In the Wilds of Florida: A Tale of Warfare and Hunting
Page 44
that hewas not an Indian, though he was at too great a distance to enable me todistinguish his countenance. Suddenly the horse started off from amongthe Indians on foot, and galloped forward at right angles to the coursethey had been pursuing.
"Why, that is Rochford," cried Carlos; "and the Indian is that rascalSpotted Wolf."
Scarcely had he spoken than we saw the Indians bend their bows; but theyapparently dared not shoot for fear of killing Spotted Wolf as well asRochford,--thus enabling the horse to carry both the Indian and hisprisoner to a considerable distance from them. We immediately pursuedthem, regardless of the party on foot; but Tim having charge of one ofthe led horses, and I of the other, we dropped somewhat behind CaptainNorton and Carlos. I could see that Rochford was struggling violentlywith the Indian, when presently he managed to free his arms from therope which bound them behind his back, and pressing those of the Indianclose to his side, he seized the reins, and endeavoured to check thehorse's course.
The captain and Carlos, urging on their steeds, were in a short timealmost up alongside them. I saw Rochford turn to one side, as ifspeaking to Captain Norton; and while he was doing so, what was myhorror to see Carlos, making his horse spring forward, plunge his longknife into the Indian's breast, exclaiming, as I afterwards learned--
"Take that, you wretched spy; you'll no longer play us any of yourtricks!"
He had driven his weapon right home, and as he withdrew it, the blood,which flowed in a full stream, showed the fatal nature of the wound.
Tim and I now came up. Carlos, with the greatest unconcern, handed hisknife to Rochford, saying--
"Here, Rochford, take this and cut the thongs which bind you to theIndian, and tumble the body out of the saddle."
"What have you done, Carlos?" cried Rochford. "We might have kept theman as a hostage, and have made him useful."
"It is too late to think of that now; see, he is already dying!" repliedCarlos.
Rochford took the knife, and cutting the cords allowed the Indian's bodyto fall from the horse. I was horrified and grieved at what my youngcousin had done; but he, apparently considering that he had done nothingunusual, exclaimed--
"Let the savage lie where he has fallen; we must push on if we wish tosave our lives."
That he was right in this respect was very certain. Rochford, who was afirst-rate rider, without stopping the horse, seated himself in thesaddle, and galloped on alongside Captain Norton. I made up to them,eager to learn what had happened.
Rochford, in a few words, told us that he had arranged everything forJuanita's escape; and would have carried her off the previous night hadhe not been captured by Spotted Wolf and his followers, who wereconveying him to Oceola's camp to accuse him of treachery, when we fellin with them. He added that he had still hopes of success, as Juanitawould be on the watch for him; and that, if we could manage to distancethe Indians--who were not likely to hurry themselves without theirleader--we might reach the Indian village, place Juanita on horseback,and reach either Fort King or some other place of safety before anypursuers could overtake us.
Wrong as it was in Carlos to kill the Indian, who was at the timevirtually a prisoner, yet we gained an advantage by the act; for hisfollowers would probably abandon the pursuit of us, as they could notcarry him along with them, and they would not venture to leave himunprotected behind. We, at all events, on looking back, could seenothing of them, and therefore stopped to breathe our horses, and thusenable them to put on fresh speed should it become necessary.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
ROCHFORD ENTERS THE INDIAN VILLAGE--WAITING IN THE WOOD--DOUBTFUL OFSUCCESS--AN ANXIOUS HALF-HOUR--PROPOSED ASSAULT--READY FOR ACTION--THERESCUE--AN ANGRY SCENE--THE RETREAT--DANGERS ON THE WAY--JUANITA'SEXPERIENCE--ARRIVAL AT THE FORT--CONDITION OF MY FATHER--A FRESHEXPEDITION--ROCHFORD DECLINES TO JOIN OUR PARTY--BLACK HAWK TO GO WITHUS--INDIAN TRAILS DISCOVERED--SCOUTING--CARLOS MISSING--AN INDIAN'SREVENGE--A FOREST-GRAVE--A STARTLING INTERRUPTION--THE TIMELYREINFORCEMENTS--DEATH OF MY UNCLE--RESULT OF THE ENGAGEMENT--THE FATE OFBLACK HAWK.
Once more we were galloping in the direction of Oceola's lodges. Thewarriors of the various tribes throughout the country had been summonedround the standard of their chief, so that the district through which wepassed appeared perfectly destitute of inhabitants; not a red man did wemeet to interfere with us. We thus hoped that having distanced thefollowers of Spotted Wolf, we might get Juanita off without having toencounter an enemy. Rochford knew the country perfectly, havingfrequently hunted over the whole of it for several months together; andhe was able unerringly to guide us in the direction we wished to go. Atlast Rochford pulled up on the borders of a hummock. "Remain here withthe horses, ready to start at any moment," he said. "Miss Kearney will,I trust, be on the look-out for me; and if we can but elude thevigilance of the old squaws, we shall be with you very soon."
Having mounted the horse we had brought for him, he set off, and wassoon lost to sight. We remained under shelter of the trees; so that,unless any one approached close to the wood, we ran but little risk ofbeing discovered. I was very anxious to accompany Rochford; but heconsidered that my appearance would excite suspicion, and that it wouldbe safer to go alone. Though he had not spoken to me of the danger heincurred, I knew that it was very great; for should he be captured inhis attempt to carry off the young lady, it would be looked upon byOceola as an act of treachery, and he would to a certainty be put todeath. His intention was to enter the village as if he had just comefrom a hunting expedition, and offer to supply the squaws with venison;or should he be fortunate enough to shoot a deer on his way, he wouldcarry it with him, as it would greatly facilitate his proceedings. Thathe would do this appeared very unlikely, as the distance was but short:still a deer might be seen in the hummock, and he was too good a shot,should he discover one, to let it escape him.
Directly he had gone, we dismounted to allow our horses to feed, and todrink from a pool which we found close inside the hummock. The timedragged slowly on; I had to look at my watch several times to satisfymyself that our friend had not been very much longer absent than we hadexpected. Waiting, indeed, is far more trying than when a person isactively engaged.
"Rochford ought to be here by this time," observed Captain Norton. "Ifear that some accident has happened to him, or that he finds itimpossible to get the young lady away. We shall have the Indians downupon us if we have to wait much longer."
"What do you say to making a dash on the village, and carrying off mysister in spite of the squaws or old men?" exclaimed Carlos.
"Sure that would be the finest thing to do, afther all," cried Tim."We'll just keep the old Redskins employed while Mr. Rochford or Mr.Maurice lifts her on her horse and gallops off with her. They're notlikely to have any fire-arms in the place, except maybe a few oldmuskets without flints in them, as the warriors will have carried offall they own to fight the whites."
I thought Tim's proposal worthy of consideration. But Captain Nortonwas of opinion that the risk to the young lady would be too great; forthough the Indians in the village might very possibly have no fire-arms,they had bows and arrows, and a chance arrow might strike her as well asany of us. "We will wait another half-hour," he said; "and if Rochforddoes not then appear with Miss Kearney, we will as Carlos proposes,gallop into the village, and making directly for the chief's lodge--which we shall know by its superior size and decoration--we will carryaway the lady if she be within it. We may possibly also rescue ourfriend, should we find that he has been made a prisoner."
Captain Norton's plan exactly suited the ideas of the party; and Iregretted that we had not attempted it at first: we should have gainedmuch time, and run less risk than we were now likely to do.
That last half-hour appeared longer than any of its predecessors.Rochford did not arrive. We tightened our saddle-girths, saw that ourbits were well fitted, and threw ourselves on horseback. There were butfour of us to oppose some scores of squaws, and we could not tell howmany old warriors, who, alth
ough unable to fight on the battle-field,might prove no inconsiderable foes when defending their lodges. We atfirst advanced slowly, that we might put our horses to full speed whenthe time came for action. As may be supposed, we kept our swords loosein their scabbards, and our rifles ready, with fresh ammunition forreloading.
We had as yet encountered no one: it was evident that the inhabitants,for some reason or other, must be all in the village. At length thetops of the lodges appeared in sight. Our hearts beat quickly. Thesooner, after we were seen, we could reach the village the better.
"Forward!" cried Captain Norton. "Yonder is the point for which we mustaim."
We struck our spurs into our horses' flanks. Scarcely had we done sothan a chorus of yells and shrieks, in the shrillest of tones, broke onour ears; and the next