Johnny Longbow
Page 11
CHAPTER XI THE DANCING SHADOW
The tent Johnny slept in was a small one. He slept in it alone. Therecould be no mistaking the intent of the Eskimo with the long knife.
"He will kill Johnny," the girl told herself, gripping at her heart.
Her first impulse was to cry out. The cry was stifled by the thought thatthe whole village would be awakened.
"They might all turn upon us. Then what chance have we?"
All this flashed through the girl's mind. The next instant she shotsilently out of the tent. Her bare feet left tracks in the snow but madeno sound.
Just as the Eskimo was creeping into Johnny's tent, he felt himselfseized from behind and dragged violently backward. The next instant aheavy body came crashing down upon him. The knife flew from his hand. Hisbreath was knocked from him. He uttered one low grunt and that was all.
Thirty seconds later, powerful hands gripped his shoulders while in ahoarse whisper a voice spoke.
"What was he doing?" It was the old Scot.
"Try--trying--" The girl struggled hard to retain her composure. "He hada long knife. He was trying to kill Johnny."
For a moment the old Scot sat in silent meditation.
"They are ungrateful beasts!" The girl's low whisper was tense withindignation.
"No, no, girl, you must not think that! They are but children, frightenedchildren. Afraid, that's what they are. Afraid of the trees in theforest, of spirits that do not exist at all, afraid, afraid. You must notblame them."
Lifting the young Eskimo to his feet, he pointed away toward the littlevillage of native tents, then gave him a gentle shove.
"Johnny!" he called in a low tone.
There came no answer.
A new terror gripped the girl's heart. What if, after all, she had beentoo late?
"Slept through it all!" the old Scot grumbled. "Have to shake him a bit."
He disappeared within the tent. A moment later, to her intense relief,Faye heard the two conversing in low tones.
"We'll pack up," said the grandfather as he emerged from the tent."Something has gone amiss. Can't tell what. There's no use to stay. Let'sget away as soon as we can."
An hour later, with a glorious yellow moon hanging low in the sky tolight their way, and with Tico to lead them on, the little party pushedoff into the night.
All through the remainder of the night and the greater part of the daythey moved forward. A strange spectacle, a dog, an old man, a young manand a girl moving over an endless expanse of white, doing a forced marchto escape from those whom they had come to save. They were following anentirely new course, one which Johnny believed would bring them to theirjourney's end, Timmie's cabin and green gold.
"Forgive them, child. Forgive them," the old Scot said as he read thelook of unhappiness on his granddaughter's face. "Learn to pray theprayer of one much more worthy than we, 'Father, forgive them; they knownot what they do.' Some day a missionary will come to them. He will teachthem. Then they will understand."
Strange to say, as they traveled away from the tundra toward the forestat the foot of the mountain, a brown spot like a drifting shadow orprowling wolf followed them. When at last they came to the edge of theforest and began making camp, this shadowy figure did not enter theforest, but sought out the shelter of a cut bank of earth, to drop downupon a flat rock and remain quite motionless for many hours.
Later he wakened and prowled as a wolf would have prowled. He did notcome too near the party of three, for all through the long hours, as thegirl slept curled up in her blankets, the old man and the young man tookturns at making fire and guarding camp.
Toward dawn as Johnny sat half asleep by the fire, the girl, waking fromrefreshing slumber, sat up blinking at the fire to talk softly of a vineclad cottage where squirrels came to eat from one's hand, where daffodilscast their fragrance to the air in the springtime, and old fashionedroses bloomed in summer.
"I hope I may see you there some day," said Johnny huskily. But as herecalled the way they had come, it seemed very, very far away.