IV
A "Massacree" of Palefaces
"Say, fellers, I know where there's a stavin' Birch tree--do you wantany bark?"
"Yes, I want some," said Little Beaver.
"But hold on; I guess we better not, coz it's right on the edge o' ourbush, an' Paw's still at the turnips."
"Now if you want a real war party," said the Head Chief, "let'smassacree the Paleface settlement up the crick and get some milk.We're just out, and I'd like to see if the place has changed any."
So the boys hid their bows and arrows and headdresses, and, forgettingto take a pail, they followed in Indian file the blazed trail,carefully turning in their toes as they went and pointing silently tothe track, making signs of great danger. First they crawled up, undercover of one of the fences, to the barn. The doors were open and menworking at something. A pig wandered in from the barnyard. Then theboys heard a sudden scuffle, and a squeal from the pig as it scrambledout again, and Raften's voice: "Consarn them pigs! Them boys ought tobe here to herd them." This was sufficiently alarming to scare theWarriors off in great haste. They hid in the huge root-cellar andthere held a council of war.
"Here, Great Chiefs of Sanger," said Yan, "behold I take three straws.That long one is for the Great Woodpecker, the middle size is forLittle Beaver, and the short thick one with the bump on the end anda crack on top is Sappy. Now I will stack them up in a bunch and letthem fall, then whichever way they point we must go, for this is BigMedicine."
So the straws fell. Sam's straw pointed nearly to the house, Yan's alittle to the south of the house, and Guy's right back home.
"Aha, Sappy, you got to go home; the straw says so."
"I ain't goin' to believe no such foolishness."
"It's awful unlucky to go against it."
"I don't care, I ain't goin' back," said Guy doggedly.
"Well, my straw says go to the house; that means go scouting for milk,I reckon."
Yan's straw pointed toward the garden, and Guy's to the residence andgrounds of "J.G. Burns, Esq."
"I don't care," said Sappy, "I ain't goin'. I am goin' after someof them cherries in your orchard, an' 'twon't be the first time,neither."
"We kin meet by the Basswood at the foot of the lane with whateverwe get," said the First War Chief, as he sneaked into the bushes andcrawled through the snake fence and among the nettles and manureheaps on the north side of the barnyard till he reached the woodshedadjoining the house. He knew where the men were, and he could guesswhere his mother was, but he was worried about the Dog. Old Cap mightbe on the front doorstep, or he might be prowling at just the wrongplace for the Injun plan. The woodshed butted on the end of thekitchen. The milk was kept in the cellar, and one window of the cellaropened into a dark corner of the woodshed. This was easily raised, andSam scrambled down into the cool damp cellar. Long rows of milk panswere in sight on the shelves. He lifted the cover of the one he knewto be the last put there and drank a deep, long draught with his mouthdown to it, then licked the cream from his lips and remembered that hehad come without a pail. But he knew where to get one. He wentgently up the stairs, avoiding steps Nos. 1 and 7 because they were"creakers," as he found out long ago, when he used to 'hook' maplesugar from the other side of the house. The door at the top was closedand buttoned, but he put his jack-knife blade through the crack andturned the button. After listening awhile and hearing no sound in thekitchen, he gently opened the squeaky old door. There was no one tobe seen but the baby, sound asleep in her cradle. The outer door wasopen, but no Dog lying on the step as usual. Over the kitchen was agarret entered by a trap-door and a ladder. The ladder was up and thetrap-door open, but all was still. Sam stood over the baby, grunted,"Ugh, Paleface papoose," raised his hand as if wielding a war club,aimed a deadly blow at the sleeping cherub, then stooped and kissedher rosy mouth so lightly that her pink fists went up to rub it atonce. He now went to the pantry, took a large pie and a tin pail,then down into the cellar again. He, at first, merely closed the doorbehind him and was leaving it so, but remembered that Minnie mightawaken and toddle around till she might toddle into the cellar,therefore he turned the button so that just a corner showed over thecrack, closed the door and worked with his knife blade on that cornertill the cellar was made as safe as before. He now escaped with hispie and pail.
Meanwhile his mother's smiling face beamed out of the dark loft. Thenshe came down the ladder. She had seen him come and enter the cellar,by chance she was in the loft when he reached the kitchen, but she hadkept quiet to enjoy the joke.
Next time the Woodpecker went to the cellar he found a paper with thison it: "_Notice_ to hostile Injuns--Next time you massacree thissettlement, bring back the pail, and don't leave the covers off themilk pans."
Yan had followed the fence that ran south of the house. There wasplenty of cover, but he crawled on hands and knees, going right downon his breast when he came to places more open than the rest. In thisway he had nearly reached the garden when he heard a noise behind and,turning, he saw Sappy.
"Here, what are you following me for? Your straw pointed the otherway. You ain't playing fair."
"Well, I don't care, I ain't going home. _You_ fixed it up so mystraw would point that way. It ain't fair, an' I won't do it."
"You got no right following me."
"I ain't following you, but you keep going just the place I want togo. It's you following me, on'y keepin' ahead. I told you I was aftercherries."
"Well, the cherries are that way and I'm going this way, and I don'twant you along."
"You couldn't get me if you wanted me."
"Erh----"
"Erh----"
So Sappy went cherryward and Yan waited awhile, then crawled towardthe fruit garden. After twenty or thirty yards more, he saw a gleam ofred, then under it a bright yellow eye glaring at him. He had chancedon a hen sitting on her nest. He came nearer, she took alarm and ranaway, not clucking, but cackling loudly. There were a dozen eggs oftwo different styles, all bright and clean, and the hen's comb wasbright red. Yan knew hens. This was easy to read: Two stray henslaying in one nest, and neither of them sitting yet.
"So ho! Straws show which way the hens go."
He gathered up the eggs into his hat and crawled back toward the treewhere all had to meet.
But before he had gone far he heard a loud barking, then yells forhelp, and turned in time to see Guy scramble up a tree while Cap, theold Collie, barked savagely at him from below. Now that he was in nodanger Sappy had the sense to keep quiet. Yan came back as quicklyas possible. The Dog at once recognized and obeyed _him_, butdoubtless was much puzzled to make out why he should be pelted back tothe house when he had so nobly done his duty by the orchard.
"Now, you see, maybe next time you'll do what the medicine straw tellsyou. Only for me you'd been caught and fed to the pigs, sure."
"Only for you I wouldn't have come. I wasn't scared of your old Dog,anyway. Just in about two minutes more I was comin' down to kick thestuffin' out o' him myself."
"Perhaps you'd like to go back and do it now. I'll soon call him."
"Oh, I hain't got time now, but some other time--Let's find Sam."
So they foregathered at the tree, and laden with their spoils, theyreturned gloriously to camp.
Two Little Savages Page 35
