and liquor?"
The officer excused himself, and having mentioned the spot where thevolunteers were to rendezvous, he turned his horse and rode towards us.We asked him what success he had had in obtaining recruits.
"Those living on the outskirts are willing enough," he said; "but someof those whose houses are near the river, and who believe that theIndians will not molest them, are less inclined to turn out."
As our new friend had to hurry on, we parted with him; but he promisedto call at the judge's in the evening.
Wherever we went, we found people talking about the supposed approach ofthe Indians, though no one seemed to think there was much chance oftheir attacking the settlement. We hoped, on getting back, to findRochford and Lejoillie; but they had not returned. Soon afterwards,Captain Norton came in, and the judge and Mrs. Shurtleff, by their kindreception, at once made him feel at home. He appeared to be much struckwith my cousins, and I heard him observe to the judge's wife that he wasnot aware such charming young ladies were to be found in that part ofthe country. Rita was, at all events, well pleased to listen to hisconversation, which was lively and sensible.
Late in the evening Lejoillie arrived, guided by a black whom he hadengaged for the purpose. He had lost sight, he said, of Rochford, andthough he had hunted about in every direction, he could not rejoin him.He hoped, however, that he would before long find his way home.
Latterly we became somewhat uneasy at the non-appearance of ourcountryman. Could he possibly have fallen into the hands of Indians?If so, anxious as he was to serve them, they, ignorant of this, wouldkill and scalp him as certainly as they would any other white man.
The night passed on. The judge sent us to our sleeping-rooms, sayingthat he would have a watch kept to let our friend in, should he appear.The captain had, I found, also sent out scouts, to prevent the risk ofthe settlement being surprised; and before he turned in, he rode round,to ascertain that they were on the alert.
CHAPTER FOUR.
ROCHFORD'S DISAPPEARANCE--ORGANISING A SEARCHING PARTY--MUSTER OF THEROSEVILLE VOLUNTEERS--THE START--A PINE-BARREN--THROUGH HUMMOCKS,SWAMPS, AND FORESTS--A MID-DAY HALT--THE ALARM--STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF OURPARTY--RECOVERY FROM THE PANIC--SCOUTS--ROCHFORD AND THE NATIVE CHIEF--THE RETURN TO ROSEVILLE--AN INTRODUCTION TO THE JUDGE--OUR NATIVEGUEST--HIS STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE--WHAT CAPTAIN NORTON KNEW ABOUT HIM--APLEASANT DISCOVERY--RUMOURS OF INDIAN OUTRAGES--HUNTING EXPEDITION--ROCHFORD AND JUANITA--GOOD EXCUSES--AN INCIDENT IN THE ORANGERY--CUBANBLOOD-HOUND--AN OCELOT--A SUCCESSFUL DAY--ROCHFORD AGAIN GOES OFF--SEARCH FOR HIM--A NOTE OF EXPLANATION RECEIVED--RETURN HOME.
When I awoke in the morning, I sincerely hoped to find that Rochford hadreturned; but on inquiry I was told that he had not made his appearance,nor had any news been received of him. Lejoillie, who had taken a greatliking to him, became more and more anxious, especially when he heardthat Indians were in the neighbourhood.
"I have no wish to lose my scalp, even for the sake of science; and itwill be a great disappointment to me if I am unable to continue mytravels through the country," he remarked.
"You need not be anxious," said the judge; "these Indian troubles willsoon be put a stop to. If Rochford doesn't return during the morning,we must organise an expedition to search for him. I fear that I cannotundergo the fatigue myself, but I will use my influence with others; andwith the assistance of Captain Norton, we may send out a strong body,who will defy the Redskins, should any be met with. In my opinion,however, the appearance of a few hunters, or a single family or so,probably gave rise to the report."
The judge's idea was entertained by the greater part of the inhabitants,and, I suspect, contributed not a little to the readiness with whichthey volunteered to form a party to go in search of our missing friend.Captain Norton, who was met by an orderly and four troopers, had toleave us and push on to carry out his instructions. Before he left, hewarned the people not to venture far from the settlement. He especiallycounselled Carlos not to allow his sisters to return by land, butadvised that, as soon as possible, they should go back by the river, ashe considered that Castle Kearney was the safest place in theneighbourhood. The remainder of the day was spent in preparations; andit was agreed that the party should set off the next morning, shouldRochford in the meantime not have made his appearance.
Carlos at first declared that as he had nothing to do with the stranger,he should remain to look after his sisters; but he afterwards consentedto join the party, Tim and I, with Lejoillie, felt ourselves bound togo.
As Rochford did not return, the Roseville volunteers assembled in frontof the judge's house at daybreak, the time agreed on. They formed amotley group, in every variety of costume: some were whites, othersbrown men and blacks, with two or three half-caste Indians. Thequestion was, who should take the command. The judge would have beenthe proper person; but as he could not possibly go--and had he done so,he would have greatly impeded the progress of more active men--Lejoillie, though a stranger, was requested to lead the party.
"For one object I will go," he said. "I am not fond of fighting; but Iwish to find my friend, and will endeavour to conduct you to the best ofmy ability."
We mustered between thirty and forty men and boys, with all sorts ofarms and, as I have said, in every variety of costume. Each man hadbeen directed to carry provisions for his own consumption, as we shouldcertainly be out the whole of one day, and perhaps for a night and asecond day. I don't know what Captain Norton would have said had heseen us as we marched along in a straggling fashion, many of the menwith pipes in their mouths, and all either talking or laughing loudly.
Having left the settlement behind, we crossed a wide extent of prairieland, where the sun beat down on our heads, and we had to force our wayamong the sharp teeth of the saw-palmetto, which scratched our legs andtore our trousers, and sometimes inflicted disagreeable wounds. Then wecame to what is called a "pine-barren;" the ground being flat and thesoil of a sandy nature, out of which rose enormous tall pines, havingbeneath them a growth of rank grass, and here and there clumps of lowbushes, well calculated to conceal an enemy, while our course was oftenimpeded by fallen trunks and half-burned stumps. Several times we hadto turn aside to avoid the swampy ponds, fringed with tall saw-grass;from amid which rose snipes, plovers, and wild-ducks, and occasionallyflocks of the beautiful white egret and snowy heron. The water wasbrackish, and covered with lilies of varied colours; from amid which,every now and then, alligators popped out their heads to look at us.Other birds, among them the great sand-hill crane, stalked about, until,uttering loud whoops, they took to flight, frightened by our shouts.
When we came to spots where the forest was too thick to see far ahead,we sent out scouts; but I observed that few of the men were willing toget out of hearing of the main body. At last we found ourselves inanother hummock: a dense jungle of tall cabbage-palms, oaks, hickory andcotton-trees, with an undergrowth of shrubs such as are to be found onlyin carefully-cultivated gardens in England--hydrangeas, azaleas,lobelias, and shrubs and creepers of varied colours and gorgeous hues;while overhead the green leaves of the wild-vine and other climbersformed a delicious roof to shelter us from the sun's rays. Out of thewood burst forth a concert of song-birds, amid which the notes of thesweet-toned mocking-bird could be especially distinguished. To Carlosit was no novelty, nor was it to most of our companions; but Lejoillieand I were delighted.
We had as yet discovered no trace of our friend. The few woodmen we methad seen nothing of him. We had passed the spot where Lejoillie and hehad separated; and we felt convinced that unless we took a much widerrange, we should have little chance of finding him.
Several of the party now called out that they were getting hungry; andas we had reached a shady spot, we agreed to halt and dine.
"Before we do so, gentlemen, we must ascertain that no enemies arelurking in the neighbourhood," said Lejoillie.
Accordingly, he directed three of the men, who had proved to be the bestscouts, to push forward and examine the g
round around us. Many of theparty had unstrapped their wallets; some had thrown themselves on theground; and others had gone to a green and unattractive pool to obtainwater.
Two of the scouts had come in, and assured us that they could discoverno trace of the red men. "We may then venture to recruit our strength,my friends," said Lejoillie.
Carlos and I seated ourselves before a fire kindled by Tim, at which hewas cooking some slices of bacon. Our motley party lay about in alldirections: some had thrown aside their coats, as well as their shoesand hats; and others had even taken off their shirts, that they mightthe more completely enjoy the cool air. We had begun our meal, andLejoillie was offering Carlos a _petit verre_ from a bottle he carriedat his side, when suddenly a shout was raised--"The Redskins! theRedskins are upon us!"
"Stand to your arms, men!" cried Lejoillie, leaping up.
Carlos and I,
In the Wilds of Florida: A Tale of Warfare and Hunting Page 8
