CHAPTER XI.
Again a Hidden Enemy.
The boys were early astir the following morning. As soon as they were upCapt. Pipe's wife placed a dish of boiled corn, like hominy, before them,and this was their breakfast. A little later, telling Capt. Pipe of thegreat amount of work they had to do, the lads bade him good-bye, thechief giving them each a pouch of parched corn, and sending an Indian totake them in a canoe across the lake.
It was two hours past noon when Tom Fish suddenly started up from thebroiled turkey with which he was regaling himself, as he heard some oneapproach, and discovered Ree and John returning. He greeted them gladly,but not in his usual hilarious fashion, and they could not but notice howunlike himself he was as he carved for them some juicy slices from thefine young gobbler he had cooked. Yet he listened with interest to Ree'saccount of their trip, John often breaking in with such jolly comment as:"You should have heard those Indians talk! Why they beat a quilting beefor gabbling, except that they didn't all talk at once."
"But they are real orators," added Ree quite soberly. "I've heard that anIndian has three ambitions--to be a mighty hunter, a great warrior and agrand orator; and there are some splendid speakers among the Delawares."
"The's some red-handed, bloody murderers among 'em, too, I kin tell ye,"Tom Fish growled. "I got no rest whilst ye was gone, a thinkin' of it."
"Has anything happened, Tom?" asked Ree, struck by his friends gravemanner.
"Cheer up, Thomas, cheer up!" cried John. "You've been about as cheerfulcompany as a box of indigo ever since you saw that--that hideous thing atBig Buffalo's belt."
"Well, it's a wonder the' didn't nothing happen, an' somethin's goin' tohappen, I know," the hunter replied to Ree's question, ignoring John'sbantering, as he often did. "That Buffalo varmint means harm. I've beenthinkin' it all over an' the' ain't no two ways about it. If I ain't asight mistaken, I seen him peekin' down from the hill back there, not ahalf hour ago--either him or some dirty Mingo; I didn't exactly see him,but I heard some one, an' I'd a' peppered away at him if you kittenshadn' 'a been gone an' me not knowin' just where ye might be. So I'vebeen thinkin' it all over, an' mighty sorry I am I ever piloted ye intothis hostyle kentry. The's only one thing to do, an' that's to take whatstuff ye kin an' get back to Pittsburg fast as yer legs kin take ye. Nowas fer me, I kin take care of myself, but I'll see ye part way anyhow,an' I'd go clear back with ye if I didn't have somethin' very importantto 'tend to."
Ree could not help but smile at Tom's drooping spirits, though thediscouraging talk made it necessary for him to appear really morecheerful than he felt, as he realized that Big Buffalo really seemedanxious to cause trouble. But he shook his head at John, as he saw thelatter about to scold Tom for bringing them into this part of thewilderness only to advise them to leave it; for his chum's face showedthat he was not pleased with Tom's manner.
"There is just one thing to be done," Ree exclaimed.
"An' that's get right back--" Tom Fish was saying.
But the youthful leader of the party interrupted: "Go back? No, sir! Theone thing to do is to go forward, and take our goods with us withoutfurther loss of time. We will get a good, stout cabin up and then we'llbe better prepared for trouble if it comes. And that prowler, you heard,Tom, must have been the same cowardly wretch who shot old Jerry. We mustwatch for him. We cannot be too careful, but if he is the same fellow whofired on us and nearly killed Black Eagle's son, 'way back on thePennsylvania border, I think I can guess who it is, and I can tell you,he is a coward. But let's get to work."
"I like yer spunk, lad, an' I like you, but what I want to say is, thatTom Trout as some calls Fish, will stick by ye till ye get some sort of ashack throwed up, anyhow."
"Bully for you, Tom! And bully for you, too, Ree," exclaimed Johnspringing up to begin whatever task awaited him. "I was beginning to getaway down in the mouth, the way Tom was talking a minute ago."
"We must take the goods out of the cart and pack them in convenient shapefor carrying," Ree directed, without further ado. "By dragging a fewthings forward a hundred rods or so, then coming back for more and so on,we should reach the river in a couple of days."
And so all fell to work with a will. The cart did not contain a heavyload, as it would have been impossible for old Jerry to have hauled itthrough the woods, up hills, across streams and boggy places. But when itcame to carrying forward everything except the cart, which must beabandoned, without the aid of a horse, the task was found to be a mostlaborious one.
The unpacking and rearranging consumed so much time that darkness hadcome on before the last bundle of the merchandise and provisions had beencarried forward to the first stopping place, a little way beyond the topof the bluff, in the valley below which the camp had been.
While John and Tom erected a shelter for the night, for the wind was coldand raw, Ree returned to the valley to procure coals with which to starta fire at the new camp. He found it necessary to enliven the dying emberswith a few fresh sticks of wood, and as he stooped over to blow greaterlife into the struggling blaze which started up, he heard a rustling inthe leaves on the hill behind him, in the direction opposite that inwhich his friends were. Like a flash he sprang away from the fire intothe half-darkness which filled the valley. He was in the nick of time. Arifle cracked and a bullet threw up the ashes and sent the sparks flyingwhere his head had been just a second before.
With the speed of the wind Ree ran in the direction from which the shothad come, his own rifle cocked and ready. He thought he heard some onemaking off in the darkness as he reached the top of the hill, but whetherwhite man or Indian--Delaware or Mingo, he could not tell. He called outa command to halt, but no attention was given his order for the uncertainsound of fleeing footsteps continued. He chanced a shot in the directionof the unknown enemy, although he realized it would probably do no good.
While he reloaded his rifle Ree stepped behind a tree, and a few secondslater John came running up. As it was too dark to continue the chase,both boys returned to camp, stopping in the ravine to secure a fire brandto start a blaze to prepare their supper. In vain did John ask questionsas to whom Ree believed the would-be murderer was; they could not beanswered, for, as Ree said, he had not seen the person.
Tom Fish, disconsolate as he well could be, sat on a big bundle ofmerchandise as the boys rejoined him.
"It's sure death to stay here, lads," were the first words he said, andhis tone was not calculated to make the young travelers comfortable; butresolving to look on the brighter side, Ree cheerily answered:
"A man is in some danger wherever he is. We will all feel better when wesmell some venison on the hot coals. And just wait till we get our cabinbuilt! We are going to get some beans and late squashes from the Indians,and bake some corn bread, and have a regular old-fashioned Connecticutsupper!"
"Did ye hit him, d'ye think, Ree?" asked Tom, brightening up.
"No, but he scared him into eleven kinds of fits," John answered for hisfriend, catching the spirit of the latter's courage and enthusiasm.
"It ain't that I am caring for myself. Tom Fish, or Tom Trout didn't everlose a wink o' sleep bein' afraid he couldn't look out for number one,"the woodsman went on. "But after--after that--thing we saw the otherday--but I guess we've got our appetites left," he said, suddenlychanging the subject.
It was not long until the supper was ready and eaten and all did feelmuch the better for it, as Ree had predicted. The ordinary noises of theforest, the howling of wolves, in pursuit of some poor deer, perhaps, thefar-away shriek of a panther balked of its prey, it may have been, gavethem little concern. Though the darkness was intense and enemies mightdraw very near without being observed, the boys believed they had madepeace with the Indians and the presence of four-footed enemies did notworry them.
Tom Fish felt very differently about the matter of the Indians'friendship, but he kept these thoughts to himself for the time being, andthough there are far more comfortable places than a camp in a greatwilderness o
n a cold November night, the lads from Connecticut would havebeen entirely happy had it not been for the mystery of the strangeprowler, the thought that several times they had been secretly firedupon, and that there was no knowing when another attack might be made inwhich the aim of the dastardly assailant need be but a trifle better toend the life of one or both of them, perhaps.
Yet, even these gloomy facts could not dispel the good spirits whichaccompany good health and the hopefulness of youth. Even Tom seemed toforget his dark forebodings as he was persuaded to tell a number ofstories of his own adventures. Quite comfortable, therefore, though onthe alert to catch the first sound of danger's coming, the little partysat for an hour or two beneath the rude shelter which had been erected,while the firelight performed its fantastic feats around them.
Tom volunteered to remain on guard the first part of the night, and creptout at the back of their little house of poles and brush, that he mightnot be observed, should anyone be watching. Then, softly through thedarkness he made his way to a convenient tree against which he leaned, inthe dark shadows. Ree and John, wrapped in their blankets on their bedsof deerskins spread over the autumn leaves, were soon asleep.
A heavy snow was sifting through the swaying branches of the trees whenTom called Ree and the latter went on watch. This change in the weathergave the quick-witted sentinel an idea. With the first streak of dawn hecalled John to prepare breakfast, then hurried back to the valley wheretheir cart had been left, taking care to observe that there were notracks of any human creature along the way. From the box of the abandonedtwo-wheeled wagon he secured two good sized boards and carried them tocamp.
John watched in open-mouthed astonishment as he saw Ree coming up withthe lumber, but in a minute or two he discovered what his friend designedto do. With no other tools than an axe and auger he soon built a sledlarge and strong enough to carry all their goods.
Ree's idea proved an excellent one. The snow-fall was just enough to makea sled run smoothly, and by a little after sunrise "all the property ofKingdom and Jerome, Indian traders and home-seekers," as John expressedit, was piled upon the pair of runners which the senior member of thefirm had contrived, and they and Tom Fish were steadily drawing it towardtheir long-sought destination.
"We must reach the Cuyahoga river by night," Ree urged, and his owndetermination gave strength to himself and his companions. Up hill anddown hill they hurried, tugging, perspiring, making the best speedpossible through the silent forest.
And as the sun burst through a sea of gray-black clouds, and shonebrilliantly just before night's coming, it seemed an omen of good to thelittle party in the wilderness, for at almost the same moment, Ree,running on a head a little way, cried: "Here we are!"
Before the daylight closed, the site of the cabin, work on which was tobegin the next day, had been selected on the long irregular mound closeto the river, which has already been described.
Ree called attention to the natural advantages of the place--its sidessloping down in three directions while on the fourth side and thirty feetbelow was the river. It was a point which could be defended in case of anattack, and the additional fact of the natural clearing and fertile landssurrounding it, made the place seem most desirable.
"The's only one thing the matter with this location," said Tom Fish,surveying the mound from the semi-circular valley around it, as thetwilight settled down. "The's likely to be ague in a place like this, itbein' so nigh the water. It's a mighty good thing to steer clear of, agueis."
"But there are so many natural advantages," Ree persisted, "and our cabinwill be well up in the air and the sunlight."
"That's a good point, Ree," John put in, "but think of it--we will haveto carry all our firewood up that hill."
"I'll carry the wood if you play out, old chap," was the answer and thematter ended by Ree having his own way, as was generally the case, notbecause he was selfish or obstinate, but because he was sure he was rightbefore he made up his mind, and because he had that born spirit ofleadership which gave himself and all others confidence in his decisionsand actions.
Although careful observation during the day had failed to reveal any signof their prowling foe, whoever he might be, Ree and John agreed to dividethe guard duty of the night between them. Ree took the first watch andreported all quiet when John relieved him at midnight.
When daylight came John went a little way up the wooded hillside oppositethe mound to pick up some dry wood for their fire. Suddenly he stoppedand a startled look came upon his face. There in the snow werefoot-prints made by moccasined feet. They followed the trail the sled hadmade the day before, up to the very edge of the clearing in which theircamp was made.
There, John found, as he guardedly investigated, they circled off to oneside a little way, hovered about, here and there, then re-crossed thesled's track and disappeared in the woods. What could it mean? Instantlyhe remembered that the foot-prints of the person who had several timesfired upon their camp, had been made by boots. He hurried to the campmentally ejaculating: "What will Tom Fish say of this?"
Tom was still asleep, but Ree had commenced the breakfast. "It is toobad," he said, thinking aloud, as he learned of John's discovery. "Isuppose we ought to follow those tracks if only for safety's sake, andfind out who made them, but I do hate to lose the time when we ought tobe getting a cabin built."
The discovery was pointed out to Tom when he awoke a little later.
"A prowlin' Mingo!" the old hunter exclaimed as he inspected thefoot-prints. "Kittens both, the's trouble brewin'. It's a wonder thevarmint didn't shoot. I don't see what he's up to, always doggin' us thisway! But I'll tell ye what I'll do. You lads get yer axes an' go to work,an' I'll foller up them tracks. An' bust my galluses, kittens both, I'llgive the varmint a dose as'll make him think of his pore ol' granddad, ifI ketch him!"
Tom's suggestion found favor at once, though the boys could not explainthe varying moods of their friend, which made him cool and courageous oneday and dejected and fearful another. But breakfast being over, Tom setout.
"Be careful," Ree called after him. "Don't get yourself or us into anyrow with the Delawares, unnecessarily." The hunter made no answer.
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