The Hunters of the Ozark

by Edward Sylvester Ellis

  CHAPTER XXII.

  "KEEP TO THE TRAIL"

  It was an interesting scene on which the three youths looked. There werea dozen Winnebago warriors lolling and smoking in camp, while two oftheir number were preparing their supper, by half-broiling it over theblaze and coals. Fred and Terry stood in silence by the side ofDeerfoot, gazing upon the strangers with a curiosity such as no othersight could have inspired.

  A small tree interfered somewhat with the view of Fred, and he took astep forward. Immediately the Shawanoe put out his arm and shook hishead to signify that that would not do; they were as close as was safe.Then Fred shifted his position a little to one side, as you feel likedoing in a public hall when a column is in front of you. To thisDeerfoot offered no objection, and the lad was satisfied.

  "Begorrah, but there's the spalpeen!" whispered Terry, in someexcitement, pointing his finger toward the camp, and with no thought ofthe uselessness of such an act.

  The others knew that he referred to the Wolf, who had caused them somuch trouble, but they had already seen him. He was standing at one endof the group, with folded arms, while he scowled, and the firelightfell upon his features with such directness that the scowl could beplainly seen. He appeared to be looking at the two warriors busy withthe fire, though more than likely his gaze fell indifferently upon themand the rest, all of whom were in his field of vision.

  The tomahawk showed in his girdle, but of course he was without anyother weapon, and Terry could not avoid a smile when he noted it and hehad to say something despite the displeasure of Deerfoot.

  "Do ye observe his left eye and the end of his nose where one of meblows landed? What could be foiner than the swell that ye see there? Hewill naad to use no black paint for siveral days, as me grandfather--"

  At this point Deerfoot deliberately placed his hand over the mouth ofthe speaker, abruptly ending what he proposed to say.

  Now, nothing could be clearer than that if the Winnebago party were insuch plain view of the three youths, the latter in turn were liable tobe discovered by them. They were standing beyond the circle offirelight, where the darkness screened them from sight, and, if one ofthe red men should look in that direction, he could not have seen them;but there was the probability that any moment one of the warriors mightstart out to reconnoiter their surroundings, in which event, discoverywas almost certain. Besides, the exuberant spirits of Terry Clark taughtDeerfoot that it was unwise to trust him in such a delicate position.

  Altogether, the time spent in watching the Winnebagos was barely tenminutes. During that period, some of those reclining on the leaves gotup, walked about and sat down again; others kept their feet, and onestepped to where the two were busy with a steak of some kind that theywere broiling over the coals, as though his hunger was making himimpatient.

  But the Wolf never stirred a muscle, and Terry afterward insisted thathe did not wink his eyes, so motionless was he. The same scowl addedhideousness to the painted face, and it was easy to understand that hismeditations were of any thing but a pleasant nature.

  Turning his back upon the camp, Deerfoot motioned for them to go back.They did so, he following on their heels until not the faintest glimmerof the fire could be seen. Then he led them by a round-about course tothe trail beyond the camp, and explained his wishes.

  He was now free to admit that there was reason to believe the Winnebagosintended an assault upon the three hunters among the foothills of theOzark, and who were unsuspicious of such danger. Of course the Shawanoehad no direct knowledge that such was their purpose, but he was soconvinced that he meant to take the utmost precautions against it.

  He therefore proposed that he should linger near the camp until he couldlearn of a verity what their intentions were. If they meant to attackthe Hunters of the Ozark, then he would hasten to give warning toLinden, Hardin and Bowlby, who, re-enforced by the three youths, wouldbe strong enough to beat off an Indian party twice as strong.

  In the meantime, Deerfoot wished Terry and Fred to push toward the campwith all the speed of which they were capable, he promising to follow assoon as he could. They had walked almost the entire day with scarcely ahalt on the road, but he wished them to keep on into the night so longas they could. They would need nothing to eat before morning and betweensundown and sunup they ought to make a long advance on their journey.

  You will probably wonder why (the situation being such as was explainedby Deerfoot), he did not keep company with the lads and help them intheir forced march to the mountains. One reason was that he wasconvinced in the first place that a demonstration would be made by theWinnebagos against the Hunters of the Ozark, and he wanted to get bothboys--especially Terry--out of the neighborhood as soon as he could; fortheir presence hampered his own actions. The safest place for them wasin the strong cabin to the southward, and they could not get there toosoon.

  Yet they would certainly travel as fast in his company as by themselves,and Fred and Terry, therefore, could not see why he should stay behindinstead of going with them; yet Deerfoot the Shawanoe never took a stepof that kind without the best reason for it, as you will admit when itis made clear to you. To give this explanation would require such a longdiversion from the thread of my story that you would be impatient.Before I am through with the history of Deerfoot, you shall know notonly the reason for his course but for several other things that havebeen referred to in the stories told about him.

  The confidence of Fred Lincoln and Terry Clark in the wonderful youngShawanoe was so perfect that they did not question any decision, nomatter how little they failed to see its reason. If what he asked was intheir power, they would bound at the chance of doing it, just as theydid now.

  He had a parting warning to give.

  "Let my brothers make sure that they do not lose the trail; they mustlook at the ground often: when they do not see the path they must stopand await the rising of the sun; they can not reach the cabin too soon,but they can never reach it by going wrong; _keep to the trail_!"

  The circuitous route which they had taken under the guidance ofDeerfoot, had brought them back to the path at a point fully a hundredyards beyond the camp-fire, which had been started in the small openspace only a few rods from the path. So far as they knew there wasnothing now between them in the way of a direct advance to the cabin oftheir hunters.

  "Fred," said Terry, after they were fairly under way, and while healmost stepped on the heels of his friend; "Deerfoot thinks we won't gomore than five or six miles; let's show him that we ain't such babies ashe thinks."

  "I feel as you do; I propose that we keep it up all night."

  "Will ye be kind enough to raich yer right hand over your lift shoulderand shake wid me on the same?"

  Instead of doing precisely as asked, Fred laughingly turned about andshook hands with his friend, whom he loved and for whom he was ready atany time to risk his life. They were on their mettle and they meant toshow the young Shawanoe that they were capable of doing much more thanhe seemed to believe. They intended that when, after a few hours, hestarted to overtake them, he would find that he had a good many milesfurther to travel than he supposed.

  Had Deerfoot known of their thoughts he would have smiled and beenpleased. He wanted them to do their best and he was willing, should itprove to be safe, to allow them to keep up the delusion that their gaitcould bear any comparison with the speed of which he was capable.

  Meanwhile, the boys started in earnest to carry out their intention.Their only fear was that they might be hindered by the difficulty inkeeping to the trail; for though the full moon was again overhead, andthough many of the leaves had fallen from the trees, little light wasthere to help them.

  But for a time, at least, the difficulty was much less than theyexpected. The path, though it continued to lead over rough places andaround obstructions, sometimes up-hill and sometimes down, was still soclearly marked that Fred Linden went forward with scarcely a halt or anyhesitation.

  Though there are men who have walked their fiv
e and six hundred mileswith little rest on the road, it is a severe task for any one to keep itup through an entire day and night, as you can soon become convinced bymaking the experiment; but Fred and Terry were sturdy, strong-limbedfellows, born and bred on the frontier, who were capable of standing agreat deal. When, therefore, they meant to astonish Deerfoot by theirprogress during the night, they felt no distrust of their ability inthat direction.

  There was no reason why they should put any restraint on themselves, andthey talked quite cheerily, Terry indulging now and then in some of hisquaint remarks. But a tired boy does not feel like keeping up a livelyconversation for any length of time, and so it came about that afterawhile they walked steadily forward, for miles at a time, withoutexchanging more than a few syllables. Terry could see the figure of hisfriend with his rifle over his shoulder always a few feet in front,there being just enough light in the gloom to keep his form in sight,while Fred heard the steady tramp, tramp behind him, sometimes keepingpace with his own and sometimes falling "out of step."

  "Helloa! this is too bad!" suddenly exclaimed Fred, coming to an abrupthalt; "I guess this ends our tramp for to-night."