II
The First Night and Morning
It was a strange new feeling that took possession of the boys as theysaw Mr. Raften go, and when his step actually died away on the blazedtrail they felt that they were really and truly alone in the woods andcamping out. To Yan it was the realization of many dreams, and theweirdness of it was helped by the remembrance of the tall old man hehad seen watching them from behind the trees. He made an excuse towander out there, but of course Caleb was gone.
"Fire up," Sam presently called out. Yan was the chief expert with therubbing-sticks, and within a minute or two he had the fire going inthe middle of the teepee and Sam set about preparing the evening meal.This was supposed to be Buffalo meat and Prairie roots (beef andpotatoes). It was eaten rather quietly, and then the boys sat down onthe opposite sides of the fire. The conversation dragged, then dieda natural death; each was busy with his thoughts, and there was,moreover, an impressive and repressive something or other all aroundthem. Not a stillness, for there were many sounds, but beyond thosea sort of voiceless background that showed up all the myriad voices.Some of these were evidently Bird, some Insect, and a few wererecognized as Tree-frog notes. In the near stream were sounds ofsplashing or a little plunge.
"Must be Mushrat," whispered Sam to the unspoken query of his friend.
A loud, far "Oho-oho-oho" was familiar to both as the cry of theHorned Owl, but a strange long wail rang out from the trees overhead.
"What's that?"
"Don't know," was all they whispered, and both felt veryuncomfortable. The solemnity and mystery of the night was on themand weighing more heavily with the waning light. The feeling wasoppressive. Neither had courage enough to propose going to the houseor their camping would have ended. Sam arose and stirred the fire,looked around for more wood, and, seeing none, he grumbled (tohimself) and stepped outside in the darkness to find some. It was nottill long afterward that he admitted having had to _dare_ himselfto step out into the darkness. He brought in some sticks and fastenedthe door as tightly as possible. The blazing fire in the teepee wascheering again. The boys perhaps did not realize that there wasactually a tinge of homesickness in their mood, yet both were thinkingof the comfortable circle at the house. The blazing fire smoked alittle, and Sam said:
"Kin you fix that to draw? You know more about it 'an me."
Yan now forced himself to step outside. The wind was rising and hadchanged. He swung the smoke poles till the vent was quartering down,then hoarsely whispered, "How's that?"
"That's better," was the reply in a similar tone, though there was noobvious difference yet.
He went inside with nervous haste and fastened up the entrance.
"Let's make a good fire and go to bed."
So they turned in after partly undressing, but not to sleep for hours.Yan in particular was in a state of nervous excitement. His heart hadbeaten violently when he went out that time, and even now that mysteriousdread was on him. The fire was the one comfortable thing. He dozed off,but started up several times at some slight sound. Once it was a peculiar"_Tick, tick, scr-a-a-a-a-pe, lick-scra-a-a-a-a-a-pe,_" down the teepeeover his head. "_A Bear_" was his first notion, but on second thoughtshe decided it was only a leaf sliding down the canvas. Later he wasroused by a "_Scratch, scratch, scratch_" close to him. He listenedsilently for some time. This was no leaf; it was an _animal!_ Yes,surely--it was a Mouse. He slapped the canvas violently and "hissed"till it went away, but as he listened he heard again that peculiarwail in the tree-tops. It almost made his hair sit up. He reached outand poked the fire together into a blaze. All was still and in time hedozed off. Once more he was wide awake in a flash and saw Sam sittingup in bed listening.
"Where's the axe?"]
"What is it, Sam?" he whispered.
"I dunno. Where's the axe?"
"Right here."
"Let me have it on my side. You kin have the hatchet."
But they dropped off at last and slept soundly till the sun was strongon the canvas and filling the teepee with a blaze of transmittedlight.
"Woodpecker! Woodpecker! Get up! Get up! Hi-e-yo! Hi-e-yo!Double-u-double-o-d-bang-fizz-whackety-whack-y-r-chuck-brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-Woodpecker," shouted Yan to his sleepy chum, quotinga phrase that Sam when a child had been taught as the true spelling ofhis nickname.
Sam woke slowly, but knowing perfectly where he was, and drawled:
"Get up yourself. You're cook to-day, an' I'll take my breakfast inbed. Seems like my knee is broke out again."
"Oh, get up, and let's have a swim before breakfast."
"No, thank you, I'm too busy just now; 'sides, it's both cold and wetin that pond, this time o' day."
The morning was fresh and bright; many birds were singing, although itwas July, a Red-eyed Vireo and a Robin were in full song; and as Yanrose to get the breakfast he wondered why he had been haunted by suchstrange feelings the night before. It was incomprehensible now. Hewished that appalling wail in the tree-tops would sound again, so hemight trace it home.
There still were some live coals in the ashes, and in a few minutes hehad a blazing fire, with the pot boiling for coffee, and the bacon inthe fryer singing sweetest music for the hungry.
Sam lay on his back watching his companion and making criticalremarks.
"You may be an A1 cook--at least, I hope you are, but you don't knowmuch about fire-wood," said he. "Now look at that," as one huge sparkafter another exploded from the fire and dropped on the bed and theteepee cover.
"How can I help it?"
"I'll bet Da's best cow against your jack-knife you got some Ellum orHemlock in that fire."
"Well, I have," Yan admitted, with an air of surrender.
"My son," said the Great Chief Woodpecker, "no sparking allowed in theteepee. Beech, Maple, Hickory or Ash never spark. Pine knots an' rootsdon't, but they make smoke like--like--oh--you know. Hemlock, Ellum,Chestnut, Spruce and Cedar is public sparkers, an' not fit for dacintteepee sassiety. Big Injun heap hate noisy, crackling fire. Enemy hearthat, an'--an'--it burns his bedclothes."
"All right, Grandpa," and the cook made a mental note, then added intones of deadly menace, "You get up now, do you understand!" and hepicked up a bucket of water.
"That might scare the Great Chief Woodpecker if the Great Chief Cookhad a separate bed, but now he smiles kind o' scornful," was all thesatisfaction he got. Then seeing that breakfast really was ready,Sam scrambled out a few minutes later. The coffee acted like anelixir--their spirits rose, and before the meal was ended it wouldhave been hard to find two more hilarious and enthusiastic campers.Even the vague terrors of the night were now sources of amusement.
Two Little Savages Page 33
