The Dare Boys with General Greene
Page 14
CHAPTER XIV
Friends in Need
Dick Dare and Ben Foster were never nearer death's door than at themoment when the flames of the fires built around them, as they stoodtied to trees, began to scorch their clothing.
Both youths were very brave, but there was something so terrible aboutbeing burned at the stake, that a feeling of horror took hold upon them.
The Indians now leaped to their feet and began jumping about, anduttering cries, evidently of enjoyment at the spectacle that they wereabout to witness.
Then, just as the flames were about to begin burning the clothing of theyouths, they felt the ropes that bound them to the trees loosen, and tothe ears of each came the words: "When I say, 'now,' leap away from thetree and run for your life."
The voices were strange to the youths, but they realized that the wordswere uttered by friends, and each replied, cautiously:
"All right."
Smoke was going up from the fires, and when there came a moment that athick sheet of smoke lay for a few moments between the youths and theredskins, they heard the word, "Now!"
The youths acted instantly. They leaped out from the midst of the pilesof wood, and turned and ran with the swiftness of the wind in theopposite directions from where the Indians were dancing and singing.
Then the smoke lifted and the redskins caught sight of the vacantpositions so recently occupied by their intended victims. Instantlytheir singing changed to wild yells of rage and chagrin, followed bywar-whoops, and then the braves dashed in among the trees, in pursuit ofthe fugitives.
Dick and Tom did not see anything of their rescuers. In fact, it was sodark, in the midst of the timber, now that they were away from the lightof the fires, that they could not see anything, and they had to run atrandom. In so doing, they ran against trees, through clumps of bushes,and stumbled over fallen trees, but managed to make pretty good headway,even under such circumstances. And they were urged on by the wild yellsof the pursuing redskins, who were wild with rage because of theinexplicable escape of their intended victims.
The youths kept together, and plunged recklessly onward. They weredetermined to escape, if possible, for they realized that to berecaptured would be to be again fastened to the trees and burned todeath. The Indians would keep them surrounded, next time, likely, andthus prevent them from escaping again.
On the two youths dashed, through the underbrush, and suddenly Dick feltemptiness beneath his feet, and went plunging downward, alighting onhard ground with a thump, his head struck something hard, causing him tosee a lot of stars and flashing meteors, and then he knew nothing. Hehad been knocked senseless by the fall.
Ben, running swiftly, did not miss his comrade at once, but when he hadgone perhaps fifty or seventy-five yards farther, and no sound of Dickrunning near him came to his hearing, he stopped, listened a fewmoments, and then called out, cautiously:
"Dick! Oh, Dick! Where are you?"
The sound of the shouting of the pursuing Indians came to his hearing,but although he listened intently, he did not hear any reply from Dick.
"Where can he be?" Ben murmured, anxiously. "Can anything have happenedto him?"
Ben stood there a brief moment, called again, and then, not receivingany response, he set out through the forest as fast as his legs couldcarry him, and that, with a pursuing foe of savages determined upon hislife, was pretty fast. His idea and hope was, that Dick was stillhastening onward, and that he would escape from the disappointedredskins.
And Dick was lying senseless in a pit that had been made by hunters, forthe purpose of trapping wild animals, for food and skins.
When Dick regained consciousness, he could not think for a few momentswhat had happened to him. Then he remembered being tied to the trees inthe Indian village, with the fire burning about him, remembered havingbeen freed by somebody, and that he and Ben had been running for theirlives through the underbrush, pursued by the Indians, when he had takena tumble and had got a bump on the head that had rendered himinsensible, and the question now was: Where was he?
And then the thought came to him: Where was Ben?
He listened intently, but heard no sound to indicate Ben's presence, nordid he hear the yells of the Indians. He judged, from this, that he hadbeen in his present situation some time.
He rose to a sitting posture, and reached out and felt around him. Hemade out what seemed to be a solid wall of earth, at his back. Then herose to his feet, and reached upward, trying to stretch to the top ofthe wall, but could not. Then he started to make his way along the wall,feeling with his hand, for guidance, and he had taken only five or sixsteps when he heard a low, menacing growl right in front of him.
Dick paused and gazed ahead, trying to penetrate the darkness, and thenhe saw what looked like two gleaming balls of fire, and then as anotherlow, fierce growl came to his hearing, he realized the truth--that hewas confronted by a wild animal of some kind, and from the sound of thegrowl he judged that the animal was likely a panther.
Dick had had considerable experience in hunting and trapping, and knewthat pits were often dug for the purpose of trapping wild animals, andhe guessed that he was in one of those old pits, and that he had for acompanion a wildcat or panther!
Dick Dare realized that his situation was indeed a dangerous one. True,he had the use of his hands and feet, but what could he hope to doagainst the animal without weapons of any kind?
He felt that his danger was great, that his situation was indeeddesperate, and he stood there, almost frozen to the spot, trying hisbest to think what he should do. Truly he had fled one danger but toencounter another. "From the frying pan into the fire."
Again the low, but fierce and threatening growl came to Dick's ears.