CHAPTER V
ON THE GREAT RIVER
They remained just within the edge of the forest, but, despite the lack ofmoonlight, they could see far over the surface of the river. It seemed tobe an absolutely clean sweep of waters, as free from boats as if man hadnever come, but, after long looking, Henry thought that he could detect ahalf dozen specks moving southward. It was only for a moment, and then thespecks were gone.
"I'm sure it was the Spanish boats," said Henry, "and I think they'vegiven up the hunt."
"More'n likely," said Sol, "an' I guess it's about time fur us to pullacross an' pick up Paul an' Tom an' Jim. They'll wonder what hez become o'us. An' say, Henry, won't they be s'prised to see us come proudly sailin'into port in our gran' big gall-yun, all loaded down with arms an'supplies an' treasures that we hev captured?"
Sol spoke in a tone of deep content, and Henry replied in the same tone:
"If they don't they've changed mightily since we left 'em."
Both, in truth, were pervaded with satisfaction. They felt that they hadnever done a better night's work. They had a splendid boat filled with themost useful supplies. As Sol truthfully said, it was one thing to walk athousand miles through the woods to New Orleans and another to float downon the current in a comfortable boat. They had cause for their deepsatisfaction.
They pulled with strong, steady strokes across the Mississippi, taking adiagonal course, and they stopped now and then to look for a possibleenemy. But they saw nothing, and at last their boat touched the westernshore. Here Sol uttered their favorite signal, the cry of the wolf, and itwas quickly answered from the brush.
"They're all right," said Henry, and presently they heard the lightfootsteps of the three coming fast.
"Here, Paul, here we are!" called out Sol a few moments later, "an' min',Paul, that your moccasins are clean. We don't allow no dirty footsteps onthis magnificent, silver-plated gall-yun o' ours, an' ez fur Jim Hart, efthe Mississippi wuzn't so muddy I'd make him take a bath afore he comeaboard."
Henry and the shiftless one certainly enjoyed the surprise of theircomrades who stood staring.
"I suppose you cut her out, took her from the Spaniards?" said Paul.
"We shorely did," replied Sol, "an', Paul, she's a shore enough gall-yun,one o' the kind you told us them Spaniards had, 'cause she's full o' goodthings. Jest come on board an' look."
The three were quickly on the boat and they followed Sol with surprise anddelight, as he showed them their new treasures one by one.
"You've named her right, Sol," said Paul. "She is a galleon to us, sureenough, and that's what we'll call her, 'The Galleon.' When we have time,Sol, you and I will cut that name on her with our knives."
They tied their boat to a sapling and kept the oars and themselves aboard.Tom Ross volunteered to keep the watch for the few hours that were left ofthe night. The others disposed themselves comfortably in the boat, wrappedtheir bodies in the beautiful new Spanish blankets, and were soon soundasleep.
Tom sat in the prow of the boat, his rifle across his knees, and his keenhunting knife by his side. At the first sign of danger from shore he couldcut the rope with a single slash of his knife and push the boat far outinto the current.
But there was no indication of danger nor did the indefinable sixth sense,that came of long habit and training, warn him of any. Instead, itremained a peaceful night, though dark, and Tom looked contemplatively athis comrades. He was the oldest of the little party and a man of fewwords, but he was deeply attached to his four faithful comrades. Silentlyhe gave thanks that his lot was cast with those whom he liked so well.
The night passed away and up came a beautiful dawn of rose and gold. TomRoss awakened his comrades.
"The day is here," he said, "an' we must be up an' doin' ef we're goin' tokeep on the trail o' them Spanish fellers."
"All right," said Shif'less Sol, opening his eyes. "Jim Hart, is mybreakfus ready? Ef so, you kin jest bring it to me while I'm layin' herean' I'll eat it in bed."
"Your breakfus ready!" replied Jim Hart indignantly. "What sort uvnonsense are you talkin' now, Sol Hyde?"
"Why, ain't you the ship's cook?" said Sol in a hurt tone, "an' oughtn'tyou to be proud o' bein' head cook on a splendiferous new gall-yun likethis? I'd a-thought, Jim, you'd be so full o' enthusiasm over bein'promoted that you'd have had ready fur us the grandest breakfus that wuzever cooked by a mortal man fur mortal men. It wuz sech a fine chance furyou."
"I think we can risk a fire," said Henry. "The Spaniards are far out ofsight, and warm food will be good for us."
After they had eaten, Henry poured a few drops of the Spanish liquor foreach in a small silver cup that he found in one of the lockers.
"That will hearten us up," he said, but directly after they drank it Paul,who had been making an exploration of his own on the boat, uttered a cryof joy.
"Coffee!" he said, as he dragged a bag from under a seat, "and here is apot to boil it in."
"More treasures," said Sol gleefully. "That wuz shorely a good night'swork you an' me done, Henry!"
There was nothing to do but boil a pot of the coffee then and there, andeach had a long, delicious drink. Coffee and tea were so rare in thewilderness that they were valued like precious treasures. Then they packedtheir things and started, pulling out into the middle of the stream andgiving the current only a little assistance with the oars.
"One thing is shore," said Shif'less Sol, lolling luxuriously on a locker,"that Spanish gang can't git away from us. All we've got to do is to floatalong ez easy ez you please, an' we'll find 'em right in the middle o' theroad."
"It does beat walkin'," said Jim Hart, with equal content, "but this isshorely a pow'ful big river. I never seed so much muddy water afore in mylife."
"It's a good river, a kind river," said Paul, "because it's taking usright to its bosom, and carrying us on where we want to go with but littletrouble to us."
It was to Paul, the most imaginative of them all, to whom the mighty rivermade the greatest appeal. It seemed beneficent and kindly to him, a friendin need. Nature, Paul thought, had often come to their assistance,watching over them, as it were, and helping them when they were weakest.And, in truth, what they saw that morning was enough to inspire a boldyoung wilderness rover.
The river turned from yellow to a lighter tint in the brilliant sunlight.Little waves raised by the wind ran across the slowly-flowing current. Asfar as they could see the stream extended to eastward, carried by theflood deep into the forest. The air was crisp, with the sparkle of spring,and all the adventurers rejoiced.
Now and then great flocks of wild fowl, ducks and geese, flew over theriver, and they were so little used to man that more than once they passedclose to the boat.
"The Spaniards are too far away to hear," said Henry, "and the next timeany wild ducks come near I'm going to try one of these fowling pieces. Weneed fresh ducks, anyway."
He took out a fowling piece, loaded it carefully with the powder and shotthat the locker furnished in abundance and waited his time. By and by aflock of wild ducks flew near and Henry fired into the midst of them.Three lay floating on the water after the shot, and when they took them inLong Jim Hart, a master on all such subjects, pronounced them to be of ahighly edible variety.
Paul, meanwhile, took out one of the small swords and examined itcritically.
"It is certainly a fine one," he said, "I suppose it's what they call aToledo blade in Spain, the finest that they make."
"Could you do much with it, Paul?" asked Shif'less Sol.
"I could," replied Paul confidently. "Mr. Pennypacker served in the greatFrench war. He was at the taking of Quebec, and he learned the use of thesword from good masters. He's taught me all the tricks."
"Maybe, then," said Sol laughing, "you'll have to fight Alvarez with oneo' them stickers. Ef sech a combat is on it'll fall to you, Paul. The restof us are handier with rifle an' knife."
"It's never likely to happen," said Paul.
Th
e morning passed peacefully on, and the glory of the heavens wasundimmed. The river was a vast, murmuring stream, and the five voyagersfelt that, for the present, their task was an easy one. A single man atthe oars was sufficient to keep the boat moving as fast as they wished,and the rest occupied themselves with details that might provide for afuture need.
Paul brought out one of the beautiful small swords again, and fencedvigorously with an imaginary antagonist. Jim Hart took a captured needleand thread and began to mend a rent in his attire. Henry lifted the foldedtent from the locker and looked carefully at the cloth.
"I think that with this and a pole or two we might fix up a sail if weneeded it," he said. "We don't know anything about sails, but we can learnby trying."
Tom Ross was at the oars, but Shif'less Sol lay back on a locker, closedhis eyes, and said:
"Jest wake me up, when we git to New Or-lee-yuns. I could lay here an'sleep forever, the boat rockin' me to sleep like a cradle."
They saw nothing of the Spanish force, but they knew that such a flotillacould not evade them. Having no reason to hide, the Spaniards would notseek to conceal so many boats in the flooded forest. Hence the five feltperfectly easy on that point. About noon they ran their own boat among thetrees until they reached dry land. Here they lighted a fire and cookedtheir ducks, which they found delicious, and then resumed their leisurelyjourney.
The afternoon was as peaceful as the morning, but it seemed to thesensitive imagination of Paul that the wilderness aspect of everything wasdeepening. The great flooded river broadened until the line of water andhorizon met, and Paul could easily fancy that they were floating on aboundless sea. An uncommonly red sun was setting and here and there thebubbles were touched with fire. Far in the west dark shadows were stealingup.
"Look," Henry suddenly exclaimed, "I think that the Spanish have gone intocamp for the night!"
He pointed down the stream and toward the western shore, where a thinspire of smoke was rising.
"It's that, certain," said Tom Ross, "an' I guess we'd better make furcamp, too."
They pulled toward the eastern shore, in order that the river might bebetween them and the Spaniards during the night and soon reached a grovewhich stood many feet deep in the water. As they passed under the shelterof the boughs they took another long look toward the spire of smoke.Henry, who had the keenest eyes of all, was able to make out the dimoutline of boats tied to the bank, and any lingering doubt that theSpaniards might not be there was dispelled.
"When they start in the morning we'll start, too," said Henry.
Then they pushed their boat further back into the grove. Night was comingfast. The sun sank in the bosom of the river, the water turned from yellowto red and then to black, and the earth lay in darkness.
"I think we'd better tie up here and eat cold food," said Henry.
"An' then sleep," said Shif'less Sol. "That wuz a mighty comf'tableSpanish blanket I had last night an', Jim Hart, I want to tell you that ifyou move 'roun' to-night, while you're watchin', please step awful easy,an' be keerful not to wake me 'cause I'm a light sleeper. I don't like tobe waked up either early or late in the night. Tain't good fur the health.Makes a feller grow old afore his time."
"Sol," said Henry, who was captain by fitness and universal consent,"you'll take the watch until about one o'clock in the morning and thenPaul will relieve you."
Jim Hart doubled up his long form with silent laughter, and smote his kneeviolently with the palm of his right hand.
"Oh, yes, Sol Hyde," he said, "I'll step lightly, that is, ef I happen tobe walkin' 'roun' in my sleep, an' I'll take care not to wake you toosuddenly, Sol Hyde. I wouldn't do it for anything. I don't want to stuntyour growth, an' you already sech a feeble, delicate sort o' creetur, notable to take nourishment 'ceptin' from a spoon."
"Thar ain't no reward in this world fur a good man," said the shiftlessone in a resigned tone.
They ate quickly, and, as usual, those who did not have to watch wrappedthemselves in their blankets and with equal quickness fell asleep.Shif'less Sol took his place in the prow of the boat, and his attitude wasmuch like that of Tom Ross the night before, only lazier and moregraceful. Sol was a fine figure of a young man, drooped in a luxurious andreclining attitude, his shoulder against the side of the boat, and a rollof two blankets against his back. His eyes were half closed, and a strayobserver, had there been any, might have thought that he was either asleepor dreaming.
But the shiftless one, fit son of the wilderness, was never more awake inhis life. The eyes, looking from under the lowered lids, pierced theforest like those of a cat. He saw and noted every tree trunk within therange of human vision, and no piece of floating debris on the surface ofthe flooded river escaped his attention. His sharp ears heard, too, everysound in the grove, the rustle of a stray breeze through the new leaves,or the splash of a fish, as it leaped from the water and sank back again.
The hours dragged after one another, one by one, but Shif'less Sol was notunhappy. He was really quite willing to keep the watch, and, as Tom Rosshad done, he regarded his sleeping comrades with pride, and all the warmthof good fellowship.
The night was dark, like its predecessor. The moon's rays fell only inuneven streaks, and revealed a singular scene, a forest standing kneedeep, as it were, in water.
Shif'less Sol presently took one of the blankets and wrapped it around hisshoulders. A cold damp pervaded the atmosphere, and a fog began to risefrom the river. The shiftless one was a cautious man and he knew thedanger of chills and fever. His comrades were already well wrapped, but hestepped softly over and drew Paul's blanket a little closer around hisneck. Then he resumed his seat, maintaining his silence.
Shif'less Sol did not like the rising of the river fog. It was thick andcold, it might be unhealthy, and it hid the view. His circle of visionsteadily narrowed. Tree trunks became ghostly, and then were gone. Thewater, seen through the fog, had a pallid, unpleasant color. Eye became oflittle use, and it was ear upon which the sentinel must depend.
Shif'less Sol judged that it was about midnight, and he became troubled.The sixth sense, that comes of acute natural perceptions fortified by longhabit, was giving him warning. It seemed to him that he felt the approachof something. He raised himself up a little higher and stared anxiouslyinto the thick mass of white fog. He could make out nothing but a littlepatch of water and a few ghostly tree trunks near by. Even the stern ofthe boat was half hidden by the fog.
"Wa'al," thought the shiftless one philosophically, "ef it's hard fur meto find anything it'll be hard fur anything to find us."
But his troubled mind would not be quiet. Philosophy was not a sufficientreply to the warning of the sixth sense, and, leaning far over the edge ofthe boat, he listened with ears long trained to every sound of thewilderness. He heard only the stray murmur of the wind among theleaves--and was that a ripple in the water? He strained his ears anddecided that it was either a ripple or the splash of a fish, and he sankback again in his seat.
Although he had resumed his old position, the shiftless one was notsatisfied. The feeling of apprehension, like a mysterious mental signal,was not effaced. That thick, whitish fog was surcharged with an alienquality, and slowly he raised himself up once more. Hark! was it theripple again? He rose half to his feet, and instantly his eye caught aglimpse of something brown upon the edge of the boat. It was a human hand,the brown, powerful hand of a savage.
The glance of Shif'less Sol followed the hand and saw a brown faceemerging from the water and fog. Quick as a flash he fired. There was aterrible, unearthly cry, the hand slipped from the boat and the head sankfrom view.
"Up! up! boys!" cried Sol in thunderous tones. "We're attacked by swimmin'savages!"
He snatched up one of the double-barreled pistols and fired at anotherhead on the water. The others were awake in an instant and rose up, riflesin hand. But they saw only a splash of blood on the stream that was gonein a moment, then the thick, whitish fog closed in again, and after thatsile
nce! But they knew Sol too well to doubt him, and the momentary redsplash would have converted even the ignorant.
"Lie low!" exclaimed Henry. "Everybody down behind the sides of the boat!They may fire at any time!"
The boat was built of thick timber, through which no bullet of that timecould go, and they crouched down, merely peeping over the edges andpresenting scarcely any target. They had their own rifles and the extrafowling pieces and pistols were made ready, also.
But nothing came from the great pall of whitish fog, and the silence waschilly and heavy. It was the most uncanny thing in all Paul's experience.Beyond a doubt they were surrounded by savage enemies, but from which sidethey would come, and when, nobody could tell until they were at the veryside of the boat.
"How many did you see, Sol?" whispered Henry.
"Only two, but one of 'em won't ever attack us again."
"The others must be near by in their canoes, and the swimmers may havebeen scouts and skirmishers. They know where we are, but we don't knowwhere they are."
"That's so," said Shif'less Sol, "an' it gives 'em an advantage."
"Which, perhaps, we can take from 'em by moving our own boat."
Henry was about to put his plan into action, but they heard a light splashin the water to the west, and another to the north. Spots of piercing redlight appeared in the fog, and many rifles cracked. Fortunately, all hadthrown themselves down, and the bullets spent themselves in the wood ofthe boat's side. Henry and Sol and Tom fired back at the flashes, but morerifle shots came out of the fog, and those on the boat had no way oftelling whether any of their bullets had hit.
"I think we'd better hold our fire," whispered Henry between rifle shots."It's wasting bullets to shoot at a fog."
The others nodded and waited. A long cry, quavering at first, and thenrising to a fierce top note to die away later in a ferocious, wolfishwhine came through the fog. It was uttered by many throats, and in theuncanny, whitish gloom it seemed to be on all sides of them. Then shoutsand shots both ceased and the heavy silence came again.
"Now is our time," whispered Henry. "Paul, steer southward. Jim, you andTom row, and Sol and I will be ready with the guns. Keep your heads downas low as you can."
Jim Hart and Tom Ross took the oars, pulling them through the water withextreme caution and slowness. All knew that sharp ears were listening inthe flooded forest, and the splash of oars would bring the war canoes atonce. But they were determined that the fog which was such a help totheir enemies should be an equal help to them also.
Slowly the heavy boat crept through the water. Paul, at the tiller,steered with judgment and craft, and his was no light task. Now and thenlow boughs were lapped in the water and bushes submerged to their topsgrew in the way. To become tangled in them might be fatal and to scrapeagainst them would be a signal to their enemies, but Paul steered clearevery time.
They had gone perhaps fifty yards when Henry gave a signal to stop and Jimand Tom rested on their oars. Then they heard a burst of firing behindthem, and a smile of saturnine triumph spread slowly but completely overthe face of Shif'less Sol.
"They're shootin' at the place whar we wuz, an' whar we ain't now," hewhispered to Henry.
"Yes," Henry whispered back, "they haven't found out yet that we've left,but they are likely to do it pretty soon. I hope now that this fog willhang on just as thick as it can. Start up again, boys."
"'Twould be funny," whispered Sol, "ef the savages should find us an'chase us right into the bosoms o' the Spaniards."
"Yes," replied Henry, "and for that reason I think we'd better bend arounda circle and then go up stream. I'll tell Paul to steer that way."
They went on again, creeping through the white darkness; fifty yards or soat a time, and then a pause to listen. Henry judged that they were about ahalf mile from their original anchorage, when the solemn note of an owlarose, to be answered by a similar note from another point.
"They've discovered our departure," he whispered, "and they're telling itto each other. I imagine that their war canoes will now come in a kind ofhalf circle toward the center of the river. They'll guess that we won'tretreat toward the land, because then we might be hemmed in."
"No doubt of it," replied Sol, "and I think we'd better pull off towardthe north now. Mebbe we kin give 'em the slip."
Henry gave the word and Paul steered the boat in the chosen course. Theforest grew thinner, showing that they were approaching the true stream,but the fog held fast. After a hundred yards or so they stopped again, andthen they distinctly heard the sound of paddles to their right. It was nota great splash, but they knew it well. Paul, at the tiller, fancied thathe could see the faces of the savages bending over their paddles. Theywere eager, he knew, for their prey, and either chance or instinct hadbrought them through the white pall in the right course.
The uncertainty, the fog, and the great mysterious river weighed uponPaul. He wished, for a moment, that the vapors might lift, and then theycould fight their enemies face to face. He glanced at his own comrades andthey had taken on an unearthly look. Their forms became gigantic andunreal in the white darkness. As Henry leaned forward to listen betterhis figure was distorted like that of a misshapen giant.
"Steer straight toward the north, Paul," he whispered. "We must shake themoff somehow or other."
Silently the boat slid through the water but they heard again those signalcries, the hoots of the owl and now they were much nearer.
"They must have guessed our course," whispered Henry, "or perhaps theyhave heard the splash of an oar now and then. Stop, boys, and let's see ifwe can hear their canoes."
Their boat lay under the thick, spreading boughs of some oaks. Paul couldsee the branches and twigs showing overhead through the white fog likelace work, but everything else was invisible twenty feet away. All heard,however, now and then the faint splash, splash of paddles, perhaps ahundred yards distant. Henry tried to tell from the sounds how many warcanoes might be in the party, and he hazarded a wild guess of twenty. Ashe listened, the splash grew a little louder. Obviously the canoes werekeeping on the right course. Shif'less Sol wet his finger and held it up.When he took it down he whispered in some alarm to Henry:
"The wind has begun to blow, an' it's shore to rise. It'll blow the fogaway, an' we'll lay in plain sight o' all o' them savages."
Henry's instinct for generalship rose at once and he saw a plan.
"We must keep on for midstream," he said. "We know what direction thatis, and, out in open water, we'd have one advantage even over theirnumbers. Theirs are only light canoes, while ours is a big strong boatthat will shelter us from any bullet. Pull away, boys! I'll help Sol keepup the watch."
The boat once more resumed its progress toward the main current. The wind,as Sol had predicted, rapidly grew stronger. The deep curtain of fog beganto thin and lighten. Suddenly a canoe appeared through it and then asecond.
A bullet, fired from the first canoe, whizzed dangerously near the head ofShif'less Sol. He replied instantly, but the light was so uncertain andtricky that he missed the savage at whom he had aimed. The heavy bulletinstead ploughed through the side and bottom of the bark canoe, whichrapidly filled and sank, leaving its occupants struggling in the water. Abullet had come from the second canoe, also, but it flew wild, and thenthe whitish fog, thick and impenetrable, caught by a contrary current ofwind, closed in again.
"Did you hit anything, Sol?" asked Henry.
"Only a canoe, but I busted it all up, an' they're swimmin' from tree totree until they get to the bank."
"Now, boys, pull with all your might!" exclaimed Henry, "and, Paul, yousteer us clear of trees, brush, logs, and snags. They know where we areand we must get out into the stream, where there's a chance for ourescape."
Then ensued a flight and running combat in a tricky fog that lifted andclosed down over and over again. Henry put down his oars presently andtook up his rifle, but Jim Hart and Tom Ross continued to pull, and Paulkept a steady hand on the tiller.
Paul's task was the most trying of all. Highly sensitive and imaginative,this battle rolling along in alternate dusky light and white obscurity,was to him uncanny and unreal. He saw pink dots of rifle fire in the fog,he caught glimpses now and then of brown, savage faces or the prow of acanoe, and then the heavy fog would come down like a blanket again,shutting out everything.
Paul's hand trembled. Every nerve in him was jumping, but he resolutelysteered the boat while the others rowed and fought. Once he barely grazeda snag and he shivered, knowing how one of these terrible obstructionscould rip the bottom out of a boat. But soon the trees and bushes almostdisappeared. They were coming into open water. The fog, too, ceased toclose down, and the wind began to blow steadily out of the north. Banksand streamers of white vapor rolled away toward the south. In a fewminutes it would all be gone. Out of the mists behind them rose the shapesof war canoes not far away, and the fierce triumphant yell that swept farover the river sent a chill to Paul's very marrow. Once again rose therifle fire, and it was now a rapid and steady crackle, but the bulletsthudded in vain on the thick sides of "The Galleon."
All except Paul now pulled desperately for the middle of the stream, whilehe, bending as low as he could, still kept a steady hand on the tiller.The triumphant shout behind them rose again, and the great stream gave itback in a weird echo. Paul suddenly uttered a gasp of despair. Directly infront of them, not thirty yards away, was a large war canoe, crowded witha dozen savages while behind them came the horde.
"What is it, Paul?" asked Henry.
"A big canoe in front of us full of warriors. We're cut off! No, we'renot! I have it! Bend low! bend low, you fellows, and pull with all themight that's in you!"
Paul had an inspiration, and his blood was leaping. The rifle shots stillrattled behind them, but, as usual, the bullets buried themselves in thewood with a sigh, doing no harm. Four pairs of powerful arms and fourpowerful shoulders bent suddenly to their task with new strength andvigor. Paul's words had been electric, thrilling, and every one felt theirimpulse instantly. The prow of the heavy boat cut swiftly through thewater, and Paul bent still lower to escape the rifle-shots. No need forhim to choose his course now! The boat was already sent upon its errand.
A wild shout of alarm rose from the war canoe, and the next instant theprow of "The Galleon" struck it squarely in the middle. There were moreshouts of alarm or pain, a crunching, ripping and breaking of wood, andthen "The Galleon," after its momentary check, went on. The war canoe hadbeen cut in two, and its late occupants were swimming for their lives.Not in vain had Paul read in an old Roman history of the battles betweenthe fleets when galley cut down galley.
Henry, although he did not look up, knew at once what had happened, and hecould not restrain admiration and praise.
"Good for you, Paul!" he cried. "You took us right over the war canoe andthat's what's likely to save us!"
Henry was right. The other canoes, appalled by the disaster, and busy,too, in picking up the derelicts, hung back. Henry and Shif'less Sol tookadvantage of the opportunity, and sent bullet after bullet among them,aiming more particularly at the light bark canoes. Three filled and beganto sink and their occupants had to be rescued. The utmost confusion andconsternation reigned in the savage fleet, and the distance between it and"The Galleon" widened rapidly as the latter bore in a diagonal courseacross the Mississippi.
"They've had all they want," said Henry, as he laid down his rifle andtook up the oars again, "but it's this big heavy boat that's saved us.She's been a regular floating fort."
"We took our gall-yun just in time," said Shif'less Sol jubilantly, "an'she is shore the greatest warship that ever floated on these waters. Oh,she's a fine boat, a beautiful boat, the reg'lar King o' the seas!"
"Queen, you mean," said Paul, who felt the reaction.
"No, King it is," replied Sol stoutly. "A boat that carries travelers maybe a she, but shorely one that fights like this is a he."
The fog was gone, save for occasional wisps of white mist, but the day hadnot yet come, and the night was by no means light. When they looked backagain they could not see any of the Indian canoes. Apparently they hadretreated into the flooded forest. Henry and Sol held a consultation.
"It's hard to pull up stream," said Henry, "and we'd exhaust ourselvesdoing it. Besides, if the Indians chose to renew the pursuit, that wouldcut us off from our own purpose. We must drop down the river toward theSpanish camp."
"You're always right, Henry," said the shiftless one with conviction. "TheSpaniards o' course, know nothin' about our fight, ez they wuz much toofur off to hear the shots, an', ez we go down that way, the savages likelywill think that we belong to the party, which is too strong for them toattack. This must be some band that Braxton Wyatt don't know nothin'about. Maybe it's a gang o' southern Indians that's come away up here incanoes."
The boat swung close to the western shore, which was overhung throughoutby heavy forests, and then dropped silently down until it came within twomiles of the Spanish camp. There, in a particularly dark cove, they tiedup to a tree, and drew mighty breaths of relief. Both Henry and Paul feltan intense gladness. Despite all the dangers and hardships through whichthey had gone, they were but boys.
The Free Rangers: A Story of the Early Days Along the Mississippi Page 5
