CHAPTER XII.
CHARLEY'S MISTAKE.
All were awake early next morning, in fact, the captain and Charley hadslept but little during the night. They were worried and anxious as towhat the coming day would bring forth. As he lay awake during the longsilent hours, Charley felt his burden of responsibility grow heavyindeed and doubts began to assail him as to the wisdom of the course hewas pursuing. After all, there was yet time to retreat. He had onlyto say the word and his companions would willingly follow. His plansin remaining were built largely on guesswork and theory. If theyworked out as he had reasoned, the Indians would be warned. With theiraid the convicts could be surrounded, captured, and sent back to acoast town under guard. Some blood would likely be shed but not asmuch as if they were left free to run at large. But if his reasoningwere wrong, if his plan for some unforeseen reason, failed,--the boyshuddered as he thought of himself and three companions pitted againsttwelve desperate ruffians, far away from any help or assistance. Deepdown in his active brain some awakened cell was trying to send amessage of warning, but it would not rise to his consciousness, hecould not quite grasp it or its meaning. Thus tortured and worried,our young leader passed a weary night, and was relieved when dawn beganto break and his companions to awaken.
As soon as it was light enough, they made their way back cautiously tothe camp, where they found everything as they had left it. Evidentlythey had had no visitors during the night.
"Well, it was just as well to be on the safe side," Charley announced,"anything is liable to happen now. I guess while you make some coffee,Chris, I will stand guard at our wall. Walt, you make up two packagesof provisions, say enough to do for a couple of days and put one ineach of the canoes. Captain, if you will, please look over the outfitsand pick out what we will be able to carry and what would be mostuseful to us if we should have to take to the canoes in a hurry. Don'tbe alarmed," he said cheerily, noting the grave look on the others'faces. "Things are going to go all right, but a good general alwayslooks to it that he has a way of retreat ready. Now, as soon as Chrishas coffee ready, we will have one last talk together about thisthing." Shouldering his rifle, he made his way to the breastwork offallen trees, where he paced back and forth until Chris came to relievehim for breakfast.
During the meal, Charley went over the whole puzzle again, explainingfreely his doubts and fears, and the possibility of his whole chain ofreasoning being wrong. "Now you know all I know about it," heconcluded. "There is yet time to escape. If you say the word, we'llstart in half an hour."
The captain shook his head gravely. "Your reasoning seems clear asprint to me, lad. You have just brooded over it so long that it'snatural you should begin to have doubts and fears. To me it's as soundas when you first gave it. That being so, we can't run an' leave thempoor ignorant savages to be shot down maybe like snipe. It wouldn't beChristian like to go when that chance remains."
"Those are my sentiments exactly," said Walter eagerly.
"Good," Charley sighed in relief, "this shifts at least part of theresponsibility from my shoulders. Now for our plans. Walter, I amgoing to put you to watch at Lookout Point to-day. If you see theIndians, signal them in and tell them of the whole plot againstthem,--there's sure to be one or more of them who understands English.As soon as you make them understand, lead them back through the woodstill you get to the neck of the convicts' point, then post them behindtrees and stumps so the convicts cannot get by them. Then fire twoshots close together and we will be with you in ten minutes, and ourbirds will be caged. Have Chris fix you up a lunch, for the Indiansare not likely to pass the point until afternoon." His voice sank fromthe crisp tone of command to a softer note, and his hand for a momentrested affectionately on his chum's shoulder as he continued. "I hateto send you out there alone, old chap, but I have got to stay here.The convicts may try to drive us out of this place this morning. Nomatter how much shooting you may hear, don't desert your post."
"But, if for some reason you want me, how am I to know?"
Charley reflected for a moment. "I have a couple of rockets in mysaddle-bags," he said; "if I send up one, you may know it's a signal tocome back. Now be sure to keep your eyes out for trouble as you nearthe point. No one can tell, now, what the situation may be."
The two chums silently clasped hands in a hearty, farewell grip, andWalter, picking up his rifle and some of the remnants from breakfast,vaulted the tree breastwork and with a cheery nod and wave of his handto those left behind, quickly vanished in the forest.
Charley stood for a moment gazing after him with something like a mistin his honest brown eyes. "Dear old fellow," he murmured, "God grantthat all will turn out well and that we may be safe together againbefore night falls."
The captain's voice brought him back from his musing. "Well, Charley,"he sung out cheerily, "I've got together the things we can't well spareand distributed them between the canoes. I reckoned that was where youwanted 'em. What's the next orders, General?"
"Nothing, but to get our guns and all the spare ones, and take standsalong the wall. Those fellows may try to drive us off this morning."
The captain grinned with satisfaction as he took his place behind thebarricade.
"I reckon they'll have to be pretty smart to get on this point," hecommented. "There's a tidy stretch of right open ground to be crossedbefore they reach here."
"I picked it out just for that reason," Charley admitted. "We canstand them off here during the day, but at night we cannot stop them, Ifear."
"Aye, aye," nodded the captain thoughtfully, "that's the reason forfixing up the canoes."
Charley nodded in turn. "I hope we won't have to take to them," hesaid. "It would come hard to lose our ponies, our packs, and all thathelps to make our camp life comfortable."
"We won't lose 'em," declared the captain, cheerfully. "This timeto-morrow night we'll be safe and hearty sitting around the firefiguring up our share of the rewards they must be offering by this timefor those pretty jail-birds."
This ended the conversation, for each took his position behind the treebarricade with all senses alert for any indications of an attack.
For long Charley kept shifting his gaze from the woods before him tothe tall sapling on Lookout Point. At last a smudge of red showed nearthe sapling's top for a minute, then disappeared, and he gave a shoutof relief. "Walter's there all right," he called to his companions, "Isaw his signal."
The morning wore slowly away without a sign of their enemies.
"What have you figured out is the reason they ain't troubling us,Charley?" the captain called when the noon hour was at last reached.
"I have been studying over it for a long time, sir," the lad answered,"and have come to the conclusion that they have decided to postponefinishing us up until they have disposed of the Indians. I guess theyare afraid that the noise of firearms would put the Seminoles on theirguard if they happen to be within hearing. Anyway, I guess, we canspare Chris long enough to get us a lunch."
Chris lost no time in getting together a hasty dinner, which was asquickly disposed of by the sentinels.
From now on Charley kept his eyes anxiously on the distant point andsapling, hoping, longing, and expecting to catch a glimpse of thefluttering square of red which would wave the welcome news that Walterhad sighted the Indian fleet.
One o'clock passed, two o'clock, three, and still no signal.
"Take it calm, lad, they'll be along soon," the captain saidsoothingly, to Charley, who was nervously pacing back and forth, hisface drawn and anxious.
"For de Lawd sake, look over there by dem convicts' point. Oh, golly,oh golly!" cried Chris, suddenly.
Charley gave one glance and buried his face in his hands to shut outthe coming horror. "Fool, fool that I was," he moaned. "Not to knowthat it would be the home-bound Indians loaded with plumes they wouldbe laying for, not the empty handed ones coming out of the glades."
The captain was by his side in a s
econd. "Don't take it hard, lad," hesaid, gently. "You done your best. We all stumbled into the samemistake. Look away for a minute, lad. It will soon be over, I daresay."
But Charley, though torn with regrets, took his hands from his face andgazed steadily at the tragedy nearing its climax.
Winding past the convicts' point in single file, came a long line ofsome thirty canoes, uncouth, shapeless things, each hewed out of agreat cypress log. In the end of each an Indian stood erect plying along pole which sent their clumsy looking crafts forward at surprisingspeed. Magnificent savages they were, not one less than six feet tall,framed like athletes, and lithe and supple as panthers.
One man in each boat was the rule, but in the leading canoe a youngIndian lad was also squatted, in the bow.
With breathless suspense our hunters stood helpless to warn or help asthe long line glided on to its fate.
Ten, twelve, fourteen, fifteen stole past the point. Then the horrorof horrors happened.
Boy Chums in the Forest; Or, Hunting for Plume Birds in the Florida Everglades Page 12
