CHAPTER VIII.
THE BATTLE.
All around the quagmire were the skeletons of what had once been greatlusty trees with far-spreading limbs. As Charley uttered his defiance,his glance rested for a moment on the most advanced of these and agleam of hope lit up his face. Although this dead giant of the islandwas many feet from the sinking lad, yet in its youth it had sent outnearly over him one long, slender, tapering limb. In a secondCharley's quick eyes had taken in the possibility and the risk, thenext moment he had skirted round the quagmire at the top of his speedand was swinging up the giant trunk.
The captain was not slow in divining his intention, "Come back,Charley," he called wildly. "It'll break with you, lad. Come back,come back."
Walter managed to twist his head around until he obtained a glimpse ofwhat was going on. "Don't try it, Charley," he implored, "or therewill be two of us gone instead of one."
But Charley was smiling now and confident. He knew the kind of tree hewas climbing up. It was a black mangrove and among the toughest ofwoods when well seasoned. To him it had become merely a question ofreaching the end of that limb before the mire closed over his chum'shead. Never did sailor go aloft more quickly than he swung himself upfrom branch to branch. Quickly he reached the overhanging bough. Atits juncture with the trunk he paused for a second to catch his breath,then swung himself out on it cautiously, hand over hand. The boughcreaked and cracked ominously, but did not break. Near the end of thelimb he stopped, and throwing a leg over to free his hands, he knottedone end of the rope to the branch and flung the other end to his chum.
"You'll have to pull yourself out, Walt," he sang down cheerily, "thislimb will not bear two."
Fortunately Walter had managed to keep his arms above the mire. Hecaught the rope and began to pull. He had occasion now to bless theyears of hard work that had made his body vigorous and his muscles hardand strong. Slowly he drew himself up out of the clinging ooze whichclosed behind him with a sickening, sucking sound. Once clear of themud, it was an easy feat to go up the rope hand over hand and soon hewas standing beside Charley at the foot of the tree where they werespeedily joined by the delighted captain.
"Let us thank God, boys, for your wonderful escape. He put that planinto Charley's head and gave him the courage and daring to carry itout," the captain said.
Devoutly the two boys knelt at the foot of the tree, while the oldsailor in simple, uncouth speech, offered up a little prayer of humblethanks for the deliverance of the two lads he loved so well.
As they arose from their knees, Walter caught Charley's hand and wrungit vigorously. "You saved my life again, old chum," he cried.
But Charley, embarrassed and blushing like a girl, pulled his handaway. "I guess we'd better be getting back to camp," he stammered,eager to change the subject.
"Ever modest are the brave," quoted Walter with a laugh. "But you areright about getting back to camp. I, for one, have had enoughslaughter and adventure for one night."
The guns and plumes were quickly gathered together and, guided by thelight of the camp-fire, the two canoes were soon made fast again at thepoint and their occupants were soon busy removing their rubber bootsand drying themselves before the roaring fire.
Chris' eyes shone with delight when they spread out to view thebeautiful feathery pink, white and blue plumes.
"Sixty-three of 'em," he announced after a hurried count. "Golly,guess dis nigger goin' to be a rich man afore we get back home."
The captain rummaged in his saddle-bags and brought out a small pair ofsteelyards. The plumes were tied carefully together in a bunch andsuspended from the hook.
"Twenty ounces," he announced. "At five dollars an ounce that makesone hundred dollars, lads. That ain't half bad for our first night'swork."
But in spite of their success the boys' faces were grave and depressed.
The captain glanced shrewdly from one to the other. "I reckon you-allsare thinkin' now of just what I've been studyin' on. You're thinkin'of all them poor innocent birds we've killed to get them feathers.You're thinkin' of them and of the dozens you only wounded which arebound to die a lingerin', sufferin' death, poor things."
Charley shuddered, "I killed one and it didn't fall," he explained, "Iclimbed up and looked, and it was resting on a nest containing five,cute, little fluffy ones."
"We can't go on with it," declared Walter with deep feeling. "It's fitwork for brutes like those convicts but not for us."
"Pulling out the plumes won't kill 'em, an' I don't think it hurts 'emmuch," said the captain, thoughtfully. "Maybe we can rig up some sortof trap that will do the work without killin' 'em. It's time for bed,now, lads, but think it over and, perhaps, we can hit on some scheme.Had we better take turns at keeping watch, Charley?"
"I don't think we'll be bothered for a while yet, at any rate," saidCharley, thoughtfully, as he stretched out on his couch and pulled hisblanket over him. "Good-night, all; here goes for the land of dreams."
Although he closed his eyes and endeavored to sleep, it was a long timebefore it visited his excited brain. He was only a boy in years andthe responsibility for the safety of the little party now trustfullythrust upon him bore heavily upon his young shoulders. It would nothave been so bad were it not for the close proximity of that band oftwelve, armed, desperate, escaped murderers. Their attitude towardsthe hunters, together with scraps of conversation they had uttered, hadbred in Charley's active mind a theory for their actions and object, atheory involving a crime so vile and atrocious as to stagger belief.
"I'll be getting flighty if I keep brooding on this thing by myselfmuch longer," Charley mused. "I am beginning to fear my own judgmentis wrong. I'll confide it all to someone else to-morrow and see iftheir opinion agrees with mine." With little reflection, he decided onWalter as the fittest one to tell. This resolve lifted a burden fromhis mind and he soon drifted off into healthy slumber.
"I've got something I want to talk over with you, Walt," he found achance to whisper while breakfast was cooking next morning. "Let's getaway somewhere where the captain and Chris will not hear us," hecautioned.
Their chance came soon after breakfast while Chris was cleaning up thethings and the captain was engaged in sorting out and packing away theplumes in the tin boxes they had brought with them.
The two boys strolled off slowly and carelessly together, but did notstop until they had reached the grassy knoll by the river.
"Hurry up, tell me what it is, you have got me half wild withcuriosity," cried Walter, flinging himself at full length upon the turf.
Charley smiled as he pointed at a thin wisp of smoke rising from theconvicts' camp. "It is about our neighbors," he said.
"Have you learned anything new?" Walter demanded eagerly.
"No, but I've been putting two and two together concerning them againand again until I'm uncertain whether I've got the proper answer orhave got everything distorted by long brooding over them. I want toknow what the conclusion would be to a mind that is fresh."
"Good," said Walter, gleefully, "sounds just like a lawyer, go ahead,I'll be the judge."
"First," said Charley, gravely, "we can admit as an undisputed fact,that those fellows over there were either close behind or ahead of usat least part of the way here."
Walter nodded assent, too interested to interrupt.
"From the closeness with which they tally to that newspaper account,even down to the renegade Indian, we are, I think, justified inassuming that they are the escaped convicts."
"Their faces would convict them without any evidence," Walter declared.
Charley was now so absorbed in his chain of reasoning that he scarcelyheeded the interruption. "Twelve life convicts, which by the laws ofthis state means twelve murderers, men without mercy, who wouldhesitate at nothing, are for several days and nights close to a partyof four who do not even keep a watch at night. Why do they not killoff the four and help themselves to several things that would m
ake themmore comfortable?"
"I give it up," said his puzzled chum.
"Again," said Charley following his line of reasoning, "what do bodiesof men who have broken prison always do when they escape? Separate assoon as possible, and scatter in all directions, make their way tosmall, isolated places, change their appearance as much as possible,and each shift for himself. To remain together increases the risk ofcapture for each and all. There must be some powerful motive to makethem take such risks. Such men risk nothing except for money. Butthere are no banks here to be looted, no strangers to be waylaid indark alleys, not even a blind beggar to steal pennies from."
"Then, for goodness' sake, what is their object?" demanded themystified Walter.
Charley's voice lowered in its seriousness. "I know there is a partyof Indians on the river now. I found traces on the shore, where theyhad embarked in boats, they are likely the same party that were huntingin the woods and have now returned to the Everglades. By the signs Ipointed out to you there is another party following. I told you Icould tell but little from the signs, but there is among the convictsone of their race who can read their signs like an open book."
"But the Indians are poor," Walter objected. "I don't see theconnection."
"Remember what the leader of the convicts said yesterday, that eachIndian had to give the larger portion of his plumes to his chief astribute. Consider a party of expert hunters after a long hunt ofweeks; why, the chief's share must run up into the hundreds of dollarsto say nothing of each brave's individual portion."
"What a diabolical scheme!" cried Walter in horror, "they mean toslaughter the Indians for their plumes as they come down the river fromthe 'Glades.'"
"That's the conclusion I reached," said Charley coolly. "I am gladthat you prove I am not going crazy brooding over the matter."
Boy Chums in the Forest; Or, Hunting for Plume Birds in the Florida Everglades Page 8
