Far Past the Frontier

by James A. Braden

  CHAPTER VIII.

  Friends or Foes?

  Tom Fish had a profound respect for Return Kingdom from the moment thelatter threw him; but he was no less pleasant and agreeable than before,and he proved himself a valuable friend then and in days long afterward.

  When night came, as the wind was blowing cold, Tom very deftly built ashelter of branches and small saplings. His way of bending two littletrees down and fastening them together with their own branches, making ofthem the support of the "shack," was a method Ree and John had never seenused and was the secret of his being able to "build a house" in verylittle time.

  It was very comfortable sitting before the fire, thus sheltered from thewind. Tom especially enjoyed it for his tongue ran on at a tremendousrate as he told stories of extraordinary adventures.

  John urged him to tell more and more, and he might have gone on talkingall night had not Ree admonished him and John that they must turn inpromptly in order to make an early start in the morning. Wolves werehowling not far away, and the plaintive but terrorizing cry of a panthercould be heard in the distance, as the little party lay down to sleep. Nodoubt the young emigrants thought many times before dreams came to them,of what the depths of the wilderness must be, if the foreboding soundswhich reached them were a fair example of what the outer edge of theforest fastnesses afforded; but they rested well and were early astir.

  Crossing a fine, level country, though thickly grown with great trees, onthis day, the boys saw plainly the evidences of the road made by theBoquet expedition. There were the stumps of big and little trees and thehalf-decayed remnants of the trees which had been cut down, on both sidesof them. Although so many years had passed since Col. Boquet had madethis trail, the work his men had done made the progress of theConnecticut boys and their hunter companion faster than it wouldotherwise have been, and three days passed rapidly without otheradventure than the meeting of a small party of Indians who scowled andpassed on, and the killing of a large panther by Ree, the animal havingterribly frightened old Jerry by dropping from a tree squarely upon thefaithful horse's back, one night.

  On the fifth day after leaving Pittsburg the travelers crossed a highridge and obtained a glorious view of the country toward which they werepressing on. In the distance rivers of water and great oceans of treetops, deep valleys and wooded hillsides were seen.

  "Ye ain't fer from the 'Promised Land,'" said Tom Fish, lightly, muchless moved by the grandeur of nature's display than were the boys. Thenhe indicated the location of a point, far beyond and out of view, atwhich the old trail they were following, turned to the southwest and anIndian trail turned toward the northwest, leading on to the "SanduskyPlains" near Lake Erie.

  It was apparent that Tom had settled in his own mind the locality inwhich the boys should erect their cabin and make their home. He had theirinterest at heart, the lads did not doubt, but they were unwilling toaccept his judgment absolutely. It was arranged between them, therefore,that Ree should go ahead and spy out the lay of the land--and especiallyinvestigate the "lake country" of which Tom had so often spoken. If heshould find it all that was represented, well and good; if not, they knewthat along almost any of the rivers to the south and west of them, werefertile lands and Indian villages which would afford that which theysought--crops and trade.

  And so on the morning of the fourth day after their having taken to theIndian trail toward the "Sandusky Plains," the matter having beenexplained to Tom Fish, Ree left his friends behind. It was a perilousundertaking upon which he set out. They had now reached a wild and ruggedcountry whose hills and valleys almost swarmed with game. Deer, bears andwolves were abundant. Panthers, wildcats and smaller game were frequentlyseen, and Indians were all about, though the party had thus far met butfew.

  But Return Kingdom had no fear--that was something he did not then know.He was only anxious to quickly find the right place for their residenceand to make no mistake in selecting it. A light snow had already fallen,making it desirable that he and John should get themselves settledwithout delay. This was his thought as he hurried on alone.

  Under a big beech tree Ree camped at night, building no fire lest it drawunwelcome guests toward him, but wrapping his blanket about himself andsitting, not lying, on the ground, his rifle between his knees. Any onepassing, even very near, would have supposed his dark figure to be thatof an old stump, and he spent the night with a feeling of safety, notentirely comfortable in his position, but little disturbed by thesnapping of twigs and the rustle of leaves which told that forestprowlers were near.

  Crossing a river at a shallow place next day, Ree mounted a hill andclimbed a tall hickory whose upper branches rose above all other treesnear it.

  The weather had become warm and pleasant again and he would be able, heknew, to obtain a fine view. Just what he expected to see, he had notthought, but the grandeur of the scene he beheld was magnificent. Far ashe could see the ocean of nearly leafless treetops rose and fell in giantwaves, broken here and there by lakes or rivers, he knew not which,glimpses of whose waters and bushy banks, he caught. Here werelowlands--there highlands, and through the latter he traced for a longdistance the course of the river he had crossed earlier in the day. Reedrew out a chart he had obtained at Pittsburg.

  "It must be the Cuyahoga river--or Cayuga as some call it--and I am rightin the heart of the lake country," he whispered, as he steadied himselfin the tree top. "We will build our cabin near the river."

  Without more delay the boy climbed down and strode forward in thedirection of a valley which he had seen two or three miles to westward.In time he came to a sloping hillside and looking beyond he saw asplendid stream of swiftly flowing water. At the foot of the hill was anarrow tract of about four acres almost bare of trees, though deep grassspoke of the soil's fertility. Rising above the river was a large knollsloping down to the natural clearing.

  With every sense delighted by the fine prospect, Ree ran down the hill,across the clearing and to the summit of the knoll or bluff. The rippleand splash of the river, the bright sunshine and his discovery of thisideal spot delighted him.

  "The very place we are looking for!" he exclaimed aloud. "Here is grassfor Jerry, a fine clearing for the beginning of a farm--wood--water--game--everything!"

  Anxious to join his friends and tell them of this good fortune, Reedashed down the bluff and ascended the wooded hillside opposite. Panting,he reached the summit and suddenly,--stopped.

  As though they had been waiting for him, there stood watching him a partyof Indians. They were dressed entirely in savage costume. Not one woreany garment of civilization as did many of the savages farther east. Withstolid composure the Redskins looked at the boy, though they must havewondered what the young Paleface was doing, alone in the forest'sdepths.

  Quickly recovering his presence of mind, Ree coolly stepped toward them,holding out his hand to one he supposed to be the chief, saying, "How,brothers?"

  The Indian shook his hand but did not speak. The same second anotherIndian stepped up and seizing Ree's hat, put it on his own bare head.Another grabbed the boy's rifle, as though to take it from him.

  Ree smiled, but he held firmly to his gun, and snatched his hat from theyoung brave who had seized it. One of the Indians now ordered that Ree belet alone. But this was not the one the boy had taken to be the chief,and Kingdom quickly perceived that he had made a rather serious mistake.But he nodded his thanks to the Redskin and explained, using signs whenwords would not do, that he was a trader and that his friends and storeof goods were not far away.

  It caused Ree some alarm, however, when at a signal from the chief theIndians gathered about in such a way as to hem him completely in. Andthis alarm was decidedly increased as he noticed at the chief's belt, awhite man's scalp. There could be no mistaking it.

  The savages made no move to molest the boy further than to prevent hisleaving them, but gave him to understand that they believed him to be aspy. Seeing this the boy offered to conduct them to his friends andmerchand
ise. To this they agreed after some parleying and placing Reebetween two big, swarthy fellows, they set off in single file,suspicious, it may be, that he would lead them into an ambush.

  Ree gave little thought to this. He knew that if John and Tom had madegood progress that he could reach them by nightfall and the suspicions ofthe Indians would be allayed.

  It was wonderful how easily the savages followed Ree's back trail, andthey traveled at good speed. But hours passed and no sign of the wagon ofwhich the lad had told them was found. The doubt of the Indians increasedand they became ugly and impatient.

  In vain Ree tried to explain that his friends must have been delayed, buthe himself could not understand why no gleam of light, no smoke of theircamp-fire, even, was visible as the day wore away, and soon he found thathe was indeed a prisoner; for as the savages presently prepared to gointo camp, their first act was to bind the white boy's hands behind himand tie his feet with strong ropes of bark.

  A full sense of his danger came to Ree's thoughts, but he put on a boldfront and emphatically objected to being tied, saying he had no thoughtof running away and that early the next day his statement that he was atrader would be found true.

  The Indians gave no heed to his indignant words. They built a small fireby flashing sparks with flint and steel, and ate their supper consistingonly of pounded parched corn and dried meat. This they shared with Ree,and though he ate heartily he was thinking of other things. Every time helooked across the fire he could see the gruesome scalp at the belt of thechief of the party. Little wonder that he became apprehensive for hissafety. It would not do, however, he thought, to let the Indians see thathe was worried, and he began to whistle. The savages gazed at him inwonder. Suddenly one young buck arose, stepped over to the boy and struckhim viciously on the cheek.

  His temper instantly fired, Ree shot out his feet, bound together thoughthey were, striking the savage full in the stomach and sending himheadlong, partly into the fire.

  As a tremendous howl of rage arose, Ree forgot that he was bound--forgotthat his better plan would have been to keep cool. He sprang up, breakingthe strings of bark which tied him, with seeming ease, and, as theenraged Indian rushed toward him, he dodged the club the savagebrandished, and landing a tremendous blow on the redman's neck with hisfist, grabbed his rifle from the ground and sped away into the forest andthe darkness.

  With terrific yells the Indians took up the pursuit. On and on Ree dashedamong the bushes and over brush and logs, springing wildly aside at timesto save himself from dashing out his brains against a tree--hurrying fastand faster, he knew not whither, his pursuers crashing after him.

  The pursued nearly always has the advantage over the pursuer. Ree foundhimself drawing slowly away from the Indians, who made so much noisethemselves they could scarcely hear him, and suddenly halting, he creptsoftly away in another direction. Soon the savages went past, pell mell,certain that the boy was ahead of them, and the sounds of the chase diedaway.

  Listening intently, to be ready for the slightest alarm, Ree turned to goback the way he came. It was difficult in the darkness to do this, but hebelieved that if he could return to the vicinity of the Indians'camp-fire he could easily get his bearings and travel without loss oftime in the direction of his friends. The darkness seemed less intensenow that he had become accustomed to it, but he must exercise every care.To step on a dry stick or to stumble and fall might be fatal--might meanhis capture and death.

  Fortune favored the brave lad, for presently the dim light of thesmoldering camp-fire came into view. He paused a moment, then turnedconfidently in the direction in which he thought John and Tom Fish mustbe. He had not taken forty steps, however, when a dark figure loomed upsuddenly before him, and with exceeding quickness and quietness glidedbehind a tree.

  It was well indeed for Return Kingdom that his quick eye saw thismovement. Turning again, he ran, but instantly the dark figure darted inpursuit. Discovering that he was in danger of being driven into the veryarms of the Indians he had so recently eluded, Ree changed his tactics.Certain that but a single savage was behind him, he wheeled and rantoward the Indian at full speed.

  They were not far apart. Before the Redskin had made out what the boy wasdoing, the latter had hurled himself upon him and thrown him to theground.

  Fiercely the savage struggled; with tremendous energy Ree retained theupper hold, his grip secure on his opponent's throat. Neither spoke. TheIndian could not, and Ree had no wish to add to the noise made by theirthrashing about among the leaves and dry twigs. He knew that he couldkill the savage warrior but he dreaded to do that. It would mean troublewith the Indians for a long time to come, upsetting his most cherishedplans. And yet his own life was in danger, and--he dared not relax hishold.

  Yet something must be done, and quickly, for soon the other Indians wouldbe returning, and more than this he could not hold out long against thegreater strength of his red antagonist. Ree resolved, therefore, to makethe Indian understand that he did not wish to kill him, then let go andtake his chances in a foot race.

  But at this instant, the Redskin, by a mighty effort raised himselfpartially upon his feet, secured the release of his right arm, on whichRee's knee had been, and clutched the boy's throat with a vise-like grip.Never had the venturesome Connecticut lad been so near death as he was atthat moment. Steadily the Indian continued to gain the upper hand, and ashe tightened his grasp on Ree's throat the boy's tongue seemed to beforced from his mouth.

  Then it was that Return Kingdom's grim, unyielding determination whichmeant victory or death--a determination which, once formed, would havestopped for nothing though it swayed the earth, asserted itself. With thepower of an unbending purpose, Ree raised to his feet, dragging thesavage with him. He grasped the Indian's body and with strength mostextraordinary, lifted him from the ground, then suddenly he cast himviolently down as though the brave were a great stone which he wished tobreak.

  Astonished, bruised, exhausted, the Indian lay as he had fallen. Thewhole struggle had occupied but a minute or two, but it had been furious.Both the combatants were panting like dogs. Now was Ree's opportunity. Hestooped down, grasped the redman's hand and shook it gently.

  "We should be brothers. I would not try to kill you," he spoke in a low,friendly way.

  The Indian made no answer. Again Ree shook his hand, then picked up hisrule and walked rapidly away. Looking back, he saw the savage rising tohis feet and returning to the camp-fire. He was sure then that he hadmade a friend of an enemy. But he lost no time. There were but a fewhours of darkness remaining to cover his escape while he searched for hisfriends, and with every sense alert he hastened on, though faint andweary from the violence of his exertions. He felt the necessity offinding and giving warning to John and Tom and the thought kept himgoing.

  At last the morning came--slowly at first and then with a rush of lightwhich set the crows a-cawing and wood-birds singing; and still theworn-out, lonesome boy looked in vain for his friends. But he wavered notfor a moment, though ready to acknowledge himself completely lost, andthus, pressing on, he came soon after sunrise to the bank of a deep, wideravine. He remembered having crossed it the day he left John and Tom, andsoon he found a path leading down into the gully.

  Assuring himself by careful scrutiny that the coast was clear, Ree pushedthrough the bushes and trotted down the bank's steep side; and in anothermoment came squarely upon the cart and the camp of his friends. But wherewere John and Tom? Consternation filled the lad as he wholly failed tofind them, and as he also discovered that the camp-fire was no fire atall--only a heap of dead ashes. Where was old Jerry, too?

  A great fear came into Ree's heart, which was increased a thousand fold,as in another moment he saw the faithful horse a few rods away--dead.There was a bullet hole in the gentle, patient animal's head.