The Pioneer Boys of the Columbia; or, In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest

by St. George Rathborne

  CHAPTER XX

  THE RETURN FROM CAPTIVITY

  THEY parted from the Dacotah brave with what was doubtless intended tobe grateful gestures on his part.

  "He seems to understand that we have played the part of friends," saidRoger, "and I think if the chance ever comes up he will stand by us."

  "I am of the same opinion," declared Dick, "though for that matter Ihope we may never need his help. After all, we did not lose much time,and it was worth while to save a life."

  They pushed on diligently for a long time. Dick was not in doubt as tohis course, for he had taken particular pains to notice as they camealong on the preceding day, in the company of the Indians.

  When Roger happened to ask once if he were quite sure the river laydirectly ahead of them, Dick answered confidently.

  "Unless it makes a great sweep to the north somewhere above us we willrun upon the river by nightfall, take my word for it;" and Roger,accustomed to depending fully on his comrade, never doubted after thatmoment.

  Something else was soon upon his mind, however, and he voiced histhoughts by appealing to Dick.

  "Do you think it would be dangerous if you shot your gun off just once,in case we sighted some game? I feel very hungry, for that supper theIndians gave us didn't seem to do me much good. And breakfast is one ofmy best meals, you know."

  Dick laughed at seeing the appealing look on his chum's face.

  "I don't think the danger of the shot's being heard is one-half asgreat as you think you are of starving to death," he told Roger.

  "Then you agree, do you?" demanded the other, eagerly. "I'll keep myeyes peeled for sight of a deer, and I do hope it isn't going to belong before we get a chance at one."

  As luck would have it, before another ten minutes had passed theopportunity he was hoping for came their way. Dick was ready, and withthe report of his gun a yearling doe fell in a heap, just when in theact of plunging into the dense thicket.

  Of course Roger would not think of any delay in getting a fire goingand some of the tender meat broiling before the flames. While he lookedafter the fire Dick cut up the game, and it was not long before anappetizing odor began to make both boys wishful for the feast to begin.

  "We can make up for this stop," said Roger as he sat there devouringpiece after piece of the half-cooked venison, "by not halting at noonfor a rest. Then again, we can hurry our steps at times and so getalong faster."

  "No trouble about that," Dick assured him, "for I figure that we haveplenty of time to get there by dark. You remember that we were only onthe move some six hours yesterday, and we have the whole of to-day fortramping."

  "Do you know, Dick, this reminds me of how we chased after theexpedition for weeks and weeks when determined to find Jasper Williams,and get that paper signed for our parents. Hundreds of miles wefollowed the trail as it ascended the Missouri River, until at last weovertook them."[4]

  "What we did once we can do again, this time on a small scale," Dickassured him. "I was just watching those crows over there in thattree-top. They seem to be holding a regular caucus, and keep onscolding like everything."

  "Yes," added the other boy, "and sometimes crows turn out to be a pestin lots of ways besides eating the settler's corn. Old hunters havetold me they hide from crows whenever they find themselves in hostileterritory, because through their cawing the birds tell the Indiansstrangers are in the woods."

  "There, the whole lot has flown away, and making all sorts of noisesin the bargain," Dick went on to say. "I don't like crows myself anytoo much. They are too noisy, and seem to think every one is trying tocreep up on them for a shot."

  "When we do strike the river, Dick, can we easily tell whether theexpedition has passed or not?"

  "All we have to do is to examine the ground, for their horses wouldleave a plain trail, you know, Roger."

  "And if, after searching, we do not find any sign, we will know theyhaven't come along yet. In that case all we have to do will be to sitdown, and take things easy until they show up."

  Roger seemed to have left most of his troubles behind, after making agood breakfast on the deer meat. With the intention of chiding him fordisplaying any eagerness for food when there was none to be had, Dicktook up the subject again as they trudged manfully onward.

  "It's very plain to be seen that you'd never make a good Indianbrave, Roger," was what he told the other, and this excited the boy'scuriosity just as Dick knew would be the case.

  "Tell me why," he demanded. "I always thought I could stand painwithout flinching as well as any Indian boy; and I've learned a lotabout wild life in the bargain. Where do I fall short, Dick?"

  "It's just this way," his cousin told him. "An Indian boy is taughtnever to display his feelings, no matter what he suffers inwardly. Ifhe were struck by a poisonous rattlesnake, and could feel his bodyswelling, not a whimper would come from his lips."

  "Well, what has that to do with me, Dick? So far I have never beenattacked by a rattlesnake, though I've killed plenty of the uglyvarmints, I wager."

  "But you did put on a long face, and you complained because for onceyou missed your breakfast. Now, an Indian boy would never have said aword, but held in grimly to the end. Not that I blame you, remember,for I was hungry myself, and ready to use my gun, even before youmentioned it."

  They both laughed at that.

  "We were born 'paleface' boys," said Roger, "and it's hard for theleopard to change its spots, they say. When we're hungry we know it,yes, and we don't mind letting other people know it, too, if that willhelp things along."

  Noon came and went.

  They kept persistently moving forward. Occasionally they came to openplaces in the forest where the grass grew green, and often did theyglimpse deer feeding in these glades. Once they even saw a small herdof buffaloes trooping off, having apparently winded the boys.

  But Dick made no motion to use his gun again. They had all the freshmeat they required, and powder and balls were too precious to beneedlessly wasted. So the afternoon came and found them keeping up thatdetermined pace. If either of them felt tired they failed to mentionthe fact, which in itself was pretty positive evidence that theypossessed many of the best traits of the Indian character, after all.

  From long habit they were accustomed to such exercise as this, andwould not have complained had the tramp kept up far into the comingnight.

  It was about the middle of the afternoon when Roger gave a lowexclamation of delight.

  "I can see the river ahead of us, Dick!" he cried, with a vein of deepsatisfaction in his voice.

  "Yes, I have been waiting to hear you say that, Roger, for I glimpsedit five minutes back. So you see after all we have made good time. Weshall be there long before sunset."

  "I must say I am glad to know it," Roger admitted; and then hastilyadded: "Not that I doubted your word a bit, but then, 'seeing isbelieving,' you know, Dick."

  "Yes, and, confident as I was myself, I am relieved to see the riverglimmering in the sunlight before us," Dick frankly admitted.

  "It can hardly be more than two miles or so away from here, wouldn'tyou say?" questioned Roger, always ready to have any assertion he mightmake backed up by the word of his chum, in whom he had such positivefaith.

  "About that," the other told him, as they once more started ahead.

  When finally they stood on the high bank of the river, no longer themighty stream they knew it down near their home, and looked at theopposite shore, the sun was still more than an hour high.

  "Now to find out if they have passed by, and whether we will have tokeep on up the river," said Dick, as he began to look about him.

  A brief search convinced them that no horses had passed that point.They saw the marks of deer, and buffaloes, as well as some very largeimprints made by cloven hoofs, that startled the boys, for they did notknow what sort of strange animal had made them; but it was sure thathorses had not been present.

  "That settles it then," said Roger, with a sigh of relief, for h
e wouldmuch rather just sit there and wait for the expedition to come along,than be compelled to follow for miles after it.

  "We will make camp here to-night if they fail to show up," assertedDick, which piece of information pleased Roger, his pleasure showing inthe broad smile of contentment that broke over his face.

  With plenty of good venison to last them through many days, whatneed had they to worry? They knew the exploring party bound for theother side of the mountains was sure to come along, sooner or later;when they could once more join their good friends, and take theiraccustomed places as though nothing unusual had happened.

  Dick selected a certain spot on which to settle and wait for theexploring party. In doing this he had in mind the fact that it affordedthem a clear view down the river. A bend lay just a quarter of a milebelow their position, around which they could expect the boats toappear, sooner or later.

  Lying at their ease the boys talked of many things as they awaited thecoming of the expedition. Their recent experience of course came infor a good share of attention, for it still thrilled them to comparenotes of the night attack, when those hideous whoops were ringing intheir ears, together with the heavy percussion of blows as the fierceShoshones invaded the camp of the Dacotahs and struggled hand-to-handfor the supremacy.

  The sun was sinking lower and lower, so that it really began to look asthough, after all, the boys would have to make camp where they were.Apparently the expedition had spent some little time looking for thelost ones, and Dick had struck the river further up than they had asyet penetrated.

  Suddenly Roger discovered a moving object down the river. Then, aroundthe bend, a boat came in sight, in which they could see white men, someof them soldiers.

  At the same time voices from the shore reached their ears, and theycaught fugitive glimpses of moving figures advancing along a buffalotrail close to the edge of the bank. These latter they realized must bethe party mounted on the horses, and who always kept near the boats formutual protection and company.

  "That settles it then, Dick. We will not have to camp by ourselvesto-night; and, after all, I'm glad of it. Not that I don't enjoy beingoff with you alone, but up here, so far away from the settlements, itmakes me feel better to know I am in company with some dozens of otherwhites."

  "I think there's still another reason why you are glad they arecoming," ventured Dick, shrewdly; "you keep on hoping they may not havedevoured all of those fine trout we caught yesterday, and that you canstill have a chance to taste some of them."

  Roger would neither admit nor deny the accusation, but only laughed andprepared to wave his cap toward the men in the leading boat a minutelater.

  It could be seen that quite some excitement followed the discoverythat the two missing boys were above, waiting for the boats to arrive.Voices were heard conveying the intelligence to the other boats, andloud shouts attested to the fact that the men rejoiced over the safereturn of the lost ones.

  The spot offered very good accommodations for stopping over night, andso, upon arriving opposite the lads, the boats made for the shore. Dickand Roger soon found themselves being heartily greeted by all theirgood friends. Most of the men had really given them up for lost whenthey learned the fact that they had been carried off by the Dacotahs,after being so treacherously led into a trap by the seemingly friendlybrave who had loitered so long about the camp.

  The two captains were among the first to shake the hands of the pioneerboys, and assure them of their deep satisfaction at seeing them again.Of course every one was anxious to know what had happened to them, andthe boys were compelled to tell their story again and again as thetents were being pitched and preparations made for the night camp.

  It was admitted by all that they had been exceedingly lucky. At thesame time, every one knew that the boys deserved great credit for theirclever escape from the hands of the Dacotahs. Dick had planned it allvery cleverly so as to make their escape possible even though therehad been no midnight attack on the part of the Shoshones, though, ofcourse, they might have been followed and had further trouble.

  As darkness set in, the bustling scene gave the two lads much pleasureand contentment. They could not but compare this night with the onethat had gone just before, when they had sat in the midst of theirdusky captors, not knowing what lay in store for them in the nearfuture.

  No sooner was supper set before them than Roger turned a beaming facetoward Dick, as he voiced his feelings of delight.

  "You see, they didn't make way with those fish after all, Dick, becausethey were not found until late in the evening. So they just cleanedand salted them down, and we're to have the greatest treat you evertasted to-night. It sometimes pays to wait patiently for things to comealong," and, seeing Dick smiling, he winked knowingly, after which hebustled off to watch the process by means of which the fish were to beprepared for the coming meal.

  FOOTNOTE:

  [4] See "The Pioneer Boys of the Missouri."