comedy passing in the +berry patch. At any other time the eagle would have regarded the youth +as his natural enemy, but now there was no hostility between them. They +were merely innocent spectators. + +A rabbit, disturbed in its cosy nest under the briars, hopped out, sat +on a little mound and looked on with interest, unafraid of the bears, +the wolf, the eagle or the human being. A red bird flew in a circle over +the berry patch and then alighted among the leaves of a tree, where it +burned in a splash of flame against the glossy brown. Another bird, in a +more sober garb, poured forth a joyous song. + +The wilderness was at peace. Moreover, it was witnessing a comedy, +presented by the true comedians of the forest, the young bears, and +Henry's sense of kinship grew stronger. It gave him a feeling of great +warmth, too, to see that they were not afraid of him. In a measure and +for the time at least he was received into the forest family. + +A quarter of an hour passed, and the comedy was not yet finished, but +Henry heard a lone far cry in the south, and he knew it was the signal +of warrior to warrior. In a minute the answering signal was given, but +much nearer, and the two bears stopped in their play, standing up, their +stained noses in the air and their streaked bodies quivering with +apprehension. A third time came the call, and the figures of the bears +stiffened. Then they slid through the berry patch and disappeared in the +forest, going like shadows. The eagle unfolded his wings, shot upward +like a bolt and was lost in the vast blue vault. The wolf vanished so +silently that Henry found himself merely looking at the place where he +had been. The rabbit disappeared from the mound. The spot of flame on +the glossy brown that marked the presence of the tanager was gone, and +the sober brown bird ceased to sing. The forest idyll was over and Henry +was alone in the berry patch. + +He felt bitter anger against the approaching warriors. Before he had +regarded them merely as enemies whose interests put them in opposition +to him. In their place, doubtless, he would do as they were doing, but +now, seeking his death, they had broken the wilderness peace. A desire +for revenge, a wish to show them that pursuers as well as pursued could +be in danger, grew upon him, and, as he fled again, he used little +speed, allowing them to gain until he saw one of the brown figures among +the tree trunks. Then he fired, and, when the figure fell, he uttered a +shout of triumph in the Indian fashion. A yell of rage answered him, and +now, reloading as he ran, he fled at a great rate. Twice he heard the +distant cries, and then no more, but he knew that Shawnees and Miamis +still followed on. The death of the warrior would be an additional +incentive to the pursuit. He would seem to them to be taunting them, +and, in truth, he was. + +But he had been refreshed so much by his stay in the berry patch that +his speed now was amazing, wishing to leave them far behind as usual +when the time came for sleep. A river, narrow but deep, suddenly threw +itself across his path. It was an unwelcome obstruction, but, managing +to keep his arms and ammunition dry, he swam it. The water was cold, and +when he was on the other side he ran faster than ever in order to keep +the blood warm in his veins and dry his clothing. + +There was but little sunshine now, and a raw, damp wind came out of the +northwest. He looked at the skies anxiously, and they gave back no +assurance. He knew the region had been steadily rising, and he had his +apprehensions. In an hour they were justified. The raw, damp wind +brought with it something that touched his face like the brush of a +feather. It was the year's first flake of snow, premature and tentative, +but it was followed soon by others, until they became a thin white veil, +driven by the wind. The brown leaves rustled and fell before them, and +the appearance of the forest, that had been glowing in color an hour or +two before, suddenly became wintry and chill. The advance of twilight +made the wilderness all the more somber, and Henry's anxiety increased. +He must find shelter for the night somewhere, and he did not yet know +where. + +He came out upon the crest of a low ridge, and searched the forest with +his eyes, hopeful that he might find again a rocky hollow equipped with +dead leaves, or even a windrow matted with bushes and vines, but he saw +neither. He beheld instead, and to his great surprise, a smoke in the +north, a smoke that must be large or it would not be so plain in the +dusk. He studied it, and finally came to the conclusion that it marked +the presence of an Indian village. This region was not known to him, but +as obviously it was a splendid hunting ground it was not at all strange +that he should come upon such a town. + +It was Indian smoke, but it beckoned to him, because there was warmth +beneath it. It was not likely to be a large village, but the skin lodges +and the log cabins perhaps would give ample protection against snow and +cold. In every age, whether stone, cave or golden, man had to have +something over his head on winter nights, and Henry, acting upon his +usual belief that boldness was the best policy, went straight toward the +village. He had some sort of an idea that he might pilfer the +hospitality of his enemies. That would be a great joke upon them, and +the more he thought of it the better he liked it. + +He used the last precaution as he approached. He was quite sure that the +village stood in the woods, and he did not really fear anything except +the stray curs usually found around Indian homes. But none barked as he +drew near and he began to believe that his luck would find the place +without them. Presently he saw the lights of two or three fires +glimmering through the bushes, and then he came to a heap of bones, +those of buffalo, wild turkey, deer, bear and every other kind of game, +like one of the kitchen middens of ancient man in Europe. He drew at +once the conclusion that the village, though small, was as nearly +permanent as an Indian village could be. + +He went closer. Nobody sat by the fire. Apparently there was no watch, +which was not strange, as here in the heart of their own country no +enemy was likely to come. He counted fourteen lodges, four small log +cabins and a larger one standing among the trees apart from the others. +Thin threads of smoke rose from the four cabins and several of the +tepees, but not from the larger cabin. It was certain now that there +were no dogs, as, scenting him, they would have given tongue earlier. +The fortune in which he trusted had not betrayed him. + +His eyes passed again over the lodges and the smaller cabins and rested +on the larger one, which was built of poles and had a wooden figure, +carved rudely, standing at every one of the four corners. He noted these +figures with intense satisfaction, and, having followed bold tactics, +he became yet bolder, creeping through the forest toward the long cabin. + +The snow was still falling in fine, feathery flakes, not enough to make +a real snow, but enough to cause great discomfort, and he exercised all +his skill and caution. + +While the Indians slept, yet someone among them always slept lightly, +and he knew better than to bring such a swarm of hornets upon him. He +reached the long cabin and saw in it a door opening toward the eastern +forest and away from the village. + +The door was closed with a heavy curtain of buffalo robe, but lifting it +without hesitation he entered. Then he stood a little while near the +entrance until his eyes grew accustomed to the dusk. The room, which had +a floor of bark, was empty save for skins of buffalo or other animals +hanging from poles, and two curtained recesses, in which stood totem +figures like those at the corners of the house. + +Henry knew that it was a council house or house of worship. He had known +that as soon as he saw the figures outside. No one would enter it until +the chiefs came from a greater village to hold council or make worship. +Any possible trail that he might have left would soon be covered by the +falling snow, and, going within one of the curtained alcoves, he lifted +the wooden figure there a little to one side. Then he spread one of the +buffalo robes within the space and, folding his blanket about himself, +lay down upon it. Soon he was asleep, while nearly a hundred of his +enemies, men, women and children, also slept but fifty yards away. + +Henry did not awaken while the night lasted. He had reached the limit of +endurance, and every nerve and muscle in him cried aloud for rest. +Moreover, his freedom from apprehension conduced to quick and sound +slumber, and it was long after daylight when his eyes opened and he +stretched himself. He remembered at once where he was, and he felt a +great sense of comfort. It was very warm and pleasant on the buffalo +robe, with his blanket wrapped about his body, and sitting up he looked +out through a narrow crevice between the poles. + +He saw a cold morning, with a skim of snow on the ground, already +melting fast before the sun, and destined to be gone in a half hour, +fires that had been built anew until they burned brightly, and squaws +cooking before them, while warriors, with blankets drawn about their +shoulders, sat near and ate. Children ran about, also eating or doing +errands. It was a homely wilderness scene, and Henry knew at once that +these people had nothing to do with the great hunt for him that was +being conducted by Red Eagle and Yellow Panther, though they would seize +him quickly enough if they knew of his presence. + +They were neither Miamis nor Shawnees, nor any other tribe he knew. They +might be a detached fragment of some northwestern tribe with which he +had never come in contact, or they might be a tiny tribe in themselves. +In the vast American wilderness old tribes were continually +perishing, and new tribes were continually being formed from the pieces +of the old. The people of this village seemed to Henry a fine Indian +race, much like the great warrior nation, the Wyandots. The men were +well built and powerful, and the women were taller than usual. + +[Illustration: "Red Eagle rose to address his hosts"] + +He saw that it was a village of plenty. It was usually a feast or a +famine with the Indians, but now it was unquestionably a period of +feast. The squaws were broiling buffalo, deer, wild turkey, smaller game +and fish over the coals. They were also cooking corn cakes, and Henry +looked at these hungrily. It had been many days since he had eaten +bread, and, craving it with a fierce craving, he resolved to pilfer some +of the cakes if a chance offered. + +The odors, so pleasant in his nostrils and yet so tantalizing, reminded +him that he had with him the haunch of venison, of which a large portion +was yet left. He ate, but it was cold. There was no water to drink with +it, and he was not satisfied. His resolve to become an uninvited guest +at their table, as well as under their roof, grew stronger. + +Yet he liked these Indians and he became convinced that they were in +truth a little tribe of their own or a fragment split off from a larger +tribe, buried here in the woods, to be the germ of bigger things. He was +seeing them at their best, leading, amid abundance, the life to which +they had been born and which they loved. All, men, women and children, +ate until they could eat no more. Then they idled about, the sun +driving away the last of the snow and warming earth and air again. In a +cleared space the half-grown boys began to play ball with the +earnestness and vigor the Indians always showed in the game. The men, +full and content, sat on their blankets and looked on. Thus the morning +passed. + +In the hours before noon Henry did not chafe. He rather enjoyed the +rest; but in the latter half of the day he grew impatient. He longed to +be up and away again, but there would be no chance to leave until night, +and he forced himself to lie still. He yet had no fear that any one +would come into the council room. Such chambers were little used, unless +the occasion was one of state. + +The afternoon was warm. The cold and light snow of the night before had +been premature, and the vanguard of autumn returned to its normal state. +While many leaves had fallen, more remained, and the colors were deeper +and more vivid than ever. The whole forest burned with red fire. Through +a narrow opening among the trees Henry saw a small field, full of +ripened maize, with yellow pumpkins between the stalks. The sight made +him hungrier than ever for bread. + +About the middle of the afternoon, the warriors who were lying on their +blankets rose suddenly and stood in an attitude of attention. They +seemed to be listening, rather than looking, and Henry strained his ears +also. He heard what appeared to be an echo, and then one of the warriors +in the village replied with a long, thrilling whoop that penetrated far +through the forest. + +He divined at once that the pursuit was at hand, not because the +warriors had been led there by his trail, which in truth was invisible +now, but because some portion of the net they had spread out must in +time reach the village. + +The whole population gathered in the cleared space where the fires had +burned and looked toward the southern forest. Henry, from his crack +between the poles, saw ripples of interest running among them, the +warriors exchanging sober comment with one another, the women and +children not hesitating to talk and chatter as in a white village when +visitors of interest were approaching. It was on the whole a bright and +animated picture, and he did not feel any hostility to a soul in that +lost little town in the wilderness. + +Another cry came in five minutes from the forest, and now it was clear +and piercing. A warrior in the village replied, and then they all +waited, a vivid, eager crowd, to see who came. The whole space was +within visible range of Henry's crevice, and he watched with equal +interest. + +A tall figure emerged from the forest, the figure of an elderly man, +powerful despite his years, and with a face of authority. It was Red +Eagle, head chief of the Shawnees, and behind him came the renegades, +Wyatt and Blackstaffe, and twenty warriors. Despite their haughty +bearing they showed signs of weariness. + +The chief of the village stepped forward and gravely saluted Red Eagle, +who replied with equal gravity. They exchanged a few words, and with a +wave of the arms the chief made them welcome. The fires were built anew, +and, the guests sitting about them, smoked with their hosts a pipe of +peace which was passed from one to another. Then food was brought and +Red Eagle, his warriors and the renegades ate. + +Henry would have given much to hear what they said, but he knew they +would not speak of their errand for a while. Some time must be allowed +for courtesy and for talk that had nothing to do with their purpose. +Nevertheless he saw that Red Eagle and all his band were worn to the +bone, and he was glad. He had led them on such a chase as they had never +pursued before, and he would lead them yet farther. He could afford to +laugh. + +The guests ate hungrily and the women continued to serve food to them +until they were satisfied. Then all except the adult male population of +the village withdrew, and Red Eagle rose to address his hosts. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE GREATER POWERS + + +When the Shawnee chief rose to talk he stood at one side of the open +space, scarcely twenty feet from the corner of the council house in +which Henry lay hidden, and as he said what he had to say in the usual +oratorical manner of the Indians upon such occasions, the youth easily +heard every word. + +Red Eagle spoke in Shawnee, which Henry surmised was a kindred language +to that of the village, and which it was obvious they easily understood. +He told them a startling tale. He said that far in the south five white +scouts and foresters, two of whom were only boys in years, although one +of the boys was the largest and strongest of the five, had kept the +Indians from destroying the white settlements in Kain-tuck-ee. By trick +and device, by wile and stratagem, they had turned back many an attack. +It was not their numbers, but the cunning they used and the evil spirits +they summoned to their aid that made them so powerful and dangerous. +Until the five were removed the Indians could not roam their ancient +hunting grounds in content. + +So the Shawnees, the Miamis, the Wyandots, the Delawares and the kindred +tribes had organized to pursue the five to the death. They had struck +the trail of one, the youth who was the largest, the strongest and the +most formidable of them all, and they had never ceased to follow it. +Twice they had drawn around him a ring through which it seemed possible +for nothing human to break, but on each occasion he had called to the +evil spirits, his friends, and they had answered him with such effect +that he had vanished like a bird at night. + +Murmurs of wonder came from the listening crowd. Truly, the young white +warrior was of marvelous prowess, and it would not be well for one of +them alone to meet him, when he not only had his formidable weapons, but +could summon to his help spirits yet more dreadful. They cast +apprehensive glances at the deep woods into which he had fled. + +Red Eagle was an impressive orator, and the forest setting was +admirable. The great Shawnee chief stood full six feet in height, his +brow was broad and his eyes clear and sparkling. He made but few +gestures, and he spoke in a full voice that carried far. Before him were +the people of the village, and behind him was the great forest, blazing +in autumn red. The renegades, Blackstaffe and Wyatt, stood near, each +leaning against a tree trunk, following closely all that Red Eagle said. +They, too, wished the destruction of the great youth, but their enmity +to him was baser than that of the Indians, since it was an innate +jealousy and hatred, and not a hostility based upon difference of race +and interest. + +When Henry looked at the renegades the desire to laugh was strong again. +What rage they would feel if they ever came to know that when Red Eagle +was making his address with his veteran warriors around him, the +fugitive, for whose capture or death a red army had striven in vain for +days, lay at his ease within fifty or sixty feet of them, a buffalo robe +of the Indians' themselves, his bed, and one of their own houses his +shelter! + +Red Eagle continued, in his round, full voice, telling them he had +tracked the fugitive northward, his warriors picking up the trail again, +and that he must have passed near their village. He wished to know if +they had seen any trace of him, and he asked their help in the hunt. A +middle-aged man, evidently the head of the village, replied with equal +dignity, but in a dialect that Henry could not understand. Still, he +assumed that it was a full assent, as, a few minutes after he had +finished, ten warriors of the village, taking their weapons, went into +the forest, and Henry knew that they were looking for him or his trail. +But Red Eagle, his warriors and the renegades remained by the fire, +still resting, because they were weary, very weary, no fugitive before +ever having led them such a troublesome chase. + +Red Eagle, the Shawnee chief, was a statesman as well as a warrior. +While it was true that young Ware was helped by evil spirits, he felt +that the pursuit must be maintained nevertheless. Ware was the great +champion of the white people, who far to the south were cutting down +the forest and building houses. He had acquired a wonderful name. His +own deeds were marvelous, but superstition had added to the terror that +he carried among the Indians. He must be removed. The necessity for it +grew greater and more pressing every day. All the Indian power must be +turned upon him, and when the task was achieved they could deal with his +four comrades. He had talked over the problem with Yellow Panther, first +chief of the Miamis, a man full of years, wise in council and great on +the war path, and he had agreed with him fully that the pursuit must be +maintained, even if it went to the Great Lakes, or those other great +lakes in the far misty Canadian region beyond. + +Now, Red Eagle, as he rested by the fire and received the hospitality of +the tiny tribe in the wilderness, was very thoughtful. Intellect as well +as prowess had made him a great chief; like the one whom he pursued, he +loved the forest, and when he looked upon it now, in all its glowing +colors of autumn, the glossy browns, the blazing reds and the soft +yellows, he was not willing for a single one of its trees to be cut +down. And while he meant to carry the pursuit to the very rim of the +world he knew, if need be, he did not withhold admiration and a certain +liking for the fugitive. + +Red Eagle glanced at the renegades, who had sat down now before the fire +and who were in a half doze. Although they were useful to the Indians, +who valued them for many reasons, he felt a strong aversion toward them +at that moment. He knew that if Ware were taken they would clamor at +once for his life. None would be more eager for the torture than they, +but Red Eagle had another plan in his mind. The principle of adoption +was strong among the Indians. Captives were often received into the +tribes, and Ware, with death as the alternative, might become a splendid +young adopted son for him and, in time, the greatest chief of the +Shawnees. He would not come as a renegade, like Blackstaffe and Wyatt, +but as a valiant prisoner taken fairly in battle, to whom was left no +other choice. + +It was to the credit of Red Eagle's heart and brain, as he sat deeply +pondering, that he evolved such a plan, but he made one mistake. High as +he estimated the mental and physical powers of the fugitive to be, he +did not estimate them high enough. Few would have had the strength of +will that Henry displayed then to lie quiet in the council house while +his enemies were all about him and the warriors were searching the +forest around for his trail. It was fortunate, in truth, that the snow +had come and passed, hiding any possible traces he might have left. + +His conviction that he was safe, for the present at least, remained. He +knew there was no occasion for the chiefs to enter the sacred building +in which he lay, and the others would not dare to do so. Nothing +troubled him at present but thirst. His throat and mouth were dry and +craved water, as one in the desert, but he knew that he must endure. + +Late in the day, the warriors of the village who had gone out to look +for his trail began to return, and when they had made their reports, +Henry knew by the disappointment evident on the faces of Red Eagle and +the renegades, that they had found nothing. He saw the Shawnee chief +give orders to his own men, half of whom plunged into the forest to the +northward and disappeared. They reckoned that he had gone on, and, +spreading out in the usual fan fashion, would continue the pursuit. But +it seemed that Red Eagle, with the remainder of his immediate force and +the renegades, intended to pass the night in the village. + +A supper of great abundance and variety was served to the Shawnee chief +and his men, and, when he saw the pure fresh drinking water brought to +them, Henry raged inwardly. They had not taken him yet, but already he +was being put to the torture. It was bitter irony that he should suffer +so much for water when the forest contained countless streams and pools. +He shut his teeth tight together and waited for the coming of the night, +now not far away. The lack of water would drive him out of the council +house, and in the dark he must seize anything that looked like an +opportunity. + +He hoped for the clouds again and another veil of snow, however thin, +but his hopes were not fulfilled. When the slow dusk came, he lifted the +buffalo curtain and emerged from his corner, feeling an intense relief, +despite the shooting pain, because he could stand up again. Then he +stretched and rubbed himself until all the soreness was gone from his +muscles, and, standing there, tried to think of a way to escape. + +His eyes, used to the dark of the room, fell upon a great headdress of +twisted buffalo horns, profusely decorated with feathers. A long coat of +buffalo skin adorned with feathers and porcupine quills in strange +designs lay beside it upon the poles. He had seen many such equipments. +It was a sort of regalia worn by Indian dancers, and now and then by +great chiefs upon solemn occasions. + +He looked at it, idly at first, and then with growing interest, as an +idea was born in his brain. The dress must be almost sacred in +character, or it would not be left here in the council house, and kind +fortune had certainly put it on the poles for his particular use. Once +more he was thoroughly convinced that he was watched over by the greater +powers, not because of any especial merit of his, but for reasons of +their own, and he clothed himself in the headdress and the strange, +variegated robe that fell to his ankles. Then even Shif'less Sol would +have had to take a third look to know him. + +Henry's heart beat high and fast. He was thoroughly convinced that he +had found a way. He had now only to use that rarest and greatest of +qualities, patience, and, by a supreme exertion of the will, he managed +to wait until it was far into the night. + +Red Eagle had gone into one of the log cabins, and was probably asleep. +Henry, from the crack, was not able to see what had become of the +renegades, but he surmised that they, too, were sleeping somewhere. Two +of the fires still burned in the open, but nobody watched beside them, +and he judged that the time was ripe for the trial. + +He gave a final touch to the headdress and the buffalo robe. He would +have been glad to have seen himself in a glass, but he was sure, +nevertheless, that he looked his part of a great medicine man, a +reincarnation of some ancient chief who had come back to spend a while +within the sacred precincts of the council house. His rifle he managed +to hide beneath the great painted coat, at the same time holding it +convenient for his use, and, lifting the curtain of buffalo robe, he +stepped out. + +It was neither a dark nor a fair night, but much fleecy vapor was +floating between earth and sky, imparting to the village and the forest +a misty, unreal effect which was suited admirably to Henry's purpose, +enlarging his figure and giving to it a fantastic and weird effect. +Knowing it, and having the utmost confidence in himself, he chose a path +directly through the center of the open, walking slowly, but taking +strides of great length and stepping from tiptoe to tiptoe. + +Two Indian sentinels, a Shawnee and a native of the village, were dozing +by the wall of one of the log cabins, when they heard the step in the +open. They lifted heavy eyelids and beheld a gigantic figure, attired in +a garb that ordinary mortals do not wear, stalking toward the forest, +caring nothing for the sentinels, the village or anything else. They +were in the midway region between sleeping and waking, when images are +printed upon the brain in confused or exaggerated shapes, and the +mysterious visitor, who was even then taking his departure, seemed to +them at least fifteen feet high, while, from under the headdress of +twisted buffalo horns, two great eyes, hot and blazing like coals, +stared at them. This terrifying figure, as they gazed upon it, raised a +huge hand full of menace and shook it at them. They gave a yell of +terror and darted into the forest. + +Red Eagle, sleeping the sleep of the just and tired, heard the shout of +alarm, and it impinged so heavily upon his unconscious brain that he was +shocked at once into an awakening. He leaped to his feet and ran out of +the cabin, just in time to meet the head chief of the village coming out +of another one. The two stared at each other, and then they saw the +great figure, in its mystic apparel, just where forest and open met. +Each uttered a gasp, and, before they could gasp a second time, the +apparition was gone among the trees, vanishing from their stupefied gaze +like a wisp of smoke before the wind. Then Red Eagle and his host, great +and wise chiefs though they were, looked at each other again and +trembled. + +Henry meanwhile was racing through the forest and toward the north, +always toward the north, and as he ran he shook with laughter. He had +seen the look of dismay on the faces of the Indians and he rejoiced. He +was sorry that he had not seen Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe too. Their +minds were less subject to superstition than those of the red men, but +no doubt in the first minute or two they were frightened also if they +saw him. + +Yet he believed that the renegades would arouse the Indians and perhaps +would suspect that the terrific stranger, who had come and departed so +mysteriously, was none other than the fugitive himself. He did not care +if they did; in truth, he rather hoped they would. He could imagine +their mortification and disappointment, and since they had gone to dwell +with strangers and fight their own people, it was only a fraction of +what they deserved. + +The great headdress of twisted buffalo horns was heavy and the big +painted buffalo coat flapped around him, but he would not discard them +yet. Stray warriors might be in the forest near the village, and, if so, +he wished to reserve for them his awful and threatening appearance. But +he could not stand them more than a mile. Then he threw the headdress +into a creek, hoping that it would float away with the current, but, +thinking he would have further use for it, he kept the painted coat. +Then he crossed the creek and resumed his northward flight at great +speed. + +He did not stop until dawn, when he felt that he was safe, for a day at +least, from pursuit. He had brought with him what was left of the deer +meat, and, sitting down by the bank of a small brook, he ate, drinking +afterward of the clear stream and giving thanks. He had been saved again +in a miraculous manner. When skill and strength themselves would have +been of no avail, fortune had put the council house and the ceremonial +robes in his way. He could not doubt that the greater powers were +working in his behalf, and he felt all the elation that comes from the +assurance of continued victory. + +But it was a bleak dawn. A cold sun was rising in a cold, blue sky. +There was no snow now, but the dry grass was white with frost, and +whenever the wind stirred a little, the dead leaves fell with a dry +rustle. He retreated deeper into the thicket, and he was glad that he +had kept the great painted coat, as he wrapped himself in it from head +to foot and lay down between two fallen logs, with the dense bushes over +his head. + +He must find another interval of rest and sleep, and feeling that his +best chance lay here, he drew the coat very close. It kept him +thoroughly warm, and, as soon as his nerves settled into their normal +condition, he slept. + +He awoke before noon, and the morning was still frosty and cold. Yet the +wilderness was more beautiful than ever. The frost had merely deepened +its colors. While many dead leaves had fallen, myriads remained, and +they had taken on more intense and glowing tints. The air had all the +purity and tonic of an American autumn. The light winds were the breath +of life itself. + +He ate the last of the deer, and then he found bunches of wild grapes, +small and bitter sweet, but refreshing. Later in the day he must secure +game, though he still felt averse to shooting anything, since the +creatures of the forest had saved him more than once. But in the end it +would come to it. + +It was a rolling country, and, walking to the crest of the highest +ridge, he examined it in all directions. He saw only the great forest in +its reds and yellows and browns, and he was alone in it, its uncrowned +king, if he chose to call himself so. + +Although the country was new to him, Henry believed that he was about +two hundred and fifty miles north of the Ohio and in the region +inhabited by the warlike northwestern tribes. Several of their great +villages must lie not very far to the east of him, and he smiled at the +thought that he was leading the pursuit back to the homes of the +pursuers. He wondered what his comrades were doing, but he believed that +they would remain in the swamp, or near it, until he came back. + +Not knowing what else to do, he moved northward again, and presently +heard a low, monotonous sound, which after a little listening he decided +to be Indian squaws chanting. Further listening convinced him that there +were only two voices, and he approached cautiously among the trees. + +Two Indian women, one quite young and the other quite old, were cooking +by the side of a small brook, in which they had evidently been washing +deerskin clothing earlier in the day, as it now lay drying on the bank. +Probably they were the wife and mother of some warrior preparing for his +return from the hunt. Henry took little interest in the deerskins they +had washed, but his attention was concentrated quickly upon their +cooking. + +They were broiling a fat, juicy wild turkey. He had an especially tender +tooth for wild turkey, particularly when it was young and fat. It, more +than anything else, was his staff of life, and now he set covetous eyes +upon the one that was broiling over the coals. He did not like to rob +women, but it must be done, and he bethought himself of his painted +coat. Pulling it high over his head, concealing his rifle under it and +uttering a tremendous woof, he stalked into the open in which the fire +was burning. + +The two Indian women, when they beheld the apparition, uttered +simultaneous screams and fled into the forest, while the hungry young +robber, lifting their turkey from the fire, where it was already well +broiled, disappeared among the trees in the opposite direction, happy to +have secured his rations through the aid of fright only and without +violence. He knew, however, that he could not afford to satisfy his +hunger just then. Warriors, and perhaps a village, could not be far +away, and the men, divining that the fright of the women was caused by a +human being, would soon come in pursuit. So he went at least two or +three miles before he sat down and ate a substantial dinner, reserving +the remainder for future use. Truly the wild turkey was his best friend. + +That night he lay again in the forest, and he was devoutly glad that he +had saved the painted robe. The climate of the great valley is fickle, +and it rapidly turned colder again. Raw winds whistled through the +woods, and he had difficulty in finding a sheltered place where, even +with the aid of the robe, he could keep warm. He selected at last a tiny +glen, well grown with tall bushes on every side, heaped up parallel rows +of dead leaves, and then, lying down between them, wrapped in the robe, +fell asleep. + +When he awoke his face felt cold, and opening his eyes, he found that it +had good reason to be so. It was covered with snow, and upon the robe +itself the snow lay deep. The whole forest was white, and, as he stood +up, he heard branches cracking beneath the weight that had gathered on +them in the night. It had come down in thick and great flakes, but so +softly that it had failed to awaken him. + +Henry, despite his courage and strength, was alarmed. It is one thing +even for the best trained to live in the forest in summer, but quite +another in winter. Nor was the aspect of the sky encouraging. It was +somber with clouds, and, even as he looked at it, the snow began to fall +again. It was not an ordinary snow, but the clouds just ripped their +bottoms out and let their entire burden fall at once. A huge white +cataract seemed to fill the whole air, and Henry's alarm deepened into +dismay. The snow would soon be six inches deep, then a foot, and what +was he to do? + +He was thankful once more for the painted robe, and also for the wild +turkey that he had pilfered, and knowing that he must keep warm, he +started on a dreary walk toward the north. The snow was pouring so hard +that he could scarcely see, but he heard a sound to his right, and +presently he was able to discern an immense stag floundering in some +undergrowth in which its hoofs seemed to be caught. + +Henry could easily have shot the deer and it would have furnished an +unlimited supply of food, at a time when he might be snowed up for days. +He always believed afterward, too, that the deer expected to be killed, +as it ceased its struggles and looked at him with great, pathetic eyes. +It was a magnificent stag, the largest he had ever seen, but he had no +heart to shoot. His own eyes met the appealing gaze from those of the +king of the woods and he felt sorry. Nothing could have induced him to +shoot. He sincerely hoped that the stag would pull free, and as the +thought came to him the wish was fulfilled. + +The left forefoot, which was entangled, suddenly came loose and unhurt. +Never did Henry see a transformation more rapid and complete. The stag, +before pathetic and depressed, a beaten beast, expanded in the twinkling +of an eye into a mighty monarch of the forest. He stood erect, threw +back his great head in a gesture of triumph, looked once more at the +human being whom nature had taught him instinctively to dread, but who +had not harmed him when he was at his mercy, then stalked away, until he +was lost behind the white veil of the snowy fall. + +Henry felt gladness. He was glad that he had not shot, and he was glad +that the stag had released his foot, or otherwise he would have perished +under the teeth of wolves. Then he addressed himself to his own peril, +which was great and increasing. He hunted the deepest portions of the +woods, but the snow sought him there. He stood under the trees of the +thickest boughs, but the white fall gradually poured through, heaping +upon his head, his shoulders and the folds of his robe. He would brush +it off and move on to another place, merely to find it gathering again, +and, by and by, his great muscles began to feel weariness. He plodded +for hours in the deepening snow, seeking a refuge from this persistent +and deadly fall, but finding none. A sort of despair, almost unknown to +him, oppressed him for a little while. He had fought off innumerable +attacks of warlike and powerful savages, he had triumphed over hardships +and dangers the very name of which would make the ordinary man shudder, +and here he was about to be conquered by a mere shift of the wind that +brought snow. + +He could have shouted aloud in anger, but instead he summoned all his +courage and strength anew and continued his hunt for a refuge. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE STAG'S COMING + + +The snow, famous in the annals of the tribes as one of the greatest that +ever fell so early in the autumn, continued to pour down. Where Henry +had sunk to his ankles, he now sank almost to his knees, and the +wilderness stretched away, without offering the shelter of any covert or +rocky hollow. His exertions made him very warm, but he was too wise to +take off the painted coat, lest he cool too fast. To fall ill in the +snowy forest, hunted by savages, was a thought to make the boldest +shudder, and he took no chances. + +He fought the storm for hours. Rightly it could be called no storm, as +it was merely the placid fall of snow in huge quantities, but in the +long run it contained more elements of danger than a hurricane. Night +came and he was still struggling among the drifts, not walking now with +firm, straight steps, but staggering. Nearly all of his tremendous +strength was gone, exhausted, fighting against the impassive snowy +depths that always held him back. Once or twice he fell, but his will +brought him to his feet again, and he went on, his mind now directing +wholly the almost inert mass that was his body. + +Twilight came, adding a new gloom to the somber heavens. All the animals +themselves seemed to have gone, and he strove alone for life amid the +vast desolation. Then he recalled his courage once more. On this great +expedition, when he was offering himself as a sacrifice for his people, +the miracles were always happening. At the last moment, when it did not +seem possible for him to be saved, he had always been saved, and surely +the miracle would occur once more! + +He came to a huge tree, blown down by the wind, but yet projecting above +the snow, and sitting down on the trunk he leaned against an upthrust +root. He closed his eyes, for a moment or two, and the desire to keep +them shut, and sink into happy forgetfulness, was almost more than he +could resist. He made a gigantic effort and pulled himself back to full +consciousness, knowing that the easiest way, which in this case was the +way of yielding, would be the fatal way. Drawing up the last ounces of +his strength he staggered on, remembering to keep his rifle protected by +the painted coat, and clinging also to the turkey. + +He looked up at the heavens, but they gave no promise. They were without +a break in the massed clouds, and the snow poured down in an unceasing +white fall. The range of vision was so short that he could not tell the +character of country into which he was coming, and, presently, he struck +marshy ground, into which his moccasined feet sank deep, coming forth +wet and cold. It was a new danger, and he stamped his feet hard and +walked faster in an endeavor to keep the circulation going and to keep +them from freezing. It was a peril that he had not foreseen, and it +would, in truth, be the very irony of fate if, after so many miracles +had intervened to save him from pressing dangers, he should perish in a +premature snow storm. + +Usually, one could find shelter of a sort in the wilderness. The forest +of the great valley had become in the course of ages so dense with +thickets and matted tangles of fallen trees that one did not have to go +far before coming to a lair into which he could creep. But now +everything of the kind evaded Henry. His eyes, almost blinded by the +snow, saw only the straight trunks of trees, and open ground that +offered no protection at all. Moreover, the chill from his wet feet, in +spite of all his efforts, was extending and he shivered. + +But he would not despair. He might have had such moments, but they were +moments only, and he fought on, as those, whose souls are made of +courage, fight. Yet the wilderness became gloomier, more desolate and +more menacing than ever. The fall of snow was less heavy, but a bitter +wind rose and it came with an alternate shriek and moan. The air grew +colder and the chill of the wind struck into Henry's bones. Nevertheless +he struggled on in the darkening night, going he knew not where, nor to +what. + +Courage and will can triumph over most things, but not over all things. +There comes a time when hour, place and circumstances seem to combine +against the individual, and such an hour had come for Henry. He searched +everywhere for some place in which he could lie until the storm had +passed, but it was always nothing, nothing, just the open forest, and +the driving wind, and the creeping chill which was steadily going into +all his bones. + +At last, scarcely able to raise a foot, he sank down on a fallen log and +stared into the gloomy woods which gave back not a single ray of hope. +Again he felt the dreamy desire to sink into rest and complete oblivion, +and again he fought it off, knowing that it was the way of death. Then +he looked up at the somber skies, and prayed for one more miracle. + +Henry, despite his wild, rough life, had much reverence in his nature. +The wilderness, too, with its varied manifestations, encouraged the +belief in a supreme power, just as it had given birth among the Indians +to a natural religion closely akin to the revealed religion of the white +man. Now, he was hopeful that in the extreme moment help would be sent +to him, and that the last of the miracles had not yet been performed. +Closing his eyes he said his prayer over and over again to himself, and +then opening them he stared as before at the desolate forest, empty of +everything living save his own presence. + +But was it empty? Straight ahead of him he seemed to see an outline +through the falling snow, like a dim and dusky figure behind a veil. He +rose, new strength flowing into his veins, and took a step or two +forward, fearful that he had been deceived by one of the fancies or +visions, supposed to float before the eyes of the dying. Then he saw. +The dim outlines on the other side of the snowy veil grew clearer and he +traced the figure of a stag, larger than any other stag that had ever +trod the earth, gigantic and majestic. + +The stag, too, was staring at him, and he knew it to be the same that he +had seen earlier in the day, though it had grown wonderfully in size +since then. It showed not the slightest trace of fear, but, instead, the +great luminous eyes seemed to him to express pity. + +A thrill of superstitious awe ran through him. But it was awe, not fear. +The stag, gigantic and almost a phantom, did not threaten. It pitied, +and as Henry gazed at it with the fascinated eyes of one in a dream or +in an illusion so deep that it was a twin brother to reality, the deer +turned and walked slowly among the trees. Twenty paces, and, stopping an +instant, it looked back. The human figure was following and the deer +walked on, its stride measured and magnificent. + +Henry did not doubt that his prayers had been answered, and that another +miracle had been ordered for his salvation. He became transformed as if +by magic. His head, which had been so heavy that it sagged upon his +shoulders, grew singularly light. The blood, stagnant before, leaped in +his veins like quicksilver, and his steps were straight and firm. The +size of the deer did not decrease for him. It loomed immense and +powerful through the driving snow, and, as it led steadily on, never +looking back now, he followed with equal steadiness. + +The stag turned once, going sharply to the right, and, in a few more +minutes, the ground grew quite rough. Then he saw through the veil of +the snow high hills rising on either side, but the stag led into a deep +and narrow valley between them. As they advanced, it narrowed yet +further, and the trees and bushes on the crests above them were so dense +that the snow was not deep there, and the bitter wind was cut off +entirely. Either hope and confidence or some measure of returning warmth +drove the chill from Henry's bones, as he forgot the wet and cold and +pressed forward eagerly when the stag increased his pace. + +Henry's mental state became one of exaltation. He did not know to what +he was going, but he knew that life lay at the end of the stag's trail, +and he was willing to follow as long as need be. Nor did he ever know +how long he followed, but he did notice that the cleft was growing +deeper and narrower. After an unknown time he emerged into a tiny valley +that was more like a well, it was set so deep in the hills and its +slopes were so steep, the cliffs in truth overhanging on two sides. + +He uttered a cry of joy. This was to be his refuge, and here he would be +saved. Stretches of ground under the hanging cliffs were bare of snow, +and heaped high with dead leaves. Dead wood lay all about. The bitter +wind, with its alternate shriek and whistle, swept overhead, but it did +not touch the floor of the well. The air was still and it did not bite. + +The stag turned and looked back for the second and last time, and +Henry, either in reality or in an illusion so deep that it was as vivid +as reality, saw an expression of kinship in the great luminous eyes. +Once more, for him at least, the old golden age when men and animals +were friends had come back to endure an hour or two. Then, lifting its +head very high and seeming taller and more majestic than ever, it passed +out of the valley at a narrow opening on the other side. + +Henry, shaking himself violently to bring back his wandering faculties, +concentrated them upon his present needs, which were still urgent. +Crouching in the best shelter that the hanging cliff furnished, he +rapidly whittled shavings from the dead wood, until he had formed a heap +close to the stony wall. Then, with the flint and steel that every +hunter carried and laboring desperately, he managed to extract from the +flint enough sparks to set fire to the shavings, hanging over the tiny +blaze and shielding it with his body lest it go out and leave him alone +in the cold and the dark. + +The flame persisted and grew, reached out, and bit into more shavings, +and then into larger pieces of dead wood that Henry presented to its +teeth. Dead leaves helped it along, and he fed to it larger and larger +sticks, until he had a splendid leaping fire, the very finest fire that +was ever built in this world, a fire that sent up many high flames, red +in the center and yellow at the edges, a fire that made great, glowing +coals in beds, capable of keeping their heat all night. + +Then Henry knew that in very truth and fact he was saved. Let the wind +whistle and shriek above his head! He cared nothing for it. He took off +his wet leggings and moccasins, and dried them and his feet and legs +before the fire. The spirit of a youth returned to him. He tried to see +how near he could hold his flesh to those wonderful coals and flames +without burning it, and with the fire, which is a twin brother to life, +he felt life itself flowing anew into his body. + +His vitality was so great that his strength seemed to return all at +once, and he built another fire as fine as the first, but a little +distance from it. Then he lay between the two, and was warmed on both +sides. Exposed to the double heat also, his moccasins and leggings soon +dried and he put them on again. His feeling was now one of extraordinary +comfort, and warming the turkey on the coals, he ate an abundant supper, +while he listened to the wind overhead and saw snow drop in the valley, +but not on him, where he lay well within the lee of the stone wall. + +After resting awhile between the fires he began to gather wood, the +whole valley being littered with it. He did not know how long the storm +would hold him there, and he intended to have sufficient heat. He also +heaped up the wood into a species of rude wall, until no drop of snow +could blow into his cleft under the cliff, and then contemplated his +work with satisfaction. He could stay here as long as the storm lasted, +even for days, nor did he forget to give thanks once more for the +wonderful manner in which the stag had saved him. It was first the +buffaloes, then the bear and now the deer. What would it be next? + +Henry let the two fires sink to glowing heaps of coals, and then, +warming thoroughly before them the great painted buffalo coat, he +retreated to the alcove behind his wooden wall and made his bed on the +leaves. He felt for all the world like a bear gone into its snug den for +the long winter sleep, and, as he drew the big coat about his body, he +looked lazily at the fires, which were so placed that the heat from them +warmed his corner despite the wooden barrier. + +Then the usual relaxation, after a tremendous mental and physical +struggle came over him, and he began to feel the extraordinary luxury of +lying dry, warm, well fed and in safety. It was all the primitive man +desired, the best he ever received, and Henry, who had been put in their +position, rejoiced as one of those far, faraway men might have rejoiced, +when he, too, attained all his wishes. + +The feeling of luxurious ease kept him in a dreamy state a long time. +Although he felt strong and active again, able to cope with any crisis, +he had really been very near the end for the time being to the +extraordinary powers with which nature had endowed him. Now, as his +great vitality flowed back and he knew that he was safe, it was just a +pleasure to lie still, to feel the warmth, and to see dreamily the glow +of the fires, in truth, to feel as his ancestors had felt in like +comfort forty thousand years ago. + +Meanwhile the air turned a little warmer, just enough to admit a return +of the heavy snowfall and the big flakes began to pour down again. Some +of them, blown by the wind, fell on the sheltered fires, and hissed as +they melted. But Henry was not troubled. He knew they could not reach +him. + +At the same time, but many miles to the south, a great force of Indian +warriors, led by the two wise and valiant chiefs, Red Eagle, the +Shawnee, and Yellow Panther, the Miami, was going into camp. Yellow +Panther had come up with a force also and they had struck again the +trail of the fugitive, but the coming of the storm had hidden it, of +course, and as the snow deepened they were compelled to abandon, until +the next day at least, all thought of catching Henry Ware, taking +instead measures for their own preservation. Among them were men who +knew the country, and they soon found a deep valley, in which they built +their fires and ate their venison. + +Red Eagle and Yellow Panther sat with the renegades, Blackstaffe and +Wyatt, by one of the fires, and talked earnestly of the pursuit. The +chiefs did not like the white men who had gone with strangers to fight +against their own, but they respected their knowledge and tenacity. The +chase had been long and arduous, it had drawn off much strength from the +tribes, but they were in unanimous agreement that it should be +continued, no matter how long, until their object was achieved. The +great snow itself, deep and premature though it was, should not turn +them back. + +Henry could not see this council through the miles of hills and driving +snow, but had his thoughts been turned in that direction he would have +made to himself a picture just like it, nor would he ever have doubted +for an instant that the chiefs and the renegades would pursue him as +long as pursuit was possible. + +It was well into the night, when his eyes closed and the sleep that took +hold of him was far deeper than usual, carrying him into an oblivion +that lasted until far after the sun had risen over a world, still white +and misty with the falling snow. + +He was surprised to see that the storm had not yet stopped, but he was +not alarmed. The two fires were still smouldering, and the dead wood +that he had heaped up was sufficient to last many days. It was true that +he had only the wild turkey for food, but he was sure, in time, to +discover other resources. He had seen the proof over and over again, +that, for the time at least, he was a favorite of the greater powers. He +was too modest to think it due to any particular merit of his own, but +it seemed to him that he had been chosen as an instrument, and, for that +reason, he was being preserved through every hardship and danger. + +Secure in his belief, which was more than a belief, a conviction rather, +he began to make a home for himself in his tiny valley, which was not +more than fifty feet across, and above which the hills, steep like the +side of a house, rose three or four hundred feet. His first precaution +was to build the fires anew, not with a high flame, but with a slow +steady burning that would make great beds of coals, glowing with heat. +Then he examined the pass by which he had come, to find it choked with +seven or eight feet of snow, and he looked next at the one by which the +deer had gone, to discover that it was much like the first, leading a +distance that was yet indefinite to him, as he did not care to follow it +through the deep snow to its end. + +Shaking the snow from the painted robe he came back to the covert and +waited with as much patience as he could summon. Now he missed greatly +his four comrades, and their talk. With them the time would have passed +easily, but since they were not there he must do the best he could +without them. The problem of food which he had resolutely pushed away, +forced itself back again. A big, powerful body such as his was like an +active engine. It required much fuel. There would be no food but animal +food, and he was in no mood for killing an animal now. But he could not +hide from himself the fact that it must be done, sooner or later. + +On the second day he went through the pass by which the deer had gone, +beating down the snow under his feet, until it was hard enough to +sustain him, and, after about two miles of such difficult traveling, +came upon fairly level ground. Here, hunting about, he surprised several +rabbits in their deep nests, and killed them with blows of his rifle +muzzle. + +The hunt took nearly all day, and, when he returned to the cove with his +game, night was coming. He was surprised to find how welcome the place +was to him and how much it looked like a home. There was his sheltered +alcove, with the wall of dead wood in front of it, and there were two +heaps of coals sending their friendly glow to him through the cold dusk. + +It _was_ a home, and it was more. It was a refuge and a fortress. He had +been guided to it by the greater powers, and he should value it for all +it had afforded him, warmth, shelter and protection from his foes. He +was not one to be lacking in gratitude or appreciation, and he sent +admiring glances about his well, for it was more like a well than a +valley. Lonely it might be, but bodily comforts it offered in abundance +to such as Henry. + +He cleaned the rabbits and hung them up in the alcove, knowing that +their bodies would freeze hard in the night, and thus would be +preserved, giving him with the wild turkey a supply of food sufficient +for two or three days. + +He was awakened the second night by cries, faint but very fierce, and he +knew they were made by wolves howling. The ferocity, however, was not +for him, as during that singular period his feeling of kinship for the +animals extended even to the wolf. He knew that they howled because of +hunger. The deep snow was hard on the wolves, making it difficult to +find or pursue their prey, and they sent forth the angry lament because +they were famished. + +Henry merely drew the painted robe more closely about his body, looked +contentedly at the glow from the two fine beds of coals, closed his eyes +once more and went to sleep. He did not look for wolves in his well, +although he heard them howling again the next night, the note plaintive +and fierce alike with the call of intense hunger. The fourth day, he +went out through the pass and killed more rabbits, adding them to his +store. He saw a deer floundering in the deep snow, but he would not +shoot it. The time might come when he would slay a deer, but he could +not do it that week. + +Now he began to study the skies. He knew that the premature snow, deep +as it was, could not last long, and, likely enough, it would be followed +by heavy rain. Then the snow would certainly pour in a deluge down the +hillsides, and the water might rage in a torrent in the ravine. His well +would be flooded and he would have to take to flight, but it would be no +harder on pursued than on pursuers. + +Two more days passed and the warm weather did not come. The snow ceased +to fall, but it lay gleaming and deep on the ground, and the sound of +boughs, cracking beneath its weight, was almost incessant. Indifferent +to the deep trail he left, he climbed again to the heights and ranged +over a considerable area. A second time, a floundering deer presented +itself to his rifle, and a second time he refused to fire. The deer +seemed to expect no danger, as it gazed at him with fearless eyes, and, +waving to it a friendly farewell, he passed on among the trees, every +one of which stood up an individual cone of white. + +Then he heard the howl of wolves and traveling on to a valley beyond he +saw a pack running far ahead. Twenty they were, at least, and whether or +not they chased a deer he could not tell, but the fierce note of hunger +was in their voices, and whatever it was they pursued they followed it +fast. + +Then he turned back toward his home, weary with walking through snow so +deep, too deep yet for his further flight northward, and the fires in +the covert seemed fairly to shine with welcome for him. That night he +broiled and ate an entire rabbit for supper, but felt that he must have +a more varied diet soon, if he was to preserve his strength. He looked +again for the clouds which were to bring the great rain, destroyer of +great snows, but the skies were clear, frosty and starry, and his eager +eyes did not find a single blur. + +It was evident that he must use all his patience and keep on waiting. So +he set himself to the task of putting his body in the best possible +trim, until such time as he would have to subject it to severe tests. He +exercised himself daily and he always saw that his bed under the ledge +was dry and warm. He never permitted the fires to go out, and gradually, +as the snow about them melted from the heat, the ground there became +hard and dry. + +He was still able to procure food without firing a shot, finding plenty +of rabbits in the deep snow on the hills, but he grew intensely weary of +such a diet, and he felt that if he had to linger much longer he would +kill a deer, although he had been saved by one. Every hour he scanned +the heavens looking for the clouds which he knew would come in time, +since the cold could not endure at such an early period in the autumn. + +He had been in his retreat a week when he felt a light and soft touch on +his face, the breath of the west wind. It had almost a summer warmth, +and, then he knew that one of the great changes in temperature, to which +the valley is subject, was coming. Throughout the afternoon the wind +blew, and water began to trickle in the ravine. The sound of soft snow +sliding down the hill was almost constant in his ears. Toward dusk, the +clouds that he had expected came floating up from the horizon's rim, but +he did not believe rain would fall before the next day. + +Nevertheless, he took precautions, building a rough floor of dead wood +in the alcove, and arranging to protect himself from the downpour which +he considered inevitable. He also put his stores in the place that would +remain safest and dryest, and lying down, high upon the dead wood, he +fell asleep. He was awakened in the night by a rushing sound. The great +rain that was to destroy the great snow had come, several hours earlier +than he had expected it, and it was a deluge. + +The trickle in the ravine became a torrent, and he heard it roaring. The +floor of his little valley was soon covered with six inches of water and +he was devoutly glad that he had built his platform of dead wood, upon +which he could remain untouched by the flood, at least for the present. +That it would suffice permanently he was not sure, as the rain was +coming down at a prodigious rate, and there was no sign that it would +decrease in violence. + +He did not sleep any more that night, but sat up, watching and +listening. It was pitchy dark, but he heard the roar of distant and new +streams, and the sliding avalanches of sodden snow. He felt an awe of +the elements, but he was not lonely now, nor was he afraid. That which +he wished was coming, though with more violence and suddenness than he +liked, but one must take the gifts of the gods, as they gave them, and +not complain. + +Dawn arrived, thick with vapors and mists, and dark with the pouring +rain. From his place under the cliff he could not see far, but he knew +that the snow was dissolving in floods. The six inches of water in his +valley grew to a foot, and he began to be apprehensive lest the whole +place be deluged to such an extent that he be driven out, a fear that +was soon confirmed, as he saw two or three hours after dawn that he must +go. + +It would be impossible to keep the lower half of his body dry, but he +was thankful once more for the great painted coat, under which he was +able to secure his rifle and powder against rain. He also fastened in +his belt two of the rabbits that he had cooked, and then with the rest +of his baggage in a pack, he made his start. + +He was forced to wade in chilly water almost to his knees, and it was +impossible to leave the valley by either end of the ravine, as it was +filled with a roaring flood many feet deep; but with the aid of bushes +and stony outcrop he climbed the lofty slope, a slow and painful task +attended by danger, as now and then a bush would pull out with his +weight. But, at last, his hands torn, and his face running with +perspiration, he attained the summit, where he turned his face once more +toward the north. + +He decided that he would keep to the ridges as the snow would leave them +first, and he could also find some protection in the dense, scrubby +growth that covered them. + +He never passed a more trying day. The actual danger of Indian presence +even would have been a relief. The rain beat in an unceasing deluge, and +he was hard put to it to keep his rifle and ammunition dry. The sliding +snow made his foothold so treacherous that he was compelled to keep +among the wet and flapping bushes, where he could grasp support on an +instant's notice. + +At noon, though there was no sun to tell him that it had come, he +stopped in a dense thicket and ate one of the rabbits, reflecting rather +grimly that though he had been anxious for the rain to come it was +making him thoroughly uncomfortable. Yet even these clouds covering all +the heavens had at least one strip of silver lining. The harder and more +persistently the rain fell the quicker the snow would be gone, and once +more the wilderness would be fit for travel and habitation. + +When he had eaten the rabbit, although he longed for some other kind of +food, he felt better. He had at least furnished fuel for the engine, +and, bending his head to the storm, he left the thicket and continued +his journey, a journey the end of which he could not foresee, as he +never doubted for an instant that the Indian host was still pursuing. He +left no trail, of course, in such a storm, but the rain could not last +forever, and, when it ceased, some warrior would be sure to pick it up +again. + +When night came he was thoroughly soaked, save for his precious +ammunition, around which he had wrapped his blanket also. Most of the +snow was gone, but pools stood in every depression, and turbid streams +raced in every gully and ravine. Where he had trodden in snow before he +now trod in mud, and every bone in him ached with weariness. Many a man, +making no further effort, would have lain down and died, but it was not +the spirit of Henry. He continually sought shelter and far in the night +crowded himself into the hollow of a huge decayed tree. He was compelled +to stand in a leaning position, but with the aid of the buffalo coat he +managed to protect himself from further inroads of the rain, and by and +by he actually fell asleep. + +The sun was high when he awoke, and he was very stiff and sore from the +awkward manner in which his body had been placed, but the rain had +stopped and for that he was devoutly thankful, although the earth was +sodden from the vast amount of water that had fallen. + +It took him three hours to light a fire, so difficult was it to procure +dry shavings, but, in the end, the task was achieved and it was a +glorious triumph. Once more fire was king and he basked in it, drying +his body and his wet clothing thoroughly, and lingering beside it all +the afternoon. But at night he put it out reluctantly, since the +warriors were sure to be abroad now, and he could not risk the light or +the smoke. + +He slept under the bushes, but in the morning he saw in the south smoke +answering to smoke, and he did not doubt that it was detachments of the +Indian host signaling to one another. Perhaps they had come upon his +trail, and it was sure, if they had not done so, that they would soon +find it. Watching the signals a little while, he turned and fled once +more into the north. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE LEAPING WOLF + + +Henry came presently into lower ground, where he judged the snowfall had +not been so great, as the amount of standing water was much less and the +streams were not so swollen. The air, too, was decidedly warmer, and +while the forest had been stripped of all its leaves, it did not look so +gloomy. A brilliant sun came out, flooded trees and bushes with light, +and gave to the earth an appearance of youth and vitality that it has so +often and so peculiarly in autumn, although that is the period of decay. +He felt its tonic thrill, and when he came to a clear creek he decided +that he would put himself in tune with the purity and clearness of the +world about him. + +He had lain so long in his clothes that he felt he must have the touch +of clean water upon him, and, daring everything, he put his arms aside, +removed his clothing and plunged into the creek. It made him shiver and +gasp at first, but he kicked and dived and swam so hard that presently +warmth returned to his veins, and with it a wonderful increase of +spirits. + +When he came out he washed his clothing as well as deerskin could be +washed, and, wrapped in the blanket and painted coat, ran up and down +the bank, or otherwise exercised himself vigorously, while it dried in +the bright sun. It was a matter of hours, but it pleased him to feel +that he was purified again and that he could carry out the purification +in the very face of Indian pursuit itself. When he put on his clothing +again he felt remade and reinvigorated in both body and mind, and, +resuming his weapons, he set out once more upon his northward way. + +The day continued warm and most brilliant, as if atonement were being +made to him for the storms of snow and rain. He came to a stretch of +country in which it was obvious that very little snow, if any, had +fallen, as the trees were still thick with leaves in the deep colors of +autumn, and it was satisfying to the eye to look upon the red glow +again. + +Late in the afternoon he saw five smokes in a half curve to the south, +and he knew well enough that they were made by his pursuers. They were +much nearer than those he had seen earlier in the day, but it was due to +the long delay made necessary by his swim and the drying of his clothes. +The rapid gain did not make him feel any particular apprehension. The +joy of the struggle came over him. He was matched against the whole +power of the Shawnee, Miami and kindred nations, and if they thought +they could catch him, well, let them keep on trying. They should bear in +mind, too, that the hunted sometimes would turn and rend the hunter. + +In order to gain once more upon the pursuit and give himself a chance to +rest later on, he increased his speed greatly and also took precautions +to hide his trail, which was not difficult where there were so many +little streams. When he stopped about midnight he believed that he was +at least ten or twelve miles ahead of the nearest warriors, who must +have lost a great deal of time looking for his traces; and, secure in +the belief, he crept into a thicket, drew about him the blanket and the +buffalo robe, which were now sufficient, and slept soundly until he was +awakened by the howling of wolves. He was quite able to tell the +difference between the voices of real wolves and the imitation of the +Indians, and he knew that these were real. + +He raised up a little and listened. The long, whining yelp came again +and again, and he was somewhat surprised. He concluded at last that the +wolves, driven hard by hunger, were hunting assiduously in large packs. +When mad for food they would attack man, but Henry anticipated no +danger. He felt himself too good a friend of the animals just then to be +molested by any of them, and he went back to sleep. + +When he awoke again just before dawn he heard the wolves still howling, +but much nearer, and he thought it possible that they had been driven +ahead by the Indian forces. If so, it betokened a pursuit rather swifter +than he had expected, and, girding himself afresh, he fled once more +before the sun was fairly up. + +It was the usual rolling country that lies immediately south of the +Great Lakes, forested heavily then and cut by innumerable streams, great +and small. The creeks and brooks were not swollen as much as those +farther south, and Henry judged from the fact that here also the +snowstorm had not passed. Nevertheless, he crossed many muddy reaches +and he was compelled to ford two or three creeks the water of which +reached to his knees. But his moccasins and leggings dried again as he +ran on, and he was not troubled greatly by the cold. + +It was a country that should abound in game, but no deer started up from +his path, no wild turkeys gobbled among the boughs, and the little +prairies that he crossed were bare of buffaloes. He assumed at once that +it had been hunted over so thoroughly by the Indians that the surviving +game had moved on. When the warriors found a new hunting ground it would +come back and increase. He believed now that this accounted for the +howling of the wolves deprived of their food supply and perhaps not yet +finding where it had gone. + +He maintained a rapid pace, and his wet leggings and moccasins dried +gradually. The morning was frosty and cold, but wonderfully brilliant +with sunlight, and here, where the forest had been free from snow, it +glowed in autumnal colors. + +He came to a deep river, but fortunately it flowed toward the northeast, +the direction in which he was willing to go, and he was glad to find it, +as he kept in the woods near its bank, thus protecting his left flank +from any encircling movement. But a strong wind was blowing toward him +and he not only heard the howling of the wolves, but the faint cry of +the savages far behind them. It made him very thoughtful. Something +unusual was going forward, since the wolves themselves were taking part +in the pursuit or were pursued also. He could not understand it, but he +resolved to dismiss it from his mind until it disclosed its own meaning. + +He kept near the river, seeing it occasionally through the forest on his +left, a fine sheet of clear water, over which wild ducks and wild geese +flew, although the woods through which he ran seemed to be absolutely +bare of game. + +Then the river took a sudden curve farther east and he was compelled to +turn with it. On his first impulse the thought of swimming the stream +came to him, but he dismissed it, lest some swift warrior might come up +and open fire while he was in the water, in which case, being +practically helpless, he might become an easy victim. So he turned with +the stream and, keeping its bank close on his left, he fled eastward. +But he was fully aware that the change in the course of the river +brought to him a new and great danger. The right wing of the pursuing +host, traveling not much more than half the distance, would gain upon +him very fast. Anxious not to be entrapped in such a manner he ran now +at great speed for several miles, but was compelled then to slow down, +owing to the nature of the country, which was growing very marshy. + +Evidently heavy rains had fallen in this region recently, as he came to +extensive flooded areas. It annoyed him, too, that the soft ground +compelled him to leave so plain a trail, as often for considerable +stretches he sank over his moccasins at every step. He walked on fallen +timber whenever he could find it, making a break now and then in his +trail, but he knew it would not delay the Indians long. + +In order to save his breath and strength he was compelled to go yet +slower, and finally he sat on a log for a rest of five minutes. Then the +wind brought him a single Indian shout, not more than a quarter of a +mile away, and he knew its meaning. The warriors on the right flank, +coming up on a tangent of the curve, had seen his footsteps. They had +not run more than half the distance he had and so must be comparatively +fresh. His danger had increased greatly, but his command over himself +was so complete that, instead of resting five minutes, he rested ten. He +knew now that he would need all his strength, all the power of his +lungs, because the chase had closed in and for a while it would be a +test of speed. So he rested that every muscle might have its original +strength, and he was willing for the Indians to come almost within rifle +shot before he took to flight once more. + +So strong was the command of his mind over his body that he saw two +warriors appear among the trees about four hundred yards away before he +rose. They saw him, too, and uttered the war whoop of triumph, but +Henry was refreshed and he ran so fast that they sank out of sight +behind him. Then he exulted, taunting them, not in words, but with his +thoughts. They could never capture him, and once more he said to himself +that he would keep on, even if his flight took him to the Great Lakes +and beyond. + +But the swampy ground intervened again, and his progress of necessity +became slow. Then he heard the Indian yell once more, and he knew that +the difficult country was enabling them to close up the gap anew. The +wolves howled also, but more toward the south, a far, faint, ferocious +sound that traveled on the wind like an echo. He did not understand it, +and he had a premonition that something extraordinary was going to +happen. It was curious, uncanny, and the hair on the back of his neck +lifted a little. + +He came through the swampy belt and to a considerable stretch of dry +ground, but he heard the Indian yell for a third time, and again not +more than a quarter of a mile away. The fact that this portion of the +band had not run that day more than half as far as he was telling, and +he recognized it. Perhaps the swamps had not been to his disadvantage, +because on the dry ground they could use their reserves of strength and +speed to much greater advantage. + +Now he knew that his danger had become imminent and deadly and that +every resource within him would be tested to the utmost. Out of the +south came the Indian cry also, and it was answered triumphantly from +the west. A shudder ran through Henry's blood. He was in the trap. The +Indians knew it and they were signaling the truth to one another. + +Now he made a great burst of speed, resolving to be well beyond their +reach before the jaws of the vise closed in, and, as he ran, he longed +to hear the howl of the wolves once more, a sound that he had used to +hate always, but which would come now almost like the call of a friend. +While he was wishing for it, the long whine rose, toward the south also, +but a little ahead of the Indian cry. As before it was strange, uncanny, +and a second time the hair on the back of his neck lifted a little. +Evidently the wolves--instinct told him they were a great pack--were +running parallel with the Indians, but for what purpose he could not +surmise, unless it was the hope of food abandoned by the warriors. + +His own feet grew heavy, and he heard the triumphant shouts of the +Indians only a few hundred yards away. He was powerful, more powerful +than any of them, but he could not run twice as long as these lean, wiry +and trained children of the forest. His muscles began to complain. He +had been putting them to the severest of tests, and the effect was now +cumulative. A brown figure appeared among the bushes behind him and he +heard the report of a shot. A bullet cut the dead leaves ten yards away, +but he knew that the warriors would soon come nearer and then their aim +would be better. + +Now he called upon the last reserve of strength and tenacity, the +portion that is left to the brave when to ordinary minds all seems +exhausted, and made a final and splendid burst of speed, drawing away +from the brown figures and once more opening the gap between hunted and +hunters. But the shout came again from the south and on his right flank +where fresh warriors were closing in, and despite himself his heart sank +for a moment or two in despair. Was he to fall after so many escapes? +How Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe would rejoice! + +Despair could not last long with him. There was still another ounce of +strength left, and now he used it, fairly springing through the thicket, +while his heart beat hard and painfully and clouds of black motes danced +before his eyes. + +He saw a warrior appear among the bushes on the right, and, raising his +own rifle, he fired. The stream of flame that leaped from the muzzle of +his weapon was accompanied by the death cry of the savage, followed +quickly by a long, fierce yell of rage from the fallen man's comrades. + +Then the pursuit hung back a little, but it came on again soon, as +terrible and as tenacious as ever. He reloaded his rifle as he ran, but +he knew that unless some strange chance intervened soon he must turn and +fight for his life. The ground dropped suddenly and he ran down a steep +slope into a wide valley, the trend of which was from north to south. +Here he gained a little, but he heard a shout on his right and saw three +warriors coming up the valley, not thirty yards away. At the same time, +the long, fierce whine of the wolves was registered somewhere on his +brain, but he did not take definite note of it until afterward. + +The foremost of the Indians fired and missed, to receive in return the +bullet from Henry's reloaded rifle, but the other two came on, shouting. +He hurled his hatchet and struck down the second, but the third paused +twenty feet away and whirled his tomahawk about his head in glittering +circles. Henry instinctively raised his rifle to ward off the blade in +its flight, but he knew that the guard would not do. The tomahawk would +leave the warrior's hand like a thunderbolt, and it would go straight to +its destined mark. He saw the evil joy in the man's eyes, his +anticipation of quick and savage victory, and then the cloud of motes +before his own eyes increased to myriads. His heart, crying out against +so much exertion, beat so painfully that he thought he could not stand +it any longer, and a veil of thick mist was drawn down between him and +the triumphant warrior. Then he suddenly stood erect and the hair upon +his head lifted once more. + +There was a horrible growl and a gigantic wolf, shooting out of the +mist, launched himself straight at the warrior's throat. Henry heard the +man's terrible cry and saw him go down, and then he saw the figures of +other wolves, enlarged by the vapors, following their leader. But that +was all he beheld then. Uttering a cry of his own, wrenched from him by +the appalling sight, he snatched up his hatchet, turned and ran up +the valley, with strength coming from new and unknown sources. + +[Illustration: "A gigantic wolf ... launched himself straight at the +warrior's throat"] + +The heavy mists that were floating over the low ground enclosed Henry, +but he did not look back. He knew instinctively that he was no longer +followed. Once he thought he heard the horrible growling again, and +shouts, but he was not sure. Too much had impinged upon his mind for him +to distinguish between fancy and reality yet awhile, but a powerful +feeling that another miracle had been wrought in his behalf seized upon +him and would not let go. The wolves, whether it was chance or not so +far as they were concerned, had come in time and their giant leader +himself had cut down the warrior who was about to cleave the fugitive's +head with his tomahawk. + +The Indians would stop, appalled, and for a while would be overwhelmed +with superstition. But he knew that the paralyzing spell could not last +long. Blackstaffe and Wyatt at least would urge them on, and it was for +him to use the time that had been granted to him by miraculous chance. + +When exhaustion came he had will enough to stop again and remain quite +still until the fierce pains in his chest ceased and there was air for +his lungs once more. He was sure of a quarter of an hour, and a forest +runner such as he could do wonders in that space. A quarter of an hour +meant for him the difference between life and death, and although his +feet strove of their own accord to go on, his mind held them back at +least twothirds of the time. Then he allowed his body to have its way, +and he went down the valley not at a run, but a prudent walk, in order +to give his lungs, heart and muscles a chance for further recovery. + +The valley seemed to be about a quarter of a mile wide, heavily +forested, and with a small creek flowing down the center. The hills that +walled it in on either side were high and steep, and Henry thought it +would be wiser to take to them, but, for the present, he did not feel +like making the climb. He was not willing to put any check upon the new +store of strength that was flooding his veins. + +Ten minutes more and he heard a fierce whoop behind him. The Indians +evidently had driven off the wolves, and, under the insistence of the +renegades, would renew the pursuit. Another momentary sinking of his +heart came. The numbers of the warriors, who could spread out in every +direction, many of whom were yet comparatively fresh, were an obstacle +that he could not overcome. The wolves had brought delay, but not +escape. + +Then his courage came back, not slowly or gradually, but like a leaping +tide. He had seen only half of the new miracle. While he thought it +finished, the other half was coming, was upon hunted and hunters even +now. The veil of mist that had floated between him and the wolf and its +victim was spreading up and down the valley, rising from the wet ground, +dense and heavy, opaque like ink, despite its whiteness. Presently the +great whitish cloud would enclose him and the warriors, hiding them +from one another, and it would be strange if he could not escape them in +the white gloom, where only ears served. + +Turning his eyes upward to the skies that he could not now see, he gave +thanks to the superior powers that were guarding him so well. Then he +turned at a sharp angle, crossed the creek, and began to climb the hills +on the east. + +All the time the fog, thick and white, was pouring over the valley and +the slopes. Half way up the hill Henry paused and looked back, seeing +nothing but a vast white gulf. Then he heard the warriors in the gulf +calling to one another, and now the spirit to laugh at them came back to +him. They did not know that he was protected by a force greater than +theirs that snatched him again and again from the savage band before it +could close upon him. + +He sat down among the bushes and continued to look at the valley, which +reminded him now of a vast white river, all of it flowing northward, +with the signals of the warriors still coming out of its depths, puzzled +evidently, as they had a good right to be. Although they were only a few +hundred yards away, Henry felt that there was little danger. The miracle +was continuing. The great white flood poured steadily down the valley +and rose higher and higher on the slopes. He went to the top of the +hill, where it followed him and spread over the forest. + +When he found a comfortable place in a thicket he lay down and drew +around him the painted robe that had served him so often and so well. +He knew the warriors would ascend the slopes, but the chances were a +thousand to one against their finding him in so dense a mist, and the +longer he rested the better fitted he would be for flight. Meanwhile the +fog increased in thickness, rolling up continually in dense masses, and +he inferred that he could not be far from some large stream or a lake or +great flooded areas. Perhaps the creek that flowed down the valley +emptied not far away into a river. + +If he had not been so worn by the tremendous tests to which he had been +put he would have gone on, despite everything, in the fog over the +hills, but instead he lay close like an animal in its lair, adjusted +anew about him the blanket and the painted coat and luxuriated. At +intervals he heard the warriors calling in the valley, and once the +sound of footsteps not more than twenty yards away reached him, but he +was not disturbed. The chance that they would stumble upon him was still +only one in a thousand. + +He remained at least four hours in the bushes, and throughout that time +he scarcely moved, having acquired the forest art of keeping perfectly +still when there was nothing to be done. Then he saw the fog thinning +somewhat, but he was completely restored. Youth had its way. His nerves +and muscles were as strong as ever, and the great mental elation had +returned. Why not? It was obvious that he was protected by the supreme +powers. Miracle after miracle had occurred in his behalf. They had sent +the wolves just in time, and then they had drawn the fog from the earth, +hiding him from the warriors and giving him a covert in which he could +lie until his strength was restored. + +He rose now and began his cautious passage through the white veil over +the hills. The fog was not lifting yet, but it was continuing to thin. +He could see in it ten or fifteen feet, and he was not sorry, as the +distance was enough for the choosing of a path, but not enough for the +warriors to come within sight of him before they were heard. + +Twice, the sounds of the searching warriors came to him, but each time +he lay in the bush until they passed, when he would rise and continue +his judicious flight. + +Near the close of the day, and going toward the northeast, he was far +from the valley, but obviously was coming to another, as the hills were +sinking fast and he saw the tops of trees below him. The fog had been +thinning until it was mere wisps and tatters, and now a smart wind +seizing all these remnants whirled them off to the east, leaving a +glorious clear sky, suffused in the west with the red and gold of the +setting sun, a deep brilliant light that touched the whole horizon with +fire. + +Henry looked upon it and worshiped. He worshiped like a forest runner +and a man of the old, old time, when nothing of heaven or of religion +was revealed. He worshiped like an Indian to whom, as to many other +races, the sun was a symbol of warmth, of light and life, almost the +same as Manitou, that is to say, almost the same as God. Nor did he +forget to be grateful once more. It was not for any merit of his that +protection had been given to him so often, but because he was an +instrument in a good purpose. So thinking, he was full of humility and +meant to continue in the perilous path that he had chosen, the path of +service for others. + +The spiritual quality was strong in Henry's nature; in truth, it was +rooted in the characters of all the five, although it differed in its +manifestations, and he gazed long at the western heavens, where the +splendid colors of the setting sun blazed in their deepest hues and then +faded, leaving only a warm glow behind. The night, as the forecast +already showed, would be clear and cold, and he descended into the new +valley, which was much wider than the one he had left. It was +comparatively free of undergrowth, and he saw through the trees the +gleam of water which proved to be a river on his right, and of fair +size. + +He believed that the larger valley would receive the smaller one and its +draining creek not far ahead, and a new problem was presented. Unless he +swam the river and kept to the east the warriors would come on anew from +the west and pin him against the stream. + +Should he plunge into the cold waters? It was not a prospect that he +liked; but, while he considered it, he became aware that the miracle +created in his behalf was not yet finished. He had thought that it was +done when the wolves intervened, and again that it was done when the +great fog came, but there was yet another link in the lengthening chain +of marvelous events. + +A sound from the river and he stepped hastily to the shelter of a great +tree trunk. It was the plash of a paddle, and as he looked, peeping from +the side of the trunk, a warrior stepped from a canoe at the river's +brink and took a long look at the forest. Henry judged that he was an +outpost or sentinel of some kind, or perhaps a member of a provision +fleet. The man tied his canoe with a willow withe to a sapling and +strode away out of sight, doubtless intending to meet the band to which +he belonged. Henry's heart leaped. He was always quick to perceive and +to act, and he saw his opportunity. + +Twenty swift steps and he was at the margin of the stream, one slash of +his knife and the willow withe was cut, one sweep of the paddle and the +stout canoe was far out in the stream, bearing with it the brave youth +and his fortunes. + +Henry exulted. Truly chance--or was it chance?--served him well! He had +a singular feeling that the canoe had been put there especially for his +use. No more running through the forest. He could call a new set of +muscles into play, and there before him lay the stream, broad and deep +and straight, a clear path for the good canoe that he had made his own. + +He did not allow his exultation to steal away his caution, but after the +first few sweeps of the paddle he sent the canoe close to the eastern +bank, under the shadow of vast masses of overhanging willows. Here it +blended with the dusk, and he handled the paddle so smoothly that he +made no splash to betray his presence. + +Now he examined his canoe, and he saw that, in truth, it bore supplies +for a band, venison, buffalo meat, wild turkey, and, what he craved most +of all, bread of Indian corn. The supplies were sufficient to last him +two weeks at least, and he felt with all the power of conviction that +the miracle was still working. + +He sped down the stream with long, silent strokes, keeping always in the +dusk of the overhanging foliage. The stars came out, and with them a +full, bright moon, which he also worshiped as a sign and an emblem of +the Supreme Will that had saved him. He fell into an intense mood of +exaltation. The powers of earth and air and water had worked together in +a singular manner. Never was his fancy more vivid. The flowing of the +stream sang to him, and the willows over his head sang to him also. The +light from the moon and stars grew. The dusk was shot with a silver +glow. Apprehension, weariness went from him, and he shot down the river, +mile after mile, apparently the only figure in the ancient wilderness. + +He did not stop until two or three hours after midnight, when at a low +place in the bank he thrust the canoe into a dense mass of water weeds +and bushes, put the paddle beside him and ate freely of the captured +supplies. The venison and buffalo meat were excellent, and while the +water of the river was not as good as that of a spring, it was +nevertheless cold and refreshing. Fresh warmth and vigor flowed into +his body, and he declared to himself that he had never felt better and +stronger in his life. He looked with satisfaction at his stores, which +would last him so long, and he also saw in the canoe a folded green +blanket, which its owner evidently had left there for future use. He +would use it instead, since the cold was likely to increase and he meant +to be comfortable. + +Henry considered the canoe a godsend. It left no trail, and he had been +careful to leave none when he came to the bank for its capture. Perhaps +the Indian would think he had tied it carelessly and the current had +pulled its fastenings loose. In any event, the fugitive was gone and his +pathway was invisible, like that of a bird in the air. He looked up once +more at the cold, blue sky, the brilliant full moon, and the hosts of +shining stars. Cold the sky might be to others, but it was not so to +him. It bent over him like a protecting blue veil, shot with the silver +glow of moon and stars. + +The thicket into which he had pushed his canoe was of weeds, reeds and +willows, and very dense. The keenest eyes might search its very edge and +fail to see the fugitive within. There was no view except overhead, and +Henry resolved to remain there the whole of the next day. If the +warriors came pursuing on the river he would be once again the needle in +the haystack, and even if by some chance they should spy him out, he +could escape, refreshed and invigorated, to the land. + +Assured of his present safety, he spread his bed in the canoe, a +somewhat difficult task, as everything had to be adjusted with nicety, +but the close wall of reeds and bushes helped him to keep the balance, +and at last he lay on the bottom with the Indian's blanket under him and +his own and the painted robe above him. Then he went to sleep and did +not awaken until the next day was hours old. + +A bright sun was shining through the bushes over his head, but he was +glad that his body had been protected by an abundance of covers. The +painted robe was white with frost, which even the hours of day had not +yet melted, and near the edges there was a thin skin of ice on the +river. His breath made little clouds of vapor in the cold morning. He +was so warm and snug under the blankets that he felt the usual aversion +in such cases to rising, and turning gently on his side, lest he tilt +the canoe, he closed his eyes for that aftermath of sleep, a final and +pleasant doze. + +When he opened his eyes again he contemplated the sun through the veil +of bushes and reeds. It was great and red, but it had a chilly effect, +and he knew the day was quite cold. The willows began to shake and +quiver and the wind that stirred them was nipping. He did not care. Cold +stimulated him, and, making ready for new endeavors, he dipped for his +breakfast into the captured stores. + +Then he took note of the river, upon the surface of which much life was +already passing. He saw a flock of wild ducks swimming strong and true +against the current, and when they were gone a swarm of wild geese came +with many honks out of the air and swam in the same direction. He knew +that presently they would rise again and fly into the far south, +escaping the fierce winter of the north. + +The great fishing birds also wheeled and circled over the stream, and +now and then one shot downward for its prey. On the opposite shore two +deer pushed their bodies through the bushes and drank at the river's +edge. On his own shore the puffing of a bear in the woods came to his +ears. Evidently he had come from a region bare of game into a land of +plenty. + +The wild geese rose with a suddenness he had not anticipated and sped +southward in a long arrow, outlined sharply against the sky. The great +fishing birds silently disappeared, and Henry was alone on the river. He +knew that the quick flight of his feathered friends was not due to +chance. Undoubtedly man was coming, and he crouched low in his canoe, +with his rifle ready. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE WATCHFUL SQUIRREL + + +Henry saw about what he expected to see, two long canoes, containing a +dozen or more warriors each, with the Shawnee chief, Red Eagle, and +Braxton Wyatt in the first and Yellow Panther, the Miami chief, and +Blackstaffe in the second. Chiefs and renegades and warriors alike swept +the shore with questing eyes, but they did not see the one for whom they +had looked so long lying so near, and yet hidden so well among the +reeds. + +He watched them without apprehension. He had full confidence in the veil +about him, and he expected them to pass on in the relentless hunt. They, +too, looked worn, and he fancied that the eyes of chiefs and renegades +expressed disappointment and deep anger. Nobody in the long canoes +spoke, and, silent save for the plashing of the paddles they went on and +out of sight. + +Henry might have taken to the woods now, but he was too wary. He wished +to remain on the element that left no trail, and he felt also that he +had walked and run long enough. He intended to travel now chiefly with +the strength of his arms, and the longer he stayed in the canoe the +better he liked it. Its store of provisions was fine, and it was easier +to carry them in it than on his back. So he waited with the patience +that every true forest runner has, and saw the morning merge into the +afternoon. + +It was almost evening when the long canoes came back, passing his +covert. They had found the quest vain, and concluding, doubtless, that +they had gone too far, were returning to look elsewhere. But the +paddlers were weary, and the chiefs and renegades, too, drooped +somewhat. They did not show their usual alertness of eye as they came +back against the stream, and Henry judged that the pursuit would lapse +in energy, while they went ashore in search of warmth and food. + +A half hour after they were out of sight he came from the weeds, and, +with great sweeps of the paddle, sent the canoe shooting down the river. +He was so fresh and strong now that he felt as if he could go on +forever, and all through the night his powerful arms drove him toward +his unknown goal. He noticed that the river was broadening and the banks +were low, sometimes sandy, and he fancied that he was approaching its +outlet in one of the Great Lakes. And the chase had led so far! Nor was +it yet finished! The chiefs and the renegades, not finding him farther +back, would reorganize the pursuit and follow again. + +Day came bright and warm, much warmer than it had been farther south, +and Henry paddled until evening although he found the heat oppressive. +Paddling a full day and part of a night was a great task for anybody and +he grew weary again. When the night came, seeing no reeds and bushes in +which he could hide the canoe, he resolved to sleep on land. So he +lifted it from the river and carried it a short distance inland, where +he put it down in a thicket, choosing a resting place for himself not +far away. + +He spread one of the blankets as usual on dead leaves, and put the other +and the painted coat over himself. Then, knowing that he would be warm +and snug for the night, he relaxed and looked idly at the dusky woods, +feeling perfectly safe as the warriors must be far to the south. + +The only living being he saw was a gray squirrel on the trunk of a tree +about twenty feet away. But he was a friend of the squirrel, and he +regarded it with friendly eyes, noting the sharpness of its claws, the +bushiness of its tail, and the alertness of its keen little nose. It was +an uncommon squirrel, endowed with great curiosity, and perception, a +leader in its tribe, and it was intensely interested in the large, still +body lying on the leaves below. + +The squirrel came farther down the tree, and stared intently at Henry, +uncertain whether he was a friend or a foe. Yet he had all the aspect of +a friend. There was no hostile movement, and the bold and inquiring +fellow ventured another foot closer. Then he scuttled in alarm ten feet +back up the trunk, as the figure raised a hand, and threw something +small that fell at the foot of the tree. + +But as the human being did not move again, the courage and curiosity of +this uncommonly bold and inquiring squirrel returned, and, gradually +creeping down the tree, he inspected the small object that had fallen +there. It smelled good, and when he nibbled at it it tasted good. Then +he ate it all, went back up the bark a little distance and waited +gratefully for more of the same. Presently it came, and he ate that bit, +too, and after a while a third. Then the human figure threw him no more +such fine food, but went to sleep. + +The squirrel knew he was asleep, because he left the tree, walked +cautiously over the ground, and stood with his ears cocked up, scarcely +a yard from the vast, still figure that breathed so deeply and with such +regularity. He had seen gigantic beings before. From the safety of his +boughs he had looked upon those mountains, the buffaloes, and he had +often seen the stag in the forest. Mere size did not terrify him, and +now he did not feel in the least afraid. On the contrary, this was his +friend who had fed him, and he regarded him with benevolence. + +The squirrel went back up the tree, his claws pattering lightly on the +bark. He had a fine knot hole high up the trunk, and his family were +sound asleep in it, surrounded by a great store of nuts. There was a +warm place for him, the head of the family, but he could not stay in it. +After a while he was compelled to go out again, and look at the +unconscious human figure. + +Emboldened by his first experience which had been so free from ill +result, he descended upon the ground a second time and went toward +Henry. But in an instant he turned back again. His keen little ears had +heard something moving in the forest and it was not any small animal +like himself, but a large body, several of them in fact. He ran up the +tree, and then far out on a bough where he could see. + +Five Indian warriors walking in single file were approaching. They were +part of an outlying band, not perhaps looking for Henry, but, if they +continued on their course, they would be sure to see him. The squirrel +regarded them for a moment with little red eyes, and then ran back to +the trunk of the tree. + +Henry, meanwhile, slept soundly. There was nothing to disturb him. The +wind did not blow and so the dry branches of the forest did not rustle. +The footsteps of the approaching Indians made no noise, yet in a few +more moments he ceased to sleep so well. A sound penetrated at last to +his ear and he sat up. It was the chattering of the gray squirrel, and +the rattling of his claws on the dry bark of the tree, his bushy tail +curving far over his back, and his whole body seeming to be shaken by +violent convulsions. Henry stared at him, thinking at first that he was +threatened by some carnivorous prowler of the air, but, as he looked +away, he caught a glimpse through the bushes of a moving brown figure +and then of another and more. + +Henry Ware never struck camp with more smoothness and celerity. One hand +swept up his blankets and the painted robe, another grasped his rifle, +and, as silent as a night bird itself, he vanished into the deeper +thicket where the canoe lay. There, crouched beside it, he watched while +the warriors passed. They would certainly have seen his body had it been +lying where it had been, but they were not near enough to notice his +traces, and they had no cause to suspect his presence. So, the silent +file passed on, and disappeared in the deep woods. + +Henry stood up, and once more he felt a great access of wonder and +gratitude. The superior powers were surely protecting him, and were even +watching over him while he slept. He walked back a little and looked at +the tree, on which the gray squirrel had chattered and rattled his +claws. He thought he caught a glimpse of a bushy tail among the boughs, +but he was not sure. In any event, he bore in mind that while great +animals had served him, the little ones, too, had given help as good. +Then he bore the canoe back to the river, put in it all his precious +possessions, and continued his flight by water. + +There was a chance that warriors might see him from the banks, since he +had proof of their presence in the woods, but relying upon his skill and +the favors of fortune, he was willing to take the risk. He had an idea, +too, that he would soon come to the lake, and he meant to hide among the +dense thickets and forests, sure to line its low shores. + +His surmise was right, as some time before noon the river widened +abruptly, and a half hour later he came out on the border of a vast +lake, stretching blue to the horizon and beyond. A strong wind blowing +over the great expanse of water came sharp and cold, but to Henry, +naturally so strong and warmed by his exertions, it furnished only +exhilaration. He felt that now the great flight and chase had come to an +end. He could not cross this mighty inland sea in his light canoe, and +doubtless the chiefs and the renegades, unable to follow his trail by +water, where he left no trail at all, would give up at last, and hope +for more success another time. + +So believing, and confident in his belief, he looked around for a +temporary home, and marked a low island lying out about five miles from +the shore. The five had found good refuge on an island once before, and +he alone might do it again, and lie hidden there, until all danger from +the great hunt had passed. + +He acted with his usual boldness and decision, and paddled with a strong +arm toward the island which seemed to be about a mile each way and was a +mass of dense forest. His canoe rocked on the waves, which were running +high before the wind, but he came without mishap to the island, and, +pushing his canoe through thickets of reeds and willows, landed. + +Leaving the canoe well hidden, he examined the island and was well +pleased with it, as it seemed to be suited admirably to his purpose. The +forest was unbroken and very dense. Probably human beings never came +there, as the game seemed very tame. Two or three deer looked at him +with mild, inquiring eyes before they moved slowly away, and he saw +where wild turkey roosted in numbers at night. + +In the center of the island was a small dip, where only bushes grew, and +he decided that he would make his camp there, as the great height of the +trees surrounding it would hide the smoke that might arise from his +subdued campfire. But he did no work that day, as he wished to be sure +that his passage to the island had not been observed by any wandering +warriors on the mainland. There was no sign of pursuit, and he knew now +that fortune had favored him again. + +He slept the night through in the canoe, and the next morning he set to +work with his hatchet to make a bush shelter for himself, a task that +took two days and which he finished just in time, as a fierce wind with +hail swept over the island and the lake. He had removed all his supplies +from the canoe to the hut, and, wrapped in the painted robe, he watched +hail and wind beat upon the surface of the lake, until it drove in high +waves like the sea. There was no danger of warriors trying the passage +to the island in such weather, and his look was that of a spectator not +that of a sentinel. The great nervous strain of the long flight, and its +many and deadly perils, had passed, and he found a pleasure in watching +the turmoil of the elements. + +The old feeling that he belonged for the time to a far, far distant past +returned. He was alone on his island, as many a remote ancestor of his +must have been alone in the forest in his day, and yet he felt not the +least trace of loneliness or fear. Everything was wild, primeval and +grand to the last degree. The huge lake, curving up from the horizon, +had turned from blue to lead, save where the swift waves were crested +with white. The hail beat on the trees and bushes like myriads of +bullets, and the wind came with a high, shrill scream. The mainland was +lost in the mist and clouds, and he was not only alone on his island, +but alone in his world, and separated from his foes by tumbling and +impassable waters. + +Henry's mind was in tune with the storm. He looked upon it as a +celebration of his triumph, the end of the flight and the chase, a +flight that had been successful for him, a chase that had been +unsuccessful for the chiefs and the renegades, and the blood merely +flowed more swiftly in his veins, as the hail beat upon him. He did not +care how long wind and hail lasted; the longer the better for him, and, +flinging out his hands, he waved a salute to the storm god. + +He remained for hours looking upon the great spectacle, that pleased him +so much, and then kept dry by the huge painted coat, he went back to the +brush hut. But night only and the necessity to sleep could have sent him +there. He did not yet light a fire, contenting himself with the cold +food from the canoe, nor did he do so the next day, as the storm was +still raging. When it ceased on the third day all the trees and bushes +were coated with ice, and he was a dweller in the midst of a silver +forest. Then, with much difficulty he lighted a small fire before the +hut, warmed over some venison and a little of the precious bread. He +would not have to kill any game for a week or ten days and he was glad +that it was so, since he was still averse to slaying any member of the +kingdom of the animals that had befriended him so much. + +The peace of the elements lasted only a few hours. Then they were in a +more terrible turmoil than ever. The wind whistled and shrieked, and the +snow came down, driven here and there in whirling gusts, while the lake +roared and thundered beneath the drive of the hurricane. Although there +were lulls at times, yet as a whole the storm lasted a whole week, and +it was remembered long by the Indians living in those northern regions +as the week of the great storm, unexampled in its length and ferocity. + +But Henry found nothing in it to frighten him. Rather, the greater +powers were still watching over him, and it was sent for his protection. +His own bold and wild spirit remained in tune with it at all times. The +brush hut was warm and snug and it held fast against wind, hail and +snow. Now and then he lighted the fire anew to warm over his food or +merely to see the bright blaze. + +At the end of the week he shot a deer among a herd that had found +shelter in extremely deep woods at the north end of the island, and +never did he do a deed more reluctantly. But it gave an abundance of +fresh food, which he now needed badly, and he added to his stores two +wild turkeys. + +When the storm ceased entirely a very deep snow fell, and he put off his +intention to leave. He expected to use the canoe, but he might be +forced to leave it, and, traveling in the woods with the snow above a +man's knees, would be too hard. So he waited patiently, and made his +little home as comfortable as he could. + +In another week the snow began to melt fast, and he set forth on his +great return journey. The canoe was well supplied with provisions and +the lake was quiet. He paddled for the mouth of the river, and, when he +passed within the stream, the whole country looked so wintry that he +believed the Indians must have gone to their villages for warmth and +shelter. Firm in his opinion he paddled boldly against the current and +took his course southward, though he did not relax his caution, as the +Indians often sent out parties of hunters, despite cold or storm. They +were not a forehanded people, and the plenty of summer was no guard +against the scarcity of winter. They must find game or die, and Henry +had very little real fear of anything except these questing bands. + +But he paddled on all the day without interruption. The dense forest on +either shore was white and silent, and, when night came, he drew the +canoe into the bushes, making his camp on land. The temperature had +taken a great fall in the afternoon, and with the dark intense cold had +come. The mercury went far below zero and the bitter wind that blew bit +through the painted coat and all his clothing clean into the bone. It +was so intense that he resolved to risk everything and build a fire. + +He managed to set a heap of dead wood burning in the lee of a hill, and +he fed the fire for a long time, at last letting it die down into a +great mass of coals that threw out heat like a furnace. Over this he +hovered and felt the cold which had clutched him like a paralysis +leaving his body. Then he wrapped the two blankets around the painted +coat and slept in fair comfort till morning, sure that the intense cold +would prevent any movement of the Indians in the forest. + +But the dawn disclosed a river frozen over to the depth of four inches, +and his canoe, which he had taken the precaution to put on land, would +be useless, at least for several days, as the ice could not melt sooner. +Most forest runners, in such a case, would have abandoned the canoe, and +would have gone on through the forest as best they could, but Henry had +learned illimitable patience from the Indians. If the cold put a +paralysis on his movements it did as much for those of the warriors. So +he looked to the preservation of the canoe, and boldly built his fire +anew, eating abundantly of the deer and wild turkey and a little of the +bread, which he husbanded with such care. At night he slept in the canoe +and occasionally he scouted in the country around, although the +traveling was very hard, as the deep snow was covered with a sheet of +ice, and he was compelled to break his way. He saw no Indian trails and +he concluded that the hunting parties even had taken to their tepees, +and would wait until the thaw came. + +His task for the next seven or eight days was to keep warm, and to +preserve his canoe in such manner that it would be water tight when he +set it afloat once more on the river. He built another brush shelter, +very rude, but in a manner serviceable for himself, and with a fire +burning always before it he was able to fend off the fierce chill. The +mercury was fully thirty degrees below zero, but fortunately the wind +did not blow, or it would have been almost unbearable. + +Henry chafed greatly at the long delay, but he endured it as best he +could, and, when the huge thaw came and all the earth ran water, he put +his canoe in the river once more and began to paddle against the flooded +current. It was a delicate task even for one as strong and skillful as +he, as great blocks of ice came floating down and he was compelled to +watch continually lest his light craft be crushed by them. His perpetual +vigilance and incessant struggle against the stream made him so weary +that at the end of the day he lifted the canoe out of the water, crept +into it and slept the sleep of exhaustion. + +The next day was quite warm, and the floating ice in the river having +diminished greatly he resumed his journey without so much apprehension +of dangers from the stream, but with a keen watch for the hunting +parties of warriors which he was sure would be out. Now that the great +snow was gone, Miamis and Shawnees, Wyandots and Ottawas would be +roaming the forest to make up for the lack of food caused by their +customary improvidence. Moreover, it was barely possible that on his +return journey he might run into the host led by Yellow Panther and Red +Eagle. + +He kept close to the bank in the unbroken shadow of the thickets and +forests, and as he paddled with deliberation, saving his strength, a +warm wind began to blow from the south. The last ice disappeared from +the river and late in the afternoon he saw distant smoke which he was +sure came from an Indian camp, most likely hunters. + +It was to the east of the river, and hence he slept that night in the +dense forest to the west, the canoe reposing among the bushes by his +side. The following day was still warmer and seeing several smokes, some +to the east and some to the west, he became convinced that the forest +was now full of warriors. After being shut up a long time in their +villages by the great snow and great cold they would come forth not only +for game, but for the exercise and freedom that the wilderness afforded. +The air of the woods would be very pleasant to them after the close and +smoky lodges. + +Now Henry, who had been living, in a measure an idyll of lake and +forest, became Henry the warrior again, keen, watchful, ready to slay +those who would slay him. He never paddled far before he would turn in +to the bank, and examine the woods and thickets carefully to see whether +an enemy lay there in ambush. If he came to a curve he rounded it slowly +and cautiously, and, at last, when he saw remains from some camp farther +up floating in the stream he seriously considered the question of +abandoning the canoe altogether and of taking to the forest. But his +present mode of traveling was so smooth and easy that he did not like +to go on a winter trail through the woods again. + +The mouth of a smaller and tributary river about a mile farther on +solved the problem for him. The new stream seemed to lead in the general +direction in which he wished to go, and, as it was deep enough for a +canoe, he turned into it and paddled toward the southwest, going about +twenty miles in a narrow and rather deep channel. He stopped then for +the night, and, before dark came, saw several more smokes, but had the +satisfaction to note that they were all to the eastward, seeming to +indicate that he had flanked the bands. + +As usual, he took his canoe out of the water and laid it among the +bushes, finding a similar covert for himself near by, where he ate his +food and rested his arms and shoulders, wearied by their long labors +with the paddle. It was the warmest night since the big freeze, but he +was not very sleepy and after finishing his supper he went somewhat +farther than usual into the woods, not looking for anything in +particular, but partly to exercise his legs which had become somewhat +cramped by his long day in the canoe. But he became very much alive when +he heard a crash which he knew to be that of a falling tree. He leaped +instantly to the shelter of a great trunk and his hand sprang to his +gunlock, but no other sound followed, and he wondered. At first, he had +thought it indicated the presence of warriors, but Indians did not cut +down trees and doubtless it was due to some other cause, perhaps an old, +decayed trunk that had been weighted down by snow, falling through +sheer weariness. In any event he was going to see, and, emerging from +his shelter, he moved forward silently. + +He came to a thicket, and saw just beyond it a wide pool or backwater +formed by a tributary of the creek. In the water, stood a beaver colony, +the round domes of their houses showing like a happy village. It was +evident, however, that they were doing much delayed work for the winter, +as a half dozen stalwart fellows were busy with the tree, the falling +crash of which Henry had just heard, and which they had cut through with +their sharp teeth. + +He crouched in the thicket and, all unsuspected by the industrious +members of the colony, watched them a little while. He did not know just +what building operation they intended, but it must be an after thought. +The beaver was always industrious and full of foresight, and, if they +were adding now to the construction of their town carried out earlier in +the year, it must be due to a prevision that it was going to be a very +cold, long and hard winter. + +Henry watched them at work quite a while, and they furnished him both +amusement and interest. It was a sort of forest idyll. Their energy was +marvelous, and they worked always with method. One huge, gray old fellow +seemed to direct their movements, and Henry soon saw that he was an able +master who tolerated neither impudence nor trifling. In his town +everybody had not only to work, but to work when, where and how the +leader directed. It gave the hidden forest runner keen pleasure to +watch the village with its ordered life, industry and happiness. + +He felt once more his sense of kinship with the animals. He was a +thoughtful youth, and it often occurred to him that the world might be +made for them as well as for man. + +The beaver was an animal of uncommon intelligence and he could learn +from him. The big gray fellow was a general of ability, perhaps with a +touch of genius. All his soldiers were working according to his +directions with uncommon skill and dispatch. Henry concentrated his +attention upon him, and presently he had a feeling that the leader saw +him, had known all the time that he was lying there in the thicket, and +was not afraid of him, convinced that he would do no harm. It added to +his pleasure to think that it was so. The old fellow looked directly at +him at least a half dozen times, and presently Henry was compelled to +laugh to himself. As sure as he was living that big old beaver had +raised his head a little higher out of the water than usual, and +glancing his way had winked at him. + +He forgot everything else in the play between himself and the beaver +king, and a king he surely was, as he had time to direct, and to direct +ably, all the activities of his village, and also to carry on a kind of +wireless talk with the forest runner. Henry watched him to see if he +would give him the wink again, and as sure as day was day he dived +presently, came up at the near edge of the pool, wiped the dripping +water from his head and face and winked gravely with his left eye, his +expression being for the moment uncommonly like that of a human being. + +Henry was startled. It certainly seemed to be real. But then his fancy +was vivid and he knew it. The circumstances, too, were unusual and the +influences of certain remarkable instances was strong upon him. +Moreover, if the king of the beavers wanted to wink at him there was +nothing to keep him from winking back. So he winked and to his great +astonishment and delight the old king winked again. Then the beaver, +feeling as if he had condescended enough for the time, dived and came up +now on the far side of the pool, where he infused new energy into his +subject with a series of rapid commands, and hurried forward the work. + +Henry's delight remained with him. The old king had been willing to put +the forest runner on an equality with himself by winking at him. They +two were superior to all the others and the king alone was aware of his +presence. Since the monarch had distinctly winked at him several times +it was likely that he would wink once or twice more, when enough was +done for dignity's sake. So he waited with great patience. + +But for a little while the king seemed to have forgotten his existence +or to have repented of his condescension, as apparently he gave himself +up wholly to the tasks of kingship, telling how the work should be done, +and urging it on, as if apprehensive that another freeze might occur +before it could be finished. He was a fine old fellow, full of wisdom, +experience and decision, and Henry began to fear that he had been +forgotten in the crush of duties pertaining to the throne. + +In about ten minutes, the gray king dived and came up a second time on +the near side of the pool. It was quite evident, too, that he was +winking once more, and Henry winked back with vigor. Then the beaver +began to swim slowly back and forth in a doubtful fashion, as if he had +something on his mind. The humorous look which Henry persuaded himself +he had seen in his eye faded. His glance expressed indecision, +apprehension even, and Henry, with the feeling of kinship strong upon +him, strove to divine what his cousin, the beaver, was thinking. That he +was not thinking now what he had been thinking ten minutes before was +quite evident, and the youth wondered what could be the cause of a +change so abrupt and radical. + +He caught the beaver's eye and surely the old king was troubled. That +look said as plain as day to Henry that there was danger, and that he +must beware. Then the beaver suddenly raised up and struck the water +three powerful blows with his broad flat tail. The reports sounded like +rifle shots, and, before the echo of the last one died, the great and +wise king of his people sank like a stone beneath the water and did not +come into view again, disappearing into his royal palace, otherwise his +domed hut of stone-hard mud. All of his subjects shot from sight at the +same time and Henry saw only the domes of the beaver houses and the +silent pool. + +He never doubted for an instant that the royal warning was intended for +him as well as the beaver people, and he instantly slid back deeper into +the thicket, just as a dozen Shawnee warriors, their footsteps making no +noise, came through the woods on the other side, and looked at the +beaver pool. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE LETTER + + +Henry was quite sure that the beaver king had given him a direct +warning, and he never liked afterward to disturb or impair the belief, +and, moreover, he was so alive with gratitude that it was bound to be +so. Lying perfectly still in the depths of the thicket he watched the +Indians, powerful warriors, who, nevertheless, showed signs of strain +and travel. Doubtless they had come from the edge of the lake itself, +and he believed suddenly, but with all the certainty of conviction, that +they were following him. They were on the back trail, which, in some +unexplained manner, they had struck merely to lose again. Chance had +brought them to opposite sides of the pond, but he alone had received +the warning. + +They stood at the water's edge three or four minutes, looking at the +beaver houses and talking, although Henry was too far away to understand +what they said. He knew they would not remain long, but what they did +next was of vital moment to him. If they should chance to come his way +he would have to spring up and run for it, but if they went by another +he might lie still and think out his problem. + +The leader gave a word of command, and, dropping into the usual single +file, they marched silently into the south. Henry lay on the north side +of the pool, and when the last of the warriors was out of sight, he rose +and walked back to his canoe, which he must now reluctantly abandon. He +could not think of continuing on the water when he had proof of the eye +that many warriors were in the woods about the creek. + +The canoe had served him well. It had saved him often from weariness, +and sometimes from exhaustion, but dire need barred it now. He put on +the painted coat, made the blankets and provisions into a pack which he +fastened on his back, hid the light craft among weeds and bushes at the +creek's margin, and then struck off at a swift pace toward the west and +south. + +While bands would surely follow him, he did not believe the Indian hosts +could be got together again for his pursuit and capture. After their +great failure in the flight and pursuit northward they would melt away +largely, and winter would thin the new chase yet more. His thought now +was less of the danger from them than of his four brave comrades from +whom he had been separated so long and whom he was anxious to rejoin. It +was more than likely that they had left the oasis and had come a long +distance to the north, but where they were now was another of the +serious problems that confronted him from day to day. In a wilderness so +vast four men were like the proverbial needle in the haystack. + +But Henry trusted to luck, which in his mind was no luck at all, rather +the favor of the greater powers which had watched over him in his flight +and which had not withdrawn their protection on his return, as the king +of the beavers had shown. All the following day he fled southward, +despite the heavy pack he carried, and made great speed. Here, he +judged, the winter had not been severe, since the melting of the great +snow that he had encountered on his way toward the lake, and he slept +the next night in the lee of a hill, his blankets and the painted coat +still being sufficient for his comfort. + +At noon of the next day, coming into low ground, mostly a wilderness of +bushes and reeds, he heard shots and soon discovered that they came from +the rifles and muskets of Indians hunting buffalo and deer, which could +not easily escape them in the marshes. For fear of leaving a trail, sure +to be seen in such soft ground, he lay very close in a dense thicket of +bushes until night, which was fortunately very dark, came. Then he made +off under cover of the darkness, and saw Indian fires both to the right +and to the left of him. He passed so close to the one on his right that +he heard the warriors singing the song of plenty, indicating that the +day had yielded them rich store of deer and buffalo. Most of the Indians +were not delicate feeders and they would probably eat until they could +eat no more, then, lying in a stupor by the fire, they would sleep until +morning. + +He did not stop until after midnight, and slept again in the protection +of a steep hill, advancing the next day through a country that seemed to +swarm with warriors evidently taking advantage of the weather to refill +the wigwams, which must have become bare of food. Henry, knowing that +his danger had been tripled, advanced very slowly now, traveling usually +by night and lying in some close covert by day. His own supplies of food +fell very low, but at night, at the edge of a stream, he shot a deer +that came down to drink, and carried away the best portions of the body. +He took the risk because he believed that if the Indians heard the shot +they would think it was fired by one of their own number, or at least +would think so long enough for him to escape with his new and precious +supplies. + +He was correct in his calculations, as he was not able to detect any +trace of immediate pursuit, and, building a low fire between two hills, +he cooked and ate a tender piece of the deer meat. + +That night he saw a faint light on the horizon, and believing that it +came from an Indian camp, he decided to stalk it. Placing all his +supplies inside the blankets and the painted robe, he fastened the whole +pack to the high bough of a tree in such a manner that no roving wild +animal could get them, and then advanced toward the light, which grew +larger as he approached. It also became evident very soon that it was a +camp, as he had inferred, but a much larger one than his original +supposition. It had been pitched in a valley for the sake of shelter +from cold winds, and on the western side was a dense thicket, through +which Henry advanced. + +The Indians were keeping no watch, as they had nothing to guard against, +and he was able to come so near that he could see into the whole bowl, +where fully two hundred warriors sat about a great fire, eating all +kinds of game and enjoying to the full the warmth and food of savage +life. Henry, although they were his natural foes, felt a certain +sympathy with them. He understood their feelings. They had gone long in +their villages, half starved, while the great snow and the great cold +lasted, but now they were in the midst of plenty that they had obtained +by their skill and tenacity in hunting. So they rejoiced as they +supplied the wants of the primeval man. + +The scene was wild and savage to the last degree. Most of the warriors, +in the heat of the fires, had thrown off their blankets, and they were +bare to the waist, their brown bodies heavily painted and gleaming in +the firelight. Every man roasted or broiled for himself huge pieces of +buffalo, deer or wild turkey over the coals, and then sat down on the +ground, Turkish fashion, and ate. + +At intervals a warrior would spring to his feet and, waving aloft a +great buffalo bone, would dance back and forth, chanting meanwhile some +fierce song of war or the chase. Others would join him, and a dozen, +perhaps twenty, would be leaping and contorting their bodies and singing +as if they had been seized by a madness. The remainder went on with the +feast, which seemed to have no ending. + +The wind rose a little and blew, chill, through the forest. The dry +boughs rustled against one another, and the flames wavered, but roared +the louder as the drafts of air fanned them to greater strength. The +warriors, heated by the heaps of coals and the vast quantities of food +they were devouring, felt the cold not at all. Instead, the remaining +few who wore their blankets threw them off, and there was a solid array +of naked brown bodies, glistening with paint and heat. Innumerable +sparks rose from the fires and floated high overhead, to die there +against the clear, cold skies. When a group of singers and dancers +ceased, another took its place, and the fierce, weird chant never +stopped, the wintry forest continually giving back its echoes. + +The wilderness spectacle had a remarkable fascination for Henry, who +understood it so well, and, knowing that there was little danger from +men who were spending their time in what to them was a festival, he +crept closer, but was still well hidden in the dense thicket. Then his +pulses gave a great leap, as four figures which had been on the other +side of the fire came distinctly into his view. They were Red Eagle, +head chief of the Shawnees; Yellow Panther, head chief of the Miamis; +and the renegades, Braxton Wyatt and Moses Blackstaffe, who had pursued +him so long and with such tenacity. They were talking earnestly, and he +crept to the very edge of the thicket, where scarcely three feet divided +him from the open. + +He knew that only a chance would bring the four near enough for him to +understand their words, but after a half hour's waiting the chance came. +Blackstaffe, who took precedence over Wyatt because of his superior +years and experience, was doing most of the talking, and the subject, +chance or coincidence bringing it about, was Henry himself. + +"The warriors discovered a white trail, the trail of one," said the +renegade, "but we don't know it was Ware's. He may have perished in the +great freeze, and if so we are well rid of a dangerous foe, an eye that +has always watched over our movements, and a bold spirit that always +takes the alarm to the settlements below. I give him full credit for all +his skill and courage, but I'd rather his bones were lying in the +forest, picked clean by the wolves." + +Henry felt a little thrill of satisfaction. "Picked clean by the +wolves?" Why, the wolves themselves had saved him once! + +"I don't think he's dead," said Braxton Wyatt. "I don't know why, but I +believe I understand him better than any of you do. I tell you he's even +stronger and more resourceful than you suppose! Look how often he has +escaped us, when we were sure we held him fast! He'd find a way to live +in the big freeze, or anywhere. I've an idea that he's back up there by +the lake somewhere, and that the trail the warriors found was that of +another of the five, perhaps the traces of the fellow Shif'less Sol." + +Henry's pulse leaped again, now with joy. The shiftless one had not +been taken nor slain, and doubtless none of the others either, or they +would have referred to it. But he waited to hear more, and not a dead +leaf nor a twig stirred in the thicket, he was so still. + +"It seems strange," said Blackstaffe, thoughtfully, "that we have not +been able to take him, when more than a thousand warriors were in the +hunt, carried on without stopping, except during the big snow and the +big freeze. And the warriors are the best in the west, men who can come +pretty near seeing a trail through the air, men without fear. It almost +seems to me that there's been something miraculous about it." + +Then one of the chiefs spoke for the first time, and it was Yellow +Panther, the Miami. + +"Blackstaffe has spoken the truth," he said. "Ware is helped by evil +spirits, spirits evil to us, else he could not have slipped from our +traps so often. He has powerful medicine that calls them to his aid when +danger surrounds him." + +Yellow Panther spoke with all the gravity and earnestness that became a +great Miami chief, and, as he finished, he looked up at the skies from +which the fugitive had summoned spirits to his help. The great Shawnee +chief, Red Eagle, standing by his side, nodded in emphatic confirmation. +Henry felt a peculiar quiver run through his blood. Had he really +received miraculous help, as the two chiefs thought? Lying there in such +a place at such a time there was much to make him think as they did. + +"We've spread a mighty net, and we've caught nothing," said Braxton +Wyatt, deep disappointment showing in his tone. "We've not only failed +to get the leader of the five, but we've failed to take a single one of +them." + +Now Henry's heart gave a great leap. He had inferred that all of his +comrades were yet safe, but here was positive proof in the words of +Wyatt. Why had he ever feared? He might have known that when he drew off +the Indian power they would be able to take care of themselves. + +"I think," said Blackstaffe, "that we'd better continue our march to the +south, and also keep a large force in the north. If we don't stumble +upon him in a week or two our chance will be gone, at least until next +spring. All the wild fowl flew south very early and the old men and +women of the tribes have foretold the longest and hardest winter in two +generations. Is it not so, Yellow Panther?" + +"The cold will be so great that all the warriors will have to seek their +wigwams," replied the Miami chief, "and they will stay there many days +and nights, hanging over the fires. The war trail will be deserted and +the Ice King will rule over the forest." + +"I've no doubt the old men and old women are right," said Braxton Wyatt, +"and you make me shiver now when you tell me what they say. Perhaps the +spirits will turn over to our side and give all the five into our +hands." + +They moved on out of hearing, but Henry now knew enough. His comrades +were untaken and he understood their plan of campaign. If he and the +four could evade it a little longer, a mighty winter would shut in, and +that would be the end. He was glad he had come to spy upon the host. He +had been rewarded more richly than he had hoped. Now he crept silently +away, but for a long time, whenever he looked back, he still saw the +luminous glow of the great fires on the dusky horizon. + +He was so sure that no warriors would come, or, if they did come, that +his trained faculties would give him warning in time, that he slept in a +thicket within two miles of the camp. He was up before dawn and on the +southern trail, knowing that the Indian host would soon be on the same +course, though going more slowly. His trail lay to the east of that +which had led him north, but the country was of the same general +character. Everywhere, save for the little prairies, it was wooded +densely, and the countless streams, whether creeks or brooks, were +swollen by the winter thaw. + +The desire to rejoin his comrades was very strong upon Henry, and he +began to look for proofs that they had been in that region. He knew +their confidence in him, their absolute faith that he would elude the +pursuit and return in time. Therefore they would be waiting for him, and +wherever they had passed they would leave signs in the hope that he +might see them. So, as he fled, he watched not only for his enemies, but +for the trail of his friends. + +He was compelled to swim a large river, and the cold was so great that +he risked everything and built a fire, before which he warmed and dried +himself, staying there nearly two hours. A half hour before he left, he +saw distant smoke on his right and then smoke equally distant on his +left. Each smoke was ascending in spiral rings, and he knew that they +were talking together. He knew also that their engrossing topic was his +own smoke rising directly between. A fantastic mood seized him, and he +decided to take a part in the conversation. Passing one of his blankets +back and forth over his own fire, he, too, sent up a series of rings, +sometimes at regular intervals, and again with long breaks between. + +It was a weird and drunken chain of signals and he knew that it would +set the Indians on the right and the Indians on the left to wondering. +They would try their best to read his signals, which he could not read +himself; they would strive to put in them meaning, where there was no +meaning at all; and he worked with the blanket and the smoke with as +much zest and zeal as he had shown at any time in his flight for life. + +No such complicated signals had ever before been sent up in the +wilderness, and he enjoyed the perplexity of the warriors to the utmost +as he saw them talking to one another and also trying frantically to +talk to him. The more they said, the more he said and the more +complicated was the way in which he said it, until the smoke on his +right and the smoke on his left began to sweep around in gusts of +indignation and disappointment. + +His fantastic humor deepened. He sincerely hoped that Blackstaffe was +at the foot of one smoke and that Braxton Wyatt was at the foot of the +other, and the more they were puzzled and vexed the better it suited his +temper. He sent up the most extraordinary spirals of smoke. Sometimes +they rose straight up in the heavens, now they started off to the right, +and then they started off to the left. Although they meant nothing, one +could imagine that they meant anything or everything. They were a +frantic call for help or an insistent message that the trail of the +fugitive had been discovered, or merely a wild statement that the night +was not going to be cold, nor the next day either, or an exchange of +compliments, or whatever those who saw the things chose to imagine. + +After hoping for a while so intensely that Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe +were on either side of him, Henry felt sure it was true, so ready is +eager hope to turn its belief into a fact, and he rejoiced anew at their +vexation, laughing silently and long. Then he abruptly kicked the coals +apart, smothered the smoke, and taking up his pack fled again, much +amused and much heartened, for further efforts. He could not remember +when he had spent a more enjoyable half hour. + +He maintained his flight until far after midnight, when, coming into +stony ground, he found excellent shelter under a great ledge, one +projecting so widely that when he awoke in the morning and found it +raining, he was quite dry. It poured heavily until the afternoon, and he +did not stir from his covert, but, wrapped in the painted coat and +blankets, and taking occasional strips of the deer meat, he enjoyed the +period of rest. + +It rained so hard that he could not see more than fifty yards away, and +in the ravine before his ledge the water ran in a cold stream. The +forest looked desolate and mournful, and he would have been desolate and +mournful himself if it had not been for the single fact that he was able +to keep dry. That made all the difference in the world, and the contrast +between his own warm and sheltered lair and the chill and dripping woods +and thickets merely heightened his sense of comfort. + +When the rain stopped it was followed by an extremely cold night that +froze everything tight. Every tree, bush and the earth itself was +covered with glittering ice, a vast and intricate network, a wilderness +in white and silver. It was alike beautiful and majestic, and it made +its full appeal to Henry, but at the same time he knew that his +difficulties had been increased. He would have to walk over ice, and, as +he passed through the thickets, fragments of ice brushed from the twigs +would fall about him. For a while, at least, the Ice Age had returned. +It was sure, too, to make game very scarce, as all the animals would +stay in their coverts as long as they could at such a time, and he must +replenish his supplies of food soon. But that was a difficulty to which +he gave only a passing thought. Others pressed upon him with more +immediate force. + +His moccasins had become worn from long use and they slipped on the ice +as if it were glass. He met this difficulty by cutting pieces from one +of the blankets and tying them tightly over his feet with thin strips +from his buckskin garments. He was then able to walk without slipping, +and he made good progress again through the forest, the exertion of +travel keeping him warm. Meanwhile he watched everywhere for a sign, a +sign from the four, keeping an especial eye for the trees, for it was +upon them that the forest runners wrote their letters to one another. In +his soul he craved such a letter and he did not really know how +intensely he craved it. The bonds of friendship that united the five +were the ties of countless hardships and dangers shared, and not one of +them would have hesitated an instant to risk his life for any one of the +others. + +It was characteristic of Henry's patience and thoroughness that, though +he found nothing, he kept on looking. He wanted a letter, and he wanted +it so long and with so much concentration that he began to believe he +would find it. It was only a short letter that he wished, merely a word +from his friends saying they had passed that way. A straight, tall +figure, with eager, questing eyes, he went on through the silver forest. +When the light wind blew, fragments of the ice that sheathed every bough +and twig fell about him and rattled like silver coins as they struck the +ice below, but mostly the air was quiet, and the glow from a mighty +setting sun began to shoot such deep tints through the silver that it +was luminous with red gold. Thinking little now of its beauty and +majesty, the hunter pressed on, not the hunter of men nor even a hunter +of game, but a hunter for a word. + +The mighty sun sank farther. Most of the gold in its rays was gone, and +it burned with an intense red fire, lighting up the icy forest with the +glow of an old, old world. Henry still looked. The dark would come soon, +when he must abandon the search for the word and seek shelter instead. +But his hope was still high that he would find it before night closed +down. + +When the red glow was at its deepest he saw in the very core and heart +of it that for which he was looking. Eye-high on the stalwart trunk of +an oak were four parallel slashes from the keen blade of a tomahawk. +They could not have been put there by chance. A powerful hand had +wielded the weapon and the four cuts were precisely horizontal and close +together. He had found his word. It was as plain as day. The four had +passed there and they had left for him a letter telling him all about +it. This was only the first paragraph in the letter, and he would find +others farther on, but he devoted a little time to the examination of +the first. + +He studied minutely the cuts and the cloven edges of the bark, and he +decided that they were at least two weeks old. So the letter had been +posted some time since, and doubtless its writers had gone on to another +region. But if they posted one letter they would post others, and he +felt now that communication had been established. True, the chain +connecting them was long, but it could be shortened inch by inch. + +He made a series of widening circles about the tree, looking for the +second paragraph of the letter, and he found it about a hundred yards to +the eastward, exactly like the first, four parallel slashes of a +tomahawk, eye-high, deep into the trunk of a stalwart oak. He found a +third paragraph precisely like the first and the second, a hundred yards +farther on, and then no more. But three were enough. They indicated +clearly the course of the four which was into the northeast. In the +morning he would change his own direction to conform with theirs. + +The letter gave him a great surge of the heart, but the night came down +quickly, dark and cold, the bitter wind blew again, and the ice fell +about him in a rain of chill crystals. He knew that the temperature was +falling fast, and that it would be his hardest night so far. He must +have a fire, risk or no risk, and it was a full three hours before he +was able to coax one from dead wood that he dragged from sheltered +recesses. Then it felt so good that he built a second, intending to +sleep between them. His supply of food was low, but knowing how needful +it was to preserve his strength and the full fresh flow of his blood, he +ate of it heartily, and, then when the ground, wet between the fires +from the melted ice, had been dried by the heat, he made his bed and +slept well, although he awoke once in the night and finding the cold +intense put fresh wood on the fires. + +The next morning was one of the coldest he had felt, and he was +reluctant to leave the beds of coals, but his comrades had given him a +sign, and he would not dream of ignoring it. He threw ice upon the +fires, and with a sigh felt their heat disappear. Then he followed the +trail to the northeast, hunting at intervals for a renewal of the sign +lest he go wrong. Three times he found it, always the four cuts, +eye-high, always in the trunk of a stalwart oak, and always they led in +the direction in which he was going. The cuts were very deep, and he was +quite sure that they had been made by Shif'less Sol, who added to +remarkable strength wonderful cunning and mastery in the use of a +tomahawk. + +About noon, he came to a vast, shallow, flooded area, a third of a mile +or more across, but extending farther to north and south than he could +see either way. Doubtless the four had crossed there before the heavy +rains made the flood, and as he was unwilling to take the long circuit +to north or south he decided to make the passage on the ice which was +thick and strong. + +He had been so free from danger for some time that he took little +thought of it now, but when it was absent from his mind it came. When he +was well out upon the ice he heard the crack of a rifle behind him and a +bullet whizzed by his ear. He ran forward at great speed before he +looked back, and then he saw a dozen warriors standing at the edge of +the ice, but making no motion to pursue. As he was now out of range, he +stopped and examined them, wondering why they did not follow him. The +solution came quickly. + +The band suddenly united in a tremendous war whoop and from the woods on +the other side of the ice came an answering whoop. He was trapped +between them, and they could afford to be deliberate. His heart sank, +but as usual his courage came back in an instant, stronger than ever. +Alert, resourceful, the best marksman in all the West, he did not mean +to be taken or slain, and he looked about for the means of defense. As +it was not a lake, upon the frozen surface of which he stood, merely a +great shallow flooded area, there were clumps of bushes and little +islands of earth here and there, and he ran to one not twenty feet away, +a tiny place, well covered with big bushes. The Indians, seeing him take +refuge, set up a yell from both shores, and Henry, settling down in his +covert, waited for them to make the first move. + +He knew that the warriors would be deliberate. Considering their victim +secure in the trap, they would reckon time of no value, and would take +no unnecessary risk. He believed they were hunting bands, not those that +had trailed him directly, and that his encounter with them was chance, a +piece of bad fortune, nothing more than he should expect after such a +long run of good fortune. + +Warriors of the different bands sent far signals to one another across +the ice, and then slowly and with care each party built a large fire, +around which the men sat basking in the heat, and now and then, with a +cry or two, taunting the fugitive whom they considered so tight in the +trap. The red gleam of the flames upon the ice, contrasting with his own +situation, struck a chill into Henry. The wind had a clear sweep over +the frozen lagoon, and the rustling of the icy bushes above him was +like a whisper from the cold. He wrapped himself thoroughly in the +painted coat and the two blankets, put the rifle in front of him, where +he could snatch it up instantly, and beat his hands together at times to +keep them warm, and at other times held them under the blankets. + +He understood human nature, and he knew that they were rejoicing in +their own comfort, while he might be freezing. They felt that way +because it was their way, and he did not blame them. It was merely his +business to thwart their plans, so far as they concerned himself. He +recognized that it was a contest in which only superior skill could +defeat superior numbers, and he summoned to his aid every faculty he +possessed. + +The Indians did not move for an hour, luxuriating by their fires, and +occasionally taunting him with cries. Then four warriors from either +shore went upon the ice at the same time, and began to advance slowly +toward his island, making use of the clumps of bushes that thrust here +and there through the frozen surface of the lagoon. + +Henry slipped his hands from the blankets and watched both advancing +parties with swift glances, right and to left. They were using shelter +and advancing very slowly, but beyond a certain point both were bound to +come in range. He smiled a little. Much of his forest life recently had +been in the nature of an idyll, but now the wild man in him was +uppermost. They came to kill and they would find a killer. + +He knelt among the bushes, which were thin enough to allow him a clear +view in every direction, and put his powder horn and bullet pouch on the +snow in front of him. He could reload with amazing rapidity. They did +not know that. Nor did they know that they were advancing upon the king +of riflemen. Naturally, they would suppose him to be a wandering hunter +lost in a dangerous region. + +The party on the west presently began to pass from the shelter of one +tuft of bushes to another, twenty yards away, and in doing so the four +were wholly exposed. It was a long shot, much too long for any of the +Indians, but not too long for Henry. He fired at the leading warrior, +and, before he had time to see him crashing on the ice, he was reloading +his rifle with all the speed of dexterous fingers. He heard a yell of +rage from the Indians, and, glancing up, saw the three dragging away the +body of the fallen man. But the party on the other side, knowing that +his rifle had been emptied, but not knowing with what speed he could +reload, came running. + +His weapon flashed a second time, and with the same deadly aim. The +leading warrior in the second party fell also, dead, when his body +touched the ice, and his comrades gave back in fear. They had not known +such terrible sharpshooting before, and the man whom they had thought so +securely in the trap must have two rifles at least. Both parties, +carrying their dead with them, retreated swiftly to shore, and gathered +about the fires again. + +Henry reloaded a second time, patted affectionately the rifle that had +served him so well, put it once more in front of him, and sheltered his +hands as before under the blankets. The bands had received a dreadful +lesson. The loss of two good warriors was not to be passed over lightly, +and he knew they would delay some time before taking further action. +Meanwhile, the night was coming fast and the cold was increasing so +greatly that it alarmed him, despite the blankets and the painted robe. +The wind sweeping over the frozen surface of the lagoon had an edge that +cut like steel. The very blood in his veins seemed to grow chill, and he +felt alarm lest his hands grow too stiff with cold to handle the rifle. +The bushes, although they hid him from a distant enemy, did not afford +much protection. Instead, they were like so many icicles. + +The two bands built their fires higher, until the flames threw a glow +far out on the ice, and Henry saw their hovering figures outlined in +black against the red. They filled him with anger, because they could +maintain the siege in comfort, while he had to fight not only a human +foe, but the paralyzing cold as well. He stood up now, stretched his +arms, stamped his feet and exercised himself in every manner of which he +could think, until a certain amount of warmth came to his body. But he +knew it would not last long. Presently the cold would settle back +fiercer and more intense than ever. + +The night advanced, the dusk deepened and the siege of Henry by the +warriors and the cold grew more formidable. He was anxious for the +Indians to make another attack, but he knew now they would not do it. +They would wait patiently for the fugitive in the trap to fall inert +into their hands. After all he was in the trap! And it was a trap worse +than any other he had ever met. Then he said fiercely to himself that he +might be in the trap, but he would break out of it. + +For the second time, he took violent physical exercise to drive away the +creeping and paralyzing cold, and then he resolved upon his plan to +burst the trap. The night was fairly dark with streamers of cloud +floating across the heavens, and it might grow darker. Far to north and +south stretched the glimmering white ice, with dark spots here and +there, where the clumps of bushes or trees thrust themselves above the +frozen surface. + +Wrapping himself as thoroughly as he could, and yet in the best way to +leave freedom of action, he crept from the bushes and bending low on the +ice ran to a clump about thirty yards to the south, where he crouched a +while, watching the warriors at the two fires. He could still see very +clearly their figures outlined in a black tracery against the flames, +and they might have sentinels posted nearer, but evidently his own +change of base had not been suspected. Perhaps the fear of his deadly +rifle kept them from coming so near that they could see his movements, +and they relied upon the great cold to hold him within the original +clump of bushes. The blood in his veins that had grown chill seemed +suddenly to turn warm again. Even a passage of a few yards from one +little island to another was enough to create hope. There was no trap so +tight in which he could not find a crevice, or make one, and he prepared +for the second stage in his journey, a cluster of trees a full hundred +yards to the south. + +He would have dropped to his hands and knees if it had not been for the +fear of freezing his fingers, a risk that he could not afford to take +for a moment, alone in the desolate wilderness and surrounded by deadly +perils. So he merely stooped low and ran for the trees, the wrappings of +blanket on his feet saving him from slipping. + +But he gained them and there was yet no alarm. The black tracery of the +Indian figures still showed before the fires, where they were hovering +for the sake of the grateful heat, and, as well as he could judge, his +flight was unsuspected. + +The third island was much better than the first two. Although it was +only eight or ten yards across, it supported a cluster of large trees, +and had a little dip in the center, in which he lay, while the cruel +wind was broken off by the trees or passed over his head. There was an +access of warmth, and he had a tremendous temptation to lie there, but +he fought it. It was hard to distinguish warmth from numbness, and, if +he remained without motion, he would surely freeze to death, despite the +trees and the dip. + +Reluctantly he began the fourth stage in his flight, and his reluctance +was all the greater because the island for which he was making was at +least three hundred yards away, and the wind, cold as the Pole and cruel +as death, was rising to a hurricane. It made him waver as he ran, and +his fingers almost froze to his rifle. But he reached the fourth island, +where he sank down exhausted, the fierce wind having taken his breath +for the time. The fires now were far away and he could not distinguish +the Indians from the flames, but he did not believe any of them had come +upon the ice to attack him or to spy him out. While the tremendous cold +almost paralyzed him, it would also withhold their advance upon him for +a while. + +He rose from his covert and started again, although he felt that he was +growing weaker. Such intense exertion, under such conditions, was bound +to tell even upon a frame like his, but he would not let himself falter, +passing from island to island, resting a little at every one, bearing +toward the southeast, and intending to enter the forest about a mile +from the fire on that side. Meanwhile, the chill of the deadly cold and +elation over his escape fought for the mastery of him. He reached the +last little island, scarcely ten yards from the shore, and as he stepped +upon it, two dusky figures threw themselves upon him. + +Henry was thrown back upon the ice, but though the blow was like a +lightning flash, he realized, in an instant, what it meant. The warriors +had not been wholly paralyzed by the cold, and they had stationed guards +at other points along the lagoon to prevent his escape, but these two +were seeking so hard to protect themselves from the cruel wind that they +had not seen him until he was upon them. Knowing that the question of +his life or death would be decided within the next half minute, he put +forth every ounce of his mighty strength, and swept the two warriors +together in his arms. + +His rifle clattered upon the ice, and with the two men clinging to him, +struggling vainly to reach tomahawk or knife, he rose to his feet, still +clutching the warriors. But the feet of all three slipped from under +them, and down they went again with a tremendous impact. The warriors +were on the underside, and Henry fell upon them. There was a rending +crash, as the ice, thinner at that point, owing to the protection of the +island, broke beneath the blow. + +Henry felt the grappling fingers slip from him, and he sprang back just +in time to see the two warriors sink into a narrow but icy gulf, from +which they never rose again. Uttering a cry of horror, he picked up his +rifle and ran for the forest. He knew that chance, or perhaps the will +of the greater powers, had saved him again, but, as he ran, he shuddered +many times, not from the cold, but at the ghastly fate that had +overtaken the warriors. The impression faded by and by. When one is in a +bitter struggle for life he does not have time to think long of the fate +of others, and the savage wilderness through which he fled was too +bitter of aspect then to breed a long pity. + +He was quite sure that he had shaken off the Indians, for the time, +anyhow, and again the vital question with him was warmth. The running +was bringing a measure of it, but he could not run forever, and he soon +sank to a walk in order to save himself. But he maintained this gait for +a long time, in truth, until dawn was only three or four hours away, and +then he decided that he would build a fire. It was a risk, but he chose +to take the smaller risk in order to drive off the greater. + +It never before took him so long to kindle his blaze. He found a place +sheltered from the wind, whittled many shavings from dead wood, and used +his flint and steel until his hands ached, coaxing forth the elusive +sparks and trying to make them ignite the wood. They died by hundreds, +but, after infinite industry and patience, they took hold, and he +sheltered the tiny and timid blaze with his body, lest it change its +mind and go away after all. Though it sank several times, it concluded +finally to stay and grow, and, having decided, it showed vigor, burning +fast while Henry fed it. + +As the fire threw out abundant heat he reveled in it. Now he knew better +than ever before that fire was life. He could feel the blood which had +seemed to be ice in his veins thawing and flowing in a full warm flood +again. The beat of his heart grew stronger and the stiff hands acquired +their old flexibility. His face stung at first, but he rubbed ice over +it, and presently it too responded to the grateful heat. An immense +comfort seized him and he felt drowsy. Comfort would become luxury if he +could lie down and sleep, but he knew too much to yield to the demands +of his body. After spending two hours by the fire and becoming +thoroughly soaked in heat, he put out the coals and went on again. As he +walked, he ate the last of his food, and now he must soon find more. The +problem of his escape from the Indians had been solved, but the problem +of finding his comrades was upon his mind, though it must be put off +while he solved that of food. + +He considered it a miracle that his rifle had not gone into the water +with the two warriors. But was it a miracle? Was it not rather another +intercession of the greater powers in his favor? Alone in the wilderness +at such a time a rifle was at least half of life, even more, it was the +very staff of it. Without it he would surely perish. He patted the rifle +with the genuine affection one must feel for so true a weapon. It was a +fine rifle, beautiful in his eyes, with a long, slender barrel of blued +steel, and a polished and carved stock. It had never failed him, and he +knew that it would not fail him now. + +He thought of the rabbits which had been such an abundant resource once. +Many of them must be in their nests under the ice and snow, and he +searched for hours but found none. Yet he could go two or three days +without food, and he did not despair, showing all his usual pertinacity, +never ceasing to look. The hunt led him into rocky ground, and, between +the ledges, he noticed an opening that caused him to take a second look. +Several coarse hairs were on the stone at the entrance, and when he saw +them he knew. It was his animal brother at home, and he did not forget +his gratitude, but he must live. + +He seized a long stick and thrust it savagely inside. The bear, awakened +from the winter sleep which he had begun luxuriously not long ago, +growled fiercely and rushed out. Then Henry snatched up his rifle and +shot him. The bear had lost much of his fat, but he was a perfect +treasure house of supplies, nevertheless, and steaks from his body were +soon broiling over the coals. Henry, remembering how much food he needed +in such intense cold, and, while he was undergoing physical exertions so +great, ate heavily. As much more as he could conveniently carry he added +to his pack, knowing that he could freeze it at night, and that it would +keep indefinitely. He would have liked the bearskin too, but he did not +care to add so much to his burden, and so he left it reluctantly. + +He was a new man now, made over completely. The wilderness, so far from +being desolate and hostile, took on its old comfortable aspects. It was +a provider of food and shelter to one who knew how to find them, and +certainly none knew better than he. The wants of the body being +satisfied, he began to plan anew for the junction with his comrades. The +great cold would not last much longer. A temperature twenty or thirty +degrees below zero never endured more than a few days. Like as not, it +would break up in a warm rain, to be followed by moderate weather, and +then he could hunt the trail of the four in comfort. + +His pack was much heavier when he started and the icy coating of the +earth was still slippery, but he made excellent progress, and he was +able to fix in his mind the direction in which the marks on the trees +had pointed. He knew that he must turn back somewhat toward the north in +order to reach that line, and such a change in his course would increase +the danger from the Indians, but he did not hesitate. He made the angle +at once, and then he began to observe the trees with all the patience +and minuteness of which a forest runner in such a crisis was capable. + +It was almost dusk when he found the sign, four slashes of a tomahawk, +eye-high on the stalwart trunk of an oak, and a hundred yards farther on +a similar sign. He traced them fully a mile, and then as the night shut +down, dark and impenetrable, he was compelled to stop. He dared another +fire, the cold was so intense, and began his journey again the next +morning over the ice. + +The rise in the temperature that he had expected did not occur, nor were +there any signs of a change. Evidently the great cold had come to stay +much longer than usual, and, while it hindered his own journey, it also +hindered possible pursuit by the Indians, of whom he saw no traces +anywhere until the third day after he had killed the bear. Then he +observed a great smoke in the south, and he approached near enough to +discover that it was an Indian village, probably Shawnees. It seemed to +be snowed up for the winter, holed up like a bear, and, anticipating no +danger from it, he continued his leisurely hunt eastward. + +He lost the traces for a whole day, but recovered them the next morning, +and now they were much fresher. Sap, not yet dead in some of the trees, +had oozed but lately into the cuts, and his heart beat very hard. His +comrades could not be far away. He might reach them the next day or the +day after, and now he was actuated by a curious motive, and yet it was +not curious, when his character is considered. + +He built a fire by the side of one of the pools, with which the forest +was filled. Breaking the ice and daring the fierce chill of the water, +he took a quick bath. Then, while he was wrapped in the blankets and the +painted coat, he washed all his clothing thoroughly, as he had done once +before, and dried it by the fire. When he was able to put it on again, +he washed the blankets in their turn and dried them. He would have +served the painted coat in a similar manner, but, as that was +impossible, he rubbed and pounded it thoroughly. + +His forest toilet complete, Henry felt himself a new man once more, +inwardly and outwardly, freshened up, made presentable to the eye. He +knew that he was haggard and worn. Hercules himself would have been, +after such a flight and pursuit, but at least he was dressed as a forest +runner, neat by nature and careful in his attire, should be. + +Now he followed the traces with renewed strength and speed, and he found +that they came more closely together, a fact indicating the absence of +Indians from the immediate region, as the four would not leave so broad +a trail, unless they knew it would not bring a strong force of Indians +upon them. Straight now it led, and he crossed numerous frozen streams +and pools or lagoons, and then the night that he felt sure was to be the +last one came, as bitterly cold as ever. + +The next morning he did not put out his fire as usual, instead he built +it up higher, and, passing one of the blankets rapidly back and forth +over it, sent up ring after ring of smoke. They did not thin away and +vanish until they were high in the clear, intensely cold blue sky. + +When his eyes had followed the rings a little while he turned them +toward the eastern horizon and watched there closely. Despite all the +efforts of his will his heart throbbed hard. Would the answer come? He +waited a full half hour, and then his pulses gave a great leap. Rings of +smoke began to rise there under the sky's rim a full mile away, +ascending like his own into the cold air, where, high up, they thinned +away and vanished. Then his pulses gave another great leap as a second +series of rings rose close beside the first, to be followed quickly by a +third and a fourth. Four fires and four groups of smoke rings rising +into the air! The last doubt disappeared. Paul, the shiftless one, the +silent one, and Long Jim were there. Doubtless they had signaled before, +and now at last he had called to them. + +In his wild exultation he kicked the coals of his own fire apart and +started swiftly toward the four groups of smoke rings. On his way he +sent forth a long thrilling cry that pierced and echoed far through the +wintry forest, and like the distant song of a bugle a similar cry came +back. As he broke into a run, four human figures appeared upon the crest +of a low hill and burst into a simultaneous shout. Then they exclaimed, +also together: + +"Henry!" + +After that, although their emotion was deep, they made no great show of +it. The border was always terse. + +"I knowed you'd shake 'em off, Henry," said the shiftless one. + +"But it must have been a long chase," said Paul. + +"Wish I'd been with you," said Long Jim. + +"Big work," said Tom Ross. + +"I didn't do it all my myself," said Henry. "I was helped by the people +of the forest. They came to my aid again and again." + +Paul looked at him wondering, and Henry told them how he had been warned +by the animals one after another, and he could not believe it was mere +chance. + +"The woods are full o' strange things," said Shif'less Sol, +thoughtfully. "An' I never try to explain 'em all to myse'f. I let 'em +go fur what they are." + +"How has it been with all of you?" asked Henry. + +"We stayed a long time on the oasis in the swamp," replied Paul, "and +then we started toward the north, hanging on to the rear of the pursuit, +and trying for a chance to help you, though we never found it. At last +the great cold made us seek shelter, but we were sure it would compel +the warriors to abandon the chase and drive them into their villages." + +"After all, it was King Winter that intervened finally in my behalf." + +"That's true. And while we were hovering about, hoping to help you, we +left the long trail which I suppose you saw." + +"Yes, I came upon it, and it led me to you." + +"An' now," said Shif'less Sol, "sence all the warriors hev been drove +into winter quarters, an' none o' us hez been killed or took, s'pose we +go into them kind a' quarters ourselves, an' keep warm." + +"Whar?" asked Silent Tom. + +"Why, our old hollow in the cliff!" exclaimed Paul. "The warriors would +not think of marching against it again before next spring, if at all, +and it's the warmest, safest and finest place in all the wilderness." + +"A good choice," said Henry. + +"Right thar we'll go," said Shif'less Sol. + +"Ez soon ez we kin make tracks fur it," said Long Jim. + +"Shore," said Tom Ross. + +They started at once, and all things turned in their favor. The +wilderness remained frozen and bitter cold, but there was no pursuit. By +all rules, game should have been scarce at such a time, but they found +plenty of it. Day after day they traveled through the woods, crossing +the Ohio on the ice, and at last they drew near the rocky home they had +defended so valiantly, and which once more extended to them a silent +welcome. + +Now they built their fires anew, killed game and obtained abundant +supplies of food and furs, though for two weeks Henry was not allowed to +join the others in the chase, resting like Hercules after his mighty +labors. Then, while the great cold lasted, they, the eyes of the woods, +built up their strength and spirit for new labors and dangers in the +spring. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EYES OF THE WOODS*** + + +******* This file should be named 24758.txt or 24758.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/7/5/24758 + + + +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. 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