CHAPTER SIX.
THE CAMP, THE ATTACK, AND THE ESCAPE.
It were vain to attempt a description of the varied condition of mindinto which the brother and sister fell when they found themselvesactually reduced to a state of slavery in an Indian camp, and separatedfrom their parents, as they firmly believed, for ever.
Nelly wept her eyes almost out of their sockets at first. Then she fellinto a sort of apathetic state, in which, for several days, she wentabout her duties almost mechanically, feeling as if it were all ahorrible dream, out of which she would soon awake, and find herself athome with her "darling mother" beside her. This passed, however, andshe had another fit of heart-breaking sorrow, from which she foundrelief by recalling some of the passages in God's Word, which her motherhad taught her to repeat by heart; especially that verse in which it issaid, "that Jesus is a friend who sticketh closer than a brother." Andthis came to the poor child's mind with peculiar power, because her ownbrother Roy was so kind, and took such pains to comfort her, and toenter into all her girlish feelings and sympathies, that she couldscarcely imagine it possible for anyone to stick closer to her in allher distress than he did.
As for Roy, he was not given to the melting mood. His nature was boldand manly. Whatever he felt, he kept it to himself, and he forgot morethan half his own sorrow in his brotherly efforts to assuage that ofNelly.
Both of them were active and willing to oblige, so that they did notallow their grief to interfere with their work, a circumstance whichinduced their captors to treat them with forbearance, and even kindness.Nelly sobbed and worked; gradually, the sobbing decreased, and the workwas carried on with vigour, so that she soon became quite expert atskinning rabbits, boiling meat, embroidering mocassins, smokingdeerskins, chopping firewood into small pieces, and many other detailsof Indian household economy; while Roy went out with the hunters, andbecame a very Nimrod, insomuch that he soon excelled all the lads of hisown age, and many of those who were older, in the use of the bow, thesnow-shoes, the spear, the axe, and the gun. But all this, and whatthey did and said in the Indian camp during that winter, and what wassaid and done to them, we do not mean to write about, having matter ofdeeper interest to tell.
Winter passed away, and spring came. But little do those who dwell inEngland know of the enchantment of returning spring in the frozenwilderness of North America. The long, long winter, seems as though itwould _never_ pass away. The intense frost seals up all the sweetodours of the woods for so many months, that the nostrils becomepowerfully sensitive, and, as it were, yearn for something to smell.The skin gets so used to frost, that a balmy breeze is thought of as athing of the past, or well-nigh forgotten.
Spring in those regions comes suddenly. It came on our wanderers with agush. One night the temperature rose high above the freezing point;next day all the sights and sounds of Nature's great awakening were infull play. The air fanned their cheeks like a summer breeze; thestrange unwonted sound of tinkling and dropping water was heard; scents,as of green things, were met and inhaled greedily. As the thirstyBedouin drinks from the well in the oasis, so did Roy and Nelly drink inthe delicious influences of melting nature. And they thought of thosewords which say, that the wilderness shall rejoice and blossom as therose. The rejoicing had commenced, the blossoming would soon follow.
But warlike and wicked men were even then preparing to desecrate thebeautiful land. A war-party of enemies had come down upon the tribe,with whom they dwelt. Scouts had brought in the news. All wascommotion and excitement in the camp. Goods and chattels were beingpacked up. The women and children were to be sent off with these, underan escort, to a place of greater security, while the Braves armed forthe fight.
In the middle of all the confusion, Roy took Nelly aside, and, with alook of mystery, said--
"Nell, dear, I'm goin' to run away. Stay, now, don't stare so like anowl, but hold your sweet tongue until I have explained what I mean todo. You and I have picked up a good deal of useful knowledge of onesort or another since we came here, and I'm inclined to think we arequite fit to take to the woods and work our way back to FortEnterprise."
"But isn't it an _awful_ long way?" said Nelly.
"It is, but we have an _awful_ long time to travel; haven't we all ourlives before us? If our lives are long, we'll manage it; if they areshort, why, we won't want to manage it, so we need not bother our headsabout that?"
"But the way home," suggested Nelly, "do you know it?"
"Of course I know it; that is to say, I know, from that ugly thief Hawk,that it lies somewhere or other to the south-west o' this place, somehundreds of miles off; how many hundreds does not much matter, for wehave got the whole of the spring, summer, and fall before us."
"But what if we don't get home in the fall?"
"Then we shall spend the winter in the woods, that's all."
Nelly laughed, in spite of her anxieties, at the confident tone in whichher brother spoke; and, being quite unable to argue the matter farther,she said that she was ready to do whatever Roy pleased, having perfectconfidence in his wisdom.
"That's right, Nell; now, you get ready to start at a moment's notice.When the Injuns attack the camp, we'll give 'em the slip. Put all youwant to take with you on a toboggan, [see note 1] and meet me at thecrooked tree when the camp moves."
That night the camp was struck, and the women and children departed,under a strong escort. Almost at the same time the enemy came down ontheir prey, but they met men prepared for them. In the dark, Nellycrept to the crooked tree, dragging the toboggan after her. She was metby Roy, who took the sledge-line and her hand and led her into the darkforest, while the savages were fighting and yelling like fiends in thecamp. There let us leave them to fight it out. Enough for us to knowthat their warfare prevented any pursuit of the young fugitives.
Weeks passed, and Roy and Nelly wandered on; all fear of pursuit soonleft them. Ducks, geese, and other waterfowl, came in myriads with thespring. Roy had brought with him his gun (the one he was wont to use inhunting), and bow and quiver. They fed on the fat of the land. Summeradvanced, and game became less plentiful; still, there was more thansufficient to supply them with abundance of food. Autumn approached;the wild fowl that had passed northward in spring, began to returnsouthward, and again the wants of the young wanderers weresuperabundantly supplied.
The pole-star was Roy's guide. At night he laid his course by it; andby the sun during the day, making constant allowance, of course, for thesun's rate of travelling through the sky, and taking advantage of allprominent landmarks on the way.
Time sped on; many weary miles were travelled, but no sign of FortEnterprise was to be seen. Day after day, week after week, month aftermonth they wandered, and still found themselves in the heart of anunknown wilderness. Occasionally they observed signs of Indians, andcarefully kept out of sight at such times, as you may easily believe.
At last there came a day when hard frost set in. It was the first touchof another winter. Roy and Nelly did not betray their feelings to eachother, but their hearts sank as they thought of what lay before them.The frost was short-lived, however; towards noon the air becamedelightfully warm, and their spirits revived.
On reaching the summit of an eminence, up which they had toiled forseveral hours, they beheld a small lake, in which the silvery cloudswere clearly reflected. The day was calm; the sun unusually brilliant;the autumnal foliage most gorgeous in colour. It was like a scene infairy-land!
"Splendid!" exclaimed Roy, sitting down beside his sister on the trunkof a fallen tree.
"Oh! _how_ beautiful," cried Nelly.
"It's so like silver," said Roy.
"Silver Lake," murmured Nelly.
Roy seemed to think the name appropriate, for he echoed the words, "Yes,Silver Lake." And there brother and sister sat, for a long time, on thefallen tree, in silent admiration of the scene.
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nbsp; Note 1. A small Indian sledge, dragged on the snow, either by hand orby dog with loops at the sides for lashing the loading of the sledgeupon it.
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