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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/19477-8.txt b/19477-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..42d079f --- /dev/null +++ b/19477-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8085 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Young Trailers, by Joseph A. Altsheler + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Young Trailers + A Story of Early Kentucky + + +Author: Joseph A. Altsheler + + + +Release Date: October 5, 2006 [eBook #19477] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG TRAILERS*** + + +E-text prepared by the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading +Team (http://www.pgdp.net/) + + + +THE YOUNG TRAILERS + +A Story of Early Kentucky + +by + +JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + + + + + + + +Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. +New York +Copyright, 1907, by +D. Appleton and Company +All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, must not be +reproduced in any form without permission of the publishers. +Copyright 1934 by Sallie B. Altsheler +Printed in the United States of America + + + + +TO +SYDNEY +A YOUNG KENTUCKIAN + + + + +CONTENTS + + I.--Into the Unknown + + II.--The First Great Exploit + + III.--Lost in the Wilderness + + IV.--The Haunted Forest + + V.--Afloat + + VI.--The Voice of the Woods + + VII.--The Giant Bones + + VIII.--The Wild Turkey's "Gobble" + + IX.--The Escape + + X.--The Cave Dust + + XI.--The Forest Spell + + XII.--The Primitive Man + + XIII.--The Call of Duty + + XIV.--The Return + + XV.--The Siege + + XVI.--A Girl's Way + + XVII.--The Battle in the Forest + + XVIII.--The Test + + XIX.--An Errand and a Friend + + + + +THE YOUNG TRAILERS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +INTO THE UNKNOWN + + +It was a white caravan that looked down from the crest of the mountains +upon the green wilderness, called by the Indians, _Kain-tuck-ee_. The +wagons, a score or so in number, were covered with arched canvas, +bleached by the rains, and, as they stood there, side by side, they +looked like a snowdrift against the emerald expanse of forest and +foliage. + +The travelers saw the land of hope, outspread before them, a wide sweep +of rolling country, covered with trees and canebrake, cut by streams of +clear water, flowing here and there, and shining in the distance, amid +the green, like threads of silver wire. All gazed, keen with interest +and curiosity, because this unknown land was to be their home, but none +was more eager than Henry Ware, a strong boy of fifteen who stood in +front of the wagons beside the guide, Tom Ross, a tall, lean man the +color of well-tanned leather, who would never let his rifle go out of +his hand, and who had Henry's heartfelt admiration, because he knew so +much about the woods and wild animals, and told such strange and +absorbing tales of the great wilderness that now lay before them. + +But any close observer who noted Henry Ware would always have looked at +him a second time. He was tall and muscled beyond his years, and when he +walked his figure showed a certain litheness and power like that of the +forest bred. His gaze was rapid, penetrating and inclusive, but never +furtive. He seemed to fit into the picture of the wilderness, as if he +had taken a space reserved there for him, and had put himself in +complete harmony with all its details. + +The long journey from their old home in Maryland had been a source of +unending variety and delight to Henry. There had been no painful +partings. His mother and his brother and young sister were in the fourth +wagon from the right, and his father stood beside it. Farther on in the +same company were his uncles and aunts, and many of the old neighbors. +All had come together. It was really the removal of a village from an +old land to a new one, and with the familiar faces of kindred and +friends around them, they were not lonely in strange regions, though +mountains frowned and dark forests lowered. + +It was to Henry a return rather than a removal. He almost fancied that +in some far-off age he had seen all these things before. The forests and +the mountains beckoned in friendly fashion; they had no terrors, for +even their secrets lay open before him. He seemed to breathe a newer and +keener air than that of the old land left behind, and his mind expanded +with the thought of fresh pleasures to come. The veteran guide, Ross, +alone observed how the boy learned, through intuition, ways of the +wilderness that others achieved only by hard experience. + +They had met fair weather, an important item in such a journey, and +there had been no illness, beyond trifling ailments quickly cured. As +they traveled slowly and at their ease, it took them a long time to pass +through the settled regions. This part of the journey did not interest +Henry so much. He was eager for the forests and the great wilderness +where his fancy had already gone before. He wanted to see deer and bears +and buffaloes, trees bigger than any that grew in Maryland, and +mountains and mighty rivers. But they left the settlements behind at +last, and came to the unbroken forest. Here he found his hopes +fulfilled. They were on the first slopes of the mountains that divide +Virginia from Kentucky, and the bold, wild nature of the country pleased +him. He had never seen mountains before, and he felt the dignity and +grandeur of the peaks. + +Sometimes he went on ahead with Tom Ross, the guide, his chosen friend, +and then he considered himself, in very truth, a man, or soon to become +one, because he was now exploring the unknown, leading the way for a +caravan--and there could be no more important duty. At such moments he +listened to the talk of the guide who taught the lesson that in the +wilderness it was always important to see and to listen, a thing however +that Henry already knew instinctively. He learned the usual sounds of +the woods, and if there was any new noise he would see what made it. He +studied, too, the habits of the beasts and birds. As for fishing, he +found that easy. He could cut a rod with his clasp knife, tie a string +to the end of it and a bent pin to the end of a string, and with this +rude tackle he could soon catch in the mountain creeks as many fish as +he wanted. + +Henry liked the nights in the mountains; in which he did not differ from +his fellow-travelers. Then the work of the day was done; the wagons were +drawn up in a half circle, the horses and the oxen were resting or +grazing under the trees, and, as they needed fires for warmth as well as +cooking, they built them high and long, giving room for all in front of +the red coals if they wished. The forest was full of fallen brushwood, +as dry as tinder, and Henry helped gather it. It pleased him to see the +flames rise far up, and to hear them crackle as they ate into the heart +of the boughs. He liked to see their long red shadows fall across the +leaves and grass, peopling the dark forest with fierce wild animals; he +would feel all the cosier within the scarlet rim of the firelight. Then +the men would tell stories, particularly Ross, the guide, who had +wandered much and far in Kentucky. He said that it was a beautiful land. +He spoke of the noble forests of beech and oak and hickory and maple, +the dense canebrake, the many rivers, and the great Ohio that received +them all--the Beautiful River, the Indians called it--and the game, with +which forests and open alike swarmed, the deer, the elk, the bear, the +panther and the buffalo. Now and then, when the smaller children were +asleep in the wagons and the larger ones were nodding before the fires, +the men would sink their voices and speak of a subject which made them +all look very grave indeed. It sounded like Indians, and the men more +than once glanced at their rifles and powderhorns. + +But the boy, when he heard them, did not feel afraid. He knew that +savages of the most dangerous kind often came into the forests of +Kentucky, whither they were going, but he thrilled rather than shivered +at the thought. Already he seemed to have the knowledge that he would be +a match for them at any game they wished to play. + +Henry usually slept very soundly, as became a boy who was on his feet +nearly all day, and who did his share of the work; but two or three +times he awoke far in the night, and, raising himself up in the wagon, +peeped out between the canvas cover and the wooden body. He saw a very +black night in which the trees looked as thin and ghostly as shadows, +and smoldering fires, beside which two men rifle on shoulder, always +watched. Often he had a wish to watch with them, but he said nothing, +knowing that the others would hold him too young for the task. + +But to-day he felt only joy and curiosity. They were now on the crest of +the last mountain ridge and before them lay the great valley of +Kentucky; their future home. The long journey was over. The men took off +their hats and caps and raised a cheer, the women joined through +sympathy and the children shouted, too, because their fathers and +mothers did so, Henry's voice rising with the loudest. + +A slip of a girl beside Henry raised an applauding treble and he smiled +protectingly at her. It was Lucy Upton, two years younger than himself, +slim and tall, dark-blue eyes looking from under broad brows, and +dark-brown curls, lying thick and close upon a shapely head. + +"Are you not afraid?" she asked. + +"Afraid of what?" replied Henry Ware, disdainfully. + +"Of the forests over there in Kentucky. They say that the savages often +come to kill." + +"We are too strong. I do not fear them." + +He spoke without any vainglory, but in the utmost confidence. She +glanced covertly at him. He seemed to her strong and full of resource. +But she would not show her admiration. + +They passed from the mountain slope into a country which now sank away +in low, rolling hills like the waves of the sea and in which everything +grew very beautiful. Henry had never seen such trees in the East. The +beech, the elm, the hickory and the maple reached gigantic proportions, +and wherever the shade was not too dense the grass rose heavy and rank. +Now and then they passed thickets of canebrake, and once, at the side of +a stream, they came to a salt "lick." It was here that a fountain +spouted from the base of a hill, and, running only a few feet, emptied +into a creek. But its waters were densely impregnated with salt, and all +around its banks the soft soil was trodden with hundreds of footsteps. + +"The wild beasts made these," said the guide to Henry. "They come here +at night: elk, deer, buffalo, wolves, and all the others, big and +little, to get the salt. They drink the water and they lick up the salt +too from the ground." + +A fierce desire laid hold of the boy at these words. He had a small +rifle of his own, which however he was not permitted to carry often. But +he wanted to take it and lie beside the pool at night when the game came +down to drink. The dark would have no terrors for him, nor would he need +companionship. He knew what to do, he could stay in the bush noiseless +and motionless for hours, and he would choose only the finest of the +deer and the bear. He could see himself drawing the bead, as a great +buck came down in the shadows to the fountain and he thrilled with +pleasure at the thought. Each new step into the wilderness seemed to +bring him nearer home. + +Their stay beside the salt spring was short, but the next night they +built the fire higher than ever because just after dark they heard the +howling of wolves, and a strange, long scream, like the shriek of a +woman, which the men said was the cry of a panther. There was no danger, +but the cries sounded lonesome and terrifying, and it took a big fire to +bring back gayety. + +Henry had not yet gone to bed, but was sitting in his favorite place +beside the guide, who was calmly smoking a pipe, and he felt the +immensity of the wilderness. He understood why the people in this +caravan clung so closely to each other. They were simply a big family, +far away from anybody else, and the woods, which curved around them for +so many hundreds of miles, held them together. + +The men talked more than usual that night, but they did not tell +stories; instead they asked many questions of the guide about the +country two days' journey farther on, which, Ross said, was so good, and +it was agreed among them that they should settle there near the banks of +a little river. + +"It's the best land I ever saw," said Ross, "an' as there's lots of +canebrake it won't be bad to clear up for farmin'. I trapped beaver in +them parts two years ago, an' I know." + +This seemed to decide the men, and the women, too, for they had their +share in the council. The long journey was soon to end, and all looked +pleased, especially the women. The great question settled, the men +lighted their pipes and smoked a while, in silence, before the blazing +fires. Henry watched them and wished that he too was a man and could +take part in these evening talks. He was excited by the knowledge that +their journey was to end so soon, and he longed to see the valley in +which they were to build their homes. He climbed into the wagon at last +but he could not sleep. His beloved rifle, too, was lying near him, and +once he reached out his hand and touched it. + +The men, by and by, went to the wagons or, wrapping themselves in +blankets, slept before the flames. Only two remained awake and on guard. +They sat on logs near the outskirts of the camp and held their rifles in +their hands. + +Henry dropped the canvas edge and sought sleep, but it would not come. +Too many thoughts were in his mind. He was trying to imagine the +beautiful valley, described by Ross, in which they were to build their +houses. He lifted the canvas again after a while and saw that the fires +had sunk lower than ever. The two men were still sitting on the logs and +leaning lazily against upthrust boughs. The wilderness around them was +very black, and twenty yards away, even the outlines of the trees were +lost in the darkness. + +Henry's sister who was sleeping at the other end of the wagon awoke and +cried for water. Mr. Ware raised himself sleepily, but Henry at once +sprang up and offered to get it. "All right," Mr. Ware said. + +Henry quickly slipped on his trousers and taking the tin cup in his hand +climbed out of the wagon. He was in his bare feet, but like other +pioneer boys he scorned shoes in warm weather, and stubble and pebbles +did not trouble him. + +The camp was in a glade and the spring was just at the edge of the +woods--they stopped at night only by the side of running water, which +was easy to find in this region. Near the spring some of the horses and +two of the oxen were tethered to stout saplings. As Henry approached, a +horse neighed, and he noticed that all of them were pulling on their +ropes. The two careless guards were either asleep or so near it that +they took no notice of what was passing, and Henry, unwilling to call +their attention for fear he might seem too forward, walked among the +animals, but was still unable to find the cause of the trouble. He knew +everyone by name and nature, and they knew him, for they had been +comrades on a long journey, and he patted their backs and rubbed their +noses and tried to soothe them. They became a little quieter, but he +could not remain any longer with them because his sister was waiting at +the wagon for the water. So he went to the spring and, stooping down, +filled his cup. + +When Henry rose to his full height, his eyes happened to be turned +toward the forest, and there, about seven or eight feet from the ground, +and not far from him he saw two coals of fire. He was so startled that +the cup trembled in his hand, and drops of water fell splashing back +into the spring. But he stared steadily at the red points, which he now +noticed were moving slightly from side to side, and presently he saw +behind them the dim outlines of a long and large body. He knew that this +must be a panther. The habits of all the wild animals, belonging to this +region, had been described to him so minutely by Ross that he was sure +he could not be mistaken. Either it was a very hungry or a very ignorant +panther to hover so boldly around a camp full of men and guns. + +The panther was crouched on a bough of a tree, as if ready to spring, +and Henry was the nearest living object. It must be he at whom the great +tawny body would be launched. But as a minute passed and the panther did +not move, save to sway gently, his courage rose, especially when he +remembered a saying of Ross that it was the natural impulse of all wild +animals to run from man. So he began to back away, and he heard behind +him the horses trampling about in alarm. The lazy guards still dozed and +all was quiet at the wagons. Now Henry recalled some knowledge that he +had learned from Ross and he made a resolve. He would show, at a time, +when it was needed, what he really could do. He dropped his cup, rushed +to the fire, and picked up a long brand, blazing at one end. + +Swinging his torch around his head until it made a perfect circle of +flame he ran directly toward the panther, uttering a loud shout as he +ran. The animal gave forth his woman's cry, this time a shriek of +terror, and leaping from the bough sped with cat-like swiftness into the +forest. + +All the camp was awake in an instant, the men springing out of the +wagons, gun in hand, ready for any trouble. When they saw only a boy, +holding a blazing torch above his head, they were disposed to grumble, +and the two sleepy guards, seeking an excuse for themselves, laughed +outright at the tale that Henry told. But Mr. Ware believed in the truth +of his son's words, and the guide, who quickly examined the ground near +the tree, said there could be no doubt that Henry had really seen the +panther, and had not been tricked by his imagination. The great tracks +of the beast were plainly visible in the soft earth. + +"Pushed by hunger, an' thinking there was no danger, he might have +sprung on one of our colts or a calf," said Ross, "an' no doubt the boy +with his ready use of a torch has saved us from a loss. It was a brave +thing for him to do." + +But Henry took no pride in their praise. It was no part of his ambition +merely to drive away a panther, instead he had the hunter's wish to kill +him. He would be worthy of the wilderness. + +Henry despite his lack of pride found the world very beautiful the next +day. It was a fair enough scene. Nature had done her part, but his +joyous mind gave to it deeper and more vivid colors. The wind was +blowing from the south, bringing upon its breath the odor of wild +flowers, and all the forest was green with the tender green of young +spring. The cotton-tailed hares that he called rabbits ran across their +path. Squirrels talked to one another in the tree tops, and defiantly +threw the shells of last year's nuts at the passing travelers. Once they +saw a stag bending down to drink at a brook, and when the forest king +beheld them he raised his head, and merely stared at these strange new +invaders of the wilds. Henry admired his beautiful form and splendid +antlers nor would he have fired at him had it even been within orders. +The deer gazed at them a few moments, and then, turning and tossing his +head, sped away through the forest. + +All that he saw was strange and grand to Henry, and he loved the +wilderness. About noon he and Ross went back to the wagons and that +night they encamped on the crest of a range of low and grassy hills. +This was the rim of the valley that they had selected on the guide's +advice as their future home, and the little camp was full of the +liveliest interest in the morrow, because it is a most eventful thing, +when you are going to choose a place which you intend shall be your home +all the rest of your days. So the men and women sat late around the +fires and even boys of Henry's age were allowed to stay up, too, and +listen to the plans which all the grown people were making. Theirs had +not been a hard journey, only long and tedious--though neither to +Henry--and now that its end was at hand, work must be begun. They would +have homes to build and a living to get from the ground. + +"Why, I could live under the trees; I wouldn't want a house," whispered +Henry to the guide, "and when I needed anything to eat, I'd kill game." + +"A hunter might do that," replied Ross, "but we're not all hunters an' +only a few of us can be. Sometimes the game ain't standin' to be shot at +just when you want it, an' as for sleepin' under the trees it's all very +fine in summer, if it don't rain, but 'twould be just a least bit chilly +in winter when the big snows come as they do sometimes more'n a foot +deep. I'm a hunter myself, an' I've slept under trees an' in caves, an' +on the sheltered side of hills, but when the weather's cold give me for +true comfort a wooden floor an' a board roof. Then I'll bargain to sleep +to the king's taste." + +But Henry was not wholly convinced. He felt in himself the power to meet +and overcome rain or cold or any other kind of weather. + +Everybody in the camp, down to the tiniest child, was awake the next +morning by the time the first bar of gray in the east betokened the +coming day. Henry was fully dressed, and saw the sun rise in a +magnificent burst of red and gold over the valley that was to be their +valley. The whole camp beheld the spectacle. They had reached the crest +of the hill the evening before, too late to get a view and they were +full of the keenest curiosity. + +It was now summer, but, having been a season of plenteous rains, grass +and foliage were of the most vivid and intense green. They were entering +one of the richest portions of Kentucky, and the untouched soil was +luxuriant with fertility. As a pioneer himself said: "All they had to do +was to tickle it with a hoe, and it laughed into a harvest." There was +the proof of its strength in the grass and the trees. Never before had +the travelers seen oaks and beeches of such girth or elms and hickories +of such height. The grass was high and thick and the canebrake was so +dense that passage through it seemed impossible. Down the center of the +valley, which was but one of many, separated from each other by low easy +hills, flowed a little river, cleaving its center like a silver blade. + +It was upon this beautiful prospect that the travelers saw the sun rise +that morning and all their troubles and labors rolled away. Even the +face of Mr. Ware who rarely yielded to enthusiasm kindled at the sight +and, lifting his hand, he made with it a circle that described the +valley. + +"There," he said. "There is our home waiting for us." + +"Hurrah!" cried Henry, flinging aloft his cap. "We've come home." + +Then the wagon train started again and descended into the valley, which +in very truth and fact was to be "home." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE FIRST GREAT EXPLOIT + + +They found the valley everything in beauty and fertility that Ross had +claimed for it, and above all it had small "openings," that is, places +where the trees did not grow. This was very important to the travelers, +as the labor of cutting down the forest was immense, and even Henry knew +that they could not live wholly in the woods, as both children and crops +must have sunshine to make them grow. The widest of these open spaces +about a half mile from the river, they selected as the site of their new +city to which they gave the name of Wareville in honor of their leader. +A fine brook flowed directly through the opening, but Ross said it would +be a good place, too, to sink a well. + +It was midsummer now and the period of dry weather had begun. So the +travelers were very comfortable in their wagon camp while they were +making their new town ready to be lived in. Both for the sake of company +and prudence they built the houses in a close cluster. First the men, +and most of them were what would now be called jacks-of-all-trades, +felled trees, six or eight inches in diameter, and cut them into logs, +some of which were split down the center, making what are called +puncheons; others were only nicked at the ends, being left in the rough, +that is, with the bark on. + +The round logs made the walls of their houses. First, the place where +the house was to be built was chosen. Next the turf was cut off and the +ground smoothed away. Then they "raised" the logs, the nicked ends +fitting together at the corner, the whole inclosing a square. Everybody +helped "raise" each house in turn, the men singing "hip-hip-ho!" as they +rolled the heavy logs into position. + +A place was cut out for a window and fastened with a shutter and a +larger space was provided in the same manner for a door. They made the +floor out of the puncheons, turned with the smooth side upward, and the +roof out of rough boards, sawed from the trees. The chimney was built of +earth and stones, and a great flat stone served as the fireplace. Some +of the houses were large enough to have two rooms, one for the grown +folks and one for the children, and Mr. Ware's also had a little lean-to +or shed which served as a kitchen. + +It seemed at first to Henry, rejoicing then in the warm, sunny weather, +that they were building in a needlessly heavy and solid fashion. But +when he thought over it a while he remembered what Ross said about the +winters and deep snows of this new land. Indeed the winters in Kentucky +are often very cold and sometimes for certain periods are quite as cold +as those of New York or New England. + +When the little town was finished at last it looked both picturesque and +comfortable, a group of about thirty log houses, covering perhaps an +acre of ground. But the building labors of the pioneers did not stop +here. Around all these houses they put a triple palisade, that is three +rows of stout, sharpened stakes, driven deep into the ground and rising +full six feet above it. At intervals in this palisade were circular +holes large enough to admit the muzzle of a rifle. + +They built at each corner of the palisade the largest and strongest of +their houses,--two-story structures of heavy logs, and Henry noticed +that the second story projected over the first. Moreover, they made +holes in the edge of the floor overhead so that one could look down +through them upon anybody who stood by the outer wall. Ross went up into +the second story of each of the four buildings, thrust the muzzle of his +rifle into every one of the holes in turn, and then looked satisfied. +"It is well done," he said. "Nobody can shelter himself against the wall +from the fire of defenders up here." + +These very strong buildings they called their blockhouses, and after +they finished them they dug a well in the corner of the inclosed ground, +striking water at a depth of twenty feet. Then their main labors were +finished, and each family now began to furnish its house as it would or +could. + +It was not all work for Henry while this was going on, and some of the +labor itself was just as good as play. He was allowed to go considerable +distances with Ross, and these journeys were full of novelty. He was a +boy who came to places which no white boy had ever seen before. It was +hard for him to realize that it was all so new. Behold a splendid grove +of oaks! he was its discoverer. Here the little river dropped over a +cliff of ten feet; his eyes were the first to see the waterfall. From +this high hill the view was wonderful; he was the first to enjoy it. +Forest, open and canebrake alike were swarming with game, and he saw +buffaloes, deer, wild turkeys, and multitudes of rabbits and squirrels. +Unaccustomed yet to man, they allowed the explorers to come near. + +Ross and Henry were accompanied on many of these journeys by Shif'less +Sol Hyde. Sol was a young man without kith or kin in the settlement, and +so, having nobody but himself to take care of, he chose to roam the +country a great portion of the time. He was fast acquiring a skill in +forest life and knowledge of its ways second only to that of Ross, the +guide. Some of the men called Sol lazy, but he defended himself. "The +good God made different kinds of people and they live different kinds of +lives," said he. "Mine suits me and harms nobody." Ross said he was +right, and Sol became a hunter and scout for the settlement. + +There was no lack of food. They yet had a good supply of the provisions +brought with them from the other side of the mountains, but they saved +them for a possible time of scarcity. Why should they use this store +when they could kill all the game they needed within a mile of their own +house smoke? Now Henry tasted the delights of buffalo tongue and beaver +tail, venison, wild turkey, fried squirrel, wild goose, wild duck and a +dozen kinds of fish. Never did a boy have more kinds of meat, morning, +noon, and night. The forest was full of game, the fish were just +standing up in the river and crying to be caught, and the air was +sometimes dark with wild fowl. Henry enjoyed it. He was always hungry. +Working and walking so much, and living in the open air every minute of +his life, except when he was eating or sleeping, his young and growing +frame demanded much nourishment, and it was not denied. + +At last the great day came when he was allowed to kill a deer if he +could. Both Ross and Shif'less Sol had interceded for him. "The boy's +getting big and strong an' it's time he learned," said Ross. "His hand's +steady enough an' his eye's good enough already," said Shif'less Sol, +and his father agreeing with them told them to take him and teach him. + +Two miles away, near the bank of the river, was a spring to which the +game often came to drink, and for this spring they started a little +while before sundown, Henry carrying his rifle on his shoulder, and his +heart fluttering. He felt his years increase suddenly and his figure +expand with equal abruptness. He had become a man and he was going forth +to slay big game. Yet despite his new manhood the blood would run to his +head and he felt his nerves trembling. He grasped his precious rifle +more firmly and stole a look out of the corner of his eye at its barrel +as it lay across his left shoulder. Though a smaller weapon it was +modeled after the famous Western rifle, which, with the ax, won the +wilderness. The stock was of hard maple wood delicately carved, and the +barrel was comparatively long, slender, and of blue steel. The sights +were as fine-drawn as a hair. When Henry stood the gun beside himself, +it was just as tall as he. He carried, too, a powderhorn, and the horn, +which was as white as snow, was scraped so thin as to be transparent, +thus enabling its owner to know just how much powder it contained, +without taking the trouble of pouring it out. His bullets and wadding he +carried in a small leather pouch by his side. + +When they reached the spring the sun was still a half hour high and +filled the west with a red glow. The forest there was tinted by it, and +seen thus in the coming twilight with those weird crimsons and scarlets +showing through it, the wilderness looked very lonely and desolate. An +ordinary boy, at the coming of night would have been awed, if alone, by +the stillness of the great unknown spaces, but it found an answering +chord in Henry. + +"Wind's blowin' from the west," said Sol, and so they went to the +eastern side of the spring, where they lay down beside a fallen log at a +fair distance. There was another log, much closer to the spring, but +Ross conferring aside with Sol chose the farther one. "We want to teach +the boy how to shoot an' be of some use to himself, not to slaughter," +said Ross. Then the three remained there, a long time, and noiseless. +Henry was learning early one of the first great lessons of the forest, +which is silence. But he knew that he could have learned this lesson +alone. He already felt himself superior in some ways to Ross and Sol, +but he liked them too well to tell them so, or to affect even equality +in the lore of the wilderness. + +The sun went down behind the Western forest, and the night came on, +heavy and dark. A light wind began to moan among the trees. Henry heard +the faint bubble of the water in the spring, and saw beside him the +forms of his two comrades. But they were so still that they might have +been dead. An hour passed and his eyes growing more used to the dimness, +he saw better. There was still nothing at the spring, but by and by Ross +put his hand gently upon his arm, and Henry, as if by instinct, looked +in the right direction. There at the far edge of the forest was a deer, +a noble stag, glancing warily about him. + +The stag was a fine enough animal to Ross and Sol, but to Henry's +unaccustomed eyes he seemed gigantic, the mightiest of his kind that +ever walked the face of the earth. + +The deer gazed cautiously, raising his great head, until his antlers +looked to Henry like the branching boughs of a tree. The wind was +blowing toward his hidden foes, and brought him no omen of coming +danger. He stepped into the open and again glanced around the circle. It +seemed to Henry that he was staring directly into the deer's eyes, and +could see the fire shining there. + +"Aim at that spot there by the shoulder, when he stoops down to drink," +said Ross in the lowest of tones. + +Satisfied now that no enemy was near, the stag walked to the spring. +Then he began to lower slowly the great antlers, and his head approached +the water. Henry slipped the barrel of his rifle across the log and +looked down the sights. He was seized with a tremor, but Ross and +Shif'less Sol, with a magnanimity that did them credit, pretended not to +notice it. The boy soon mastered the feeling, but then, to his great +surprise, he was attacked by another emotion. Suddenly he began to have +pity, and a fellow-feeling for the stag. It, too, was in the great +wilderness, rejoicing in the woods and the grass and the running streams +and had done no harm. It seemed sad that so fine a life should end, +without warning and for so little. + +The feeling was that of a young boy, the instinct of one who had not +learned to kill, and he suppressed it. Men had not yet thought to spare +the wild animals, or to consider them part of a great brotherhood, least +of all on the border, where the killing of game was a necessity. And so +Henry, after a moment's hesitation, the cause of which he himself +scarcely knew, picked the spot near the shoulder that Ross had +mentioned, and pulled the trigger. + +The stag stood for a moment or two as if dazed, then leaped into the air +and ran to the edge of the woods, where he pitched down head foremost. +His body quivered for a little while and then lay still. + +Henry was proud of his marksmanship, but he felt some remorse, too, when +he looked upon his victim. Yet he was eager to tell his father and his +young sister and brother of his success. They took off the pelt and cut +up the deer. A part of the haunch Henry ate for dinner and the antlers +were fastened over the fireplace, as the first important hunting trophy +won by the eldest son of the house. + +Henry did not boast much of his triumph, although he noticed with secret +pride the awe of the children. His best friend, Paul Cotter, openly +expressed his admiration, but Braxton Wyatt, a boy of his own age, whom +he did not like, sneered and counted it as nothing. He even cast doubt +upon the reality of the deed, intimating that perhaps Ross or Sol had +fired the shot, and had allowed Henry to claim the credit. + +Henry now felt incessantly the longing for the wilderness, but, for the +present, he helped his father furnish their house. It was too late to +plant crops that year, nor were the qualities of the soil yet altogether +known. It was rich beyond a doubt, but they could learn only by trial +what sort of seed suited it best. So they let that wait a while, and +continued the work of making themselves tight and warm for the winter. + +The skins of deer and buffalo and beaver, slain by the hunters, were +dried in the sun, and they hung some of the finer ones on the walls of +the rooms to make them look more cozy and picturesque. Mrs. Ware also +put two or three on the floors, though the border women generally +scorned them for such uses, thinking them in the way. Henry also helped +his father make stools and chairs, the former a very simple task, +consisting of a flat piece of wood, chopped or sawed out, in which three +holes were bored to receive the legs, the latter made of a section of +sapling, an inch or so in diameter. But the baskets required longer and +more tedious work. They cut green withes, split them into strips and +then plaiting them together formed the basket. In this Mrs. Ware and +even the little girl helped. They also made tables and a small stone +furnace or bake-oven for the kitchen. + +Their chief room now looked very cozy. In one corner stood a bedstead +with low, square posts, the bed covered with a pure white counterpane. +At the foot of the bedstead was a large heavy chest, which served as +bureau, sofa and dressing case. In the center of the room stood a big +walnut table, on the top of which rested a nest of wooden trays, +flanked, on one side, by a nicely folded tablecloth, and on the other by +a butcher knife and a Bible. In a corner was a cupboard consisting of a +set of shelves set into the logs, and on these shelves were the +blue-edged plates and yellow-figured teacups and blue teapot that Mrs. +Ware had received long ago from her mother. The furniture in the +remainder of the house followed this pattern. + +The heaviest labor of all was to extend the "clearing"; that is, to cut +down trees and get the ground ready for planting the crops next spring, +and in this Henry helped, for he was able to wield an ax blow for blow +with a grown man. When he did not have to work he went often to the +river, which was within sight of Wareville, and caught fish. Nobody +except the men, who were always armed, and who knew how to take care of +themselves, was allowed to go more than a mile from the palisade, but +Henry was trusted as far as the river; then the watchman in the lookout +on top of the highest blockhouse could see him or any who might come, +and there, too, he often lingered. + +He did not hate his work, yet he could not say that he liked it, and, +although he did not know it, the love of the wild man's ways was +creeping into his blood. The influence of the great forests, of the vast +unknown spaces, was upon him. He could lie peacefully in the shade of a +tree for an hour at a time, dreaming of rivers and mountains farther on +in the depths of the wilderness. He felt a kinship with the wild things, +and once as he lay perfectly still with his eyes almost closed, a stag, +perhaps the brother to the one that he had killed, came and looked at +him out of great soft eyes. It did not seem odd at the time to Henry +that the stag should do so; he took it then as a friendly act, and lest +he should alarm this new comrade of the woods he did not stir or even +raise his eyelids. The stag gazed at him a few moments, and then, +tossing his great antlers, turned and walked off in a graceful and +dignified way through the woods. Henry wondered where the deer would go, +and if it would be far. He wished that he, too, could roam the +wilderness so lightly, wandering where he wished, having no cares and +beholding new scenes every day. That would be a life worth living. + +The next morning his mother said to his father: + +"John, the boy is growing wild." + +"Yes," replied the father. "They say it often happens with those who are +taken young into the wilderness. The forest lays a spell upon them when +they are easy to receive impressions." + +The mother looked troubled, but Mr. Ware laughed. + +"Don't bother about it," he said. "It can be cured. We have merely to +teach him the sense of responsibility." + +This they proceeded to do. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +LOST IN THE WILDERNESS + + +The method by which Mr. and Mrs. Ware undertook to teach Henry a sense +of responsibility was an increase of work. Founding a new state was no +light matter, and he must do his share. Since he loved to fish, it +became his duty to supply the table with fish, and that, too, at regular +hours, and he also began to think of traps and snares, which he would +set in the autumn for game. It was always wise for the pioneer to save +his powder and lead, the most valuable of his possessions and the +hardest to obtain. Any food that could be procured without its use was a +welcome addition. + +But fishing remained his easiest task, and he did it all with a pole +that he cut with his clasp knife, a string and a little piece of bent +and stiffened wire. He caught perch, bass, suckers, trout, sunfish, +catfish, and other kinds, the names of which he did not know. Sometimes +when his hook and line had brought him all that was needed, and the day +was hot, he would take off his clothing and plunge into the deep, cool +pools. Often his friend, Paul Cotter, was with him. Paul was a year +younger than Henry, and not so big. Hence the larger boy felt himself, +in a certain sense, Paul's teacher and protector, which gave him a +comfortable feeling, and a desire to help his comrade as much as he +could. + +He taught the smaller lad new tricks in swimming, and scarcely a day +passed when two sunburned, barefooted boys did not go to the river, +quickly throw off their clothing, and jump into the clear water. There +they swam and floated for a long time, dived, and ducked each other, and +then lay on the grass in the sun until they dried. + +"Paul," said Henry once, as they were stretched thus on the bank, +"wouldn't you like to have nothing to do, but wander through the woods +just as you pleased, sleep wherever you wished, and kill game when you +grew hungry, just like the Indians?" + +Henry's eyes were on the black line of the forest, and the blue haze of +the sky beyond. His spirit was away in the depths of the unknown. + +"I don't know," replied Paul. "I guess a white boy has to become a white +man, after a while, and they say that the difference between a white man +and the Indian is that the white man has to work." + +"But the Indians get along without it," said Henry. + +"No they don't," replied Paul. "We win all the country because we've +learned how to do things while we are working." + +Yet Henry was unconvinced, and his thoughts wandered far into the black +forest and the blue haze. + +The cattle pastured near the deepest of the swimming holes, and it often +fell to the lot of the boys to bring them into the palisade at sunset. +This was a duty of no little importance, because if any of the cattle +wandered away into the forest and were lost, they could not be replaced. +It was now the latter half of summer, and the grass and foliage were +fast turning brown in the heat. Late on the afternoon of one of the very +hottest days Henry and Paul went to the deepest swimming hole. There had +not been a breath of air stirring since morning; not a blade of grass, +not a leaf quivered. The skies burned like a sheet of copper. + +The boys panted, and their clothing, wet with perspiration, clung to +them. The earth was hot under their feet. Quickly they threw off their +garments and sprang into the water. How cool and grateful it felt! There +they lingered long, and did not notice the sudden obscurity of the sun +and darkening of the southwest. + +A slight wind sprang up presently, and the dry leaves and grass began to +rustle. There was thunder in the distance and a stroke of lightning. The +boys were aroused, and scrambling out of the water put on their +clothing. + +"A storm's coming," said Henry, who was weatherwise, "and we must get +the cattle in." + +These sons of the forest did not fear rain, but they hurried on their +clothing, and they noticed, too, how rapidly the storm was gathering. +The heat had been great for days, and the earth was parched and thirsty. +The men had talked in the evening of rain, and said how welcome it would +be, and now the boys shared the general feeling. The drought would be +ended. The thirsty earth would drink deep and grow green again. + +The rolling clouds, drawn like a great curtain over the southwest, +advanced and covered all the heavens. The flashes of lightning followed +each other so fast that, at times, they seemed continuous; the forest +groaned as it bent before the wind. Then the great drops fell, and soon +they were beating the earth like volleys of pistol bullets. Fragments of +boughs, stripped off by the wind, swept by. Never had the boys in their +Eastern home known such thunder and lightning. The roar of one was +always in their ears, and the flash of the other always in their eyes. + +The frightened cattle were gathered into a group, pressing close +together for company and protection. The boys hurried them toward the +stockade, but one cow, driven by terror, broke from the rest and ran +toward the woods. Agile Henry, not willing to lose a single straggler, +pursued the fugitive, and Paul, wishing to be as zealous, followed. The +rest of the cattle, being so near and obeying the force of habit, went +on into the stockade. + +It was the wildest cow of the herd that made a plunge for the woods, and +Henry, knowing her nature, expected trouble. So he ran as fast as he +could, and he was not aware until they were in the forest that Paul was +close behind him. Then he shouted: + +"Go back, Paul! I'll bring her in." + +But Paul would not turn. There was fire in his blood. He considered it +as much his duty to help as it was Henry's. Moreover, he would not +desert his comrade. + +The fugitive, driven by the storm acting upon its wild nature, continued +at great speed, and the panting boys were not able to overtake her. So +on the trio went, plunging through the woods, and saving themselves from +falls, or collisions with trees, only by the light from the flashes of +lightning. Many boys, even on the border, would have turned back, but +there was something tenacious in Henry's nature; he had undertaken to do +a thing, and he did not wish to give it up. Besides that cow was too +valuable. And Paul would not leave his comrade. + +Away the cow went, and behind her ran her pursuers. The rain came +rushing and roaring through the woods, falling now in sheets, while +overhead the lightning still burned, and the thunder still crashed, +though with less frequency. Both the boys were drenched, but they did +not mind it; they did not even know it at the time. The lightning died +presently, the thunder ceased to rumble, and then the darkness fell like +a great blanket over the whole forest. The chase was blotted out from +them, and the two boys, stopping, grasped each other's hands for the +sake of company. They could not see twenty feet before them, but the +rain still poured. + +"We'll have to give her up," said Henry reluctantly. "We couldn't follow +a whole herd of buffaloes in all this black night." + +"Maybe we can find her to-morrow," said Paul. + +"Maybe so," replied Henry. "We've got to wait anyhow. Let's go home." + +They started back for Wareville, keeping close together, lest they lose +each other in the darkness, and they realized suddenly that they were +uncomfortable. The rain was coming in such sheets directly in their +faces that it half blinded them, now and then their feet sank deep in +mire and their drenched bodies began to grow cold. The little log houses +in which they lived now seemed to them palaces, fit for a king, and they +hastened their footsteps, often tripping on vines or running into +bushes. But Henry was trying to see through the dark woods. + +"We ought to be near the clearing," he said. + +They stopped and looked all about, seeking to see a light. They knew +that one would be shining from the tower of the blockhouse as a guide to +them. But they saw none. They had misjudged the distance, so they +thought, and they pushed on a half hour longer, but there was still no +light, nor did they come to a clearing. Then they paused. Dark as it was +each saw a look of dismay on the face of the other. + +"We've come the wrong way!" exclaimed Paul. + +"Maybe we have," reluctantly admitted Henry. + +But their dismay lasted only a little while. They were strong boys, used +to the wilderness, and they did not fear even darkness and wandering +through the woods. Moreover, they were sure that they should find +Wareville long before midnight. + +They changed their course and continued the search. The rain ceased by +and by, the clouds left the heavens, and the moon came out, but they saw +nothing familiar about them. The great woods were dripping with water, +and it was the only sound they heard, besides that made by themselves. +They stopped again, worn out and disconsolate at last. All their walking +only served to confuse them the more. Neither now had any idea of the +direction in which Wareville lay, and to be lost in the wilderness was a +most desperate matter. They might travel a thousand miles, should +strength last them for so great a journey, and never see a single human +being. They leaned against the rough bark of a great oak tree, and +stared blankly at each other. + +"What are we to do?" asked Paul. + +"I can't say," replied Henry. + +The two boys still looked blank, but at last they laughed--and each +laughed at the other's grewsome face. Then they began once more to cast +about them. The cold had passed and warm winds were blowing up from the +south. The forest was drying, and Henry and Paul, taking off their +coats, wrung the water from them. They were strong lads, inured to many +hardships of the border and the forest, and they did not fear ill +results from a mere wetting. Nevertheless, they wished to be +comfortable, and under the influence of the warm wind they soon found +themselves dry again. But they were so intensely sleepy that they could +scarcely keep their eyes open, and now the wilderness training of both +came into use. + +It was a hilly country, with many outcroppings of stone and cavelike +openings in the sides of the steep but low hills, and such a place as +this the boys now sought. But it was a long hunt and they grew more +tired and sleepy at every step. They were hungry, too, but if they might +only sleep they could forget that. They heard again the hooting of owls +and the wind, moaning among the leaves, made strange noises. Once there +was a crash in a thicket beside them, and they jumped in momentary +alarm, but it was only a startled deer, far more scared than they, +running through the bushes, and Henry was ashamed of his nervous +impulse. + +They found at last their resting place, a sheltered ledge of dry stone +in the hollow of a hill. The stone arched above them, and it was dark in +the recess, but the boys were too tired now to worry about shadows. They +crept into the hollow, and, scraping up fallen leaves to soften the hard +stone, lay down. Both were off to slumberland in less than five minutes. + +The hollow faced the East, and the bright sun, shining into their eyes, +awakened them at last. Henry sprang up, amazed. The skies were a silky +blue, with little white clouds sailing here and there. The forest, +new-washed by the rain, smelt clean and sweet. The south wind was still +blowing. The world was bright and beautiful, but he was conscious of an +acute pain at the center of his being. That is, he was increasingly +hungry. Paul showed equal surprise, and was a prey to the same annoying +sensation in an important region. He looked up at the sun, and found +that it was almost directly overhead, indicating noon. + +All the country about them was strange, an unbroken expanse of hill and +forest, and nowhere a sign of a human being. They scrutinized the +horizon with the keen eyes of boyhood, but they saw no line of smoke, +rising from the chimneys of Wareville. Whether the villages lay north or +south or east or west of them they did not know, and the wind that +sighed so gently through the forest never told. They were alone in the +wilderness and they knew, moreover, that the wilderness was very vast +and they were very small. But Henry and Paul did not despair; in fact no +such thought entered Henry's mind. Instead he began to find a certain +joy in the situation; it appealed to his courage. They resolved to find +something to eat, and they used first a temporary cure for the pangs of +hunger. Each had a strong clasp knife and they cut strips of the soft +inner bark of the slippery-elm tree, which they chewed, drawing from it +a little strength and sustenance. They found an hour or two later some +nearly ripe wild plums, which they ate in small quantities, and, later +on, ripe blackberries very juicy and sweet. Paul wanted to be voracious, +but Henry restrained him, knowing well that if he indulged liberally he +might suffer worse pangs than those of hunger. Slender as was this diet +the boys felt much strengthened, and their spirits rose in a wonderful +manner. + +"We're bound to be found sooner or later," said Henry, "and it's strange +if we can't live in the woods until then." + +"If we only had our guns and ammunition," said Paul, "we could get all +the meat we wanted, and live as well as if we were at home." + +This was true, because in the untrodden forest the game was plentiful +all about them, but guns and ammunition they did not have, and it was +vain to wish for them. They must obtain more solid food than wild plums +and blackberries, if they would retain their strength, and both boys +knew it. Yet they saw no way and they continued wandering until they +came to a creek. They sat a while on its banks and looked down at the +fish with which it was swarming, and which they could see distinctly in +its clear waters. + +"Oh, if we only had one of those fine fellows!" said Paul. + +"Then why not have him?" exclaimed Henry, a sudden flash appearing in +his eye. + +"Yes, why not?" replied Paul with sarcasm. "I suppose that all we have +to do is to whistle and the finest of 'em will come right out here on +the bank, and ask us to cook and eat 'em." + +"We haven't any hooks and lines now but we might make 'em," said Henry. + +"Make 'em!" said Paul, and he looked in amazement at his comrade. + +"Out of our clothes," replied Henry. + +Then he proceeded to show what he meant and Paul, too, when he saw him +begin, was quickly taken with the idea. They drew many long strands from +the fiber of their clothing--cloth in those days was often made as +strong as leather--and twisted and knotted them together until they had +a line fifteen feet long. It took them at least two hours to complete +this task, and then they contemplated their work with pride. But the +look of joy on Paul's face did not last long. + +"How on earth are we to get a hook, Henry?" he asked. + +"I'll furnish that," replied Henry, and he took the small steel buckle +with which his trousers were fastened together at the back. Breaking +this apart he bent the slenderest portion of it into the shape of a +hook, and fastened it to the end of his line. + +"If we get a fish on this he may slip off or he may not, but we must +try," he said. + +The fishing rod and the bait were easy matters. A slender stem of +dogwood, cut with a clasp knife, served for the first, and, to get the +latter, they had nothing to do but turn up a flat stone, and draw angle +worms from the moist earth beneath. + +The hook was baited and with a triumphant flourish Henry swung it toward +the stream. + +"Now," he said, "for the biggest fish that ever swam in this creek." + +The boys might have caught nothing with such a rude outfit, but +doubtless that stream was never fished in before, and its inhabitants, +besides being full of a natural curiosity, did not dream of any danger +coming from the outer air. Therefore they bit at the curious-looking +metallic thing with the tempting food upon it which was suddenly dropped +from somewhere. + +But the first fish slipped off as Henry had feared, and then there was +nothing to do but try again. It was not until the sixth or seventh bite +that he succeeded in landing a fine perch upon the bank, and then Paul +uttered a cry of triumph, but Henry, as became his superior dignity at +that moment, took his victory modestly. It was in reality something to +rejoice over, as these two boys were perhaps in a more dangerous +situation than they, with all their knowledge of the border, understood. +The wilderness was full of animal life, but it was fleeter than man, +and, without weapons they were helpless. + +"And now to cook him," said Henry. So speaking, he took from his pocket +the flint and steel that he had learned from the men always to carry, +while Paul began to gather fallen brushwood. + +To light the fire Henry expected to be the easiest of their tasks, but +it proved to be one of the most difficult. He struck forth the elusive +sparks again and again, but they went out before setting fire to the +wood. He worked until his fingers ached and then Paul relieved him. It +fell to the younger boy's lot to succeed. A bright spark flying forth +rested a moment among the lightest and dryest of the twigs, igniting +there. A tiny point of flame appeared, then grew and leaped up. In a few +moments the great pile of brushwood was in a roaring blaze, and then the +boys cooked their fish over the coals. They ate it all with supreme +content, and they believed they could feel the blood flowing in a new +current through their veins and their strength growing, too. + +But they knew that they would have to prepare for the future and draw +upon all their resources of mind and body. Their hook and line was but a +slender appliance and they might not have such luck with it again. Paul +suggested that they make a fish trap, of sticks tied together with +strips cut from their clothing, and put it in the creek, and Henry +thought it was a good idea, too. So they agreed to try it on the morrow, +if they should not be found meanwhile, and then they debated the subject +of snares. + +The undergrowth was swarming with rabbits, and they would make most +toothsome food. Rabbits they must have, and again Henry led the way. He +selected a small clear spot near the thick undergrowth where a rabbit +would naturally love to make his nest and around a circle about six +inches in diameter he drove a number of smooth pegs. Then he tied a +strong cord made of strips of their clothing to one end of a stout bush, +which he bent over until it curved in a semicircle. The other end of the +cord was drawn in a sliding loop around the pegs, and was attached to a +little wooden trigger, set in the center of the inclosure. + +The slightest pressure upon this trigger would upset it, cause the noose +to slip off the pegs and close with a jerk around the neck of anything +that might have its head thrust into the inclosure. The bush, too, would +fly back into place and there would be the intruder, really hanged by +himself. It was the common form of snare, devised for small game by the +boys of early Kentucky, and still used by them. + +Henry and Paul made four of these ingenious little contrivances, and +baited them with bruised pieces of the small plantain leaves that the +rabbits love. Then they contemplated their work again with satisfaction. +But Paul suddenly began to look rueful. + +"If we have to pay out part of our clothes every time we get a dinner we +soon won't have any left," he said. + +Henry only laughed. + +It was now near sunset, and, as they had worked hard they would have +been thankful for supper, but there was none to be thankful for, and +they were too tired to fish again. So they concluded to go to sleep, +which their hard work made very easy, and dream of abundant harvests on +the morrow. + +They gathered great armfuls of the fallen brushwood, littering the +forest, and built a heap as high as their heads, which blazed and roared +in a splendid manner, sending up, too, a column of smoke that rose far +above the trees and trailed off in the blue sky. + +It was a most cheerful bonfire, and it was a happy thought for the boys +to build it, even aside from its uses as a signal, as the coming of +night in the wilderness is always most lonesome and weird. + +They lay down near each other on the soft turf, and Henry watched the +red sun sink behind the black forest in the west. The strange, +sympathetic feeling for the wilderness again came into his mind. He +thought once more of the mysterious regions that lay beyond the line +where the black and red met. He could live in the woods, he was living +now without arms, even, and if he only had his rifle and ammunition he +could live in luxury. And then the wonderful freedom! That old thought +came to him with renewed force. To roam as he pleased, to stop when he +pleased and to sleep where he pleased! He would make a canoe, and float +down the great rivers to their mouths. Then he would wander far out on +the vast plains, which they say lay beyond the thousand miles of forest, +and see the buffalo in millions go thundering by. That would be a life +without care. + +He fell asleep presently, but he was awakened after a while by a +long-drawn plaintive shriek answered by a similar cry. Once he would +have been alarmed by the sound, but now he knew it was panther talking +to panther. He and Paul were unarmed, but they had something as +effective as guns against panthers and that was the great bonfire which +still roared and blazed near them. He was glad now for a new reason that +they had built it high, because the panther's cry was so uncanny and +sent such a chill down one's back. He looked at Paul, but his comrade +still slept soundly, a peaceful smile showing on his face. He remembered +the words of Ross that no wild animal would trouble man if man did not +trouble him, and, rolling a little nearer to Paul, he shut his eyes and +sought sleep. + +But sleep would not come, and presently he heard the cry of the panther +again but much nearer. He was lying with his ear to the ground. Now the +earth is a conductor of sound and Henry was sure that he heard a soft +tread. He rose upon his elbow and gazed into the darkness. There he +beheld at last a dim form moving with sinuous motion, and slowly it took +the shape of a great cat-like animal. Then he saw just behind it another +as large, and he knew that they were the two panthers whose cries he had +heard. + +Henry was not frightened, although there was something weird and uncanny +in the spectacle of these two powerful beasts of prey, stealing about +the fire, before which two unarmed boys reposed. He knew, however, that +they were drawn not by the desire to attack, but by a kind of terrified +curiosity. The fire was to them the magnet that the snake is to the +fascinated bird. He longed then for his gun, the faithful little rifle +that was reposing on the hooks over his bed in his father's house. "I'd +make you cry for something," he said to himself, looking at the largest +of the panthers. + +The animals lingered, glaring at the boys and the fire with great red +eyes, and presently Henry, doing as he had done on a former occasion, +picked up a blazing torch and, shouting, rushed at them. + +The panthers sprang headlong through the undergrowth, in their eagerness +to get away from the terrible flaming vision that was darting down upon +them. Their flight was so quick that they disappeared in an instant and +Henry knew they would not venture near the site of the fire again in a +long time. He turned back and found Paul surprised and alarmed standing +erect and rubbing his eyes. + +"Why--why--what's the matter?" cried Paul. + +"Oh, it's nothing," replied Henry. + +Then he told about the panthers. Paul did not know as much as Henry +concerning panthers and the affair got on his nerves. The lonely and +vast grandeur of the wilderness did not have the attraction for him that +it had for his comrade, and he wished again for the strong log walls and +comfortable roofs of Wareville. But Henry reassured him. The testimony +of the hunters about the timidity of wild beasts was unanimous and he +need have no fears. So Paul went to sleep again, but Henry lingered as +before. + +He threw fresh fuel on the fire. Then he lay down again and gradually +weary nature became the master of him. The woods grew dim, and faded +away, the fire vanished and he was in slumberland. + +When Henry awoke it was because some one was tugging at his shoulder. He +knew now that the Indian warriors had come across the Ohio, and had +seized him, and he sprang up ready to make a fierce resistance. + +"Don't fight, Henry! It's me--Paul!" cried a boyish voice, and Henry +letting his muscles relax rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. It was Paul +sure enough standing beside him, and the sun again was high up in the +heavens. The fire was still burning, though it had died down somewhat. + +"Oh, my breakfast!" cried Henry as he felt a sudden pang. + +"Come, let's see if we're going to have any," said Paul, and off they +went to their snares. The first had not been touched, nor had the +second. The bait was gone from the third, and the loop sprung, but there +was nothing in it. The hearts of the boys sank and they thought again of +wild plums and blackberries which were but a light diet. But when they +came to the fourth snare their triumph was complete. A fat rabbit, +caught in the loop, was hanging by the neck, beside the bush. + +"It's lucky the forest is so full of game that some of it falls into our +trap," said Henry. + +They cooked the rabbit, and again they were so hungry that they ate it +all. Then they improvised new fishing tackle and both boys began to +fish. They knew that they must devote their whole time to this problem +of food, and they decided, for the present, not to leave the creek. They +were afraid to renew the search for Wareville, lest they wander deeper +into the wilderness, and moreover lose the way to the creek which seemed +to be the surest source of food. So they would stay a while where they +were, and keep their fire burning high as a signal to searchers. + +Either the fish had learned that the curiously shaped thing with the +tempting bait upon it was dangerous, or they had gone to visit friends +in distant parts of the creek, for, at least two hours passed, without +either boy getting a bite. When the fish did lay hold it was usually to +slip again from the rude hook, and it was at least another hour before +they caught a fish. It was Paul who achieved the feat, and it repaid him +for being asleep when the panthers came, a matter that had lain upon his +mind somewhat. + +They persisted in this work until Henry also made a catch and then they +gathered more plums and berries. They dug up, too, the root of the +Indian turnip, an herb that burnt the mouth like fire, but which Henry +said they could use, after soaking it a long time in water. Then they +discussed the matter of the fish trap which they thought they could make +in a day's work. This would relieve them of much toil, but they deferred +its beginning until the morrow, and used the rest of the day in making +two more snares for rabbits. + +Paul now suggested that they accumulate as much food as possible, cook +it and putting it on their backs follow the creek to its mouth. He had +no doubt that it emptied into the river that flowed by Wareville and +then by following the stream, if his surmise was right, they could reach +home again. It was a plausible theory and Henry agreed with him. +Meanwhile they built their fire high again and lay down for another +night's rest in the woods. The next day they devoted to the fish trap +which was successfully completed, and put in the river, and then they +took their places on the turf for the third night beside the camp fire. + +The day, like its predecessor, had been close and hot. All traces of the +great rain were gone. Forest and earth were again as dry as tinder. They +refreshed themselves with a swim in the creek just before lying down to +sleep, but they were soon panting with the heat. It seemed to hang in +heavy clouds, and the forest shut out any fresh air that might be moving +high up. + +Despite the great heat the boys had built the fire as high as usual, +because they knew that the search for them would never cease so long as +there was a hope of success, and they thought that the signal should not +be lacking. But now they moved away from it and into the shadow of the +woods. + +"If only the wind would blow!" said Henry. + +"And I'd be willing to stand a rain like the one in which we got lost," +said Paul. + +But neither rain nor wind came, and after a while they fell asleep. +Henry was awakened at an unknown hour of the night by a roaring in his +ears, and at first he believed that Paul was about to have his storm. +Then he was dazzled by a great rush of light in his eyes, and he sprang +to his feet in sudden alarm. + +"Up, Paul!" he cried, grasping his comrade by the shoulder. "The woods +are on fire!" + +Paul was on his feet in an instant, and the two were just in time. +Sparks flew in their faces and the flames twisting into pyramids and +columns leaped from tree to tree with a sound like thunder as they came. +Boughs, burnt through, fell to the ground with a crash. The sparks rose +in millions. + +The boys had slept in their clothes or rather what was left of them, +and, grasping each other's hands, they ran at full speed toward the +creek, with the great fire roaring and rushing after them. Henry looked +back once but the sight terrified him and the sparks scorched his face. +He knew that the conflagration had been set by their own bonfire, fanned +by a rising wind as they slept, but it was no time to lament. The rush +and sweep of the flames, feeding upon the dry forest and gathering +strength as they came, was terrific. It was indeed like the thunder of a +storm in the ears of the frightened boys, and they fairly skimmed over +the ground in the effort to escape the red pursuer. They could feel its +hot breath on their necks, while the smoke and the sparks flew over +their heads. They dashed into the creek, and each dived down under the +water which felt so cool and refreshing. + +"Let's stay here," said Paul, who enjoyed the present. + +"We can't think of such a thing," replied Henry. "This creek won't stop +that fire half a minute!" + +A fire in a sun-dried Western forest is a terrible thing. It rushes on +at a gallop, roaring and crackling like the battle-front of an army, and +destroying everything that lies before it. It leaves but blackened +stumps and charred logs behind, and it stops only when there is no +longer food for it to devour. + +The boys sprang out of the creek and ran up the hill. Henry paused a +moment at its crest, and looked back again. The aspect of the fire was +more frightful than ever. The flames leaped higher than the tops of the +tallest trees, and thrust out long red twining arms, like coiling +serpents. Beneath was the solid red bank of the conflagration, preceded +by showers of ashes and smoke and sparks. The roar increased and was +like that of many great guns in battle. + +"Paul!" exclaimed Henry seizing his comrade's hand again. "We've got to +run, as we've never run before! It's for our lives now!" + +It was in good truth for their lives, and bending low their heads, the +two boys, hand in hand, raced through the forest, with the ruthless +pursuer thundering after them. Henry as he ran, glanced back once more +and saw that the fire was gaining upon them. The serpents of flame were +coming nearer and nearer and the sparks flew over their heads in greater +showers. Paul was panting, and being the younger and smaller of the two +his strength was now failing. Henry felt his comrade dragging upon his +hand. If he freed himself from Paul's grasp he could run faster, but he +remembered his silent resolve to take Paul back to his people. Even were +it not for those others at Wareville he could never desert his friend at +such a moment. So he pulled on Paul's hand to hasten his speed, and +together the boys went on. + +The two noticed presently that they were not alone in their flight, a +circumstance that had escaped them in the first hurry and confusion. +Deer and rabbits, too, flew before the hurricane of fire. The deer were +in a panic of terror, and a great stag ran for a few moments beside the +boys, not noticing them, or, in his fear of greater evil, having no fear +of human beings who were involved in the same danger. Three or four +buffaloes, too, presently joined the frightened herd of game, one, a +great bull running with head down and blowing steam from his nostrils. + +Paul suddenly sank to his knees and gasped: + +"I can't go on! Let me stay here and you save yourself, Henry!" + +Henry looked back at the great fiery wall that swept over the ground, +roaring like a storm. It was very near now and the smoke almost blinded +him. A boy with a spirit less stanch than his might well have fled in a +panic, leaving his companion to his death. But the nearer the danger +came the more resolute Henry grew. He saw, too, that he must sting Paul +into renewed action. + +"Get up!" he exclaimed, and he jerked the fainting boy to his feet. +Then, snatching a stick, he struck Paul several smart blows on his back. +Paul cried out with the sudden pain, and, stimulated by it into physical +action, began to run with renewed speed. + +"That's right, Paul!" cried Henry, dropping his stick and seizing his +comrade again by the hand. "One more big try and we'll get away! Just +over this hill here it's open ground, and the fire will have to stop!" + +It was a guess, only made to encourage Paul, and Henry had small hope +that it would come true, but when they reached the brow of the hill both +uttered a shout of delight. There was no forest for perhaps a quarter of +a mile beyond, and down the center of the open glittered a silver streak +that meant running water. + +Henry was so joyous that he cried out again. + +"See, Paul! See!" he exclaimed. "Here's safety! Now we'll run!" + +How they did run! The sight gave them new strength. They shot out of +that terrible forest and across the short dry grass, burnt brown by late +summer days, running for life toward the flowing water. They did not +stop to notice the size of the stream, but plunged at once into its +current. + +Henry sank with a mighty splash, and went down, down, it seemed to him, +a mile. Then his feet touched a hard, rocky bottom, and he shot back to +the surface, spluttering and blowing the water out of eyes, mouth and +nostrils. A brown head was bobbing beside him. He seized it by the hair, +pulled it up, and disclosed the features of Paul, his comrade. Paul, +too, began to splutter and at the same time to try to swim. + +Splash! + +A heavy body struck the water beside them with a thud too great for that +of a man. It was the stag leaping also for safety and he began to swim +about, looking at the boys with great pathetic eyes, as if he would ask +them what he ought to do next for his life. Apparently his fear of +mankind had passed for the moment. They were bound together by the +community of danger. + +Splash! Splash! Splash! + +The water resounded like the beating of a bass drum. Three more deer, a +buffalo, and any number of smaller game sprang into the stream, and +remained there swimming or wading. + +"Here, Paul! Here's a bar that we can stand on," said Henry who had +found a footing. At the same time he grasped Paul by the wrist, and drew +him to the bar. There they stood in the water to their necks, and +watched the great fire as it divided at the little prairie, and swept +around them, passing to left and right. It was a grim sight. All the +heavens seemed ablaze, and the clouds of smoke were suffocating. Even +there in the river the heat was most oppressive, and at times the faces +of the boys were almost scorched. Then they would thrust their heads +under the water, and keep them there as long as they could hold their +breath, coming up again greatly refreshed. The wild game clustered near +in common terror. + +"It's a lucky thing for us the river and prairie are here," said Henry. +"Another half mile and we'd have been ashes." + +Paul was giving thanks under his breath, and watching the fire with +awe-stricken eyes. It swept past them and rushed on, in a great red +cloud, that ate all in its path and gave forth much noise. + +It was now on the far side of the prairie, and soon began to grow +smaller in the distance. Yet so great was the wall of fire that it was +long in sight, dying at last in a red band under the horizon. Even then +all the skies were still filled with drifting smoke and ashes. + +The boys looked back at the path over which they had come, and although +the joy of escape was still upon them it was with real grief that they +beheld the stricken forest, lately so grand a sight. It was now but a +desolate and blackened ruin. Here and there charred trunks stood like +the chimneys of burned houses, and others lay upon the ground like +fallen and smoking rafters. Scattered about were great beds of living +coals, where the brush had been thickest, and smoke rose in columns from +the burned grass and hot earth. It was all like some great temple +destroyed by fire; and such it was, the grandest of all temples, the +natural temple of the forest. + +"We kindled that fire," said Paul. + +"I guess we did," responded Henry, "but we didn't know our spark would +grow into so great a blaze." + +They swam to the bank and walked toward the remains of the forest. But +the ground was still hot to their feet, and the smoke troubled them. +Near the edge of the wood they found a deer still alive and with a +broken leg, tripped in its panic-stricken flight or struck by a fallen +tree. Henry approached cautiously and slew him with his clasp knife. He +felt strong pity as the fallen animal looked at him with great mournful +eyes, but they were two hungry boys, and they must have a food supply if +they would live in the woods. + +They cleaned and dressed the deer and found that the carcass was as much +as they could carry. But with great toil they lifted it over the hot +ground, and then across another little prairie, until they came to woods +only partially burned. There they hung the body to the bough of a tree, +out of the reach of beasts of prey. + +Then they took thought for the future. Barring the deer which would last +some time they would now have to begin all over again, but they resolved +to spend the rest of the present day, there under the shade of the +trees. They were too much exhausted with exertion and excitement to +undertake any new risk just yet. + +Paul was afflicted with a great longing for home that afternoon. The +fire and their narrow escape were still on his nerves. His muscular +fiber was not so enduring as that of Henry, and the wilderness did not +make so keen an appeal to him. Their hardships were beginning to weigh +upon him and he thought all the time of Wareville, and the comfortable +little log houses and the certain and easy supplies of food. Henry knew +what was on his comrade's mind but he did not upbraid him for weakness +of spirit. He, too, had memories of Wareville, and he pitied the grief +of their people who must now be mourning them as lost forever. But he +had been thinking long and hard and he had a plan. Finally he announced +to Paul that they would build a raft. + +"I believe this is the same river that runs by Wareville," he said. "I +never heard Ross or Shif'less Sol or any of the men speak of another +river, near enough for us to have reached it, since we've been wandering +around. So it must be the same. Now either we are above Wareville or we +are below it. We've got to guess at that and take the risk of it. We can +roll a lot of the logs and timber into the river, tie 'em together, and +float with the stream until we come to Wareville." + +"But if we never come to it?" asked Paul. + +"Then all we have to do is to get off the raft and follow the river back +up the bank. Then we are sure to reach home." + +This was so plausible that Paul was full of enthusiasm and they decided +that they would set to work on the raft early in the morning. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE HAUNTED FOREST + + +As the two boys sat before their camp fire that night, after making +their plan, they were far from feeling gloomy. Another revulsion had +come. Safe, for the moment, after their recent run for life, it seemed +to them that they were safe for all time. They were rested, they had +eaten good food in plenty, and the fire was long since but a dim red +blur on the horizon. Ashes, picked up by wandering puffs of wind, still +floated here and there among the burned tree trunks, and now and then a +shower of sparks burst forth, as a bough into which the flames had eaten +deep, broke and fell to the ground; but fear had gone from the lads, +and, in its place, came a deep content. They were used to the forest, +and in the company of each other they felt neither loneliness nor +despair. + +"It's good here," said Paul who was a reader and a philosopher. "I guess +a fellow's life looks best to him just after he's thought he was going +to lose it, but didn't." + +"I think that's true," said Henry, glancing toward the far horizon, +where the red blur still showed under the twilight. "But that was just a +little too close for fun." + +But his satisfaction was even deeper than Paul's. The wilderness and its +ways made a stronger appeal to him. Paul, without Henry, would have felt +loneliness and fear, but Henry alone, would have faced the night +undaunted. Already the great forest was putting upon him its magic +spell. + +"Have you eaten enough, Paul?" he asked. + +"I should like to eat more, but I'm afraid I can't find a place for it," +replied Paul ruefully. + +Henry laughed. He felt himself more than ever Paul's protector and +regarded all his weaknesses with kindly tolerance. There the two lay +awhile, stretched out on the soft, warm earth, watching the twilight +deepen into night. Henry was listening to the voice of the wilderness, +which spoke to him in such pleasant tones. He heard a faint sighing, +like some one lightly plucking the strings of a guitar, and he knew that +it was the wandering breeze among the burned boughs; he heard now and +then a distant thud, and he knew that it was the fall of a tree, into +whose trunk the flames had bit deeply; as he lay with his ear to the +earth he heard more than once a furtive footfall as light as air, and he +knew that some wild animal was passing. But he had no fear, the fire was +a ring of steel about them. + +Paul heard few of these sounds, or if hearing them he paid no heed. The +wilderness was not talking to him. He was merely in the woods and he was +very glad indeed to have his strong and faithful comrade beside him. + +The twilight slipped away and the night came, thick and dark. The red +blur lingered, but the faintest line of pink under the dark horizon, and +the scorched tree trunks that curved like columns in a circle around +them became misty and unreal. Despite himself Paul began to feel a +little fear. He was a brave boy, but this was the wilderness, the +wilderness in the dark, peopled by wild animals and perhaps by wilder +men, and they were lost in it. He moved a little closer to his comrade. +But Henry, into whose mind no such thoughts had come, rose presently, +and heaped more wood on the fire. He was merely taking an ordinary +precaution, and this little task finished, he spoke to Paul in a vein of +humor, purposely making his words sound very big. + +"Mr. Cotter," he said, "it seems to me that two worthy gentlemen like +ourselves who have had a day of hard toil should retire for the night, +and seek the rest that we deserve." + +"What you say is certainly true, Mr. Ware," responded Paul who had a +lively fancy, "and I am glad to see that we have happened upon an inn, +worthy of our great merits, and of our high position in life. This, you +see, Mr. Ware, is the Kaintuckee Inn, a most spacious place, noted for +its pure air, and the great abundance of it. In truth, Mr. Ware, I may +assert to you that the ventilation is perfect." + +"So I see, Mr. Cotter," said Henry, pursuing the same humor. "It is +indeed a noble place. We are not troubled by any guest, beneath us in +quality, nor are we crowded by any of our fellow lodgers." + +"True! True!" said Paul, his bright eyes shining with his quick spirit, +"and it is a most noble apartment that we have chosen. I have seldom +been in one more spacious. My eyes are good, but good as they are I +cannot see the ceiling, it is so high. I look to right and left, and the +walls are so far away that they are hidden in the dark." + +"Correctly spoken, Mr. Cotter," said Henry taking up the thread of talk, +"and our inn has more than size to speak for it. It is furnished most +beautifully. I do not know of another that has in it so good a larder. +Its great specialty is game. It has too a most wonderful and plenteous +supply of pure fresh water and that being so I propose that we get a +drink and go to bed." + +The two boys went down to the little brook that ran near, and drank +heartily. They then returned within the ring of fire. + +They were thoroughly tired and sleepy, and they quickly threw themselves +down upon the soft warm earth, pillowing their heads on their arms, and +the great Kaintuckee Inn bent over them a roof of soft, summer skies. + +But the wilderness never sleeps, and its people knew that night that a +stranger breed was abroad among them. The wind rose a little, and its +song among the burned branches became by turns a music and a moan. The +last cinder died, the earth cooled, and the forest creatures began to +stir in the woodland aisles where the fire had passed. The disaster had +come and gone, and perhaps it was already out of their memories forever. +Rabbits timidly sought their old nests. A wild cat climbed a tree, +scarcely yet cool beneath his claws, and looked with red and staring +eyes at the ring of fire that formed a core of light in the forest, and +the two extraordinary beings that slept within its shelter. A deer came +down to the brook to drink, snorted at the sight of the red gleam among +the trees, and then, when the strange odor came on the wind to its +nostrils, fled in wild fright through the forest. + +The news, in some way unknown to man, was carried to all the forest +creatures. A new species, strange, unexplainable, had come among them, +and they were filled with curiosity. Even the weak who had need to fear +the strong, edged as near as they dared, and gazed at the singular +beings who lay inside the red blaze. The wild cat crawled far out on the +bare bough, and stared, half afraid, half curious, and also angry at the +intrusion. He could see over the red blaze and he saw the boys stretched +upon the ground, their faces, very white to the eye of the forest, +upturned to the sky. To human gaze they would have seemed as two dead, +but the keen eyes of the wild cat saw their chests rising and falling +with deep regular breaths. + +The darkness deepened and then after a while began to lighten. A +beautiful clear moon came out and sheathed all the burned forest in +gleaming silver. But the boys were still far away in a happy +slumberland. The wild cat fled in alarm at the light, and the timid +things drew back farther among the trees. + +Time passed, and the red ring of fire about Paul and Henry sank. Hasty +and tired, they had not drawn up enough wood to last out the night, and +now the flames died, one by one. Then the coals smoldered and after a +while they too began to go out, one by one. The red ring of fire that +inclosed the two boys was slowly going away. It broke into links, and +then the links went out. + +Light clouds came up from the west, and were drawn, like a veil, across +the sky. The moon began to fade, the silver armor melted away from the +trees, and the wild cat that had come back could scarcely see the two +strange beings, keen though his eyes were, so dense was the shadow where +they lay. The wild things, still devoured with curiosity, pressed +nearer. The terrible red light that filled their souls with dread, was +gone, and the forest had lost half its terror. There was a ring of eyes +about Henry and Paul, but they yet abode in glorious slumberland, +peaceful and happy. + +Suddenly a new note came into the sounds of the wilderness, one that +made the timid creatures tremble again with dread. It was faint and very +far, more like a quaver brought down upon the wind, but the ring of eyes +drew back into the forest, and then, when the quaver came a second time, +the rabbits and the deer fled, not to return. The lips of the wild cat +contracted into a snarl, but his courage was only of the moment, he +scampered away and he did not stop until he had gone a full mile. Then +he swiftly climbed the tallest tree that he could find, and hid in its +top. + +The ring of eyes was gone, as the ring of fire had died, but Henry and +Paul slept on, although there was full need for them to be awake. The +long, distant quaver, like a whine, but with something singularly +ferocious in its note came again on the wind, and, far away, a score of +forms, phantom and dusky, in the shadow were running fast, with low, +slim bodies, and outstretched nostrils that had in them a grateful odor +of food, soon to come. + +Nature had given to Henry Ware a physical mechanism of great strength, +but as delicate as that of a watch. Any jar to the wheels and springs +was registered at once by the minute hand of his brain. He stirred in +his sleep and moved one hand in a troubled way. He was not yet awake, +but the minute hand was quivering, and through all his wonderfully +sensitive organism ran the note of alarm. He stirred again and then +abruptly sat up, his eyes wide open, and his whole frame tense with a +new and terrible sensation. He saw the dead coals, where the fire had +been; the long, quavering and ferocious whine came to his ears, and, in +an instant, he understood. It was well for the two that Henry was by +nature a creature of the forest! He sprang to his feet and with one +sweeping motion pulled Paul to his also. + +"Up! Up, Paul!" he cried. "The fire is out, and the wolves are coming!" + +Paul's physical senses were less acute and delicate than Henry's, and he +did not understand at once. He was still dazed, and groping with his +hands in the dusk, but Henry gave him no time. + +"It's our lives, Paul!" he cried. "Another enemy as bad as the fire is +after us!" + +Not twenty feet away grew a giant beech, spreading out low and mighty +boughs, and Henry leaped for it, dragging Paul after him. + +"Up you go!" he cried, and Paul, not yet fully awake, instinctively +obeyed the fierce command. Then Henry leaped lightly after him and as +they climbed higher among the boughs the ferocious whine burst into a +long terrible howl, and the dusky forms, running low, gaunt and ghostly +in the shadow, shot from the forest, and hurled themselves at the beech +tree. + +Henry, despite all his courage, shuddered, and while he clutched a bough +tightly with one hand put the other upon his comrade to see that he did +not fall. He could feel Paul trembling in his grasp. + +The two looked down upon the inflamed red eyes, the cruelly sharp, white +teeth and slavering mouths, and, still panting from their climb, each +breathed a silent prayer of thankfulness. They had been just in time to +escape a pack of wolves that howled horribly for a while, and then sat +upon their haunches, staring silently up at the sweet new food, which +they believed would fall at last into their mouths. + +Paul at length said weakly: + +"Henry, I'm mighty glad you're a light sleeper. If it had been left to +me to wake up first I'd have woke up right in the middle of the stomachs +of those wolves." + +"Well, we're here and we're safe for the present," said Henry who never +troubled himself over what was past and gone, "and I think this is a +mighty fine beech tree. I know that you and I, Paul, will never see +another so big and friendly and good as it is." + +Paul laughed, now with more heart. + +"You are right, Henry," he said. "You are a mighty good friend, Mr. Big +Beech Tree, and as a mark of gratitude I shall kiss you right in the +middle of your honest barky old forehead," and he touched his lips +lightly to the great trunk. Paul was an imaginative boy, and his whim +pleased him. Such a thought would not have come to Henry, but he liked +it in Paul. + +"I think it's past midnight, Paul," said Henry, "and we've been lucky +enough to have had several hours' sleep." + +"But they'll go away as soon as they realize they can't get us," said +Paul, "and then we can climb down and build a new and bigger ring of +fire about us." + +Henry shook his head. + +"They don't realize it," he replied. "I know they expect just the +contrary, Paul. They are as sure as a wolf can be that we will drop +right into their mouths, just ready and anxious to be eaten. Look at +that old fellow with his forepaws on the tree! Did you ever see such +confidence?" + +Paul looked down fearfully, and the eyes of the biggest of the wolves +met his, and held him as if he were charmed. The wolf began to whine and +lick his lips, and Paul felt an insane desire to throw himself down. + +"Stop it, Paul!" Henry cried sharply. + +Paul jerked his eyes away, and shuddered from head to foot. + +"He was asking me to come," he said hysterically, "and I don't know how +it was, but for a moment I felt like going." + +"Yes and a warm welcome he would have given you," said Henry still +sharply. "Remember that your best friend just now is not Mr. Big Wolf, +but Mr. Big Beech Tree, and it's a wise boy who sticks to his best +friend." + +"I'm not likely to forget it," said Paul. + +He shuddered again at the memory of the terrible, haunting eyes that had +been able for a brief moment to draw him downward. Then he clasped the +friendly tree more tightly in his arms, and Henry smiled approval. + +"That's right, Paul," he said, "hold fast. I'd a heap rather be up here +than down there." + +Paul felt himself with his hand. + +"I'm all in one piece up here," he said, "and I think that's good for a +fellow who wants to live and grow." + +Henry laughed with genuine enjoyment. Paul was getting back his sense of +humor, and the change meant that his comrade was once more strong and +alert. Then the larger boy looked down at their besiegers, who were +sitting in a solemn circle, gazing now at the two lads and now at the +venison, hanging from the boughs of another tree very near. In the dusk +and the shadows they were a terrible company, gaunt and ghostly, gray +and grim. + +For a long time the wolves neither moved nor uttered a sound; they +merely sat on their haunches and stared upward at the living prey that +they felt would surely be theirs. The clouds, caught by wandering +breezes, were stripped from the face of the sky, and the moonlight came +out again, clear, and full, sheathing the scorched trunks once more in +silver armor, and stretching great blankets of light on the burned and +ashy earth. It fell too on the gaunt figures of the gray wolves, but the +silent and deadly circle did not stir. In the moonlight they grew more +terrible, the red eyes became more inflamed and angry, because they had +to wait so long for what they considered theirs by right, the snarling +lips were drawn back a little farther, and the sharp white teeth gleamed +more cruelly. + +Time passed again, dragging slowly and heavily for the besieged boys in +the tree, but the wolves, though hungry, were patient. Strong in union +they were lords of the forest, and they felt no fear. A shambling black +bear, lumbering through the woods, suddenly threw up his nose in the +wind, and catching the strong pungent odor, wheeled abruptly, lumbering +off on another course. The wild cat did not come back, but crouched +lower in his tree top; the timid things remained hidden deep in their +nests and burrows. + +It was a new kind of game that the wolves had scented and driven to the +boughs, something that they had never seen before, but the odor was very +sweet and pleasant in their nostrils. It was a tidbit that they must +have, and, red-eyed, they stared at the two strange, toothsome +creatures, who stirred now and then in the tree, and who made queer +sounds to each other. When they heard these occasional noises the pack +would reply with a long ferocious whine that seemed to double on itself +and give back echoes from every point of the compass. In the still night +it went far, and the timid things, when they heard it, trembled all over +in their nests and burrows. Then the leader, the largest and most +terrible of the pack would stretch himself upon the tree trunk, and claw +at the scorched bark, but the food he craved was still out of reach. + +They noticed that the strange creatures in the tree began to move +oftener, and to draw their limbs up as if they were growing stiff, and +then their long-drawn howl grew longer and more ferocious than ever; the +game, tired out, would soon drop into their mouths. But it did not, the +two creatures made sounds as if they were again encouraging each other, +and the hearts of the wolves filled with rage and impatience that they +should be cheated so long. + +The night advanced; the moonlight faded again and the dark hours that +come before the dawn were at hand. The forest became black and misty +like a haunted wood, and the dim forms of the wolves were the ghosts +that lived in it. But to their sharp red eyes the dark was nothing; they +saw the two beings in the tree do a very queer thing; they tore strips +from themselves, so it seemed to the wolves, from their clothing in +fact, and wound it about their bodies and a bough of the tree against +which they rested. But the wolves did not understand, only they knew +that the creatures did not stir again or make any kind of noise for a +long time. + +When the darkness was thickest the wolves grew hot with impatience. +Already they smelled the dawn and in the light their courage would ooze. +Could it be that the food they coveted would not fall into their mouths? +The dread suspicion filled every vein of the old leader with wrath, and +he uttered a long terrible howl of doubt and anger; the pack took up the +note and the lonely forest became alive with its echoes. But the +creatures in the tree stirred only a little, and made very few sounds. +They seemed to be safe and content, and the wolves raged back and forth, +leaping and howling. + +The old leader felt the dark thin and lighten, and the scent of the +coming dawn became more oppressive to him. A little needle of fear shot +into his heart, and his muscles began to grow weak. He saw afar in the +east the first pale tinge, faint and gray, of the dreadful light that he +feared and hated. His howl now was one of mingled anger and +disappointment, and the pack imitated the note of the king. + +The black veil over the forest gave way to one of gray. The dreadful bar +of light in the east broadened and deepened, and became beaming, intense +and brilliant. The needle of terror at the heart of the gray wolf +stabbed and tore. His red eyes could not face the great red sun that +swung now above the earth, shooting its fierce beams straight at him. +The dark, so kindly and so encouraging, beloved of his kind, was gone, +and the earth swam in a hideous light, every ray of which was hostile. +His blood changed to water, his knees bent under him, and then, to turn +fear to panic, came a powerful odor on the light, morning wind. It was +like the scent of the two strange, succulent creatures in the tree, but +it was the odor of many--many make strength he knew--and the great gray +wolf was sore afraid. + +The sun shot higher and the world was bathed in a luminous golden glow. +The master-wolf cast one last, longing look at the lost food in the +tree, and then, uttering a long quavering howl of terror, which the pack +took up and carried in many echoes, fled headlong through the forest +with his followers close behind, all running low and fast, and with +terror hot at their heels. Their gaunt, gray bodies were gone in a +moment, like ghosts that vanish at the coming of the day. + +"Rouse up, Paul!" cried Henry. "They are gone, afraid of the sun, and +it's safe for us now on the ground." + +"And mighty glad I am!" said Paul. "The great Inn of Kaintuckee was not +so hospitable after all, or at least some of our fellow guests were too +hungry." + +"It's because we were careless about our fire," said Henry. "If we had +obeyed all the rules of the inn, we should have had no trouble. Jump +down, Paul!" + +Henry dropped lightly and cheerfully to the ground. As usual he let the +past and its dangers slip, forgotten, behind him. Paul alighted beside +him and the wilderness witnessed the strange sight of two stout boys, +running up and down, pounding and rubbing their hands and arms, uttering +little cries of pain, as the blood flowed at first slowly and with +difficulty in their cramped limbs, and then of delight, as the +circulation became free and easy. + +"Now for breakfast," said Henry. "It will be easy, as Mr. Landlord has +kept the venison hanging on the tree there for us." + +Henry was breathing the fresh morning air, and rejoicing in the +sunlight. His wonderful physical nature had cast away all thought of +fear, but Paul, who had the sensitive mind and delicate fancy, was still +troubled. + +"Henry," he said, "I'm not willing to stay here, even to eat the deer +meat. All through those hours we were up there it was a haunted forest +for me. I don't want to see this spot any more, and I'd like to get away +from it just as soon as I can." + +Was it some instinct? or an unseen warning given to Paul, and registered +on his sensitive mind, as a photographic plate takes light? To the keen +nose of the old wolf leader an alarming odor had come with the dawn! Was +a kindred signal sent to Paul? + +Henry stared at his comrade in surprise, but he knew that he and Paul +were different, and he respected those differences which might be either +strength or weakness. + +"All right, if you wish it, Paul," he said, lightly. "There are many +rooms in the Kaintuckee Inn, and if the one we have doesn't suit us +we'll just take another. Wait till I cut this venison down, and we'll +move without paying our score." + +"I guess we paid that to the wolves," said Paul, smiling a little. + +Henry detached the venison and divided it. Then each took his share, and +they moved swiftly away among the trees, still keeping to the general +course of the river. They came presently to a large area of unburned +forest, thick with foliage and undergrowth and, without hesitation, they +plunged into it. Henry was in front and suddenly to his keen ears came a +sound which he knew was not one of the natural noises of the forest. He +listened and it continued, a beat, faint but regular and steady. He knew +that it was made by footfalls, and he knew, too, that in the wilderness +everyone is an enemy until he is proved to be a friend. They were in the +densest of the undergrowth, and thought and action came to him on the +heels of each other, swift as lightning. + +"Sink down, Paul! Sink down!" he cried, and grasping his comrade by the +shoulder he bore him down among the thick bushes, going down with him. + +"Don't move for your life!" he whispered. "Men are about to pass and +they cannot be our kind!" + +Paul at once became as still as death. He too under the strain of the +wilderness life and the need of caring for oneself was becoming +wonderfully acute of the senses and ready of action. The two boys +crouched close together, their heads below the tops of the bushes, +although they could see between the leaves and twigs, and neither moved +a hair. + +Almost hidden in the foliage a line of Indian warriors, like dusky +phantoms, passed, in single file, and apparently stepping in one +another's tracks. Well for the boys that Paul had felt his impulse to +leave the vicinity of the besieged tree, because the course of the +warriors would carry them very near it, and they could not fail to +detect the alien presence. But no such suspicion seemed to enter their +minds now, and, like the wolves, they were traveling fast, but +southward. + +The boys stared through the leaves and twigs, afraid but fascinated. +They were fourteen in all--Henry counted them--but never a warrior spoke +a word, and the grim line was seen but a moment and then gone, though +their dark painted faces long remained engraved, like pictures, on the +minds of both. But to Paul it was, for the instant, like a dream. He saw +them, and then he did not. The leaves of the bushes rustled a little +when they passed, and then were still. + +"They must be Southern Indians," whispered Henry. "Cherokees most +likely. They come up here now and then to hunt, but they seldom stay +long, for fear of the more warlike and powerful Northern Indians, who +come down to Kaintuckee for the same purpose, at least that's what I +heard Ross and Sol say." + +"Well, they did seem to be traveling fast," breathed Paul, "and I'm +mighty glad of it. Do you think, Henry, they could have done any harm at +Wareville?" + +Henry shook his head. + +"I have no such fear," he said. "We are a good long distance from home, +and they've probably gone by without ever hearing of the place. Ross has +always said that no danger was to be dreaded from the south." + +"I guess it's so," said Paul with deep relief, "but I think, Henry, that +you and I ought to go down to the river's bank, and build that raft as +soon as we can." + +"All right," said Henry calmly. "But we'll first eat our venison." + +They quickly did as they agreed, and felt greatly strengthened and +encouraged after a hearty breakfast. Then with bold hearts and quick +hands they began their task. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +AFLOAT + + +The boys began at once the work on their raft, a rude structure of a few +fallen logs, fastened together with bark and brush, but simple, strong +and safe. They finished it in two days, existing meanwhile on the deer +meat, and early the morning afterwards, the clumsy craft, bearing the +two navigators, was duly intrusted to the mercy of the unknown river. +Each of the boys carried a slender hickory pole with which to steer, and +they also fastened securely to the raft the remainder of their deer, +their most precious possession. + +They pushed off with the poles, and the current catching their craft, +carried it gently along. It was a fine little river, running in a deep +channel, and Henry became more sure than ever that it was the one that +flowed by Wareville. He was certain that the family resemblance was too +strong for him to be mistaken. + +They floated on for hours, rarely using their poles to increase the +speed of the raft and by and by they began to pass between cliffs of +considerable height. The forest here was very dense. Mighty oaks and +hickories grew right at the water's edge, throwing out their boughs so +far that often the whole stream was in the shade. Henry enjoyed it. This +was one of the things that his fancy had pictured. He was now floating +down an unknown river, through unknown lands, and, like as not, his and +Paul's were the first human eyes that had ever looked upon these hills +and splendid forests. Reposing now after work and danger he breathed +again the breath of the wilderness. He loved it--its silence, its +magnificent spaces, and its majesty. He was glad that he had come to +Kentucky, where life was so much grander than it was back in the old +Eastern regions. Here one was not fenced in and confined and could grow +to his true stature. + +They ate their dinner on the raft, still floating peacefully and tried +to guess how far they had come, but neither was able to judge the speed +of the current. Paul fitted himself into a snug place on their queer +craft and after a while went to sleep. Henry watched him, lest he turn +over and fall into the river and also kept an eye out for other things. + +He was watching thus, when about the middle of the afternoon he saw a +thin dark line, lying like a thread, against the blue skies. He studied +it long and came to the conclusion that it was smoke. + +"Smoke!" said he to himself. "Maybe that means Wareville." + +The raft glided gently with the current, moving so smoothly and +peacefully that it was like the floating of a bubble on a summer sea. +Paul still lay in a dreamless sleep. The water was silver in the shade +and dim gold where the sunshine fell upon it, and the trees, a solid +mass, touched already by the brown of early autumn, dropped over the +stream. Afar, a fine haze, like a misty veil, hung over the forest. The +world was full of peace and primitive beauty. + +They drifted on and the spire of smoke broadened and grew. The look of +the river became more and more familiar. Paul still slept and Henry +would not awaken him. He looked at the face of his comrade as he +slumbered and noticed for the first time that it was thin and pale. The +life in the woods had been hard upon Paul. Henry did not realize until +this moment how very hard it had been. The sight of that smoke had not +come too soon. + +There was a shout from the bank followed by the crash of bodies among +the undergrowth. + +"Smoke me, but here they are! A-floatin' down the river in their own +boat, as comfortable as two lords!" + +It was the voice of Shif'less Sol, and his face, side by side with that +of Ross, the guide, appeared among the trees at the river's brink. Henry +felt a great flush of joy when he saw them, and waved his hands. Paul, +awakened by the shouts, was in a daze at first, but when he beheld old +friends again his delight was intense. + +Henry thrust a pole against the bottom and shoved the raft to the bank. +Then he and Paul sprang ashore and shook hands again and again with Ross +and Sol. Ross told of the long search for the two boys. He and Mr. Ware +and Shif'less Sol and a half dozen others had never ceased to seek them. +They feared at one time that they had been carried off by savages, but +nowhere did they find Indian traces. Then their dread was of starvation +or death by wild animals, and they had begun to lose hope. + +Both Henry and Paul were deeply moved by the story of the grief at +Wareville. They knew even without the telling that this sorrow had never +been demonstrative. The mothers of the West were too much accustomed to +great tragedies to cry out and wring their hands when a blow fell. +Theirs was always a silent grief, but none the less deep. + +Then, guided by Ross and the shiftless one, they proceeded to Wareville +which was really at the bottom of the smoke spire, where they were +received, as two risen from the dead, in a welcome that was not noisy, +but deep and heartfelt. The cow, the original cause of the trouble, had +wandered back home long ago. + +"How did you live in the forest?" asked Mr. Ware of Henry, after the +first joy of welcome was shown. + +"It was hard at first, but we were beginning to learn," replied the boy. +"If we'd only had our rifles 'twould have been no trouble. And father, +the wilderness is splendid!" + +The boy's thoughts wandered far away for a moment to the wild woods +where he again lay in the shade of mighty oaks and saw the deer come +down to drink. Mr. Ware noticed the expression on Henry's face and took +reflection. "I must not let the yoke bear too heavy upon him," was his +unspoken thought. + +But Paul's joy was unalloyed; he preferred life at Wareville to life in +the wilderness amid perpetual hardships, and when they gave the great +dinner at Mr. Ware's to celebrate the return of the wanderers he reached +the height of human bliss. Both Ross and Shif'less Sol were present and +with them, too, were Silas Pennypacker who could preach upon occasion +for the settlement and did it, now and then, and John Upton, who next to +Mr. Ware was the most notable man in Wareville, and his daughter Lucy, +now a shy, pretty girl of twelve, and more than twenty others. Even +Braxton Wyatt was among the members although he still sneered at Henry. + +Theirs was in very truth a table fit for a king. In fact few kings could +duplicate it, without sending to the uttermost parts of the earth, and +perhaps not then. Meat was its staple. They had wild duck, wild goose, +wild turkey, deer, elk, beaver tail, and a half dozen kinds of fish; but +the great delicacy was buffalo hump cooked in a peculiar way--that is, +served up in the hide of a buffalo from which the hair had been singed +off, and baked in an earthen oven. Ross, who had learned it from the +Indians, showed them how to do this, and they agreed that none of them +had ever before tasted so fine a dish. When the dinner was over, Henry +and Paul had to answer many questions about their wanderings, and they +were quite willing to do so, feeling at the moment a due sense of their +own importance. + +A shade passed over the faces of some of the men at the mention of the +Indians, whom Henry and Paul had seen, but Ross agreed with Henry that +they were surely of the South, going home from a hunting trip, and so +they were soon forgotten. + +Henry's work after their return included an occasional hunting +excursion, as game was always needed. His love of the wilderness did not +decrease when thus he ranged through it and began to understand its +ways. Familiarity did not breed contempt. The magnificent spaces and +mighty silence appealed to him with increasing force. The columns of the +trees were like cathedral aisles and the pure breath of the wind was +fresh with life. + +The first part of the autumn was hot and dry. The foliage died fast, the +leaves twisted and dried up and the brown grass stems fell lifeless to +the earth. A long time they were without rain, and a dull haze of heat +hung over the simmering earth. The river shrank in its bed, and the +brooks became rills. + +Henry still hunted with his older comrades, though often at night now, +and he saw the forest in a new phase. Dried and burned it appealed to +him still. He learned to sleep lightly, that is, to start up at the +slightest sound, and one morning after the wilderness had been growing +hotter and dryer than ever he was awakened by a faint liquid touch on +the roof. He knew at once that it was the rain, wished for so long and +talked of so much, and he opened the shutter window to see it fall. + +The sun was just rising, but showed only a faint glow of pink through +the misty clouds, and the wind was light. The clouds opened but a little +at first and the great drops fell slowly. The hot earth steamed at the +touch, and, burning with thirst, quickly drank in the moisture. The wind +grew and the drops fell faster. The heat fled away, driven by the waves +of cool, fresh air that came out of the west. Washed by the rain the dry +grass straightened up, and the dying leaves opened out, springing into +new life. Faster and faster came the drops and now the sound they made +was like the steady patter of musketry. Henry opened his mouth and +breathed the fresh clean air, and he felt that like the leaves and grass +he, too, was gaining new life. + +When he went forth the next day in the dripping forest the wilderness +seemed to be alive. The game swarmed everywhere and he was a lazy man +who could not take what he wished. It was like a late touch of spring, +but it did not last long, for then the frosts came, the air grew crisp +and cool and the foliage of the forest turned to wonderful reds and +yellows and browns. From the summit of the blockhouse tower Henry saw a +great blaze of varied color, and he thought that he liked this part of +the year best. He could feel his own strength grow, and now that cold +weather was soon to come he would learn new ways to seek game and new +phases of the wilderness. + +The autumn and its beauty deepened. The colors of the foliage grew more +intense and burned afar like flame. The settlers lightened their work +and most of them now spent a large part of the time in hunting, pursuing +it with the keen zest, born of a natural taste and the relaxation from +heavy labors. Mr. Ware and a few others, anxious to test the qualities +of the soil, were plowing up newly cleared land to be sown in wheat, but +Henry was compelled to devote only a portion of his time to this work. +The remaining hours, not needed for sleep, he was usually in the forest +with Paul and the others. + +The hunting was now glorious. Less than three miles from the fort and +about a mile from the river Henry and Paul found a beaver dam across a +tributary creek and they laid rude traps for its builders, six of which +they caught in the course of time. Ross and Sol showed them how to take +off the pelts which would be of value when trade should be opened with +the east, and also how to cook beaver tail, a dish which could, with +truth, be called a rival of buffalo hump. + +Now the settlers began to accumulate a great supply of game at +Wareville. Elk and deer and bear and buffalo and smaller animals were +being jerked and dried at every house, and every larder was filled to +the brim. There could be no lack of food the coming winter, the settlers +said, and they spoke with some pride of their care and providence. + +The village was gaining in both comfort and picturesqueness. Tanned +skins of the deer, elk, buffalo, bear, wolf, panther and wild cat hung +on the walls of every house, and were spread on every floor. The women +contrived fans and ornaments of the beautiful mottled plumage of the +wild turkey. Cloth was hard to obtain in the wilderness, as it might be +a year before a pack train would come over the mountains from the east, +and so the women made clothing of the softest and lightest of the +dressed deer skin. There were hunting shirts for the men and boys, +fastened at the waist by a belt, and with a fringe three or four inches +long, the bottom of which fell to the knees. The men and boys also made +themselves caps of raccoon skin with the tail sewed on behind as a +decoration. Henry and Paul were very proud of theirs. + +The finest robes of buffalo skin were saved for the beds, and Ross gave +warning that they should have full need of them. Winters in Kentucky, he +said, were often cold enough to freeze the very marrow in one's bones, +when even the wildest of men would be glad enough to leave the woods and +hover over a big fire. But the settlers provided for this also by +building great stacks of firewood beside each house. They were as well +equipped with axes--keen, heavy weapons--as they were with rifles and +ammunition, and these were as necessary. The forest around Wareville +already gave great proof of their prowess with the ax. + +Now the autumn was waning. Every morning the wilderness gleamed and +sparkled beneath a beautiful covering of white frost. The brown in the +leaves began to usurp the yellows and the reds. The air, crisp and cold, +had a strange nectar in it and its very breath was life. The sun lay in +the heavens a ball of gold, and a fine haze, like a misty golden veil, +hung over the forest. It was Indian summer. + +Then Indian summer passed and winter, which was very early that year, +came roaring down on Wareville. The autumn broke up in a cold rain which +soon turned to snow. The wind swept out of the northwest, bitter and +chill, and the desolate forest, every bough stripped of its leaves, +moaned before the blast. + +But it was cheerful, when the sleet beat upon the roof and the cold wind +rattled the rude shutters, to sit before the big fires and watch them +sparkle and blaze. + +There was another reason why Henry should now begin to spend much of his +time indoors. The Rev. Silas Pennypacker opened his school for the +winter, and it was necessary for Henry to attend. Many of the pioneers +who crossed the mountains from the Eastern States and founded the great +Western outpost of the nation in Kentucky were men of education and +cultivation, with a knowledge of books and the world. They did not +intend that their children should grow up mere ignorant borderers, but +they wished their daughters to have grace and manners and their sons to +become men of affairs, fit to lead the vanguard of a mighty race. So a +first duty in the wilderness was to found schools, and this they did. + +The Reverend Silas was no lean and thin body, no hanger-on upon stronger +men, but of fine girth and stature with a red face as round as the full +moon, a glorious laugh and the mellowest voice in the colony. He was by +repute a famous scholar who could at once give the chapter and text of +any verse in the Bible and had twice read through the ponderous history +of the French gentleman, M. Rollin. It was said, too, that he had nearly +twenty volumes of some famous romances by a French lady, one +Mademoiselle de Scudery, brought over the mountains in a box, but of +this Henry and Paul could not speak with certainty, as a certain wooden +cupboard in Mr. Pennypacker's house was always securely locked. + +But the teacher was a favorite in the settlement with both men and +women. A sight of his cheerful face was considered good enough to cure +chills and fever, and for the matter of that he was an expert hand with +both ax and rifle. His uses in Wareville were not merely mental and +spiritual. He was at all times able and willing to earn his own bread +with his own strong hands, though the others seldom permitted him to do +so. + +Henry entered school with some reluctance. Being nearly sixteen now, +with an unusually powerful frame developed by a forest life, he was as +large as an ordinary man and quite as strong. He thought he ought to +have done with schools, and set up in man's estate but his father +insisted upon another winter under Mr. Pennypacker's care and Henry +yielded. + +There were perhaps thirty boys and girls who sat on the rough wooden +benches in the school and received tuition. Mr. Pennypacker did not +undertake to guide them through many branches of learning, but what he +taught he taught well. He, too, had the feeling that these boys and +girls were to be the men and women who would hold the future of the West +in their hands, and he intended that they should be fit. There were +statesmen and generals among those red-faced boys on the benches, and +the wives and mothers of others among the red-faced girls who sat near +them, and he tried to teach them their duty as the heirs of a +wilderness, soon to be the home of a great race. + +Among his favorite pupils was Paul who had not Henry's eye and hand in +the forest, but who loved books and the knowledge of men. He could +follow the devious lines of history when Henry would much rather have +been following the devious trail of a deer. Nevertheless, Henry +persisted, borne up by the emulation of his comrade, and the knowledge +that it was his last winter in school. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE VOICE OF THE WOODS + + +To study now was the hardest task that Henry had ever undertaken. It was +even easier to find food when he and Paul were unarmed and destitute in +the forest. The walls of the little log house in which he sat inclosed +him like a cell, the air was heavy and the space seemed to grow narrower +and narrower. Then just when the task was growing intolerable he would +look across the room and seeing the studious face of Paul bent over the +big text of an ancient history, he would apply himself anew to his labor +which consisted chiefly of "figures," a bit of the world's geography, +and a little look into the history of England. + +Mr. Pennypacker would neither praise nor blame, but often when the boy +did not notice he looked critically at Henry. "I don't think your son +will be a great scholar," he said once to Mr. Ware, "but he will be a +Nimrod, a mighty hunter before men, and a leader in action. It's as +well, for his is the kind that will be needed most and for a long time +in this wilderness, and back there in the old lands, too." + +"It is so," replied Mr. Ware, "the clouds do gather." + +Involuntarily he looked toward the east, and Mr. Pennypacker's eyes +followed him. But both remained silent upon that portion of their +thoughts. + +"Moreover I tell you for your comfort that the lad has a sense of duty," +added the teacher. + +Henry shot a magnificent stag with great antlers a few days later, and +mounting the head he presented it to Mr. Pennypacker. But on the +following day the master looked very grave and Henry and Paul tried to +guess the cause. Henry heard that Ross had arrived the night before from +the nearest settlement a hundred miles away, but had stayed only an +hour, going to their second nearest neighbor distant one hundred and +fifty miles. He brought news of some kind which only Mr. Ware, Mr. +Upton, the teacher and three or four others knew. These were not ready +to speak and Paul and Henry were well aware that nothing on earth could +make them do so until they thought the time was fit. + +It was a long, long morning. Henry had before him a map of the Empire of +Muscovy but he saw little there. Instead there came between him and the +page a vision of the beaver dam and the pool above it, now covered with +a sheet of ice, and of the salt spring where the deer came to drink, and +of a sheltered valley in which a herd of elk rested every night. + +Mr. Pennypacker was singularly quiet that morning. It was his custom to +call up his pupils and make them recite in a loud voice, but the hours +passed and there were no recitations. The teacher seemed to be looking +far away at something outside the schoolroom, and his thoughts followed +his eyes. Henry by and by let his own roam as they would and he was in +dreamland, when he was aroused by a sharp smack of the teacher's +homemade ruler upon his homemade desk. + +But the blow was not aimed at Henry or anybody in particular. It was an +announcement to all the world in general that Mr. Pennypacker was about +to speak on a matter of importance. Henry and Paul guessed at once that +it would be about the news brought by Ross. + +Mr. Pennypacker's face grew graver than ever as he spoke. He told them +that when they left the east there was great trouble between the +colonies and the mother country. They had hoped that it would pass away, +but now, for the first time in many months, news had come across the +mountains from their old home, and had entered the great forest. The +troubles were not gone. On the contrary they had become worse. There had +been fighting, a battle in which many had been killed, and a great war +was begun. The colonies would all stand together, and no man could tell +what the times would bring forth. + +This was indeed weighty news. Though divided from their brethren in the +east by hundreds of miles of mountain and forest the patriotism of the +settlers in the wilderness burned with a glow all the brighter on that +account. More than one young heart in that rude room glowed with a +desire to be beside their countrymen in the far-off east, rifle in hand. + +But Mr. Pennypacker spoke again. He said that there was now a greater +duty upon them to hold the west for the union of the colonies. Their +task was not merely to build homes for themselves, but to win the land +that it might be homes for others. There were rumors that the savages +would be used against them, that they might come down in force from the +north, and therefore it was the part of everyone, whether man, woman or +child to redouble his vigilance and caution. Then he adjourned school +for the day. + +The boys drew apart from their elders and discussed the great news. +Henry's blood was on fire. The message from that little Massachusetts +town, thrilled him as nothing in his life had done before. He had a +vague idea of going there, and of doing what he considered his part, and +he spoke to Paul about it, but Paul thought otherwise. + +"Why, Henry!" he said. "We may have to defend ourselves here and we'll +need you." + +The people of Wareville knew little about the causes of the war and +after this one message brought by Ross they heard no more of its +progress. They might be fighting great battles away off there on the +Atlantic coast, but no news came through the wall of woods. Wareville +itself was peaceful, and around it curved the mighty forest which told +nothing. + +Mountains and forest alike lay under deep snow, and it was not likely +that they would hear anything further until spring, because the winter +was unusually cold and a man who ventured now on a long journey was +braver than his fellows. + +The new Kentuckians were glad that they had provided so well for winter. +All the cupboards were full and there was no need for them now to roam +the cold forests in search of game. They built the fires higher and +watched the flames roar up the chimneys, while the little children +rolled on the floor and grasped at the shadows. + +Though but a bit of mankind hemmed in by the vast and frozen wilderness +theirs was not an unhappy life by any means. The men and boys, though +now sparing their powder and ball, still set traps for game and were not +without reward. Often they found elk and deer, and once or twice a +buffalo floundering in the deep snowdrifts, and these they added to the +winter larder. They broke holes in the ice on the river and caught fish +in abundance. They worked, too, about the houses, making more tables and +benches and chairs and shelves and adding to their bodily comforts. + +The great snow lasted about a month and then began to break up with a +heavy rain which melted all the ice, but which could not carry away all +the snow. The river rose rapidly and overflowed its banks but Wareville +was safe, built high on the hill where floods could not reach. Warm +winds followed the rain and the melting snow turned great portions of +the forest into lakes. The trees stood in water a yard deep, and the +aspect of the wilderness was gloomy and desolate. Even the most resolute +of the hunters let the game alone at such a time. Often the warm winds +would cease to blow when night came and then the great lagoons would be +covered with a thin skim of ice which melted again the next day under +the winds and the sun. All this brought chills and fever to Wareville +and bitter herbs were sought for their cure. But the strong frame of +Henry was impervious to the attacks and he still made daily journeys to +his traps in the wet and steaming wilderness. + +Henry was now reconciled to the schoolroom. It was to be his last term +there and he realized with a sudden regret that it was almost at its +end. He was beginning to feel the sense of responsibility, that he was +in fact one of the units that must make up the state. + +Despite these new ideas a sudden great longing lay hold of him. The +winds from the south were growing warmer and warmer, all the snow and +ice was gone long ago, faint touches of green and pink were appearing on +grass and foliage and the young buds were swelling. Henry heard the +whisper of these winds and every one of them called to him. He knew that +he was wanted out there in the woods. He began to hate the sight of +human faces, he wished to go alone into the wilderness, to see the deer +steal among the trees and to hear the beaver dive into the deep waters. +He felt himself a part of nature and he would breathe and live as nature +did. + +He grew lax in his tasks; he dragged his feet and there were even times +when he was not hungry. When his mother noticed the latter circumstance +she knew surely that the boy was ill, but her husband shrewdly said: + +"Henry, the spring has come; take your rifle and bring us some fresh +venison." + +So Henry shouldered his rifle and went forth alone upon the quest, even +leaving behind Paul, his chosen comrade. He did not wish human +companionship that day, nor did he stop until he was deep in the +wilderness. How he felt then the glory of living! The blood was flushing +in his veins as the sap was rising in the trees around him. The world +was coming forth from its torpor of winter refreshed and strengthened. +He saw all about him the signs of new life--the tender young grass in +shades of delicate green, the opening buds on the trees, and a subtle +perfume that came on the edge of the Southern wind. Beyond him the wild +turkeys on the hill were calling to each other. + +He stood there a long time breathing the fresh breath of this new world, +and the old desire to wander through illimitable forests and float +silently down unknown rivers came over him. He would not feel the need +of companionship on long wanderings. Nature would then be sufficient, +talking to him in many tongues. + +The wind heavy, with perfumes of the South, came over the hill and on +its crest the wild turkeys were still clucking to each other. Henry, +through sheer energy and flush of life, ran up the slope, and watched +them as they took flight through the trees, their brilliant plumage +gleaming in the sunshine. + +It was the highest hill near Wareville and he stood a while upon its +crest. The wilderness here circled around him, and, in the distance, it +blended into one mass, already showing a pervading note of green with +faint touches of pink bloom appearing here and there. The whole of it +was still and peaceful with no sign of human life save a rising spire of +smoke behind him that told where Wareville stood. + +He walked on. Rabbits sprang out of the grass beside him and raced away +into the thickets. Birds in plumage of scarlet and blue and gold shot +like a flame from tree to tree. The forest, too, was filled with the +melody of their voices, but Henry took no notice. + +He paused a while at the edge of a brook to watch the silver sunfish +play in the shallows, then he leaped the stream and went on into the +deeper woods, a tall, lithe, strong figure, his eyes gazing at no one +thing, the long slender-barreled rifle lying forgotten across his +shoulder. + +A great stag sprang up from the forest and stood for a few moments, +gazing at him with expanding and startled eyes. Henry standing quite +still returned the look, seeking to read the expression in the eyes of +the deer. + +Thus they confronted each other a half minute and then the stag turning +fled through the woods. There was no undergrowth, and Henry for a long +time watched the form of the deer fleeing down the rows of trees, as it +became smaller and smaller and then disappeared. + +All the forest glowed red in the setting sun when he returned home. + +"Where is the deer?" asked his father. + +"Why--why I forgot it!" said Henry in confused reply. + +Mr. Ware merely smiled. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE GIANT BONES + + +About this time many people in Wareville, particularly the women and +children began to complain of physical ills, notably lassitude and a +lack of appetite; their food, which consisted largely of the game +swarming all around the forest, had lost its savor. There was no mystery +about it; Tom Ross, Mr. Ware and others promptly named the cause; they +needed salt, which to the settlers of Kentucky was almost as precious as +gold; it was obtained in two ways, either by bringing it hundreds of +miles over the mountains from Virginia in wagons or on pack horses, or +by boiling it out at the salt springs in the Indian-haunted woods. + +They had neither the time nor the men for the long journey to Virginia, +and they prepared at once for obtaining it at the springs. They had +already used a small salt spring but the supply was inadequate, and they +decided to go a considerable distance northward to the famous Big Bone +Lick. Nothing had been heard in a long time of Indian war parties south +of the Ohio, and they believed they would incur no danger. Moreover they +could bring back salt to last more than a year. + +When they first heard of the proposed journey, Paul Cotter pulled Henry +to one side. They were just outside the palisade, and it was a beautiful +day, in early spring. Already kindly nature was smoothing over the cruel +scars made by the axes in the forest, and the village within the +palisade began to have the comfortable look of home. + +"Do you know what the Big Bone Lick is, Henry?" asked Paul eagerly. + +"No," replied Henry, wondering at his chum's excitement. + +"Why it's the most wonderful place in all the world!" said Paul, jumping +up and down in his wish to tell quickly. "There was a hunter here last +winter who spoke to me about it. I didn't believe him then, it sounded +so wonderful, but Mr. Pennypacker says it's all true. There's a great +salt spring, boiling out of the ground in the middle of a kind of marsh, +and all around it, for a long distance, are piled hundreds of large +bones, the bones of gigantic animals, bigger than any that walk the +earth to-day." + +"See here, Paul," said Henry scornfully, "you can't stuff my ears with +mush like that. I guess you were reading one of the master's old +romances, and then had a dream. Wake up, Paul!" + +"It's true every word of it!" + +"Then if there were such big animals, why don't we see 'em sometimes +running through the forest?" + +"My, they've all been dead millions of years and their bones have been +preserved there in the marsh. They lived in another geologic era--that's +what Mr. Pennypacker calls it--and animals as tall as trees strolled up +and down over the land and were the lords of creation." + +Henry puckered his lips and emitted a long whistle of incredulity. + +"Paul," he said, reprovingly, "you do certainly have the gift of +speech." + +But Paul was not offended at his chum's disbelief. + +"I'm going to prove to you, Henry, that it's true," he said. "Mr. +Pennypacker says it's so, he never tells a falsehood and he's a scholar, +too. But you and I have got to go with the salt-makers, Henry, and we'll +see it all. I guess if you look on it with your own eyes you'll believe +it." + +"Of course," said Henry, "and of course I'll go if I can." + +A trip through the forest and new country to the great salt spring was +temptation enough in itself, without the addition of the fields of big +bones, and that night in both the Ware and Cotter homes, eloquent boys +gave cogent reasons why they should go with the band. + +"Father," said Henry, "there isn't much to do here just now, and they'll +want me up at Big Bone Lick, helping to boil the salt and a lot of +things." + +Mr. Ware smiled. Henry, like most boys, seldom showed much zeal for +manual labor. But Henry went on undaunted. + +"We won't run any risk. No Indians are in Kentucky now and, father, I +want to go awful bad." + +Mr. Ware smiled again at the closing avowal, which was so frank. Just at +that moment in another home another boy was saying almost exactly the +same things, and another father ventured the same answer that Mr. Ware +did, in practically the same words such as these: + +"Well, my son, as it is to be a good strong company of careful and +experienced men who will not let you get into any mischief, you can go +along, but be sure that you make yourself useful." + +The party was to number a dozen, all skilled foresters, and they were to +lead twenty horses, all carrying huge pack saddles for the utensils and +the invaluable salt. Mr. Silas Pennypacker who was a man of his own will +announced that he was going, too. He puffed out his ruddy cheeks and +said emphatically: + +"I've heard from hunters of that place; it's one of the great +curiosities of the country and for the sake of learning I'm bound to see +it. Think of all the gigantic skeletons of the mastodon, the mammoth and +other monsters lying there on the ground for ages!" + +Henry and Paul were glad that Mr. Pennypacker was to be with them, as in +the woods he was a delightful comrade, able always to make instruction +entertaining, and the superiority of his mind appealed unconsciously to +both of these boys who--each in his way--were also of superior cast. + +They departed on a fine morning--the spring was early and held +steady--and all Wareville saw them go. It was a brilliant little +cavalcade; the horses, their heads up to scent the breeze from the +fragrant wilderness, and the men, as eager to start, everyone with a +long slender-barreled Kentucky rifle on his shoulder, the fringed and +brilliantly colored deerskin hunting shirt falling almost to his knees, +and, below that deerskin leggings and deerskin moccasins adorned with +many-tinted beads. It was a vivid picture of the young West, so young, +and yet so strong and so full of life, the little seed from which so +mighty a tree was soon to grow. + +All of them stopped again, as if by an involuntary impulse, at the edge +of the forest, and waved their hands in another, and, this time, in a +last good-by to the watchers at the fort. Then they plunged into the +mighty wilderness, which swept away and away for unknown thousands of +miles. + +They talked for a while of the journey, of the things that they might +see by the way, and of those that they had left behind, but before long +conversation ceased. The spell of the dark and illimitable woods, in +whose shade they marched, fell upon them, and there was no noise, but +the sound of breathing and the tread of men and horses. They dropped, +too, from the necessities of the path through the undergrowth, into +Indian file, one behind the other. + +Henry was near the rear of the line, the stalwart schoolmaster just in +front of him, and his comrade Paul, just behind. He was full of +thankfulness that he had been allowed to go on this journey. It all +appealed to him, the tale that Paul told of the giant bones and the +great salt spring, the dark woods full of mystery and delightful danger, +and his own place among the trusted band, who were sent on such an +errand. His heart swelled with pride and pleasure and he walked with a +light springy step and with endurance equal to that of any of the men +before him. He looked over his shoulder at Paul, whose face also was +touched with enthusiasm. + +"Aren't you glad to be along?" he asked in a whisper. + +"Glad as I can be," replied Paul in the same whisper. + +Up shot the sun showering golden beams of light upon the forest. The air +grew warmer, but the little band did not cease its rapid pace northward +until noon. Then at a word from Ross all halted at a beautiful glade, +across which ran a little brook of cold water. The horses were tethered +at the edge of the forest, but were allowed to graze on the young grass +which was already beginning to appear, while the men lighted a small +fire of last year's fallen brushwood, at the center of the glade on the +bank of the brook. + +"We won't build it high," said Ross, who was captain as well as guide, +"an' then nobody in the forest can see it. There may not be an Indian +south of the Ohio, but the fellow that's never caught is the fellow that +never sticks his head in the trap." + +"Sound philosophy! sound philosophy! your logic is irrefutable, Mr. +Ross," said the schoolmaster. + +Ross grinned. He did not know what "irrefutable" meant, but he did know +that Mr. Pennypacker intended to compliment him. + +Paul and Henry assisted with the fire. In fact they did most of the +work, each wishing to make good his assertion that he would prove of use +on the journey. It was a brief task to gather the wood and then Ross and +Shif'less Sol lighted the fire, which they permitted merely to smolder. +But it gave out ample heat and in a few minutes they cooked over it +their venison and corn bread and coffee which they served in tin cups. +Henry and Paul ate with the ferocious appetite that the march and the +clean air of the wilderness had bred in them, and nobody restricted +them, because the forest was full of game, and such skillful hunters and +riflemen could never lack for a food supply. + +Mr. Pennypacker leaned with an air of satisfaction against the upthrust +bough of a fallen oak. + +"It's a wonderful world that we have here," he said, "and just to think +that we're among the first white men to find out what it contains." + +"All ready!" said Tom Ross, "then forward we go, we mustn't waste time +by the way. They need that salt at Wareville." + +Once more they resumed the march in Indian file and amid the silence of +the woods. About the middle of the afternoon Ross invited Mr. +Pennypacker and the two boys to ride three of the pack horses. Henry at +first declined, not willing to be considered soft and pampered, but as +the schoolmaster promptly accepted and Paul who was obviously tired did +the same, he changed his mind, not because he needed rest, but lest Paul +should feel badly over his inferiority in strength. + +Thus they marched steadily northward, Ross leading the way, and +Shif'less Sol who was lazy at the settlement, but never in the woods +where he was inferior in knowledge and skill to Ross only, covering the +rear. Each of these accomplished borderers watched every movement of the +forest about him, and listened for every sound; he knew with the eye of +second sight what was natural and if anything not belonging to the usual +order of things should appear, he would detect it in a moment. But they +saw and heard nothing that was not according to nature: only the wind +among the boughs, or the stamp of an elk's hoof as it fled, startled at +the scent of man. The hostile tribes from north and south, fearful of +the presence of each other, seemed to have deserted the great wilderness +of Kentucky. + +Henry noted the beauty of the country as they passed along; the gently +rolling hills, the rich dark soil and the beautiful clear streams. Once +they came to a river, too deep to wade, but all of them, except the +schoolmaster, promptly took off their clothing and swam it. + +"My age and my calling forbid my doing as the rest of you do," said the +schoolmaster, "and I think I shall stick to my horse." + +He rode the biggest of the pack horses, and when the strong animal began +to swim, Mr. Pennypacker thrust out his legs until they were almost +parallel with the animal's neck, and reached the opposite bank, +untouched by a drop of water. No one begrudged him his dry and unlabored +passage; in fact they thought it right, because a schoolmaster was +mightily respected in the early settlements of Kentucky and they would +have regarded it as unbecoming to his dignity to have stripped, and swum +the river as they did. + +Henry and Paul in their secret hearts did not envy the schoolmaster. +They thought he had too great a weight of dignity to maintain and they +enjoyed cleaving the clear current with their bare bodies. What! be +deprived of the wilderness pleasures! Not they! The two boys did not +remount, after the passage of the river, but, fresh and full of life, +walked on with the others at a pace so swift that the miles dropped +rapidly behind them. They were passing, too, through a country rarely +trodden even by the red men; Henry knew it by the great quantities of +game they saw; the deer seemed to look from every thicket, now and then +a magnificent elk went crashing by, once a bear lumbered away, and twice +small groups of buffalo were stampeded in the glades and rushed off, +snorting through the undergrowth. + +"They say that far to the westward on plains that seem to have no end +those animals are to be seen in millions," said Mr. Pennypacker. + +"It's so, I've heard it from the Indians," confirmed Ross the guide. + +They stopped a little while before sundown, and as the game was so +plentiful all around them, Ross said he would shoot a deer in order to +save their dried meat and other provisions. + +"You come with me, while the others are making the camp," he said to +Henry. + +The boy flushed with pride and gratification, and, taking his rifle, +plunged at once into the forest with the guide. But he said nothing, +knowing that silence would recommend him to Ross far more than words, +and took care to bring down his moccasined feet without sound. Nor did +he let the undergrowth rustle, as he slipped through it, and Ross +regarded him with silent approval. "A born woodsman," he said to +himself. + +A mile from the camp they stopped at the crest of a little hill, thickly +clad with forest and undergrowth, and looked down into the glade beyond. +Here they saw several deer grazing, and as the wind blew from them +toward the hunters they had taken no alarm. + +"Pick the fat buck there on the right," whispered Ross to Henry. + +Henry said not a word. He had learned the taciturnity of the woods, and +leveling his rifle, took sure aim. There was no buck fever about him +now, and, when his rifle cracked, the deer bounded into the air and +dropped down dead. Ross, all business, began to cut up and clean the +game, and with Henry's aid, he did it so skillfully and rapidly that +they returned to the camp, loaded with the juicy deer meat, by the time +the fire and everything else was ready for them. + +Henry and Paul ate with eager appetites and when supper was over they +wrapped themselves in their blankets and lay down before the fire under +the trees. Paul went to sleep at once, but Henry did not close his eyes +so soon. Far in the west he saw a last red bar of light cast by the +sunken sun and the deep ruddy glow over the fringe of the forest. Then +it suddenly passed, as if whisked away by a magic hand, and all the +wilderness was in darkness. But it was only for a little while. Out came +the moon and the stars flashed one by one into a sky of silky blue. A +south wind lifting up itself sang a small sweet song among the branches, +and Henry uttered a low sigh of content, because he lived in the +wilderness, and because he was there in the depths of the forest on an +important errand. Then he fell sound asleep, and did not awaken until +Ross and the others were cooking breakfast. + +A day or two later they reached the wonderful Big Bone Lick, and they +approached it with the greatest caution, because they were afraid lest +an errand similar to theirs might have drawn hostile red men to the +great salt spring. But as they curved about the desired goal they saw no +Indian sign, and then they went through the marsh to the spring itself. + +Henry opened his eyes in amazement. All that the schoolmaster and Paul +had told was true, and more. Acres and acres of the marsh lands were +fairly littered with bones, and from the mud beneath other and far +greater bones had been pulled up and left lying on the ground. Henry +stood some of these bones on end, and they were much taller than he. +Others he could not lift. + +"The mastodon, the mammoth and I know not what," said Mr. Pennypacker in +a transport of delight. "Henry, you and Paul are looking upon the +remains of animals, millions of years old, killed perhaps in fights with +others of their kind, over these very salt springs. There may not be +another such place as this in all the world." + +Mr. Pennypacker for the first day or two was absolutely of no help in +making the salt, because he was far too much excited about the bones and +the salt springs themselves. + +"I can understand," said Henry, "why the animals should come here after +the salt, since they crave salt just as we do, but it seems strange to +me that salt water should be running out of the ground here, hundreds of +miles from the sea." + +"It's the sea itself that's coming up right at our feet," replied the +schoolmaster thoughtfully. "Away back yonder, a hundred million years +ago perhaps, so far that we can have no real conception of the time, the +sea was over all this part of the world. When it receded, or the ground +upheaved, vast subterranean reservoirs of salt water were left, and now, +when the rain sinks down into these full reservoirs a portion of the +salt water is forced to the surface, which makes the salt springs that +are scattered over this part of the country. It is a process that is +going on continually. At least, that's a plausible theory, and it's as +good as any other." + +But most of the salt-makers did not bother themselves about causes, and +they accepted the giant bones as facts, without curiosity about their +origin. Nor did they neglect to put them to use. By sticking them deep +in the ground they made tripods of them on which they hung their kettles +for boiling the salt water, and of others they devised comfortable seats +for themselves. To such modern uses did the mastodon come! But to the +schoolmaster and the two boys the bones were an unending source of +interest, and in the intervals of labor, which sometimes were pretty +long, particularly for Mr. Pennypacker, they were ever prowling in the +swamp for a bone bigger than any that they had found before. + +But the salt-making progressed rapidly. The kettles were always boiling +and sack after sack was filled with the precious commodity. At night +wild animals, despite the known presence of strange, new creatures, +would come down to the springs, so eager were they for the salt, and the +men rarely molested them. Only a deer now and then was shot for food, +and Henry and Paul lay awake one night, watching two big bull buffaloes, +not fifty yards away, fighting for the best place at a spring. + +Ross and Shif'less Sol did not do much of the work at the salt-boiling, +but they were continually scouting through the forest, on a labor no +less important, watching for raiding war parties who otherwise might +fall unsuspected upon the toilers. Henry, as a youth of great promise, +was sometimes taken with them on these silent trips through the woods, +and the first time he went he felt badly on Paul's account, because his +comrade was not chosen also. But when he returned he found that his +sympathy was wasted. Paul and the master were deeply absorbed in the +task of trying to fit together some of the gigantic bones that is, to +re-create the animal to which they thought the bones belonged, and Paul +was far happier than he would have been on the scout or the hunt. + +The day's work was ended and all the others were sitting around the camp +fire, with the dying glow of the setting sun flooding the springs, the +marshes and the camp fire, but Paul and the master toiled zealously at +the gigantic figure that they had up-reared, supported partly with +stakes, and bearing a remote resemblance to some animal that lived a few +million years or so ago. The master had tied together some of the bones +with withes, and he and Paul were now laboriously trying to fit a +section of vertebræ into shape. + +Shif'less Sol who had gone with Henry sat down by the fire, stuffed a +piece of juicy venison into his mouth and then looked with eyes of +wonder at the two workers in the cause of natural history. + +"Some people 'pear to make a heap o' trouble for theirselves," he said, +"now I can't git it through my head why anybody would want to work with +a lot o' dead old bones when here's a pile o' sweet deer meat just +waitin' an' beggin' to be et up." + +At that moment the attempt of Paul and the schoolmaster to reconstruct a +prehistoric beast collapsed. The figure that they had built up with so +much care and labor suddenly slipped loose somewhere, and all the bones +fell down in a heap. The master stared at them in disgust and exclaimed: + +"It's no use! I can't put them together away out here in the +wilderness!" + +Then he stalked over to the fire, and taking a deer steak, ate hungrily. +The steak was very tender, and gradually a look of content and peace +stole over Mr. Pennypacker's face. + +"At least," he murmured, "if it's hard to be a scholar here, one can +have a glorious appetite, and it is most pleasant to gratify it." + +As the dark settled down Ross said that in one day more they ought to +have all the salt the horses could carry, and then it would be best to +depart promptly and swiftly for Wareville. A half hour later all were +asleep except the sentinel. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE WILD TURKEY'S GOBBLE + + +Henry had conducted himself so well on his first scout and, had shown +such signs of efficiency that Ross concluded to take him again the next +day. Henry's heart swelled with pride, and he was no longer worried +about Paul, because he saw that the latter's interest and ambitions were +not exactly the same as his own. Henry could not have any innate respect +for heaps of "old bones," but if Paul and the master found them worthy +of such close attention, they must be right. + +Henry and Ross slipped away into the undergrowth, and Henry soon noticed +that the guide's face, which was tense and preoccupied, seemed graver +than usual. The boy was too wise to ask questions, but after they had +searched through the forest for several hours Ross remarked in the most +casual way: + +"I heard the gobble of a wild turkey away off last night." + +"Yes," said Henry, "there are lots of 'em about here. You remember the +one I shot Tuesday?" + +Ross did not reply just then, but in about five minutes he vouchsafed: + +"I'm looking for the particular wild turkey I heard last night." + +"Why that one, when there are so many, and how would you know him from +the others if you found him?" asked Henry quickly, and then a deep +burning flush of shame broke through the tan of his cheeks. He, Henry +Ware, a rover of the wilderness to ask such foolish questions! A child +of the towns would have shown as much sense. Ross who was looking +covertly at him, out of the corner of his eye, saw the mounting blush, +and was pleased. The boy had spoken impulsively, but he knew better. + +"You understand, I guess," said Ross. + +"Yes," replied Henry, "I know why you want to find that wild turkey, and +I know why you said last night we ought to leave the salt springs just +as soon as we can." + +The smile on the face of the scout brightened. Here was the most +promising pupil who had ever sat at his feet for instruction; and now +they redoubled their caution, as their soundless bodies slipped through +the undergrowth. Everywhere they looked for the trail of that wild +turkey. It may be said that a turkey can and does fly in the air and +leaves no trail, but Henry knew that the one for which they looked might +leave no trail, but it did not fly in the air. + +Time passed; noon and part of the afternoon were gone, and they were +still curving in a great circle about the camp, when Ross, suddenly +stopped beside a little brook, or branch, as he and his comrades always +called them, and pointed to the soft soil at the edge of the water. +Henry followed the long finger and saw the outline of a footstep. + +"Our turkey has passed here." + +The guide nodded. + +"Most likely," he said, "and if not ours, then one of the same flock. +But that footprint is three or four hours old. Come on, we'll follow +this trail until it grows too warm." + +The footsteps led down the side of the brook, and when they curved away +from it Ross was able to trace them on the turf and through the +undergrowth. A half mile from the start other footsteps joined them, and +these were obviously made by many men, perhaps a score of warriors. + +"You see," said Ross, "I guess they've just come across the Ohio or we +wouldn't be left all these days b'il'n salt so peaceful, like as if +there wasn't an Indian in the whole world." + +Henry drew a deep breath. Like all who ventured into the West he +expected some day to be exposed to Indian danger and attack, but it had +been a vague thought. Even when they came north to the Big Bone Lick it +was still a dim far-away affair, but now he stood almost in its +presence. The Shawnees, whose name was a name of terror to the new +settlements, were probably not a mile away. He felt tremors but they +were not tremors of fear. Courage was an instinctive quality in him. +Nature had put it there, when she fashioned him somewhat in the mold of +the primitive man. + +"Step lighter than you ever did afore in your life," said Ross, "an' +bend low an' follow me. But don't you let a single twig nor nothin' snap +as you pass." + +He spoke in a sharp, emphatic whisper, and Henry knew that he considered +the enemy near. But there was no need to caution the boy, in whom the +primal man was already awakened. Henry bent far down, and holding his +rifle before him in such a position that it could be used at a moment's +warning, was following behind Ross so silently that the guide, hearing +no sound, took an instant's backward glance. When he saw the boy he +permitted another faint smile of approval to pass over his face. + +They advanced about three-quarters of a mile and then at the crest of a +hill thickly clothed in tall undergrowth the guide sank down and pointed +with a long ominous forefinger. + +"Look," he said. + +Henry looked through the interlacing bushes and, for the second time in +his life, gazed upon a band of red men. And as he looked, his blood for +a moment turned cold. Perhaps thirty in number, they were sitting in a +glade about a little fire. All of them had blankets of red or blue about +them and they carried rifles. Their faces were hideous with war paint +and their coarse black hair rose in the defiant scalp lock. + +"Maybe they don't know that our men are at the Lick," said Ross, "or if +they do they don't think we know they've come, an' they're planning for +an attack to-night, when they could slip up on us sleepin'." + +The guide's theory seemed plausible to Henry, but he said nothing. It +did not become him to venture opinions before one who knew so much of +the wilderness. + +"It can't be more'n two o'clock," whispered Ross, "an' they'd attack +about midnight. That gives us ten hours. Henry, the Lord is with us. +Come." + +He slid away through the bushes and Henry followed him. When they were a +half mile from the Indian camp they increased their speed to an +astonishing gait and in a half hour were at the Big Bone Lick. + +"Have 'em to load up all the salt at once," said Ross to Shif'less Sol, +"an' we must go kitin' back to Wareville as if our feet was greased." + +Shif'less Sol shot him a single look of comprehension and Ross nodded. +Then the shiftless one went to work with extraordinary diligence and the +others imitated his speed. To the schoolmaster Ross breathed the one +word "Shawnees," and Henry in a few sentences told Paul what he had +seen. + +Fortunately the precious salt was packed--they had no intention of +deserting it, however close the danger--and it was quickly transferred +to the backs of the horses along with the food for the way. In a little +more than a half hour they were all ready and then they fled southward, +Shif'less Sol, this time, leading the way, the guide Ross at the rear, +eye and ear noticing everything, and every nerve attuned to danger. + +The master cast back one regretful glance at his beloved giant bones, +and then, with resignation, turned his face permanently toward the south +and the line of retreat. + +"O Henry," whispered Paul, half in delight, half in terror, "did you +really see them?" + +"Yes," replied Henry, "twenty or more of 'em, and an ugly lot they were, +too, I can tell you, Paul. I believe we could whip 'em in a stand-up +fight, though they are three to our one, but they know more of these +woods than we do and then there's the salt; we've got to save what we've +come for." + +He sighed a little. He did not wholly like the idea of running away, +even from a foe thrice as strong. Yet he could not question the wisdom +of Ross and Shif'less Sol, and he made no protest. + +The men looked after the heavily laden horses--nobody could ride except +as a last resort--and southward they went in Indian file as they had +come. Henry glanced around him and saw nothing that promised danger. It +was only another beautiful afternoon in early spring. The forest glowed +in the tender green of the young buds, and, above them arched the sky a +brilliant sheet of unbroken blue. Never did a world look more +attractive, more harmless, and it seemed incredible that these woods +should contain men who were thirsting for the lives of other men. But he +had seen; he knew; he could not forget that hideous circle of painted +faces in the glade, upon which he and Ross had looked from the safe +covert of the undergrowth. + +"Do you think they'll follow us, Henry?" asked Paul. + +"I don't know," replied Henry, "but it's mighty likely. They'll hang on +our trail for a long time anyway." + +"And if they overtake us, there'll be a fight?" + +"Of course." + +Henry, watching Paul keenly, saw him grow pale. But his lips did not +tremble and that passing pallor failed to lower Paul in Henry's esteem. +The bigger and stronger boy knew his comrade's courage and tenacity, and +he respected him all the more for it, because he was perhaps less fitted +than some others for the wild and dangerous life of the border. + +After these few words they sank again into silence, and to Paul and the +master the sun grew very hot. It was poised now at a convenient angle in +the heavens, and poured sheaves of fiery rays directly upon them. Mr. +Pennypacker began to gasp. He was a man of dignity, a teacher of youth, +and it did not become him to run so fast from something that he could +not see. Ross's keen eye fell upon him. + +"I think you'd better mount one of the horses," he said; "the big bay +there can carry his salt and you too for a while until you are rested." + +"What! I ride, when everybody else is afoot!" exclaimed Mr. Pennypacker, +indignantly. + +"You're the only schoolmaster we have and we can't afford to lose you," +said Ross without the suspicion of a grin. + +Mr. Pennypacker looked at him, but he could not detect any change of +countenance. + +"Hop up," continued Ross, "it ain't any time to be bashful. Others of us +may have to do it afore long." + +Mr. Pennypacker yielded with a sigh, sprang lightly upon the horse, and +then when he enjoyed the luxury of rest was glad that he had yielded. +Paul, and one or two others took to the horses' backs later on, but +Henry continued the march on foot with long easy strides, and no sign of +weakening. Ross noticed him more than once but he never made any +suggestion to Henry that he ride; instead the faint smile of approval +appeared once more on the guide's face. + +The sun began to sink, the twilight came, and then night. Ross called a +halt, and, clustered in the thickest shadows of the forest, they ate +their supper and rested their tired limbs. No fire was lighted, but they +sat there under the trees, hungrily eating their venison, and talking in +the lowest of whispers. + +Mr. Pennypacker was much dissatisfied. He had been troubled by the hasty +flight and his dignity suffered. + +"It is not becoming that white men should run away from an inferior +race," he said. + +"Maybe it ain't becomin', but it's safe," said Ross. + +"At least we are far enough away now," continued the master, "and we +might rest here comfortably until dawn. We haven't seen or heard a sign +of pursuit." + +"You don't know the natur' of the red warriors, Mr. Pennypacker," said +the leader deferentially but firmly, "when they make the least noise +then they're most dangerous. Now I'm certain sure that they struck our +trail not long after we left Big Bone Lick, an' in these woods the man +that takes the fewest risks is the one that lives the longest." + +It was a final statement. In the present emergency the leader's +authority was supreme. They rested about an hour with no sound save the +shuffling feet of the horses which could not be kept wholly quiet; and +then they started on again, not going so quickly now, because the night +was dark, and they wished to make as little noise as possible, threshing +about in the undergrowth. + +Paul pressed up by the side of Henry. + +"Do you think we shall have to go on all night, this way?" he asked. +"Wasn't Mr. Pennypacker right, when he said we were out of danger?" + +"No, the schoolmaster was wrong," replied Henry. "Tom Ross knows more +about the woods and what is likely to happen in them than Mr. +Pennypacker could know in all his life, if he were to live a thousand +years. It's every man to his own trade, and it's Tom's trade that we +need now." + +After hearing these sage words of youth Paul asked no more questions, +but he and Henry kept side by side throughout the night, that is, when +neither of them was riding, because Henry, like all the others, now took +turns on horseback. Twice they crossed small streams and once a larger +one, where they exercised the utmost caution to keep their precious salt +from getting wet. Fortunately the great pack saddles were a protection, +and they emerged on the other side with both salt and powder dry. + +When the night was thickest, in the long, dark hour just before the +dawn, Henry and Paul, who were again side by side, heard a faint, +distant cry. It was a low, wailing note that was not unpleasant, +softened by the spaces over which it came. It seemed to be far behind +them, but inclining to the right, and after a few moments there came +another faint cry just like it, also behind them, but far to the left. +Despite the soft, wailing note both Henry and Paul felt a shiver run +through them. The strange low sound, coming in the utter silence of the +night, had in it something ominous. + +"It was the cry of a wolf," said Paul. + +"And his brother wolf answered," said Henry. + +Shif'less Sol was just behind them, and they heard him laugh, a low +laugh, but full of irony. Paul wheeled about at once, his pride aflame +at the insinuation that he did not know the wolf's long whine. + +"Well, wasn't it a wolf--and a wolf that answered?" he asked. + +"Yes, a wolf an' a wolf that answered," replied Shif'less Sol with +sardonic emphasis, "but they had only four legs between 'em. Them was +the signal cries of the Shawnees, an', as Tom has been tellin' you all +the time, they're hot on our trail. It's a mighty lucky thing for us we +didn't undertake to stay all night back there where we stopped." + +Paul turned pale again, but his courage as usual came back. "Thank God +it will be daylight soon," he murmured to himself, "and then if they +overtake us we can see them." + +Faint and far, but ominous and full of threat came the howl of the wolf +again, first from the right and then from the left, and then from points +between. Henry noticed that Ross and Shif'less Sol seemed to draw +themselves together, as if they would make every nerve and muscle taut, +and then his eyes shifted to Mr. Pennypacker, and seeing him, he knew at +once that the master did not understand; he had not heard the words of +Shif'less Sol. + +"It seems that we are pursued by a pack of wolves instead of a war +party," said Mr. Pennypacker. "At least we are numerous enough to beat +off a lot of cowardly four-footed assailants." + +Henry smiled from the heights of his superior knowledge. + +"Those are not wolves, Mr. Pennypacker," he said, "those are the +Shawnees calling to one another." + +"Then, why in Heaven's name don't they speak their own language!" +exclaimed the exasperated schoolmaster, "instead of using that which +appertains only to the prowling beast?" + +Henry, despite himself, was forced to smile, but he turned his face and +hid the smile--he would not offend the schoolmaster whom he esteemed +sincerely. + +The dawn now began to brighten. The sun, a flaming red sword, cleft the +gray veil, and then poured down a torrent of golden beams upon the vast, +green wilderness of Kentucky. Henry, as he looked around upon the little +band, realized what a tiny speck of human life they were in all those +hundreds of miles of forest, and what risks they ran. + +Ross gave the word to halt, and again they ate of cold food. While the +others sat on fallen timber or leaned against tree trunks, Ross and Sol +talked in low tones, but Henry could see that all their words were +marked by the deepest earnestness. Ross presently turned to the men and +said in tones of greatest gravity: + +"All of you heard the howlin' just afore dawn, an' I guess all of you +know it was not made by real wolves, but by Shawnees, callin' to each +other an' directin' the chase of us. We've come fast, but they've come +faster, an' I know that by noon we'll have to fight." + +The schoolmaster's eyes opened in wonder. + +"Do you really mean to say that they are overhauling us?" he asked. + +"I shore do," replied Ross. "You see, they're better trained travelers +for woods than we are, an' they are not hampered by anythin'." + +Mr. Pennypacker said nothing more, but his lips suddenly closed tightly +and his eyes flashed. In the great battle ground of the white man and +the red man, called Kentucky, the early schoolmaster was as ready as any +one else to fight. + +Ross and Sol again consulted and then Ross said: + +"We think that since we have to fight it would be better to fight when +we are fresh and steady and in the best place we can find." + +All the men nodded. They were tired of running and when Ross gave the +word to stop again they did so promptly. The questioning eyes of both +Ross and Sol roamed round the forest and finally and simultaneously the +two uttered a low cry of pleasure. They had come into rocky ground and +they had been ascending. Before them was a hill with a rather steep +ascent, and dropping off almost precipitously on three sides. + +"We couldn't find a better place," said Ross loud enough for all to +hear. "It looks like a fort just made for us." + +"But there is no line of retreat," objected the schoolmaster. + +"We had a line of a retreat last night and all this mornin' an' we've +been followin' it all the time," rejoined the leader. "Now we don't need +it no more, but what we do need to do is to make a stan'-up fight, an' +lick them fellers." + +"And save our salt," added the master. + +"Of course," said Ross emphatically. "We didn't come all these miles an' +work all these days just to lose what we went so far after an' worked so +hard for." + +They retreated rapidly upon the great jutting peninsula of rocky soil, +which fortunately was covered with a good growth of trees, and tethered +the horses in a thick grove near the end. + +"Now, we'll just unload our salt an' make a wall," said Ross with a +trace of a smile. "They can shoot our salt as much as they please, just +so they don't touch us." + +The bags of salt were laid in the most exposed place across the +narrowest neck of the peninsula and they also dragged up all the fallen +tree trunks and boughs that they could find to help out their primitive +fortification. Then they sat down to wait, a hard task for men, but +hardest of all for two boys like Henry and Paul. + +Two of the men went back with the horses to watch over them and also to +guard against any possible attempt to scale the cliff in their rear, but +the others lay close behind the wall of salt and brushwood. The sun +swung up toward the zenith and shone down upon a beautiful world. All +the wilderness was touched with the tender young green of spring and +nothing stirred but the gentle wind. The silky blue sky smiled over a +scene so often enacted in early Kentucky, that great border battle +ground of the white man and the red, the one driven by the desire for +new and fertile acres that he might plow and call his own, the other by +an equally fierce desire to retain the same acres, not to plow nor even +to call his own, but that he might roam and hunt big game over them at +will. + +The great red eye of the sun, poised now in the center of the heavens, +looked down at the white men crouched close to the earth behind their +low and primitive wall, and then it looked into the forest at the red +men creeping silently from tree to tree, all the eager ferocity of the +man hunt on the face of everyone. + +But Paul and Henry, behind their wall, saw nothing and heard nothing but +the breathing of those near them. They fingered their rifles and through +the crevices between the bags studied intently the woods in front of +them, where they beheld no human being nor any trace of a foe. Henry +looked from tree to tree, but he could see no flitting shadow. Where the +patches of grass grew it moved only with the regular sweep of the +breeze. He began to think that Ross and Sol must be mistaken. The +warriors had abandoned the pursuit. He glanced at Ross, who was not a +dozen feet away, and the leader's face was so tense, so eager and so +earnest that Henry ceased to doubt, the man's whole appearance indicated +the knowledge of danger, present and terrible. + +Even as Henry looked, Ross suddenly threw up his rifle, and, apparently +without aim, pulled the trigger. A flash of fire leaped from the long +slender muzzle of blue steel, there was a sharp report like the swift +lash of a whip, and then a cry, so terrible that Henry, strong as he +was, shuddered in every nerve and muscle. The short high-pitched and +agonizing shout died away in a wail and after it came silence, grim, +deadly, but so charged with mysterious suspense that both Henry and Paul +felt the hair lifting itself upon their heads. Henry had seen nothing, +but he knew well what had happened. + +"They've come and Ross has killed one of 'em," he whispered breathlessly +to Paul. + +"That yell couldn't mean anything else," said Paul trembling. "I'll hear +it again every night for a year." + +"I hope we'll both have a chance to hear it again every night for a +year," said Henry with meaning. + +The master crouched nearer to the boys. He was one of the bravest of the +men and in that hour of danger and suspense his heart yearned over these +two lads, his pupils, each a good boy in his own way. He felt that it +was a part of his duty to get them safely back to Wareville and their +parents, and he meant to fulfill the demands of his conscience. + +"Keep down, lads," he said, touching Henry on his arm, "don't expose +yourselves. You are not called upon to do anything, unless it comes to +the last resort." + +"We are going to do our best, of course, we are!" replied Henry with +some little heat. + +He resented the intimation that he could not perform a man's full duty, +and Mr. Pennypacker, seeing that his feelings were touched, said no +more. + +A foreboding silence followed the death cry of the fallen warrior, but +the brilliant sunshine poured down on the woods, just as if it were a +glorious summer afternoon with no thought of strife in a human breast +anywhere. Henry again searched the forest in front of them, and, +although he could see nothing, he was not deceived now by this +appearance of silence and peace. He knew that their foes were there, +more thirsty than ever for their blood, because to the natural desire +now was added the tally of revenge. + +More than an hour passed, and then the forest in front of them burst +into life. Rifles were fired from many points, the sharp crack blending +into one continuous ominous rattle; little puffs of white smoke arose, +whistling bullets buried themselves with a sighing sound in the bags of +salt, and high above all rang the fierce yell, the war whoop of the +Shawnees, the last sound that many a Kentucky pioneer ever heard. + +The terrible tumult, and above all, the fierce cry of the warriors sent +a thrill of terror through Paul and Henry, but their disciplined minds +held their bodies firm, and they remained crouched by the primitive +breastwork, ready to do their part. + +"Steady, everybody! Steady!" exclaimed Ross in a loud sharp voice, every +syllable of which cut through the tumult. "Don't shoot until you see +something to shoot at, an' then make your aim true!" + +Henry now began to see through the smoke dusky figures leaping from tree +to tree, but always coming toward them. It was his impulse to fire, the +moment a flitting figure appeared, gone the next instant like a shadow, +but remembering Ross's caution and their terrible need he restrained +himself although his finger already lay caressingly on the trigger. +Around him the rifles had begun to crack. Ross and Sol were firing with +slow deliberate aim, and then reloading with incredible swiftness, and +down the line the others were doing likewise. Bullets were spattering +into trunks and boughs, or burying themselves with a soft sigh in the +salt, but Henry could not see that anybody was yet hurt. + +He saw presently a dark figure passing from one tree to another and the +passage was long enough for him to take a good aim at a hideously +painted breast. He pulled the trigger and then involuntarily he shut his +eyes--he was a hunter, but he had never hunted men before. When he +looked again he saw a blur upon the ground, and despite himself and the +fight for life, he shuddered. Paul beside him was now in a state of wild +excitement. The smaller boy's nerves were not so steady and he was +loading and firing almost at random. Finally he lifted himself almost +unconsciously to his full height, but he was dragged down the next +instant, as if he had been seized from below by a bear. + +"Paul!" fiercely exclaimed the schoolmaster, all the instincts of a +pedagogue rising within him, "if you jump up that way again exposing +yourself to their bullets, I'll turn you over my knee right here, big as +you are, and give you a licking that you'll remember all your life!" + +The master was savagely in earnest and Paul did not jump up again. Henry +fired once more, and a third time and the tumult rose to its height. +Then it ceased so suddenly and so absolutely that the silence was +appalling. The wind blew the smoke away, a few dark objects lay close to +the ground among the trees before them, but not a sound came from the +forest, and no flitting form was there. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE ESCAPE + + +Henry and Paul, with their eyes at the crevices, stared and stared, but +they saw only those dark, horrible forms lying close to the earth, and +heard again the peaceful wind blowing among the peaceful trees. The +savage army had melted away as if it had never been, and the dark +objects might have been taken for stones or pieces of wood. + +"We beat 'em off, an' nobody on our side has more'n a scratch," +exclaimed Shif'less Sol jubilantly. + +"That's so," said Ross, casting a critical eye down the line, "it's +because we had a good position an' made ready. There's nothin' like +takin' a thing in time. How're you, boys?" + +"All right, but I've been pretty badly scared I can tell you," replied +Paul frankly. "But we are not hurt, are we, Henry?" + +"Thank God," murmured the schoolmaster under his breath, and then he +said aloud to Ross: "I suppose they'll leave us alone now." + +Ross shook his head. + +"I wish I could say it," he replied, "but I can't. We've laid out four +of 'em, good and cold, an' the Shawnees, like all the other redskins, +haven't much stomach for a straightaway attack on people behind +breastworks; I don't think they'll try that again, but they'll be up to +new mischief soon. We must watch out now for tricks. Them's sly devils." + +Ross was a wise leader and he gave food to his men, but he cautioned +them to lie close at all times. Two or three bullets were fired from the +forest but they whistled over their heads and did no damage. They seemed +safe for the present, but Ross was troubled about the future, and +particularly the coming of night, when they could not protect themselves +so well, and the invaders, under cover of darkness, might slip forward +at many points. Henry himself was man enough and experienced enough to +understand the danger, and for the moment, he wondered with a kind of +impersonal curiosity how Ross was going to meet it. Ross himself was +staring at the heavens, and Henry, following his intent eyes, noticed a +change in color and also that the atmosphere began to have a different +feeling to his lungs. So much had he been engrossed by the battle, and +so great had been his excitement, that such things as sky and air had no +part then in his life, but now in the long dead silence, they obtruded +themselves upon him. + +The last wisp of smoke drifted away among the trees, and the sunlight, +although it was mid-afternoon, was fading. Presently the skies were a +vast dome of dull, lowering gray, and the breeze had a chill edge. Then +the wind died and not a leaf or blade of grass in the forest stirred. +Somber clouds came over the brink of the horizon in the southwest, and +crept threateningly up the great curve of the sky. The air steadily +darkened, and suddenly the dim horizon in the far southwest was cut by a +vivid flash of lightning. Low thunder grumbled over the distant hills. + +"It's a storm, an' it's to be a whopper," said Shif'less Sol. + +"Ay," returned Ross, who had been back among the horses, "an' it may +save us. All you fellows be sure to keep your powder dry." + +There would be little danger of that fatal catastrophe, the wetting of +the powder, as it was carried in polished horns, stopped securely, nor +would there be any danger either of the salt being melted, as it was +inclosed in bags made of deerskin, which would shed water. + +"One of the men," continued Ross, "has found a big gully running down +the back end of the hill, an' I think if we're keerful we can lead the +horses to the valley that way. But just now, we'll wait." + +Henry and Paul were watching, as if fascinated. They had seen before the +great storms that sometimes sweep the Mississippi Valley, but the one +preparing now seemed to be charged with a deadly power, far surpassing +anything in their experience. It came on, too, with terrible swiftness. +The thunder, at first a mere rumble, rose rapidly to crash after crash +that stunned their ears. The livid flash of lightning that split the +southwest like a flaming sword appeared and reappeared with such +intensity that it seemed never to have gone. The wind rose and the +forest groaned. From afar came a sullen roar, and then the great +hurricane rushed down upon them. + +"Lie flat!" shouted Ross. + +All except four or five who held the struggling and frightened horses +threw themselves upon the ground, and, although Henry and Paul hugged +the earth, their ears were filled with the roar and scream of the wind, +and the crackle of boughs and whole tree trunks snapped through, like +the rattle of rifle fire. The forest in front of them was quickly filled +with fallen trees, and fragments whistled over their heads, but +fortunately they were untouched. + +The great volley of wind was gone in a few moments, as if it were a +single huge cannon shot. It whistled off to the eastward, but left in +its path a trail of torn and fallen trees. Then in its path came the +sweep of the great rain; the air grew darker, the thunder ceased to +crash, the lightning died away, and the water poured down in sheets over +the black and mangled forest. + +"Now boys, we'll start," said Ross. "Them Shawnees had to hunt cover, +an' they can't see us nohow. Up with them bags of salt!" + +In an incredibly short time the salt was loaded on the pack horses and +then they were picking their way down the steep and dangerous gully in +the side of the hill. Henry, Paul and the master locked hands in the +dark and the driving rain, and saved each other from falls. Ross and Sol +seemed to have the eyes of cats in the dark and showed the way. + +"My God!" murmured Mr. Pennypacker, "I could not have dreamed ten years +ago that I should ever take part in such a scene as this!" + +Low as he spoke, Henry heard him and he detected, too, a certain note of +pride in the master's tone, as if he were satisfied with the manner in +which he had borne himself. Henry felt the same satisfaction, although +he could not deny that he had felt many terrors. + +After much difficulty and some danger they reached the bottom of the +hill unhurt, and then they sped across a fairly level country, not much +troubled by undergrowth or fallen timber, keeping close together so that +no one might be lost in the darkness and the rain, Ross, as usual, +leading the line, and Shif'less Sol bringing up the rear. Now and then +the two men called the names of the others to see that all were present, +but beyond this precaution no word was spoken, save in whispers. + +Henry and Paul felt a deep and devout thankfulness for the chance that +had saved them from a long siege and possible death; indeed it seemed to +them that the hand of God had turned the enemy aside, and in their +thankfulness they forgot that, soaked to the bone, cold and tired, they +were still tramping through the lone wilderness, far from Wareville. + +The darkness and the pouring rain endured for about an hour, then both +began to lighten, streaks of pale sky appeared in the east, and the +trees like cones emerged from the mist and gloom. All of the +salt-workers felt their spirits rise. They knew that they had escaped +from the conflict wonderfully well; two slight wounds, not more than the +breaking of skin, and that was all. Fresh strength came to them, and as +they continued their journey the bars of pale light broadened and +deepened, and then fused into a solid blue dawn, as the last cloud +disappeared and the last shower of rain whisked away to the northward. A +wet road lay before them, the drops of water yet sparkling here and +there, like myriads of beads. Ross drew a deep breath of relief and +ordered a halt. + +"The Shawnees could follow us again," he said, "but they know now that +they bit off somethin' a heap too tough for them to chaw, an' I don't +think they'll risk breaking a few more teeth on it, specially after +havin' been whipped aroun' by the storm as they must 'a been." + +"And to think we got away and brought our salt with us, too!" said Mr. +Pennypacker. + +Dark came soon, and Ross and Sol felt so confident they were safe from +another attack that they allowed a fire to be lighted, although they +were careful to choose the center of a little prairie, where the rifle +shots of an ambushed foe in the forest could not reach them. + +It was no easy matter to light a fire, but Ross and Sol at last +accomplished it with flint, steel and dry splinters cut from the under +side of fallen logs. Then when the blaze had taken good hold they heaped +more brushwood upon it and never were heat and warmth more grateful to +tired travelers. + +Henry and Paul did not realize until then how weary and how very wet +they were. They basked in the glow, and, with delight watched the great +beds of coals form. They took off part of their clothing, hanging it +before the fire, and when it was dry and warm put it on again. Then they +served the rest the same way, and by and by they wore nothing but warm +garments. + +"I guess two such terrible fighters as you," said Ross to Henry and +Paul, "wouldn't mind a bite to eat. I've allers heard tell as how the +Romans after they had fought a good fight with them Carthaginians or +Macedonians or somebody else would sit down an' take some good grub into +their insides, an' then be ready for the next spat." + +"Will we eat? will we eat? Oh, try us, try us," chanted Henry and Paul +in chorus, their mouths stretching simultaneously into wide grins, and +Ross grinned back in sympathy. + +The revulsion had come for the two boys. After so much danger and +suffering, the sense of safety and the warmth penetrating their bones +made them feel like little children, and they seized each other in a +friendly scuffle, which terminated only when they were about to roll +into the fire. Then they ate venison as if they had been famished. +Afterwards, when they were asleep on their blankets before the fire, +Ross said to Mr. Pennypacker: + +"They did well, for youngsters." + +"They certainly did, Mr. Ross," said the master. "I confess to you that +there were times to-day when learning seemed to offer no consolation." + +Ross smiled a little, and then his face quickly became grave. + +"It's what we've got to go through out here," he said. "Every settlement +will have to stand the storm." + +A vigilant watch was kept all the long night but there was no sign of a +second Shawnee attack. Ross had reckoned truly when he thought the +Shawnees would not care to risk further pursuit, and the next day they +resumed their journey, under a drying sun. + +They were not troubled any more by Indian attacks, but the rest of the +way was not without other dangers. The rivers were swollen by the spring +rains, and they had great trouble in carrying the salt across on the +swimming horses. Once Paul was swept down by a swift and powerful +current, but Henry managed to seize and hold him until others came to +the rescue. Men and boys alike laughed over their trials, because they +felt now all the joy of victory, and their rapid march south amid the +glories of spring, unfolding before them, appealed to the instincts of +everyone in the band, the same instincts that had brought them from the +East into the wilderness. + +They were passing through the region that came to be known in later days +as the Garden of Kentucky. Then it was covered with magnificent forest +and now they threaded their way through the dense canebrake. Squirrels +chattered in every tree top, deer swarmed in the woods, and the buffalo +was to be found in almost every glen. + +"I do not wonder," said the thoughtful schoolmaster, "that the Indian +should be loath to give up such choice hunting grounds, but, fight as +cunningly and bravely as he will, his fate will come." + +But Henry, with only the thoughts of youth, could not conceive of the +time when the vast wilderness should be cut down and the game should go. +He was concerned only with the present and the words of Mr. Pennypacker +made upon him but a faint and fleeting impression. + +At last on a sunny morning, whole, well fed, with their treasure +preserved, and all fresh and courageous, they approached Wareville. The +hearts of Henry and Paul thrilled at the signs of white habitation. They +saw where the ax had bitten through a tree, and they came upon broad +trails that could be made only by white men, going to their work, or +hunting their cattle. + +But it was Paul who showed the most eagerness. He was whole-hearted in +his joy. Wareville then was the only spot on earth for him. But Henry +turned his back on the wilderness with a certain reluctance. A primitive +strain in him had been awakened. He was not frightened now. The danger +of the battle had aroused in him a certain wild emotion which repeated +itself and refused to die, though days had passed. It seemed to him at +times that it would be a great thing to live in the forest, and to have +knowledge and wilderness power surpassing those even of Shif'less Sol or +Ross. He had tasted again the life of the primitive man and he liked it. + +Mr. Pennypacker was visibly joyful. The wilderness appealed to him in a +way, but he considered himself essentially a man of peace, and Wareville +was becoming a comfortable abode. + +"I have had my great adventure," he said, "I have helped to fight the +wild men, and in the days to come I can speak boastfully of it, even as +the great Greeks in Homer spoke boastfully of their achievements, but +once is enough. I am a man of peace and years, and I would fain wage the +battles of learning rather than those of arms." + +"But you did fight like a good 'un when you had to do it, schoolmaster," +said Ross. + +Mr. Pennypacker shook his head and replied gravely: + +"Tom, you do right to say 'when I had to do it,' but I mean that I shall +not have to do it any more." + +Ross smiled. He knew that the schoolmaster was one of the bravest of +men. + +Now they came close to Wareville. From a hill they saw a thin, blue +column of smoke rising and then hanging like a streamer across the clear +blue sky. + +"That comes from the chimneys of Wareville," said Ross, "an' I guess +she's all right. That smoke looks kinder quiet, as if nothin' out of the +way had happened." + +They pressed forward with renewed speed, and presently a shout came from +the forest. Two men ran to meet them, and rejoiced at the sight of the +men unharmed, and every horse heavily loaded with salt. Then it was a +triumphal procession into Wareville, with the crowd about them +thickening as they neared the gates. Henry's mother threw her arms about +his neck, and his father grasped him by the hand. Paul was in the center +of his own family, completely submerged, and all the space within the +palisade resounded with joyous laugh and welcome, which became all the +more heartfelt, when the schoolmaster told of the great danger through +which they had passed. + +That evening, when they sat around the low fire in his father's +home--the spring nights were yet cool--Henry had to repeat the story of +the salt-making and the great adventure with the Shawnees. He grew +excited as he told of the battle and the storm, his face flushed, his +eyes shot sparks, and, as Mrs. Ware looked at him, she realized, half in +pride, half in terror, that she was the mother of a hunter and warrior. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE CAVE DUST + + +The great supply of salt brought by Ross and his men was welcome to +Wareville, as the people had begun to suffer for it, but they would have +enough now to last them a full year, and a year was a long time to look +ahead. Great satisfaction was expressed on that score, but the news that +a Shawnee war party was in Kentucky and had chased them far southward +caused Mr. Ware and other heads of the village to look very grave and to +hold various councils. + +As a result of these talks the palisade was strengthened with another +row of strong stakes, and they took careful stock of their supplies of +ammunition. Lead they had in plenty, but powder was growing scarce. A +fresh supply had been expected with a new band of settlers from Virginia +but the band had failed to come, and the faces of the leaders grew yet +graver, when they looked at the dwindling supply, and wondered how it +could be replenished for the dire need that might arise. It was now that +Mr. Pennypacker came forward with a suggestion and he showed how book +learning could be made of great value, even in the wilderness. + +"You will recall," he said to Mr. Ware and Mr. Upton, and other heads of +the settlement, "that some of our hunters have reported the existence of +great caves to the southwestward and that they have brought back from +them wonderful stalactites and stalagmites and also dust from the cave +floors. I find that this dust is strongly impregnated with niter; from +niter we obtain saltpeter and from saltpeter we make gunpowder. We need +not send to Virginia for our powder, we can make it here in Kentucky for +ourselves." + +"Do you truly think so, Mr. Pennypacker?" asked Mr. Ware, doubtfully. + +"Think so! I know so," replied the schoolmaster in sanguine tones. "Why, +what am I a teacher for if I don't know a little of such things? And +even if you have doubts, think how well the experiment is worth trying. +Situated as we are, in this wild land, powder is the most precious thing +on earth to us." + +"That is true! that is true!" said Mr. Ware with hasty emphasis. +"Without it we shall lie helpless before the Indian attack, should it +come. If, as you say, this cave dust contains the saltpeter, the rest +will be easy." + +"It contains saltpeter and the rest _will_ be easy!" + +"Then, you must go for it. Ross and Sol and a strong party must go with +you, because we cannot run the risk of losing any of you through the +Indians." + +"I am sure," said Mr. Pennypacker, "that we shall incur no danger from +Indians. The region of the great caves lies farther south than Wareville +and the Southern Indians, who are less bold than the Northern tribes, +are not likely to come again into Kentucky. The hunters say that Indians +have not been in that particular region for years." + +"Yes, I think you are right," said Mr. Ware, "but be careful anyhow." + +Henry, when he heard of the new expedition, was wild to go, but his +parents, remembering the great danger of the journey to the salt licks, +were reluctant with their permission. Then Ross interceded effectively. + +"The boy is just fitted for this sort of work," he said. "He isn't in +love with farming, he's got other blood in him, but down there he will +be just about the best man that Wareville has to send, an' there won't +be any Indians." + +There was no reply to such an argument, because in the border +settlements the round peg must go in the round hole; the conditions of +survival demanded no surplusage and no waste. + +When Paul heard that Henry was to go he gave his parents no rest, and +when Mr. Pennypacker, whose favorite he was, seconded his request, on +the ground that he would need a scholar with him the permission had to +be granted. + +Rejoicing, the two boys set forth with the others, the dangers of the +Shawnee battle and their terrors already gone from their minds. They +would meet no Indians this time, and the whole powder-making expedition +would be just one great picnic. The summer was now at hand, and the +forests were an unbroken mass of brilliant green. In the little spaces +of earth where the sunlight broke through, wild flowers, red, blue, pink +and purple peeped up and nodded gayly, when the light winds blew. Game +abounded, but they killed only enough for their needs, Ross saying it +was against the will of God to shoot a splendid elk or buffalo and leave +him to rot, merely for the pleasure of the killing. + +After a while they forded a large river, passed out of the forests, and +came into a great open region, to which they gave the name of Barrens, +not because it was sterile, but because it was bare of trees. Henry, at +first, thought it was the land of prairies, but Ross, after examining it +minutely, said that if left to nature it would be forested. It was his +theory that the Indians in former years had burned off the young tree +growth repeatedly in order to make great grazing grounds for the big +game. Whether his supposition was true or not, and Henry thought it +likely to be true, the Barrens were covered with buffalo, elk and deer. +In fact they saw buffalo in comparatively large numbers for the first +time, and once they looked upon a herd of more than a hundred, grazing +in the rich and open meadows. Panthers attracted by the quantity of game +upon which they could prey screamed horribly at night, but the flaming +camp fires of the travelers were sufficient to scare them away. + +All these things, the former salt-makers, and powder-makers that hoped +to be, saw only in passing. They knew the value of time and they +hastened on to the region of great caves, guided this time by one of +their hunters, Jim Hart, although Ross as usual was in supreme command. +But Hart had spent some months hunting in the great cave region and his +report was full of wonders. + +"I think there are caves all over, or rather, under this country that +the Indians call Kaintuckee," he said, "but down in this part of it +they're the biggest." + +"You are right about Kentucky being a cave region," said the +schoolmaster, "I think most of it is underlaid with rock, anywhere from +five thousand to ten thousand feet thick, and in the course of ages, +through geological decay or some kindred cause, it has become +crisscrossed with holes like a great honeycomb." + +"I'm pretty sure about the caves," said Ross, "but what I want to know +is about this peter dirt." + +"We'll find it and plenty of it," replied the master confidently. "That +sample was full of niter, and when we leach it in our tubs we shall have +the genuine saltpeter, explosive dust, if you choose to call it, that is +the solution of gunpowder." + +"Which we can't do without," said Henry. + +They passed out of the Barrens, and entered a region of high, rough +hills, and narrow little valleys. Hills and valleys alike were densely +clothed with forest. + +Hart pointed to several, large holes in the sides of the hills, always +at or near the base and said they were the mouths of caves. + +"But the big one, in which I got the peter dirt is farther on," he said. + +They came to the place he had in mind, just as the twilight was falling, +a hole, a full man's height at the bottom of a narrow valley, but +leading directly into the side of the circling hill that inclosed the +bowl-like depression. Henry and Paul looked curiously at the black mouth +and they felt some tremors at the knowledge that they were to go in +there, and to remain inside the earth for a long time, shut from the +light of day. It was the dark and not the fear of anything visible, that +frightened them. + +But they made no attempt to enter that evening, although night would be +the same as day in the cave. Instead they provided for a camp, as the +horses and a sufficient guard would have to remain outside. The valley +itself was an admirable place, since it contained pasturage for the +horses, while at the far end was a little stream of water, flowing out +of the hill and trickling away through a cleft into another and slightly +lower valley. + +After tethering the horses, they built a fire near the cave mouth and +sat down to cook, eat, rest and talk. + +"Ain't there danger from bad air in there?" asked Ross. "I've heard tell +that sometimes in the ground air will blow all up, when fire is touched +to it, just like a bar'l o' gunpowder." + +"The air felt just as fresh an' nice as daylight when I went in," said +Hart, "an' if it comes to that it will be better than it is out here +because it's allus even an' cool." + +"It is so," said the master meditatively. "All the caves discovered so +far in Kentucky have fresh pure air. I do not undertake to account for +it." + +That night they cut long torches of resinous wood, and early the next +morning all except two, who were left to guard the horses, entered the +cave, led by Hart, who was a fearless man with an inquiring mind. +Everyone carried a torch, burning with little smoke, and after they had +passed the cave mouth, which was slightly damp, they came to a perfectly +dry passage, all the time breathing a delightfully cool and fresh air, +full of vigor and stimulus. + +Paul and Henry looked back. They had come so far now that the light of +day from the cave mouth could not reach them, and behind them was only +thick impervious blackness. Before them, where the light of the torches +died was the same black wall, and they themselves were only a little +island of light. But they could see that the cave ran on before them, as +if it were a subterranean, vaulted gallery, hewed out of the stone by +hands of many Titans! Henry held up his torch, and from the roof twenty +feet above his head the stone flashed back multicolored and glittering +lights. Paul's eyes followed Henry's and the gleaming roof appealed to +his sensitive mind. + +"Why, it's all a great underground palace!" he exclaimed, "and we are +the princes who are living in it!" + +Hart heard Paul's enthusiastic words and he smiled. + +"Come here, Paul," he said, "I want to show you something." + +Paul came at once and Hart swung the light of his torch into a dark +cryptlike opening from the gallery. + +"I see some dim shapes lying on the floor in there, but I can't tell +exactly what they are," said Paul. + +"Come into this place itself." + +Paul stepped into the crypt, and Hart with the tip of his moccasined toe +gently moved one of the recumbent forms. Paul could not repress a little +cry as he jumped back. He was looking at the dark, withered face of an +Indian, that seemed to him a thousand years old. + +"An' the others are Indians, too," said Hart. "An' they needn't trouble +us. God knows how long they've been a-layin' here where their friends +brought 'em for burial. See the bows an' arrows beside 'em. They ain't +like any that the Indians use now." + +"And the dry cave air has preserved them, for maybe two or three hundred +years," said the schoolmaster. "No, their dress and equipment do not +look like those of any Indians whom I have seen." + +"Let's leave them just as they are," said Paul. + +"Of course," said Ross, "it would be bad luck to move 'em." + +They went on farther into the cave, and found that it increased in +grandeur and beauty. The walls glittered with the light of the torches, +the ceiling rose higher, and became a great vaulted dome. From the roof +hung fantastic stalactites and from the floor stalagmites equally +fantastic shot up to meet them. Slow water fell drop by drop from the +point of the stalactite upon the point of the stalagmite. + +"That has been going on for ages," said the schoolmaster, "and the same +drop of water that leaves some of its substance to form the stalactite, +hanging from the roof, goes to form the stalagmite jutting up from the +floor. Come, Paul, here's a seat for you. You must rest a bit." + +They beheld a rock formation almost like a chair, and, Paul sitting down +in it, found it quite comfortable. But they paused only a moment, and +then passed on, devoting their attention now to the cave dust, which was +growing thicker under their feet. The master scooped up handfuls of it +and regarded it attentively by the close light of his torch. + +"It's the genuine peter dust!" he exclaimed exultantly. "Why, we can +make powder here as long as we care to do so." + +"You are sure of it, master?" asked Ross anxiously. + +"Sure of it!" replied Mr. Pennypacker. "Why, I know it. If we stayed +here long enough we could make a thousand barrels of gunpowder, good +enough to kill any elk or buffalo or Indian that ever lived." + +Ross breathed a deep sigh of relief. He had had his doubts to the last, +and none knew better than he how much depended on the correctness of the +schoolmaster's assertion. + +"There seems to be acres of the dust about here," said Ross, "an' I +guess we'd better begin the makin' of our powder at once." + +They went no farther for the present, but carried the dust in, sack +after sack, to the mouth of the cave. Then they leached it, pouring +water on it in improvised tubs, and dissolving the niter. This solution +they boiled down and the residuum was saltpeter or gunpowder, without +which no settlement in Kentucky could exist. + +The little valley now became a scene of great activity. The fires were +always burning and sack after sack of gunpowder was laid safely away in +a dry place. Henry and Paul worked hard with the others, but they never +passed the crypt containing the mummies, without a little shudder. In +some of the intervals of rest they explored portions of the cave, +although they were very cautious. It was well that they were so as one +day Henry stopped abruptly with a little gasp of terror. Not five feet +before him appeared the mouth of a great perpendicular well. It was +perfectly round, about ten feet across, and when Henry and Paul held +their torches over the edge, they could see no bottom. Henry shouted, +throwing his voice as far forward as possible, but only a dull, distant +echo came back. + +"We'll call that the Bottomless Pit," he said. + +"Bottomless or not, it's a good thing to keep out of," said Paul. "It +gives me the shudders, Henry, and I don't think I'll do much more +exploring in this cave." + +In fact, the gunpowder-making did not give them much more chance, and +they were content with what they had already seen. The cave had many +wonders, but the sunshine outside was glorious and the vast mass of +green forest was very restful to the eye. There was hunting to be done, +too, and in this Henry bore a good part, he and Ross supplying the fresh +meat for their table. + +A fine river flowed not two miles away and Paul installed himself as +chief fisherman, bringing them any number of splendid large fish, very +savory to the taste. Ross and Sol roamed far among the woods, but they +reported absolutely no Indian sign. + +"I don't believe any of the warriors from either north or south have +been in these parts for years," said Ross. + +"Luckily for us," added Mr. Pennypacker, "I don't want another such +retreat as that we had from the salt springs." + +Ross's words came true. The powder-making was finished in peace, and the +journey home was made under the same conditions. At Wareville there was +a shout of joy and exultation at their arrival. They felt that they +could hold their village now against any attack, and Mr. Pennypacker was +a great man, justly honored among his people. He had shown them how to +make powder, which was almost as necessary to them as the air they +breathed, and moreover they knew where they could always get materials +needed for making more of it. + +Truly learning was a great thing to have, and they respected it. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE FOREST SPELL + + +When the adventurers returned the rifle and ax were laid aside at +Wareville, for the moment, because the supreme test was coming. The soil +was now to respond to its trial, or to fail. This was the vital question +to Wareville. The game, in the years to come, must disappear, the forest +would be cut down, but the qualities of the earth would remain; if it +produced well, it would form the basis of a nation, if not, it would be +better to let all the work of the last year go and seek another home +elsewhere. + +But the settlers had little doubt. All their lives had been spent close +to the soil, and they were not to be deceived, when they came over the +mountains in search of a land richer than any that they had tilled +before. They had seen its blackness, and, plowing down with the spade, +they had tested its depth. They knew that for ages and ages leaf and +bough, falling upon it, had decayed there and increased its fertility, +and so they awaited the test with confidence. + +The green young shoots of the wheat, sown before the winter, were the +first to appear, and everyone in Wareville old enough to know the +importance of such a manifestation went forth to examine them. Mr. Ware, +Mr. Upton and Mr. Pennypacker held solemn conclave, and the final +verdict was given by the schoolmaster, as became a man who might not be +so strenuous in practice as the others, but who nevertheless was more +nearly a master of theory. + +"The stalks are at least a third heavier than those in Maryland or +Virginia at the same age," he said, "and we can fairly infer from it +that the grain will show the same proportion of increase. I take a third +as a most conservative estimate; it is really nearer a half. Wareville +can, with reason, count upon twenty-five bushels of wheat to the acre, +and it is likely to go higher." + +It was then no undue sense of elation that Wareville felt, and it was +shared by Henry and Paul, and even young Lucy Upton. + +"It will be a rich country some day when I'm an old, old woman," she +said to Henry. + +"It's a rich country now," replied he proudly, "and it will be a long, +long time before you are an old woman." + +They began now to plow the ground cleared the autumn before--"new +ground" they called it--for the spring planting of maize. This, often +termed "Indian corn" but more generally known by the simple name corn, +was to be their chief crop, and the labor of preparation, in which Henry +had his full share, was not light. Their plows were rude, made by +themselves, and finished with a single iron point, and the ground, which +had supported the forest so lately, was full of roots and stumps. So the +passage of the plow back and forth was a trial to both the muscles and +the spirit. Henry's body became sore from head to foot, and by and by, +as the spring advanced and the sun grew hotter, he looked longingly at +the shade of the forest which yet lay so near, and thought of the deep, +cool pools and the silver fish leaping up, until their scales shone like +gold in the sunshine, and of the stags with mighty antlers coming down +to drink. He was sorry for the moment that he was so large and strong +and was so useful with plow and hoe. Then he might be more readily +excused and could take his rifle and seek the depths of the forest, +where everything grew by nature's aid alone, and man need not work, +unless the spirit moved him to do so. + +They planted the space close around the fort in gardens and here after +the ground was "broken up" or plowed, the women and the girls, all tall +and strong, did the work. + +The summer was splendid in its promise and prodigal in its favors. The +rains fell just right, and all that the pioneers planted came up in +abundance. The soil, so kind to the wheat, was not less so to the corn +and the gardens. Henry surveyed with pride the field of maize cultivated +by himself, in which the stalks were now almost a foot high, looking in +the distance like a delicate green veil spread over the earth. His +satisfaction was shared by all in Wareville because after this +fulfillment of the earth's promises, they looked forward to continued +seasons of plenty. + +When the heavy work of planting and cultivating was over and there was +to be a season of waiting for the harvest, Henry went on the great +expedition to the Mississippi. + +In the party were Ross, Shif'less Sol, the schoolmaster, Henry and Paul. +Wareville had no white neighbor near and all the settlements lay to the +north or east. Beyond them, across the Ohio, was the formidable cloud of +Indian tribes, the terror of which always overhung the settlers. West of +them was a vast waste of forest spreading away far beyond the +Mississippi, and, so it was supposed, inhabited only by wild animals. It +was thought well to verify this supposition and therefore the exploring +expedition set out. + +Each member of the party carried a rifle, hunting knife and ammunition, +and in addition they led three pack horses bearing more ammunition, +their meal, jerked venison and buffalo meat. This little army expected +to live upon the country, but it took the food as a precaution. + +They started early of a late but bright summer morning, and Henry found +all his old love of the wilderness returning. Now it would be gratified +to the full, as they should be gone perhaps two months and would pass +through regions wholly unknown. Moreover he had worked hard for a long +time and he felt that his holiday was fully earned; hence there was no +flaw in his hopes. + +It required but a few minutes to pass through the cleared ground, the +new fields, and reach the forest and as they looked back they saw what a +slight impression they had yet made on the wilderness. Wareville was but +a bit of human life, nothing more than an islet of civilization in a sea +of forest. + +Five minutes more of walking among the trees, and then both Wareville +and the newly opened country around it were shut out. They saw only the +spire of smoke that had been a beacon once to Henry and Paul, rising +high up, until it trailed off to the west with the wind, where it lay +like a whiplash across the sky. This, too, was soon lost as they +traveled deeper into the forest, and then they were alone in the +wilderness, but without fear. + +"When we were able to live here without arms or ammunition it's not +likely that we'll suffer, now is it?" said Paul to Henry. + +"Suffer!" exclaimed Henry. "It's a journey that I couldn't be hired to +miss." + +"It ought to be enjoyable," said Mr. Pennypacker; "that is, if our +relatives don't find it necessary to send into the Northwest, and try to +buy back our scalps from the Indian tribes." + +But the schoolmaster was not serious. He had little fear of Indians in +the western part of Kentucky, where they seldom ranged, but he thought +it wise to put a slight restraint upon the exuberance of youth. + +They camped that night about fifteen miles from Wareville under the +shadow of a great, overhanging rock, where they cooked some squirrels +that the shiftless one shot, in a tall tree. The schoolmaster upon this +occasion constituted himself cook. + +"There is a popular belief," he said when he asserted his place, "that a +man of books is of no practical use in the world. I hereby intend to +give a living demonstration to the contrary." + +Ross built the fire, and while the schoolmaster set himself to his task, +Henry and Paul took their fish hooks and lines and went down to the +creek that flowed near. It was so easy to catch perch and other fish +that there was no sport in it, and as soon as they had enough for supper +and breakfast they went back to the fire where the tempting odors that +arose indicated the truth of the schoolmaster's assertion. The squirrels +were done to a turn, and no doubt of his ability remained. + +Supper over, they made themselves beds of boughs under the shadow of the +rock, while the horses were tethered near. They sank into dreamless +sleep, and it was the schoolmaster who awakened Paul and Henry the next +morning. + +They entered that day a forest of extraordinary grandeur, almost clear +of undergrowth and with illimitable rows of mighty oak and beech trees. +As they passed through, it was like walking under the lofty roof of an +immense cathedral. The large masses of foliage met overhead and shut out +the sun, making the space beneath dim and shadowy, and sometimes it +seemed to the explorers that an echo of their own footsteps came back to +them. + +Henry noted the trees, particularly the beeches which here grow to finer +proportions than anywhere else in the world, and said he was glad that +he did not have to cut them down and clear the ground, for the use of +the plow. + +After they passed out of this great forest they entered the widest +stretch of open country they had yet seen in Kentucky, though here and +there they came upon patches of bushes. + +"I think this must have been burned off by successive forest fires," +said Ross, "Maybe hunting parties of Indians put the torch to it in +order to drive the game." + +Certainly these prairies now contained an abundance of animal life. The +grass was fresh, green and thick everywhere, and from a hill the +explorers saw buffalo, elk, and common deer grazing or browsing on the +bushes. + +As the game was so abundant Paul, the least skillful of the party in +such matters, was sent forth that evening to kill a deer and this he +triumphantly accomplished to his own great satisfaction. They again +slept in peace, now under the low-hanging boughs of an oak, and +continued the next day to the west. Thus they went on for days. + +It was an easy journey, except when they came to rivers, some of which +were too deep for fording, but Ross had made provision for them. Perched +upon one of the horses was a skin canoe, that is, one made of stout +buffalo hide to be held in shape by a slight framework of wood on the +inside, such as they could make at any time. Two or three trips in this +would carry themselves and all their equipment over the stream while the +horses swam behind. + +They soon found it necessary to put their improvised canoe to use as +they came to a great river flowing in a deep channel. Wild ducks flew +about its banks or swam on the dark-blue current that flowed quietly to +the north. This was the Cumberland, though nameless then to the +travelers, and its crossing was a delicate operation as any incautious +movement might tip over the skin canoe, and, while they were all good +swimmers, the loss of their precious ammunition could not be taken as +anything but a terrible misfortune. + +Traveling on to the west they came to another and still mightier river, +called by the Indians, so Ross said, the Tennessee, which means in their +language the Great Spoon, so named because the river bent in curves like +a spoon. This river looked even wilder and more picturesque than the +Cumberland, and Henry, as he gazed up its stream, wondered if the white +man would ever know all the strange regions through which it flowed. +Vast swarms of wild fowl, as at the Cumberland, floated upon its waters +or flew near and showed but little alarm as they passed. When they +wished food it was merely to go a little distance and take it as one +walks to a cupboard for a certain dish. + +Now, the aspect of the country began to change. The hills sank. The +streams ceased to sparkle and dash helter-skelter over the stones; +instead they flowed with a deep sluggish current and always to the west. +In some the water was so nearly still that they might be called lagoons. +Marshes spread out for great distances, and they were thronged with +millions of wild fowl. The air grew heavier, hotter and damper. + +"We must be approaching the Mississippi," said Henry, who was quick to +draw an inference from these new conditions. + +"It can't be very far," replied Ross, "because we are in low country +now, and when we get into the lowest the Mississippi will be there." + +All were eager for a sight of the great river. Its name was full of +magic for those who came first into the wilderness of Kentucky. It +seemed to them the limits of the inhabitable world. Beyond stretched +vague and shadowy regions, into which hunters and trappers might +penetrate, but where no one yet dreamed of building a home. So it was +with some awe that they would stand upon the shores of this boundary, +this mighty stream that divided the real from the unreal. + +But traveling was now slow. There were so many deep creeks and lagoons +to cross, and so many marshes to pass around that they could not make +many miles in a day. They camped for a while on the highest hill that +they could find and fished and hunted. While here they built themselves +a thatch shelter, acting on Ross's advice, and they were very glad that +they did so, as a tremendous rain fell a few days after it was finished, +deluging the country and swelling all the creeks and lagoons. So they +concluded to stay until the earth returned to comparative dryness again +in the sunshine, and meanwhile their horses, which did not stand the +journey as well as their masters, could recuperate. + +Two days after they resumed the journey, they stood on the low banks of +the Mississippi and looked at its vast yellow current flowing in a +mile-wide channel, and bearing upon its muddy bosom, bushes and trees, +torn from slopes thousands of miles away. It was not beautiful, it was +not even picturesque, but its size, its loneliness and its desolation +gave it a somber grandeur, which all the travelers felt. It was the same +river that had received De Soto's body many generations before, and it +was still a mystery. + +"We know where it goes to, for the sea receives them all," said Mr. +Pennypacker, "but no man knows whence it comes." + +"And it would take a good long trip to find out," said Sol. + +"A trip that we haven't time to take," returned the schoolmaster. + +Henry felt a desire to make that journey, to follow the great stream, +month after month, until he traced it to the last fountain and uncovered +its secret. The power that grips the explorer, that draws him on through +danger, known and unknown, held him as he gazed. + +They followed the banks of the stream at a slow pace to the north, +sweltering in the heat which seemed to come to a focus here at the +confluence of great waters, until at last they reached a wide extent of +low country overgrown with bushes and cut with a broad yellow band +coming down from the northeast. + +"The Ohio!" said Ross. + +And so it was; it was here that the stream called by the Indians "The +Beautiful River"--though not deserving the name at this place--lost +itself in the Mississippi and at the junction it seemed full as mighty a +river as the great Father of Waters himself. + +They did not stay long at the meeting of the two rivers, fearing the +miasma of the marshy soil, but retreated to the hills where they went +into camp again. Yet Ross, and Henry, and Sol crossed both the Ohio and +the Mississippi in the frail canoe for the sake of saying that they had +been on the farther shores. The three, leaving Paul and the schoolmaster +to guard the camp, even penetrated to a considerable distance in the +prairie country beyond the Ohio. Here Henry saw for the first time a +buffalo herd of size. Buffaloes were common enough in Kentucky, but the +country being mostly wooded they roamed there in small bands. North of +the Ohio he now beheld these huge shaggy animals in thousands and he +narrowly escaped being trampled to death by a herd which, frightened by +a pack of wolves, rushed down upon him like a storm. It was Ross who +saved him by shooting the leading bull, thus compelling them to divide +when they came to his body, by which action they left a clear space +where he and Henry stood. After that Henry, as became one of +fast-ripening experience and judgment, grew more cautious. + +All the party were in keen enjoyment of the great journey, and felt in +their veins the thrill of the wilderness. Paul's studious face took on +the brown tan of autumn, and even the schoolmaster, a man of years who +liked the ways of civilization, saw only the pleasures of the forest and +closed his eyes to its hardships. But there was none who was caught so +deeply in the spell of the wilderness as Henry, not even Ross nor the +shiftless one. There was something in the spirit of the boy that +responded to the call of the winds through the deep woods, a harking +back to the man primeval, a love for nature and silence. + +The forest hid many things from the schoolmaster, but he knew the hearts +of men, and he could read their thoughts in their eyes, and he was the +first to notice the change in Henry or rather less a change than a +deepening and strengthening of a nature that had not found until now its +true medium. The boy did not like to hear them speak of the return, he +loved his people and he would serve them always as best he could, but +they were prosperous and happy back there in Wareville and did not need +him; now the forest beckoned to him, and, speaking to him in a hundred +voices, bade him stay. When he roamed the woods, their majesty and leafy +silence appealed to all his senses. The two vast still rivers threw over +him the spell of mystery, and the secret of the greater one, its hidden +origin, tantalized him. Often he gazed northward along its yellow +current and wondered if he could not pierce that secret. Dimly in his +mind, formed a plan to follow the yellow stream to its source some day, +and again he thrilled with the thought of great adventures and mighty +wanderings, where men of his race had never gone before. + +Knowledge, too, came to him with an ease and swiftness that filled with +surprise experienced foresters like Ross and Sol. The woods seemed to +unfold their secrets to him. He learned the nature of all the herbs, +those that might be useful to man and those that might be harmful, he +was already as skillful with a canoe as either the guide or the +shiftless one, he could follow a trail like an Indian, and the habits of +the wild animals he observed with a minute and remembering eye. All the +lore of those far-away primeval ancestors suddenly reappeared in him at +the voice of the woods, and was ready for his use. + +"It will not be long until Henry is a man," said Ross one evening as +they sat before their camp fire and saw the boy approaching, a deer that +he had killed borne upon his shoulders. + +"He is a man now," said the schoolmaster with gravity and emphasis as he +looked attentively at the figure of the youth carrying the deer. No one +ever before had given him such an impression of strength and physical +alertness. He seemed to have grown, to have expanded visibly since their +departure from Wareville. The muscles of his arm stood up under the +close-fitting deerskin tunic, and the length of limb and breadth of +shoulder in the boy indicated a coming man of giant mold. + +"What a hunter and warrior he will make!" said Ross. + +"A future leader of wilderness men," said Mr. Pennypacker softly, "but +there is wild blood in those veins; he will have to be handled well." + +Henry threw down the deer and greeted them with cheerful words that came +spontaneously from a joyful soul. They had built their fire, not a large +one, in an oak opening and all around the trees rose like a mighty +circular wall. The red shadows of a sun that had just set lingered on +the western edge of the forest, but in the east all was black. Out of +this vastness came the rustling sound of the wind as it moved among the +autumn leaves. In the opening was a core of ruddy light and the living +forms of men, but it was only a tiny spot in the immeasurable +wilderness. + +The schoolmaster and he alone felt their littleness. The autumn night +was crisp, and from his seat on a log he held out his fingers to the +warm blaze. Now and then a yellow or red leaf caught in the light wind +drifted to his feet and he gazed up half in fear at the great encircling +wall of blackness. Then he uttered silent thanks that he was with such +trusty men as the guide and the shiftless one. + +The effect upon Henry was not the same. He had become silent while the +others talked, and he half reclined against a tree, looking at the sky +that showed a dim and shadowy disk through the opening. But there was +nothing of fear in his mind. A delicious sense of peace and satisfaction +crept over him. All the voices of the night seemed familiar and good. A +lizard slipped through the grass and the eye and ear of Henry alone +noticed it; neither the guide nor the shiftless one had seen or heard +its passage. He measured the disk of the heavens with his glance and +foretold unerringly whether it would be clear or cloudy on the morrow, +and when something rustled in the woods, he knew, without looking, that +it was a hare frightened by the blaze fleeing from its covert. A tiny +brook trickled at the far edge of the fire's rim, and he could tell by +the color of the waters through what kind of soil it had come. + +Paul sat down near him, and began to talk of home. Henry smiled upon him +indulgently; his old relation of protector to the younger boy had grown +stronger during this trip; in the forest he was his comrade's superior +by far, and Paul willingly admitted it; in such matters he sought no +rivalry with his friend. + +"I wonder what they are doing way down there?" said Paul, waving his +hand toward the southeast. "Just think of it, Henry! they are only one +little spot in the wilderness, and we are only another little spot way +up here! In all the hundreds of miles between, there may not be another +white face!" + +"It is likely true, but what of it?" replied Henry. "The bigger the +wilderness the more room in it for us to roam in. I would rather have +great forests than great towns." + +He turned lazily and luxuriously on his side, and, gazing into the red +coals, began to see there visions of other forests and vast plains, with +himself wandering on among the trees and over the swells. His comrades +said nothing more because it was comfortable in their little camp, and +the peace of the wilds was over them all. The night was cold, but the +circling wall of trees sheltered the opening, and the fire in the center +radiated a grateful heat in which they basked. The scholar, Mr. +Pennypacker, rested his face upon his hands, and he, too, was dreaming +as he stared into the blaze. Paul, his blanket wrapped around him and +his head pillowed upon soft boughs, was asleep already. Ross and Sol +dozed. + +But Henry neither slept nor wished to do so. His gaze shifted from the +red coals to the silver disk of the sky. The world seemed to him very +beautiful and very intimate. These illimitable expanses of forest +conveyed to him no sense of either awe or fear. He was at home. He had +become for the time a being of the night, piercing the darkness with the +eyes of a wild creature, and hearkening to the familiar voices around +him that spoke to him and to him alone. Never was sleep farther from +him. The shifting firelight in its flickering play fell upon his face +and revealed it in all its clear young boyish strength, the firm neck, +the masterful chin, the calm, resolute eyes set wide apart, the lean +big-boned fingers, lying motionless across his knees. + +Mr. Pennypacker began to nod, then he, too, wrapped himself in his +blanket, lay back and soon fell fast asleep; in a few minutes Sol +followed him to the land of real dreams, and after a brief interval +Ross, too, yielded. Henry alone was awake, drinking deep of the night +and its lonely joy. + +The silver disk of the sky turned into gray under a cloud, the darkness +swept up deeper and thicker, the light of the fire waned, but the boy +still leaned against the log, and upon his sensitive mind every change +of the wilderness was registered as upon the delicate surface of a +plate. He glanced at his sleeping comrades and smiled. The smile was the +index to an unconscious feeling of superiority. Ross and Sol were two or +three times his age, but they slept while he watched, and not Ross +himself in all his years in the wilderness had learned many things that +came to him by intuition. + +Hours passed and the boy was yet awake. New feelings, vague and +undetermined came into his mind but through them all went the feeling of +mastery. He, though a boy, was in many respects the chief, and while he +need not assert his leadership yet a while, he could never doubt its +possession. + +The light died far down and only a few smoldering coals were left. The +blackness of the night, coming ever closer and closer, hovered over his +companions and hid their faces from him. The great trunks of the trees +grew shadowy and dim. Out of the darkness came a sound slight but not in +harmony with the ordinary noises of the forest. His acute senses, the +old inherited primitive instinct, noticed at once the jarring note. He +moved ever so little but an extraordinary change came over his face. The +idle look of luxury and basking warmth passed away and the eyes became +alert, watchful, defiant. Every feature, every muscle was drawn, as if +he were at the utmost tension. Almost unconsciously his figure sank down +farther against the log, until it blended perfectly with the bark and +the fallen leaves below. Only an eye of preternatural keenness could +have separated the outline of the boy from the general scene. + +For five minutes he lay and moved not a particle. Then the discordant +note came again among the familiar sounds of the forest and he glanced +at his comrades. They slept peacefully. His lip curled slightly, not +with contempt but with that unconscious feeling of superiority; they +would not have noticed, even had they been awake. + +His hands moved forward and grasped his rifle. Then he began to slip +away from the opening and into the forest, not by walking nor altogether +by crawling, but by a curious, noiseless, gliding motion, almost like +that of a serpent. Always he clung to the shadows where his shifting +body still blended with the dark, and as he advanced other primitive +instincts blazed up in him. He was a hunter pursuing for the first time +the highest and most dangerous game of all game and the thrill through +his veins was so keen that he shivered slightly. His chin was projected, +and his eyes were two red spots in the night. All the while his comrades +by the fire, even the trained foresters, slumbered in peace, no warning +whatever coming to their heavy heads. + +The boy reached the wall of the woods, and now his form was completely +swallowed up in the blackness there. He lay a while in the bushes, +motionless, all his senses alert, and for the third time the jarring +note came to his ears. The maker of it was on his right, and, as he +judged, perhaps a couple of hundred yards away. He would proceed at once +to that point. It is truth to say that no thought of danger entered his +mind; the thrills of the present and its chances absorbed him. It seemed +natural that he should do this thing, he was merely resuming an old +labor, discontinued for a time. + +He raised his head slightly, but even his keen eyes could see nothing in +the forest save trunks and branches, ghostly and shapeless, and the +regular rustle of the wind was not broken now by the jarring note. But +the darkness heavy and ominous, was permeated with the signs of things +about to happen, and heavy with danger, a danger, however, that brought +no fear to Henry for himself, only for others. A faint sighing note as +of a distant bird came on the wind, and pausing, he listened intently. +He knew that it was not a bird, that sound was made by human lips, and +once more a light shiver passed over his frame; it was a signal, +concerning his comrades and himself, and he would turn aside the danger +from those old friends of his who slept by the fire, in peace and +unknowing. + +He resumed his cautious passage through the undergrowth, and, the +inherited instinct blossoming so suddenly into full flower, was still +his guide. Not a sound marked his advance, the forest fell silently +behind him, and he went on with unerring knowledge to the spot from +which the discordant sounds had come. + +He approached another opening among the trees, like unto that in which +his comrades slept, and now, lying close in the undergrowth, he looked +for the first time upon the sight which so often boded ill to his kind. +The warriors were in a group, some sitting others standing, and though +there was no fire and the moonlight was slight he could mark the +primitive brutality of their features, the nature of the animal that +fought at all times for life showing in their eyes. They were hard, +harsh and repellent in every aspect, but the boy felt for a moment a +singular attraction, there was even a distant feeling of kinship as if +he, too, could live this life and had lived it. But the feeling quickly +passed, and in its place came the thought of his comrades whom he must +save. + +The older of the warriors talked in a low voice, saying unknown words in +a harsh, guttural tongue, and Henry could guess only at their meaning. +But they seemed to be awaiting a signal and presently the low thrilling +note was heard again. Then the warriors turned as if this were the +command to do so, and came directly toward the boy who lay in the +darkest shadows of the undergrowth. + +Henry was surprised and startled but only for a moment, then the +primeval instinct came to his aid and swiftly he sank away in the bushes +in front of them, as before, no sound marking his passage. He thought +rapidly and in all his thoughts there was none of himself but as the +savior of the little party. It seemed to come to him naturally that he +should be the protector and champion. + +When he had gone about fifty yards he uttered a shout, long, swelling +and full of warning. Then he turned to his right and crashed through the +undergrowth, purposely making a noise that the pursuing warriors could +not fail to hear. Ross and the others, he knew, would be aroused +instantly by his cry and would take measures of safety. Now the savages +would be likely to follow him alone, and he noted by the sounds that +they had turned aside to do so. + +At this moment Henry Ware felt nothing but exultation that he, a boy, +should prove himself a match for all the cunning of the forest-bred, and +he thought not at all of the pursuit that came so fiercely behind him. + +He ran swiftly and now directly more than a mile from the camp of his +friends. Then the inherited instinct that had served him so well failed; +it could not warn him of the deep little river that lay straight across +his path flowing toward the Mississippi. He came out upon its banks and +was ready to drop down in its waters, but he saw that before he could +reach the farther shore he would be a target for his pursuers. He +hesitated and was about to turn at a sharp angle, but the warriors +emerged from the forest. It was then too late. + +The savages uttered a shout of triumph, the long, ferocious, whining +note, so terrible in its intensity and meaning, and Henry, raising his +rifle, fired at a painted breast. The next moment they were hurled upon +him in a brown mass. He felt a stunning blow upon the head, sparks flew +before his eyes, and the world reeled away into darkness. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE PRIMITIVE MAN + + +When Henry came back to his world he was lying upon the ground, with his +head against a log, and about him was a circle of brown faces, cold, +hard, expressionless and apparently devoid of human feeling; pity and +mercy seemed to be unknown qualities there. But the boy met them with a +gaze as steady as their own, and then he glanced quickly around the +circle. There was no other prisoner and he saw no ghastly trophy; then +his comrades had escaped, and, deep satisfaction in his heart, he let +his head fall back upon the log. They could do now as they chose with +him, and whatever it might be he felt that he had no cause to fear it. + +Three other warriors came in presently, and Henry judged that all the +party were now gathered there. He was still lying near the river on +whose banks he had been struck down, and the shifting clouds let the +moonlight fall upon him. He put his hand to his head where it ached, and +when he took it away, there was blood on his fingers. He inferred that a +heavy blow had been dealt to him with the flat of a tomahawk, but with +the stained fingers he made a scornful gesture. One of the warriors, +apparently a chief, noticed the movement, and he muttered a word or two +which seemed to have the note of approval. Henry rose to his feet and +the chief still regarded him, noting the fearless look, and the hint of +surpassing physical powers soon to come. He put his hand upon the boy's +shoulder and pointed toward the north and west. Henry understood him. +His life was to be spared for the present, at least, and he was to go +with them into the northwest, but to what fate he knew not. + +One of the warriors bathed his head, and put upon it a lotion of leaves +which quickly drove away the pain. Henry suffered his ministrations with +primitive stoicism, making no comment and showing no interest. + +At a word from the leader they took up their silent march, skirting the +river for a while until they came to a shallow place, where they forded +it, and buried themselves again in the dark forest. They passed among +its shades swiftly, silently and in single file, Henry near the middle +of the column, his figure in the dusk blending into the brown of theirs. +He had completely recovered his strength, and, save for the separation +from his friends and their consequent wonder and sorrow, he would not +have grieved over the mischance. Instinct told him--perhaps it was his +youth, perhaps his ready adaptability that appealed to his captors--that +his life was safe--and now he felt a keen curiosity to know the outcome. +It seemed to him too that without any will of his own he was about to +begin the vast wanderings that he had coveted. + +Hour after hour the silent file trod swiftly on into the northwest, no +one speaking, their footfalls making no sound on the soft earth. The +moonlight deepened again, and veiled the trunks and branches in ghostly +silver or gray. By and by it grew darker and then out of the blackness +came the first shoot of dawn. A shaft of pale light appeared in the +east, then broadened and deepened, bringing in its trail, in terrace +after terrace, the red and gold of the rising sun. Then the light swept +across the heavens and it was full day. + +They were yet in the forest and the dawn was cold. Here and there in the +open spaces and on the edges of the brown leaves appeared the white +gleam of frost. The rustle of the woods before the western wind was +chilly in the ear. But Henry was without sign of fatigue or cold. He +walked with a step as easy and as tireless as that of the strongest +warrior in the band, and at all times he held himself, as if he were one +of them, not their prisoner. + +About an hour after dawn the party which numbered fifteen men halted at +a signal from the chief and began to eat the dried meat of the buffalo, +taken from their pouches. They gave him a good supply of the food, and +he found it tough but savory. Hunger would have given a sufficient sauce +to anything and as he ate in a sort of luxurious content he studied his +captors with the advantage of the daylight. The full sunshine disclosed +no more of softness and mercy than the night had shown. The features +were immobile, the eyes fixed and hard, but when the gaze of any one of +them, even the chief, met the boy's it was quickly turned. There was +about them something furtive, something of the lower kingdom of the +animals. That inherited primitive instinct, recently flaming up with +such strength in him, did not tell him that they were his full brethren. +But he did not hate them, instead they interested him. + +After eating they rested an hour or more in the covert of a thicket and +Henry saw the beautiful day unfold. The sunshine was dazzling in its +glory, the crisp wind made one's blood sparkle like a tonic, and it was +good merely to live. A vast horizon inclosed only the peace of the +wilderness. + +The chief said some words to Henry, but the boy could understand none of +them, and he shook his head. Then the chief took the rifle that had +belonged to the captive, tapped it on the barrel and pointed toward the +southeast. Henry nodded to indicate that he had come from that point, +and then smiling swept the circle of the northwestern horizon with his +hands. He meant to say that he would go with them without resistance, +for the present, at least, and the chief seemed to understand, as his +face relaxed into a look of comprehension and even of good nature. + +Their march was resumed presently and as before it was straight into the +northwest. They passed out of the forest crossed the Ohio in hidden +canoes and entered a region of small but beautiful prairies, cut by +shallow streams, which they waded with undiminished speed. Henry began +to suspect that the band came from some very distant country, and was +hastening so much in order not to be caught on the hunting grounds of +rival tribes. The northwesterly direction that they were following +confirmed him in this belief. + +All the day passed on the march but shortly after the night came on and +they had eaten a little more of the jerked meat, they lay down in a +thicket, and Henry, unmindful of his captivity, fell in a few minutes +into a sleep that was deep, sweet and dreamless. He did not know then +that before he was asleep long the chief took a robe of tanned deerskin +and threw it over him, shielding his body from the chill autumn night. +In the morning shortly before he awoke the chief took away the robe. + +That day they came to a mighty river and Henry knew that the yellow +stream was that of the Mississippi. The Indians dragged from the +sheltering undergrowth two canoes, in which the whole party paddled up +stream until nightfall, when they hid the canoes again in the foliage on +the western shore, and then encamped on the crest. They seemed to feel +that they were out of danger now as they built a fine fire and the +captive basked in its warmth. + +Henry had not made the slightest effort to escape, nor had he indicated +any wish to do so, finding his reward in the increased freedom which the +warriors gave to him. He had never been bound and now he could walk as +he chose in a limited area about the camp. But he did not avail himself +of the privilege, for the present, preferring to sit by the fire, where +he saw pictures of Wareville and those whom he loved. Then he had a +swift twinge of conscience. When they heard they would grieve deep and +long for him and one, his mother, would never forget. He should have +sought more eagerly to escape, and he glanced quickly about him, but +there was no chance. However careless the warriors might seem there was +always one between him and the forest. He resigned himself with a sigh +but had he thought how quickly the pain passed his conscience would have +hurt him again. Now he felt much comfort where he sat; the night was +really cold, bitingly cold, and it was a glorious fire. As he sat before +it and basked in its radiance he felt the glorious physical joy that +must have thrilled some far-away primeval ancestor, as he hugged the +coals in his cave after coming in from the winter storm. + +Henry had the best place by the fire and a warrior who was sitting where +his back was exposed to the wind moved over and shoved him away. Henry +without a word smote him in the face with such force that the man fell +flat and Henry thrust him aside, resuming his original position. The +warrior rose to his feet and rubbed his bruised face, looking doubtfully +at the boy who sat in such stolid silence, staring into the coals and +paying no further attention to his opponent. The Indian never uses his +fists, and his hand strayed to the handle of his tomahawk; then, as it +strayed away again he sat down on the far side of the fire, and he too +began to stare stolidly into the red coals. The chief, Black Cloud, +bestowed on both a look of approval, but uttered no comment. + +Presently Black Cloud gave some orders to his men and they lay down to +sleep, but the chief took the deerskin robe and handed it to Henry. His +manner was that of one making a gift, and a gesture confirmed the +impression. Henry took the robe which he would need and thanked the +chief in words whose meaning the donor might gather from the tone. Then +he lay down and slept as before a dreamless sleep all through the night. + +Their journey lasted many days and every hour of it was full of interest +to Henry, appealing alike to his curiosity and its gratification. He was +launched upon the great wandering and he found in it both the glamour +and the reality that he wished, the reality in the rivers and the +forests and the prairies that he saw, and the glamour in the hope of +other and greater rivers and forests and prairies to come. + +Indian summer was at hand. All the woods were dyed in vivid colors, reds +and yellows and browns, and glowed with dazzling hues in the intense +sunlight. Often the haze of Indian summer hung afar and softened every +outline. Henry's feeling that he was one of the band grew stronger, and +they, too, began to regard him as their own. His freedom was extended +more and more and with astonishing quickness he soon picked up enough +words of their dialect to make himself intelligible. They took him with +them, when they turned aside for hunting expeditions, and he was +permitted now and then to use his own rifle. Only six men in the band +had guns, and two of these guns were rifles the other four being +muskets. Henry soon showed that he was the best marksman among them and +respect for him grew. The Indian whom he knocked down was slightly gored +by a stag when only Henry was near, but Henry slew the stag, bound up +the man's wound and stayed by him until the others came. The warrior, +Gray Fox, speedily became one of his best friends. + +Henry's enjoyment became more intense; all the trammels of civilization +were now thrown aside, he never thought of the morrow because the day +with its interests was sufficient, and from his new friends he learned +fresh lore of the forest with marvelous rapidity; they taught him how to +trail, to take advantage of every shred of cover and to make signals by +imitating the cry of bird or beast. Once they were caught in a +hailstorm, when it turned bitterly cold, but he endured it as well as +the best of them, and made not a single complaint. + +They came at last to their village, a great distance west of the +Mississippi, a hundred lodges perhaps, pitched in a warm and sheltered +valley and the boy, under the fostering care of Black Cloud, was +formally adopted into the tribe, taking up at once the thread of his new +life, and finding in it the same keen interest that had marked all the +stages of the great journey. + +The climate here was colder than that from which he had come, and +winter, with fierce winds from the Great Plains was soon upon them. But +the camp which was to remain there until spring was well chosen and the +steep hills about them fended off the worst of the blast. Yet the snow +came soon in great, whirling flakes and fell all one night. The next +morning the boy saw the world in white and he found it singularly +beautiful. The snow he did not mind as clothing of dressed skins had +been given to him and he had a warm buffalo robe for a blanket. Now, +young as he was, he became one of the best hunters for the village and +with the others he roamed far over the snowy hills in search of game. +Many were the prizes that fell to his steady aim and eye, chief among +them the deer, the bear and the buffalo. + +His fame in the village grew fast, and it would be hiding the fact to +deny that he enjoyed it. The wild rough life with its limitless range +over time and space appealed to every instinct in him, and his new fame +as a tireless and skillful hunter was very sweet to him. He thought of +his people and Wareville, it is true, but he consoled himself again with +the belief that they were well and he would return to them when the +chance came, and then he plunged all the deeper and with all the more +zest into his new life which had so many fascinations. At Wareville +there were certain bounds which he must respect, certain weights which +he must carry, but here he was free from both. + +Meanwhile his body thrived at a prodigious rate. One could almost see +him grow. There was not a warrior in the village who was as strong as +he, and already he surpassed them all in endurance; none was so fleet of +foot nor so tireless. His face and hair darkened in the wind and sun, +his last vestige of civilized garb had disappeared long ago, and he was +clothed wholly in deerskin. His features grew stronger and keener and +the eyes were incessantly watchful, roving hither and thither, covering +every point within range. It would have taken more than a casual glance +now to discover that he was white. + +The winter deepened. The snow was continuous, fierce blasts blew in from +the distant western plains and even searched out their sheltered valley. +The old men and the women shivered in the lodges, but sparkling young +blood and tireless action kept the boy warm and flourishing through it +all. Game grew scarce about them and the hunters went far westward in +search of the buffalo. + +Henry was with the party that traveled farthest toward the setting sun, +and it was long before they returned. Winter was at its height and when +they came out of the forest into the waving open stretches which are the +Great Plains all things were hidden by the snow. + +Henry from the summit of a little hill saw before him an expanse as +mighty as the sea, and like it in many of its aspects. They told him +that it rolled away to the westward, no man knew how far, as none of +them had ever come to the end of it. In summer it was covered with life. +Here grew thick grass and wild flowers and the buffalo passed in +millions. + +It inspired in Henry a certain awe and yet by its very vagueness and +immensity it attracted. Just as he had wished to explore the secrets of +the forest he would like now to tread the Great Plains and find what +they held. + +They turned toward the southwest in search of buffalo and were caught in +a great storm of wind and hail. The cold was bitter and the wind cut to +the bone. They were saved from freezing to death only by digging a rude +shelter through the snow into the side of a hill, and there they +crouched for two days with so little food left in their knapsacks, that +without game, they would perish, in a week, of hunger, if the cold did +not get the first chance. The most experienced hunters went forth, but +returned with nothing, thankful for so little a mercy as the ability to +get back to their half-shelter. + +Henry at last took his rifle and ventured out alone--the others were too +listless to stop him--and before the noon hour he found a buffalo bull, +some outcast from the herd which had gone southward, struggling in the +snow. The bull was old and lean, and it took two bullets to bring him +down, but his death meant their life and Henry hurried to the camp with +the joyful news. It was clearly recognized that he had saved them, but +no one said anything and Henry was glad of their silence. + +When the storm ceased they renewed their journey toward the south with a +plentiful supply of food and not long afterwards the snow began to melt. +Under the influence of a warm wind out of the southwest it disappeared +with marvelous quickness; one day the earth was all white, and the next +it was all brown. The warm wind continued to blow, and then faint +touches of green began to appear in the dead grass; there were delicate +odors, the breath of the great warm south, and they knew that spring was +not far away. + +In a week they ran into the buffalo herd, a mighty black mass of moving +millions. The earth rumbled hollowly under the tread of a myriad feet, +and the plain was black with bodies to the horizon and beyond. + +They killed as many of the buffalo as they wished and after the fashion +of the more northerly Indians reduced the meat to pemmican. Then, each +man bearing as much as he could conveniently carry, they began their +swift journey homeward, not knowing whether they would arrive in time +for the needs of the village. + +Henry felt a deep concern for these new friends of his who were left +behind in the valley. He shared the anxiety of the others who feared +lest they would be too late and that fact reconciled him to the retreat +from the Great Plains, whose mysteries he longed to unravel. + +As they went swiftly eastward the spring unfolded so fast that it seemed +to Henry to come with one great jump. They were now in the forests and +everywhere the trees were laden with fresh buds, in all the open spaces +the young grass was springing up, and the brooks, as if rejoicing in +their new freedom from the ice-bound winter, ran in sparkling little +streams between green banks. + +The physical world was full of beauty to him, more so than ever because +his power of feeling it had grown. During the winter and by the +triumphant endurance of so many hardships his form had expanded and the +tide of sparkling blood had risen higher. Although a captive he was +regarded in a sense as the leader of the hunting party; it was obvious, +in the deference that the others, though much older, showed to him and +he knew that only his resource, courage and endurance had saved them all +from death. A song of triumph was singing in his veins. + +They found the village at the edge of starvation despite the approach of +spring; two or three of the older people had died already of weakness, +and their supplies arrived just in time to relieve the crisis. There +were willing tongues to tell of his exploits, and Henry soon perceived +that he was a hero to them all and he enjoyed it, because it was natural +to him to be a leader, and he loved to breathe the air of approbation. +Yet as they valued him more they grew more jealous of him, and they +watched him incessantly, lest he should take it into his head to flee to +the people who were once his own. Henry saw the difficulty and again it +soothed his conscience by showing to him that he could not do what he +yet had a lingering feeling that he ought to do. + +Good luck seemed to come in a shower to the village with the return of +the hunting party. Spring leaped suddenly into full bloom, and the woods +began to swarm with game. It was the most plentiful season that the +oldest man could recall, there was no hunter so lazy and so dull that he +could not find the buffalo and the deer. + +Then the band, with the spirit of irresponsible wandering upon it, took +down its lodges and traveled slowly into the north farther and farther +from the little settlement away down in Kentucky. There was peace among +the tribes and they could go as they chose. They came at last to the +shores of a mighty lake, Superior, and here when Henry looked out upon +an expanse of water, as limitless to the eyes as the sea, he felt the +same thrill of awe that had passed through his veins when the Great +Plains lay outspread before him. As it was now midsummer and the forests +crackled in the heat they lingered long by the deep cool waters of the +lake. Here white traders, Frenchmen speaking a tongue unknown to Henry, +came to them with rifles, ammunition and bright-colored blankets to +trade for furs. More than one of them saw and admired the tall powerful +young warrior with the singularly watchful eyes but not one of them knew +that under his paint and tan he was whiter than themselves; instead they +took him to be the wildest of the wild. + +Henry's heart had throbbed a little at the first sight of them, but it +was only for a moment, then it beat as steadily as ever; white like +himself they might be, but they were of an alien race; their speech was +not his speech, their ways not his ways and he turned from them. He was +glad when they were gone. + +Toward the end of summer they went south again and wandered idly through +pleasant places. It was still a full season with wild fruits hanging +from the trees and game everywhere. There had been no sickness in the +little tribe and they basked in physical content. It was now a careless +easy life with the stimulus of wandering and hunting and all the old +primeval instincts in Henry, made stronger by habit, were gratified. He +fell easily into the ways of his friends; when there was nothing to do +he could sit for hours looking at the forests and the streams and the +sunshine, letting his soul steep in the glory of it all. To his other +qualities he now added that of illimitable patience. He could wait for +what he wished as the Eskimo sits for days at the air hole until the +seal appears. + +In their devious wanderings they kept a general course toward the valley +in which they had passed the first winter, intending to renew their camp +there during the cold weather, but autumn, as they intended, was at hand +before they reached it. They were yet a long distance north and west of +their valley when they were threatened by a danger with which they had +not reckoned. A local tribe claimed that the band was infringing upon +their hunting grounds and began war with a treacherous attack upon a +hunting party. + +The war was not long but the few hundreds who took part in it shared all +the passions and fierce emotions of two great nations in conflict. Henry +was in the thick of it, first alike in attack and defense, superior to +the Indians themselves in wiles and cunning. Several of the hostile +tribe fell at his hand, although he could not take a scalp, the remnants +of his early training forbidding it. But once or twice he was ashamed of +the weakness. The hostile party was triumphantly beaten off with great +loss to itself and Henry and his friends pursued their journey leisurely +and triumphantly. Now besides being a great hunter he was a great +warrior too. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE CALL OF DUTY + + +They arrived at their valley and prepared for the second winter there, +returning to the place for several reasons, chief among them being the +right of prescription, to which the other tribes yielded tacit consent. +The Indian recks little of the future, but in his reversion to primitive +type Henry had taken with him much of the acquired and modern knowledge +of education. He looked ahead, and, under his constant suggestion, +advice and pressure they stored so much food for the winter that there +was no chance of another famine, whatever might happen to the game. + +Before they went into winter quarters Henry clearly perceived one +thing--he was first in the little tribe; even Black Cloud, the chief, +willingly took second place to him. He was first alike in strength and +wisdom and it was patent to all. He was now, although only a boy in +years, nearly at his full height, almost a head above an ordinary +warrior, with wonderfully keen eyes, set wide apart, and a square +projecting chin, so firm that it seemed to be carved of brown marble. +His shoulders were of great breadth, but his lean figure had all the +graceful strength and ease of some wild animal native to the forest. He +was scrupulous in his attire, and wore only the finest skins and furs +that the village could furnish. + +Henry felt the deference of the tribe and it pleased him. He glided +naturally into the place of leader, feeling the responsibility and +liking it. He was tactful, too, he would not push Black Cloud from his +old position, but merely remained at his right hand and ruled through +him. The chief was soothed and flattered, and the arrangement worked to +the pleasure of both, and to the great good of the village which now +enjoyed a winter of prosperity hitherto unknown to such natives of the +woods. Nobody had to go hungry, there was abundant provision against the +cold. Henry, though not saying it, knew that with him the credit lay, +and just now the world seemed very full. As human beings go he was +thoroughly happy; the life fitted him, satisfied all his wants, and the +memory of his own people became paler and more distant; they could do +very well without him; they were so many, one could be spared, and when +the chance came he would send word to them that he was alive and well, +but that he would not come back. + +When the buds began to burst they traveled eastward, until they came to +the Mississippi. The sight of its stream brought back to Henry a thought +of those with whom he had first seen it and he felt a pang of remorse. +But the pang was fleeting, and the memory too he resolutely put aside. + +They crossed the Mississippi and advanced into the land of little +prairies, a green, rich region, pleasant to the eye and full of game. +They wandered and hunted here, drifting slowly to the eastward, until +they came upon a great encampment of the fierce and warlike nation, +known as the Shawnees. The Shawnees were in their war paint and were +singing warlike songs. It was evident to the most casual visitor that +they were going forth to do battle. + +It was late in the afternoon when Henry, Black Cloud and two others came +upon this encampment. His own band had pitched its lodges some miles +behind, but the kinship of the forest and the peace between them, made +the four the guests of the Shawnees as long as they chose to stay. + +At least a thousand warriors were in all the hideous varieties of war +paint, and the scene, in the waning light, was weird and ominous even to +Henry. The war songs in their very monotony were chilling, and full of +ferocity, and in all the thousand faces there was not one that shone +with the light of kindness and mercy. + +Long glances were cast at Henry, but even their keen eyes failed to +notice that he was not an Indian, and he stood watching them, his face +impassive, but his interest aroused. A dozen warriors naked to the waist +and hideously painted were singing a war song, while they capered and +jumped to its unrhythmic tune. Suddenly one of them snatched something +from his girdle and waved it aloft in triumph. Henry knew that it was a +scalp, many of which he had seen, and he paid little attention, but the +Indian came closer, still singing and dancing, and waving his hideous +trophy. + +The scalp flashed before Henry's eyes, and it displayed not the coarse +black locks of the savage, but hair long, fine and yellow like silk. He +knew that it was the scalp of a white girl, and a sudden, shuddering +horror seized him. It had belonged to one of his own kind, to the race +into which he had been born and with which he had passed his boyhood. +His heart filled with hatred of these Shawnees, but the warriors of his +own little tribe would take scalps, and if occasion came, the scalps of +white people, yes, of white women and white girls! He tried to dismiss +the thought or rather to crush it down, but it would not yield to his +will; always it rose up again. + +He walked back to the edge of the encampment, where some of the warriors +were yet singing the war songs that with all of their monotony were so +weird and chilling. Twilight was over the forest, save in the west, +where a blood-red tint from the sunken sun lingered on trunk and bough, +and gleamed across the faces of the dancing warriors. In this lurid +light Henry suddenly saw them savage, inhuman, implacable. They were +truly creatures of the wilderness, the lust of blood was upon them, and +they would shed it for the pleasure of seeing it flow. Henry's primeval +world darkened as he looked upon them. + +He was about to leave with Black Cloud and his friends when it occurred +to him to ask which way the war party was going and who were the +destined victims. He spoke to two or three warriors until he came to one +who understood the tongue of his little tribe. + +The man waved his hand toward the south. + +"Off there; far away," he said. "Beyond the great river." + +Henry knew that in this case "great river" meant the Ohio and he was +somewhat surprised; it was still a long journey from the Ohio to the +land of the Cherokees, Chickasaws and Choctaws with whom the Northern +tribes sometimes fought, and he spoke of it to the warrior, but the man +shook his head, and said they were going against the white people; there +was a village of them in a sheltered valley beside a little river, they +had been there three or four years and had flourished in peace; freedom +so long from danger had made them careless, but the Shawnee scouts had +looked from the woods upon the settlement, and the war band would slay +or take them all with ease. + +The man had not spoken a half dozen words before Henry knew that +Wareville was the place, upon which the doom was so soon to fall. The +chill of horror that had seized him at sight of the yellow-haired scalp +passed over him again, deeper, stronger and longer than before. And the +colony would fall! There could be no doubt of it! Nothing could save it! +The hideous band, raging with tomahawk and knife, would dash without a +word of warning, like a bolt from the sky upon Wareville so long +sheltered and peaceful in its valley. And he could see all the phases of +the savage triumph, the surprise, the triumphant and ferocious yells, +the rapid volleys of the rifles, the flashing of the blades, the burning +buildings, the shouts, the cries, and men, women and children in one red +slaughter. In another year the forest would be springing up where +Wareville had been, and the wolf and the fox would prowl among the +charred timbers. And among the bleaching bones would be those of his own +mother and sister and Lucy Upton--if they were not taken away for a +worse fate. + +He endured the keenest thrill of agony that life had yet held for him. +All his old life, the dear familiar ties surged up, and were hot upon +his brain. His place was there! with them! not here! He had yielded too +easily to the spell of the woods and the call of the old primeval +nature. He might have escaped long ago, there had been many +opportunities, but he could not see them. His blindness had been +willful, the child of his own desires. He knew it too well now. He saw +himself guilty and guilty he was. + +But in that moment of agony and fear for his own he was paying the price +of his guilt. The sense of helplessness was crushing. In two hours the +war party would start and it would flit southward like the wind, as +silent but far more deadly. No, nothing could save the innocent people +at Wareville; they were as surely doomed as if their destruction had +already taken place. + +But not one of these emotions, so tense and so deep, was written on the +face of him whom even the Shawnees did not know to be white. Not a +feature changed, the Indian stoicism and calm, the product alike of his +nature and cultivation, clung to him. His eyes were veiled and his +movements had their habitual gravity and dignity. + +He walked with Black Cloud to the edge of the encampment, said farewell +to the Shawnees, and then, with a great surge of joy, his resolution +came to him. It was so sudden, so transforming that the whole world +changed at once. The blood-red tint, thrown by the sunken sun, was gone +from the forest, but instead the silver sickle of the moon was rising +and shed a radiant light of hope. + +He said nothing until they had gone a mile or so and then, drawing Black +Cloud aside, spoke to him words full of firmness, but not without +feeling. He made no secret of his purpose, and he said that if Black +Cloud and the others sought to stay him with force with force he would +reply. He must go, and he would go at once. + +Black Cloud was silent for a while, and Henry saw the faintest quiver in +his eyes. He knew that he held a certain place in the affections of the +chief, not the place that he might hold in the regard of a white man, it +was more limited and qualified, but it was there, nevertheless. + +"I am the captive of the tribe I know," said Henry. "It has made me its +son, but my white blood is not changed and I must save my people. The +Shawnees march south to-night against them and I go to give warning. It +is better that I go in peace." + +He spoke simply, but with dignity, and looked straight into the eyes of +the chief, where he saw that slight pathetic quiver come again. + +"I cannot keep you now if you would go," said Black Cloud, "but it may +be when you are far away that the forest and we with whom you have lived +and hunted so many seasons will call to you again, in a voice to which +you must listen." + +Henry was moved; perhaps the chief was telling the truth. He saw the +hardships and bareness of the wilderness but the life there appealed to +him and satisfied the stronger wants of his nature; he seemed to be the +reincarnation of some old forest dweller, belonging to a time thousands +of years ago, yet the voice of duty, which was in this case also the +voice of love, called to him, too, and now with the louder voice. He +would go, and there must be no delay in his going. + +"Farewell, Black Cloud," he said with the same simplicity. "I will think +often of you who have been good to me." + +The chief called the other warriors and told them their comrade was +going far to the south, and they might never see him again. Their faces +expressed nothing, whatever they may have felt. Henry repeated the +farewell, hesitated no longer and plunged into the forest. But he +stopped when he was thirty or forty yards away and looked back. The +chief and the warriors stood side by side as he had left them, +motionless and gazing after him. It was night now and to eyes less keen +than Henry's their forms would have melted into the dusk, but he saw +every outline distinctly, the lean brown features and the black shining +eyes. He waved his hands to them--a white man's action--and resumed his +flight, not looking back again. + +It was a dark night and the forest stretched on, black and endless, the +trunks of the trees standing in rows like phantoms of the dusk. Henry +looked up at the moon and the few stars, and reckoned his course. +Wareville lay many hundred miles away, chiefly to the south, and he had +a general idea of the direction, but the war party would know exactly, +and its advantage there would perhaps be compensation for the superior +speed of one man. But Henry, for the present, would not think of such a +disaster as failure; on the contrary he reckoned with nothing but +success, and he felt a marvelous elation. + +The decision once taken the rebound had come with great force, and he +felt that he was now about to make atonement for his long neglect, and +more than neglect. Perhaps it had been ordained long ago that he should +be there at the critical moment, see the danger and bring them the +warning that would save. There was consolation in the thought. + +He increased his pace and sped southward in the easy trot that he had +learned from his red friends, a gait that he could maintain +indefinitely, and with which he could put ground behind him at a +remarkable rate. His rifle he carried at the trail, his head was bent +slightly forward, and he listened intently to every sound of the forest +as he passed; nothing escaped his ear, whether it was a raccoon stirring +among the branches, a deer startled from its covert, or merely the wind +rustling the leaves. Instinct also told him that the forest was at +peace. + +To the ordinary man the night with its dusk, the wilderness with its +ghostly tree trunks, and the silence would have been full of weirdness +and awe, black with omens and presages. Few would not have chilled to +the marrow to be alone there, but to Henry it brought only hope and the +thrill of exultation. He had no sense of loneliness, the forest hid no +secrets for him; this was home and he merely passed through it on a +great quest. + +He looked up at the moon and stars, and confirmed himself in his course, +though he never slackened speed as he looked. He came out of the forest +upon a prairie, and here the moonlight was brighter, touching the crests +of the swells with silver spear-points. A dozen buffaloes rose up and +snorted as he flitted by, but he scarcely bestowed a passing glance upon +the black bulk of the animals. The prairie was only two or three miles +across, and at the far edge flowed a shallow creek which he crossed at +full speed, and entered the forest again. Now he came to rough country, +steep little hills, and a dense undergrowth of interlacing bushes, and +twining thorny vines. But he made his way through them in a manner that +only one forest-bred could compass, and pressed on with speed but little +slackened. + +When the night became darkest, in the forest just before morning he lay +down in the deepest shadow of a thicket, his hand upon his rifle, and in +a few minutes was sleeping soundly. It was a matter of training with him +to sleep whenever sleep was needed and he had no nerves. He knew, too, +despite his haste that he must save his strength, and he did not +hesitate to follow the counsels of prudence. + +It was his will that he should sleep about four hours, and, his system +obeying the wish, he awoke at the appointed time. The sun was rising +over the vast, green wilderness, lighting up a world seemingly as lonely +and deserted as it had been the night before. The unbroken forest, +touched with the tender tints of young spring and bathed in the pure +light of the first dawn, bent gently to a west wind that breathed only +of peace. + +Henry stood up and inhaled the odorous air. He was a striking figure, +yet a few yards away he would have been visible only to the trained eye; +his half-savage garb of tanned deerskin, stained green and trimmed at +the edges with green beads and little green feathers, blended with the +colors of the forest and merely made a harmonious note in the whole. His +figure compact, powerful and always poised as if ready for a spring +swayed slightly, while his eyes that missed nothing searched every nook +in the circling woods. He was then neither the savage nor the civilized +man, but he had many of the qualities of both. + +The slight swaying motion of his body ceased suddenly and he remained as +still as a rock. He seemed to be a part of the green bushes that grew +around him, yet he was never more watchful, never more alert. The +indefinable sixth sense, developed in him by the wilderness, had taken +alarm; there was a presence in the forest, foreign in its nature; it was +not sight nor hearing nor yet smell that told him so, but a feeling or +rather a sort of prescience. Then an extraordinary thrill ran through +him; it was an emotion partaking in its nature of joy and anticipation; +he was about to be confronted by some danger, perhaps a crisis, and the +physical faculties, handed down by a far-off ancestor, expanded to meet +it. He knew that he would conquer, and he felt already the glow of +triumph. + +Presently he sank down in the undergrowth so gently that not a bush +rustled; there was no displacement of nature, the grass and the foliage +were just as they had been, but the figure, visible before to the +trained eye at a dozen paces, could not have been seen now at all. Then +he began to creep through the grass with a swift easy gliding motion +like that of a serpent, moving at a speed remarkable in such a position +and quite soundless. He went a full half mile before he stopped and rose +to his knees, and then his face was hidden by the bushes, although the +eyes still searched every part of the forest. + +His look was now wholly changed. He might be the hunted, but he bore +himself as the hunter. All vestige of the civilized man, trained to +humanity and mercy, was gone. Those who wished to kill were seeking him +and he would kill in return. The thin lips were slightly drawn back, +showing the line of white teeth, the eyes were narrowed and in them was +the cold glitter of expected conflict. Brown hands, lean but big-boned +and powerful, clasped a rifle having a long slender barrel and a +beautifully carved stock. It was a figure, terrible alike in its +manifestation of physical power and readiness, and in the fierce eye +that told what quality of mind lay behind it. + +He sank down again and moved in a small circle to the right. His +original thrill of joy was now a permanent emotion; he was like some one +playing an exciting game into which no thought of danger entered. He +stopped behind a large tree, and sheltering himself riveted his eyes on +a spot in the forest about fifty yards away. No one else could have +found there anything suspicious, anything to tell of an alien presence, +but he no longer doubted. + +At the detected point a leaf moved, but not in the way it should have +swayed before the gentle wind, and there was a passing spot of brown in +the green of the bushes. It was visible only for a moment, but it was +sufficient for the attuned mind and body of Henry Ware. Every part of +him responded to the call. The rifle sprang to his shoulder and before +the passing spot of brown was gone, a stream of fire spurted from its +slender muzzle, and its sharp cracking report like the lashing of a whip +was blended with the long-drawn howl, so terrible in its note, that is +the death cry of a savage. + +The bullet had scarcely left his gun before he fell back almost flat, +and the answering shot sped over his head. It was for this that he sank +down, and before the second shot died he sprang to his feet and rushed +forward, drawing his tomahawk and uttering a shout that rolled away in +fierce echoes through the forest. + +He knew that his enemies were but two; in his eccentric course through +the forest he had passed directly over their trail, and he had read the +signs with an infallible eye. Now one was dead and the other like +himself had an unloaded gun. The rest of his deed would be a mere matter +of detail. + +The second savage uttered his war cry and sprang forward from the +bushes. He might well have recoiled at the terrible figure that rushed +to meet him; in all his wild life of risks he had never before been +confronted by anything so instinct with terror, so ominous of death. But +he did not have time to take thought before he was overwhelmed by his +resistless enemy. + +It was an affair of but a few moments. The Indian threw his tomahawk but +Henry parried the blade upon the barrel of his rifle which he still +carried in his left hand, and his own tomahawk was whirled in a +glittering curve about his head. Now it was launched with mighty force +and the savage, cloven to the chin, sank soundless to the earth; he had +been smitten down by a force so sudden and absolute that he died +instantly. + +The victor, elate though he was, paused, and quickly reloaded his +rifle--wilderness caution would allow nothing else--and afterwards +advancing looked first at the savage whom he had slain in the open and +then at the other in the bushes. There was no pity in him, his only +emotion was a great sense of power; they had hunted him, two to one, and +they born in the woods, but he had outwitted and slain them both. He +could have escaped, he could have easily left them far behind when he +first discovered that they were stalking him, but he had felt that they +should be punished and now the event justified his faith. + +It was not his first taking of human life, and while he would have +shuddered at the deed a year ago he felt no such sensation now; they +were merely dangerous wild animals that had crossed his path, and he had +put them out of it in the proper way; his feeling was that of the hunter +who slays a grizzly bear or a lion, only he had slain two. + +He stood looking at them, and save for the rustling of the young grass +under the gentle western wind the wilderness was silent and at peace. +The sun was shooting up higher and higher and a vast golden light hung +over the forest, gilding every leaf and twig. Henry Ware turned at last +and sped swiftly and silently to the south, still thrilling with +exultation over his deed, and the sequel that he knew would quickly +come. But in the few brief minutes his nature had reverted another and +further step toward the primitive. + +When he had gone a half mile in his noiseless flight he stopped, and, +listening intently, heard the faint echo of a long-drawn, whining cry. +After that came silence, heavy and ominous. But Henry only laughed in +noiseless mirth. All this he had expected. He knew that the larger party +to which the two warriors belonged would find the bodies, with hasty +pursuit to follow after the single cry. That was why he lingered. He +wanted them to pursue, to hang upon his trail in the vain hope that they +could catch him; he would play with them, he would enjoy the game +leading them on until they were exhausted, and then, laughing, he would +go on to the south at his utmost speed. + +A new impulse drove him to another step in the daring play, and, raising +his head, he uttered his own war cry, a long piercing shout that died in +distant echoes; it was at once a defiance, and an intimation to them +where they might find him, and then, mirth in his eyes, he resumed his +flight, although, for the present, he chose to keep an unchanging +distance between his pursuers and himself. + +That party of warriors may have pursued many a man before and may have +caught most of them, but the greatest veteran of them all had never hung +on the trail of such another annoying fugitive. All day he led them in +swift flight toward the south, and at no time was he more than a little +beyond their reach; often they thought their hands were about to close +down upon him, that soon they would enjoy the sight of his writhings +under the fagot and the stake, but always he slipped away at the fatal +moment, and their savage hearts were filled with bitterness that a lone +fugitive should taunt them so. His footsteps were those of the white +man, but his wile and cunning were those of the red, and curiosity was +added to the other motives that drew them on. + +At the coming of the twilight one of their best warriors who pursued at +some distance from the main band was slain by a rifle shot from the +bushes, then came that defiant war cry again, faint, but full of irony +and challenge, and then the trail grew cold before them. He whom they +pursued was going now with a speed that none of them could equal, and +the darkness itself, thick and heavy, soon covered all sign of his +flight. + +Henry Ware's expectations of joy had been fulfilled and more; it was the +keenest delight that had yet come into his life. At all times he had +been master of the situation, and as he drew them southward, he +fulfilled his duty at the same time and enjoyed his sport. Everything +had fallen out as he planned, and now, with the night at hand, he shook +them off. + +Through the day he had eaten dried venison from his pouch, as he ran, +and he felt no need to stop for food. So, he did not cease the flight +until after midnight when he lay down again in a thicket and slept +soundly until daylight. He rose again, refreshed, and faster than ever +sped on his swift way toward Wareville. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE RETURN + + +Wareville lay in its pleasant valley, rejoicing in the young spring, so +kind with its warm rains that the men of the village foresaw a great +season for crops. The little river flowed in a silver current, smoke +rose from many chimneys, and now and then the red homemade linsey dress +of a girl gleamed in the sunlight like the feathers of the scarlet +tanager. To the left were the fields cleared for Indian corn, and to the +right were the gardens. Beyond both were the hills and the unbroken +forest. + +Now and then a man, carrying on his shoulder the inevitable Kentucky +rifle, long and slender-barreled, passed through the palisade, but the +cardinal note of the scene was peace and cheerfulness. The town was +prospering, its future no longer belonged to chance; there would be +plenty, of the kind that they liked. + +In the Ware house was a silent sadness, silent because these were stern +people, living in a stern time, and it was the custom to hide one's +griefs. The oldest son was gone; whether he had perished nobody knew, +nor, if he had perished, how. + +John Ware was not an emotional man, feelings rarely showed on his face, +and his wife alone knew how hard the blow had been to him--she knew +because she had suffered from the same stroke. But the children, the +younger brother Charles and the sister Mary could not always remember, +and with them the impression of the one who was gone would grow dimmer +in time. The border too always expected a certain percentage of loss in +human life, it was one of the facts with which the people must reckon, +and thus the name of Henry Ware was rarely spoken. + +To-day was without a cloud. New emigrants had come across the mountains, +adding welcome strength to the colony, and extending the limits of the +village. But danger had passed them by, they had heard once or twice +more of the great war in the far-away East, but it was so distant and +vague that most of them forgot it; the Indians across the Ohio had never +come this way, and so far Henry Ware was the only toll that they had +paid to the wilderness. There was cause for happiness, as human +happiness goes. + +A slim girl bearing in her hand a wooden pail came through the gate of +the palisade. She was bare-headed, but her wonderful dark-brown hair +coiled in a shining mass was touched here and there with golden gleams +where the sunshine fell upon it. Her face, browned somewhat, was yet +very white on the forehead, and the cheeks had the crimson flush of +health. She wore a dress of homemade linsey dyed red, and its close fit +suggested the curves of her supple, splendid young figure. She walked +with strong elastic step toward the spring that gushed from a hillside, +and which after a short course fell into the little river. + +It was Lucy Upton, grown much taller now, as youth develops rapidly on +the border, a creature nourished into physical perfection first by the +good blood that was in her, then developed in the open air, and by work, +neither too little nor too much. + +She reached the spring, and setting the pail by its side looked down at +the cool, gushing stream. It invited her and she ran her white rounded +arm through it, making curves and oblongs that were gone before they +were finished. She was in a thoughtful mood. Once or twice she looked at +the forest, and each time that she looked she shivered because the +shadow of the wilderness was then very heavy upon her. + +Silas Pennypacker, the schoolmaster, came to the spring while she was +there, and they spoke together, because they were great friends, these +two. He was unchanged, the same strong gray man, with the ruddy face. He +was not unhappy here despite the seeming incongruity of his presence. +The wilderness appealed to him too in a way, he was the intellectual +leader of the colony and almost everything that his nature called for +met with a response. + +"The spring is here, Lucy," he said, "and it has been an easy winter. We +should be thankful that we have fared so well." + +"I think that most of us are," she replied. "We'll soon be a big town." + +She glanced at the spreading settlement, and this launched Mr. +Pennypacker upon a favorite theme of his. He liked to predict how the +colony would grow, sowing new seed, and already he saw great cities to +be. He found a ready listener in Lucy. This too appealed to her +imagination at times, and if at other times interest was lacking, she +was too fond of the old man to let him know it. Presently when she had +finished she filled the pail and stood up, straight and strong. + +"I will carry it for you," said the schoolmaster. + +She laughed. + +"Why should I let you?" she asked. "I am more able than you." + +Most men would have taken it ill to have heard such words from a girl, +but she was one among many, above the usual height for her years; she +created at once the impression of great strength, both physical and +mental; the heavy pail of water hung in her hand, as if it were a trifle +that she did not notice. The master smiled and looked at her with eyes +of fatherly admiration. + +"I must admit that you tell the truth," he said. "This West of ours +seems to suit you." + +"It is my country now," she said, "and I do not care for any other." + +"Since you will not let me carry the water you will at least let me walk +with you?" he said. + +She did not reply, and he was startled by the sudden change that came +over her. + +First a look of wonder showed on her face, then she turned white, every +particle of color leaving her cheeks. The master could not tell what her +expression meant, and he followed her eyes which were turned toward the +wilderness. + +From the forest came a figure very strange to Silas Pennypacker, a +figure of barbaric splendor. It was a youth of great height and powerful +frame, his face so brown that it might belong to either the white or the +red race, but with fine clean features like those of a Greek god. He was +clad in deerskins, ornamented with little colored beads and fringes of +brilliant dyes. He carried a slender-barreled rifle over his shoulder, +and he came forward with swift, soundless steps. + +The master recoiled in alarm at the strange and ominous figure, but as +the red flooded back into the girl's cheeks she put her hand upon his +arm. + +"It is he! I knew that he was not dead!" she said in an intense +tremulous whisper. The words were indefinite, but the master knew whom +she meant, and there was a surge of joy in his heart, to be followed the +next moment by doubt and astonishment. It was Henry Ware who had come +back, but not the same Henry Ware. + +Henry was beside them in a moment and he seized their hands, first the +hands of one and then of the other, calling them by name. + +The master recovering from his momentary diffidence threw his arms +around his former pupil, welcomed him with many words, and wanted to +know where he had been so long. + +"I shall tell you, but not now," replied Henry, "because there is no +time to spare; you are threatened by a great danger. The Shawnees are +coming with a thousand warriors and I have hastened ahead to warn you." + +He hurried them inside the palisade, his manner tense, masterful and +convincing, and there he met his mother, whose joy, deep and grateful, +was expressed in few words after the stern Puritan code. The father and +the brother and sister came next, but the younger people like Lucy felt +a little fear of him, and his old comrade Paul Cotter scarcely knew him. + +He told in a few words of his escape from a far Northwestern tribe, of +the coming of the Shawnees, and of the need to take every precaution for +defense. + +"There is no time to spare," he said. "All must be called in at once." + +A man with powerful lungs blew long on a cow's horn, those who were at +work in the fields and the forest hastened in, the gates were barred, +the best marksmen were sent to watch in the upper story of the +blockhouses and at the palisade, and the women began to mold bullets. + +Henry Ware was the pervading spirit through all the preparations. He +knew everything and thought of everything, he told them the mode of +Indian attack and how they could best meet it, he compelled them to +strengthen the weak spots in the palisade, and he encouraged all those +who were faint of heart and apprehensive. + +Lucy's slight fear of him remained, but with it now came admiration. She +saw that his was a soul fit to lead and command, the work that he was +about to do he loved, his eyes were alight with the fire of battle; a +certain joy was shining there, and all, feeling the strength of his +spirit, obeyed him without asking why. + +Only Braxton Wyatt uttered doubts with words and sneered with looks. He +too had become a hunter of skill, and hence what he said might have some +merit. + +"It seems strange that Henry Ware should come so suddenly when he might +have come before," he remarked with apparent carelessness to Lucy Upton. + +She looked at him with sharp interest. The same thought had entered her +mind, but she did not like to hear Braxton Wyatt utter it. + +"At all events he is about to save us from a great danger," she said. + +Wyatt laughed and his thin long features contracted in an ugly manner. + +"It is a tale to impress us and perhaps to cover up something else," he +replied. "There is not an Indian within two hundred miles of us. I know, +I have been through the woods and there is no sign." + +She turned away, liking his words little and his manner less. She +stopped presently by a corner of one of the houses on a slight elevation +whence she could see a long distance beyond the palisade. So far as +seeming went Braxton Wyatt was certainly right. The spring day was full +of golden sunshine, the fresh new green of the forest was unsullied, and +it was hard to conjure up even the shadow of danger. + +Wyatt might have ground for his suspicion, but why should Henry Ware +sound a false alarm? The words "perhaps to cover up something else" +returned to her mind, but she dismissed them angrily. + +She went to the Ware house and rejoiced with Mrs. Ware, to whom a son +had come back from the dead, and in whose joy there was no flaw. +According to her mother's heart a wonder had been performed, and it had +been done for her special benefit. + +The village was in full posture of defense, all were inside the walls +and every man had gone to his post. They now awaited the attack, and yet +there was some distrust of Henry Ware. Braxton Wyatt, a clever youth, +had insidiously sowed the seeds of suspicion, and already there was a +crop of unbelief. By indirection he had called attention to the strange +appearance of the returned wanderer, the Indianlike air that he had +acquired, his new ways unlike their own, and his indifference to many +things that he had formerly liked. He noticed the change in Henry Ware's +nature and he brought it also to the notice of others. + +It seemed as the brilliant day passed peacefully that Wyatt was right +and Henry, for some hidden purpose of his own, perhaps to hide the +secret of his long absence, had brought to them this sounding alarm. +There was the sun beyond the zenith in the heavens, the shadows of +afternoon were falling, and the yellow light over the forest softened +into gray, but no sign of an enemy appeared. + +If Henry Ware saw the discontent he did not show his knowledge; the +light of the expected conflict was still in his eyes and his thoughts +were chiefly of the great event to come; yet in an interval of waiting +he went back to the house and told his mother of much that had befallen +him during his long absence; he sought to persuade himself now that he +could not have escaped earlier, and perhaps without intending it he +created in her mind the impression that he sought to engrave upon his +own; so she was fully satisfied, thankful for the great mercy of his +return that had been given to her. + +"Now mother!" he said at last, "I am going outside." + +"Outside!" she cried aghast, "but you are safe here! Why not stay?" + +He smiled and shook his head. + +"I shall be safe out there, too," he said, "and it is best for us all +that I go. Oh, I know the wilderness, mother, as you know the rooms of +this house!" + +He kissed her quickly and turned away. John Ware, who stood by, said +nothing. He felt a certain fear of his son and did not yet know how to +command him. + +As Henry passed from the house into the little square Lucy Upton +overtook him. + +"Where are you going?" she asked. + +"I think I can be of more help out there than in here," he replied +pointing toward the forest. + +"It would be better for you to stay," she said. + +"I shall be in no danger." + +"It is not that; do you know what some of them here are saying of +you--that you are estranged from us, that there is some purpose in this, +that no attack is coming! Your going now will confirm them in the +belief." + +His dark eyes flashed with a fierceness that startled her, and his whole +frame seemed to draw up as if he were about to spring. But the emotion +passed in a moment, and his face was a brown mask, saying nothing. He +seemed indifferent to the public opinion of his little world. + +"I am needed out there," he said, pointing again toward the dark line of +the forest, "and I shall go. Whether I tell the truth or not will soon +be known; they will have to wait only a little. But you believe me now, +don't you?" + +She looked deep into his calm eyes, and she read there only truth. But +she knew even before she looked that Henry Ware was not one who would +ever be guilty of falsehood or treachery. + +"Oh yes I know it," she replied, "but I wish others to know it as well." + +"They will," he said, and then taking her hand in his for one brief +moment he was gone. His disappearance was so sudden and soundless that +he seemed to her to melt away from her sight like a mist before the +wind. She did not even know how he had passed through the palisade, but +he was certainly outside and away. There was something weird about it +and she felt a little fear, as if an event almost supernatural had +occurred. + +The sudden departure of Henry Ware to the forest started the slanderous +tongues to wagging again, and they said it was a trap of some kind, +though no one could tell how. A sly report was started that he had +become that worst of all creatures in his time, a renegade, a white man +who allied himself with the red to make war upon his own people. It came +to the ears of Paul Cotter, and the heart of the loyal youth grew hot +within him. Paul was not fond of war and strife, but he had an abounding +courage, and he and Henry Ware had been through danger together. + +"He is changed, I will admit," he said, "but if he says we are going to +be attacked, we shall be. I wish that all of us were as true as he." + +He touched his gun lock in a threatening manner, and Braxton Wyatt and +the others who stood by said no more in his presence. Yet the course of +the day was against Henry's assertion. The afternoon waned, the sun, a +ball of copper, swung down into the west, long shadows fell and nothing +happened. + +The people moved and talked impatiently inside their wooden walls. They +spoke of going about their regular pursuits, there was work that could +be done on the outside in the twilight, and enough time had been lost +already through a false alarm. But some of the older men, with cautious +blood, advised them to wait and their counsel was taken. Night came, +thick and black, and to the more timid full of omens and presages. + +The forest sank away in the darkness, nothing was visible fifty yards +from the palisade and in the log houses few lights burned. The little +colony, but a pin point of light, was alone in the vast and circling +wilderness. One of the greatest tests of courage to which the human race +has ever been subjected was at hand. In all directions the forest curved +away, hundreds of miles. It would be a journey of days to find any other +of their own kind, they were hemmed in everywhere by silence and +loneliness, whatever happened they must depend upon themselves, because +there was none to bring help. They might perish, one and all, and the +rest of the world not hear of it until long afterwards. + +A moaning wind came up and sighed over the log houses, the younger +children--and few were too young not to guess what was expected--fell +asleep at last, but the older, those who had reached their thinking +years could not find such solace. In this black darkness their fears +became real; there was no false alarm, the forest around them hid their +enemy, but only for the time. + +There was little noise in the station. By the low fires in the houses +the women steadily molded bullets, and seldom spoke to each other, as +they poured the melted lead into the molds. By the walls the men too, +rifle in hand, were silent, as they sought with intent eyes to mark what +was passing in the forest. + +Lucy Upton was molding bullets in her father's house and they were +melting the lead at a bed of coals in the wide fireplace. None was +steadier of hand or more expert than she. Her face was flushed as she +bent over the fire and her sleeves were rolled back, showing her strong +white arms. Her lips were compressed, but as the bullets shining like +silver dropped from the mold they would part now and then in a slight +smile. She too had in her the spirit of warlike ancestors and it was +aroused now. Girl, though she was, she felt in her own veins a little of +the thrill of coming conflict. + +But her thoughts were not wholly of attack and defense; they followed as +well him who had come back so suddenly and who was now gone again into +the wilderness from which he had emerged. His appearance and manner had +impressed her deeply. She wished to hear more from him of the strange +wild life that he had led; she too felt, although in a more modified +form, the spell of the primeval. + +Her task finished she went to the door, and then drawn by curiosity she +continued until her walk brought her near the palisade where she watched +the men on guard, their dusky figures touched by the wan light that came +from the slender crescent of a moon, and seeming altogether weird and +unreal. Paul Cotter in one of his errands found her there. + +"You had better go back," he said. "We may be attacked at any time, and +a bullet or arrow could reach you here." + +"So you believe with me that an attack will be made as he said!" + +"Of course I do," replied Paul with emphasis. "Don't I know Henry Ware? +Weren't he and I lost together? Wasn't he the truest of comrades?" + +Several men, talking in low tones, approached them. Braxton Wyatt was +with them and Lucy saw at once that it was a group of malcontents. + +"It is nothing," said Seth Lowndes, a loud, arrogant man, the boaster of +the colony. "There are no Indians in these parts and I'm going out there +to prove it." + +He stood in the center of a ray of moonlight, as he spoke, and it +lighted up his red sneering face. Lucy and Paul could see him plainly +and each felt a little shiver of aversion. But neither said anything +and, in truth, standing in the dark by themselves they were not noticed +by the others. + +"I'm going outside," repeated Lowndes in a yet more noisy tone, "and if +I run across anything more than a deer I'll be mighty badly fooled!" + +One or two uttered words of protest, but it seemed to Lucy that Braxton +Wyatt incited him to go on, joining him in words of contempt for the +alleged danger. + +Lowndes reached the palisade and climbed upon it by means of the cross +pieces binding it together, and then he stood upon the topmost bar, +where his head and all his body, above the knees, rose clear of the +bulwark. He was outlined there sharply, a stout, puffy man, his face +redder than ever from the effect of climbing, and his eyes gleaming +triumphantly as, from his high perch, he looked toward the forest. + +"I tell you there is not--" But the words were cut short, the gleam died +from his eyes, the red fled from his face, and he whitened suddenly with +terror. From the forest came a sharp report, echoing in the still night, +and the puffy man, throwing up his arms, fell from the palisade back +into the inclosure, dead before he touched the ground. + +A fierce yell, the long ominous note of the war whoop burst from the +forest, and its sound, so full of menace and fury, was more terrible +than that of the rifle. Then came other shots, a rapid pattering volley, +and bullets struck with a low sighing sound against the upper walls of +the blockhouse. The long quavering cry, the Indian yell rose and died +again and in the black forest, still for aught else, it was weird and +unearthly. + +Lucy stood like stone when the lifeless body of the boaster fell almost +at her feet, and all the color was gone from her face. The terrible cry +of the savages without was ringing in her ears, and it seemed to her, +for a few moments, that she could not move. But Paul grasped her by the +arm and drew her back. + +"Go into your house!" he cried. "A bullet might reach you here!" + +Obedient to his duty he hastened to the palisade to bear a valiant hand +in the defense, and she, retreating a little, remained in the shadow of +the houses that she might see how events would go. After the first shock +of horror and surprise she was not greatly afraid, and she was conscious +too of a certain feeling of relief. Henry Ware had told the truth, he +knew of what he spoke when he brought his warning, and he had greatly +served his own. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE SIEGE + + +It was not Lucy Upton alone who felt relief when the attack upon the +stockade came, hideous and terrifying though it might be; the suspense +so destructive of nerves and so hard to endure was at an end, and the +men rushed gladly to meet the attack, while the women with almost equal +joy reloaded empty rifles with the precious powder made from the cave +dust and passed them to the brave defenders. The children, too small to +take a part, cowered in the houses and listened to the sounds of battle, +the lashing of the rifle fire, the fierce cry of the savages in the +forest, and the answering defiance of the white men. Amid such scenes a +great state was founded and who can wonder that its defenders learned to +prize bravery first of all things? + +The attack was in accordance with the savage nature, a dash, irregular +volleys, shots from ambush, an endeavor to pick off the settlers, +whenever a head was shown, but no direct attempt to storm the palisade, +for which the Indian is unfitted. A bullet would not reach from the +forest, but from little hillocks and slight ridges in the open where a +brown breast was pressed close to the earth came the flash of rifles, +some hidden by the dusk, but the flame showing in little points of fire +that quickly went out. The light of the moon failed somewhat, and the +savages in ambush were able to come nearer, but now and then a +sharpshooter behind the wall, firing at the flash of the concealed +rifle, would hear an answering death cry. + +Lucy Upton behind the barricade with other girls and women was reloading +rifles and passing them to her father and Paul Cotter who stood in a +little wooden embrasure like a sally port. For a time the fire of battle +burned as fiercely in her veins as in those of any man, but after a +while she began to wonder what had become of Henry Ware, and presently +from some who passed she heard comments upon him again; they found fault +with his absence; he should have been there to take a part in the +defense, and while she admitted that their criticisms bore the color of +truth, she yet believed him to be away for some good purpose. + +For two hours the wild battle in the dark went on, to the chorus of +shouts from white man and red, the savages often coming close to the +walls, and seeking to find a shelter under them in the dark, but always +driven back. Then it ceased so suddenly that the intense silence was +more pregnant with terror than all the noise that had gone before. Paul +Cotter, looking over the palisade, could see nothing. The forest rose up +like a solid dark wall, and in the opening not a blade of grass stirred; +the battle, the savage army, all seemed to have gone like smoke melting +into the air, and Paul was appalled, feeling that a magic hand had +abruptly swept everything out of existence. + +"What do you see?" asked Lucy, upon whose ears the silence too was heavy +and painful. + +"Nothing but darkness, and what it hides I cannot guess." + +A report ran through the village that the savage army, beaten, had gone, +and the women, and the men with little experience, gave it currency, but +the veterans rebuked such premature rejoicing; it was their part, they +said, to watch with more vigilance than ever, and in nowise to relax +their readiness. + +Then the long hours began and those who could, slept. Braxton Wyatt and +his friends again impeached the credit of Henry Ware, insinuating with +sly smiles that he must be a renegade, as he had taken no part in the +defense and must now be with his savage friends. To the slur Paul Cotter +fiercely replied that he had warned them of the attack; without him the +station would have been taken by surprise, and that surely proved him to +be no traitor. + +The hours between midnight and day not only grew in length, but seemed +to increase in number as well, doubling and tripling, as if they would +never end for the watchers in the station. The men behind the wooden +walls and some of the women, too, intently searched the forest, seeking +to discover movements there, but nothing appeared upon its solid black +screen. Nor did any sound come from it, save the occasional gentle moan +of the wind; there was no crackling of branches, no noise of footsteps, +no rattle of arms, but always the heavy silence which seemed so deadly, +and which, by its monotony, was so painful to their ears. + +Lucy Upton went into her father's house, ate a little and then spreading +over herself a buffalo robe tried to sleep. Slumber was long in coming, +for the disturbed nerves refused to settle into peace, and the excited +brain brought back to her eyes distorted and overcolored visions of the +night's events. But youth and weariness had their way and she slept at +last, to find when she awakened that the dawn was coming in at the +window, and the east was ablaze with the splendid red and yellow light +of the sun. + +"Are they still there?" was her first question when she went forth from +her father's house, and the reply was uncertain; they might or might not +be there; the leaders had not allowed anyone to go out to see, but the +number who believed that the savages were gone was growing; and also +grew the number who believed that Henry Ware was gone with them. + +Even in the brilliant daylight that sharpened and defined everything as +with the etcher's point, they could see nothing save what had been +before the savages came. Their eyes reached now into the forest, but as +far as they ranged it was empty, there was no encampment, not a single +warrior passed through the undergrowth. It seemed that the grumblers +were right when they said the besieging army was gone. + +Lucy Upton was walking toward the palisade where she saw Paul Cotter, +when she heard a distant report and Paul's fur cap, pierced by a bullet, +flew from his head to the earth. Paul himself stood in amaze, as if he +did not know what had happened, and he did not move until Lucy shouted +to him to drop to the ground. Then he crawled quickly away from the +exposed spot, although two or three more bullets struck about him. + +The station thrilled once more with excitement, but the new danger was +of a kind that they did not know how to meet. It was evident that the +firing came from a high point, one commanding a view inside the walls, +and from marksmen located in such a manner the palisade offered no +shelter. Bullets were pattering among the houses, and in the open spaces +inclosed by the walls, two men were wounded already, and the threat had +become formidable. + +Ross and Shif'less Sol, the best of the woodsmen, soon decided that the +shots came from a large tree at the edge of the forest northeast from +the stockade, and they were sure that at least a half-dozen warriors +were lying sheltered among its giant boughs, while they sent searching +bullets into the inclosure. There had been some discussion about the +tree at the time the settlement was built, but expert opinion held that +the Indian weapons could not reach from so great a distance, and as the +task of cutting so huge a trunk when time was needed, seemed too much +they had left it, and now they saw their grievous and perhaps mortal +error. + +The side of the palisade facing the tree was untenable so long as the +warriors held their position, and it was even dangerous to pass from one +house to another. The terrors of the night, weighty because unknown, +were gone, but the day had brought with it a more certain menace that +all could see. + +The leaders held a conference on the sheltered side of one of the +houses, and their faces and their talk were full of gloom. The +schoolmaster, Ross and Sol were there, and so were John Ware and Lucy's +father. The schoolmaster, by nature and training a man of peace, was +perhaps the most courageous of them all. + +"It is evident that those savages have procured in some manner a number +of our long-range Kentucky rifles," he said, "but they are no better +than ours. Nor is it any farther from us to that tree than it is from +that tree to us. Why can't our best marksmen pick them off?" + +He looked with inquiry at Ross and Sol, who shook their heads and abated +not a whit of their gloomy looks. + +"They are too well sheltered there," replied Ross, "while we would not +be if we should try to answer them. Our side would get killed while they +wouldn't be hurt and we can't spare the men." + +"But we must find a way out! We must get rid of them somehow!" exclaimed +Mr. Ware. + +"That's true," said Upton, and as he spoke they heard a bullet thud +against the wall of the house. From the forest came a wild quavering +yell of triumph, full of the most merciless menace. Mr. Ware and Mr. +Upton shuddered. Each had a young daughter, and it was in the minds of +each to slay her in the last resort if there should be no other way. + +"If those fellows in the tree keep on driving us from the palisade," +said Ross, setting his face in the grim manner of one who forces himself +to tell the truth, "there's nothin' to prevent the main band from makin' +an attack, and while the other fellows rain bullets on us they'll be +inside the palisade." + +They stared at each other in silent despair, and Ross going to the +corner of the house, but keeping himself protected well, looked at the +fatal tree. No one was firing, then, and he could see nothing among its +branches. In the fresh green of its young foliage it looked like a huge +cone set upon a giant stem, and Ross shook his fist at it in futile +anger. Nor was a foe visible elsewhere. The entire savage army lay +hidden in the forest and nothing fluttered or moved but the leaves and +the grass. + +The others, led by the same interest, followed Ross, and keeping to the +safety of the walls, stole glances at the tree. As they looked they +heard the faint report of a shot and a cry of death, and saw a brown +body shoot down from the green cone of the tree to the ground, where it +lay still. + +"There is a marksman among us who can beat them at their own trick," +cried the schoolmaster in exultation. "Who did it? Who fired that shot, +Tom?" + +Ross did not answer. First a look of wonder came upon his face, and then +he began to study the forest, where all but nature was yet lifeless. The +faint sound of a second shot came and what followed was a duplicate of +the sequel to the first. Another brown body shot downward, and lay +lifeless beside its fellow on the grass. + +The master cried out once more in exultation, and wished to know why +others within the palisade did not imitate the skillful sharpshooter. +But Ross shook his head slowly and spoke these slow words: + +"A great piece of luck has happened to us, Mr. Pennypacker, an' how it's +happened I don't know, at least not yet. Them shots never come from any +of our men. We've got a friend outside an' he's pickin' off them +ambushed murderers one by one. The savages think we're doin' it, but +they'll soon find out the difference." + +There was a third shot and the tree ejected a third body. + +"What wonderful shootin'!" exclaimed Ross in a tone of amazement. "Them +shots come from a long distance, but all three of 'em plugged the mark +to the center. Them savages was dead before they touched the ground. I +never saw the like." + +The others waited expectantly, as if he could give them an explanation, +but if he had a thought in his mind he kept it to himself. + +"There, they've found it out," he said, when a terrific yell full of +anger came from the forest, "but they haven't got him, whoever he is. +They'd shout in a different way if they had." + +"Why do you say him?" asked Mr. Pennypacker. "Surely a single man has +not been doing such daring and deadly work!" + +"It's one man, because there are not two in all this wilderness who can +shoot like that. I'd hate to be in the place of the savages left in that +tree." + +The wonder of the new and unknown ally soon spread through Wareville, +and reached Lucy Upton as it reached others. A thought came to her and +she was about to speak of it, but she stopped, fearing ridicule, and +merely listened to the excited talk going on all about her. + +An hour later a fourth Indian was shot from the tree, and less than +fifteen minutes afterwards a fifth fell a victim to the terrible rifle. +Then two, the only survivors, dropped from the boughs and ran for the +forest. Ross, Sol and Paul Cotter were watching together and saw the +flight. + +"One of them brown rascals will never reach the woods," said Ross with +the intuition of the borderer. + +The foremost savage fell just at the edge of the forest, shot through +the heart, and the other, the sole survivor of the tree, escaped behind +the sheltering trunks. + +The cry of the angry savages swelled into a terrible chorus and bullets +beat upon the stockade, but the attack was quickly repulsed, and again +quiet and treacherous peace settled down upon this little spot, this pin +point in the mighty wilderness, whose struggle must be carried on +unaided, and, in truth, unknown to all the rest of the world. + +When the savages were driven back they melted again into the forest, and +the old silence and peace laid hold of everything, the brilliant +sunshine gilding every house, and dyeing into deeper colors the glowing +tints of the wilderness. The huge tree, so fatal to those who had sought +to use it, stood up, a great green cone, its branches waving softly +before the wind. + +In the little fortress the wonder and excitement yet prevailed, but +mingled with it was a devout gratitude for this help from an unknown +quarter which had been so timely and so effective. The spirits of the +garrison, from the boldest ranger down to the most timid woman, took a +sudden upward heave and they felt that they should surely repel every +attack by the savage army. + +The remainder of the day passed in silence and with the foe invisible, +but the guard at the palisade, now safe from ambushed marksmen, relaxed +its vigilance not at all. These men knew that they dealt with an enemy +whose uncertainty made him all the more terrible, and they would not +leave the issue to shifting chance. + +The day waned, the night came, heavy and dark again, and full, as it was +bound to be, of threats and omens for the beleaguered people. Lucy Upton +with Mary Ware slipped to the little wooden embrasure where Paul Cotter +was on watch. + +They found Paul in the sheltered nook, watching the forest and the open, +through the holes pierced for rifles, and he did not seek to hide his +pleasure at seeing them. Two other men were there, but they were +middle-aged and married, the fathers of increasing families, and they +were not offended when Paul received a major share of attention. + +He told them that all was quiet, his own eyes were keen, but they failed +to mark anything unusual, and he believed that the savages, profiting by +their costly experience, would make no new attempt yet a while. Then he +spoke of the mysterious help that had come to them, and the same thought +was in his mind and Lucy's, though neither spoke of it. They stood there +a while, talking in low tones and looking for excuses to linger, when +one of the older men moved a little and held up a warning hand. He had +just taken his eyes from a loophole, and he whispered that he thought he +had seen something pass in the shadow of the wall. + +All in the embrasure became silent at once, and Lucy, brave as she was, +could hear her heart beating. There was a slight noise on the outside of +the wall, so faint that only keen ears could hear it, and then as they +looked up they saw a hideous, painted face raised above the palisade. + +One of the older men threw his rifle to his shoulder, but, quick as a +flash, Paul struck his hand away from the trigger. He knew who had come, +when he looked into the eyes that looked down at him, though he felt +fear, too--he could not deny it--as he met their gaze, so fierce, so +wild, so full of the primitive man. + +"Don't you see?" he said, "it is Henry! Henry Ware!" + +Even then Lucy Upton, intimate friend though she had been, scarcely saw, +but laughing a low soft laugh of intense satisfaction, Henry dropped +lightly among them. Good excuse had these men for not knowing him as his +transformation was complete! He stood before them not a white man, but +an Indian warrior, a prince of savages. His hair was drawn up in the +defiant scalp lock, his face bore the war paint in all its variations +and violent contrast of colors, the dark-green hunting shirt and +leggings with their beaded decorations were gone, and in their place a +red Indian blanket was wrapped around him, drooping in its graceful +folds like a Roman toga. + +His figure, erect in the moonlight, nearly a head above the others, had +a certain savage majesty, and they gazed upon him in silence. He seemed +to know what they felt and his eyes gleamed with pride out of his darkly +painted face. He laughed again a low laugh, not like that of the white +man, but the almost inaudible chuckle of the Indian. + +"It had to be," he said, glancing down at his garb though not with +shame. "To do what I wished to do, it was necessary to pass as an +Indian, at least between times, and, as all the Shawnees do not know +each other, this helped." + +"It was you who shot the Indians in the tree; I knew it from the first," +said the voice of the guide, Ross, over their shoulders. He had come so +softly that they did not notice him before. + +Henry did not reply, but laughed again the dry chuckle that made Lucy +tremble she scarcely knew why, and ran his hand lovingly along the +slender barrel of his rifle. + +"At least you do not complain of it," he said presently. + +"No, we do not," replied Ross, "an' I guess we won't. You saved us, +that's sure. I've lived on the border all my life, but I never saw such +shootin' before." + +Then Henry gave some details of his work and Lucy Upton, watching him +closely, saw how he had been engrossed by it. Paul Cotter too noticed, +and feeling constraint, at least, demanded that Henry doff his savage +disguise, put on white men's clothes and get something to eat. + +He consented, though scarce seeing the necessity of it, but kept the +Indian blanket close to hand, saying that he would soon need it again. +But he was very gentle with his mother telling her that she need have no +fear for him, that he knew all the wiles of the savage and more; they +could never catch him and the outside was his place, as then he could be +of far more service than if he were merely one of the garrison. + +The news of Henry Ware's return was throughout the village in five +minutes, and with it came the knowledge of his great deed. In the face +of such a solid and valuable fact the vague charge that he was a +renegade died. Even Braxton Wyatt did not dare to lift his voice to that +effect again, but, with sly insinuation, he spoke of savages herding +with savages, and of what might happen some day. + +When night came Henry resuming his Indian garb and paint slipped out +again, and so skillful was he that he seemed to melt away like a mist in +the darkness. + +The savage army beleaguering the colony now found that it was assailed +by a mysterious enemy, one whom all their vigilance and skill could not +catch. They lost warrior after warrior and many of them began to think +Manitou hostile to them, but the leaders persisted with the siege. They +wished to destroy utterly this white vanguard, and they would not return +to their villages, far across the Ohio, until it was done. + +They no longer made a direct attack upon the walls, but, forming a +complete circle around, hung about at a convenient distance, waiting and +hoping for thirst and famine to help them. The people believed +themselves to have taken good precautions against these twin evils, but +now a terrible misfortune befell them. No rain fell and the well inside +the palisade ran dry. It was John Ware himself who first saw the coming +of the danger and he tried to hide it, but it could not, from its very +nature, be kept a secret long. The supply for each person was cut down +one half and then one fourth, and that too would soon go, unless the +welcome rains came; and the sky was without a cloud. Men who feared no +physical danger saw those whom they loved growing pale and weak before +their eyes, and they knew not what to do. It seemed that the place must +fall without a blow from the enemy. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A GIRL'S WAY + + +Lucy left her father's house one of these dry mornings, and stood for a +few moments in the grounds, inclosed by the palisade, gazing at the dark +forest, outlined so sharply against the blue of the sky. She could see +the green of the forest beyond the fort, and she knew that in the open +spaces, where the sun reached them, tiny wild flowers of pink and +purple, nestled low in the grass, were already in bloom. From the west a +wind sweet and soft was blowing, and, as she inhaled it, she wanted to +live, and she wanted all those about her to live. She wondered, if there +was not some way in which she could help. + +The stout, double log cabins, rude, but full of comfort, stood in rows, +with well-trodden streets, between, then a fringe of grass around all, +and beyond that rose the palisade of stout stakes, driven deep into the +ground, and against each other. All was of the West and so was Lucy, a +tall, lithe young girl, her face tanned a healthy and becoming brown by +the sun, her clothing of home-woven red cloth, adorned at the wrists and +around the bottom of the skirt with many tiny beads of red and yellow +and blue and green, which, when she moved, flashed in the brilliant +light, like the quivering colors of a prism. She had thrust in her hair +a tiny plume of the scarlet tanager, and it lay there, like a flash of +flame, against the dark brown of her soft curls. + +Where she stood she could see the water of the spring near the edge of +the forest sparkling in the sunlight, as if it wished to tantalize her, +but as she looked a thought came to her, and she acted upon it at once. +She went to the little square, where her father, John Ware, Ross and +others were in conference. + +"Father," she exclaimed, "I will show you how to get the water!" + +Mr. Upton and the other men looked at her in so much astonishment that +none of them replied, and Lucy used the opportunity. + +"I know the way," she continued eagerly. "Open the gate, let the women +take the buckets--I will lead--and we can go to the spring and fill them +with water. Maybe the Indians won't fire on us!" + +"Lucy, child!" exclaimed her father. "I cannot think of such a thing." + +Then up spoke Tom Ross, wise in the ways of the wilderness. + +"Mr. Upton," he said, "the girl is right. If the women are willing to go +out it must be done. It looks like an awful thing, but--if they die we +are here to avenge them and die with them, if they don't die we are all +saved because we can hold this fort, if we have water; without it every +soul here from the oldest man down to the littlest baby will be lost." + +Mr. Upton covered his face with his hands. + +"I do not like to think of it, Tom," he said. + +The other men waited in silence. + +Lucy looked appealingly at her father, but he turned his eyes away. + +"See what the women say about it, Tom," he said at last. + +The women thought well of it. There was not one border heroine, but +many; disregarding danger they prepared eagerly for the task, and soon +they were in line more than fifty, every one with a bucket or pail in +each hand. Henry Ware, looking on, said nothing. The intended act +appealed to the nature within him that was growing wilder every day. + +A sentinel, peeping over the palisade, reported that all was quiet in +the forest, though, as he knew, the warriors were none the less +watchful. + +"Open the gate," commanded Mr. Ware. + +The heavy bars were quickly taken down, and the gate was swung wide. +Then a slim, scarlet-clad figure took her place at the head of the line, +and they passed out. + +Lucy was borne on now by a great impulse, the desire to save the fort +and all these people whom she knew and loved. It was she who had +suggested the plan and she believed that it should be she who should +lead the way, when it came to the doing of it. + +She felt a tremor when she was outside the gate, but it came from +excitement and not from fear--the exaltation of spirit would not permit +her to be afraid. She glanced at the forest, but it was only a blur +before her. + +The slim, scarlet-clad figure led on. Lucy glanced over her shoulder, +and she saw the women following her in a double file, grave and +resolute. She did not look back again, but marched on straight toward +the spring. She began to feel now what she was doing, that she was +marching into the cannon's mouth, as truly as any soldier that ever led +a forlorn hope against a battery. She knew that hundreds of keen eyes +there in the forest before her were watching her every step, and that +behind her fathers and brothers and husbands were waiting, with an +anxiety that none of them had ever known before. + +She expected every moment to hear the sharp whiplike crack of the rifle, +but there was no sound. The fort and all about it seemed to be inclosed +in a deathly stillness. She looked again at the forest, trying to see +the ambushed figures, but again it was only a blur before her, seeming +now and then to float in a kind of mist. Her pulses were beating fast, +she could hear the thump, thump in her temples, but the slim scarlet +figure never wavered and behind, the double file of women followed, +grave and silent. + +"They will not fire until we reach the spring," thought Lucy, and now +she could hear the bubble of the cool, clear water, as it gushed from +the hillside. But still nothing stirred in the forest, no rifle cracked, +there was no sound of moving men. + +She reached the spring, bent down, filled both buckets at the pool, and +passing in a circle around it, turned her face toward the fort, and, +after her, came the silent procession, each filling her buckets at the +pool, passing around it and turning her face toward the fort as she had +done. + +Lucy now felt her greatest fear when she began the return journey and +her back was toward the forest. There was in her something of the +warrior; if the bullet was to find her she preferred to meet it, face to +face. But she would not let her hands tremble, nor would she bend +beneath the weight of the water. She held herself proudly erect and +glanced at the wooden wall before her. It was lined with faces, brown, +usually, but now with the pallor showing through the tan. She saw her +father's among them and she smiled at him, because she was upheld by a +great pride and exultation. It was she who had told them what to do, and +it was she who led the way. + +She reached the open gate again, but she did not hasten her footsteps. +She walked sedately in, and behind her she heard only the regular tread +of the long double file of women. The forest was as silent as ever. + +The last woman passed in, the gate was slammed shut, the heavy bars were +dropped into place, and Mr. Upton throwing his arms about Lucy +exclaimed: + +"Oh, my brave daughter!" + +She sank against him trembling, her nerves weak after the long tension, +but she felt a great pride nevertheless. She wished to show that a woman +too could be physically brave in the face of the most terrible of all +dangers, and she had triumphantly done so. + +The bringing of the water, or rather the courage that inspired the act, +heartened the garrison anew, and color came back to men's faces. The +schoolmaster discussed the incident with Tom Ross, and wondered why the +Indians who were not in the habit of sparing women had not fired. + +"Sometimes a man or a crowd of men won't do a thing that they would do +at any other time," said Ross, "maybe they thought they could get us all +in a bunch by waitin' an' maybe way down at the bottom of their savage +souls, was a spark of generosity that lighted up for just this once. +We'll never know." + +Henry Ware went out that night, and returning before dawn with the same +facility that marked all his movements in the wilderness, reported that +the savage army was troubled. All such forces are loose and irregular, +with little cohesive power, and they will not bear disappointment and +waiting. Moreover the warriors having lost many men, with nothing in +repayment were grumbling and saying that the face of Manitou was set +against them. They were confirmed too in this belief by the presence of +the mysterious foe who had slain the warriors in the tree, and who had +since given other unmistakable signs of his presence. + +"They will have more discouragement soon," he said, "because it is going +to rain to-day." + +He had read the signs aright, as the sun came up amid the mists and +vapors, and the gentle wind was damp to the face; then dark clouds +spread across the western heavens, like a vast carpet unrolled by a +giant hand, and the wilderness began to moan. Low thunder muttered on +the horizon, and the somber sky was cut by vivid strokes of lightning. + +Nature took on an ominous and threatening hue but within the village +there was only joy; the coming storm would remove their greatest danger, +the well would fill up again, and behind the wooden walls they could +defy the savage foe. + +The sky was cut across by a flash of lightning so bright that it dazzled +them, the thunder burst with a terrible crash directly overhead, and +then the rain came in a perfect wall of water. It poured for hours out +of a sky that was made of unbroken clouds, deluging the earth, swelling +the river to a roaring flood, and rising higher in the well than ever +before. The forest about them was almost hidden by the torrents of rain +and they did not forget to be thankful. + +Toward afternoon the fall abated somewhat in violence, but became a +steady downpour out of sodden skies, and the air turned raw and chill. +Those who were not sheltered shivered, as if it were winter. The night +came on as dark as a well, and Henry Ware went out again. When he came +back he said tersely to his father: + +"They are gone." + +"Gone?" exclaimed Mr. Ware scarcely able to believe in the reality of +such good news. + +"Yes; the storm broke their backs. Even Indians can't stand an all-day +wetting especially when they are already tired. They think they can +never have any luck here, and they are going toward the Ohio at this +minute. The storm has saved us now just as it saved our band in the +flight from the salt works." + +They had such faith in his forest skill that no one doubted his word and +the village burst into joy. Women, for they were the worst sufferers +gave thanks, both silently and aloud. Henry took Ross, Sol and others to +the valley in the forest, where the savages had kept their war camp. +Here they had soaked in the mire during the storm, and all about were +signs of their hasty flight, the ground being littered with bones of +deer, elk and buffalo. + +"They won't come again soon," said Henry, "because they believe that the +Manitou will not give them any luck here, but it is well to be always on +the watch." + +After the first outburst of gratitude the people talked little of the +attack and repulse; they felt too deeply, they realized too much the +greatness of the danger they had escaped to put it into idle words. But +nearly all attributed their final rescue to Henry Ware though some saw +the hand of God in the storm which had intervened a second time for the +protection of the whites. Braxton Wyatt and his friends dared say +nothing now, at least openly against Henry, although those who loved him +most were bound to confess that there was something alien about him, +something in which he differed from the rest of them. + +But Henry thought little of the opinion, good or bad in which he was +held, because his heart was turning again to the wilderness, and he and +Ross went forth again to scout on the rear of the Indian force. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE BATTLE IN THE FOREST + + +Henry and Ross after their second scouting expedition reported that the +great war band of the Shawnees was retreating slowly, in fact would +linger by the way, and might destroy one or two smaller stations +recently founded farther north. Instantly a new impulse flamed up among +the pioneers of Wareville. The feeling of union was strong among all +these early settlements, and they believed it their duty to protect +their weaker brethren. They would send hastily to Marlowe the nearest +and largest settlement for help, follow on the trail of the warriors and +destroy them. Such a blow, as they might inflict, would spread terror +among all the northwestern tribes and save Kentucky from many another +raid. + +Ross who was present in the council when the eager cry was raised shook +his head and looked more than doubtful. + +"They outnumber us four or five to one," he said, "an' when we go out in +the woods against 'em we give up our advantage, our wooden walls. They +can ambush us out there, an' surround us." + +Mr. Ware added his cautious words to those of Ross, in whom he had great +confidence. He believed it better to let the savage army go. Discouraged +by its defeat before the palisades of Wareville it would withdraw beyond +the Ohio, and, under any circumstances, a pursuit with greatly inferior +numbers, would be most dangerous. + +These were grave words, but they fell on ears that did not wish to +listen. They were an impulsive people and a generous chord in their +natures was touched, the desire to defend those weaker than themselves. +A good-hearted but hot-headed man named Clinton made a fiery speech. He +said that now was the time to strike a crushing blow at the Indian +power, and he thought all brave men would take advantage of it. + +That expression "brave men" settled the question; no one could afford to +be considered aught else, and a little army poured forth from Wareville, +Mr. Ware nominally in command, and Henry, Paul, Ross, Sol, and all the +others there. Henry saw his mother and sister weeping at the palisade, +and Lucy Upton standing beside them. His mother's face was the last that +he saw when he plunged into the forest. Then he was again the hunter, +the trailer and the slayer of men. + +While they considered whether or not to pursue, Henry Ware had said +nothing; but all the primitive impulses of man handed down from lost +ages of ceaseless battle were alive within him; he wished them to go, he +would show the way, the savage army would make a trail through the +forest as plain to him as a turnpike to the modern dweller in a +civilized land, and his heart throbbed with fierce exultation, when the +decision to follow was at last given. In the forest now he was again at +home, more so than he had been inside the palisade. Around him were all +the familiar sights and sounds, the little noises of the wilderness that +only the trained ear hears, the fall of a leaf, or the wind in the +grass, and the odor of a wild flower or a bruised bough. + +Brain and mind alike expanded. Instinctively he took the lead, not from +ambition, but because it was natural; he read all the signs and he led +on with a certainty to which neither Ross nor Shif'less Sol pretended to +aspire. The two guides and hunters were near each other, and a look +passed between them. + +"I knew it," said Ross; "I knew from the first that he had in him the +making of a great woodsman. You an' I, Sol, by the side of him, are just +beginners." + +Shif'less Sol nodded in assent. + +"It's so," he said. "It suits me to follow where he leads, an' since we +are goin' after them warriors, which I can't think a wise thing, I'm +mighty glad he's with us." + +Yet to one experienced in the ways of the wilderness the little army +though it numbered less than a hundred men would have seemed formidable +enough. Many youths were there, mere boys they would have been back in +some safer land, but hardened here by exposure into the strength and +courage of men. Nearly all were dressed in finely tanned deerskin, +hunting shirt, leggings and moccasins, fringes on hunting shirt and +leggings, and beads on moccasins. The sun glinted on the long slender, +blue steel barrel of the Western rifle, carried in the hand of every +man. At the belt swung knife and hatchet, and the eyes of all, now that +the pursuit had begun, were intense, eager and fierce. + +The sounds made by the little Western army, hid under the leafy boughs +of the forest, gradually died away to almost nothing. No one spoke, save +at rare intervals. The moccasins were soundless on the soft turf, and +there was no rattle of arms, although arms were always ready. In front +was Henry Ware, scanning the trail, telling with an infallible eye how +old it was, where the enemy had lingered, and where he had hastened. + +Mr. Pennypacker was there beside Paul Cotter. A man of peace he was, but +when war came he never failed to take his part in it. + +"Do you know him?" he asked of Paul, nodding toward Henry. + +Paul understood. + +"No," he replied, "I do not. He used to be my old partner, Henry Ware, +but he's another now." + +"Yes, he's changed," said the master, "but I am not surprised. I foresaw +it long ago, if the circumstances came right." + +On the second morning they were joined by the men from Marlowe who had +been traveling up one side of a triangle, while the men of Wareville had +been traveling up the other side, until they met at the point. Their +members were now raised to a hundred and fifty, and, uttering one shout +of joy, the united forces plunged forward on the trail with renewed +zeal. + +They were in dense forest, in a region scarcely known even to the +hunters, full of little valleys and narrow deep streams. The Indian +force had suddenly taken a sharp turn to the westward, and the knowledge +of it filled the minds of Ross and Sol with misgivings. + +"Maybe they know we're following 'em," said Ross; "an' for that reason +they're turnin' into this rough country, which is just full of ambushes. +If it wasn't for bein' called a coward by them hot-heads I'd say it was +time for us to wheel right about on our own tracks, an' go home." + +"You can't do nothin' with 'em," said Sol, "they wouldn't stand without +hitchin', an' we ain't got any way to hitch 'em. There's goin' to be a +scrimmage that people'll talk about for twenty years, an' the best you +an' me can do, Tom, is to be sure to keep steady an' to aim true." + +Ross nodded sadly and said no more. He looked down at the trail, which +was growing fresher and fresher. + +"They're slowin' up, Sol," he said at last, "I think they're waitin' for +us. You spread out to the right and I'll go to the left to watch ag'in +ambush. That boy, Henry Ware'll see everything in front." + +In view of the freshening trail Mr. Ware ordered the little army to stop +for a few moments and consider, and all, except the scouts on the flanks +and in front, gathered in council. Before them and all around them lay +the hills, steep and rocky but clothed from base to crest with dense +forest and undergrowth. Farther on were other and higher hills, and in +the distance the forests looked blue. Nothing about them stirred. They +had sighted no game as they passed; the deer had already fled before the +Indian army. The skies, bright and blue in the morning, were now +overcast, a dull, somber, threatening gray. + +"Men," said Mr. Ware, and there was a deep gravity in his tone, as +became a general on the eve of conflict, "I think we shall be on the +enemy soon or he will be on us. There were many among us who did not +approve of this pursuit, but here we are. It is not necessary to say +that we should bear ourselves bravely. If we fail and fall, our women +and children are back there, and nothing will stand between them and +savages who know no mercy. That is all you have to remember." + +And then a little silence fell upon everyone. Suddenly the hot-heads +realized what they had done. They had gone away from their wooden walls, +deep into the unknown wilderness, to meet an enemy four or five times +their numbers, and skilled in all the wiles and tricks of the forest. +Every face was grave, but the knowledge of danger only strengthened them +for the conflict. Hot blood became cool and cautious, and wary eyes +searched the thickets everywhere. Rash and impetuous they may have been; +but they were ready now to redeem themselves, with the valor, without +which the border could not have been won. + +Henry Ware had suddenly gone forward from the others, and the green +forest swallowed him up, but every nerve and muscle of him was now ready +and alert. He felt, rather than saw, that the enemy was at hand; and in +his green buckskin he blended so completely with the forest that only +the keenest sight could have picked him from the mass of foliage. His +general's eye told him, too, that the place before them was made for a +conflict which would favor the superior numbers. They had been coming up +a gorge, and if beaten they would be crowded back in it upon each other, +hindering the escape of one another, until they were cut to pieces. + +The wild youth smiled; he knew the bravery of the men with him, and now +their dire necessity and the thought of those left behind in the two +villages would nerve them to fight. In his daring mind the battle was +not yet lost. + +A faint, indefinable odor met his nostrils, and he knew it to be the oil +and paint of Indian braves. A deep red flushed through the brown of +either cheek. Returning now to his own kind he was its more ardent +partisan because of the revulsion, and the Indian scent offended him. He +looked down and saw a bit of feather, dropped no doubt from some defiant +scalp lock. He picked it up, held it to his nose a moment, and then, +when the offensive odor assailed him again, he cast it away. + +Another dozen steps forward, and he sank down in a clump of grass, +blending perfectly with the green, and absolutely motionless. Thirty +yards away two Shawnee warriors in all the savage glory of their war +paint, naked save for breechcloths, were passing, examining the woods +with careful eye. Yet they did not see Henry Ware, and, when they turned +and went back, he followed noiselessly after them, his figure still +hidden in the green wood. + +The two Shawnees, walking lightly, went on up the valley which broadened +out as they advanced, but which was still thickly clothed in forest and +undergrowth. Skilled as they were in the forest, they probably never +dreamed of the enemy who hung on their trail with a skill surpassing +their own. + +Henry followed them for a full two miles, and then he saw them join a +group of Indians under the trees, whom he knew by their dress and +bearing to be chiefs. They were tall, middle-aged, and they wore +blankets of green or dark blue, probably bought at the British outposts. +Behind them, almost hidden in the forest, Henry saw many other dark +faces, eager, intense, waiting to be let loose on the foe, whom they +regarded as already in the trap. + +Henry waited, while the two scouts whom he had followed so well, +delivered to the chief their message. He saw them beckon to the warriors +behind them, speak a few words to them, and then he saw two savage +forces slip off in the forest, one to the right and one to the left. On +the instant he divined their purpose. They were to flank the little +white army, while another division stood ready to attack in front. Then +the ambush would be complete, and Henry saw the skill of the savage +general whoever he might be. + +The plan must be frustrated at once, and Henry Ware never hesitated. He +must bring on the battle, before his own people were surrounded, and +raising his rifle he fired with deadly aim at one of the chiefs who fell +on the grass. Then the youth raised the wild and thrilling cry, which he +had learned from the savages themselves, and sped back toward the white +force. + +The death cry of the Shawnee and the hostile war whoop rang together +filling the forest and telling that the end of stealth and cunning, and +the beginning of open battle were at hand. + +Henry Ware was hidden in an instant by the green foliage from the sight +of the Shawnees. Keen as were their eyes, trained as they were to +noticing everything that moved in the forest, he had vanished from them +like a ghost. But they knew that the enemy whom they had sought to draw +into their snare had slipped his head out of it before the snare could +be sprung. Their long piercing yell rose again and then died away in a +frightful quaver. As the last terrible note sank the whole savage army +rushed forward to destroy its foe. + +As Henry Ware ran swiftly back to his friends he met both Ross and Sol, +drawn by the shot and the shouts. + +"It was you who fired?" asked Ross. + +"Yes," replied Henry, "they meant to lay an ambush, but they will not +have time for it now." + +The three stood for a few moments under the boughs of a tree, three +types of the daring men who guided and protected the van of the white +movement into the wilderness. They were eager, intent, listening, bent +slightly forward, their rifles lying in the hollow of their arms, ready +for instant use. + +After the second long cry the savage army gave voice no more. In all the +dense thickets a deadly silence reigned, save for the trained ear. But +to the acute hearing of the three under the tree came sounds that they +knew; sounds as light as the patter of falling nuts, no more, perhaps, +than the rustle of dead leaves driven against each other by a wind; but +they knew. + +"They are coming, and coming fast," said Henry. "We must join the main +force now." + +"They ought to be ready. That warning of yours was enough," said Ross. + +Without another word they turned again, darted among the trees, and in a +few moments reached the little white force. Mr. Ware, the nominal +leader, taking alarm from the shot and cries, was already disposing his +men in a long, scattering line behind hillocks, tree trunks, brushwood +and every protection that the ground offered. + +"Good!" exclaimed Ross, when he saw, "but we must make our line longer +and thinner, we must never let them get around us, an' it's lucky now +we've got steep hills on either side." + +To be flanked in Indian battle by superior numbers was the most terrible +thing that could happen to the pioneers, and Mr. Ware stretched out his +line longer and longer, and thinner and thinner. Paul Cotter was full of +excitement; he had been in deadly conflict once before, but his was a +most sensitive temperament, terribly stirred by a foe whom he could yet +neither see nor hear. Almost unconsciously, he placed himself by the +side of Henry Ware, his old partner, to whom he now looked up as a son +of battle and the very personification of forest skill. + +"Are they really there, Henry?" he asked. "I see nothing and hear +nothing." + +"Yes," replied Henry, "they are in front of us scarcely a rifle shot +away, five to our one." + +Paul strained his eyes, but still he could see nothing, only the green +waving forest, the patches of undergrowth, the rocks on the steep hills +to right and left, and the placid blue sky overhead. It did not seem +possible to him that they were about to enter into a struggle for life +and for those dearer than life. + +"Don't shoot wild, Paul," said Henry. "Don't pull the trigger, until you +can look down the sights at a vital spot." + +A few feet away from them, peering over a log and with his rifle ever +thrust forward was Mr. Pennypacker, a schoolmaster, a graduate of a +college, an educated and refined man, but bearing his part in the dark +and terrible wilderness conflict that often left no wounded. + +The stillness was now so deep that even the scouts could hear no sound +in front. The savage army seemed to have melted away, into the air +itself, and for full five minutes they lay, waiting, waiting, always +waiting for something that they knew would come. Then rose the fierce +quavering war cry poured from hundreds of throats, and the savage horde, +springing out of the forests and thickets, rushed upon them. + +Dark faces showed in the sunlight, brown figures, naked save for the +breechcloth, horribly painted, muscles tense, flashed through the +undergrowth. The wild yell that rose and fell without ceasing ran off in +distant echoes among the hills. The riflemen of Kentucky, lying behind +trees and hillocks, began to fire, not in volleys, not by order, but +each man according to his judgment and his aim, and many a bullet flew +true. + +A sharp crackling sound, ominous and deadly, ran back and forth in the +forest. Little spurts of fire burned for a moment against the green, and +then went out, to give place to others. Jets of white smoke rose +languidly and floated up among the trees, gathering by and by into a +cloud, shot through with blue and yellow tints from sky and sun. + +Henry Ware fired with deadly aim and reloaded with astonishing speed. +Paul Cotter, by his side, was as steady as a rock, now that the suspense +was over, and the battle upon them. The schoolmaster resting on one +elbow was firing across his log. + +But it is not Indian tactics to charge home, unless the enemy is +frightened into flight by the war whoop and the first rush. The men of +Wareville and Marlowe did not run, but stood fast, sending the bullets +straight to the mark; and suddenly the Shawnees dropped down among the +trees and undergrowth, their bodies hidden, and began to creep forward, +firing like sharpshooters. It was now a test of skill, of eyesight, of +hearing and of aim. + +The forest on either side was filled with creeping forms, white or red, +men with burning eyes seeking to slay each other, meeting in strife more +terrible than that of foes who encounter each other in open conflict. +There was something snakelike in their deadly creeping, only the moving +grass to tell where they passed and sometimes where both white and red +died, locked fast in the grip of one another. Everywhere it was a +combat, confused, dreadful, man to man, and with no shouting now, only +the crack of the rifle shot, the whiz of the tomahawk, the thud of the +knife, and choked cries. + +Like breeds like, and the white men came down to the level of the red. +Knowing that they would receive no quarter they gave none. The white +face expressed all the cunning, and all the deadly animosity of the red. +Led by Henry Ware, Ross and Sol they practiced every device of forest +warfare known to the Shawnees, and their line, which extended across the +valley from hill to hill, spurted death from tree, bush, and rock. + +To Paul Cotter it was all a nightmare, a foul dream, unreal. He obeyed +his comrade's injunctions, he lay close to the earth, and he did not +fire until he could draw a bead on a bare breast, but the work became +mechanical with him. He was a high-strung lad of delicate sensibilities. +There was in his temperament something of the poet and the artist, and +nothing of the soldier who fights for the sake of mere fighting. The +wilderness appealed to him, because of its glory, but the savage +appealed to him not at all. In Henry's bosom there was respect for his +red foes from whom he had learned so many useful lessons, and his heart +beat faster with the thrill of strenuous conflict, but Paul was anxious +for the end of it all. The sight of dead faces near him, not the lack of +courage, more than once made him faint and dizzy. + +Twice and thrice the Shawnees tried to scale the steep hillsides, and +with their superior numbers swing around behind the enemy, but the lines +of the borderers were always extended to meet them, and the bullets from +the long-barreled rifles cut down everyone who tried to pass. It was +always Henry Ware who was first to see a new movement, his eyes read +every new motion in the grass, and foliage swaying in a new direction +would always tell him what it meant. More than one of his comrades +muttered to himself that he was worth a dozen men that day. + +So fierce were the combatants, so eager were they for each other's blood +that they did not notice that the sky, gray in the morning, then blue at +the opening of battle, had now grown leaden and somber again. The leaves +above them were motionless and then began to rustle dully in a raw wet +wind out of the north. The sun was quite gone behind the clouds and +drops of cold rain began to fall, falling on the upturned faces of the +dead, red and white alike with just impartiality, the wind rose, +whistled, and drove the cold drops before it like hail. But the combat +still swayed back and forth in the leaden forest, and neither side took +notice. + +Mr. Ware remained near the center of the white line, and retained +command, although he gave but few orders, every man fighting for himself +and giving his own orders. But from time to time Ross and Sol or Henry +brought him news of the conflict, perhaps how they had been driven back +a little at one point, and perhaps how they gained a little at another +point. He, too, a man of fifty and the head of a community, shared the +emotions of those around him, and was filled with a furious zeal for the +conflict. + +The clouds thickened and darkened, and the cold drops were driven upon +them by the wind, the rifle smoke, held down by the rain, made sodden +banks of vapor among the trees; but through all the clouds of vapor +burst flashes of fire, and the occasional triumphant shout or death cry +of the white man or the savage. + +Henry Ware looked up and he became conscious that not only clouds above +were bringing the darkness, but that the day was waning. In the west a +faint tint of red and yellow, barely discernible through the grayness, +marked the sinking sun, and in the east the blackness of night was still +advancing. Yet the conflict, as important to those engaged in it, as a +great battle between civilized foes, a hundred thousand on a side, and +far more fierce, yet hung on an even chance. The white men still stood +where they had stood when the forest battle began, and the red men who +had not been able to advance would not retreat. + +Henry's heart sank a little at the signs that night was coming; it would +be harder in the darkness to keep their forces in touch, and the +superior numbers of the Shawnees would swarm all about them. It seemed +to him that it would be best to withdraw a little to more open ground; +but he waited a while, because he did not wish any of their movements to +have the color of retreat. Moreover, the activity of the Shawnees rose +just then to a higher pitch. + +Figures were now invisible in the chill, wet dusk, fifty or sixty yards +away, and the two lines came closer. The keenest eye could see nothing +save flitting forms like phantoms, but the riflemen, trained to +quickness, fired at them and more than once sent a fatal bullet. There +were two lines of fire facing each other in the dark wood. The flashes +showed red or yellow in the twilight or the falling rain, and the Indian +yell of triumph whenever it arose, echoed, weird and terrible, through +the dripping forest. + +Henry stole to the side of his father. + +"We must fall back," he said, "or in the darkness or the night, they +will be sure to surround us and crush us." + +Ross was an able second to this advice, and reluctantly Mr. Ware passed +along the word to retreat. "Be sure to bring off all the wounded," was +the order. "The dead, alas! must be abandoned to nameless indignities!" + +The little white army left thirty dead in the dripping forest, and, as +many more carried wounds, the most of which were curable, but it was as +full of fight as ever. It merely drew back to protect itself against +being flanked in the forest, and the faces of the borderers, sullen and +determined, were still turned to the enemy. + +Yet the line of fire was visibly retreating, and, when the Shawnee +forces saw it, a triumphant yell was poured from hundreds of throats. +They rushed forward, only to be driven back again by the hail of +bullets, and Ross said to Mr. Ware: "I guess we burned their faces +then." + +"Look to the wounded! look to the wounded!" repeated Mr. Ware. "See that +no man too weak is left to help himself." + +They had gone half a mile when Henry glanced around for Paul. His eyes, +trained to the darkness, ran over the dim forms about him. Many were +limping and others already had arms in slings made from their hunting +shirts, but Henry nowhere saw the figure of his old comrade. A fever of +fear assailed him. One of two things had happened. Paul was either +killed or too badly wounded to walk, and somehow in the darkness they +had missed him. The schoolmaster's face blanched at the news. Paul had +been his favorite pupil. + +"My God!" he groaned, "to think of the poor lad in the hands of those +devils!" + +Henry Ware stood beside the master, when he uttered these words, +wrenched by despair from the very bottom of his chest. Pain shot through +his own heart, as if it had been touched by a knife. Paul, the +well-beloved comrade of his youth, captured and subjected to the +torture! His blood turned to ice in his veins. How could they ever have +missed the boy? Paul now seemed to Henry at least ten years younger than +himself. It was not merely the fault of a single man, it was the fault +of them all. He stared back into the thickening darkness, where the +flashes of flame burst now and then, and, in an instant, he had taken +his resolve. + +"I do not know where Paul is," he said, "but I shall find him." + +"Henry! Henry! what are you going to do?" cried his father in alarm. + +"I'm going back after him," replied his son. + +"But you can do nothing! It is sure death! Have we just found you to +lose you again?" + +Henry touched his father's hand. It was an act of tenderness, coming +from his stoical nature, and the next instant he was gone, amid the +smoke and the vapors and the darkness, toward the Indian army. + +Mr. Ware put his face in his hands and groaned, but the hand of Ross +fell upon his shoulder. + +"The boy will come back, Mr. Ware," said the guide, "an' will bring the +other with him, too. God has given him a woods cunnin' that none of us +can match." + +Mr. Ware let his hands fall, and became the man again. The retreating +force still fell back slowly, firing steadily by the flashes at the +pursuing foe. + +Henry Ware had not gone more than fifty yards before he was completely +hidden from his friends. Then he turned to a savage, at least in +appearance. He threw off the raccoon-skin cap and hunting shirt, drew up +his hair in the scalp lock, tying it there with a piece of fringe from +his discarded hunting shirt, and then turned off at an angle into the +woods. Presently he beheld the dark figures of the Shawnees, springing +from tree to tree or bent low in the undergrowth, but all following +eagerly. When he saw them he too bent over and fired toward his own +comrades, then he whirled again to the right, and sprang about as if he +were seeking another target. To all appearances, he was, in the darkness +and driving rain, a true Shawnee, and the manner and gesture of an +Indian were second nature to him. + +But he had little fear of being discovered at such a time. His sole +thought was to find his comrade. All the old days of boyish +companionship rushed upon him, with their memories. The tenderness in +his nature was the stronger, because of its long repression. He would +find him and if he were alive, he would save him; moreover he had what +he thought was a clew. He had remembered seeing Paul crouched behind a +log, firing at the enemy, and no one had seen him afterwards. He +believed that the boy was lying there yet, slain, or, if fate were +kinder, too badly wounded to move. The line of retreat had slanted +somewhat from the spot, and the savages might well have passed, in the +dark, without noticing the boy's fallen body. + +His own sense of direction was perfect, and he edged swiftly away toward +the fallen log, behind which Paul had lain. Many dark forms passed him, +but none sought to stop him; the counterfeit was too good; all thought +him one of themselves. + +Presently Henry passed no more of the flitting warriors. The battle was +moving on toward the south and was now behind him. He looked back and +saw the flashes growing fainter and heard the scattering rifle shots, +deadened somewhat by the distance. Around him was the beat of the rain +on the leaves and the sodden earth, and he looked up at a sky, wholly +hidden by black clouds. He would need all his forest lore, and all the +primitive instincts, handed down from far-off ancestors. But never were +they more keenly alive than on this night. + +The boy did not veer from the way, but merely by the sense of direction +took a straight path toward the fallen log that he remembered. The din +of battle still rolled slowly off toward the south, and, for the moment, +he forgot it. He came to the log, bent down and touched a cold face. It +was Paul. Instinctively his hand moved toward the boy's head and when it +touched the thick brown hair and nothing else, he uttered a little +shuddering sigh of relief. Dead or alive, the hideous Indian trophy had +not been taken. Then he found the boy's wrist and his pulse, which was +still beating faintly. The deft hands moved on, and touched the wound, +made by a bullet that had passed entirely through his shoulder. Paul had +fainted from loss of blood, and without the coming of help would surely +have been dead in another hour. + +The boy lay on his side, and, in some convulsion as he lost +consciousness, he had drawn his arm about his head. Henry turned him +over until the cold reviving rain fell full upon his face, and then, +raising himself again, he listened intently. The battle was still moving +on to the southward, but very slowly, and stray warriors might yet pass +and see them. The tie of friendship is strong, and as he had come to +save Paul and as he had found him too, he did not mean to be stopped +now. + +He stooped down and chafed the wounded youth's wrists and temples, while +the rain with its vivifying touch still drove upon his face. Paul +stirred and his pulse grew stronger. He opened his eyes catching one +vague glimpse of the anxious face above him, but he was so feeble that +the lids closed down again. But Henry was cheered. Paul was not only +alive, he was growing stronger, and, bending down, he lifted him in his +powerful arms. Then he strode away in the darkness, intending to pass in +a curve around the hostile army. Despite Paul's weight he was able also +to keep his rifle ready, because none knew better than he that all the +chances favored his meeting with one warrior or more before the curve +was made. But he was instinct with strength both mental and physical, he +was the true type of the borderer, the men who faced with sturdy heart +the vast dangers of the wilderness, the known and the unknown. At that +moment he was at his highest pitch of courage and skill, alone in the +darkness and storm, surrounded by the danger of death and worse, yet +ready to risk everything for the sake of the boy with whom he had +played. + +He heard nothing but the patter of the distant firing, and all around +him was the gloom, of a night, dark to intensity. The rain poured +steadily out of a sky that did not contain a single star. Paul stirred +occasionally on his shoulder, as he advanced, swiftly, picking his way +through the forest and the undergrowth. A half mile forward and his ears +caught a light footstep. In an instant he sank down with his burden, and +as he did so he caught sight of an Indian warrior, not twenty feet away. +The Shawnee saw him at the same time, and he, too, dropped down in the +undergrowth. + +Henry did not then feel the lust of blood. He would have been willing to +pass on, and leave the Shawnee to himself; but he knew that the Shawnee +would not leave him. He laid Paul upon his back, in order that the rain +might beat upon his face, and then crouched beside him, absolutely +motionless, but missing nothing that the keenest eye or ear might +detect. It was a contest of patience, and the white youth brought to +bear upon it both the red man's training and his own. + +A half hour passed, and within that small area there was no sound but +the beat of the rain on the leaves and the sticky earth. Perhaps the +warrior thought he had been deceived; it was merely an illusion of the +night that he thought he saw; or if he had seen anyone the man was now +gone, creeping away through the undergrowth. He stirred among his own +bushes, raised up a little to see, and gave his enemy a passing glimpse +of his face. But it was enough; a rifle bullet struck him between the +eyes and the wilderness fighter lay dead in the forest. + +Henry bestowed not a thought on the slain warrior, but, lifting up Paul +once more, continued on his wide curve, as if nothing had happened. No +one interrupted him again, and after a while he was parallel with the +line of fire. Then he passed around it and came to rocky ground, where +he laid Paul down and chafed his hands and face. The wounded boy opened +his eyes again, and, with returning strength, was now able to keep them +open. + +"Henry!" he said in a vague whisper. + +"Yes, Paul, it is I," Henry replied quietly. + +Paul lay still and struggled with memory. The rain was now ceasing, and +a few shafts of moonlight, piercing through the clouds, threw silver +rays on the dripping forest. + +"The battle!" said Paul at last. "I was firing and something struck me. +That was the last I remember." + +He paused and his face suddenly brightened. He cast a look of gratitude +at his comrade. + +"You came for me?" he said. + +"Yes," replied Henry, "I came for you, and I brought you here." + +Paul closed his eyes, lay still, and then at a ghastly thought, opened +his eyes again. + +"Are only we two left?" he asked. "Are all the others killed? Is that +why we are hiding here in the forest?" + +"No," replied Henry, "we are holding them off, but we decided that it +was wiser to retreat. We shall join our own people in the morning." + +Paul said no more, and Henry sheltered him as best he could under the +trees. The wet clothing he could not replace, and that would have to be +endured. But he rubbed his body to keep him warm and to induce +circulation. The night was now far advanced, and the distant firing +became spasmodic and faint. After a while it ceased, and the weary +combatants lay on their arms in the thickets. + +The clouds began to float off to the eastward. By and by all went down +under the horizon, and the sky sprang out, a solid dome of calm, +untroubled blue, in which the stars in myriads twinkled and shone. A +moon of unusual splendor bathed the wet forest in a silver dew. + +Henry sat in the moonlight, watching beside Paul, who dozed or fell into +a stupor. The moonlight passed, the darkest hours came and then up shot +the dawn, bathing a green world in the mingled glory of red and gold. +Henry raised Paul again, and started with him toward the thickets, where +he knew the little white army lay. + + * * * * * + +John Ware had borne himself that night like a man, else he would not +have been in the place that he held. But his heart had followed his son, +when he turned back toward the savage army, and, despite the reassuring +words of Ross, he already mourned him as one dead. Yet he was faithful +to his greater duty, remembering the little force that he led and the +women and children back there, of whom they were the chief and almost +the sole defenders. But if he reached Wareville again how could he tell +the tale of his loss? There was one to whom no excuse would seem good. +Often Mr. Pennypacker was by his side, and when the darkness began to +thin away before the moonlight these two men exchanged sad glances. Each +understood what was in the heart of the other, but neither spoke. + +The hours of night and combat dragged heavily. When the waning fire of +the savages ceased they let their own cease also, and then sought ground +upon which they might resist any new attack, made in the daylight. They +found it at last in a rocky region that doubled the powers of the +defense. Ross was openly exultant. + +"We scorched 'em good yesterday an' to-night," he said, "an' if they +come again in the day we'll just burn their faces away." + +Most of the men, worn to the bone, sank down to sleep on the wet ground +in their wet clothes, while the others watched, and the few hours, left +before the morning, passed peacefully away. + +At the first sunlight the men were awakened, and all ate cold food which +they carried in their knapsacks. Mr. Ware and the schoolmaster sat +apart. Mr. Ware looked steadily at the ground and the schoolmaster, +whose heart was wrenched both with his own grief and his friend's, knew +not what to say. Neither did Ross nor Sol disturb them for the moment, +but busied themselves with preparations for the new defense. + +Mr. Pennypacker was gazing toward the southwest and suddenly on the +crest of a low ridge a black and formless object appeared between him +and the sun. At first he thought it was a mote in his eye, and he rubbed +the pupils but the mote grew larger, and then he looked with a new and +stronger interest. It was a man; no, two men, one carrying the other, +and the motion of the man who bore the other seemed familiar. The +master's heart sprang up in his throat, and the blood swelled in a new +tide in his veins. His hand fell heavily, but with joy, on the shoulder +of Mr. Ware. + +"Look up! Look up!" he cried, "and see who is coming!" + +Mr. Ware looked up and saw his son, with the wounded Paul Cotter on his +shoulder, walking into camp. Then--the borderers were a pious people--he +fell upon his knees and gave thanks. Two hours later the Shawnees in +full force made a last and desperate attack upon the little white army. +They ventured into the open, as venture they must to reach the +defenders, and they were met by the terrible fire that never missed. At +no time could they pass the deadly hail of bullets, and at last, leaving +the ground strewed with their dead, they fell back into the forest, and +then, breaking into a panic, did not cease fleeing until they had +crossed the Ohio. Throughout the morning Henry Ware was one of the +deadliest sharpshooters of them all, while Paul Cotter lay safely in the +rear, and fretted because his wound would not let him do his part. + +The great victory won, it was agreed that Henry Ware had done the best +of them all, but they spent little time in congratulations. They +preferred the sacred duty of burying the dead, even seeking those who +had fallen in the forest the night before; and then they began their +march southward, the more severely wounded carried on rude litters at +first, but as they gained strength after a while walking, though lamely. +Paul recovered fast, and when he heard the story, he looked upon Henry +as a knight, the equal of any who ever rode down the pages of chivalry. + +But all alike carried in their hearts the consciousness that they had +struck a mighty blow that would grant life to the growing settlements, +and, despite their sadly thinned ranks, they were full of a pride that +needed no words. The men of Wareville and the men of Marlowe parted at +the appointed place, and then each force went home with the news of +victory. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE TEST + + +The people of Wareville had good reason alike for pride and for sorrow, +pride for victory, and sorrow for the fallen, but they spent no time in +either, at least openly, resuming at once the task of founding a new +state. + +Henry Ware, the hero of the hour and the savior of the village, laid +aside his wild garb and took a place in his father's fields. The work +was heavy, the Indian corn was planted, but trees were to be felled, +fences were to be cut down, and as he was so strong a larger share than +usual was expected of him. His own father appreciated these hopes and +was resolved that his son should do his full duty. + +Henry entered upon his task and from the beginning he had misgivings, +but he refused to indulge them. He handled a hoe on his first day from +dawn till dark in a hot field, and all the while the mighty wilderness +about him was crying out to him in many voices. While the sun glowed +upon him, and the sweat ran down his face he could see the deep cool +shade of the forest--how restful and peaceful it looked there! He knew a +sheltered glade where the buffalo were feeding, he could find the deer +reposing in a thicket, and to the westward was a new region of hills and +clear brooks, over which he might be the first white man to roam. + +His blood tingled with his thoughts, but he never said a word, only +bending lower to his task, and hardening his resolve. The voices of the +wilderness might call, and he could not keep from hearing them, but he +need not go. The amount of work he did that day was wonderful to all who +saw, his vast strength put him far ahead of all others and back of his +strength was his will. But they said nothing and he was glad they did +not speak. + +When he went home in the dusk he overtook Lucy Upton near the palisade. +She was in the same red dress that she wore when she ran the gantlet and +in the twilight it seemed to be tinged to a deeper scarlet. She was +walking swiftly with the easy, swinging grace of a good figure and good +health, but when he joined her she went more slowly. + +He did not speak for a few moments, and she gave him a silent glance of +sympathy. In her woman's heart she guessed the cause of his trouble, and +while she had been afraid of him when he appeared suddenly as the Indian +warrior yet she liked him better in that part than as she now saw him. +Then he was majestic, now he was prosaic, and it seemed to her that his +present rôle was unfitting. + +"You are tired," she said at last. + +"Well, not in the body exactly, but I feel like resting." + +There was no complaint in his tone, but a slight touch of irony. + +"Do you think that you will make a good farmer?" she asked. + +"As good as the times and our situation allow," he replied. "Wandering +parties of the savages are likely to pass near here and in the course of +time they may send back an army. Besides one has to hunt now, as for a +long while we must depend on the forest for a part of our food." + +It seemed to her that these things did not cause him sorrow, that he +turned to them as a sort of relief: his eyes sparkled more brightly when +he spoke of the necessity for hunting and the possible passage of Indian +parties which must be repelled. Girl though she was, she felt again a +little glow of sympathy, guessing as she did his nature; she could +understand how he thrilled when he heard the voices of the forest +calling to him. + +They reached the gate of the palisade and passed within. It was full +dusk now, the forest blurring together into a mighty black wall, and the +outlines of the houses becoming shadowy. The Ware family sat awhile that +evening by the hearth fire, and John Ware was full of satisfaction. A +worthy man, he had neither imagination nor primitive instincts and he +valued the wilderness only as a cheap place in which to make homes. He +spoke much of clearing the ground, of the great crops that would come, +and of the profit and delight afforded by regular work year after year +on the farm. Henry Ware sat in silence, listening to his father's +oracular tones, but his mother, glancing at him, had doubts to which she +gave no utterance. + +The days passed and as the spring glided into summer they grew hotter. +The sun glowed upon the fields, and the earth parched with thirst. In +the forest the leaves were dry and they rustled when the wind blew upon +them. The streams sank away again, as they had done during the siege, +and labor became more trying. Yet Henry Ware never murmured, though his +soul was full of black bitterness. Often he would resolutely turn his +eyes from the forest where he knew the deep cool pools were, and keep +them on the sun-baked field. His rifle, which had seemed to reproach +him, inanimate object though it was, he hid in a corner of the house +where he could not see it and its temptation. In order to create a +counter-irritant he plunged into work with the most astonishing vigor. + +John Ware, in those days, was full of pride and satisfaction, he +rejoiced in the industrial prowess of his son, and he felt that his own +influence had prevailed, he had led Henry back to the ways of +civilization, the only right ways, and he enjoyed his triumph. But the +schoolmaster, in secret, often shook his head. + +The summer grew drier and hotter, it was a period of drought again and +the little children gasped through the sweating nights. Afar they saw +the blaze of forest fires and ashes and smoke came on the wind. Henry +toiled with a dogged spirit, but every day the labor grew more bitter to +him; he took no interest in it, he did not wish to calculate the result +in the years to come, when all around him, extending thousands of miles, +was an untrodden wilderness, in which he might roam and hunt until the +end, although his years should be a hundred. + +It was worst at night, when he lay awake by a window, breathing the hot +air, then the deep cool forest extended to him her kindest invitation, +and it took all his resolution to resist her welcome. The wind among the +trees was like music, but it was a music to which he must close his +ears. Then he remembered his vast wanderings with Black Cloud and his +red friends, how they had crossed great and unnamed rivers, the days in +the endless forest and the other days on the endless plains, and of the +mighty lake they had reached in their northernmost journey--how cool and +pleasant that lake seemed now! His mind ran over every detail of the +great buffalo hunts, of those trips along the streams to trap the beaver +and the events in the fight with the hostile tribe. + +All these recollections seemed very vivid and real to him now, and the +narrow life of Wareville faded into a mist out of which shone only the +faces of those whom he loved--it was they alone who had brought him back +to Wareville, but he knew that their ways were not his ways, and it was +hard to confine his spirit within the narrow limits of a settlement. + +But his long martyrdom went on, the summer was growing old, with the +work of planting and cultivating almost done and the harvest soon to +follow, and whatever his feelings may have been he had never flinched a +single time. Nourished by his great labors the Ware farm far surpassed +all others, and the pride of John Ware grew. He also grew more exacting +with his pride, and this quality brought on the crisis. + +Henry was building a fence one particularly hot afternoon, and his +father coming by, cool and fresh, found fault with his work, chiefly to +show his authority, because the work was not badly done--Mr. Ware was a +good man, but like other good men he had a rare fault-finding impulse. +The voices in the woods had been calling very loudly that day and +Henry's temper suddenly flashed into a flame. But he did not give way to +any external outburst of passion, speaking in a level, measured voice. + +"I am sorry you do not like it," he said, "because it is the last work I +am going to do here." + +"Why--what do you mean?" exclaimed his father in astonishment. + +"I am done," replied Henry in his firm tones, and dropping the fence +rail that he held he walked to the house, every nerve in him thrilling +with expectation of the pleasure that was to come. His mother was there, +and she started in fear at his face. + +"It is true, mother," he said, "I am not going to deceive you, I am +going into the forest, but I will come again and often. It is the only +life that I can lead, I was made for it I suppose; I have tried the +other out there in the fields, and I have tried hard, but I cannot stand +it." + +She knew too well to seek to stop him. He took his rifle from its +secluded corner, and the feeling of it, stock and barrel, was good to +his hands. He put on the buckskin hunting shirt, leggings and moccasins, +fringed and beaded, and with them he felt all his old zest and pride +returning. He kissed his mother and sister good-by, shook hands with his +younger brother, did the same with his astonished father at the door, +and then, rifle on shoulder, disappeared in the circling forest. + +That night Braxton Wyatt sneered and said that a savage could not keep +from being a savage, but Paul Cotter turned upon him so fiercely that he +took it back. The schoolmaster made no comment aloud, but to himself he +said, "It was bound to come and perhaps it is no loss that it has come." + +Meanwhile Henry Ware was tasting the fiercest and keenest joy of his +life. The great forest seemed to reach out its boughs like kind arms to +welcome and embrace. How cool was the shade! How the shafts of sunlight +piercing the leaves fell like golden arrows on the ground! How the +little brooks laughed and danced over the pebbles! This was his world +and he had been too long away from it. Everything was friendly, the huge +tree trunks were like old comrades, the air was fresher and keener than +any that he had breathed in a long time, and was full of new life and +zest. All his old wilderness love rushed back to him, and now after many +months he felt at home. + +Strong as he was already new strength flowed into his frame and he threw +back his head, and laughed a low happy laugh. Then rifle at the trail he +ran for miles among the trees from the pure happiness of living, but +noting as he passed with wonderfully keen eyes every trail of a wild +animal and all the forest signs that he knew so well. He ran many miles +and he felt no weariness. Then he threw himself down on Mother Earth, +and rejoiced at her embrace. He lay there a long time, staring up +through the leaves and the shifting sunlight, and he was so still that a +hare hopped through the undergrowth almost at his feet, never taking +alarm. To Henry Ware then the world seemed grand and beautiful, and of +all things in it God had made the wilderness the finest, lingering over +every detail with a loving hand. + +He watched the setting of the sun and the coming of the twilight. The +sun was a great blazing ball and the western sky flowed away from it in +circling waves of blue and pink and gold, then long shadows came over +the forest, and the distant trees began to melt together into a gigantic +dark wall. To the dweller in cities all this vast loneliness and +desolation would have been dreary and weird beyond description; he would +have shuddered with superstitious awe, starting in fear at the slightest +sound, but there was no such quality in it for Henry Ware. He saw only +comradeship and the friendly veil of the great creeping shadow. His eye +could pierce the thickest night, and fear, either of the darkness or +things physical, was not in him. + +He rose after a while, when the last sign of day was gone, and walked +on, though more slowly. He made no noise as he passed, stepping lightly, +but with sure foot like one with both genius and training for the +wilderness. He knelt at a little brook to slake his thirst, but did not +stop long there. His happiness decreased in nowise. The familiar voices +of the night were speaking to him. He heard the distant hoot of an owl, +a deer rustled in the bush, a lizard scuttled over the leaves, and he +rejoiced at the sounds. He did not think of hunger but toward midnight +he raked some of last year's fallen leaves close to the trunk of a big +tree, lay down upon them, and fell in a few moments into happy and +dreamless sleep. + +He awoke with the first rays of the dawn, shot a deer after an hour's +search, and then cooked his breakfast by the side of one of the little +brooks. It was the first food that had tasted just right to him in many +weeks, and afterwards he lay by the camp fire awhile, and luxuriated. He +had the most wonderful feeling of peace and ease; all the world was his +to go where he chose and to do what he chose, and he began to think of +an autumn camp, a tiny lodge in the deepest recess of the wilderness, +where he could store spare ammunition, furs and skins and find a +frequent refuge, when the time for storms and cold came. He would build +at his ease--there was plenty of time and he would fill in the intervals +with hunting and exploration. + +He ranged that day toward the north and the west, moving with +deliberation, and not until the third or the fourth day did he come to +the place that he had in mind. In the triangle between the junction of +two streams was a marshy area, thickly grown with bushes and slim trees, +that thrust their roots deep down through the mire into more solid soil. +The marsh was perhaps two acres in extent; right in the heart of it was +a piece of firm earth about forty feet square and here Henry meant to +build his lodge. He alone knew the path across the marsh over fallen +logs lying near enough to each other to be reached by an agile man, and +on the tiny island all his possessions would be safe. + +He worked a week at his hut, and it was done, a little lean-to of bark +and saplings, partly lined with skins, but proof against rain or snow. +On the floor he spread the skins and furs of animals that he killed, and +on the walls he hung trophies of the hunt. + +Two weeks after his house was finished he used it at its full value. +Summer was gone and autumn was coming, a great rain poured and the wind +blew cold. Dead leaves fell in showers from the trees, and the boughs +swaying before the gale creaked dismally against each other. But it all +gave to Henry a supreme sense of physical comfort. He lay in his snug +hut, and, pulling a little to one side the heavy buffalo robe that hung +over the doorway, watched the storm rage through the wilderness. He had +no sense of loneliness, his mind was in perfect tune with everything +about him, and delighted in the triumphant manifestation of nature. + +He stayed there all day, content to lie still and meditate vaguely of +anything that came of its own accord into his mind. About the twilight +hour he cooked some venison, ate it and then slept a dreamless sleep +through the night. + +The rain ceased the next day but the air became crisp and cold, and +autumn was fully come. In a week the forest was dyed into the most +glowing colors, red and yellow and brown, and the shades between. The +heavens were pure blue and gold, and it was a poignant delight to +breathe the keen air. Again he ranged far and rejoiced in the hunting. +His infallible rifle never missed, and in the little hut in the marsh +the stock of furs and skins grew so fast that scarcely room for himself +was left. He hid a fresh store at another place in the forest, and then +he returned to Wareville for a day. His father greeted him with some +constraint, not with coldness exactly, but with lack of understanding. +His mother and his sister wept with joy and Mrs. Ware said: "I was +expecting you about this time and you have not disappointed me." + +He stayed two days and his keen eyes, so observant of material matters, +noted that the colony was not doing well for the time, the drought +having almost ruined the crops and there was full promise of scanty food +and a hard winter. Now came his opportunity. He had looked upon his +month in the forest as in part a holiday, and he never intended to throw +aside all responsibility for others, roving the wilderness absolutely +free from care. He knew that he would have work to do, he felt that he +should have it, and now he saw the way to do the kind of work that he +loved to do. + +He replenished his supply of ammunition, took up his rifle again and +returned to the forest. Now he used all his surpassing knowledge and +skill in the chase, and game began to pour into the colony, bear, deer, +buffalo and the smaller animals, until he alone seemed able to feed the +entire settlement through the winter. + +He experienced a new thrill keener and more delightful than any that had +gone before; he was doing for others and the knowledge was most +pleasant. Winter came on, fierce and unyielding with almost continuous +snow and ice, and Henry Ware was the chief support of that little +village in the wilderness. The game wandering with its fancy, or perhaps +taking alarm at the new settlement had drifted far, and he alone of all +the hunters could find it. The voices that had been raised against him a +second time were stilled again, because no one dared to accuse when his +single figure stood between them and starvation. + +He took Paul Cotter with him on some of his hunts, but never even to +Paul did he tell the secret of his hut in the morass; that was to be +guarded for himself alone. He was fond of Paul, but Paul able though he +was fell far behind Henry in the forest. + +The debt of Wareville to him grew and none felt privileged to criticise +him now, as he appeared from the forest and disappeared into it again on +his self-chosen tasks. + +The winter broke up at last, but with the spring came a new and more +formidable danger. Small parties of Indians, not strong enough to attack +Wareville itself but sufficient for forest ambush, began to appear in +the country, and two or three lives that could be ill spared were lost. +Now Henry Ware showed his supreme value; he was a match and more than a +match for the savages at all their own tricks, and he became the ranger +for the settlement, its champion against a wild and treacherous foe. + +The tales of his skill and prowess spread far through the wilderness. +Single handed he would not hesitate in the depths of the forest to +attack war parties of half a dozen, and while suffering heavily +themselves they could never catch their daring tormentor. These tales +even spread across the Ohio to the Indian villages, where they told of a +blond and giant white youth in the South who was the spirit of death, +whom no runner could overtake, whom no bullet could slay and who raged +against the red man with an invincible wrath. + +As his single hand had fed them through the winter so his single hand +protected them from death in the spring. He seemed to know by instinct +when the war parties were coming and where they would appear. Always he +confronted them with some devious attack that they did not know how to +meet, and Wareville remained inviolate. + +Then, in the summer, when the war bands were all gone he came back to +Wareville to stay a while, although, everyone, himself included, knew +that he would always remain a son of the wilderness, spending but part +of his time in the houses of men. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +AN ERRAND AND A FRIEND + + +Two stalwart lads were marching steadily through the deep woods, some +months later. They were boys in years, but in size, strength, alertness +and knowledge of the forest far beyond their age. One, in particular, +would have drawn the immediate and admiring glance of every keen-eyed +frontiersman, so powerful was he, and yet so light and quick of +movement. His wary glance seemed to read every secret of tree, bush and +grass, and his head, crowned by a great mass of thick, yellow hair, rose +several inches above that of his comrade, who would have been called by +most people a tall boy. + +The two youths were dressed almost alike. Each wore a cap of raccoon +fur, with the short tail hanging from the back of it as a decoration. +Their bodies were clad in hunting shirts, made of the skin of the deer, +softly and beautifully tanned and dyed green. The fine fringe of the +shirt hung almost to the knees, and below it were leggings also of +deerskin, beaded at the seams. The feet were inclosed in deerskin +moccasins, fitting tightly, but very soft and light. A rifle, a +tomahawk, and a useful knife at the belt completed the equipment. + +They were walking, but each boy led a stout horse, and on the back of +this horse was a great brown sack that hung down, puffy, on either side. +The sacks were filled with gunpowder made from cave-dust and the two +boys, Henry Ware and Paul Cotter, were carrying it to a distant village +that had exhausted its supply, but which, hearing of the strange new way +in which Wareville obtained it, had sent begging for a loan of this +commodity, more precious to the pioneer than gold and jewels. The +response was quick and spontaneous and Henry and Paul had been chosen to +take the powder, an errand in which both rejoiced. Already they had been +two days in the great wilderness, now painted in gorgeous colors by the +hand of autumn, and they had not seen a sign of a human being, white or +red. + +They walked steadily on, and the trained horses followed, each just +behind his master, although there was no hand upon the bridle. They +stopped presently at the low rounded crest of a hill, where the forest +opened out a little, and, as if with the same impulse, each looked off +toward the vast horizon with a glowing eye. The mighty forest, vivid +with its gleaming reds and yellows and browns, rolled away for miles, +and then died to the eye where the silky blue arch of the sky came down +to meet it. Now and then there was a flash of silver, where a brook ran +between the hills, and the wind brought an air, crisp, fresh and full of +life. + +It was beautiful, this great wilderness of Kaintuckee, and each boy saw +it according to his nature. Henry, the soul of action, the boy of the +keen senses and the mighty physical nature, loved it for its own sake +and for what it was in the present. He fitted into it and was a part of +it. The towns and the old civilization in the east never called to him. +He had found the place that nature intended for him. He was here the +wilderness rover, hunter and scout, the border champion and defender, +the primitive founder of a state, without whom, and his like, our Union +could never have been built up. Henry gloried in the wilderness and +loved its life which was so easy to him. Paul, the boy of thought, was +always looking into the future, and already he foresaw what would come +to pass in a later generation. + +Neither spoke, and presently, by the same impulse, they started on +again, descending the low hill, and plunging once more into the forest. +When they had gone about half a mile, Henry stopped suddenly. His +wonderful physical organism, as sensitive as the machinery of a watch, +had sounded an alarm. A faint sound, not much more than the fall of a +dying leaf, came to his ears and he knew at once that it was not a +natural noise of the forest. He held up his hand and stopped, and Paul, +who trusted him implicitly, stopped also. Henry listened intently with +ears that heard everything, and the sound came to him again. It was a +footfall. A human being, besides themselves, was near in the forest! + +"Come, Paul," he said, and he began to creep toward the sound, the two +darting from tree to tree, and making no noise among the fallen leaves, +as they brushed past, with their soft moccasins. The trained horses +remained where they had been left, silent and motionless. + +Henry, as was natural, was in front, and he was the first to see the +object that had caused the noise. A man stepped from the shelter of a +tree's great trunk, and, although armed, he held up one hand, in the +manner of a friend. He was an Indian of middle age and dignified look, +although he was not painted like any of the tribes that came down to +make war in Kentucky. + +Henry recognized at once the friendly signal, and he too stepped from +the cover of the forest, walking slowly toward the warrior, who was +undoubtedly a chief and a man of importance. Twenty feet away, the boy +started a little, and a sudden light leaped into his eyes. Then he +strode up rapidly, and took the warrior's hand after the white custom. + +"Black Cloud! My friend!" he said. + +"You know me! You have not forgotten?" replied the chief and his eyes +gleamed ever so quickly. + +"You have come far from your people and among hostile tribes to see me?" +said Henry who instantly divined the truth. + +"It is so," replied the chief, "and to ask you to go back with me. Our +warriors miss you." + +Henry was moved to the depths of his nature. Black Cloud had come a +thousand miles to ask him this question, and he had a far, sweet vision +of a life utterly wild and free. Again he saw the great plains, and +again came to his ears, like rolling thunder, the tread of the +myriad-footed buffalo herd. He was tempted sorely tempted and he knew +it, but, with a mighty effort he put the temptation away from him and +shook his head. + +"It cannot be, Black Cloud," he said. "My people need me, as yours need +you." + +A shadow passed over the eyes of the chief, but it was gone in a moment. +He knew that the answer was final, and he said not another word on the +subject. + +Black Cloud went on with Henry and Paul half a day, then he bade them +farewell. They watched him go, but it could be only for a minute or two, +because his form quickly melted away into the forest. Then the two boys, +turning their faces steadily toward duty, marched on, and the great +wilderness, gleaming in its reds and yellows and browns curved about +them. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG TRAILERS*** + + +******* This file should be named 19477-8.txt or 19477-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/4/7/19477 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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Altsheler</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right;} /* page numbers */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em; + float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .u {text-decoration: underline;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: + 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em;} + hr.full { width: 100%; } + pre {font-size: 80%;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Young Trailers, by Joseph A. Altsheler</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Young Trailers</p> +<p> A Story of Early Kentucky</p> +<p>Author: Joseph A. Altsheler</p> +<p>Release Date: October 5, 2006 [eBook #19477]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG TRAILERS***</p> +<p> </p> +<h4>E-text prepared by the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> + (http://www.pgdp.net/)</h4> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h1><i>The</i> YOUNG TRAILERS</h1> + +<h3>A STORY OF EARLY KENTUCKY</h3> + +<h2><i>By</i> JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER</h2> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h4>APPLETON-CENTURY-CROFTS, INC.<br /> +NEW YORK</h4> + +<h4><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1907, by</span><br /> +D. APPLETON AND COMPANY</h4> + +<h4><i>All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, must not be +reproduced in any form without permission of the publishers.</i></h4> + +<h4><span class="smcap">Copyright 1934 by Sallie B. Altsheler</span><br /> +Printed in the United States of America</h4> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h4>TO<br /> +SYDNEY<br /> +A YOUNG KENTUCKIAN</h4> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. --> +<p> + +<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.—<span class="smcap">Into the Unknown</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.—<span class="smcap">The First Great Exploit</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.—<span class="smcap">Lost in the Wilderness</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.—<span class="smcap">The Haunted Forest</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.—<span class="smcap">Afloat</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.—<span class="smcap">The Voice of the Woods</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.—<span class="smcap">The Giant Bones</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.—<span class="smcap">The Wild Turkey's "Gobble"</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.—<span class="smcap">The Escape</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.—<span class="smcap">The Cave Dust</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.—<span class="smcap">The Forest Spell</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.—<span class="smcap">The Primitive Man</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.—<span class="smcap">The Call of Duty</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.—<span class="smcap">The Return</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.—<span class="smcap">The Siege</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.—<span class="smcap">A Girl's Way</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.—<span class="smcap">The Battle in the Forest</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.—<span class="smcap">The Test</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.—<span class="smcap">An Errand and a Friend</span></a><br /> +</p> +<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. --> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE YOUNG TRAILERS</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>INTO THE UNKNOWN</h3> + + +<p>It was a white caravan that looked down from the crest of the mountains +upon the green wilderness, called by the Indians, <i>Kain-tuck-ee</i>. The +wagons, a score or so in number, were covered with arched canvas, +bleached by the rains, and, as they stood there, side by side, they +looked like a snowdrift against the emerald expanse of forest and +foliage.</p> + +<p>The travelers saw the land of hope, outspread before them, a wide sweep +of rolling country, covered with trees and canebrake, cut by streams of +clear water, flowing here and there, and shining in the distance, amid +the green, like threads of silver wire. All gazed, keen with interest +and curiosity, because this unknown land was to be their home, but none +was more eager than Henry Ware, a strong boy of fifteen who stood in +front of the wagons beside the guide, Tom Ross, a tall, lean man the +color of well-tanned leather, who would never let his rifle go out of +his hand, and who had Henry's heartfelt admiration, because he knew so +much about the woods and wild animals, and told such strange and +absorbing tales of the great wilderness that now lay before them.</p> + +<p>But any close observer who noted Henry Ware would always have looked at +him a second time. He was tall and muscled beyond his years, and when he +walked his figure showed a certain litheness and power like that of the +forest bred. His gaze was rapid, penetrating and inclusive, but never +furtive. He seemed to fit into the picture of the wilderness, as if he +had taken a space reserved there for him, and had put himself in +complete harmony with all its details.</p> + +<p>The long journey from their old home in Maryland had been a source of +unending variety and delight to Henry. There had been no painful +partings. His mother and his brother and young sister were in the fourth +wagon from the right, and his father stood beside it. Farther on in the +same company were his uncles and aunts, and many of the old neighbors. +All had come together. It was really the removal of a village from an +old land to a new one, and with the familiar faces of kindred and +friends around them, they were not lonely in strange regions, though +mountains frowned and dark forests lowered.</p> + +<p>It was to Henry a return rather than a removal. He almost fancied that +in some far-off age he had seen all these things before. The forests and +the mountains beckoned in friendly fashion; they had no terrors, for +even their secrets lay open before him. He seemed to breathe a newer and +keener air than that of the old land left behind, and his mind expanded +with the thought of fresh pleasures to come. The veteran guide, Ross, +alone observed how the boy learned, through intuition, ways of the +wilderness that others achieved only by hard experience.</p> + +<p>They had met fair weather, an important item in such a journey, and +there had been no illness, beyond trifling ailments quickly cured. As +they traveled slowly and at their ease, it took them a long time to pass +through the settled regions. This part of the journey did not interest +Henry so much. He was eager for the forests and the great wilderness +where his fancy had already gone before. He wanted to see deer and bears +and buffaloes, trees bigger than any that grew in Maryland, and +mountains and mighty rivers. But they left the settlements behind at +last, and came to the unbroken forest. Here he found his hopes +fulfilled. They were on the first slopes of the mountains that divide +Virginia from Kentucky, and the bold, wild nature of the country pleased +him. He had never seen mountains before, and he felt the dignity and +grandeur of the peaks.</p> + +<p>Sometimes he went on ahead with Tom Ross, the guide, his chosen friend, +and then he considered himself, in very truth, a man, or soon to become +one, because he was now exploring the unknown, leading the way for a +caravan—and there could be no more important duty. At such moments he +listened to the talk of the guide who taught the lesson that in the +wilderness it was always important to see and to listen, a thing however +that Henry already knew instinctively. He learned the usual sounds of +the woods, and if there was any new noise he would see what made it. He +studied, too, the habits of the beasts and birds. As for fishing, he +found that easy. He could cut a rod with his clasp knife, tie a string +to the end of it and a bent pin to the end of a string, and with this +rude tackle he could soon catch in the mountain creeks as many fish as +he wanted.</p> + +<p>Henry liked the nights in the mountains; in which he did not differ from +his fellow-travelers. Then the work of the day was done; the wagons were +drawn up in a half circle, the horses and the oxen were resting or +grazing under the trees, and, as they needed fires for warmth as well as +cooking, they built them high and long, giving room for all in front of +the red coals if they wished. The forest was full of fallen brushwood, +as dry as tinder, and Henry helped gather it. It pleased him to see the +flames rise far up, and to hear them crackle as they ate into the heart +of the boughs. He liked to see their long red shadows fall across the +leaves and grass, peopling the dark forest with fierce wild animals; he +would feel all the cosier within the scarlet rim of the firelight. Then +the men would tell stories, particularly Ross, the guide, who had +wandered much and far in Kentucky. He said that it was a beautiful land. +He spoke of the noble forests of beech and oak and hickory and maple, +the dense canebrake, the many rivers, and the great Ohio that received +them all—the Beautiful River, the Indians called it—and the game, with +which forests and open alike swarmed, the deer, the elk, the bear, the +panther and the buffalo. Now and then, when the smaller children were +asleep in the wagons and the larger ones were nodding before the fires, +the men would sink their voices and speak of a subject which made them +all look very grave indeed. It sounded like Indians, and the men more +than once glanced at their rifles and powderhorns.</p> + +<p>But the boy, when he heard them, did not feel afraid. He knew that +savages of the most dangerous kind often came into the forests of +Kentucky, whither they were going, but he thrilled rather than shivered +at the thought. Already he seemed to have the knowledge that he would be +a match for them at any game they wished to play.</p> + +<p>Henry usually slept very soundly, as became a boy who was on his feet +nearly all day, and who did his share of the work; but two or three +times he awoke far in the night, and, raising himself up in the wagon, +peeped out between the canvas cover and the wooden body. He saw a very +black night in which the trees looked as thin and ghostly as shadows, +and smoldering fires, beside which two men rifle on shoulder, always +watched. Often he had a wish to watch with them, but he said nothing, +knowing that the others would hold him too young for the task.</p> + +<p>But to-day he felt only joy and curiosity. They were now on the crest of +the last mountain ridge and before them lay the great valley of +Kentucky; their future home. The long journey was over. The men took off +their hats and caps and raised a cheer, the women joined through +sympathy and the children shouted, too, because their fathers and +mothers did so, Henry's voice rising with the loudest.</p> + +<p>A slip of a girl beside Henry raised an applauding treble and he smiled +protectingly at her. It was Lucy Upton, two years younger than himself, +slim and tall, dark-blue eyes looking from under broad brows, and +dark-brown curls, lying thick and close upon a shapely head.</p> + +<p>"Are you not afraid?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Afraid of what?" replied Henry Ware, disdainfully.</p> + +<p>"Of the forests over there in Kentucky. They say that the savages often +come to kill."</p> + +<p>"We are too strong. I do not fear them."</p> + +<p>He spoke without any vainglory, but in the utmost confidence. She +glanced covertly at him. He seemed to her strong and full of resource. +But she would not show her admiration.</p> + +<p>They passed from the mountain slope into a country which now sank away +in low, rolling hills like the waves of the sea and in which everything +grew very beautiful. Henry had never seen such trees in the East. The +beech, the elm, the hickory and the maple reached gigantic proportions, +and wherever the shade was not too dense the grass rose heavy and rank. +Now and then they passed thickets of canebrake, and once, at the side of +a stream, they came to a salt "lick." It was here that a fountain +spouted from the base of a hill, and, running only a few feet, emptied +into a creek. But its waters were densely impregnated with salt, and all +around its banks the soft soil was trodden with hundreds of footsteps.</p> + +<p>"The wild beasts made these," said the guide to Henry. "They come here +at night: elk, deer, buffalo, wolves, and all the others, big and +little, to get the salt. They drink the water and they lick up the salt +too from the ground."</p> + +<p>A fierce desire laid hold of the boy at these words. He had a small +rifle of his own, which however he was not permitted to carry often. But +he wanted to take it and lie beside the pool at night when the game came +down to drink. The dark would have no terrors for him, nor would he need +companionship. He knew what to do, he could stay in the bush noiseless +and motionless for hours, and he would choose only the finest of the +deer and the bear. He could see himself drawing the bead, as a great +buck came down in the shadows to the fountain and he thrilled with +pleasure at the thought. Each new step into the wilderness seemed to +bring him nearer home.</p> + +<p>Their stay beside the salt spring was short, but the next night they +built the fire higher than ever because just after dark they heard the +howling of wolves, and a strange, long scream, like the shriek of a +woman, which the men said was the cry of a panther. There was no danger, +but the cries sounded lonesome and terrifying, and it took a big fire to +bring back gayety.</p> + +<p>Henry had not yet gone to bed, but was sitting in his favorite place +beside the guide, who was calmly smoking a pipe, and he felt the +immensity of the wilderness. He understood why the people in this +caravan clung so closely to each other. They were simply a big family, +far away from anybody else, and the woods, which curved around them for +so many hundreds of miles, held them together.</p> + +<p>The men talked more than usual that night, but they did not tell +stories; instead they asked many questions of the guide about the +country two days' journey farther on, which, Ross said, was so good, and +it was agreed among them that they should settle there near the banks of +a little river.</p> + +<p>"It's the best land I ever saw," said Ross, "an' as there's lots of +canebrake it won't be bad to clear up for farmin'. I trapped beaver in +them parts two years ago, an' I know."</p> + +<p>This seemed to decide the men, and the women, too, for they had their +share in the council. The long journey was soon to end, and all looked +pleased, especially the women. The great question settled, the men +lighted their pipes and smoked a while, in silence, before the blazing +fires. Henry watched them and wished that he too was a man and could +take part in these evening talks. He was excited by the knowledge that +their journey was to end so soon, and he longed to see the valley in +which they were to build their homes. He climbed into the wagon at last +but he could not sleep. His beloved rifle, too, was lying near him, and +once he reached out his hand and touched it.</p> + +<p>The men, by and by, went to the wagons or, wrapping themselves in +blankets, slept before the flames. Only two remained awake and on guard. +They sat on logs near the outskirts of the camp and held their rifles in +their hands.</p> + +<p>Henry dropped the canvas edge and sought sleep, but it would not come. +Too many thoughts were in his mind. He was trying to imagine the +beautiful valley, described by Ross, in which they were to build their +houses. He lifted the canvas again after a while and saw that the fires +had sunk lower than ever. The two men were still sitting on the logs and +leaning lazily against upthrust boughs. The wilderness around them was +very black, and twenty yards away, even the outlines of the trees were +lost in the darkness.</p> + +<p>Henry's sister who was sleeping at the other end of the wagon awoke and +cried for water. Mr. Ware raised himself sleepily, but Henry at once +sprang up and offered to get it. "All right," Mr. Ware said.</p> + +<p>Henry quickly slipped on his trousers and taking the tin cup in his hand +climbed out of the wagon. He was in his bare feet, but like other +pioneer boys he scorned shoes in warm weather, and stubble and pebbles +did not trouble him.</p> + +<p>The camp was in a glade and the spring was just at the edge of the +woods—they stopped at night only by the side of running water, which +was easy to find in this region. Near the spring some of the horses and +two of the oxen were tethered to stout saplings. As Henry approached, a +horse neighed, and he noticed that all of them were pulling on their +ropes. The two careless guards were either asleep or so near it that +they took no notice of what was passing, and Henry, unwilling to call +their attention for fear he might seem too forward, walked among the +animals, but was still unable to find the cause of the trouble. He knew +everyone by name and nature, and they knew him, for they had been +comrades on a long journey, and he patted their backs and rubbed their +noses and tried to soothe them. They became a little quieter, but he +could not remain any longer with them because his sister was waiting at +the wagon for the water. So he went to the spring and, stooping down, +filled his cup.</p> + +<p>When Henry rose to his full height, his eyes happened to be turned +toward the forest, and there, about seven or eight feet from the ground, +and not far from him he saw two coals of fire. He was so startled that +the cup trembled in his hand, and drops of water fell splashing back +into the spring. But he stared steadily at the red points, which he now +noticed were moving slightly from side to side, and presently he saw +behind them the dim outlines of a long and large body. He knew that this +must be a panther. The habits of all the wild animals, belonging to this +region, had been described to him so minutely by Ross that he was sure +he could not be mistaken. Either it was a very hungry or a very ignorant +panther to hover so boldly around a camp full of men and guns.</p> + +<p>The panther was crouched on a bough of a tree, as if ready to spring, +and Henry was the nearest living object. It must be he at whom the great +tawny body would be launched. But as a minute passed and the panther did +not move, save to sway gently, his courage rose, especially when he +remembered a saying of Ross that it was the natural impulse of all wild +animals to run from man. So he began to back away, and he heard behind +him the horses trampling about in alarm. The lazy guards still dozed and +all was quiet at the wagons. Now Henry recalled some knowledge that he +had learned from Ross and he made a resolve. He would show, at a time, +when it was needed, what he really could do. He dropped his cup, rushed +to the fire, and picked up a long brand, blazing at one end.</p> + +<p>Swinging his torch around his head until it made a perfect circle of +flame he ran directly toward the panther, uttering a loud shout as he +ran. The animal gave forth his woman's cry, this time a shriek of +terror, and leaping from the bough sped with cat-like swiftness into the +forest.</p> + +<p>All the camp was awake in an instant, the men springing out of the +wagons, gun in hand, ready for any trouble. When they saw only a boy, +holding a blazing torch above his head, they were disposed to grumble, +and the two sleepy guards, seeking an excuse for themselves, laughed +outright at the tale that Henry told. But Mr. Ware believed in the truth +of his son's words, and the guide, who quickly examined the ground near +the tree, said there could be no doubt that Henry had really seen the +panther, and had not been tricked by his imagination. The great tracks +of the beast were plainly visible in the soft earth.</p> + +<p>"Pushed by hunger, an' thinking there was no danger, he might have +sprung on one of our colts or a calf," said Ross, "an' no doubt the boy +with his ready use of a torch has saved us from a loss. It was a brave +thing for him to do."</p> + +<p>But Henry took no pride in their praise. It was no part of his ambition +merely to drive away a panther, instead he had the hunter's wish to kill +him. He would be worthy of the wilderness.</p> + +<p>Henry despite his lack of pride found the world very beautiful the next +day. It was a fair enough scene. Nature had done her part, but his +joyous mind gave to it deeper and more vivid colors. The wind was +blowing from the south, bringing upon its breath the odor of wild +flowers, and all the forest was green with the tender green of young +spring. The cotton-tailed hares that he called rabbits ran across their +path. Squirrels talked to one another in the tree tops, and defiantly +threw the shells of last year's nuts at the passing travelers. Once they +saw a stag bending down to drink at a brook, and when the forest king +beheld them he raised his head, and merely stared at these strange new +invaders of the wilds. Henry admired his beautiful form and splendid +antlers nor would he have fired at him had it even been within orders. +The deer gazed at them a few moments, and then, turning and tossing his +head, sped away through the forest.</p> + +<p>All that he saw was strange and grand to Henry, and he loved the +wilderness. About noon he and Ross went back to the wagons and that +night they encamped on the crest of a range of low and grassy hills. +This was the rim of the valley that they had selected on the guide's +advice as their future home, and the little camp was full of the +liveliest interest in the morrow, because it is a most eventful thing, +when you are going to choose a place which you intend shall be your home +all the rest of your days. So the men and women sat late around the +fires and even boys of Henry's age were allowed to stay up, too, and +listen to the plans which all the grown people were making. Theirs had +not been a hard journey, only long and tedious—though neither to +Henry—and now that its end was at hand, work must be begun. They would +have homes to build and a living to get from the ground.</p> + +<p>"Why, I could live under the trees; I wouldn't want a house," whispered +Henry to the guide, "and when I needed anything to eat, I'd kill game."</p> + +<p>"A hunter might do that," replied Ross, "but we're not all hunters an' +only a few of us can be. Sometimes the game ain't standin' to be shot at +just when you want it, an' as for sleepin' under the trees it's all very +fine in summer, if it don't rain, but 'twould be just a least bit chilly +in winter when the big snows come as they do sometimes more'n a foot +deep. I'm a hunter myself, an' I've slept under trees an' in caves, an' +on the sheltered side of hills, but when the weather's cold give me for +true comfort a wooden floor an' a board roof. Then I'll bargain to sleep +to the king's taste."</p> + +<p>But Henry was not wholly convinced. He felt in himself the power to meet +and overcome rain or cold or any other kind of weather.</p> + +<p>Everybody in the camp, down to the tiniest child, was awake the next +morning by the time the first bar of gray in the east betokened the +coming day. Henry was fully dressed, and saw the sun rise in a +magnificent burst of red and gold over the valley that was to be their +valley. The whole camp beheld the spectacle. They had reached the crest +of the hill the evening before, too late to get a view and they were +full of the keenest curiosity.</p> + +<p>It was now summer, but, having been a season of plenteous rains, grass +and foliage were of the most vivid and intense green. They were entering +one of the richest portions of Kentucky, and the untouched soil was +luxuriant with fertility. As a pioneer himself said: "All they had to do +was to tickle it with a hoe, and it laughed into a harvest." There was +the proof of its strength in the grass and the trees. Never before had +the travelers seen oaks and beeches of such girth or elms and hickories +of such height. The grass was high and thick and the canebrake was so +dense that passage through it seemed impossible. Down the center of the +valley, which was but one of many, separated from each other by low easy +hills, flowed a little river, cleaving its center like a silver blade.</p> + +<p>It was upon this beautiful prospect that the travelers saw the sun rise +that morning and all their troubles and labors rolled away. Even the +face of Mr. Ware who rarely yielded to enthusiasm kindled at the sight +and, lifting his hand, he made with it a circle that described the +valley.</p> + +<p>"There," he said. "There is our home waiting for us."</p> + +<p>"Hurrah!" cried Henry, flinging aloft his cap. "We've come home."</p> + +<p>Then the wagon train started again and descended into the valley, which +in very truth and fact was to be "home."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>THE FIRST GREAT EXPLOIT</h3> + + +<p>They found the valley everything in beauty and fertility that Ross had +claimed for it, and above all it had small "openings," that is, places +where the trees did not grow. This was very important to the travelers, +as the labor of cutting down the forest was immense, and even Henry knew +that they could not live wholly in the woods, as both children and crops +must have sunshine to make them grow. The widest of these open spaces +about a half mile from the river, they selected as the site of their new +city to which they gave the name of Wareville in honor of their leader. +A fine brook flowed directly through the opening, but Ross said it would +be a good place, too, to sink a well.</p> + +<p>It was midsummer now and the period of dry weather had begun. So the +travelers were very comfortable in their wagon camp while they were +making their new town ready to be lived in. Both for the sake of company +and prudence they built the houses in a close cluster. First the men, +and most of them were what would now be called jacks-of-all-trades, +felled trees, six or eight inches in diameter, and cut them into logs, +some of which were split down the center, making what are called +puncheons; others were only nicked at the ends, being left in the rough, +that is, with the bark on.</p> + +<p>The round logs made the walls of their houses. First, the place where +the house was to be built was chosen. Next the turf was cut off and the +ground smoothed away. Then they "raised" the logs, the nicked ends +fitting together at the corner, the whole inclosing a square. Everybody +helped "raise" each house in turn, the men singing "hip-hip-ho!" as they +rolled the heavy logs into position.</p> + +<p>A place was cut out for a window and fastened with a shutter and a +larger space was provided in the same manner for a door. They made the +floor out of the puncheons, turned with the smooth side upward, and the +roof out of rough boards, sawed from the trees. The chimney was built of +earth and stones, and a great flat stone served as the fireplace. Some +of the houses were large enough to have two rooms, one for the grown +folks and one for the children, and Mr. Ware's also had a little lean-to +or shed which served as a kitchen.</p> + +<p>It seemed at first to Henry, rejoicing then in the warm, sunny weather, +that they were building in a needlessly heavy and solid fashion. But +when he thought over it a while he remembered what Ross said about the +winters and deep snows of this new land. Indeed the winters in Kentucky +are often very cold and sometimes for certain periods are quite as cold +as those of New York or New England.</p> + +<p>When the little town was finished at last it looked both picturesque and +comfortable, a group of about thirty log houses, covering perhaps an +acre of ground. But the building labors of the pioneers did not stop +here. Around all these houses they put a triple palisade, that is three +rows of stout, sharpened stakes, driven deep into the ground and rising +full six feet above it. At intervals in this palisade were circular +holes large enough to admit the muzzle of a rifle.</p> + +<p>They built at each corner of the palisade the largest and strongest of +their houses,—two-story structures of heavy logs, and Henry noticed +that the second story projected over the first. Moreover, they made +holes in the edge of the floor overhead so that one could look down +through them upon anybody who stood by the outer wall. Ross went up into +the second story of each of the four buildings, thrust the muzzle of his +rifle into every one of the holes in turn, and then looked satisfied. +"It is well done," he said. "Nobody can shelter himself against the wall +from the fire of defenders up here."</p> + +<p>These very strong buildings they called their blockhouses, and after +they finished them they dug a well in the corner of the inclosed ground, +striking water at a depth of twenty feet. Then their main labors were +finished, and each family now began to furnish its house as it would or +could.</p> + +<p>It was not all work for Henry while this was going on, and some of the +labor itself was just as good as play. He was allowed to go considerable +distances with Ross, and these journeys were full of novelty. He was a +boy who came to places which no white boy had ever seen before. It was +hard for him to realize that it was all so new. Behold a splendid grove +of oaks! he was its discoverer. Here the little river dropped over a +cliff of ten feet; his eyes were the first to see the waterfall. From +this high hill the view was wonderful; he was the first to enjoy it. +Forest, open and canebrake alike were swarming with game, and he saw +buffaloes, deer, wild turkeys, and multitudes of rabbits and squirrels. +Unaccustomed yet to man, they allowed the explorers to come near.</p> + +<p>Ross and Henry were accompanied on many of these journeys by Shif'less +Sol Hyde. Sol was a young man without kith or kin in the settlement, and +so, having nobody but himself to take care of, he chose to roam the +country a great portion of the time. He was fast acquiring a skill in +forest life and knowledge of its ways second only to that of Ross, the +guide. Some of the men called Sol lazy, but he defended himself. "The +good God made different kinds of people and they live different kinds of +lives," said he. "Mine suits me and harms nobody." Ross said he was +right, and Sol became a hunter and scout for the settlement.</p> + +<p>There was no lack of food. They yet had a good supply of the provisions +brought with them from the other side of the mountains, but they saved +them for a possible time of scarcity. Why should they use this store +when they could kill all the game they needed within a mile of their own +house smoke? Now Henry tasted the delights of buffalo tongue and beaver +tail, venison, wild turkey, fried squirrel, wild goose, wild duck and a +dozen kinds of fish. Never did a boy have more kinds of meat, morning, +noon, and night. The forest was full of game, the fish were just +standing up in the river and crying to be caught, and the air was +sometimes dark with wild fowl. Henry enjoyed it. He was always hungry. +Working and walking so much, and living in the open air every minute of +his life, except when he was eating or sleeping, his young and growing +frame demanded much nourishment, and it was not denied.</p> + +<p>At last the great day came when he was allowed to kill a deer if he +could. Both Ross and Shif'less Sol had interceded for him. "The boy's +getting big and strong an' it's time he learned," said Ross. "His hand's +steady enough an' his eye's good enough already," said Shif'less Sol, +and his father agreeing with them told them to take him and teach him.</p> + +<p>Two miles away, near the bank of the river, was a spring to which the +game often came to drink, and for this spring they started a little +while before sundown, Henry carrying his rifle on his shoulder, and his +heart fluttering. He felt his years increase suddenly and his figure +expand with equal abruptness. He had become a man and he was going forth +to slay big game. Yet despite his new manhood the blood would run to his +head and he felt his nerves trembling. He grasped his precious rifle +more firmly and stole a look out of the corner of his eye at its barrel +as it lay across his left shoulder. Though a smaller weapon it was +modeled after the famous Western rifle, which, with the ax, won the +wilderness. The stock was of hard maple wood delicately carved, and the +barrel was comparatively long, slender, and of blue steel. The sights +were as fine-drawn as a hair. When Henry stood the gun beside himself, +it was just as tall as he. He carried, too, a powderhorn, and the horn, +which was as white as snow, was scraped so thin as to be transparent, +thus enabling its owner to know just how much powder it contained, +without taking the trouble of pouring it out. His bullets and wadding he +carried in a small leather pouch by his side.</p> + +<p>When they reached the spring the sun was still a half hour high and +filled the west with a red glow. The forest there was tinted by it, and +seen thus in the coming twilight with those weird crimsons and scarlets +showing through it, the wilderness looked very lonely and desolate. An +ordinary boy, at the coming of night would have been awed, if alone, by +the stillness of the great unknown spaces, but it found an answering +chord in Henry.</p> + +<p>"Wind's blowin' from the west," said Sol, and so they went to the +eastern side of the spring, where they lay down beside a fallen log at a +fair distance. There was another log, much closer to the spring, but +Ross conferring aside with Sol chose the farther one. "We want to teach +the boy how to shoot an' be of some use to himself, not to slaughter," +said Ross. Then the three remained there, a long time, and noiseless. +Henry was learning early one of the first great lessons of the forest, +which is silence. But he knew that he could have learned this lesson +alone. He already felt himself superior in some ways to Ross and Sol, +but he liked them too well to tell them so, or to affect even equality +in the lore of the wilderness.</p> + +<p>The sun went down behind the Western forest, and the night came on, +heavy and dark. A light wind began to moan among the trees. Henry heard +the faint bubble of the water in the spring, and saw beside him the +forms of his two comrades. But they were so still that they might have +been dead. An hour passed and his eyes growing more used to the dimness, +he saw better. There was still nothing at the spring, but by and by Ross +put his hand gently upon his arm, and Henry, as if by instinct, looked +in the right direction. There at the far edge of the forest was a deer, +a noble stag, glancing warily about him.</p> + +<p>The stag was a fine enough animal to Ross and Sol, but to Henry's +unaccustomed eyes he seemed gigantic, the mightiest of his kind that +ever walked the face of the earth.</p> + +<p>The deer gazed cautiously, raising his great head, until his antlers +looked to Henry like the branching boughs of a tree. The wind was +blowing toward his hidden foes, and brought him no omen of coming +danger. He stepped into the open and again glanced around the circle. It +seemed to Henry that he was staring directly into the deer's eyes, and +could see the fire shining there.</p> + +<p>"Aim at that spot there by the shoulder, when he stoops down to drink," +said Ross in the lowest of tones.</p> + +<p>Satisfied now that no enemy was near, the stag walked to the spring. +Then he began to lower slowly the great antlers, and his head approached +the water. Henry slipped the barrel of his rifle across the log and +looked down the sights. He was seized with a tremor, but Ross and +Shif'less Sol, with a magnanimity that did them credit, pretended not to +notice it. The boy soon mastered the feeling, but then, to his great +surprise, he was attacked by another emotion. Suddenly he began to have +pity, and a fellow-feeling for the stag. It, too, was in the great +wilderness, rejoicing in the woods and the grass and the running streams +and had done no harm. It seemed sad that so fine a life should end, +without warning and for so little.</p> + +<p>The feeling was that of a young boy, the instinct of one who had not +learned to kill, and he suppressed it. Men had not yet thought to spare +the wild animals, or to consider them part of a great brotherhood, least +of all on the border, where the killing of game was a necessity. And so +Henry, after a moment's hesitation, the cause of which he himself +scarcely knew, picked the spot near the shoulder that Ross had +mentioned, and pulled the trigger.</p> + +<p>The stag stood for a moment or two as if dazed, then leaped into the air +and ran to the edge of the woods, where he pitched down head foremost. +His body quivered for a little while and then lay still.</p> + +<p>Henry was proud of his marksmanship, but he felt some remorse, too, when +he looked upon his victim. Yet he was eager to tell his father and his +young sister and brother of his success. They took off the pelt and cut +up the deer. A part of the haunch Henry ate for dinner and the antlers +were fastened over the fireplace, as the first important hunting trophy +won by the eldest son of the house.</p> + +<p>Henry did not boast much of his triumph, although he noticed with secret +pride the awe of the children. His best friend, Paul Cotter, openly +expressed his admiration, but Braxton Wyatt, a boy of his own age, whom +he did not like, sneered and counted it as nothing. He even cast doubt +upon the reality of the deed, intimating that perhaps Ross or Sol had +fired the shot, and had allowed Henry to claim the credit.</p> + +<p>Henry now felt incessantly the longing for the wilderness, but, for the +present, he helped his father furnish their house. It was too late to +plant crops that year, nor were the qualities of the soil yet altogether +known. It was rich beyond a doubt, but they could learn only by trial +what sort of seed suited it best. So they let that wait a while, and +continued the work of making themselves tight and warm for the winter.</p> + +<p>The skins of deer and buffalo and beaver, slain by the hunters, were +dried in the sun, and they hung some of the finer ones on the walls of +the rooms to make them look more cozy and picturesque. Mrs. Ware also +put two or three on the floors, though the border women generally +scorned them for such uses, thinking them in the way. Henry also helped +his father make stools and chairs, the former a very simple task, +consisting of a flat piece of wood, chopped or sawed out, in which three +holes were bored to receive the legs, the latter made of a section of +sapling, an inch or so in diameter. But the baskets required longer and +more tedious work. They cut green withes, split them into strips and +then plaiting them together formed the basket. In this Mrs. Ware and +even the little girl helped. They also made tables and a small stone +furnace or bake-oven for the kitchen.</p> + +<p>Their chief room now looked very cozy. In one corner stood a bedstead +with low, square posts, the bed covered with a pure white counterpane. +At the foot of the bedstead was a large heavy chest, which served as +bureau, sofa and dressing case. In the center of the room stood a big +walnut table, on the top of which rested a nest of wooden trays, +flanked, on one side, by a nicely folded tablecloth, and on the other by +a butcher knife and a Bible. In a corner was a cupboard consisting of a +set of shelves set into the logs, and on these shelves were the +blue-edged plates and yellow-figured teacups and blue teapot that Mrs. +Ware had received long ago from her mother. The furniture in the +remainder of the house followed this pattern.</p> + +<p>The heaviest labor of all was to extend the "clearing"; that is, to cut +down trees and get the ground ready for planting the crops next spring, +and in this Henry helped, for he was able to wield an ax blow for blow +with a grown man. When he did not have to work he went often to the +river, which was within sight of Wareville, and caught fish. Nobody +except the men, who were always armed, and who knew how to take care of +themselves, was allowed to go more than a mile from the palisade, but +Henry was trusted as far as the river; then the watchman in the lookout +on top of the highest blockhouse could see him or any who might come, +and there, too, he often lingered.</p> + +<p>He did not hate his work, yet he could not say that he liked it, and, +although he did not know it, the love of the wild man's ways was +creeping into his blood. The influence of the great forests, of the vast +unknown spaces, was upon him. He could lie peacefully in the shade of a +tree for an hour at a time, dreaming of rivers and mountains farther on +in the depths of the wilderness. He felt a kinship with the wild things, +and once as he lay perfectly still with his eyes almost closed, a stag, +perhaps the brother to the one that he had killed, came and looked at +him out of great soft eyes. It did not seem odd at the time to Henry +that the stag should do so; he took it then as a friendly act, and lest +he should alarm this new comrade of the woods he did not stir or even +raise his eyelids. The stag gazed at him a few moments, and then, +tossing his great antlers, turned and walked off in a graceful and +dignified way through the woods. Henry wondered where the deer would go, +and if it would be far. He wished that he, too, could roam the +wilderness so lightly, wandering where he wished, having no cares and +beholding new scenes every day. That would be a life worth living.</p> + +<p>The next morning his mother said to his father:</p> + +<p>"John, the boy is growing wild."</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied the father. "They say it often happens with those who are +taken young into the wilderness. The forest lays a spell upon them when +they are easy to receive impressions."</p> + +<p>The mother looked troubled, but Mr. Ware laughed.</p> + +<p>"Don't bother about it," he said. "It can be cured. We have merely to +teach him the sense of responsibility."</p> + +<p>This they proceeded to do.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>LOST IN THE WILDERNESS</h3> + + +<p>The method by which Mr. and Mrs. Ware undertook to teach Henry a sense +of responsibility was an increase of work. Founding a new state was no +light matter, and he must do his share. Since he loved to fish, it +became his duty to supply the table with fish, and that, too, at regular +hours, and he also began to think of traps and snares, which he would +set in the autumn for game. It was always wise for the pioneer to save +his powder and lead, the most valuable of his possessions and the +hardest to obtain. Any food that could be procured without its use was a +welcome addition.</p> + +<p>But fishing remained his easiest task, and he did it all with a pole +that he cut with his clasp knife, a string and a little piece of bent +and stiffened wire. He caught perch, bass, suckers, trout, sunfish, +catfish, and other kinds, the names of which he did not know. Sometimes +when his hook and line had brought him all that was needed, and the day +was hot, he would take off his clothing and plunge into the deep, cool +pools. Often his friend, Paul Cotter, was with him. Paul was a year +younger than Henry, and not so big. Hence the larger boy felt himself, +in a certain sense, Paul's teacher and protector, which gave him a +comfortable feeling, and a desire to help his comrade as much as he +could.</p> + +<p>He taught the smaller lad new tricks in swimming, and scarcely a day +passed when two sunburned, barefooted boys did not go to the river, +quickly throw off their clothing, and jump into the clear water. There +they swam and floated for a long time, dived, and ducked each other, and +then lay on the grass in the sun until they dried.</p> + +<p>"Paul," said Henry once, as they were stretched thus on the bank, +"wouldn't you like to have nothing to do, but wander through the woods +just as you pleased, sleep wherever you wished, and kill game when you +grew hungry, just like the Indians?"</p> + +<p>Henry's eyes were on the black line of the forest, and the blue haze of +the sky beyond. His spirit was away in the depths of the unknown.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Paul. "I guess a white boy has to become a white +man, after a while, and they say that the difference between a white man +and the Indian is that the white man has to work."</p> + +<p>"But the Indians get along without it," said Henry.</p> + +<p>"No they don't," replied Paul. "We win all the country because we've +learned how to do things while we are working."</p> + +<p>Yet Henry was unconvinced, and his thoughts wandered far into the black +forest and the blue haze.</p> + +<p>The cattle pastured near the deepest of the swimming holes, and it often +fell to the lot of the boys to bring them into the palisade at sunset. +This was a duty of no little importance, because if any of the cattle +wandered away into the forest and were lost, they could not be replaced. +It was now the latter half of summer, and the grass and foliage were +fast turning brown in the heat. Late on the afternoon of one of the very +hottest days Henry and Paul went to the deepest swimming hole. There had +not been a breath of air stirring since morning; not a blade of grass, +not a leaf quivered. The skies burned like a sheet of copper.</p> + +<p>The boys panted, and their clothing, wet with perspiration, clung to +them. The earth was hot under their feet. Quickly they threw off their +garments and sprang into the water. How cool and grateful it felt! There +they lingered long, and did not notice the sudden obscurity of the sun +and darkening of the southwest.</p> + +<p>A slight wind sprang up presently, and the dry leaves and grass began to +rustle. There was thunder in the distance and a stroke of lightning. The +boys were aroused, and scrambling out of the water put on their +clothing.</p> + +<p>"A storm's coming," said Henry, who was weatherwise, "and we must get +the cattle in."</p> + +<p>These sons of the forest did not fear rain, but they hurried on their +clothing, and they noticed, too, how rapidly the storm was gathering. +The heat had been great for days, and the earth was parched and thirsty. +The men had talked in the evening of rain, and said how welcome it would +be, and now the boys shared the general feeling. The drought would be +ended. The thirsty earth would drink deep and grow green again.</p> + +<p>The rolling clouds, drawn like a great curtain over the southwest, +advanced and covered all the heavens. The flashes of lightning followed +each other so fast that, at times, they seemed continuous; the forest +groaned as it bent before the wind. Then the great drops fell, and soon +they were beating the earth like volleys of pistol bullets. Fragments of +boughs, stripped off by the wind, swept by. Never had the boys in their +Eastern home known such thunder and lightning. The roar of one was +always in their ears, and the flash of the other always in their eyes.</p> + +<p>The frightened cattle were gathered into a group, pressing close +together for company and protection. The boys hurried them toward the +stockade, but one cow, driven by terror, broke from the rest and ran +toward the woods. Agile Henry, not willing to lose a single straggler, +pursued the fugitive, and Paul, wishing to be as zealous, followed. The +rest of the cattle, being so near and obeying the force of habit, went +on into the stockade.</p> + +<p>It was the wildest cow of the herd that made a plunge for the woods, and +Henry, knowing her nature, expected trouble. So he ran as fast as he +could, and he was not aware until they were in the forest that Paul was +close behind him. Then he shouted:</p> + +<p>"Go back, Paul! I'll bring her in."</p> + +<p>But Paul would not turn. There was fire in his blood. He considered it +as much his duty to help as it was Henry's. Moreover, he would not +desert his comrade.</p> + +<p>The fugitive, driven by the storm acting upon its wild nature, continued +at great speed, and the panting boys were not able to overtake her. So +on the trio went, plunging through the woods, and saving themselves from +falls, or collisions with trees, only by the light from the flashes of +lightning. Many boys, even on the border, would have turned back, but +there was something tenacious in Henry's nature; he had undertaken to do +a thing, and he did not wish to give it up. Besides that cow was too +valuable. And Paul would not leave his comrade.</p> + +<p>Away the cow went, and behind her ran her pursuers. The rain came +rushing and roaring through the woods, falling now in sheets, while +overhead the lightning still burned, and the thunder still crashed, +though with less frequency. Both the boys were drenched, but they did +not mind it; they did not even know it at the time. The lightning died +presently, the thunder ceased to rumble, and then the darkness fell like +a great blanket over the whole forest. The chase was blotted out from +them, and the two boys, stopping, grasped each other's hands for the +sake of company. They could not see twenty feet before them, but the +rain still poured.</p> + +<p>"We'll have to give her up," said Henry reluctantly. "We couldn't follow +a whole herd of buffaloes in all this black night."</p> + +<p>"Maybe we can find her to-morrow," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"Maybe so," replied Henry. "We've got to wait anyhow. Let's go home."</p> + +<p>They started back for Wareville, keeping close together, lest they lose +each other in the darkness, and they realized suddenly that they were +uncomfortable. The rain was coming in such sheets directly in their +faces that it half blinded them, now and then their feet sank deep in +mire and their drenched bodies began to grow cold. The little log houses +in which they lived now seemed to them palaces, fit for a king, and they +hastened their footsteps, often tripping on vines or running into +bushes. But Henry was trying to see through the dark woods.</p> + +<p>"We ought to be near the clearing," he said.</p> + +<p>They stopped and looked all about, seeking to see a light. They knew +that one would be shining from the tower of the blockhouse as a guide to +them. But they saw none. They had misjudged the distance, so they +thought, and they pushed on a half hour longer, but there was still no +light, nor did they come to a clearing. Then they paused. Dark as it was +each saw a look of dismay on the face of the other.</p> + +<p>"We've come the wrong way!" exclaimed Paul.</p> + +<p>"Maybe we have," reluctantly admitted Henry.</p> + +<p>But their dismay lasted only a little while. They were strong boys, used +to the wilderness, and they did not fear even darkness and wandering +through the woods. Moreover, they were sure that they should find +Wareville long before midnight.</p> + +<p>They changed their course and continued the search. The rain ceased by +and by, the clouds left the heavens, and the moon came out, but they saw +nothing familiar about them. The great woods were dripping with water, +and it was the only sound they heard, besides that made by themselves. +They stopped again, worn out and disconsolate at last. All their walking +only served to confuse them the more. Neither now had any idea of the +direction in which Wareville lay, and to be lost in the wilderness was a +most desperate matter. They might travel a thousand miles, should +strength last them for so great a journey, and never see a single human +being. They leaned against the rough bark of a great oak tree, and +stared blankly at each other.</p> + +<p>"What are we to do?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"I can't say," replied Henry.</p> + +<p>The two boys still looked blank, but at last they laughed—and each +laughed at the other's grewsome face. Then they began once more to cast +about them. The cold had passed and warm winds were blowing up from the +south. The forest was drying, and Henry and Paul, taking off their +coats, wrung the water from them. They were strong lads, inured to many +hardships of the border and the forest, and they did not fear ill +results from a mere wetting. Nevertheless, they wished to be +comfortable, and under the influence of the warm wind they soon found +themselves dry again. But they were so intensely sleepy that they could +scarcely keep their eyes open, and now the wilderness training of both +came into use.</p> + +<p>It was a hilly country, with many outcroppings of stone and cavelike +openings in the sides of the steep but low hills, and such a place as +this the boys now sought. But it was a long hunt and they grew more +tired and sleepy at every step. They were hungry, too, but if they might +only sleep they could forget that. They heard again the hooting of owls +and the wind, moaning among the leaves, made strange noises. Once there +was a crash in a thicket beside them, and they jumped in momentary +alarm, but it was only a startled deer, far more scared than they, +running through the bushes, and Henry was ashamed of his nervous +impulse.</p> + +<p>They found at last their resting place, a sheltered ledge of dry stone +in the hollow of a hill. The stone arched above them, and it was dark in +the recess, but the boys were too tired now to worry about shadows. They +crept into the hollow, and, scraping up fallen leaves to soften the hard +stone, lay down. Both were off to slumberland in less than five minutes.</p> + +<p>The hollow faced the East, and the bright sun, shining into their eyes, +awakened them at last. Henry sprang up, amazed. The skies were a silky +blue, with little white clouds sailing here and there. The forest, +new-washed by the rain, smelt clean and sweet. The south wind was still +blowing. The world was bright and beautiful, but he was conscious of an +acute pain at the center of his being. That is, he was increasingly +hungry. Paul showed equal surprise, and was a prey to the same annoying +sensation in an important region. He looked up at the sun, and found +that it was almost directly overhead, indicating noon.</p> + +<p>All the country about them was strange, an unbroken expanse of hill and +forest, and nowhere a sign of a human being. They scrutinized the +horizon with the keen eyes of boyhood, but they saw no line of smoke, +rising from the chimneys of Wareville. Whether the villages lay north or +south or east or west of them they did not know, and the wind that +sighed so gently through the forest never told. They were alone in the +wilderness and they knew, moreover, that the wilderness was very vast +and they were very small. But Henry and Paul did not despair; in fact no +such thought entered Henry's mind. Instead he began to find a certain +joy in the situation; it appealed to his courage. They resolved to find +something to eat, and they used first a temporary cure for the pangs of +hunger. Each had a strong clasp knife and they cut strips of the soft +inner bark of the slippery-elm tree, which they chewed, drawing from it +a little strength and sustenance. They found an hour or two later some +nearly ripe wild plums, which they ate in small quantities, and, later +on, ripe blackberries very juicy and sweet. Paul wanted to be voracious, +but Henry restrained him, knowing well that if he indulged liberally he +might suffer worse pangs than those of hunger. Slender as was this diet +the boys felt much strengthened, and their spirits rose in a wonderful +manner.</p> + +<p>"We're bound to be found sooner or later," said Henry, "and it's strange +if we can't live in the woods until then."</p> + +<p>"If we only had our guns and ammunition," said Paul, "we could get all +the meat we wanted, and live as well as if we were at home."</p> + +<p>This was true, because in the untrodden forest the game was plentiful +all about them, but guns and ammunition they did not have, and it was +vain to wish for them. They must obtain more solid food than wild plums +and blackberries, if they would retain their strength, and both boys +knew it. Yet they saw no way and they continued wandering until they +came to a creek. They sat a while on its banks and looked down at the +fish with which it was swarming, and which they could see distinctly in +its clear waters.</p> + +<p>"Oh, if we only had one of those fine fellows!" said Paul.</p> + +<p>"Then why not have him?" exclaimed Henry, a sudden flash appearing in +his eye.</p> + +<p>"Yes, why not?" replied Paul with sarcasm. "I suppose that all we have +to do is to whistle and the finest of 'em will come right out here on +the bank, and ask us to cook and eat 'em."</p> + +<p>"We haven't any hooks and lines now but we might make 'em," said Henry.</p> + +<p>"Make 'em!" said Paul, and he looked in amazement at his comrade.</p> + +<p>"Out of our clothes," replied Henry.</p> + +<p>Then he proceeded to show what he meant and Paul, too, when he saw him +begin, was quickly taken with the idea. They drew many long strands from +the fiber of their clothing—cloth in those days was often made as +strong as leather—and twisted and knotted them together until they had +a line fifteen feet long. It took them at least two hours to complete +this task, and then they contemplated their work with pride. But the +look of joy on Paul's face did not last long.</p> + +<p>"How on earth are we to get a hook, Henry?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I'll furnish that," replied Henry, and he took the small steel buckle +with which his trousers were fastened together at the back. Breaking +this apart he bent the slenderest portion of it into the shape of a +hook, and fastened it to the end of his line.</p> + +<p>"If we get a fish on this he may slip off or he may not, but we must +try," he said.</p> + +<p>The fishing rod and the bait were easy matters. A slender stem of +dogwood, cut with a clasp knife, served for the first, and, to get the +latter, they had nothing to do but turn up a flat stone, and draw angle +worms from the moist earth beneath.</p> + +<p>The hook was baited and with a triumphant flourish Henry swung it toward +the stream.</p> + +<p>"Now," he said, "for the biggest fish that ever swam in this creek."</p> + +<p>The boys might have caught nothing with such a rude outfit, but +doubtless that stream was never fished in before, and its inhabitants, +besides being full of a natural curiosity, did not dream of any danger +coming from the outer air. Therefore they bit at the curious-looking +metallic thing with the tempting food upon it which was suddenly dropped +from somewhere.</p> + +<p>But the first fish slipped off as Henry had feared, and then there was +nothing to do but try again. It was not until the sixth or seventh bite +that he succeeded in landing a fine perch upon the bank, and then Paul +uttered a cry of triumph, but Henry, as became his superior dignity at +that moment, took his victory modestly. It was in reality something to +rejoice over, as these two boys were perhaps in a more dangerous +situation than they, with all their knowledge of the border, understood. +The wilderness was full of animal life, but it was fleeter than man, +and, without weapons they were helpless.</p> + +<p>"And now to cook him," said Henry. So speaking, he took from his pocket +the flint and steel that he had learned from the men always to carry, +while Paul began to gather fallen brushwood.</p> + +<p>To light the fire Henry expected to be the easiest of their tasks, but +it proved to be one of the most difficult. He struck forth the elusive +sparks again and again, but they went out before setting fire to the +wood. He worked until his fingers ached and then Paul relieved him. It +fell to the younger boy's lot to succeed. A bright spark flying forth +rested a moment among the lightest and dryest of the twigs, igniting +there. A tiny point of flame appeared, then grew and leaped up. In a few +moments the great pile of brushwood was in a roaring blaze, and then the +boys cooked their fish over the coals. They ate it all with supreme +content, and they believed they could feel the blood flowing in a new +current through their veins and their strength growing, too.</p> + +<p>But they knew that they would have to prepare for the future and draw +upon all their resources of mind and body. Their hook and line was but a +slender appliance and they might not have such luck with it again. Paul +suggested that they make a fish trap, of sticks tied together with +strips cut from their clothing, and put it in the creek, and Henry +thought it was a good idea, too. So they agreed to try it on the morrow, +if they should not be found meanwhile, and then they debated the subject +of snares.</p> + +<p>The undergrowth was swarming with rabbits, and they would make most +toothsome food. Rabbits they must have, and again Henry led the way. He +selected a small clear spot near the thick undergrowth where a rabbit +would naturally love to make his nest and around a circle about six +inches in diameter he drove a number of smooth pegs. Then he tied a +strong cord made of strips of their clothing to one end of a stout bush, +which he bent over until it curved in a semicircle. The other end of the +cord was drawn in a sliding loop around the pegs, and was attached to a +little wooden trigger, set in the center of the inclosure.</p> + +<p>The slightest pressure upon this trigger would upset it, cause the noose +to slip off the pegs and close with a jerk around the neck of anything +that might have its head thrust into the inclosure. The bush, too, would +fly back into place and there would be the intruder, really hanged by +himself. It was the common form of snare, devised for small game by the +boys of early Kentucky, and still used by them.</p> + +<p>Henry and Paul made four of these ingenious little contrivances, and +baited them with bruised pieces of the small plantain leaves that the +rabbits love. Then they contemplated their work again with satisfaction. +But Paul suddenly began to look rueful.</p> + +<p>"If we have to pay out part of our clothes every time we get a dinner we +soon won't have any left," he said.</p> + +<p>Henry only laughed.</p> + +<p>It was now near sunset, and, as they had worked hard they would have +been thankful for supper, but there was none to be thankful for, and +they were too tired to fish again. So they concluded to go to sleep, +which their hard work made very easy, and dream of abundant harvests on +the morrow.</p> + +<p>They gathered great armfuls of the fallen brushwood, littering the +forest, and built a heap as high as their heads, which blazed and roared +in a splendid manner, sending up, too, a column of smoke that rose far +above the trees and trailed off in the blue sky.</p> + +<p>It was a most cheerful bonfire, and it was a happy thought for the boys +to build it, even aside from its uses as a signal, as the coming of +night in the wilderness is always most lonesome and weird.</p> + +<p>They lay down near each other on the soft turf, and Henry watched the +red sun sink behind the black forest in the west. The strange, +sympathetic feeling for the wilderness again came into his mind. He +thought once more of the mysterious regions that lay beyond the line +where the black and red met. He could live in the woods, he was living +now without arms, even, and if he only had his rifle and ammunition he +could live in luxury. And then the wonderful freedom! That old thought +came to him with renewed force. To roam as he pleased, to stop when he +pleased and to sleep where he pleased! He would make a canoe, and float +down the great rivers to their mouths. Then he would wander far out on +the vast plains, which they say lay beyond the thousand miles of forest, +and see the buffalo in millions go thundering by. That would be a life +without care.</p> + +<p>He fell asleep presently, but he was awakened after a while by a +long-drawn plaintive shriek answered by a similar cry. Once he would +have been alarmed by the sound, but now he knew it was panther talking +to panther. He and Paul were unarmed, but they had something as +effective as guns against panthers and that was the great bonfire which +still roared and blazed near them. He was glad now for a new reason that +they had built it high, because the panther's cry was so uncanny and +sent such a chill down one's back. He looked at Paul, but his comrade +still slept soundly, a peaceful smile showing on his face. He remembered +the words of Ross that no wild animal would trouble man if man did not +trouble him, and, rolling a little nearer to Paul, he shut his eyes and +sought sleep.</p> + +<p>But sleep would not come, and presently he heard the cry of the panther +again but much nearer. He was lying with his ear to the ground. Now the +earth is a conductor of sound and Henry was sure that he heard a soft +tread. He rose upon his elbow and gazed into the darkness. There he +beheld at last a dim form moving with sinuous motion, and slowly it took +the shape of a great cat-like animal. Then he saw just behind it another +as large, and he knew that they were the two panthers whose cries he had +heard.</p> + +<p>Henry was not frightened, although there was something weird and uncanny +in the spectacle of these two powerful beasts of prey, stealing about +the fire, before which two unarmed boys reposed. He knew, however, that +they were drawn not by the desire to attack, but by a kind of terrified +curiosity. The fire was to them the magnet that the snake is to the +fascinated bird. He longed then for his gun, the faithful little rifle +that was reposing on the hooks over his bed in his father's house. "I'd +make you cry for something," he said to himself, looking at the largest +of the panthers.</p> + +<p>The animals lingered, glaring at the boys and the fire with great red +eyes, and presently Henry, doing as he had done on a former occasion, +picked up a blazing torch and, shouting, rushed at them.</p> + +<p>The panthers sprang headlong through the undergrowth, in their eagerness +to get away from the terrible flaming vision that was darting down upon +them. Their flight was so quick that they disappeared in an instant and +Henry knew they would not venture near the site of the fire again in a +long time. He turned back and found Paul surprised and alarmed standing +erect and rubbing his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Why—why—what's the matter?" cried Paul.</p> + +<p>"Oh, it's nothing," replied Henry.</p> + +<p>Then he told about the panthers. Paul did not know as much as Henry +concerning panthers and the affair got on his nerves. The lonely and +vast grandeur of the wilderness did not have the attraction for him that +it had for his comrade, and he wished again for the strong log walls and +comfortable roofs of Wareville. But Henry reassured him. The testimony +of the hunters about the timidity of wild beasts was unanimous and he +need have no fears. So Paul went to sleep again, but Henry lingered as +before.</p> + +<p>He threw fresh fuel on the fire. Then he lay down again and gradually +weary nature became the master of him. The woods grew dim, and faded +away, the fire vanished and he was in slumberland.</p> + +<p>When Henry awoke it was because some one was tugging at his shoulder. He +knew now that the Indian warriors had come across the Ohio, and had +seized him, and he sprang up ready to make a fierce resistance.</p> + +<p>"Don't fight, Henry! It's me—Paul!" cried a boyish voice, and Henry +letting his muscles relax rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. It was Paul +sure enough standing beside him, and the sun again was high up in the +heavens. The fire was still burning, though it had died down somewhat.</p> + +<p>"Oh, my breakfast!" cried Henry as he felt a sudden pang.</p> + +<p>"Come, let's see if we're going to have any," said Paul, and off they +went to their snares. The first had not been touched, nor had the +second. The bait was gone from the third, and the loop sprung, but there +was nothing in it. The hearts of the boys sank and they thought again of +wild plums and blackberries which were but a light diet. But when they +came to the fourth snare their triumph was complete. A fat rabbit, +caught in the loop, was hanging by the neck, beside the bush.</p> + +<p>"It's lucky the forest is so full of game that some of it falls into our +trap," said Henry.</p> + +<p>They cooked the rabbit, and again they were so hungry that they ate it +all. Then they improvised new fishing tackle and both boys began to +fish. They knew that they must devote their whole time to this problem +of food, and they decided, for the present, not to leave the creek. They +were afraid to renew the search for Wareville, lest they wander deeper +into the wilderness, and moreover lose the way to the creek which seemed +to be the surest source of food. So they would stay a while where they +were, and keep their fire burning high as a signal to searchers.</p> + +<p>Either the fish had learned that the curiously shaped thing with the +tempting bait upon it was dangerous, or they had gone to visit friends +in distant parts of the creek, for, at least two hours passed, without +either boy getting a bite. When the fish did lay hold it was usually to +slip again from the rude hook, and it was at least another hour before +they caught a fish. It was Paul who achieved the feat, and it repaid him +for being asleep when the panthers came, a matter that had lain upon his +mind somewhat.</p> + +<p>They persisted in this work until Henry also made a catch and then they +gathered more plums and berries. They dug up, too, the root of the +Indian turnip, an herb that burnt the mouth like fire, but which Henry +said they could use, after soaking it a long time in water. Then they +discussed the matter of the fish trap which they thought they could make +in a day's work. This would relieve them of much toil, but they deferred +its beginning until the morrow, and used the rest of the day in making +two more snares for rabbits.</p> + +<p>Paul now suggested that they accumulate as much food as possible, cook +it and putting it on their backs follow the creek to its mouth. He had +no doubt that it emptied into the river that flowed by Wareville and +then by following the stream, if his surmise was right, they could reach +home again. It was a plausible theory and Henry agreed with him. +Meanwhile they built their fire high again and lay down for another +night's rest in the woods. The next day they devoted to the fish trap +which was successfully completed, and put in the river, and then they +took their places on the turf for the third night beside the camp fire.</p> + +<p>The day, like its predecessor, had been close and hot. All traces of the +great rain were gone. Forest and earth were again as dry as tinder. They +refreshed themselves with a swim in the creek just before lying down to +sleep, but they were soon panting with the heat. It seemed to hang in +heavy clouds, and the forest shut out any fresh air that might be moving +high up.</p> + +<p>Despite the great heat the boys had built the fire as high as usual, +because they knew that the search for them would never cease so long as +there was a hope of success, and they thought that the signal should not +be lacking. But now they moved away from it and into the shadow of the +woods.</p> + +<p>"If only the wind would blow!" said Henry.</p> + +<p>"And I'd be willing to stand a rain like the one in which we got lost," +said Paul.</p> + +<p>But neither rain nor wind came, and after a while they fell asleep. +Henry was awakened at an unknown hour of the night by a roaring in his +ears, and at first he believed that Paul was about to have his storm. +Then he was dazzled by a great rush of light in his eyes, and he sprang +to his feet in sudden alarm.</p> + +<p>"Up, Paul!" he cried, grasping his comrade by the shoulder. "The woods +are on fire!"</p> + +<p>Paul was on his feet in an instant, and the two were just in time. +Sparks flew in their faces and the flames twisting into pyramids and +columns leaped from tree to tree with a sound like thunder as they came. +Boughs, burnt through, fell to the ground with a crash. The sparks rose +in millions.</p> + +<p>The boys had slept in their clothes or rather what was left of them, +and, grasping each other's hands, they ran at full speed toward the +creek, with the great fire roaring and rushing after them. Henry looked +back once but the sight terrified him and the sparks scorched his face. +He knew that the conflagration had been set by their own bonfire, fanned +by a rising wind as they slept, but it was no time to lament. The rush +and sweep of the flames, feeding upon the dry forest and gathering +strength as they came, was terrific. It was indeed like the thunder of a +storm in the ears of the frightened boys, and they fairly skimmed over +the ground in the effort to escape the red pursuer. They could feel its +hot breath on their necks, while the smoke and the sparks flew over +their heads. They dashed into the creek, and each dived down under the +water which felt so cool and refreshing.</p> + +<p>"Let's stay here," said Paul, who enjoyed the present.</p> + +<p>"We can't think of such a thing," replied Henry. "This creek won't stop +that fire half a minute!"</p> + +<p>A fire in a sun-dried Western forest is a terrible thing. It rushes on +at a gallop, roaring and crackling like the battle-front of an army, and +destroying everything that lies before it. It leaves but blackened +stumps and charred logs behind, and it stops only when there is no +longer food for it to devour.</p> + +<p>The boys sprang out of the creek and ran up the hill. Henry paused a +moment at its crest, and looked back again. The aspect of the fire was +more frightful than ever. The flames leaped higher than the tops of the +tallest trees, and thrust out long red twining arms, like coiling +serpents. Beneath was the solid red bank of the conflagration, preceded +by showers of ashes and smoke and sparks. The roar increased and was +like that of many great guns in battle.</p> + +<p>"Paul!" exclaimed Henry seizing his comrade's hand again. "We've got to +run, as we've never run before! It's for our lives now!"</p> + +<p>It was in good truth for their lives, and bending low their heads, the +two boys, hand in hand, raced through the forest, with the ruthless +pursuer thundering after them. Henry as he ran, glanced back once more +and saw that the fire was gaining upon them. The serpents of flame were +coming nearer and nearer and the sparks flew over their heads in greater +showers. Paul was panting, and being the younger and smaller of the two +his strength was now failing. Henry felt his comrade dragging upon his +hand. If he freed himself from Paul's grasp he could run faster, but he +remembered his silent resolve to take Paul back to his people. Even were +it not for those others at Wareville he could never desert his friend at +such a moment. So he pulled on Paul's hand to hasten his speed, and +together the boys went on.</p> + +<p>The two noticed presently that they were not alone in their flight, a +circumstance that had escaped them in the first hurry and confusion. +Deer and rabbits, too, flew before the hurricane of fire. The deer were +in a panic of terror, and a great stag ran for a few moments beside the +boys, not noticing them, or, in his fear of greater evil, having no fear +of human beings who were involved in the same danger. Three or four +buffaloes, too, presently joined the frightened herd of game, one, a +great bull running with head down and blowing steam from his nostrils.</p> + +<p>Paul suddenly sank to his knees and gasped:</p> + +<p>"I can't go on! Let me stay here and you save yourself, Henry!"</p> + +<p>Henry looked back at the great fiery wall that swept over the ground, +roaring like a storm. It was very near now and the smoke almost blinded +him. A boy with a spirit less stanch than his might well have fled in a +panic, leaving his companion to his death. But the nearer the danger +came the more resolute Henry grew. He saw, too, that he must sting Paul +into renewed action.</p> + +<p>"Get up!" he exclaimed, and he jerked the fainting boy to his feet. +Then, snatching a stick, he struck Paul several smart blows on his back. +Paul cried out with the sudden pain, and, stimulated by it into physical +action, began to run with renewed speed.</p> + +<p>"That's right, Paul!" cried Henry, dropping his stick and seizing his +comrade again by the hand. "One more big try and we'll get away! Just +over this hill here it's open ground, and the fire will have to stop!"</p> + +<p>It was a guess, only made to encourage Paul, and Henry had small hope +that it would come true, but when they reached the brow of the hill both +uttered a shout of delight. There was no forest for perhaps a quarter of +a mile beyond, and down the center of the open glittered a silver streak +that meant running water.</p> + +<p>Henry was so joyous that he cried out again.</p> + +<p>"See, Paul! See!" he exclaimed. "Here's safety! Now we'll run!"</p> + +<p>How they did run! The sight gave them new strength. They shot out of +that terrible forest and across the short dry grass, burnt brown by late +summer days, running for life toward the flowing water. They did not +stop to notice the size of the stream, but plunged at once into its +current.</p> + +<p>Henry sank with a mighty splash, and went down, down, it seemed to him, +a mile. Then his feet touched a hard, rocky bottom, and he shot back to +the surface, spluttering and blowing the water out of eyes, mouth and +nostrils. A brown head was bobbing beside him. He seized it by the hair, +pulled it up, and disclosed the features of Paul, his comrade. Paul, +too, began to splutter and at the same time to try to swim.</p> + +<p>Splash!</p> + +<p>A heavy body struck the water beside them with a thud too great for that +of a man. It was the stag leaping also for safety and he began to swim +about, looking at the boys with great pathetic eyes, as if he would ask +them what he ought to do next for his life. Apparently his fear of +mankind had passed for the moment. They were bound together by the +community of danger.</p> + +<p>Splash! Splash! Splash!</p> + +<p>The water resounded like the beating of a bass drum. Three more deer, a +buffalo, and any number of smaller game sprang into the stream, and +remained there swimming or wading.</p> + +<p>"Here, Paul! Here's a bar that we can stand on," said Henry who had +found a footing. At the same time he grasped Paul by the wrist, and drew +him to the bar. There they stood in the water to their necks, and +watched the great fire as it divided at the little prairie, and swept +around them, passing to left and right. It was a grim sight. All the +heavens seemed ablaze, and the clouds of smoke were suffocating. Even +there in the river the heat was most oppressive, and at times the faces +of the boys were almost scorched. Then they would thrust their heads +under the water, and keep them there as long as they could hold their +breath, coming up again greatly refreshed. The wild game clustered near +in common terror.</p> + +<p>"It's a lucky thing for us the river and prairie are here," said Henry. +"Another half mile and we'd have been ashes."</p> + +<p>Paul was giving thanks under his breath, and watching the fire with +awe-stricken eyes. It swept past them and rushed on, in a great red +cloud, that ate all in its path and gave forth much noise.</p> + +<p>It was now on the far side of the prairie, and soon began to grow +smaller in the distance. Yet so great was the wall of fire that it was +long in sight, dying at last in a red band under the horizon. Even then +all the skies were still filled with drifting smoke and ashes.</p> + +<p>The boys looked back at the path over which they had come, and although +the joy of escape was still upon them it was with real grief that they +beheld the stricken forest, lately so grand a sight. It was now but a +desolate and blackened ruin. Here and there charred trunks stood like +the chimneys of burned houses, and others lay upon the ground like +fallen and smoking rafters. Scattered about were great beds of living +coals, where the brush had been thickest, and smoke rose in columns from +the burned grass and hot earth. It was all like some great temple +destroyed by fire; and such it was, the grandest of all temples, the +natural temple of the forest.</p> + +<p>"We kindled that fire," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"I guess we did," responded Henry, "but we didn't know our spark would +grow into so great a blaze."</p> + +<p>They swam to the bank and walked toward the remains of the forest. But +the ground was still hot to their feet, and the smoke troubled them. +Near the edge of the wood they found a deer still alive and with a +broken leg, tripped in its panic-stricken flight or struck by a fallen +tree. Henry approached cautiously and slew him with his clasp knife. He +felt strong pity as the fallen animal looked at him with great mournful +eyes, but they were two hungry boys, and they must have a food supply if +they would live in the woods.</p> + +<p>They cleaned and dressed the deer and found that the carcass was as much +as they could carry. But with great toil they lifted it over the hot +ground, and then across another little prairie, until they came to woods +only partially burned. There they hung the body to the bough of a tree, +out of the reach of beasts of prey.</p> + +<p>Then they took thought for the future. Barring the deer which would last +some time they would now have to begin all over again, but they resolved +to spend the rest of the present day, there under the shade of the +trees. They were too much exhausted with exertion and excitement to +undertake any new risk just yet.</p> + +<p>Paul was afflicted with a great longing for home that afternoon. The +fire and their narrow escape were still on his nerves. His muscular +fiber was not so enduring as that of Henry, and the wilderness did not +make so keen an appeal to him. Their hardships were beginning to weigh +upon him and he thought all the time of Wareville, and the comfortable +little log houses and the certain and easy supplies of food. Henry knew +what was on his comrade's mind but he did not upbraid him for weakness +of spirit. He, too, had memories of Wareville, and he pitied the grief +of their people who must now be mourning them as lost forever. But he +had been thinking long and hard and he had a plan. Finally he announced +to Paul that they would build a raft.</p> + +<p>"I believe this is the same river that runs by Wareville," he said. "I +never heard Ross or Shif'less Sol or any of the men speak of another +river, near enough for us to have reached it, since we've been wandering +around. So it must be the same. Now either we are above Wareville or we +are below it. We've got to guess at that and take the risk of it. We can +roll a lot of the logs and timber into the river, tie 'em together, and +float with the stream until we come to Wareville."</p> + +<p>"But if we never come to it?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"Then all we have to do is to get off the raft and follow the river back +up the bank. Then we are sure to reach home."</p> + +<p>This was so plausible that Paul was full of enthusiasm and they decided +that they would set to work on the raft early in the morning.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>THE HAUNTED FOREST</h3> + + +<p>As the two boys sat before their camp fire that night, after making +their plan, they were far from feeling gloomy. Another revulsion had +come. Safe, for the moment, after their recent run for life, it seemed +to them that they were safe for all time. They were rested, they had +eaten good food in plenty, and the fire was long since but a dim red +blur on the horizon. Ashes, picked up by wandering puffs of wind, still +floated here and there among the burned tree trunks, and now and then a +shower of sparks burst forth, as a bough into which the flames had eaten +deep, broke and fell to the ground; but fear had gone from the lads, +and, in its place, came a deep content. They were used to the forest, +and in the company of each other they felt neither loneliness nor +despair.</p> + +<p>"It's good here," said Paul who was a reader and a philosopher. "I guess +a fellow's life looks best to him just after he's thought he was going +to lose it, but didn't."</p> + +<p>"I think that's true," said Henry, glancing toward the far horizon, +where the red blur still showed under the twilight. "But that was just a +little too close for fun."</p> + +<p>But his satisfaction was even deeper than Paul's. The wilderness and its +ways made a stronger appeal to him. Paul, without Henry, would have felt +loneliness and fear, but Henry alone, would have faced the night +undaunted. Already the great forest was putting upon him its magic +spell.</p> + +<p>"Have you eaten enough, Paul?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I should like to eat more, but I'm afraid I can't find a place for it," +replied Paul ruefully.</p> + +<p>Henry laughed. He felt himself more than ever Paul's protector and +regarded all his weaknesses with kindly tolerance. There the two lay +awhile, stretched out on the soft, warm earth, watching the twilight +deepen into night. Henry was listening to the voice of the wilderness, +which spoke to him in such pleasant tones. He heard a faint sighing, +like some one lightly plucking the strings of a guitar, and he knew that +it was the wandering breeze among the burned boughs; he heard now and +then a distant thud, and he knew that it was the fall of a tree, into +whose trunk the flames had bit deeply; as he lay with his ear to the +earth he heard more than once a furtive footfall as light as air, and he +knew that some wild animal was passing. But he had no fear, the fire was +a ring of steel about them.</p> + +<p>Paul heard few of these sounds, or if hearing them he paid no heed. The +wilderness was not talking to him. He was merely in the woods and he was +very glad indeed to have his strong and faithful comrade beside him.</p> + +<p>The twilight slipped away and the night came, thick and dark. The red +blur lingered, but the faintest line of pink under the dark horizon, and +the scorched tree trunks that curved like columns in a circle around +them became misty and unreal. Despite himself Paul began to feel a +little fear. He was a brave boy, but this was the wilderness, the +wilderness in the dark, peopled by wild animals and perhaps by wilder +men, and they were lost in it. He moved a little closer to his comrade. +But Henry, into whose mind no such thoughts had come, rose presently, +and heaped more wood on the fire. He was merely taking an ordinary +precaution, and this little task finished, he spoke to Paul in a vein of +humor, purposely making his words sound very big.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Cotter," he said, "it seems to me that two worthy gentlemen like +ourselves who have had a day of hard toil should retire for the night, +and seek the rest that we deserve."</p> + +<p>"What you say is certainly true, Mr. Ware," responded Paul who had a +lively fancy, "and I am glad to see that we have happened upon an inn, +worthy of our great merits, and of our high position in life. This, you +see, Mr. Ware, is the Kaintuckee Inn, a most spacious place, noted for +its pure air, and the great abundance of it. In truth, Mr. Ware, I may +assert to you that the ventilation is perfect."</p> + +<p>"So I see, Mr. Cotter," said Henry, pursuing the same humor. "It is +indeed a noble place. We are not troubled by any guest, beneath us in +quality, nor are we crowded by any of our fellow lodgers."</p> + +<p>"True! True!" said Paul, his bright eyes shining with his quick spirit, +"and it is a most noble apartment that we have chosen. I have seldom +been in one more spacious. My eyes are good, but good as they are I +cannot see the ceiling, it is so high. I look to right and left, and the +walls are so far away that they are hidden in the dark."</p> + +<p>"Correctly spoken, Mr. Cotter," said Henry taking up the thread of talk, +"and our inn has more than size to speak for it. It is furnished most +beautifully. I do not know of another that has in it so good a larder. +Its great specialty is game. It has too a most wonderful and plenteous +supply of pure fresh water and that being so I propose that we get a +drink and go to bed."</p> + +<p>The two boys went down to the little brook that ran near, and drank +heartily. They then returned within the ring of fire.</p> + +<p>They were thoroughly tired and sleepy, and they quickly threw themselves +down upon the soft warm earth, pillowing their heads on their arms, and +the great Kaintuckee Inn bent over them a roof of soft, summer skies.</p> + +<p>But the wilderness never sleeps, and its people knew that night that a +stranger breed was abroad among them. The wind rose a little, and its +song among the burned branches became by turns a music and a moan. The +last cinder died, the earth cooled, and the forest creatures began to +stir in the woodland aisles where the fire had passed. The disaster had +come and gone, and perhaps it was already out of their memories forever. +Rabbits timidly sought their old nests. A wild cat climbed a tree, +scarcely yet cool beneath his claws, and looked with red and staring +eyes at the ring of fire that formed a core of light in the forest, and +the two extraordinary beings that slept within its shelter. A deer came +down to the brook to drink, snorted at the sight of the red gleam among +the trees, and then, when the strange odor came on the wind to its +nostrils, fled in wild fright through the forest.</p> + +<p>The news, in some way unknown to man, was carried to all the forest +creatures. A new species, strange, unexplainable, had come among them, +and they were filled with curiosity. Even the weak who had need to fear +the strong, edged as near as they dared, and gazed at the singular +beings who lay inside the red blaze. The wild cat crawled far out on the +bare bough, and stared, half afraid, half curious, and also angry at the +intrusion. He could see over the red blaze and he saw the boys stretched +upon the ground, their faces, very white to the eye of the forest, +upturned to the sky. To human gaze they would have seemed as two dead, +but the keen eyes of the wild cat saw their chests rising and falling +with deep regular breaths.</p> + +<p>The darkness deepened and then after a while began to lighten. A +beautiful clear moon came out and sheathed all the burned forest in +gleaming silver. But the boys were still far away in a happy +slumberland. The wild cat fled in alarm at the light, and the timid +things drew back farther among the trees.</p> + +<p>Time passed, and the red ring of fire about Paul and Henry sank. Hasty +and tired, they had not drawn up enough wood to last out the night, and +now the flames died, one by one. Then the coals smoldered and after a +while they too began to go out, one by one. The red ring of fire that +inclosed the two boys was slowly going away. It broke into links, and +then the links went out.</p> + +<p>Light clouds came up from the west, and were drawn, like a veil, across +the sky. The moon began to fade, the silver armor melted away from the +trees, and the wild cat that had come back could scarcely see the two +strange beings, keen though his eyes were, so dense was the shadow where +they lay. The wild things, still devoured with curiosity, pressed +nearer. The terrible red light that filled their souls with dread, was +gone, and the forest had lost half its terror. There was a ring of eyes +about Henry and Paul, but they yet abode in glorious slumberland, +peaceful and happy.</p> + +<p>Suddenly a new note came into the sounds of the wilderness, one that +made the timid creatures tremble again with dread. It was faint and very +far, more like a quaver brought down upon the wind, but the ring of eyes +drew back into the forest, and then, when the quaver came a second time, +the rabbits and the deer fled, not to return. The lips of the wild cat +contracted into a snarl, but his courage was only of the moment, he +scampered away and he did not stop until he had gone a full mile. Then +he swiftly climbed the tallest tree that he could find, and hid in its +top.</p> + +<p>The ring of eyes was gone, as the ring of fire had died, but Henry and +Paul slept on, although there was full need for them to be awake. The +long, distant quaver, like a whine, but with something singularly +ferocious in its note came again on the wind, and, far away, a score of +forms, phantom and dusky, in the shadow were running fast, with low, +slim bodies, and outstretched nostrils that had in them a grateful odor +of food, soon to come.</p> + +<p>Nature had given to Henry Ware a physical mechanism of great strength, +but as delicate as that of a watch. Any jar to the wheels and springs +was registered at once by the minute hand of his brain. He stirred in +his sleep and moved one hand in a troubled way. He was not yet awake, +but the minute hand was quivering, and through all his wonderfully +sensitive organism ran the note of alarm. He stirred again and then +abruptly sat up, his eyes wide open, and his whole frame tense with a +new and terrible sensation. He saw the dead coals, where the fire had +been; the long, quavering and ferocious whine came to his ears, and, in +an instant, he understood. It was well for the two that Henry was by +nature a creature of the forest! He sprang to his feet and with one +sweeping motion pulled Paul to his also.</p> + +<p>"Up! Up, Paul!" he cried. "The fire is out, and the wolves are coming!"</p> + +<p>Paul's physical senses were less acute and delicate than Henry's, and he +did not understand at once. He was still dazed, and groping with his +hands in the dusk, but Henry gave him no time.</p> + +<p>"It's our lives, Paul!" he cried. "Another enemy as bad as the fire is +after us!"</p> + +<p>Not twenty feet away grew a giant beech, spreading out low and mighty +boughs, and Henry leaped for it, dragging Paul after him.</p> + +<p>"Up you go!" he cried, and Paul, not yet fully awake, instinctively +obeyed the fierce command. Then Henry leaped lightly after him and as +they climbed higher among the boughs the ferocious whine burst into a +long terrible howl, and the dusky forms, running low, gaunt and ghostly +in the shadow, shot from the forest, and hurled themselves at the beech +tree.</p> + +<p>Henry, despite all his courage, shuddered, and while he clutched a bough +tightly with one hand put the other upon his comrade to see that he did +not fall. He could feel Paul trembling in his grasp.</p> + +<p>The two looked down upon the inflamed red eyes, the cruelly sharp, white +teeth and slavering mouths, and, still panting from their climb, each +breathed a silent prayer of thankfulness. They had been just in time to +escape a pack of wolves that howled horribly for a while, and then sat +upon their haunches, staring silently up at the sweet new food, which +they believed would fall at last into their mouths.</p> + +<p>Paul at length said weakly:</p> + +<p>"Henry, I'm mighty glad you're a light sleeper. If it had been left to +me to wake up first I'd have woke up right in the middle of the stomachs +of those wolves."</p> + +<p>"Well, we're here and we're safe for the present," said Henry who never +troubled himself over what was past and gone, "and I think this is a +mighty fine beech tree. I know that you and I, Paul, will never see +another so big and friendly and good as it is."</p> + +<p>Paul laughed, now with more heart.</p> + +<p>"You are right, Henry," he said. "You are a mighty good friend, Mr. Big +Beech Tree, and as a mark of gratitude I shall kiss you right in the +middle of your honest barky old forehead," and he touched his lips +lightly to the great trunk. Paul was an imaginative boy, and his whim +pleased him. Such a thought would not have come to Henry, but he liked +it in Paul.</p> + +<p>"I think it's past midnight, Paul," said Henry, "and we've been lucky +enough to have had several hours' sleep."</p> + +<p>"But they'll go away as soon as they realize they can't get us," said +Paul, "and then we can climb down and build a new and bigger ring of +fire about us."</p> + +<p>Henry shook his head.</p> + +<p>"They don't realize it," he replied. "I know they expect just the +contrary, Paul. They are as sure as a wolf can be that we will drop +right into their mouths, just ready and anxious to be eaten. Look at +that old fellow with his forepaws on the tree! Did you ever see such +confidence?"</p> + +<p>Paul looked down fearfully, and the eyes of the biggest of the wolves +met his, and held him as if he were charmed. The wolf began to whine and +lick his lips, and Paul felt an insane desire to throw himself down.</p> + +<p>"Stop it, Paul!" Henry cried sharply.</p> + +<p>Paul jerked his eyes away, and shuddered from head to foot.</p> + +<p>"He was asking me to come," he said hysterically, "and I don't know how +it was, but for a moment I felt like going."</p> + +<p>"Yes and a warm welcome he would have given you," said Henry still +sharply. "Remember that your best friend just now is not Mr. Big Wolf, +but Mr. Big Beech Tree, and it's a wise boy who sticks to his best +friend."</p> + +<p>"I'm not likely to forget it," said Paul.</p> + +<p>He shuddered again at the memory of the terrible, haunting eyes that had +been able for a brief moment to draw him downward. Then he clasped the +friendly tree more tightly in his arms, and Henry smiled approval.</p> + +<p>"That's right, Paul," he said, "hold fast. I'd a heap rather be up here +than down there."</p> + +<p>Paul felt himself with his hand.</p> + +<p>"I'm all in one piece up here," he said, "and I think that's good for a +fellow who wants to live and grow."</p> + +<p>Henry laughed with genuine enjoyment. Paul was getting back his sense of +humor, and the change meant that his comrade was once more strong and +alert. Then the larger boy looked down at their besiegers, who were +sitting in a solemn circle, gazing now at the two lads and now at the +venison, hanging from the boughs of another tree very near. In the dusk +and the shadows they were a terrible company, gaunt and ghostly, gray +and grim.</p> + +<p>For a long time the wolves neither moved nor uttered a sound; they +merely sat on their haunches and stared upward at the living prey that +they felt would surely be theirs. The clouds, caught by wandering +breezes, were stripped from the face of the sky, and the moonlight came +out again, clear, and full, sheathing the scorched trunks once more in +silver armor, and stretching great blankets of light on the burned and +ashy earth. It fell too on the gaunt figures of the gray wolves, but the +silent and deadly circle did not stir. In the moonlight they grew more +terrible, the red eyes became more inflamed and angry, because they had +to wait so long for what they considered theirs by right, the snarling +lips were drawn back a little farther, and the sharp white teeth gleamed +more cruelly.</p> + +<p>Time passed again, dragging slowly and heavily for the besieged boys in +the tree, but the wolves, though hungry, were patient. Strong in union +they were lords of the forest, and they felt no fear. A shambling black +bear, lumbering through the woods, suddenly threw up his nose in the +wind, and catching the strong pungent odor, wheeled abruptly, lumbering +off on another course. The wild cat did not come back, but crouched +lower in his tree top; the timid things remained hidden deep in their +nests and burrows.</p> + +<p>It was a new kind of game that the wolves had scented and driven to the +boughs, something that they had never seen before, but the odor was very +sweet and pleasant in their nostrils. It was a tidbit that they must +have, and, red-eyed, they stared at the two strange, toothsome +creatures, who stirred now and then in the tree, and who made queer +sounds to each other. When they heard these occasional noises the pack +would reply with a long ferocious whine that seemed to double on itself +and give back echoes from every point of the compass. In the still night +it went far, and the timid things, when they heard it, trembled all over +in their nests and burrows. Then the leader, the largest and most +terrible of the pack would stretch himself upon the tree trunk, and claw +at the scorched bark, but the food he craved was still out of reach.</p> + +<p>They noticed that the strange creatures in the tree began to move +oftener, and to draw their limbs up as if they were growing stiff, and +then their long-drawn howl grew longer and more ferocious than ever; the +game, tired out, would soon drop into their mouths. But it did not, the +two creatures made sounds as if they were again encouraging each other, +and the hearts of the wolves filled with rage and impatience that they +should be cheated so long.</p> + +<p>The night advanced; the moonlight faded again and the dark hours that +come before the dawn were at hand. The forest became black and misty +like a haunted wood, and the dim forms of the wolves were the ghosts +that lived in it. But to their sharp red eyes the dark was nothing; they +saw the two beings in the tree do a very queer thing; they tore strips +from themselves, so it seemed to the wolves, from their clothing in +fact, and wound it about their bodies and a bough of the tree against +which they rested. But the wolves did not understand, only they knew +that the creatures did not stir again or make any kind of noise for a +long time.</p> + +<p>When the darkness was thickest the wolves grew hot with impatience. +Already they smelled the dawn and in the light their courage would ooze. +Could it be that the food they coveted would not fall into their mouths? +The dread suspicion filled every vein of the old leader with wrath, and +he uttered a long terrible howl of doubt and anger; the pack took up the +note and the lonely forest became alive with its echoes. But the +creatures in the tree stirred only a little, and made very few sounds. +They seemed to be safe and content, and the wolves raged back and forth, +leaping and howling.</p> + +<p>The old leader felt the dark thin and lighten, and the scent of the +coming dawn became more oppressive to him. A little needle of fear shot +into his heart, and his muscles began to grow weak. He saw afar in the +east the first pale tinge, faint and gray, of the dreadful light that he +feared and hated. His howl now was one of mingled anger and +disappointment, and the pack imitated the note of the king.</p> + +<p>The black veil over the forest gave way to one of gray. The dreadful bar +of light in the east broadened and deepened, and became beaming, intense +and brilliant. The needle of terror at the heart of the gray wolf +stabbed and tore. His red eyes could not face the great red sun that +swung now above the earth, shooting its fierce beams straight at him. +The dark, so kindly and so encouraging, beloved of his kind, was gone, +and the earth swam in a hideous light, every ray of which was hostile. +His blood changed to water, his knees bent under him, and then, to turn +fear to panic, came a powerful odor on the light, morning wind. It was +like the scent of the two strange, succulent creatures in the tree, but +it was the odor of many—many make strength he knew—and the great gray +wolf was sore afraid.</p> + +<p>The sun shot higher and the world was bathed in a luminous golden glow. +The master-wolf cast one last, longing look at the lost food in the +tree, and then, uttering a long quavering howl of terror, which the pack +took up and carried in many echoes, fled headlong through the forest +with his followers close behind, all running low and fast, and with +terror hot at their heels. Their gaunt, gray bodies were gone in a +moment, like ghosts that vanish at the coming of the day.</p> + +<p>"Rouse up, Paul!" cried Henry. "They are gone, afraid of the sun, and +it's safe for us now on the ground."</p> + +<p>"And mighty glad I am!" said Paul. "The great Inn of Kaintuckee was not +so hospitable after all, or at least some of our fellow guests were too +hungry."</p> + +<p>"It's because we were careless about our fire," said Henry. "If we had +obeyed all the rules of the inn, we should have had no trouble. Jump +down, Paul!"</p> + +<p>Henry dropped lightly and cheerfully to the ground. As usual he let the +past and its dangers slip, forgotten, behind him. Paul alighted beside +him and the wilderness witnessed the strange sight of two stout boys, +running up and down, pounding and rubbing their hands and arms, uttering +little cries of pain, as the blood flowed at first slowly and with +difficulty in their cramped limbs, and then of delight, as the +circulation became free and easy.</p> + +<p>"Now for breakfast," said Henry. "It will be easy, as Mr. Landlord has +kept the venison hanging on the tree there for us."</p> + +<p>Henry was breathing the fresh morning air, and rejoicing in the +sunlight. His wonderful physical nature had cast away all thought of +fear, but Paul, who had the sensitive mind and delicate fancy, was still +troubled.</p> + +<p>"Henry," he said, "I'm not willing to stay here, even to eat the deer +meat. All through those hours we were up there it was a haunted forest +for me. I don't want to see this spot any more, and I'd like to get away +from it just as soon as I can."</p> + +<p>Was it some instinct? or an unseen warning given to Paul, and registered +on his sensitive mind, as a photographic plate takes light? To the keen +nose of the old wolf leader an alarming odor had come with the dawn! Was +a kindred signal sent to Paul?</p> + +<p>Henry stared at his comrade in surprise, but he knew that he and Paul +were different, and he respected those differences which might be either +strength or weakness.</p> + +<p>"All right, if you wish it, Paul," he said, lightly. "There are many +rooms in the Kaintuckee Inn, and if the one we have doesn't suit us +we'll just take another. Wait till I cut this venison down, and we'll +move without paying our score."</p> + +<p>"I guess we paid that to the wolves," said Paul, smiling a little.</p> + +<p>Henry detached the venison and divided it. Then each took his share, and +they moved swiftly away among the trees, still keeping to the general +course of the river. They came presently to a large area of unburned +forest, thick with foliage and undergrowth and, without hesitation, they +plunged into it. Henry was in front and suddenly to his keen ears came a +sound which he knew was not one of the natural noises of the forest. He +listened and it continued, a beat, faint but regular and steady. He knew +that it was made by footfalls, and he knew, too, that in the wilderness +everyone is an enemy until he is proved to be a friend. They were in the +densest of the undergrowth, and thought and action came to him on the +heels of each other, swift as lightning.</p> + +<p>"Sink down, Paul! Sink down!" he cried, and grasping his comrade by the +shoulder he bore him down among the thick bushes, going down with him.</p> + +<p>"Don't move for your life!" he whispered. "Men are about to pass and +they cannot be our kind!"</p> + +<p>Paul at once became as still as death. He too under the strain of the +wilderness life and the need of caring for oneself was becoming +wonderfully acute of the senses and ready of action. The two boys +crouched close together, their heads below the tops of the bushes, +although they could see between the leaves and twigs, and neither moved +a hair.</p> + +<p>Almost hidden in the foliage a line of Indian warriors, like dusky +phantoms, passed, in single file, and apparently stepping in one +another's tracks. Well for the boys that Paul had felt his impulse to +leave the vicinity of the besieged tree, because the course of the +warriors would carry them very near it, and they could not fail to +detect the alien presence. But no such suspicion seemed to enter their +minds now, and, like the wolves, they were traveling fast, but +southward.</p> + +<p>The boys stared through the leaves and twigs, afraid but fascinated. +They were fourteen in all—Henry counted them—but never a warrior spoke +a word, and the grim line was seen but a moment and then gone, though +their dark painted faces long remained engraved, like pictures, on the +minds of both. But to Paul it was, for the instant, like a dream. He saw +them, and then he did not. The leaves of the bushes rustled a little +when they passed, and then were still.</p> + +<p>"They must be Southern Indians," whispered Henry. "Cherokees most +likely. They come up here now and then to hunt, but they seldom stay +long, for fear of the more warlike and powerful Northern Indians, who +come down to Kaintuckee for the same purpose, at least that's what I +heard Ross and Sol say."</p> + +<p>"Well, they did seem to be traveling fast," breathed Paul, "and I'm +mighty glad of it. Do you think, Henry, they could have done any harm at +Wareville?"</p> + +<p>Henry shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I have no such fear," he said. "We are a good long distance from home, +and they've probably gone by without ever hearing of the place. Ross has +always said that no danger was to be dreaded from the south."</p> + +<p>"I guess it's so," said Paul with deep relief, "but I think, Henry, that +you and I ought to go down to the river's bank, and build that raft as +soon as we can."</p> + +<p>"All right," said Henry calmly. "But we'll first eat our venison."</p> + +<p>They quickly did as they agreed, and felt greatly strengthened and +encouraged after a hearty breakfast. Then with bold hearts and quick +hands they began their task.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>AFLOAT</h3> + + +<p>The boys began at once the work on their raft, a rude structure of a few +fallen logs, fastened together with bark and brush, but simple, strong +and safe. They finished it in two days, existing meanwhile on the deer +meat, and early the morning afterwards, the clumsy craft, bearing the +two navigators, was duly intrusted to the mercy of the unknown river. +Each of the boys carried a slender hickory pole with which to steer, and +they also fastened securely to the raft the remainder of their deer, +their most precious possession.</p> + +<p>They pushed off with the poles, and the current catching their craft, +carried it gently along. It was a fine little river, running in a deep +channel, and Henry became more sure than ever that it was the one that +flowed by Wareville. He was certain that the family resemblance was too +strong for him to be mistaken.</p> + +<p>They floated on for hours, rarely using their poles to increase the +speed of the raft and by and by they began to pass between cliffs of +considerable height. The forest here was very dense. Mighty oaks and +hickories grew right at the water's edge, throwing out their boughs so +far that often the whole stream was in the shade. Henry enjoyed it. This +was one of the things that his fancy had pictured. He was now floating +down an unknown river, through unknown lands, and, like as not, his and +Paul's were the first human eyes that had ever looked upon these hills +and splendid forests. Reposing now after work and danger he breathed +again the breath of the wilderness. He loved it—its silence, its +magnificent spaces, and its majesty. He was glad that he had come to +Kentucky, where life was so much grander than it was back in the old +Eastern regions. Here one was not fenced in and confined and could grow +to his true stature.</p> + +<p>They ate their dinner on the raft, still floating peacefully and tried +to guess how far they had come, but neither was able to judge the speed +of the current. Paul fitted himself into a snug place on their queer +craft and after a while went to sleep. Henry watched him, lest he turn +over and fall into the river and also kept an eye out for other things.</p> + +<p>He was watching thus, when about the middle of the afternoon he saw a +thin dark line, lying like a thread, against the blue skies. He studied +it long and came to the conclusion that it was smoke.</p> + +<p>"Smoke!" said he to himself. "Maybe that means Wareville."</p> + +<p>The raft glided gently with the current, moving so smoothly and +peacefully that it was like the floating of a bubble on a summer sea. +Paul still lay in a dreamless sleep. The water was silver in the shade +and dim gold where the sunshine fell upon it, and the trees, a solid +mass, touched already by the brown of early autumn, dropped over the +stream. Afar, a fine haze, like a misty veil, hung over the forest. The +world was full of peace and primitive beauty.</p> + +<p>They drifted on and the spire of smoke broadened and grew. The look of +the river became more and more familiar. Paul still slept and Henry +would not awaken him. He looked at the face of his comrade as he +slumbered and noticed for the first time that it was thin and pale. The +life in the woods had been hard upon Paul. Henry did not realize until +this moment how very hard it had been. The sight of that smoke had not +come too soon.</p> + +<p>There was a shout from the bank followed by the crash of bodies among +the undergrowth.</p> + +<p>"Smoke me, but here they are! A-floatin' down the river in their own +boat, as comfortable as two lords!"</p> + +<p>It was the voice of Shif'less Sol, and his face, side by side with that +of Ross, the guide, appeared among the trees at the river's brink. Henry +felt a great flush of joy when he saw them, and waved his hands. Paul, +awakened by the shouts, was in a daze at first, but when he beheld old +friends again his delight was intense.</p> + +<p>Henry thrust a pole against the bottom and shoved the raft to the bank. +Then he and Paul sprang ashore and shook hands again and again with Ross +and Sol. Ross told of the long search for the two boys. He and Mr. Ware +and Shif'less Sol and a half dozen others had never ceased to seek them. +They feared at one time that they had been carried off by savages, but +nowhere did they find Indian traces. Then their dread was of starvation +or death by wild animals, and they had begun to lose hope.</p> + +<p>Both Henry and Paul were deeply moved by the story of the grief at +Wareville. They knew even without the telling that this sorrow had never +been demonstrative. The mothers of the West were too much accustomed to +great tragedies to cry out and wring their hands when a blow fell. +Theirs was always a silent grief, but none the less deep.</p> + +<p>Then, guided by Ross and the shiftless one, they proceeded to Wareville +which was really at the bottom of the smoke spire, where they were +received, as two risen from the dead, in a welcome that was not noisy, +but deep and heartfelt. The cow, the original cause of the trouble, had +wandered back home long ago.</p> + +<p>"How did you live in the forest?" asked Mr. Ware of Henry, after the +first joy of welcome was shown.</p> + +<p>"It was hard at first, but we were beginning to learn," replied the boy. +"If we'd only had our rifles 'twould have been no trouble. And father, +the wilderness is splendid!"</p> + +<p>The boy's thoughts wandered far away for a moment to the wild woods +where he again lay in the shade of mighty oaks and saw the deer come +down to drink. Mr. Ware noticed the expression on Henry's face and took +reflection. "I must not let the yoke bear too heavy upon him," was his +unspoken thought.</p> + +<p>But Paul's joy was unalloyed; he preferred life at Wareville to life in +the wilderness amid perpetual hardships, and when they gave the great +dinner at Mr. Ware's to celebrate the return of the wanderers he reached +the height of human bliss. Both Ross and Shif'less Sol were present and +with them, too, were Silas Pennypacker who could preach upon occasion +for the settlement and did it, now and then, and John Upton, who next to +Mr. Ware was the most notable man in Wareville, and his daughter Lucy, +now a shy, pretty girl of twelve, and more than twenty others. Even +Braxton Wyatt was among the members although he still sneered at Henry.</p> + +<p>Theirs was in very truth a table fit for a king. In fact few kings could +duplicate it, without sending to the uttermost parts of the earth, and +perhaps not then. Meat was its staple. They had wild duck, wild goose, +wild turkey, deer, elk, beaver tail, and a half dozen kinds of fish; but +the great delicacy was buffalo hump cooked in a peculiar way—that is, +served up in the hide of a buffalo from which the hair had been singed +off, and baked in an earthen oven. Ross, who had learned it from the +Indians, showed them how to do this, and they agreed that none of them +had ever before tasted so fine a dish. When the dinner was over, Henry +and Paul had to answer many questions about their wanderings, and they +were quite willing to do so, feeling at the moment a due sense of their +own importance.</p> + +<p>A shade passed over the faces of some of the men at the mention of the +Indians, whom Henry and Paul had seen, but Ross agreed with Henry that +they were surely of the South, going home from a hunting trip, and so +they were soon forgotten.</p> + +<p>Henry's work after their return included an occasional hunting +excursion, as game was always needed. His love of the wilderness did not +decrease when thus he ranged through it and began to understand its +ways. Familiarity did not breed contempt. The magnificent spaces and +mighty silence appealed to him with increasing force. The columns of the +trees were like cathedral aisles and the pure breath of the wind was +fresh with life.</p> + +<p>The first part of the autumn was hot and dry. The foliage died fast, the +leaves twisted and dried up and the brown grass stems fell lifeless to +the earth. A long time they were without rain, and a dull haze of heat +hung over the simmering earth. The river shrank in its bed, and the +brooks became rills.</p> + +<p>Henry still hunted with his older comrades, though often at night now, +and he saw the forest in a new phase. Dried and burned it appealed to +him still. He learned to sleep lightly, that is, to start up at the +slightest sound, and one morning after the wilderness had been growing +hotter and dryer than ever he was awakened by a faint liquid touch on +the roof. He knew at once that it was the rain, wished for so long and +talked of so much, and he opened the shutter window to see it fall.</p> + +<p>The sun was just rising, but showed only a faint glow of pink through +the misty clouds, and the wind was light. The clouds opened but a little +at first and the great drops fell slowly. The hot earth steamed at the +touch, and, burning with thirst, quickly drank in the moisture. The wind +grew and the drops fell faster. The heat fled away, driven by the waves +of cool, fresh air that came out of the west. Washed by the rain the dry +grass straightened up, and the dying leaves opened out, springing into +new life. Faster and faster came the drops and now the sound they made +was like the steady patter of musketry. Henry opened his mouth and +breathed the fresh clean air, and he felt that like the leaves and grass +he, too, was gaining new life.</p> + +<p>When he went forth the next day in the dripping forest the wilderness +seemed to be alive. The game swarmed everywhere and he was a lazy man +who could not take what he wished. It was like a late touch of spring, +but it did not last long, for then the frosts came, the air grew crisp +and cool and the foliage of the forest turned to wonderful reds and +yellows and browns. From the summit of the blockhouse tower Henry saw a +great blaze of varied color, and he thought that he liked this part of +the year best. He could feel his own strength grow, and now that cold +weather was soon to come he would learn new ways to seek game and new +phases of the wilderness.</p> + +<p>The autumn and its beauty deepened. The colors of the foliage grew more +intense and burned afar like flame. The settlers lightened their work +and most of them now spent a large part of the time in hunting, pursuing +it with the keen zest, born of a natural taste and the relaxation from +heavy labors. Mr. Ware and a few others, anxious to test the qualities +of the soil, were plowing up newly cleared land to be sown in wheat, but +Henry was compelled to devote only a portion of his time to this work. +The remaining hours, not needed for sleep, he was usually in the forest +with Paul and the others.</p> + +<p>The hunting was now glorious. Less than three miles from the fort and +about a mile from the river Henry and Paul found a beaver dam across a +tributary creek and they laid rude traps for its builders, six of which +they caught in the course of time. Ross and Sol showed them how to take +off the pelts which would be of value when trade should be opened with +the east, and also how to cook beaver tail, a dish which could, with +truth, be called a rival of buffalo hump.</p> + +<p>Now the settlers began to accumulate a great supply of game at +Wareville. Elk and deer and bear and buffalo and smaller animals were +being jerked and dried at every house, and every larder was filled to +the brim. There could be no lack of food the coming winter, the settlers +said, and they spoke with some pride of their care and providence.</p> + +<p>The village was gaining in both comfort and picturesqueness. Tanned +skins of the deer, elk, buffalo, bear, wolf, panther and wild cat hung +on the walls of every house, and were spread on every floor. The women +contrived fans and ornaments of the beautiful mottled plumage of the +wild turkey. Cloth was hard to obtain in the wilderness, as it might be +a year before a pack train would come over the mountains from the east, +and so the women made clothing of the softest and lightest of the +dressed deer skin. There were hunting shirts for the men and boys, +fastened at the waist by a belt, and with a fringe three or four inches +long, the bottom of which fell to the knees. The men and boys also made +themselves caps of raccoon skin with the tail sewed on behind as a +decoration. Henry and Paul were very proud of theirs.</p> + +<p>The finest robes of buffalo skin were saved for the beds, and Ross gave +warning that they should have full need of them. Winters in Kentucky, he +said, were often cold enough to freeze the very marrow in one's bones, +when even the wildest of men would be glad enough to leave the woods and +hover over a big fire. But the settlers provided for this also by +building great stacks of firewood beside each house. They were as well +equipped with axes—keen, heavy weapons—as they were with rifles and +ammunition, and these were as necessary. The forest around Wareville +already gave great proof of their prowess with the ax.</p> + +<p>Now the autumn was waning. Every morning the wilderness gleamed and +sparkled beneath a beautiful covering of white frost. The brown in the +leaves began to usurp the yellows and the reds. The air, crisp and cold, +had a strange nectar in it and its very breath was life. The sun lay in +the heavens a ball of gold, and a fine haze, like a misty golden veil, +hung over the forest. It was Indian summer.</p> + +<p>Then Indian summer passed and winter, which was very early that year, +came roaring down on Wareville. The autumn broke up in a cold rain which +soon turned to snow. The wind swept out of the northwest, bitter and +chill, and the desolate forest, every bough stripped of its leaves, +moaned before the blast.</p> + +<p>But it was cheerful, when the sleet beat upon the roof and the cold wind +rattled the rude shutters, to sit before the big fires and watch them +sparkle and blaze.</p> + +<p>There was another reason why Henry should now begin to spend much of his +time indoors. The Rev. Silas Pennypacker opened his school for the +winter, and it was necessary for Henry to attend. Many of the pioneers +who crossed the mountains from the Eastern States and founded the great +Western outpost of the nation in Kentucky were men of education and +cultivation, with a knowledge of books and the world. They did not +intend that their children should grow up mere ignorant borderers, but +they wished their daughters to have grace and manners and their sons to +become men of affairs, fit to lead the vanguard of a mighty race. So a +first duty in the wilderness was to found schools, and this they did.</p> + +<p>The Reverend Silas was no lean and thin body, no hanger-on upon stronger +men, but of fine girth and stature with a red face as round as the full +moon, a glorious laugh and the mellowest voice in the colony. He was by +repute a famous scholar who could at once give the chapter and text of +any verse in the Bible and had twice read through the ponderous history +of the French gentleman, M. Rollin. It was said, too, that he had nearly +twenty volumes of some famous romances by a French lady, one +Mademoiselle de Scudery, brought over the mountains in a box, but of +this Henry and Paul could not speak with certainty, as a certain wooden +cupboard in Mr. Pennypacker's house was always securely locked.</p> + +<p>But the teacher was a favorite in the settlement with both men and +women. A sight of his cheerful face was considered good enough to cure +chills and fever, and for the matter of that he was an expert hand with +both ax and rifle. His uses in Wareville were not merely mental and +spiritual. He was at all times able and willing to earn his own bread +with his own strong hands, though the others seldom permitted him to do +so.</p> + +<p>Henry entered school with some reluctance. Being nearly sixteen now, +with an unusually powerful frame developed by a forest life, he was as +large as an ordinary man and quite as strong. He thought he ought to +have done with schools, and set up in man's estate but his father +insisted upon another winter under Mr. Pennypacker's care and Henry +yielded.</p> + +<p>There were perhaps thirty boys and girls who sat on the rough wooden +benches in the school and received tuition. Mr. Pennypacker did not +undertake to guide them through many branches of learning, but what he +taught he taught well. He, too, had the feeling that these boys and +girls were to be the men and women who would hold the future of the West +in their hands, and he intended that they should be fit. There were +statesmen and generals among those red-faced boys on the benches, and +the wives and mothers of others among the red-faced girls who sat near +them, and he tried to teach them their duty as the heirs of a +wilderness, soon to be the home of a great race.</p> + +<p>Among his favorite pupils was Paul who had not Henry's eye and hand in +the forest, but who loved books and the knowledge of men. He could +follow the devious lines of history when Henry would much rather have +been following the devious trail of a deer. Nevertheless, Henry +persisted, borne up by the emulation of his comrade, and the knowledge +that it was his last winter in school.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>THE VOICE OF THE WOODS</h3> + + +<p>To study now was the hardest task that Henry had ever undertaken. It was +even easier to find food when he and Paul were unarmed and destitute in +the forest. The walls of the little log house in which he sat inclosed +him like a cell, the air was heavy and the space seemed to grow narrower +and narrower. Then just when the task was growing intolerable he would +look across the room and seeing the studious face of Paul bent over the +big text of an ancient history, he would apply himself anew to his labor +which consisted chiefly of "figures," a bit of the world's geography, +and a little look into the history of England.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker would neither praise nor blame, but often when the boy +did not notice he looked critically at Henry. "I don't think your son +will be a great scholar," he said once to Mr. Ware, "but he will be a +Nimrod, a mighty hunter before men, and a leader in action. It's as +well, for his is the kind that will be needed most and for a long time +in this wilderness, and back there in the old lands, too."</p> + +<p>"It is so," replied Mr. Ware, "the clouds do gather."</p> + +<p>Involuntarily he looked toward the east, and Mr. Pennypacker's eyes +followed him. But both remained silent upon that portion of their +thoughts.</p> + +<p>"Moreover I tell you for your comfort that the lad has a sense of duty," +added the teacher.</p> + +<p>Henry shot a magnificent stag with great antlers a few days later, and +mounting the head he presented it to Mr. Pennypacker. But on the +following day the master looked very grave and Henry and Paul tried to +guess the cause. Henry heard that Ross had arrived the night before from +the nearest settlement a hundred miles away, but had stayed only an +hour, going to their second nearest neighbor distant one hundred and +fifty miles. He brought news of some kind which only Mr. Ware, Mr. +Upton, the teacher and three or four others knew. These were not ready +to speak and Paul and Henry were well aware that nothing on earth could +make them do so until they thought the time was fit.</p> + +<p>It was a long, long morning. Henry had before him a map of the Empire of +Muscovy but he saw little there. Instead there came between him and the +page a vision of the beaver dam and the pool above it, now covered with +a sheet of ice, and of the salt spring where the deer came to drink, and +of a sheltered valley in which a herd of elk rested every night.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker was singularly quiet that morning. It was his custom to +call up his pupils and make them recite in a loud voice, but the hours +passed and there were no recitations. The teacher seemed to be looking +far away at something outside the schoolroom, and his thoughts followed +his eyes. Henry by and by let his own roam as they would and he was in +dreamland, when he was aroused by a sharp smack of the teacher's +homemade ruler upon his homemade desk.</p> + +<p>But the blow was not aimed at Henry or anybody in particular. It was an +announcement to all the world in general that Mr. Pennypacker was about +to speak on a matter of importance. Henry and Paul guessed at once that +it would be about the news brought by Ross.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker's face grew graver than ever as he spoke. He told them +that when they left the east there was great trouble between the +colonies and the mother country. They had hoped that it would pass away, +but now, for the first time in many months, news had come across the +mountains from their old home, and had entered the great forest. The +troubles were not gone. On the contrary they had become worse. There had +been fighting, a battle in which many had been killed, and a great war +was begun. The colonies would all stand together, and no man could tell +what the times would bring forth.</p> + +<p>This was indeed weighty news. Though divided from their brethren in the +east by hundreds of miles of mountain and forest the patriotism of the +settlers in the wilderness burned with a glow all the brighter on that +account. More than one young heart in that rude room glowed with a +desire to be beside their countrymen in the far-off east, rifle in hand.</p> + +<p>But Mr. Pennypacker spoke again. He said that there was now a greater +duty upon them to hold the west for the union of the colonies. Their +task was not merely to build homes for themselves, but to win the land +that it might be homes for others. There were rumors that the savages +would be used against them, that they might come down in force from the +north, and therefore it was the part of everyone, whether man, woman or +child to redouble his vigilance and caution. Then he adjourned school +for the day.</p> + +<p>The boys drew apart from their elders and discussed the great news. +Henry's blood was on fire. The message from that little Massachusetts +town, thrilled him as nothing in his life had done before. He had a +vague idea of going there, and of doing what he considered his part, and +he spoke to Paul about it, but Paul thought otherwise.</p> + +<p>"Why, Henry!" he said. "We may have to defend ourselves here and we'll +need you."</p> + +<p>The people of Wareville knew little about the causes of the war and +after this one message brought by Ross they heard no more of its +progress. They might be fighting great battles away off there on the +Atlantic coast, but no news came through the wall of woods. Wareville +itself was peaceful, and around it curved the mighty forest which told +nothing.</p> + +<p>Mountains and forest alike lay under deep snow, and it was not likely +that they would hear anything further until spring, because the winter +was unusually cold and a man who ventured now on a long journey was +braver than his fellows.</p> + +<p>The new Kentuckians were glad that they had provided so well for winter. +All the cupboards were full and there was no need for them now to roam +the cold forests in search of game. They built the fires higher and +watched the flames roar up the chimneys, while the little children +rolled on the floor and grasped at the shadows.</p> + +<p>Though but a bit of mankind hemmed in by the vast and frozen wilderness +theirs was not an unhappy life by any means. The men and boys, though +now sparing their powder and ball, still set traps for game and were not +without reward. Often they found elk and deer, and once or twice a +buffalo floundering in the deep snowdrifts, and these they added to the +winter larder. They broke holes in the ice on the river and caught fish +in abundance. They worked, too, about the houses, making more tables and +benches and chairs and shelves and adding to their bodily comforts.</p> + +<p>The great snow lasted about a month and then began to break up with a +heavy rain which melted all the ice, but which could not carry away all +the snow. The river rose rapidly and overflowed its banks but Wareville +was safe, built high on the hill where floods could not reach. Warm +winds followed the rain and the melting snow turned great portions of +the forest into lakes. The trees stood in water a yard deep, and the +aspect of the wilderness was gloomy and desolate. Even the most resolute +of the hunters let the game alone at such a time. Often the warm winds +would cease to blow when night came and then the great lagoons would be +covered with a thin skim of ice which melted again the next day under +the winds and the sun. All this brought chills and fever to Wareville +and bitter herbs were sought for their cure. But the strong frame of +Henry was impervious to the attacks and he still made daily journeys to +his traps in the wet and steaming wilderness.</p> + +<p>Henry was now reconciled to the schoolroom. It was to be his last term +there and he realized with a sudden regret that it was almost at its +end. He was beginning to feel the sense of responsibility, that he was +in fact one of the units that must make up the state.</p> + +<p>Despite these new ideas a sudden great longing lay hold of him. The +winds from the south were growing warmer and warmer, all the snow and +ice was gone long ago, faint touches of green and pink were appearing on +grass and foliage and the young buds were swelling. Henry heard the +whisper of these winds and every one of them called to him. He knew that +he was wanted out there in the woods. He began to hate the sight of +human faces, he wished to go alone into the wilderness, to see the deer +steal among the trees and to hear the beaver dive into the deep waters. +He felt himself a part of nature and he would breathe and live as nature +did.</p> + +<p>He grew lax in his tasks; he dragged his feet and there were even times +when he was not hungry. When his mother noticed the latter circumstance +she knew surely that the boy was ill, but her husband shrewdly said:</p> + +<p>"Henry, the spring has come; take your rifle and bring us some fresh +venison."</p> + +<p>So Henry shouldered his rifle and went forth alone upon the quest, even +leaving behind Paul, his chosen comrade. He did not wish human +companionship that day, nor did he stop until he was deep in the +wilderness. How he felt then the glory of living! The blood was flushing +in his veins as the sap was rising in the trees around him. The world +was coming forth from its torpor of winter refreshed and strengthened. +He saw all about him the signs of new life—the tender young grass in +shades of delicate green, the opening buds on the trees, and a subtle +perfume that came on the edge of the Southern wind. Beyond him the wild +turkeys on the hill were calling to each other.</p> + +<p>He stood there a long time breathing the fresh breath of this new world, +and the old desire to wander through illimitable forests and float +silently down unknown rivers came over him. He would not feel the need +of companionship on long wanderings. Nature would then be sufficient, +talking to him in many tongues.</p> + +<p>The wind heavy, with perfumes of the South, came over the hill and on +its crest the wild turkeys were still clucking to each other. Henry, +through sheer energy and flush of life, ran up the slope, and watched +them as they took flight through the trees, their brilliant plumage +gleaming in the sunshine.</p> + +<p>It was the highest hill near Wareville and he stood a while upon its +crest. The wilderness here circled around him, and, in the distance, it +blended into one mass, already showing a pervading note of green with +faint touches of pink bloom appearing here and there. The whole of it +was still and peaceful with no sign of human life save a rising spire of +smoke behind him that told where Wareville stood.</p> + +<p>He walked on. Rabbits sprang out of the grass beside him and raced away +into the thickets. Birds in plumage of scarlet and blue and gold shot +like a flame from tree to tree. The forest, too, was filled with the +melody of their voices, but Henry took no notice.</p> + +<p>He paused a while at the edge of a brook to watch the silver sunfish +play in the shallows, then he leaped the stream and went on into the +deeper woods, a tall, lithe, strong figure, his eyes gazing at no one +thing, the long slender-barreled rifle lying forgotten across his +shoulder.</p> + +<p>A great stag sprang up from the forest and stood for a few moments, +gazing at him with expanding and startled eyes. Henry standing quite +still returned the look, seeking to read the expression in the eyes of +the deer.</p> + +<p>Thus they confronted each other a half minute and then the stag turning +fled through the woods. There was no undergrowth, and Henry for a long +time watched the form of the deer fleeing down the rows of trees, as it +became smaller and smaller and then disappeared.</p> + +<p>All the forest glowed red in the setting sun when he returned home.</p> + +<p>"Where is the deer?" asked his father.</p> + +<p>"Why—why I forgot it!" said Henry in confused reply.</p> + +<p>Mr. Ware merely smiled.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>THE GIANT BONES</h3> + + +<p>About this time many people in Wareville, particularly the women and +children began to complain of physical ills, notably lassitude and a +lack of appetite; their food, which consisted largely of the game +swarming all around the forest, had lost its savor. There was no mystery +about it; Tom Ross, Mr. Ware and others promptly named the cause; they +needed salt, which to the settlers of Kentucky was almost as precious as +gold; it was obtained in two ways, either by bringing it hundreds of +miles over the mountains from Virginia in wagons or on pack horses, or +by boiling it out at the salt springs in the Indian-haunted woods.</p> + +<p>They had neither the time nor the men for the long journey to Virginia, +and they prepared at once for obtaining it at the springs. They had +already used a small salt spring but the supply was inadequate, and they +decided to go a considerable distance northward to the famous Big Bone +Lick. Nothing had been heard in a long time of Indian war parties south +of the Ohio, and they believed they would incur no danger. Moreover they +could bring back salt to last more than a year.</p> + +<p>When they first heard of the proposed journey, Paul Cotter pulled Henry +to one side. They were just outside the palisade, and it was a beautiful +day, in early spring. Already kindly nature was smoothing over the cruel +scars made by the axes in the forest, and the village within the +palisade began to have the comfortable look of home.</p> + +<p>"Do you know what the Big Bone Lick is, Henry?" asked Paul eagerly.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Henry, wondering at his chum's excitement.</p> + +<p>"Why it's the most wonderful place in all the world!" said Paul, jumping +up and down in his wish to tell quickly. "There was a hunter here last +winter who spoke to me about it. I didn't believe him then, it sounded +so wonderful, but Mr. Pennypacker says it's all true. There's a great +salt spring, boiling out of the ground in the middle of a kind of marsh, +and all around it, for a long distance, are piled hundreds of large +bones, the bones of gigantic animals, bigger than any that walk the +earth to-day."</p> + +<p>"See here, Paul," said Henry scornfully, "you can't stuff my ears with +mush like that. I guess you were reading one of the master's old +romances, and then had a dream. Wake up, Paul!"</p> + +<p>"It's true every word of it!"</p> + +<p>"Then if there were such big animals, why don't we see 'em sometimes +running through the forest?"</p> + +<p>"My, they've all been dead millions of years and their bones have been +preserved there in the marsh. They lived in another geologic era—that's +what Mr. Pennypacker calls it—and animals as tall as trees strolled up +and down over the land and were the lords of creation."</p> + +<p>Henry puckered his lips and emitted a long whistle of incredulity.</p> + +<p>"Paul," he said, reprovingly, "you do certainly have the gift of +speech."</p> + +<p>But Paul was not offended at his chum's disbelief.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to prove to you, Henry, that it's true," he said. "Mr. +Pennypacker says it's so, he never tells a falsehood and he's a scholar, +too. But you and I have got to go with the salt-makers, Henry, and we'll +see it all. I guess if you look on it with your own eyes you'll believe +it."</p> + +<p>"Of course," said Henry, "and of course I'll go if I can."</p> + +<p>A trip through the forest and new country to the great salt spring was +temptation enough in itself, without the addition of the fields of big +bones, and that night in both the Ware and Cotter homes, eloquent boys +gave cogent reasons why they should go with the band.</p> + +<p>"Father," said Henry, "there isn't much to do here just now, and they'll +want me up at Big Bone Lick, helping to boil the salt and a lot of +things."</p> + +<p>Mr. Ware smiled. Henry, like most boys, seldom showed much zeal for +manual labor. But Henry went on undaunted.</p> + +<p>"We won't run any risk. No Indians are in Kentucky now and, father, I +want to go awful bad."</p> + +<p>Mr. Ware smiled again at the closing avowal, which was so frank. Just at +that moment in another home another boy was saying almost exactly the +same things, and another father ventured the same answer that Mr. Ware +did, in practically the same words such as these:</p> + +<p>"Well, my son, as it is to be a good strong company of careful and +experienced men who will not let you get into any mischief, you can go +along, but be sure that you make yourself useful."</p> + +<p>The party was to number a dozen, all skilled foresters, and they were to +lead twenty horses, all carrying huge pack saddles for the utensils and +the invaluable salt. Mr. Silas Pennypacker who was a man of his own will +announced that he was going, too. He puffed out his ruddy cheeks and +said emphatically:</p> + +<p>"I've heard from hunters of that place; it's one of the great +curiosities of the country and for the sake of learning I'm bound to see +it. Think of all the gigantic skeletons of the mastodon, the mammoth and +other monsters lying there on the ground for ages!"</p> + +<p>Henry and Paul were glad that Mr. Pennypacker was to be with them, as in +the woods he was a delightful comrade, able always to make instruction +entertaining, and the superiority of his mind appealed unconsciously to +both of these boys who—each in his way—were also of superior cast.</p> + +<p>They departed on a fine morning—the spring was early and held +steady—and all Wareville saw them go. It was a brilliant little +cavalcade; the horses, their heads up to scent the breeze from the +fragrant wilderness, and the men, as eager to start, everyone with a +long slender-barreled Kentucky rifle on his shoulder, the fringed and +brilliantly colored deerskin hunting shirt falling almost to his knees, +and, below that deerskin leggings and deerskin moccasins adorned with +many-tinted beads. It was a vivid picture of the young West, so young, +and yet so strong and so full of life, the little seed from which so +mighty a tree was soon to grow.</p> + +<p>All of them stopped again, as if by an involuntary impulse, at the edge +of the forest, and waved their hands in another, and, this time, in a +last good-by to the watchers at the fort. Then they plunged into the +mighty wilderness, which swept away and away for unknown thousands of +miles.</p> + +<p>They talked for a while of the journey, of the things that they might +see by the way, and of those that they had left behind, but before long +conversation ceased. The spell of the dark and illimitable woods, in +whose shade they marched, fell upon them, and there was no noise, but +the sound of breathing and the tread of men and horses. They dropped, +too, from the necessities of the path through the undergrowth, into +Indian file, one behind the other.</p> + +<p>Henry was near the rear of the line, the stalwart schoolmaster just in +front of him, and his comrade Paul, just behind. He was full of +thankfulness that he had been allowed to go on this journey. It all +appealed to him, the tale that Paul told of the giant bones and the +great salt spring, the dark woods full of mystery and delightful danger, +and his own place among the trusted band, who were sent on such an +errand. His heart swelled with pride and pleasure and he walked with a +light springy step and with endurance equal to that of any of the men +before him. He looked over his shoulder at Paul, whose face also was +touched with enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>"Aren't you glad to be along?" he asked in a whisper.</p> + +<p>"Glad as I can be," replied Paul in the same whisper.</p> + +<p>Up shot the sun showering golden beams of light upon the forest. The air +grew warmer, but the little band did not cease its rapid pace northward +until noon. Then at a word from Ross all halted at a beautiful glade, +across which ran a little brook of cold water. The horses were tethered +at the edge of the forest, but were allowed to graze on the young grass +which was already beginning to appear, while the men lighted a small +fire of last year's fallen brushwood, at the center of the glade on the +bank of the brook.</p> + +<p>"We won't build it high," said Ross, who was captain as well as guide, +"an' then nobody in the forest can see it. There may not be an Indian +south of the Ohio, but the fellow that's never caught is the fellow that +never sticks his head in the trap."</p> + +<p>"Sound philosophy! sound philosophy! your logic is irrefutable, Mr. +Ross," said the schoolmaster.</p> + +<p>Ross grinned. He did not know what "irrefutable" meant, but he did know +that Mr. Pennypacker intended to compliment him.</p> + +<p>Paul and Henry assisted with the fire. In fact they did most of the +work, each wishing to make good his assertion that he would prove of use +on the journey. It was a brief task to gather the wood and then Ross and +Shif'less Sol lighted the fire, which they permitted merely to smolder. +But it gave out ample heat and in a few minutes they cooked over it +their venison and corn bread and coffee which they served in tin cups. +Henry and Paul ate with the ferocious appetite that the march and the +clean air of the wilderness had bred in them, and nobody restricted +them, because the forest was full of game, and such skillful hunters and +riflemen could never lack for a food supply.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker leaned with an air of satisfaction against the upthrust +bough of a fallen oak.</p> + +<p>"It's a wonderful world that we have here," he said, "and just to think +that we're among the first white men to find out what it contains."</p> + +<p>"All ready!" said Tom Ross, "then forward we go, we mustn't waste time +by the way. They need that salt at Wareville."</p> + +<p>Once more they resumed the march in Indian file and amid the silence of +the woods. About the middle of the afternoon Ross invited Mr. +Pennypacker and the two boys to ride three of the pack horses. Henry at +first declined, not willing to be considered soft and pampered, but as +the schoolmaster promptly accepted and Paul who was obviously tired did +the same, he changed his mind, not because he needed rest, but lest Paul +should feel badly over his inferiority in strength.</p> + +<p>Thus they marched steadily northward, Ross leading the way, and +Shif'less Sol who was lazy at the settlement, but never in the woods +where he was inferior in knowledge and skill to Ross only, covering the +rear. Each of these accomplished borderers watched every movement of the +forest about him, and listened for every sound; he knew with the eye of +second sight what was natural and if anything not belonging to the usual +order of things should appear, he would detect it in a moment. But they +saw and heard nothing that was not according to nature: only the wind +among the boughs, or the stamp of an elk's hoof as it fled, startled at +the scent of man. The hostile tribes from north and south, fearful of +the presence of each other, seemed to have deserted the great wilderness +of Kentucky.</p> + +<p>Henry noted the beauty of the country as they passed along; the gently +rolling hills, the rich dark soil and the beautiful clear streams. Once +they came to a river, too deep to wade, but all of them, except the +schoolmaster, promptly took off their clothing and swam it.</p> + +<p>"My age and my calling forbid my doing as the rest of you do," said the +schoolmaster, "and I think I shall stick to my horse."</p> + +<p>He rode the biggest of the pack horses, and when the strong animal began +to swim, Mr. Pennypacker thrust out his legs until they were almost +parallel with the animal's neck, and reached the opposite bank, +untouched by a drop of water. No one begrudged him his dry and unlabored +passage; in fact they thought it right, because a schoolmaster was +mightily respected in the early settlements of Kentucky and they would +have regarded it as unbecoming to his dignity to have stripped, and swum +the river as they did.</p> + +<p>Henry and Paul in their secret hearts did not envy the schoolmaster. +They thought he had too great a weight of dignity to maintain and they +enjoyed cleaving the clear current with their bare bodies. What! be +deprived of the wilderness pleasures! Not they! The two boys did not +remount, after the passage of the river, but, fresh and full of life, +walked on with the others at a pace so swift that the miles dropped +rapidly behind them. They were passing, too, through a country rarely +trodden even by the red men; Henry knew it by the great quantities of +game they saw; the deer seemed to look from every thicket, now and then +a magnificent elk went crashing by, once a bear lumbered away, and twice +small groups of buffalo were stampeded in the glades and rushed off, +snorting through the undergrowth.</p> + +<p>"They say that far to the westward on plains that seem to have no end +those animals are to be seen in millions," said Mr. Pennypacker.</p> + +<p>"It's so, I've heard it from the Indians," confirmed Ross the guide.</p> + +<p>They stopped a little while before sundown, and as the game was so +plentiful all around them, Ross said he would shoot a deer in order to +save their dried meat and other provisions.</p> + +<p>"You come with me, while the others are making the camp," he said to +Henry.</p> + +<p>The boy flushed with pride and gratification, and, taking his rifle, +plunged at once into the forest with the guide. But he said nothing, +knowing that silence would recommend him to Ross far more than words, +and took care to bring down his moccasined feet without sound. Nor did +he let the undergrowth rustle, as he slipped through it, and Ross +regarded him with silent approval. "A born woodsman," he said to +himself.</p> + +<p>A mile from the camp they stopped at the crest of a little hill, thickly +clad with forest and undergrowth, and looked down into the glade beyond. +Here they saw several deer grazing, and as the wind blew from them +toward the hunters they had taken no alarm.</p> + +<p>"Pick the fat buck there on the right," whispered Ross to Henry.</p> + +<p>Henry said not a word. He had learned the taciturnity of the woods, and +leveling his rifle, took sure aim. There was no buck fever about him +now, and, when his rifle cracked, the deer bounded into the air and +dropped down dead. Ross, all business, began to cut up and clean the +game, and with Henry's aid, he did it so skillfully and rapidly that +they returned to the camp, loaded with the juicy deer meat, by the time +the fire and everything else was ready for them.</p> + +<p>Henry and Paul ate with eager appetites and when supper was over they +wrapped themselves in their blankets and lay down before the fire under +the trees. Paul went to sleep at once, but Henry did not close his eyes +so soon. Far in the west he saw a last red bar of light cast by the +sunken sun and the deep ruddy glow over the fringe of the forest. Then +it suddenly passed, as if whisked away by a magic hand, and all the +wilderness was in darkness. But it was only for a little while. Out came +the moon and the stars flashed one by one into a sky of silky blue. A +south wind lifting up itself sang a small sweet song among the branches, +and Henry uttered a low sigh of content, because he lived in the +wilderness, and because he was there in the depths of the forest on an +important errand. Then he fell sound asleep, and did not awaken until +Ross and the others were cooking breakfast.</p> + +<p>A day or two later they reached the wonderful Big Bone Lick, and they +approached it with the greatest caution, because they were afraid lest +an errand similar to theirs might have drawn hostile red men to the +great salt spring. But as they curved about the desired goal they saw no +Indian sign, and then they went through the marsh to the spring itself.</p> + +<p>Henry opened his eyes in amazement. All that the schoolmaster and Paul +had told was true, and more. Acres and acres of the marsh lands were +fairly littered with bones, and from the mud beneath other and far +greater bones had been pulled up and left lying on the ground. Henry +stood some of these bones on end, and they were much taller than he. +Others he could not lift.</p> + +<p>"The mastodon, the mammoth and I know not what," said Mr. Pennypacker in +a transport of delight. "Henry, you and Paul are looking upon the +remains of animals, millions of years old, killed perhaps in fights with +others of their kind, over these very salt springs. There may not be +another such place as this in all the world."</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker for the first day or two was absolutely of no help in +making the salt, because he was far too much excited about the bones and +the salt springs themselves.</p> + +<p>"I can understand," said Henry, "why the animals should come here after +the salt, since they crave salt just as we do, but it seems strange to +me that salt water should be running out of the ground here, hundreds of +miles from the sea."</p> + +<p>"It's the sea itself that's coming up right at our feet," replied the +schoolmaster thoughtfully. "Away back yonder, a hundred million years +ago perhaps, so far that we can have no real conception of the time, the +sea was over all this part of the world. When it receded, or the ground +upheaved, vast subterranean reservoirs of salt water were left, and now, +when the rain sinks down into these full reservoirs a portion of the +salt water is forced to the surface, which makes the salt springs that +are scattered over this part of the country. It is a process that is +going on continually. At least, that's a plausible theory, and it's as +good as any other."</p> + +<p>But most of the salt-makers did not bother themselves about causes, and +they accepted the giant bones as facts, without curiosity about their +origin. Nor did they neglect to put them to use. By sticking them deep +in the ground they made tripods of them on which they hung their kettles +for boiling the salt water, and of others they devised comfortable seats +for themselves. To such modern uses did the mastodon come! But to the +schoolmaster and the two boys the bones were an unending source of +interest, and in the intervals of labor, which sometimes were pretty +long, particularly for Mr. Pennypacker, they were ever prowling in the +swamp for a bone bigger than any that they had found before.</p> + +<p>But the salt-making progressed rapidly. The kettles were always boiling +and sack after sack was filled with the precious commodity. At night +wild animals, despite the known presence of strange, new creatures, +would come down to the springs, so eager were they for the salt, and the +men rarely molested them. Only a deer now and then was shot for food, +and Henry and Paul lay awake one night, watching two big bull buffaloes, +not fifty yards away, fighting for the best place at a spring.</p> + +<p>Ross and Shif'less Sol did not do much of the work at the salt-boiling, +but they were continually scouting through the forest, on a labor no +less important, watching for raiding war parties who otherwise might +fall unsuspected upon the toilers. Henry, as a youth of great promise, +was sometimes taken with them on these silent trips through the woods, +and the first time he went he felt badly on Paul's account, because his +comrade was not chosen also. But when he returned he found that his +sympathy was wasted. Paul and the master were deeply absorbed in the +task of trying to fit together some of the gigantic bones that is, to +re-create the animal to which they thought the bones belonged, and Paul +was far happier than he would have been on the scout or the hunt.</p> + +<p>The day's work was ended and all the others were sitting around the camp +fire, with the dying glow of the setting sun flooding the springs, the +marshes and the camp fire, but Paul and the master toiled zealously at +the gigantic figure that they had up-reared, supported partly with +stakes, and bearing a remote resemblance to some animal that lived a few +million years or so ago. The master had tied together some of the bones +with withes, and he and Paul were now laboriously trying to fit a +section of vertebræ into shape.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol who had gone with Henry sat down by the fire, stuffed a +piece of juicy venison into his mouth and then looked with eyes of +wonder at the two workers in the cause of natural history.</p> + +<p>"Some people 'pear to make a heap o' trouble for theirselves," he said, +"now I can't git it through my head why anybody would want to work with +a lot o' dead old bones when here's a pile o' sweet deer meat just +waitin' an' beggin' to be et up."</p> + +<p>At that moment the attempt of Paul and the schoolmaster to reconstruct a +prehistoric beast collapsed. The figure that they had built up with so +much care and labor suddenly slipped loose somewhere, and all the bones +fell down in a heap. The master stared at them in disgust and exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"It's no use! I can't put them together away out here in the +wilderness!"</p> + +<p>Then he stalked over to the fire, and taking a deer steak, ate hungrily. +The steak was very tender, and gradually a look of content and peace +stole over Mr. Pennypacker's face.</p> + +<p>"At least," he murmured, "if it's hard to be a scholar here, one can +have a glorious appetite, and it is most pleasant to gratify it."</p> + +<p>As the dark settled down Ross said that in one day more they ought to +have all the salt the horses could carry, and then it would be best to +depart promptly and swiftly for Wareville. A half hour later all were +asleep except the sentinel.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>THE WILD TURKEY'S GOBBLE</h3> + + +<p>Henry had conducted himself so well on his first scout and, had shown +such signs of efficiency that Ross concluded to take him again the next +day. Henry's heart swelled with pride, and he was no longer worried +about Paul, because he saw that the latter's interest and ambitions were +not exactly the same as his own. Henry could not have any innate respect +for heaps of "old bones," but if Paul and the master found them worthy +of such close attention, they must be right.</p> + +<p>Henry and Ross slipped away into the undergrowth, and Henry soon noticed +that the guide's face, which was tense and preoccupied, seemed graver +than usual. The boy was too wise to ask questions, but after they had +searched through the forest for several hours Ross remarked in the most +casual way:</p> + +<p>"I heard the gobble of a wild turkey away off last night."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Henry, "there are lots of 'em about here. You remember the +one I shot Tuesday?"</p> + +<p>Ross did not reply just then, but in about five minutes he vouchsafed:</p> + +<p>"I'm looking for the particular wild turkey I heard last night."</p> + +<p>"Why that one, when there are so many, and how would you know him from +the others if you found him?" asked Henry quickly, and then a deep +burning flush of shame broke through the tan of his cheeks. He, Henry +Ware, a rover of the wilderness to ask such foolish questions! A child +of the towns would have shown as much sense. Ross who was looking +covertly at him, out of the corner of his eye, saw the mounting blush, +and was pleased. The boy had spoken impulsively, but he knew better.</p> + +<p>"You understand, I guess," said Ross.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Henry, "I know why you want to find that wild turkey, and +I know why you said last night we ought to leave the salt springs just +as soon as we can."</p> + +<p>The smile on the face of the scout brightened. Here was the most +promising pupil who had ever sat at his feet for instruction; and now +they redoubled their caution, as their soundless bodies slipped through +the undergrowth. Everywhere they looked for the trail of that wild +turkey. It may be said that a turkey can and does fly in the air and +leaves no trail, but Henry knew that the one for which they looked might +leave no trail, but it did not fly in the air.</p> + +<p>Time passed; noon and part of the afternoon were gone, and they were +still curving in a great circle about the camp, when Ross, suddenly +stopped beside a little brook, or branch, as he and his comrades always +called them, and pointed to the soft soil at the edge of the water. +Henry followed the long finger and saw the outline of a footstep.</p> + +<p>"Our turkey has passed here."</p> + +<p>The guide nodded.</p> + +<p>"Most likely," he said, "and if not ours, then one of the same flock. +But that footprint is three or four hours old. Come on, we'll follow +this trail until it grows too warm."</p> + +<p>The footsteps led down the side of the brook, and when they curved away +from it Ross was able to trace them on the turf and through the +undergrowth. A half mile from the start other footsteps joined them, and +these were obviously made by many men, perhaps a score of warriors.</p> + +<p>"You see," said Ross, "I guess they've just come across the Ohio or we +wouldn't be left all these days b'il'n salt so peaceful, like as if +there wasn't an Indian in the whole world."</p> + +<p>Henry drew a deep breath. Like all who ventured into the West he +expected some day to be exposed to Indian danger and attack, but it had +been a vague thought. Even when they came north to the Big Bone Lick it +was still a dim far-away affair, but now he stood almost in its +presence. The Shawnees, whose name was a name of terror to the new +settlements, were probably not a mile away. He felt tremors but they +were not tremors of fear. Courage was an instinctive quality in him. +Nature had put it there, when she fashioned him somewhat in the mold of +the primitive man.</p> + +<p>"Step lighter than you ever did afore in your life," said Ross, "an' +bend low an' follow me. But don't you let a single twig nor nothin' snap +as you pass."</p> + +<p>He spoke in a sharp, emphatic whisper, and Henry knew that he considered +the enemy near. But there was no need to caution the boy, in whom the +primal man was already awakened. Henry bent far down, and holding his +rifle before him in such a position that it could be used at a moment's +warning, was following behind Ross so silently that the guide, hearing +no sound, took an instant's backward glance. When he saw the boy he +permitted another faint smile of approval to pass over his face.</p> + +<p>They advanced about three-quarters of a mile and then at the crest of a +hill thickly clothed in tall undergrowth the guide sank down and pointed +with a long ominous forefinger.</p> + +<p>"Look," he said.</p> + +<p>Henry looked through the interlacing bushes and, for the second time in +his life, gazed upon a band of red men. And as he looked, his blood for +a moment turned cold. Perhaps thirty in number, they were sitting in a +glade about a little fire. All of them had blankets of red or blue about +them and they carried rifles. Their faces were hideous with war paint +and their coarse black hair rose in the defiant scalp lock.</p> + +<p>"Maybe they don't know that our men are at the Lick," said Ross, "or if +they do they don't think we know they've come, an' they're planning for +an attack to-night, when they could slip up on us sleepin'."</p> + +<p>The guide's theory seemed plausible to Henry, but he said nothing. It +did not become him to venture opinions before one who knew so much of +the wilderness.</p> + +<p>"It can't be more'n two o'clock," whispered Ross, "an' they'd attack +about midnight. That gives us ten hours. Henry, the Lord is with us. +Come."</p> + +<p>He slid away through the bushes and Henry followed him. When they were a +half mile from the Indian camp they increased their speed to an +astonishing gait and in a half hour were at the Big Bone Lick.</p> + +<p>"Have 'em to load up all the salt at once," said Ross to Shif'less Sol, +"an' we must go kitin' back to Wareville as if our feet was greased."</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol shot him a single look of comprehension and Ross nodded. +Then the shiftless one went to work with extraordinary diligence and the +others imitated his speed. To the schoolmaster Ross breathed the one +word "Shawnees," and Henry in a few sentences told Paul what he had +seen.</p> + +<p>Fortunately the precious salt was packed—they had no intention of +deserting it, however close the danger—and it was quickly transferred +to the backs of the horses along with the food for the way. In a little +more than a half hour they were all ready and then they fled southward, +Shif'less Sol, this time, leading the way, the guide Ross at the rear, +eye and ear noticing everything, and every nerve attuned to danger.</p> + +<p>The master cast back one regretful glance at his beloved giant bones, +and then, with resignation, turned his face permanently toward the south +and the line of retreat.</p> + +<p>"O Henry," whispered Paul, half in delight, half in terror, "did you +really see them?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Henry, "twenty or more of 'em, and an ugly lot they were, +too, I can tell you, Paul. I believe we could whip 'em in a stand-up +fight, though they are three to our one, but they know more of these +woods than we do and then there's the salt; we've got to save what we've +come for."</p> + +<p>He sighed a little. He did not wholly like the idea of running away, +even from a foe thrice as strong. Yet he could not question the wisdom +of Ross and Shif'less Sol, and he made no protest.</p> + +<p>The men looked after the heavily laden horses—nobody could ride except +as a last resort—and southward they went in Indian file as they had +come. Henry glanced around him and saw nothing that promised danger. It +was only another beautiful afternoon in early spring. The forest glowed +in the tender green of the young buds, and, above them arched the sky a +brilliant sheet of unbroken blue. Never did a world look more +attractive, more harmless, and it seemed incredible that these woods +should contain men who were thirsting for the lives of other men. But he +had seen; he knew; he could not forget that hideous circle of painted +faces in the glade, upon which he and Ross had looked from the safe +covert of the undergrowth.</p> + +<p>"Do you think they'll follow us, Henry?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Henry, "but it's mighty likely. They'll hang on +our trail for a long time anyway."</p> + +<p>"And if they overtake us, there'll be a fight?"</p> + +<p>"Of course."</p> + +<p>Henry, watching Paul keenly, saw him grow pale. But his lips did not +tremble and that passing pallor failed to lower Paul in Henry's esteem. +The bigger and stronger boy knew his comrade's courage and tenacity, and +he respected him all the more for it, because he was perhaps less fitted +than some others for the wild and dangerous life of the border.</p> + +<p>After these few words they sank again into silence, and to Paul and the +master the sun grew very hot. It was poised now at a convenient angle in +the heavens, and poured sheaves of fiery rays directly upon them. Mr. +Pennypacker began to gasp. He was a man of dignity, a teacher of youth, +and it did not become him to run so fast from something that he could +not see. Ross's keen eye fell upon him.</p> + +<p>"I think you'd better mount one of the horses," he said; "the big bay +there can carry his salt and you too for a while until you are rested."</p> + +<p>"What! I ride, when everybody else is afoot!" exclaimed Mr. Pennypacker, +indignantly.</p> + +<p>"You're the only schoolmaster we have and we can't afford to lose you," +said Ross without the suspicion of a grin.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker looked at him, but he could not detect any change of +countenance.</p> + +<p>"Hop up," continued Ross, "it ain't any time to be bashful. Others of us +may have to do it afore long."</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker yielded with a sigh, sprang lightly upon the horse, and +then when he enjoyed the luxury of rest was glad that he had yielded. +Paul, and one or two others took to the horses' backs later on, but +Henry continued the march on foot with long easy strides, and no sign of +weakening. Ross noticed him more than once but he never made any +suggestion to Henry that he ride; instead the faint smile of approval +appeared once more on the guide's face.</p> + +<p>The sun began to sink, the twilight came, and then night. Ross called a +halt, and, clustered in the thickest shadows of the forest, they ate +their supper and rested their tired limbs. No fire was lighted, but they +sat there under the trees, hungrily eating their venison, and talking in +the lowest of whispers.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker was much dissatisfied. He had been troubled by the hasty +flight and his dignity suffered.</p> + +<p>"It is not becoming that white men should run away from an inferior +race," he said.</p> + +<p>"Maybe it ain't becomin', but it's safe," said Ross.</p> + +<p>"At least we are far enough away now," continued the master, "and we +might rest here comfortably until dawn. We haven't seen or heard a sign +of pursuit."</p> + +<p>"You don't know the natur' of the red warriors, Mr. Pennypacker," said +the leader deferentially but firmly, "when they make the least noise +then they're most dangerous. Now I'm certain sure that they struck our +trail not long after we left Big Bone Lick, an' in these woods the man +that takes the fewest risks is the one that lives the longest."</p> + +<p>It was a final statement. In the present emergency the leader's +authority was supreme. They rested about an hour with no sound save the +shuffling feet of the horses which could not be kept wholly quiet; and +then they started on again, not going so quickly now, because the night +was dark, and they wished to make as little noise as possible, threshing +about in the undergrowth.</p> + +<p>Paul pressed up by the side of Henry.</p> + +<p>"Do you think we shall have to go on all night, this way?" he asked. +"Wasn't Mr. Pennypacker right, when he said we were out of danger?"</p> + +<p>"No, the schoolmaster was wrong," replied Henry. "Tom Ross knows more +about the woods and what is likely to happen in them than Mr. +Pennypacker could know in all his life, if he were to live a thousand +years. It's every man to his own trade, and it's Tom's trade that we +need now."</p> + +<p>After hearing these sage words of youth Paul asked no more questions, +but he and Henry kept side by side throughout the night, that is, when +neither of them was riding, because Henry, like all the others, now took +turns on horseback. Twice they crossed small streams and once a larger +one, where they exercised the utmost caution to keep their precious salt +from getting wet. Fortunately the great pack saddles were a protection, +and they emerged on the other side with both salt and powder dry.</p> + +<p>When the night was thickest, in the long, dark hour just before the +dawn, Henry and Paul, who were again side by side, heard a faint, +distant cry. It was a low, wailing note that was not unpleasant, +softened by the spaces over which it came. It seemed to be far behind +them, but inclining to the right, and after a few moments there came +another faint cry just like it, also behind them, but far to the left. +Despite the soft, wailing note both Henry and Paul felt a shiver run +through them. The strange low sound, coming in the utter silence of the +night, had in it something ominous.</p> + +<p>"It was the cry of a wolf," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"And his brother wolf answered," said Henry.</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol was just behind them, and they heard him laugh, a low +laugh, but full of irony. Paul wheeled about at once, his pride aflame +at the insinuation that he did not know the wolf's long whine.</p> + +<p>"Well, wasn't it a wolf—and a wolf that answered?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes, a wolf an' a wolf that answered," replied Shif'less Sol with +sardonic emphasis, "but they had only four legs between 'em. Them was +the signal cries of the Shawnees, an', as Tom has been tellin' you all +the time, they're hot on our trail. It's a mighty lucky thing for us we +didn't undertake to stay all night back there where we stopped."</p> + +<p>Paul turned pale again, but his courage as usual came back. "Thank God +it will be daylight soon," he murmured to himself, "and then if they +overtake us we can see them."</p> + +<p>Faint and far, but ominous and full of threat came the howl of the wolf +again, first from the right and then from the left, and then from points +between. Henry noticed that Ross and Shif'less Sol seemed to draw +themselves together, as if they would make every nerve and muscle taut, +and then his eyes shifted to Mr. Pennypacker, and seeing him, he knew at +once that the master did not understand; he had not heard the words of +Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"It seems that we are pursued by a pack of wolves instead of a war +party," said Mr. Pennypacker. "At least we are numerous enough to beat +off a lot of cowardly four-footed assailants."</p> + +<p>Henry smiled from the heights of his superior knowledge.</p> + +<p>"Those are not wolves, Mr. Pennypacker," he said, "those are the +Shawnees calling to one another."</p> + +<p>"Then, why in Heaven's name don't they speak their own language!" +exclaimed the exasperated schoolmaster, "instead of using that which +appertains only to the prowling beast?"</p> + +<p>Henry, despite himself, was forced to smile, but he turned his face and +hid the smile—he would not offend the schoolmaster whom he esteemed +sincerely.</p> + +<p>The dawn now began to brighten. The sun, a flaming red sword, cleft the +gray veil, and then poured down a torrent of golden beams upon the vast, +green wilderness of Kentucky. Henry, as he looked around upon the little +band, realized what a tiny speck of human life they were in all those +hundreds of miles of forest, and what risks they ran.</p> + +<p>Ross gave the word to halt, and again they ate of cold food. While the +others sat on fallen timber or leaned against tree trunks, Ross and Sol +talked in low tones, but Henry could see that all their words were +marked by the deepest earnestness. Ross presently turned to the men and +said in tones of greatest gravity:</p> + +<p>"All of you heard the howlin' just afore dawn, an' I guess all of you +know it was not made by real wolves, but by Shawnees, callin' to each +other an' directin' the chase of us. We've come fast, but they've come +faster, an' I know that by noon we'll have to fight."</p> + +<p>The schoolmaster's eyes opened in wonder.</p> + +<p>"Do you really mean to say that they are overhauling us?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I shore do," replied Ross. "You see, they're better trained travelers +for woods than we are, an' they are not hampered by anythin'."</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker said nothing more, but his lips suddenly closed tightly +and his eyes flashed. In the great battle ground of the white man and +the red man, called Kentucky, the early schoolmaster was as ready as any +one else to fight.</p> + +<p>Ross and Sol again consulted and then Ross said:</p> + +<p>"We think that since we have to fight it would be better to fight when +we are fresh and steady and in the best place we can find."</p> + +<p>All the men nodded. They were tired of running and when Ross gave the +word to stop again they did so promptly. The questioning eyes of both +Ross and Sol roamed round the forest and finally and simultaneously the +two uttered a low cry of pleasure. They had come into rocky ground and +they had been ascending. Before them was a hill with a rather steep +ascent, and dropping off almost precipitously on three sides.</p> + +<p>"We couldn't find a better place," said Ross loud enough for all to +hear. "It looks like a fort just made for us."</p> + +<p>"But there is no line of retreat," objected the schoolmaster.</p> + +<p>"We had a line of a retreat last night and all this mornin' an' we've +been followin' it all the time," rejoined the leader. "Now we don't need +it no more, but what we do need to do is to make a stan'-up fight, an' +lick them fellers."</p> + +<p>"And save our salt," added the master.</p> + +<p>"Of course," said Ross emphatically. "We didn't come all these miles an' +work all these days just to lose what we went so far after an' worked so +hard for."</p> + +<p>They retreated rapidly upon the great jutting peninsula of rocky soil, +which fortunately was covered with a good growth of trees, and tethered +the horses in a thick grove near the end.</p> + +<p>"Now, we'll just unload our salt an' make a wall," said Ross with a +trace of a smile. "They can shoot our salt as much as they please, just +so they don't touch us."</p> + +<p>The bags of salt were laid in the most exposed place across the +narrowest neck of the peninsula and they also dragged up all the fallen +tree trunks and boughs that they could find to help out their primitive +fortification. Then they sat down to wait, a hard task for men, but +hardest of all for two boys like Henry and Paul.</p> + +<p>Two of the men went back with the horses to watch over them and also to +guard against any possible attempt to scale the cliff in their rear, but +the others lay close behind the wall of salt and brushwood. The sun +swung up toward the zenith and shone down upon a beautiful world. All +the wilderness was touched with the tender young green of spring and +nothing stirred but the gentle wind. The silky blue sky smiled over a +scene so often enacted in early Kentucky, that great border battle +ground of the white man and the red, the one driven by the desire for +new and fertile acres that he might plow and call his own, the other by +an equally fierce desire to retain the same acres, not to plow nor even +to call his own, but that he might roam and hunt big game over them at +will.</p> + +<p>The great red eye of the sun, poised now in the center of the heavens, +looked down at the white men crouched close to the earth behind their +low and primitive wall, and then it looked into the forest at the red +men creeping silently from tree to tree, all the eager ferocity of the +man hunt on the face of everyone.</p> + +<p>But Paul and Henry, behind their wall, saw nothing and heard nothing but +the breathing of those near them. They fingered their rifles and through +the crevices between the bags studied intently the woods in front of +them, where they beheld no human being nor any trace of a foe. Henry +looked from tree to tree, but he could see no flitting shadow. Where the +patches of grass grew it moved only with the regular sweep of the +breeze. He began to think that Ross and Sol must be mistaken. The +warriors had abandoned the pursuit. He glanced at Ross, who was not a +dozen feet away, and the leader's face was so tense, so eager and so +earnest that Henry ceased to doubt, the man's whole appearance indicated +the knowledge of danger, present and terrible.</p> + +<p>Even as Henry looked, Ross suddenly threw up his rifle, and, apparently +without aim, pulled the trigger. A flash of fire leaped from the long +slender muzzle of blue steel, there was a sharp report like the swift +lash of a whip, and then a cry, so terrible that Henry, strong as he +was, shuddered in every nerve and muscle. The short high-pitched and +agonizing shout died away in a wail and after it came silence, grim, +deadly, but so charged with mysterious suspense that both Henry and Paul +felt the hair lifting itself upon their heads. Henry had seen nothing, +but he knew well what had happened.</p> + +<p>"They've come and Ross has killed one of 'em," he whispered breathlessly +to Paul.</p> + +<p>"That yell couldn't mean anything else," said Paul trembling. "I'll hear +it again every night for a year."</p> + +<p>"I hope we'll both have a chance to hear it again every night for a +year," said Henry with meaning.</p> + +<p>The master crouched nearer to the boys. He was one of the bravest of the +men and in that hour of danger and suspense his heart yearned over these +two lads, his pupils, each a good boy in his own way. He felt that it +was a part of his duty to get them safely back to Wareville and their +parents, and he meant to fulfill the demands of his conscience.</p> + +<p>"Keep down, lads," he said, touching Henry on his arm, "don't expose +yourselves. You are not called upon to do anything, unless it comes to +the last resort."</p> + +<p>"We are going to do our best, of course, we are!" replied Henry with +some little heat.</p> + +<p>He resented the intimation that he could not perform a man's full duty, +and Mr. Pennypacker, seeing that his feelings were touched, said no +more.</p> + +<p>A foreboding silence followed the death cry of the fallen warrior, but +the brilliant sunshine poured down on the woods, just as if it were a +glorious summer afternoon with no thought of strife in a human breast +anywhere. Henry again searched the forest in front of them, and, +although he could see nothing, he was not deceived now by this +appearance of silence and peace. He knew that their foes were there, +more thirsty than ever for their blood, because to the natural desire +now was added the tally of revenge.</p> + +<p>More than an hour passed, and then the forest in front of them burst +into life. Rifles were fired from many points, the sharp crack blending +into one continuous ominous rattle; little puffs of white smoke arose, +whistling bullets buried themselves with a sighing sound in the bags of +salt, and high above all rang the fierce yell, the war whoop of the +Shawnees, the last sound that many a Kentucky pioneer ever heard.</p> + +<p>The terrible tumult, and above all, the fierce cry of the warriors sent +a thrill of terror through Paul and Henry, but their disciplined minds +held their bodies firm, and they remained crouched by the primitive +breastwork, ready to do their part.</p> + +<p>"Steady, everybody! Steady!" exclaimed Ross in a loud sharp voice, every +syllable of which cut through the tumult. "Don't shoot until you see +something to shoot at, an' then make your aim true!"</p> + +<p>Henry now began to see through the smoke dusky figures leaping from tree +to tree, but always coming toward them. It was his impulse to fire, the +moment a flitting figure appeared, gone the next instant like a shadow, +but remembering Ross's caution and their terrible need he restrained +himself although his finger already lay caressingly on the trigger. +Around him the rifles had begun to crack. Ross and Sol were firing with +slow deliberate aim, and then reloading with incredible swiftness, and +down the line the others were doing likewise. Bullets were spattering +into trunks and boughs, or burying themselves with a soft sigh in the +salt, but Henry could not see that anybody was yet hurt.</p> + +<p>He saw presently a dark figure passing from one tree to another and the +passage was long enough for him to take a good aim at a hideously +painted breast. He pulled the trigger and then involuntarily he shut his +eyes—he was a hunter, but he had never hunted men before. When he +looked again he saw a blur upon the ground, and despite himself and the +fight for life, he shuddered. Paul beside him was now in a state of wild +excitement. The smaller boy's nerves were not so steady and he was +loading and firing almost at random. Finally he lifted himself almost +unconsciously to his full height, but he was dragged down the next +instant, as if he had been seized from below by a bear.</p> + +<p>"Paul!" fiercely exclaimed the schoolmaster, all the instincts of a +pedagogue rising within him, "if you jump up that way again exposing +yourself to their bullets, I'll turn you over my knee right here, big as +you are, and give you a licking that you'll remember all your life!"</p> + +<p>The master was savagely in earnest and Paul did not jump up again. Henry +fired once more, and a third time and the tumult rose to its height. +Then it ceased so suddenly and so absolutely that the silence was +appalling. The wind blew the smoke away, a few dark objects lay close to +the ground among the trees before them, but not a sound came from the +forest, and no flitting form was there.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>THE ESCAPE</h3> + + +<p>Henry and Paul, with their eyes at the crevices, stared and stared, but +they saw only those dark, horrible forms lying close to the earth, and +heard again the peaceful wind blowing among the peaceful trees. The +savage army had melted away as if it had never been, and the dark +objects might have been taken for stones or pieces of wood.</p> + +<p>"We beat 'em off, an' nobody on our side has more'n a scratch," +exclaimed Shif'less Sol jubilantly.</p> + +<p>"That's so," said Ross, casting a critical eye down the line, "it's +because we had a good position an' made ready. There's nothin' like +takin' a thing in time. How're you, boys?"</p> + +<p>"All right, but I've been pretty badly scared I can tell you," replied +Paul frankly. "But we are not hurt, are we, Henry?"</p> + +<p>"Thank God," murmured the schoolmaster under his breath, and then he +said aloud to Ross: "I suppose they'll leave us alone now."</p> + +<p>Ross shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I wish I could say it," he replied, "but I can't. We've laid out four +of 'em, good and cold, an' the Shawnees, like all the other redskins, +haven't much stomach for a straightaway attack on people behind +breastworks; I don't think they'll try that again, but they'll be up to +new mischief soon. We must watch out now for tricks. Them's sly devils."</p> + +<p>Ross was a wise leader and he gave food to his men, but he cautioned +them to lie close at all times. Two or three bullets were fired from the +forest but they whistled over their heads and did no damage. They seemed +safe for the present, but Ross was troubled about the future, and +particularly the coming of night, when they could not protect themselves +so well, and the invaders, under cover of darkness, might slip forward +at many points. Henry himself was man enough and experienced enough to +understand the danger, and for the moment, he wondered with a kind of +impersonal curiosity how Ross was going to meet it. Ross himself was +staring at the heavens, and Henry, following his intent eyes, noticed a +change in color and also that the atmosphere began to have a different +feeling to his lungs. So much had he been engrossed by the battle, and +so great had been his excitement, that such things as sky and air had no +part then in his life, but now in the long dead silence, they obtruded +themselves upon him.</p> + +<p>The last wisp of smoke drifted away among the trees, and the sunlight, +although it was mid-afternoon, was fading. Presently the skies were a +vast dome of dull, lowering gray, and the breeze had a chill edge. Then +the wind died and not a leaf or blade of grass in the forest stirred. +Somber clouds came over the brink of the horizon in the southwest, and +crept threateningly up the great curve of the sky. The air steadily +darkened, and suddenly the dim horizon in the far southwest was cut by a +vivid flash of lightning. Low thunder grumbled over the distant hills.</p> + +<p>"It's a storm, an' it's to be a whopper," said Shif'less Sol.</p> + +<p>"Ay," returned Ross, who had been back among the horses, "an' it may +save us. All you fellows be sure to keep your powder dry."</p> + +<p>There would be little danger of that fatal catastrophe, the wetting of +the powder, as it was carried in polished horns, stopped securely, nor +would there be any danger either of the salt being melted, as it was +inclosed in bags made of deerskin, which would shed water.</p> + +<p>"One of the men," continued Ross, "has found a big gully running down +the back end of the hill, an' I think if we're keerful we can lead the +horses to the valley that way. But just now, we'll wait."</p> + +<p>Henry and Paul were watching, as if fascinated. They had seen before the +great storms that sometimes sweep the Mississippi Valley, but the one +preparing now seemed to be charged with a deadly power, far surpassing +anything in their experience. It came on, too, with terrible swiftness. +The thunder, at first a mere rumble, rose rapidly to crash after crash +that stunned their ears. The livid flash of lightning that split the +southwest like a flaming sword appeared and reappeared with such +intensity that it seemed never to have gone. The wind rose and the +forest groaned. From afar came a sullen roar, and then the great +hurricane rushed down upon them.</p> + +<p>"Lie flat!" shouted Ross.</p> + +<p>All except four or five who held the struggling and frightened horses +threw themselves upon the ground, and, although Henry and Paul hugged +the earth, their ears were filled with the roar and scream of the wind, +and the crackle of boughs and whole tree trunks snapped through, like +the rattle of rifle fire. The forest in front of them was quickly filled +with fallen trees, and fragments whistled over their heads, but +fortunately they were untouched.</p> + +<p>The great volley of wind was gone in a few moments, as if it were a +single huge cannon shot. It whistled off to the eastward, but left in +its path a trail of torn and fallen trees. Then in its path came the +sweep of the great rain; the air grew darker, the thunder ceased to +crash, the lightning died away, and the water poured down in sheets over +the black and mangled forest.</p> + +<p>"Now boys, we'll start," said Ross. "Them Shawnees had to hunt cover, +an' they can't see us nohow. Up with them bags of salt!"</p> + +<p>In an incredibly short time the salt was loaded on the pack horses and +then they were picking their way down the steep and dangerous gully in +the side of the hill. Henry, Paul and the master locked hands in the +dark and the driving rain, and saved each other from falls. Ross and Sol +seemed to have the eyes of cats in the dark and showed the way.</p> + +<p>"My God!" murmured Mr. Pennypacker, "I could not have dreamed ten years +ago that I should ever take part in such a scene as this!"</p> + +<p>Low as he spoke, Henry heard him and he detected, too, a certain note of +pride in the master's tone, as if he were satisfied with the manner in +which he had borne himself. Henry felt the same satisfaction, although +he could not deny that he had felt many terrors.</p> + +<p>After much difficulty and some danger they reached the bottom of the +hill unhurt, and then they sped across a fairly level country, not much +troubled by undergrowth or fallen timber, keeping close together so that +no one might be lost in the darkness and the rain, Ross, as usual, +leading the line, and Shif'less Sol bringing up the rear. Now and then +the two men called the names of the others to see that all were present, +but beyond this precaution no word was spoken, save in whispers.</p> + +<p>Henry and Paul felt a deep and devout thankfulness for the chance that +had saved them from a long siege and possible death; indeed it seemed to +them that the hand of God had turned the enemy aside, and in their +thankfulness they forgot that, soaked to the bone, cold and tired, they +were still tramping through the lone wilderness, far from Wareville.</p> + +<p>The darkness and the pouring rain endured for about an hour, then both +began to lighten, streaks of pale sky appeared in the east, and the +trees like cones emerged from the mist and gloom. All of the +salt-workers felt their spirits rise. They knew that they had escaped +from the conflict wonderfully well; two slight wounds, not more than the +breaking of skin, and that was all. Fresh strength came to them, and as +they continued their journey the bars of pale light broadened and +deepened, and then fused into a solid blue dawn, as the last cloud +disappeared and the last shower of rain whisked away to the northward. A +wet road lay before them, the drops of water yet sparkling here and +there, like myriads of beads. Ross drew a deep breath of relief and +ordered a halt.</p> + +<p>"The Shawnees could follow us again," he said, "but they know now that +they bit off somethin' a heap too tough for them to chaw, an' I don't +think they'll risk breaking a few more teeth on it, specially after +havin' been whipped aroun' by the storm as they must 'a been."</p> + +<p>"And to think we got away and brought our salt with us, too!" said Mr. +Pennypacker.</p> + +<p>Dark came soon, and Ross and Sol felt so confident they were safe from +another attack that they allowed a fire to be lighted, although they +were careful to choose the center of a little prairie, where the rifle +shots of an ambushed foe in the forest could not reach them.</p> + +<p>It was no easy matter to light a fire, but Ross and Sol at last +accomplished it with flint, steel and dry splinters cut from the under +side of fallen logs. Then when the blaze had taken good hold they heaped +more brushwood upon it and never were heat and warmth more grateful to +tired travelers.</p> + +<p>Henry and Paul did not realize until then how weary and how very wet +they were. They basked in the glow, and, with delight watched the great +beds of coals form. They took off part of their clothing, hanging it +before the fire, and when it was dry and warm put it on again. Then they +served the rest the same way, and by and by they wore nothing but warm +garments.</p> + +<p>"I guess two such terrible fighters as you," said Ross to Henry and +Paul, "wouldn't mind a bite to eat. I've allers heard tell as how the +Romans after they had fought a good fight with them Carthaginians or +Macedonians or somebody else would sit down an' take some good grub into +their insides, an' then be ready for the next spat."</p> + +<p>"Will we eat? will we eat? Oh, try us, try us," chanted Henry and Paul +in chorus, their mouths stretching simultaneously into wide grins, and +Ross grinned back in sympathy.</p> + +<p>The revulsion had come for the two boys. After so much danger and +suffering, the sense of safety and the warmth penetrating their bones +made them feel like little children, and they seized each other in a +friendly scuffle, which terminated only when they were about to roll +into the fire. Then they ate venison as if they had been famished. +Afterwards, when they were asleep on their blankets before the fire, +Ross said to Mr. Pennypacker:</p> + +<p>"They did well, for youngsters."</p> + +<p>"They certainly did, Mr. Ross," said the master. "I confess to you that +there were times to-day when learning seemed to offer no consolation."</p> + +<p>Ross smiled a little, and then his face quickly became grave.</p> + +<p>"It's what we've got to go through out here," he said. "Every settlement +will have to stand the storm."</p> + +<p>A vigilant watch was kept all the long night but there was no sign of a +second Shawnee attack. Ross had reckoned truly when he thought the +Shawnees would not care to risk further pursuit, and the next day they +resumed their journey, under a drying sun.</p> + +<p>They were not troubled any more by Indian attacks, but the rest of the +way was not without other dangers. The rivers were swollen by the spring +rains, and they had great trouble in carrying the salt across on the +swimming horses. Once Paul was swept down by a swift and powerful +current, but Henry managed to seize and hold him until others came to +the rescue. Men and boys alike laughed over their trials, because they +felt now all the joy of victory, and their rapid march south amid the +glories of spring, unfolding before them, appealed to the instincts of +everyone in the band, the same instincts that had brought them from the +East into the wilderness.</p> + +<p>They were passing through the region that came to be known in later days +as the Garden of Kentucky. Then it was covered with magnificent forest +and now they threaded their way through the dense canebrake. Squirrels +chattered in every tree top, deer swarmed in the woods, and the buffalo +was to be found in almost every glen.</p> + +<p>"I do not wonder," said the thoughtful schoolmaster, "that the Indian +should be loath to give up such choice hunting grounds, but, fight as +cunningly and bravely as he will, his fate will come."</p> + +<p>But Henry, with only the thoughts of youth, could not conceive of the +time when the vast wilderness should be cut down and the game should go. +He was concerned only with the present and the words of Mr. Pennypacker +made upon him but a faint and fleeting impression.</p> + +<p>At last on a sunny morning, whole, well fed, with their treasure +preserved, and all fresh and courageous, they approached Wareville. The +hearts of Henry and Paul thrilled at the signs of white habitation. They +saw where the ax had bitten through a tree, and they came upon broad +trails that could be made only by white men, going to their work, or +hunting their cattle.</p> + +<p>But it was Paul who showed the most eagerness. He was whole-hearted in +his joy. Wareville then was the only spot on earth for him. But Henry +turned his back on the wilderness with a certain reluctance. A primitive +strain in him had been awakened. He was not frightened now. The danger +of the battle had aroused in him a certain wild emotion which repeated +itself and refused to die, though days had passed. It seemed to him at +times that it would be a great thing to live in the forest, and to have +knowledge and wilderness power surpassing those even of Shif'less Sol or +Ross. He had tasted again the life of the primitive man and he liked it.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker was visibly joyful. The wilderness appealed to him in a +way, but he considered himself essentially a man of peace, and Wareville +was becoming a comfortable abode.</p> + +<p>"I have had my great adventure," he said, "I have helped to fight the +wild men, and in the days to come I can speak boastfully of it, even as +the great Greeks in Homer spoke boastfully of their achievements, but +once is enough. I am a man of peace and years, and I would fain wage the +battles of learning rather than those of arms."</p> + +<p>"But you did fight like a good 'un when you had to do it, schoolmaster," +said Ross.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker shook his head and replied gravely:</p> + +<p>"Tom, you do right to say 'when I had to do it,' but I mean that I shall +not have to do it any more."</p> + +<p>Ross smiled. He knew that the schoolmaster was one of the bravest of +men.</p> + +<p>Now they came close to Wareville. From a hill they saw a thin, blue +column of smoke rising and then hanging like a streamer across the clear +blue sky.</p> + +<p>"That comes from the chimneys of Wareville," said Ross, "an' I guess +she's all right. That smoke looks kinder quiet, as if nothin' out of the +way had happened."</p> + +<p>They pressed forward with renewed speed, and presently a shout came from +the forest. Two men ran to meet them, and rejoiced at the sight of the +men unharmed, and every horse heavily loaded with salt. Then it was a +triumphal procession into Wareville, with the crowd about them +thickening as they neared the gates. Henry's mother threw her arms about +his neck, and his father grasped him by the hand. Paul was in the center +of his own family, completely submerged, and all the space within the +palisade resounded with joyous laugh and welcome, which became all the +more heartfelt, when the schoolmaster told of the great danger through +which they had passed.</p> + +<p>That evening, when they sat around the low fire in his father's +home—the spring nights were yet cool—Henry had to repeat the story of +the salt-making and the great adventure with the Shawnees. He grew +excited as he told of the battle and the storm, his face flushed, his +eyes shot sparks, and, as Mrs. Ware looked at him, she realized, half in +pride, half in terror, that she was the mother of a hunter and warrior.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>THE CAVE DUST</h3> + + +<p>The great supply of salt brought by Ross and his men was welcome to +Wareville, as the people had begun to suffer for it, but they would have +enough now to last them a full year, and a year was a long time to look +ahead. Great satisfaction was expressed on that score, but the news that +a Shawnee war party was in Kentucky and had chased them far southward +caused Mr. Ware and other heads of the village to look very grave and to +hold various councils.</p> + +<p>As a result of these talks the palisade was strengthened with another +row of strong stakes, and they took careful stock of their supplies of +ammunition. Lead they had in plenty, but powder was growing scarce. A +fresh supply had been expected with a new band of settlers from Virginia +but the band had failed to come, and the faces of the leaders grew yet +graver, when they looked at the dwindling supply, and wondered how it +could be replenished for the dire need that might arise. It was now that +Mr. Pennypacker came forward with a suggestion and he showed how book +learning could be made of great value, even in the wilderness.</p> + +<p>"You will recall," he said to Mr. Ware and Mr. Upton, and other heads of +the settlement, "that some of our hunters have reported the existence of +great caves to the southwestward and that they have brought back from +them wonderful stalactites and stalagmites and also dust from the cave +floors. I find that this dust is strongly impregnated with niter; from +niter we obtain saltpeter and from saltpeter we make gunpowder. We need +not send to Virginia for our powder, we can make it here in Kentucky for +ourselves."</p> + +<p>"Do you truly think so, Mr. Pennypacker?" asked Mr. Ware, doubtfully.</p> + +<p>"Think so! I know so," replied the schoolmaster in sanguine tones. "Why, +what am I a teacher for if I don't know a little of such things? And +even if you have doubts, think how well the experiment is worth trying. +Situated as we are, in this wild land, powder is the most precious thing +on earth to us."</p> + +<p>"That is true! that is true!" said Mr. Ware with hasty emphasis. +"Without it we shall lie helpless before the Indian attack, should it +come. If, as you say, this cave dust contains the saltpeter, the rest +will be easy."</p> + +<p>"It contains saltpeter and the rest <i>will</i> be easy!"</p> + +<p>"Then, you must go for it. Ross and Sol and a strong party must go with +you, because we cannot run the risk of losing any of you through the +Indians."</p> + +<p>"I am sure," said Mr. Pennypacker, "that we shall incur no danger from +Indians. The region of the great caves lies farther south than Wareville +and the Southern Indians, who are less bold than the Northern tribes, +are not likely to come again into Kentucky. The hunters say that Indians +have not been in that particular region for years."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I think you are right," said Mr. Ware, "but be careful anyhow."</p> + +<p>Henry, when he heard of the new expedition, was wild to go, but his +parents, remembering the great danger of the journey to the salt licks, +were reluctant with their permission. Then Ross interceded effectively.</p> + +<p>"The boy is just fitted for this sort of work," he said. "He isn't in +love with farming, he's got other blood in him, but down there he will +be just about the best man that Wareville has to send, an' there won't +be any Indians."</p> + +<p>There was no reply to such an argument, because in the border +settlements the round peg must go in the round hole; the conditions of +survival demanded no surplusage and no waste.</p> + +<p>When Paul heard that Henry was to go he gave his parents no rest, and +when Mr. Pennypacker, whose favorite he was, seconded his request, on +the ground that he would need a scholar with him the permission had to +be granted.</p> + +<p>Rejoicing, the two boys set forth with the others, the dangers of the +Shawnee battle and their terrors already gone from their minds. They +would meet no Indians this time, and the whole powder-making expedition +would be just one great picnic. The summer was now at hand, and the +forests were an unbroken mass of brilliant green. In the little spaces +of earth where the sunlight broke through, wild flowers, red, blue, pink +and purple peeped up and nodded gayly, when the light winds blew. Game +abounded, but they killed only enough for their needs, Ross saying it +was against the will of God to shoot a splendid elk or buffalo and leave +him to rot, merely for the pleasure of the killing.</p> + +<p>After a while they forded a large river, passed out of the forests, and +came into a great open region, to which they gave the name of Barrens, +not because it was sterile, but because it was bare of trees. Henry, at +first, thought it was the land of prairies, but Ross, after examining it +minutely, said that if left to nature it would be forested. It was his +theory that the Indians in former years had burned off the young tree +growth repeatedly in order to make great grazing grounds for the big +game. Whether his supposition was true or not, and Henry thought it +likely to be true, the Barrens were covered with buffalo, elk and deer. +In fact they saw buffalo in comparatively large numbers for the first +time, and once they looked upon a herd of more than a hundred, grazing +in the rich and open meadows. Panthers attracted by the quantity of game +upon which they could prey screamed horribly at night, but the flaming +camp fires of the travelers were sufficient to scare them away.</p> + +<p>All these things, the former salt-makers, and powder-makers that hoped +to be, saw only in passing. They knew the value of time and they +hastened on to the region of great caves, guided this time by one of +their hunters, Jim Hart, although Ross as usual was in supreme command. +But Hart had spent some months hunting in the great cave region and his +report was full of wonders.</p> + +<p>"I think there are caves all over, or rather, under this country that +the Indians call Kaintuckee," he said, "but down in this part of it +they're the biggest."</p> + +<p>"You are right about Kentucky being a cave region," said the +schoolmaster, "I think most of it is underlaid with rock, anywhere from +five thousand to ten thousand feet thick, and in the course of ages, +through geological decay or some kindred cause, it has become +crisscrossed with holes like a great honeycomb."</p> + +<p>"I'm pretty sure about the caves," said Ross, "but what I want to know +is about this peter dirt."</p> + +<p>"We'll find it and plenty of it," replied the master confidently. "That +sample was full of niter, and when we leach it in our tubs we shall have +the genuine saltpeter, explosive dust, if you choose to call it, that is +the solution of gunpowder."</p> + +<p>"Which we can't do without," said Henry.</p> + +<p>They passed out of the Barrens, and entered a region of high, rough +hills, and narrow little valleys. Hills and valleys alike were densely +clothed with forest.</p> + +<p>Hart pointed to several, large holes in the sides of the hills, always +at or near the base and said they were the mouths of caves.</p> + +<p>"But the big one, in which I got the peter dirt is farther on," he said.</p> + +<p>They came to the place he had in mind, just as the twilight was falling, +a hole, a full man's height at the bottom of a narrow valley, but +leading directly into the side of the circling hill that inclosed the +bowl-like depression. Henry and Paul looked curiously at the black mouth +and they felt some tremors at the knowledge that they were to go in +there, and to remain inside the earth for a long time, shut from the +light of day. It was the dark and not the fear of anything visible, that +frightened them.</p> + +<p>But they made no attempt to enter that evening, although night would be +the same as day in the cave. Instead they provided for a camp, as the +horses and a sufficient guard would have to remain outside. The valley +itself was an admirable place, since it contained pasturage for the +horses, while at the far end was a little stream of water, flowing out +of the hill and trickling away through a cleft into another and slightly +lower valley.</p> + +<p>After tethering the horses, they built a fire near the cave mouth and +sat down to cook, eat, rest and talk.</p> + +<p>"Ain't there danger from bad air in there?" asked Ross. "I've heard tell +that sometimes in the ground air will blow all up, when fire is touched +to it, just like a bar'l o' gunpowder."</p> + +<p>"The air felt just as fresh an' nice as daylight when I went in," said +Hart, "an' if it comes to that it will be better than it is out here +because it's allus even an' cool."</p> + +<p>"It is so," said the master meditatively. "All the caves discovered so +far in Kentucky have fresh pure air. I do not undertake to account for +it."</p> + +<p>That night they cut long torches of resinous wood, and early the next +morning all except two, who were left to guard the horses, entered the +cave, led by Hart, who was a fearless man with an inquiring mind. +Everyone carried a torch, burning with little smoke, and after they had +passed the cave mouth, which was slightly damp, they came to a perfectly +dry passage, all the time breathing a delightfully cool and fresh air, +full of vigor and stimulus.</p> + +<p>Paul and Henry looked back. They had come so far now that the light of +day from the cave mouth could not reach them, and behind them was only +thick impervious blackness. Before them, where the light of the torches +died was the same black wall, and they themselves were only a little +island of light. But they could see that the cave ran on before them, as +if it were a subterranean, vaulted gallery, hewed out of the stone by +hands of many Titans! Henry held up his torch, and from the roof twenty +feet above his head the stone flashed back multicolored and glittering +lights. Paul's eyes followed Henry's and the gleaming roof appealed to +his sensitive mind.</p> + +<p>"Why, it's all a great underground palace!" he exclaimed, "and we are +the princes who are living in it!"</p> + +<p>Hart heard Paul's enthusiastic words and he smiled.</p> + +<p>"Come here, Paul," he said, "I want to show you something."</p> + +<p>Paul came at once and Hart swung the light of his torch into a dark +cryptlike opening from the gallery.</p> + +<p>"I see some dim shapes lying on the floor in there, but I can't tell +exactly what they are," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"Come into this place itself."</p> + +<p>Paul stepped into the crypt, and Hart with the tip of his moccasined toe +gently moved one of the recumbent forms. Paul could not repress a little +cry as he jumped back. He was looking at the dark, withered face of an +Indian, that seemed to him a thousand years old.</p> + +<p>"An' the others are Indians, too," said Hart. "An' they needn't trouble +us. God knows how long they've been a-layin' here where their friends +brought 'em for burial. See the bows an' arrows beside 'em. They ain't +like any that the Indians use now."</p> + +<p>"And the dry cave air has preserved them, for maybe two or three hundred +years," said the schoolmaster. "No, their dress and equipment do not +look like those of any Indians whom I have seen."</p> + +<p>"Let's leave them just as they are," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"Of course," said Ross, "it would be bad luck to move 'em."</p> + +<p>They went on farther into the cave, and found that it increased in +grandeur and beauty. The walls glittered with the light of the torches, +the ceiling rose higher, and became a great vaulted dome. From the roof +hung fantastic stalactites and from the floor stalagmites equally +fantastic shot up to meet them. Slow water fell drop by drop from the +point of the stalactite upon the point of the stalagmite.</p> + +<p>"That has been going on for ages," said the schoolmaster, "and the same +drop of water that leaves some of its substance to form the stalactite, +hanging from the roof, goes to form the stalagmite jutting up from the +floor. Come, Paul, here's a seat for you. You must rest a bit."</p> + +<p>They beheld a rock formation almost like a chair, and, Paul sitting down +in it, found it quite comfortable. But they paused only a moment, and +then passed on, devoting their attention now to the cave dust, which was +growing thicker under their feet. The master scooped up handfuls of it +and regarded it attentively by the close light of his torch.</p> + +<p>"It's the genuine peter dust!" he exclaimed exultantly. "Why, we can +make powder here as long as we care to do so."</p> + +<p>"You are sure of it, master?" asked Ross anxiously.</p> + +<p>"Sure of it!" replied Mr. Pennypacker. "Why, I know it. If we stayed +here long enough we could make a thousand barrels of gunpowder, good +enough to kill any elk or buffalo or Indian that ever lived."</p> + +<p>Ross breathed a deep sigh of relief. He had had his doubts to the last, +and none knew better than he how much depended on the correctness of the +schoolmaster's assertion.</p> + +<p>"There seems to be acres of the dust about here," said Ross, "an' I +guess we'd better begin the makin' of our powder at once."</p> + +<p>They went no farther for the present, but carried the dust in, sack +after sack, to the mouth of the cave. Then they leached it, pouring +water on it in improvised tubs, and dissolving the niter. This solution +they boiled down and the residuum was saltpeter or gunpowder, without +which no settlement in Kentucky could exist.</p> + +<p>The little valley now became a scene of great activity. The fires were +always burning and sack after sack of gunpowder was laid safely away in +a dry place. Henry and Paul worked hard with the others, but they never +passed the crypt containing the mummies, without a little shudder. In +some of the intervals of rest they explored portions of the cave, +although they were very cautious. It was well that they were so as one +day Henry stopped abruptly with a little gasp of terror. Not five feet +before him appeared the mouth of a great perpendicular well. It was +perfectly round, about ten feet across, and when Henry and Paul held +their torches over the edge, they could see no bottom. Henry shouted, +throwing his voice as far forward as possible, but only a dull, distant +echo came back.</p> + +<p>"We'll call that the Bottomless Pit," he said.</p> + +<p>"Bottomless or not, it's a good thing to keep out of," said Paul. "It +gives me the shudders, Henry, and I don't think I'll do much more +exploring in this cave."</p> + +<p>In fact, the gunpowder-making did not give them much more chance, and +they were content with what they had already seen. The cave had many +wonders, but the sunshine outside was glorious and the vast mass of +green forest was very restful to the eye. There was hunting to be done, +too, and in this Henry bore a good part, he and Ross supplying the fresh +meat for their table.</p> + +<p>A fine river flowed not two miles away and Paul installed himself as +chief fisherman, bringing them any number of splendid large fish, very +savory to the taste. Ross and Sol roamed far among the woods, but they +reported absolutely no Indian sign.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe any of the warriors from either north or south have +been in these parts for years," said Ross.</p> + +<p>"Luckily for us," added Mr. Pennypacker, "I don't want another such +retreat as that we had from the salt springs."</p> + +<p>Ross's words came true. The powder-making was finished in peace, and the +journey home was made under the same conditions. At Wareville there was +a shout of joy and exultation at their arrival. They felt that they +could hold their village now against any attack, and Mr. Pennypacker was +a great man, justly honored among his people. He had shown them how to +make powder, which was almost as necessary to them as the air they +breathed, and moreover they knew where they could always get materials +needed for making more of it.</p> + +<p>Truly learning was a great thing to have, and they respected it.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>THE FOREST SPELL</h3> + + +<p>When the adventurers returned the rifle and ax were laid aside at +Wareville, for the moment, because the supreme test was coming. The soil +was now to respond to its trial, or to fail. This was the vital question +to Wareville. The game, in the years to come, must disappear, the forest +would be cut down, but the qualities of the earth would remain; if it +produced well, it would form the basis of a nation, if not, it would be +better to let all the work of the last year go and seek another home +elsewhere.</p> + +<p>But the settlers had little doubt. All their lives had been spent close +to the soil, and they were not to be deceived, when they came over the +mountains in search of a land richer than any that they had tilled +before. They had seen its blackness, and, plowing down with the spade, +they had tested its depth. They knew that for ages and ages leaf and +bough, falling upon it, had decayed there and increased its fertility, +and so they awaited the test with confidence.</p> + +<p>The green young shoots of the wheat, sown before the winter, were the +first to appear, and everyone in Wareville old enough to know the +importance of such a manifestation went forth to examine them. Mr. Ware, +Mr. Upton and Mr. Pennypacker held solemn conclave, and the final +verdict was given by the schoolmaster, as became a man who might not be +so strenuous in practice as the others, but who nevertheless was more +nearly a master of theory.</p> + +<p>"The stalks are at least a third heavier than those in Maryland or +Virginia at the same age," he said, "and we can fairly infer from it +that the grain will show the same proportion of increase. I take a third +as a most conservative estimate; it is really nearer a half. Wareville +can, with reason, count upon twenty-five bushels of wheat to the acre, +and it is likely to go higher."</p> + +<p>It was then no undue sense of elation that Wareville felt, and it was +shared by Henry and Paul, and even young Lucy Upton.</p> + +<p>"It will be a rich country some day when I'm an old, old woman," she +said to Henry.</p> + +<p>"It's a rich country now," replied he proudly, "and it will be a long, +long time before you are an old woman."</p> + +<p>They began now to plow the ground cleared the autumn before—"new +ground" they called it—for the spring planting of maize. This, often +termed "Indian corn" but more generally known by the simple name corn, +was to be their chief crop, and the labor of preparation, in which Henry +had his full share, was not light. Their plows were rude, made by +themselves, and finished with a single iron point, and the ground, which +had supported the forest so lately, was full of roots and stumps. So the +passage of the plow back and forth was a trial to both the muscles and +the spirit. Henry's body became sore from head to foot, and by and by, +as the spring advanced and the sun grew hotter, he looked longingly at +the shade of the forest which yet lay so near, and thought of the deep, +cool pools and the silver fish leaping up, until their scales shone like +gold in the sunshine, and of the stags with mighty antlers coming down +to drink. He was sorry for the moment that he was so large and strong +and was so useful with plow and hoe. Then he might be more readily +excused and could take his rifle and seek the depths of the forest, +where everything grew by nature's aid alone, and man need not work, +unless the spirit moved him to do so.</p> + +<p>They planted the space close around the fort in gardens and here after +the ground was "broken up" or plowed, the women and the girls, all tall +and strong, did the work.</p> + +<p>The summer was splendid in its promise and prodigal in its favors. The +rains fell just right, and all that the pioneers planted came up in +abundance. The soil, so kind to the wheat, was not less so to the corn +and the gardens. Henry surveyed with pride the field of maize cultivated +by himself, in which the stalks were now almost a foot high, looking in +the distance like a delicate green veil spread over the earth. His +satisfaction was shared by all in Wareville because after this +fulfillment of the earth's promises, they looked forward to continued +seasons of plenty.</p> + +<p>When the heavy work of planting and cultivating was over and there was +to be a season of waiting for the harvest, Henry went on the great +expedition to the Mississippi.</p> + +<p>In the party were Ross, Shif'less Sol, the schoolmaster, Henry and Paul. +Wareville had no white neighbor near and all the settlements lay to the +north or east. Beyond them, across the Ohio, was the formidable cloud of +Indian tribes, the terror of which always overhung the settlers. West of +them was a vast waste of forest spreading away far beyond the +Mississippi, and, so it was supposed, inhabited only by wild animals. It +was thought well to verify this supposition and therefore the exploring +expedition set out.</p> + +<p>Each member of the party carried a rifle, hunting knife and ammunition, +and in addition they led three pack horses bearing more ammunition, +their meal, jerked venison and buffalo meat. This little army expected +to live upon the country, but it took the food as a precaution.</p> + +<p>They started early of a late but bright summer morning, and Henry found +all his old love of the wilderness returning. Now it would be gratified +to the full, as they should be gone perhaps two months and would pass +through regions wholly unknown. Moreover he had worked hard for a long +time and he felt that his holiday was fully earned; hence there was no +flaw in his hopes.</p> + +<p>It required but a few minutes to pass through the cleared ground, the +new fields, and reach the forest and as they looked back they saw what a +slight impression they had yet made on the wilderness. Wareville was but +a bit of human life, nothing more than an islet of civilization in a sea +of forest.</p> + +<p>Five minutes more of walking among the trees, and then both Wareville +and the newly opened country around it were shut out. They saw only the +spire of smoke that had been a beacon once to Henry and Paul, rising +high up, until it trailed off to the west with the wind, where it lay +like a whiplash across the sky. This, too, was soon lost as they +traveled deeper into the forest, and then they were alone in the +wilderness, but without fear.</p> + +<p>"When we were able to live here without arms or ammunition it's not +likely that we'll suffer, now is it?" said Paul to Henry.</p> + +<p>"Suffer!" exclaimed Henry. "It's a journey that I couldn't be hired to +miss."</p> + +<p>"It ought to be enjoyable," said Mr. Pennypacker; "that is, if our +relatives don't find it necessary to send into the Northwest, and try to +buy back our scalps from the Indian tribes."</p> + +<p>But the schoolmaster was not serious. He had little fear of Indians in +the western part of Kentucky, where they seldom ranged, but he thought +it wise to put a slight restraint upon the exuberance of youth.</p> + +<p>They camped that night about fifteen miles from Wareville under the +shadow of a great, overhanging rock, where they cooked some squirrels +that the shiftless one shot, in a tall tree. The schoolmaster upon this +occasion constituted himself cook.</p> + +<p>"There is a popular belief," he said when he asserted his place, "that a +man of books is of no practical use in the world. I hereby intend to +give a living demonstration to the contrary."</p> + +<p>Ross built the fire, and while the schoolmaster set himself to his task, +Henry and Paul took their fish hooks and lines and went down to the +creek that flowed near. It was so easy to catch perch and other fish +that there was no sport in it, and as soon as they had enough for supper +and breakfast they went back to the fire where the tempting odors that +arose indicated the truth of the schoolmaster's assertion. The squirrels +were done to a turn, and no doubt of his ability remained.</p> + +<p>Supper over, they made themselves beds of boughs under the shadow of the +rock, while the horses were tethered near. They sank into dreamless +sleep, and it was the schoolmaster who awakened Paul and Henry the next +morning.</p> + +<p>They entered that day a forest of extraordinary grandeur, almost clear +of undergrowth and with illimitable rows of mighty oak and beech trees. +As they passed through, it was like walking under the lofty roof of an +immense cathedral. The large masses of foliage met overhead and shut out +the sun, making the space beneath dim and shadowy, and sometimes it +seemed to the explorers that an echo of their own footsteps came back to +them.</p> + +<p>Henry noted the trees, particularly the beeches which here grow to finer +proportions than anywhere else in the world, and said he was glad that +he did not have to cut them down and clear the ground, for the use of +the plow.</p> + +<p>After they passed out of this great forest they entered the widest +stretch of open country they had yet seen in Kentucky, though here and +there they came upon patches of bushes.</p> + +<p>"I think this must have been burned off by successive forest fires," +said Ross, "Maybe hunting parties of Indians put the torch to it in +order to drive the game."</p> + +<p>Certainly these prairies now contained an abundance of animal life. The +grass was fresh, green and thick everywhere, and from a hill the +explorers saw buffalo, elk, and common deer grazing or browsing on the +bushes.</p> + +<p>As the game was so abundant Paul, the least skillful of the party in +such matters, was sent forth that evening to kill a deer and this he +triumphantly accomplished to his own great satisfaction. They again +slept in peace, now under the low-hanging boughs of an oak, and +continued the next day to the west. Thus they went on for days.</p> + +<p>It was an easy journey, except when they came to rivers, some of which +were too deep for fording, but Ross had made provision for them. Perched +upon one of the horses was a skin canoe, that is, one made of stout +buffalo hide to be held in shape by a slight framework of wood on the +inside, such as they could make at any time. Two or three trips in this +would carry themselves and all their equipment over the stream while the +horses swam behind.</p> + +<p>They soon found it necessary to put their improvised canoe to use as +they came to a great river flowing in a deep channel. Wild ducks flew +about its banks or swam on the dark-blue current that flowed quietly to +the north. This was the Cumberland, though nameless then to the +travelers, and its crossing was a delicate operation as any incautious +movement might tip over the skin canoe, and, while they were all good +swimmers, the loss of their precious ammunition could not be taken as +anything but a terrible misfortune.</p> + +<p>Traveling on to the west they came to another and still mightier river, +called by the Indians, so Ross said, the Tennessee, which means in their +language the Great Spoon, so named because the river bent in curves like +a spoon. This river looked even wilder and more picturesque than the +Cumberland, and Henry, as he gazed up its stream, wondered if the white +man would ever know all the strange regions through which it flowed. +Vast swarms of wild fowl, as at the Cumberland, floated upon its waters +or flew near and showed but little alarm as they passed. When they +wished food it was merely to go a little distance and take it as one +walks to a cupboard for a certain dish.</p> + +<p>Now, the aspect of the country began to change. The hills sank. The +streams ceased to sparkle and dash helter-skelter over the stones; +instead they flowed with a deep sluggish current and always to the west. +In some the water was so nearly still that they might be called lagoons. +Marshes spread out for great distances, and they were thronged with +millions of wild fowl. The air grew heavier, hotter and damper.</p> + +<p>"We must be approaching the Mississippi," said Henry, who was quick to +draw an inference from these new conditions.</p> + +<p>"It can't be very far," replied Ross, "because we are in low country +now, and when we get into the lowest the Mississippi will be there."</p> + +<p>All were eager for a sight of the great river. Its name was full of +magic for those who came first into the wilderness of Kentucky. It +seemed to them the limits of the inhabitable world. Beyond stretched +vague and shadowy regions, into which hunters and trappers might +penetrate, but where no one yet dreamed of building a home. So it was +with some awe that they would stand upon the shores of this boundary, +this mighty stream that divided the real from the unreal.</p> + +<p>But traveling was now slow. There were so many deep creeks and lagoons +to cross, and so many marshes to pass around that they could not make +many miles in a day. They camped for a while on the highest hill that +they could find and fished and hunted. While here they built themselves +a thatch shelter, acting on Ross's advice, and they were very glad that +they did so, as a tremendous rain fell a few days after it was finished, +deluging the country and swelling all the creeks and lagoons. So they +concluded to stay until the earth returned to comparative dryness again +in the sunshine, and meanwhile their horses, which did not stand the +journey as well as their masters, could recuperate.</p> + +<p>Two days after they resumed the journey, they stood on the low banks of +the Mississippi and looked at its vast yellow current flowing in a +mile-wide channel, and bearing upon its muddy bosom, bushes and trees, +torn from slopes thousands of miles away. It was not beautiful, it was +not even picturesque, but its size, its loneliness and its desolation +gave it a somber grandeur, which all the travelers felt. It was the same +river that had received De Soto's body many generations before, and it +was still a mystery.</p> + +<p>"We know where it goes to, for the sea receives them all," said Mr. +Pennypacker, "but no man knows whence it comes."</p> + +<p>"And it would take a good long trip to find out," said Sol.</p> + +<p>"A trip that we haven't time to take," returned the schoolmaster.</p> + +<p>Henry felt a desire to make that journey, to follow the great stream, +month after month, until he traced it to the last fountain and uncovered +its secret. The power that grips the explorer, that draws him on through +danger, known and unknown, held him as he gazed.</p> + +<p>They followed the banks of the stream at a slow pace to the north, +sweltering in the heat which seemed to come to a focus here at the +confluence of great waters, until at last they reached a wide extent of +low country overgrown with bushes and cut with a broad yellow band +coming down from the northeast.</p> + +<p>"The Ohio!" said Ross.</p> + +<p>And so it was; it was here that the stream called by the Indians "The +Beautiful River"—though not deserving the name at this place—lost +itself in the Mississippi and at the junction it seemed full as mighty a +river as the great Father of Waters himself.</p> + +<p>They did not stay long at the meeting of the two rivers, fearing the +miasma of the marshy soil, but retreated to the hills where they went +into camp again. Yet Ross, and Henry, and Sol crossed both the Ohio and +the Mississippi in the frail canoe for the sake of saying that they had +been on the farther shores. The three, leaving Paul and the schoolmaster +to guard the camp, even penetrated to a considerable distance in the +prairie country beyond the Ohio. Here Henry saw for the first time a +buffalo herd of size. Buffaloes were common enough in Kentucky, but the +country being mostly wooded they roamed there in small bands. North of +the Ohio he now beheld these huge shaggy animals in thousands and he +narrowly escaped being trampled to death by a herd which, frightened by +a pack of wolves, rushed down upon him like a storm. It was Ross who +saved him by shooting the leading bull, thus compelling them to divide +when they came to his body, by which action they left a clear space +where he and Henry stood. After that Henry, as became one of +fast-ripening experience and judgment, grew more cautious.</p> + +<p>All the party were in keen enjoyment of the great journey, and felt in +their veins the thrill of the wilderness. Paul's studious face took on +the brown tan of autumn, and even the schoolmaster, a man of years who +liked the ways of civilization, saw only the pleasures of the forest and +closed his eyes to its hardships. But there was none who was caught so +deeply in the spell of the wilderness as Henry, not even Ross nor the +shiftless one. There was something in the spirit of the boy that +responded to the call of the winds through the deep woods, a harking +back to the man primeval, a love for nature and silence.</p> + +<p>The forest hid many things from the schoolmaster, but he knew the hearts +of men, and he could read their thoughts in their eyes, and he was the +first to notice the change in Henry or rather less a change than a +deepening and strengthening of a nature that had not found until now its +true medium. The boy did not like to hear them speak of the return, he +loved his people and he would serve them always as best he could, but +they were prosperous and happy back there in Wareville and did not need +him; now the forest beckoned to him, and, speaking to him in a hundred +voices, bade him stay. When he roamed the woods, their majesty and leafy +silence appealed to all his senses. The two vast still rivers threw over +him the spell of mystery, and the secret of the greater one, its hidden +origin, tantalized him. Often he gazed northward along its yellow +current and wondered if he could not pierce that secret. Dimly in his +mind, formed a plan to follow the yellow stream to its source some day, +and again he thrilled with the thought of great adventures and mighty +wanderings, where men of his race had never gone before.</p> + +<p>Knowledge, too, came to him with an ease and swiftness that filled with +surprise experienced foresters like Ross and Sol. The woods seemed to +unfold their secrets to him. He learned the nature of all the herbs, +those that might be useful to man and those that might be harmful, he +was already as skillful with a canoe as either the guide or the +shiftless one, he could follow a trail like an Indian, and the habits of +the wild animals he observed with a minute and remembering eye. All the +lore of those far-away primeval ancestors suddenly reappeared in him at +the voice of the woods, and was ready for his use.</p> + +<p>"It will not be long until Henry is a man," said Ross one evening as +they sat before their camp fire and saw the boy approaching, a deer that +he had killed borne upon his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"He is a man now," said the schoolmaster with gravity and emphasis as he +looked attentively at the figure of the youth carrying the deer. No one +ever before had given him such an impression of strength and physical +alertness. He seemed to have grown, to have expanded visibly since their +departure from Wareville. The muscles of his arm stood up under the +close-fitting deerskin tunic, and the length of limb and breadth of +shoulder in the boy indicated a coming man of giant mold.</p> + +<p>"What a hunter and warrior he will make!" said Ross.</p> + +<p>"A future leader of wilderness men," said Mr. Pennypacker softly, "but +there is wild blood in those veins; he will have to be handled well."</p> + +<p>Henry threw down the deer and greeted them with cheerful words that came +spontaneously from a joyful soul. They had built their fire, not a large +one, in an oak opening and all around the trees rose like a mighty +circular wall. The red shadows of a sun that had just set lingered on +the western edge of the forest, but in the east all was black. Out of +this vastness came the rustling sound of the wind as it moved among the +autumn leaves. In the opening was a core of ruddy light and the living +forms of men, but it was only a tiny spot in the immeasurable +wilderness.</p> + +<p>The schoolmaster and he alone felt their littleness. The autumn night +was crisp, and from his seat on a log he held out his fingers to the +warm blaze. Now and then a yellow or red leaf caught in the light wind +drifted to his feet and he gazed up half in fear at the great encircling +wall of blackness. Then he uttered silent thanks that he was with such +trusty men as the guide and the shiftless one.</p> + +<p>The effect upon Henry was not the same. He had become silent while the +others talked, and he half reclined against a tree, looking at the sky +that showed a dim and shadowy disk through the opening. But there was +nothing of fear in his mind. A delicious sense of peace and satisfaction +crept over him. All the voices of the night seemed familiar and good. A +lizard slipped through the grass and the eye and ear of Henry alone +noticed it; neither the guide nor the shiftless one had seen or heard +its passage. He measured the disk of the heavens with his glance and +foretold unerringly whether it would be clear or cloudy on the morrow, +and when something rustled in the woods, he knew, without looking, that +it was a hare frightened by the blaze fleeing from its covert. A tiny +brook trickled at the far edge of the fire's rim, and he could tell by +the color of the waters through what kind of soil it had come.</p> + +<p>Paul sat down near him, and began to talk of home. Henry smiled upon him +indulgently; his old relation of protector to the younger boy had grown +stronger during this trip; in the forest he was his comrade's superior +by far, and Paul willingly admitted it; in such matters he sought no +rivalry with his friend.</p> + +<p>"I wonder what they are doing way down there?" said Paul, waving his +hand toward the southeast. "Just think of it, Henry! they are only one +little spot in the wilderness, and we are only another little spot way +up here! In all the hundreds of miles between, there may not be another +white face!"</p> + +<p>"It is likely true, but what of it?" replied Henry. "The bigger the +wilderness the more room in it for us to roam in. I would rather have +great forests than great towns."</p> + +<p>He turned lazily and luxuriously on his side, and, gazing into the red +coals, began to see there visions of other forests and vast plains, with +himself wandering on among the trees and over the swells. His comrades +said nothing more because it was comfortable in their little camp, and +the peace of the wilds was over them all. The night was cold, but the +circling wall of trees sheltered the opening, and the fire in the center +radiated a grateful heat in which they basked. The scholar, Mr. +Pennypacker, rested his face upon his hands, and he, too, was dreaming +as he stared into the blaze. Paul, his blanket wrapped around him and +his head pillowed upon soft boughs, was asleep already. Ross and Sol +dozed.</p> + +<p>But Henry neither slept nor wished to do so. His gaze shifted from the +red coals to the silver disk of the sky. The world seemed to him very +beautiful and very intimate. These illimitable expanses of forest +conveyed to him no sense of either awe or fear. He was at home. He had +become for the time a being of the night, piercing the darkness with the +eyes of a wild creature, and hearkening to the familiar voices around +him that spoke to him and to him alone. Never was sleep farther from +him. The shifting firelight in its flickering play fell upon his face +and revealed it in all its clear young boyish strength, the firm neck, +the masterful chin, the calm, resolute eyes set wide apart, the lean +big-boned fingers, lying motionless across his knees.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker began to nod, then he, too, wrapped himself in his +blanket, lay back and soon fell fast asleep; in a few minutes Sol +followed him to the land of real dreams, and after a brief interval +Ross, too, yielded. Henry alone was awake, drinking deep of the night +and its lonely joy.</p> + +<p>The silver disk of the sky turned into gray under a cloud, the darkness +swept up deeper and thicker, the light of the fire waned, but the boy +still leaned against the log, and upon his sensitive mind every change +of the wilderness was registered as upon the delicate surface of a +plate. He glanced at his sleeping comrades and smiled. The smile was the +index to an unconscious feeling of superiority. Ross and Sol were two or +three times his age, but they slept while he watched, and not Ross +himself in all his years in the wilderness had learned many things that +came to him by intuition.</p> + +<p>Hours passed and the boy was yet awake. New feelings, vague and +undetermined came into his mind but through them all went the feeling of +mastery. He, though a boy, was in many respects the chief, and while he +need not assert his leadership yet a while, he could never doubt its +possession.</p> + +<p>The light died far down and only a few smoldering coals were left. The +blackness of the night, coming ever closer and closer, hovered over his +companions and hid their faces from him. The great trunks of the trees +grew shadowy and dim. Out of the darkness came a sound slight but not in +harmony with the ordinary noises of the forest. His acute senses, the +old inherited primitive instinct, noticed at once the jarring note. He +moved ever so little but an extraordinary change came over his face. The +idle look of luxury and basking warmth passed away and the eyes became +alert, watchful, defiant. Every feature, every muscle was drawn, as if +he were at the utmost tension. Almost unconsciously his figure sank down +farther against the log, until it blended perfectly with the bark and +the fallen leaves below. Only an eye of preternatural keenness could +have separated the outline of the boy from the general scene.</p> + +<p>For five minutes he lay and moved not a particle. Then the discordant +note came again among the familiar sounds of the forest and he glanced +at his comrades. They slept peacefully. His lip curled slightly, not +with contempt but with that unconscious feeling of superiority; they +would not have noticed, even had they been awake.</p> + +<p>His hands moved forward and grasped his rifle. Then he began to slip +away from the opening and into the forest, not by walking nor altogether +by crawling, but by a curious, noiseless, gliding motion, almost like +that of a serpent. Always he clung to the shadows where his shifting +body still blended with the dark, and as he advanced other primitive +instincts blazed up in him. He was a hunter pursuing for the first time +the highest and most dangerous game of all game and the thrill through +his veins was so keen that he shivered slightly. His chin was projected, +and his eyes were two red spots in the night. All the while his comrades +by the fire, even the trained foresters, slumbered in peace, no warning +whatever coming to their heavy heads.</p> + +<p>The boy reached the wall of the woods, and now his form was completely +swallowed up in the blackness there. He lay a while in the bushes, +motionless, all his senses alert, and for the third time the jarring +note came to his ears. The maker of it was on his right, and, as he +judged, perhaps a couple of hundred yards away. He would proceed at once +to that point. It is truth to say that no thought of danger entered his +mind; the thrills of the present and its chances absorbed him. It seemed +natural that he should do this thing, he was merely resuming an old +labor, discontinued for a time.</p> + +<p>He raised his head slightly, but even his keen eyes could see nothing in +the forest save trunks and branches, ghostly and shapeless, and the +regular rustle of the wind was not broken now by the jarring note. But +the darkness heavy and ominous, was permeated with the signs of things +about to happen, and heavy with danger, a danger, however, that brought +no fear to Henry for himself, only for others. A faint sighing note as +of a distant bird came on the wind, and pausing, he listened intently. +He knew that it was not a bird, that sound was made by human lips, and +once more a light shiver passed over his frame; it was a signal, +concerning his comrades and himself, and he would turn aside the danger +from those old friends of his who slept by the fire, in peace and +unknowing.</p> + +<p>He resumed his cautious passage through the undergrowth, and, the +inherited instinct blossoming so suddenly into full flower, was still +his guide. Not a sound marked his advance, the forest fell silently +behind him, and he went on with unerring knowledge to the spot from +which the discordant sounds had come.</p> + +<p>He approached another opening among the trees, like unto that in which +his comrades slept, and now, lying close in the undergrowth, he looked +for the first time upon the sight which so often boded ill to his kind. +The warriors were in a group, some sitting others standing, and though +there was no fire and the moonlight was slight he could mark the +primitive brutality of their features, the nature of the animal that +fought at all times for life showing in their eyes. They were hard, +harsh and repellent in every aspect, but the boy felt for a moment a +singular attraction, there was even a distant feeling of kinship as if +he, too, could live this life and had lived it. But the feeling quickly +passed, and in its place came the thought of his comrades whom he must +save.</p> + +<p>The older of the warriors talked in a low voice, saying unknown words in +a harsh, guttural tongue, and Henry could guess only at their meaning. +But they seemed to be awaiting a signal and presently the low thrilling +note was heard again. Then the warriors turned as if this were the +command to do so, and came directly toward the boy who lay in the +darkest shadows of the undergrowth.</p> + +<p>Henry was surprised and startled but only for a moment, then the +primeval instinct came to his aid and swiftly he sank away in the bushes +in front of them, as before, no sound marking his passage. He thought +rapidly and in all his thoughts there was none of himself but as the +savior of the little party. It seemed to come to him naturally that he +should be the protector and champion.</p> + +<p>When he had gone about fifty yards he uttered a shout, long, swelling +and full of warning. Then he turned to his right and crashed through the +undergrowth, purposely making a noise that the pursuing warriors could +not fail to hear. Ross and the others, he knew, would be aroused +instantly by his cry and would take measures of safety. Now the savages +would be likely to follow him alone, and he noted by the sounds that +they had turned aside to do so.</p> + +<p>At this moment Henry Ware felt nothing but exultation that he, a boy, +should prove himself a match for all the cunning of the forest-bred, and +he thought not at all of the pursuit that came so fiercely behind him.</p> + +<p>He ran swiftly and now directly more than a mile from the camp of his +friends. Then the inherited instinct that had served him so well failed; +it could not warn him of the deep little river that lay straight across +his path flowing toward the Mississippi. He came out upon its banks and +was ready to drop down in its waters, but he saw that before he could +reach the farther shore he would be a target for his pursuers. He +hesitated and was about to turn at a sharp angle, but the warriors +emerged from the forest. It was then too late.</p> + +<p>The savages uttered a shout of triumph, the long, ferocious, whining +note, so terrible in its intensity and meaning, and Henry, raising his +rifle, fired at a painted breast. The next moment they were hurled upon +him in a brown mass. He felt a stunning blow upon the head, sparks flew +before his eyes, and the world reeled away into darkness.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>THE PRIMITIVE MAN</h3> + + +<p>When Henry came back to his world he was lying upon the ground, with his +head against a log, and about him was a circle of brown faces, cold, +hard, expressionless and apparently devoid of human feeling; pity and +mercy seemed to be unknown qualities there. But the boy met them with a +gaze as steady as their own, and then he glanced quickly around the +circle. There was no other prisoner and he saw no ghastly trophy; then +his comrades had escaped, and, deep satisfaction in his heart, he let +his head fall back upon the log. They could do now as they chose with +him, and whatever it might be he felt that he had no cause to fear it.</p> + +<p>Three other warriors came in presently, and Henry judged that all the +party were now gathered there. He was still lying near the river on +whose banks he had been struck down, and the shifting clouds let the +moonlight fall upon him. He put his hand to his head where it ached, and +when he took it away, there was blood on his fingers. He inferred that a +heavy blow had been dealt to him with the flat of a tomahawk, but with +the stained fingers he made a scornful gesture. One of the warriors, +apparently a chief, noticed the movement, and he muttered a word or two +which seemed to have the note of approval. Henry rose to his feet and +the chief still regarded him, noting the fearless look, and the hint of +surpassing physical powers soon to come. He put his hand upon the boy's +shoulder and pointed toward the north and west. Henry understood him. +His life was to be spared for the present, at least, and he was to go +with them into the northwest, but to what fate he knew not.</p> + +<p>One of the warriors bathed his head, and put upon it a lotion of leaves +which quickly drove away the pain. Henry suffered his ministrations with +primitive stoicism, making no comment and showing no interest.</p> + +<p>At a word from the leader they took up their silent march, skirting the +river for a while until they came to a shallow place, where they forded +it, and buried themselves again in the dark forest. They passed among +its shades swiftly, silently and in single file, Henry near the middle +of the column, his figure in the dusk blending into the brown of theirs. +He had completely recovered his strength, and, save for the separation +from his friends and their consequent wonder and sorrow, he would not +have grieved over the mischance. Instinct told him—perhaps it was his +youth, perhaps his ready adaptability that appealed to his captors—that +his life was safe—and now he felt a keen curiosity to know the outcome. +It seemed to him too that without any will of his own he was about to +begin the vast wanderings that he had coveted.</p> + +<p>Hour after hour the silent file trod swiftly on into the northwest, no +one speaking, their footfalls making no sound on the soft earth. The +moonlight deepened again, and veiled the trunks and branches in ghostly +silver or gray. By and by it grew darker and then out of the blackness +came the first shoot of dawn. A shaft of pale light appeared in the +east, then broadened and deepened, bringing in its trail, in terrace +after terrace, the red and gold of the rising sun. Then the light swept +across the heavens and it was full day.</p> + +<p>They were yet in the forest and the dawn was cold. Here and there in the +open spaces and on the edges of the brown leaves appeared the white +gleam of frost. The rustle of the woods before the western wind was +chilly in the ear. But Henry was without sign of fatigue or cold. He +walked with a step as easy and as tireless as that of the strongest +warrior in the band, and at all times he held himself, as if he were one +of them, not their prisoner.</p> + +<p>About an hour after dawn the party which numbered fifteen men halted at +a signal from the chief and began to eat the dried meat of the buffalo, +taken from their pouches. They gave him a good supply of the food, and +he found it tough but savory. Hunger would have given a sufficient sauce +to anything and as he ate in a sort of luxurious content he studied his +captors with the advantage of the daylight. The full sunshine disclosed +no more of softness and mercy than the night had shown. The features +were immobile, the eyes fixed and hard, but when the gaze of any one of +them, even the chief, met the boy's it was quickly turned. There was +about them something furtive, something of the lower kingdom of the +animals. That inherited primitive instinct, recently flaming up with +such strength in him, did not tell him that they were his full brethren. +But he did not hate them, instead they interested him.</p> + +<p>After eating they rested an hour or more in the covert of a thicket and +Henry saw the beautiful day unfold. The sunshine was dazzling in its +glory, the crisp wind made one's blood sparkle like a tonic, and it was +good merely to live. A vast horizon inclosed only the peace of the +wilderness.</p> + +<p>The chief said some words to Henry, but the boy could understand none of +them, and he shook his head. Then the chief took the rifle that had +belonged to the captive, tapped it on the barrel and pointed toward the +southeast. Henry nodded to indicate that he had come from that point, +and then smiling swept the circle of the northwestern horizon with his +hands. He meant to say that he would go with them without resistance, +for the present, at least, and the chief seemed to understand, as his +face relaxed into a look of comprehension and even of good nature.</p> + +<p>Their march was resumed presently and as before it was straight into the +northwest. They passed out of the forest crossed the Ohio in hidden +canoes and entered a region of small but beautiful prairies, cut by +shallow streams, which they waded with undiminished speed. Henry began +to suspect that the band came from some very distant country, and was +hastening so much in order not to be caught on the hunting grounds of +rival tribes. The northwesterly direction that they were following +confirmed him in this belief.</p> + +<p>All the day passed on the march but shortly after the night came on and +they had eaten a little more of the jerked meat, they lay down in a +thicket, and Henry, unmindful of his captivity, fell in a few minutes +into a sleep that was deep, sweet and dreamless. He did not know then +that before he was asleep long the chief took a robe of tanned deerskin +and threw it over him, shielding his body from the chill autumn night. +In the morning shortly before he awoke the chief took away the robe.</p> + +<p>That day they came to a mighty river and Henry knew that the yellow +stream was that of the Mississippi. The Indians dragged from the +sheltering undergrowth two canoes, in which the whole party paddled up +stream until nightfall, when they hid the canoes again in the foliage on +the western shore, and then encamped on the crest. They seemed to feel +that they were out of danger now as they built a fine fire and the +captive basked in its warmth.</p> + +<p>Henry had not made the slightest effort to escape, nor had he indicated +any wish to do so, finding his reward in the increased freedom which the +warriors gave to him. He had never been bound and now he could walk as +he chose in a limited area about the camp. But he did not avail himself +of the privilege, for the present, preferring to sit by the fire, where +he saw pictures of Wareville and those whom he loved. Then he had a +swift twinge of conscience. When they heard they would grieve deep and +long for him and one, his mother, would never forget. He should have +sought more eagerly to escape, and he glanced quickly about him, but +there was no chance. However careless the warriors might seem there was +always one between him and the forest. He resigned himself with a sigh +but had he thought how quickly the pain passed his conscience would have +hurt him again. Now he felt much comfort where he sat; the night was +really cold, bitingly cold, and it was a glorious fire. As he sat before +it and basked in its radiance he felt the glorious physical joy that +must have thrilled some far-away primeval ancestor, as he hugged the +coals in his cave after coming in from the winter storm.</p> + +<p>Henry had the best place by the fire and a warrior who was sitting where +his back was exposed to the wind moved over and shoved him away. Henry +without a word smote him in the face with such force that the man fell +flat and Henry thrust him aside, resuming his original position. The +warrior rose to his feet and rubbed his bruised face, looking doubtfully +at the boy who sat in such stolid silence, staring into the coals and +paying no further attention to his opponent. The Indian never uses his +fists, and his hand strayed to the handle of his tomahawk; then, as it +strayed away again he sat down on the far side of the fire, and he too +began to stare stolidly into the red coals. The chief, Black Cloud, +bestowed on both a look of approval, but uttered no comment.</p> + +<p>Presently Black Cloud gave some orders to his men and they lay down to +sleep, but the chief took the deerskin robe and handed it to Henry. His +manner was that of one making a gift, and a gesture confirmed the +impression. Henry took the robe which he would need and thanked the +chief in words whose meaning the donor might gather from the tone. Then +he lay down and slept as before a dreamless sleep all through the night.</p> + +<p>Their journey lasted many days and every hour of it was full of interest +to Henry, appealing alike to his curiosity and its gratification. He was +launched upon the great wandering and he found in it both the glamour +and the reality that he wished, the reality in the rivers and the +forests and the prairies that he saw, and the glamour in the hope of +other and greater rivers and forests and prairies to come.</p> + +<p>Indian summer was at hand. All the woods were dyed in vivid colors, reds +and yellows and browns, and glowed with dazzling hues in the intense +sunlight. Often the haze of Indian summer hung afar and softened every +outline. Henry's feeling that he was one of the band grew stronger, and +they, too, began to regard him as their own. His freedom was extended +more and more and with astonishing quickness he soon picked up enough +words of their dialect to make himself intelligible. They took him with +them, when they turned aside for hunting expeditions, and he was +permitted now and then to use his own rifle. Only six men in the band +had guns, and two of these guns were rifles the other four being +muskets. Henry soon showed that he was the best marksman among them and +respect for him grew. The Indian whom he knocked down was slightly gored +by a stag when only Henry was near, but Henry slew the stag, bound up +the man's wound and stayed by him until the others came. The warrior, +Gray Fox, speedily became one of his best friends.</p> + +<p>Henry's enjoyment became more intense; all the trammels of civilization +were now thrown aside, he never thought of the morrow because the day +with its interests was sufficient, and from his new friends he learned +fresh lore of the forest with marvelous rapidity; they taught him how to +trail, to take advantage of every shred of cover and to make signals by +imitating the cry of bird or beast. Once they were caught in a +hailstorm, when it turned bitterly cold, but he endured it as well as +the best of them, and made not a single complaint.</p> + +<p>They came at last to their village, a great distance west of the +Mississippi, a hundred lodges perhaps, pitched in a warm and sheltered +valley and the boy, under the fostering care of Black Cloud, was +formally adopted into the tribe, taking up at once the thread of his new +life, and finding in it the same keen interest that had marked all the +stages of the great journey.</p> + +<p>The climate here was colder than that from which he had come, and +winter, with fierce winds from the Great Plains was soon upon them. But +the camp which was to remain there until spring was well chosen and the +steep hills about them fended off the worst of the blast. Yet the snow +came soon in great, whirling flakes and fell all one night. The next +morning the boy saw the world in white and he found it singularly +beautiful. The snow he did not mind as clothing of dressed skins had +been given to him and he had a warm buffalo robe for a blanket. Now, +young as he was, he became one of the best hunters for the village and +with the others he roamed far over the snowy hills in search of game. +Many were the prizes that fell to his steady aim and eye, chief among +them the deer, the bear and the buffalo.</p> + +<p>His fame in the village grew fast, and it would be hiding the fact to +deny that he enjoyed it. The wild rough life with its limitless range +over time and space appealed to every instinct in him, and his new fame +as a tireless and skillful hunter was very sweet to him. He thought of +his people and Wareville, it is true, but he consoled himself again with +the belief that they were well and he would return to them when the +chance came, and then he plunged all the deeper and with all the more +zest into his new life which had so many fascinations. At Wareville +there were certain bounds which he must respect, certain weights which +he must carry, but here he was free from both.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile his body thrived at a prodigious rate. One could almost see +him grow. There was not a warrior in the village who was as strong as +he, and already he surpassed them all in endurance; none was so fleet of +foot nor so tireless. His face and hair darkened in the wind and sun, +his last vestige of civilized garb had disappeared long ago, and he was +clothed wholly in deerskin. His features grew stronger and keener and +the eyes were incessantly watchful, roving hither and thither, covering +every point within range. It would have taken more than a casual glance +now to discover that he was white.</p> + +<p>The winter deepened. The snow was continuous, fierce blasts blew in from +the distant western plains and even searched out their sheltered valley. +The old men and the women shivered in the lodges, but sparkling young +blood and tireless action kept the boy warm and flourishing through it +all. Game grew scarce about them and the hunters went far westward in +search of the buffalo.</p> + +<p>Henry was with the party that traveled farthest toward the setting sun, +and it was long before they returned. Winter was at its height and when +they came out of the forest into the waving open stretches which are the +Great Plains all things were hidden by the snow.</p> + +<p>Henry from the summit of a little hill saw before him an expanse as +mighty as the sea, and like it in many of its aspects. They told him +that it rolled away to the westward, no man knew how far, as none of +them had ever come to the end of it. In summer it was covered with life. +Here grew thick grass and wild flowers and the buffalo passed in +millions.</p> + +<p>It inspired in Henry a certain awe and yet by its very vagueness and +immensity it attracted. Just as he had wished to explore the secrets of +the forest he would like now to tread the Great Plains and find what +they held.</p> + +<p>They turned toward the southwest in search of buffalo and were caught in +a great storm of wind and hail. The cold was bitter and the wind cut to +the bone. They were saved from freezing to death only by digging a rude +shelter through the snow into the side of a hill, and there they +crouched for two days with so little food left in their knapsacks, that +without game, they would perish, in a week, of hunger, if the cold did +not get the first chance. The most experienced hunters went forth, but +returned with nothing, thankful for so little a mercy as the ability to +get back to their half-shelter.</p> + +<p>Henry at last took his rifle and ventured out alone—the others were too +listless to stop him—and before the noon hour he found a buffalo bull, +some outcast from the herd which had gone southward, struggling in the +snow. The bull was old and lean, and it took two bullets to bring him +down, but his death meant their life and Henry hurried to the camp with +the joyful news. It was clearly recognized that he had saved them, but +no one said anything and Henry was glad of their silence.</p> + +<p>When the storm ceased they renewed their journey toward the south with a +plentiful supply of food and not long afterwards the snow began to melt. +Under the influence of a warm wind out of the southwest it disappeared +with marvelous quickness; one day the earth was all white, and the next +it was all brown. The warm wind continued to blow, and then faint +touches of green began to appear in the dead grass; there were delicate +odors, the breath of the great warm south, and they knew that spring was +not far away.</p> + +<p>In a week they ran into the buffalo herd, a mighty black mass of moving +millions. The earth rumbled hollowly under the tread of a myriad feet, +and the plain was black with bodies to the horizon and beyond.</p> + +<p>They killed as many of the buffalo as they wished and after the fashion +of the more northerly Indians reduced the meat to pemmican. Then, each +man bearing as much as he could conveniently carry, they began their +swift journey homeward, not knowing whether they would arrive in time +for the needs of the village.</p> + +<p>Henry felt a deep concern for these new friends of his who were left +behind in the valley. He shared the anxiety of the others who feared +lest they would be too late and that fact reconciled him to the retreat +from the Great Plains, whose mysteries he longed to unravel.</p> + +<p>As they went swiftly eastward the spring unfolded so fast that it seemed +to Henry to come with one great jump. They were now in the forests and +everywhere the trees were laden with fresh buds, in all the open spaces +the young grass was springing up, and the brooks, as if rejoicing in +their new freedom from the ice-bound winter, ran in sparkling little +streams between green banks.</p> + +<p>The physical world was full of beauty to him, more so than ever because +his power of feeling it had grown. During the winter and by the +triumphant endurance of so many hardships his form had expanded and the +tide of sparkling blood had risen higher. Although a captive he was +regarded in a sense as the leader of the hunting party; it was obvious, +in the deference that the others, though much older, showed to him and +he knew that only his resource, courage and endurance had saved them all +from death. A song of triumph was singing in his veins.</p> + +<p>They found the village at the edge of starvation despite the approach of +spring; two or three of the older people had died already of weakness, +and their supplies arrived just in time to relieve the crisis. There +were willing tongues to tell of his exploits, and Henry soon perceived +that he was a hero to them all and he enjoyed it, because it was natural +to him to be a leader, and he loved to breathe the air of approbation. +Yet as they valued him more they grew more jealous of him, and they +watched him incessantly, lest he should take it into his head to flee to +the people who were once his own. Henry saw the difficulty and again it +soothed his conscience by showing to him that he could not do what he +yet had a lingering feeling that he ought to do.</p> + +<p>Good luck seemed to come in a shower to the village with the return of +the hunting party. Spring leaped suddenly into full bloom, and the woods +began to swarm with game. It was the most plentiful season that the +oldest man could recall, there was no hunter so lazy and so dull that he +could not find the buffalo and the deer.</p> + +<p>Then the band, with the spirit of irresponsible wandering upon it, took +down its lodges and traveled slowly into the north farther and farther +from the little settlement away down in Kentucky. There was peace among +the tribes and they could go as they chose. They came at last to the +shores of a mighty lake, Superior, and here when Henry looked out upon +an expanse of water, as limitless to the eyes as the sea, he felt the +same thrill of awe that had passed through his veins when the Great +Plains lay outspread before him. As it was now midsummer and the forests +crackled in the heat they lingered long by the deep cool waters of the +lake. Here white traders, Frenchmen speaking a tongue unknown to Henry, +came to them with rifles, ammunition and bright-colored blankets to +trade for furs. More than one of them saw and admired the tall powerful +young warrior with the singularly watchful eyes but not one of them knew +that under his paint and tan he was whiter than themselves; instead they +took him to be the wildest of the wild.</p> + +<p>Henry's heart had throbbed a little at the first sight of them, but it +was only for a moment, then it beat as steadily as ever; white like +himself they might be, but they were of an alien race; their speech was +not his speech, their ways not his ways and he turned from them. He was +glad when they were gone.</p> + +<p>Toward the end of summer they went south again and wandered idly through +pleasant places. It was still a full season with wild fruits hanging +from the trees and game everywhere. There had been no sickness in the +little tribe and they basked in physical content. It was now a careless +easy life with the stimulus of wandering and hunting and all the old +primeval instincts in Henry, made stronger by habit, were gratified. He +fell easily into the ways of his friends; when there was nothing to do +he could sit for hours looking at the forests and the streams and the +sunshine, letting his soul steep in the glory of it all. To his other +qualities he now added that of illimitable patience. He could wait for +what he wished as the Eskimo sits for days at the air hole until the +seal appears.</p> + +<p>In their devious wanderings they kept a general course toward the valley +in which they had passed the first winter, intending to renew their camp +there during the cold weather, but autumn, as they intended, was at hand +before they reached it. They were yet a long distance north and west of +their valley when they were threatened by a danger with which they had +not reckoned. A local tribe claimed that the band was infringing upon +their hunting grounds and began war with a treacherous attack upon a +hunting party.</p> + +<p>The war was not long but the few hundreds who took part in it shared all +the passions and fierce emotions of two great nations in conflict. Henry +was in the thick of it, first alike in attack and defense, superior to +the Indians themselves in wiles and cunning. Several of the hostile +tribe fell at his hand, although he could not take a scalp, the remnants +of his early training forbidding it. But once or twice he was ashamed of +the weakness. The hostile party was triumphantly beaten off with great +loss to itself and Henry and his friends pursued their journey leisurely +and triumphantly. Now besides being a great hunter he was a great +warrior too.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>THE CALL OF DUTY</h3> + + +<p>They arrived at their valley and prepared for the second winter there, +returning to the place for several reasons, chief among them being the +right of prescription, to which the other tribes yielded tacit consent. +The Indian recks little of the future, but in his reversion to primitive +type Henry had taken with him much of the acquired and modern knowledge +of education. He looked ahead, and, under his constant suggestion, +advice and pressure they stored so much food for the winter that there +was no chance of another famine, whatever might happen to the game.</p> + +<p>Before they went into winter quarters Henry clearly perceived one +thing—he was first in the little tribe; even Black Cloud, the chief, +willingly took second place to him. He was first alike in strength and +wisdom and it was patent to all. He was now, although only a boy in +years, nearly at his full height, almost a head above an ordinary +warrior, with wonderfully keen eyes, set wide apart, and a square +projecting chin, so firm that it seemed to be carved of brown marble. +His shoulders were of great breadth, but his lean figure had all the +graceful strength and ease of some wild animal native to the forest. He +was scrupulous in his attire, and wore only the finest skins and furs +that the village could furnish.</p> + +<p>Henry felt the deference of the tribe and it pleased him. He glided +naturally into the place of leader, feeling the responsibility and +liking it. He was tactful, too, he would not push Black Cloud from his +old position, but merely remained at his right hand and ruled through +him. The chief was soothed and flattered, and the arrangement worked to +the pleasure of both, and to the great good of the village which now +enjoyed a winter of prosperity hitherto unknown to such natives of the +woods. Nobody had to go hungry, there was abundant provision against the +cold. Henry, though not saying it, knew that with him the credit lay, +and just now the world seemed very full. As human beings go he was +thoroughly happy; the life fitted him, satisfied all his wants, and the +memory of his own people became paler and more distant; they could do +very well without him; they were so many, one could be spared, and when +the chance came he would send word to them that he was alive and well, +but that he would not come back.</p> + +<p>When the buds began to burst they traveled eastward, until they came to +the Mississippi. The sight of its stream brought back to Henry a thought +of those with whom he had first seen it and he felt a pang of remorse. +But the pang was fleeting, and the memory too he resolutely put aside.</p> + +<p>They crossed the Mississippi and advanced into the land of little +prairies, a green, rich region, pleasant to the eye and full of game. +They wandered and hunted here, drifting slowly to the eastward, until +they came upon a great encampment of the fierce and warlike nation, +known as the Shawnees. The Shawnees were in their war paint and were +singing warlike songs. It was evident to the most casual visitor that +they were going forth to do battle.</p> + +<p>It was late in the afternoon when Henry, Black Cloud and two others came +upon this encampment. His own band had pitched its lodges some miles +behind, but the kinship of the forest and the peace between them, made +the four the guests of the Shawnees as long as they chose to stay.</p> + +<p>At least a thousand warriors were in all the hideous varieties of war +paint, and the scene, in the waning light, was weird and ominous even to +Henry. The war songs in their very monotony were chilling, and full of +ferocity, and in all the thousand faces there was not one that shone +with the light of kindness and mercy.</p> + +<p>Long glances were cast at Henry, but even their keen eyes failed to +notice that he was not an Indian, and he stood watching them, his face +impassive, but his interest aroused. A dozen warriors naked to the waist +and hideously painted were singing a war song, while they capered and +jumped to its unrhythmic tune. Suddenly one of them snatched something +from his girdle and waved it aloft in triumph. Henry knew that it was a +scalp, many of which he had seen, and he paid little attention, but the +Indian came closer, still singing and dancing, and waving his hideous +trophy.</p> + +<p>The scalp flashed before Henry's eyes, and it displayed not the coarse +black locks of the savage, but hair long, fine and yellow like silk. He +knew that it was the scalp of a white girl, and a sudden, shuddering +horror seized him. It had belonged to one of his own kind, to the race +into which he had been born and with which he had passed his boyhood. +His heart filled with hatred of these Shawnees, but the warriors of his +own little tribe would take scalps, and if occasion came, the scalps of +white people, yes, of white women and white girls! He tried to dismiss +the thought or rather to crush it down, but it would not yield to his +will; always it rose up again.</p> + +<p>He walked back to the edge of the encampment, where some of the warriors +were yet singing the war songs that with all of their monotony were so +weird and chilling. Twilight was over the forest, save in the west, +where a blood-red tint from the sunken sun lingered on trunk and bough, +and gleamed across the faces of the dancing warriors. In this lurid +light Henry suddenly saw them savage, inhuman, implacable. They were +truly creatures of the wilderness, the lust of blood was upon them, and +they would shed it for the pleasure of seeing it flow. Henry's primeval +world darkened as he looked upon them.</p> + +<p>He was about to leave with Black Cloud and his friends when it occurred +to him to ask which way the war party was going and who were the +destined victims. He spoke to two or three warriors until he came to one +who understood the tongue of his little tribe.</p> + +<p>The man waved his hand toward the south.</p> + +<p>"Off there; far away," he said. "Beyond the great river."</p> + +<p>Henry knew that in this case "great river" meant the Ohio and he was +somewhat surprised; it was still a long journey from the Ohio to the +land of the Cherokees, Chickasaws and Choctaws with whom the Northern +tribes sometimes fought, and he spoke of it to the warrior, but the man +shook his head, and said they were going against the white people; there +was a village of them in a sheltered valley beside a little river, they +had been there three or four years and had flourished in peace; freedom +so long from danger had made them careless, but the Shawnee scouts had +looked from the woods upon the settlement, and the war band would slay +or take them all with ease.</p> + +<p>The man had not spoken a half dozen words before Henry knew that +Wareville was the place, upon which the doom was so soon to fall. The +chill of horror that had seized him at sight of the yellow-haired scalp +passed over him again, deeper, stronger and longer than before. And the +colony would fall! There could be no doubt of it! Nothing could save it! +The hideous band, raging with tomahawk and knife, would dash without a +word of warning, like a bolt from the sky upon Wareville so long +sheltered and peaceful in its valley. And he could see all the phases of +the savage triumph, the surprise, the triumphant and ferocious yells, +the rapid volleys of the rifles, the flashing of the blades, the burning +buildings, the shouts, the cries, and men, women and children in one red +slaughter. In another year the forest would be springing up where +Wareville had been, and the wolf and the fox would prowl among the +charred timbers. And among the bleaching bones would be those of his own +mother and sister and Lucy Upton—if they were not taken away for a +worse fate.</p> + +<p>He endured the keenest thrill of agony that life had yet held for him. +All his old life, the dear familiar ties surged up, and were hot upon +his brain. His place was there! with them! not here! He had yielded too +easily to the spell of the woods and the call of the old primeval +nature. He might have escaped long ago, there had been many +opportunities, but he could not see them. His blindness had been +willful, the child of his own desires. He knew it too well now. He saw +himself guilty and guilty he was.</p> + +<p>But in that moment of agony and fear for his own he was paying the price +of his guilt. The sense of helplessness was crushing. In two hours the +war party would start and it would flit southward like the wind, as +silent but far more deadly. No, nothing could save the innocent people +at Wareville; they were as surely doomed as if their destruction had +already taken place.</p> + +<p>But not one of these emotions, so tense and so deep, was written on the +face of him whom even the Shawnees did not know to be white. Not a +feature changed, the Indian stoicism and calm, the product alike of his +nature and cultivation, clung to him. His eyes were veiled and his +movements had their habitual gravity and dignity.</p> + +<p>He walked with Black Cloud to the edge of the encampment, said farewell +to the Shawnees, and then, with a great surge of joy, his resolution +came to him. It was so sudden, so transforming that the whole world +changed at once. The blood-red tint, thrown by the sunken sun, was gone +from the forest, but instead the silver sickle of the moon was rising +and shed a radiant light of hope.</p> + +<p>He said nothing until they had gone a mile or so and then, drawing Black +Cloud aside, spoke to him words full of firmness, but not without +feeling. He made no secret of his purpose, and he said that if Black +Cloud and the others sought to stay him with force with force he would +reply. He must go, and he would go at once.</p> + +<p>Black Cloud was silent for a while, and Henry saw the faintest quiver in +his eyes. He knew that he held a certain place in the affections of the +chief, not the place that he might hold in the regard of a white man, it +was more limited and qualified, but it was there, nevertheless.</p> + +<p>"I am the captive of the tribe I know," said Henry. "It has made me its +son, but my white blood is not changed and I must save my people. The +Shawnees march south to-night against them and I go to give warning. It +is better that I go in peace."</p> + +<p>He spoke simply, but with dignity, and looked straight into the eyes of +the chief, where he saw that slight pathetic quiver come again.</p> + +<p>"I cannot keep you now if you would go," said Black Cloud, "but it may +be when you are far away that the forest and we with whom you have lived +and hunted so many seasons will call to you again, in a voice to which +you must listen."</p> + +<p>Henry was moved; perhaps the chief was telling the truth. He saw the +hardships and bareness of the wilderness but the life there appealed to +him and satisfied the stronger wants of his nature; he seemed to be the +reincarnation of some old forest dweller, belonging to a time thousands +of years ago, yet the voice of duty, which was in this case also the +voice of love, called to him, too, and now with the louder voice. He +would go, and there must be no delay in his going.</p> + +<p>"Farewell, Black Cloud," he said with the same simplicity. "I will think +often of you who have been good to me."</p> + +<p>The chief called the other warriors and told them their comrade was +going far to the south, and they might never see him again. Their faces +expressed nothing, whatever they may have felt. Henry repeated the +farewell, hesitated no longer and plunged into the forest. But he +stopped when he was thirty or forty yards away and looked back. The +chief and the warriors stood side by side as he had left them, +motionless and gazing after him. It was night now and to eyes less keen +than Henry's their forms would have melted into the dusk, but he saw +every outline distinctly, the lean brown features and the black shining +eyes. He waved his hands to them—a white man's action—and resumed his +flight, not looking back again.</p> + +<p>It was a dark night and the forest stretched on, black and endless, the +trunks of the trees standing in rows like phantoms of the dusk. Henry +looked up at the moon and the few stars, and reckoned his course. +Wareville lay many hundred miles away, chiefly to the south, and he had +a general idea of the direction, but the war party would know exactly, +and its advantage there would perhaps be compensation for the superior +speed of one man. But Henry, for the present, would not think of such a +disaster as failure; on the contrary he reckoned with nothing but +success, and he felt a marvelous elation.</p> + +<p>The decision once taken the rebound had come with great force, and he +felt that he was now about to make atonement for his long neglect, and +more than neglect. Perhaps it had been ordained long ago that he should +be there at the critical moment, see the danger and bring them the +warning that would save. There was consolation in the thought.</p> + +<p>He increased his pace and sped southward in the easy trot that he had +learned from his red friends, a gait that he could maintain +indefinitely, and with which he could put ground behind him at a +remarkable rate. His rifle he carried at the trail, his head was bent +slightly forward, and he listened intently to every sound of the forest +as he passed; nothing escaped his ear, whether it was a raccoon stirring +among the branches, a deer startled from its covert, or merely the wind +rustling the leaves. Instinct also told him that the forest was at +peace.</p> + +<p>To the ordinary man the night with its dusk, the wilderness with its +ghostly tree trunks, and the silence would have been full of weirdness +and awe, black with omens and presages. Few would not have chilled to +the marrow to be alone there, but to Henry it brought only hope and the +thrill of exultation. He had no sense of loneliness, the forest hid no +secrets for him; this was home and he merely passed through it on a +great quest.</p> + +<p>He looked up at the moon and stars, and confirmed himself in his course, +though he never slackened speed as he looked. He came out of the forest +upon a prairie, and here the moonlight was brighter, touching the crests +of the swells with silver spear-points. A dozen buffaloes rose up and +snorted as he flitted by, but he scarcely bestowed a passing glance upon +the black bulk of the animals. The prairie was only two or three miles +across, and at the far edge flowed a shallow creek which he crossed at +full speed, and entered the forest again. Now he came to rough country, +steep little hills, and a dense undergrowth of interlacing bushes, and +twining thorny vines. But he made his way through them in a manner that +only one forest-bred could compass, and pressed on with speed but little +slackened.</p> + +<p>When the night became darkest, in the forest just before morning he lay +down in the deepest shadow of a thicket, his hand upon his rifle, and in +a few minutes was sleeping soundly. It was a matter of training with him +to sleep whenever sleep was needed and he had no nerves. He knew, too, +despite his haste that he must save his strength, and he did not +hesitate to follow the counsels of prudence.</p> + +<p>It was his will that he should sleep about four hours, and, his system +obeying the wish, he awoke at the appointed time. The sun was rising +over the vast, green wilderness, lighting up a world seemingly as lonely +and deserted as it had been the night before. The unbroken forest, +touched with the tender tints of young spring and bathed in the pure +light of the first dawn, bent gently to a west wind that breathed only +of peace.</p> + +<p>Henry stood up and inhaled the odorous air. He was a striking figure, +yet a few yards away he would have been visible only to the trained eye; +his half-savage garb of tanned deerskin, stained green and trimmed at +the edges with green beads and little green feathers, blended with the +colors of the forest and merely made a harmonious note in the whole. His +figure compact, powerful and always poised as if ready for a spring +swayed slightly, while his eyes that missed nothing searched every nook +in the circling woods. He was then neither the savage nor the civilized +man, but he had many of the qualities of both.</p> + +<p>The slight swaying motion of his body ceased suddenly and he remained as +still as a rock. He seemed to be a part of the green bushes that grew +around him, yet he was never more watchful, never more alert. The +indefinable sixth sense, developed in him by the wilderness, had taken +alarm; there was a presence in the forest, foreign in its nature; it was +not sight nor hearing nor yet smell that told him so, but a feeling or +rather a sort of prescience. Then an extraordinary thrill ran through +him; it was an emotion partaking in its nature of joy and anticipation; +he was about to be confronted by some danger, perhaps a crisis, and the +physical faculties, handed down by a far-off ancestor, expanded to meet +it. He knew that he would conquer, and he felt already the glow of +triumph.</p> + +<p>Presently he sank down in the undergrowth so gently that not a bush +rustled; there was no displacement of nature, the grass and the foliage +were just as they had been, but the figure, visible before to the +trained eye at a dozen paces, could not have been seen now at all. Then +he began to creep through the grass with a swift easy gliding motion +like that of a serpent, moving at a speed remarkable in such a position +and quite soundless. He went a full half mile before he stopped and rose +to his knees, and then his face was hidden by the bushes, although the +eyes still searched every part of the forest.</p> + +<p>His look was now wholly changed. He might be the hunted, but he bore +himself as the hunter. All vestige of the civilized man, trained to +humanity and mercy, was gone. Those who wished to kill were seeking him +and he would kill in return. The thin lips were slightly drawn back, +showing the line of white teeth, the eyes were narrowed and in them was +the cold glitter of expected conflict. Brown hands, lean but big-boned +and powerful, clasped a rifle having a long slender barrel and a +beautifully carved stock. It was a figure, terrible alike in its +manifestation of physical power and readiness, and in the fierce eye +that told what quality of mind lay behind it.</p> + +<p>He sank down again and moved in a small circle to the right. His +original thrill of joy was now a permanent emotion; he was like some one +playing an exciting game into which no thought of danger entered. He +stopped behind a large tree, and sheltering himself riveted his eyes on +a spot in the forest about fifty yards away. No one else could have +found there anything suspicious, anything to tell of an alien presence, +but he no longer doubted.</p> + +<p>At the detected point a leaf moved, but not in the way it should have +swayed before the gentle wind, and there was a passing spot of brown in +the green of the bushes. It was visible only for a moment, but it was +sufficient for the attuned mind and body of Henry Ware. Every part of +him responded to the call. The rifle sprang to his shoulder and before +the passing spot of brown was gone, a stream of fire spurted from its +slender muzzle, and its sharp cracking report like the lashing of a whip +was blended with the long-drawn howl, so terrible in its note, that is +the death cry of a savage.</p> + +<p>The bullet had scarcely left his gun before he fell back almost flat, +and the answering shot sped over his head. It was for this that he sank +down, and before the second shot died he sprang to his feet and rushed +forward, drawing his tomahawk and uttering a shout that rolled away in +fierce echoes through the forest.</p> + +<p>He knew that his enemies were but two; in his eccentric course through +the forest he had passed directly over their trail, and he had read the +signs with an infallible eye. Now one was dead and the other like +himself had an unloaded gun. The rest of his deed would be a mere matter +of detail.</p> + +<p>The second savage uttered his war cry and sprang forward from the +bushes. He might well have recoiled at the terrible figure that rushed +to meet him; in all his wild life of risks he had never before been +confronted by anything so instinct with terror, so ominous of death. But +he did not have time to take thought before he was overwhelmed by his +resistless enemy.</p> + +<p>It was an affair of but a few moments. The Indian threw his tomahawk but +Henry parried the blade upon the barrel of his rifle which he still +carried in his left hand, and his own tomahawk was whirled in a +glittering curve about his head. Now it was launched with mighty force +and the savage, cloven to the chin, sank soundless to the earth; he had +been smitten down by a force so sudden and absolute that he died +instantly.</p> + +<p>The victor, elate though he was, paused, and quickly reloaded his +rifle—wilderness caution would allow nothing else—and afterwards +advancing looked first at the savage whom he had slain in the open and +then at the other in the bushes. There was no pity in him, his only +emotion was a great sense of power; they had hunted him, two to one, and +they born in the woods, but he had outwitted and slain them both. He +could have escaped, he could have easily left them far behind when he +first discovered that they were stalking him, but he had felt that they +should be punished and now the event justified his faith.</p> + +<p>It was not his first taking of human life, and while he would have +shuddered at the deed a year ago he felt no such sensation now; they +were merely dangerous wild animals that had crossed his path, and he had +put them out of it in the proper way; his feeling was that of the hunter +who slays a grizzly bear or a lion, only he had slain two.</p> + +<p>He stood looking at them, and save for the rustling of the young grass +under the gentle western wind the wilderness was silent and at peace. +The sun was shooting up higher and higher and a vast golden light hung +over the forest, gilding every leaf and twig. Henry Ware turned at last +and sped swiftly and silently to the south, still thrilling with +exultation over his deed, and the sequel that he knew would quickly +come. But in the few brief minutes his nature had reverted another and +further step toward the primitive.</p> + +<p>When he had gone a half mile in his noiseless flight he stopped, and, +listening intently, heard the faint echo of a long-drawn, whining cry. +After that came silence, heavy and ominous. But Henry only laughed in +noiseless mirth. All this he had expected. He knew that the larger party +to which the two warriors belonged would find the bodies, with hasty +pursuit to follow after the single cry. That was why he lingered. He +wanted them to pursue, to hang upon his trail in the vain hope that they +could catch him; he would play with them, he would enjoy the game +leading them on until they were exhausted, and then, laughing, he would +go on to the south at his utmost speed.</p> + +<p>A new impulse drove him to another step in the daring play, and, raising +his head, he uttered his own war cry, a long piercing shout that died in +distant echoes; it was at once a defiance, and an intimation to them +where they might find him, and then, mirth in his eyes, he resumed his +flight, although, for the present, he chose to keep an unchanging +distance between his pursuers and himself.</p> + +<p>That party of warriors may have pursued many a man before and may have +caught most of them, but the greatest veteran of them all had never hung +on the trail of such another annoying fugitive. All day he led them in +swift flight toward the south, and at no time was he more than a little +beyond their reach; often they thought their hands were about to close +down upon him, that soon they would enjoy the sight of his writhings +under the fagot and the stake, but always he slipped away at the fatal +moment, and their savage hearts were filled with bitterness that a lone +fugitive should taunt them so. His footsteps were those of the white +man, but his wile and cunning were those of the red, and curiosity was +added to the other motives that drew them on.</p> + +<p>At the coming of the twilight one of their best warriors who pursued at +some distance from the main band was slain by a rifle shot from the +bushes, then came that defiant war cry again, faint, but full of irony +and challenge, and then the trail grew cold before them. He whom they +pursued was going now with a speed that none of them could equal, and +the darkness itself, thick and heavy, soon covered all sign of his +flight.</p> + +<p>Henry Ware's expectations of joy had been fulfilled and more; it was the +keenest delight that had yet come into his life. At all times he had +been master of the situation, and as he drew them southward, he +fulfilled his duty at the same time and enjoyed his sport. Everything +had fallen out as he planned, and now, with the night at hand, he shook +them off.</p> + +<p>Through the day he had eaten dried venison from his pouch, as he ran, +and he felt no need to stop for food. So, he did not cease the flight +until after midnight when he lay down again in a thicket and slept +soundly until daylight. He rose again, refreshed, and faster than ever +sped on his swift way toward Wareville.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h3>THE RETURN</h3> + + +<p>Wareville lay in its pleasant valley, rejoicing in the young spring, so +kind with its warm rains that the men of the village foresaw a great +season for crops. The little river flowed in a silver current, smoke +rose from many chimneys, and now and then the red homemade linsey dress +of a girl gleamed in the sunlight like the feathers of the scarlet +tanager. To the left were the fields cleared for Indian corn, and to the +right were the gardens. Beyond both were the hills and the unbroken +forest.</p> + +<p>Now and then a man, carrying on his shoulder the inevitable Kentucky +rifle, long and slender-barreled, passed through the palisade, but the +cardinal note of the scene was peace and cheerfulness. The town was +prospering, its future no longer belonged to chance; there would be +plenty, of the kind that they liked.</p> + +<p>In the Ware house was a silent sadness, silent because these were stern +people, living in a stern time, and it was the custom to hide one's +griefs. The oldest son was gone; whether he had perished nobody knew, +nor, if he had perished, how.</p> + +<p>John Ware was not an emotional man, feelings rarely showed on his face, +and his wife alone knew how hard the blow had been to him—she knew +because she had suffered from the same stroke. But the children, the +younger brother Charles and the sister Mary could not always remember, +and with them the impression of the one who was gone would grow dimmer +in time. The border too always expected a certain percentage of loss in +human life, it was one of the facts with which the people must reckon, +and thus the name of Henry Ware was rarely spoken.</p> + +<p>To-day was without a cloud. New emigrants had come across the mountains, +adding welcome strength to the colony, and extending the limits of the +village. But danger had passed them by, they had heard once or twice +more of the great war in the far-away East, but it was so distant and +vague that most of them forgot it; the Indians across the Ohio had never +come this way, and so far Henry Ware was the only toll that they had +paid to the wilderness. There was cause for happiness, as human +happiness goes.</p> + +<p>A slim girl bearing in her hand a wooden pail came through the gate of +the palisade. She was bare-headed, but her wonderful dark-brown hair +coiled in a shining mass was touched here and there with golden gleams +where the sunshine fell upon it. Her face, browned somewhat, was yet +very white on the forehead, and the cheeks had the crimson flush of +health. She wore a dress of homemade linsey dyed red, and its close fit +suggested the curves of her supple, splendid young figure. She walked +with strong elastic step toward the spring that gushed from a hillside, +and which after a short course fell into the little river.</p> + +<p>It was Lucy Upton, grown much taller now, as youth develops rapidly on +the border, a creature nourished into physical perfection first by the +good blood that was in her, then developed in the open air, and by work, +neither too little nor too much.</p> + +<p>She reached the spring, and setting the pail by its side looked down at +the cool, gushing stream. It invited her and she ran her white rounded +arm through it, making curves and oblongs that were gone before they +were finished. She was in a thoughtful mood. Once or twice she looked at +the forest, and each time that she looked she shivered because the +shadow of the wilderness was then very heavy upon her.</p> + +<p>Silas Pennypacker, the schoolmaster, came to the spring while she was +there, and they spoke together, because they were great friends, these +two. He was unchanged, the same strong gray man, with the ruddy face. He +was not unhappy here despite the seeming incongruity of his presence. +The wilderness appealed to him too in a way, he was the intellectual +leader of the colony and almost everything that his nature called for +met with a response.</p> + +<p>"The spring is here, Lucy," he said, "and it has been an easy winter. We +should be thankful that we have fared so well."</p> + +<p>"I think that most of us are," she replied. "We'll soon be a big town."</p> + +<p>She glanced at the spreading settlement, and this launched Mr. +Pennypacker upon a favorite theme of his. He liked to predict how the +colony would grow, sowing new seed, and already he saw great cities to +be. He found a ready listener in Lucy. This too appealed to her +imagination at times, and if at other times interest was lacking, she +was too fond of the old man to let him know it. Presently when she had +finished she filled the pail and stood up, straight and strong.</p> + +<p>"I will carry it for you," said the schoolmaster.</p> + +<p>She laughed.</p> + +<p>"Why should I let you?" she asked. "I am more able than you."</p> + +<p>Most men would have taken it ill to have heard such words from a girl, +but she was one among many, above the usual height for her years; she +created at once the impression of great strength, both physical and +mental; the heavy pail of water hung in her hand, as if it were a trifle +that she did not notice. The master smiled and looked at her with eyes +of fatherly admiration.</p> + +<p>"I must admit that you tell the truth," he said. "This West of ours +seems to suit you."</p> + +<p>"It is my country now," she said, "and I do not care for any other."</p> + +<p>"Since you will not let me carry the water you will at least let me walk +with you?" he said.</p> + +<p>She did not reply, and he was startled by the sudden change that came +over her.</p> + +<p>First a look of wonder showed on her face, then she turned white, every +particle of color leaving her cheeks. The master could not tell what her +expression meant, and he followed her eyes which were turned toward the +wilderness.</p> + +<p>From the forest came a figure very strange to Silas Pennypacker, a +figure of barbaric splendor. It was a youth of great height and powerful +frame, his face so brown that it might belong to either the white or the +red race, but with fine clean features like those of a Greek god. He was +clad in deerskins, ornamented with little colored beads and fringes of +brilliant dyes. He carried a slender-barreled rifle over his shoulder, +and he came forward with swift, soundless steps.</p> + +<p>The master recoiled in alarm at the strange and ominous figure, but as +the red flooded back into the girl's cheeks she put her hand upon his +arm.</p> + +<p>"It is he! I knew that he was not dead!" she said in an intense +tremulous whisper. The words were indefinite, but the master knew whom +she meant, and there was a surge of joy in his heart, to be followed the +next moment by doubt and astonishment. It was Henry Ware who had come +back, but not the same Henry Ware.</p> + +<p>Henry was beside them in a moment and he seized their hands, first the +hands of one and then of the other, calling them by name.</p> + +<p>The master recovering from his momentary diffidence threw his arms +around his former pupil, welcomed him with many words, and wanted to +know where he had been so long.</p> + +<p>"I shall tell you, but not now," replied Henry, "because there is no +time to spare; you are threatened by a great danger. The Shawnees are +coming with a thousand warriors and I have hastened ahead to warn you."</p> + +<p>He hurried them inside the palisade, his manner tense, masterful and +convincing, and there he met his mother, whose joy, deep and grateful, +was expressed in few words after the stern Puritan code. The father and +the brother and sister came next, but the younger people like Lucy felt +a little fear of him, and his old comrade Paul Cotter scarcely knew him.</p> + +<p>He told in a few words of his escape from a far Northwestern tribe, of +the coming of the Shawnees, and of the need to take every precaution for +defense.</p> + +<p>"There is no time to spare," he said. "All must be called in at once."</p> + +<p>A man with powerful lungs blew long on a cow's horn, those who were at +work in the fields and the forest hastened in, the gates were barred, +the best marksmen were sent to watch in the upper story of the +blockhouses and at the palisade, and the women began to mold bullets.</p> + +<p>Henry Ware was the pervading spirit through all the preparations. He +knew everything and thought of everything, he told them the mode of +Indian attack and how they could best meet it, he compelled them to +strengthen the weak spots in the palisade, and he encouraged all those +who were faint of heart and apprehensive.</p> + +<p>Lucy's slight fear of him remained, but with it now came admiration. She +saw that his was a soul fit to lead and command, the work that he was +about to do he loved, his eyes were alight with the fire of battle; a +certain joy was shining there, and all, feeling the strength of his +spirit, obeyed him without asking why.</p> + +<p>Only Braxton Wyatt uttered doubts with words and sneered with looks. He +too had become a hunter of skill, and hence what he said might have some +merit.</p> + +<p>"It seems strange that Henry Ware should come so suddenly when he might +have come before," he remarked with apparent carelessness to Lucy Upton.</p> + +<p>She looked at him with sharp interest. The same thought had entered her +mind, but she did not like to hear Braxton Wyatt utter it.</p> + +<p>"At all events he is about to save us from a great danger," she said.</p> + +<p>Wyatt laughed and his thin long features contracted in an ugly manner.</p> + +<p>"It is a tale to impress us and perhaps to cover up something else," he +replied. "There is not an Indian within two hundred miles of us. I know, +I have been through the woods and there is no sign."</p> + +<p>She turned away, liking his words little and his manner less. She +stopped presently by a corner of one of the houses on a slight elevation +whence she could see a long distance beyond the palisade. So far as +seeming went Braxton Wyatt was certainly right. The spring day was full +of golden sunshine, the fresh new green of the forest was unsullied, and +it was hard to conjure up even the shadow of danger.</p> + +<p>Wyatt might have ground for his suspicion, but why should Henry Ware +sound a false alarm? The words "perhaps to cover up something else" +returned to her mind, but she dismissed them angrily.</p> + +<p>She went to the Ware house and rejoiced with Mrs. Ware, to whom a son +had come back from the dead, and in whose joy there was no flaw. +According to her mother's heart a wonder had been performed, and it had +been done for her special benefit.</p> + +<p>The village was in full posture of defense, all were inside the walls +and every man had gone to his post. They now awaited the attack, and yet +there was some distrust of Henry Ware. Braxton Wyatt, a clever youth, +had insidiously sowed the seeds of suspicion, and already there was a +crop of unbelief. By indirection he had called attention to the strange +appearance of the returned wanderer, the Indianlike air that he had +acquired, his new ways unlike their own, and his indifference to many +things that he had formerly liked. He noticed the change in Henry Ware's +nature and he brought it also to the notice of others.</p> + +<p>It seemed as the brilliant day passed peacefully that Wyatt was right +and Henry, for some hidden purpose of his own, perhaps to hide the +secret of his long absence, had brought to them this sounding alarm. +There was the sun beyond the zenith in the heavens, the shadows of +afternoon were falling, and the yellow light over the forest softened +into gray, but no sign of an enemy appeared.</p> + +<p>If Henry Ware saw the discontent he did not show his knowledge; the +light of the expected conflict was still in his eyes and his thoughts +were chiefly of the great event to come; yet in an interval of waiting +he went back to the house and told his mother of much that had befallen +him during his long absence; he sought to persuade himself now that he +could not have escaped earlier, and perhaps without intending it he +created in her mind the impression that he sought to engrave upon his +own; so she was fully satisfied, thankful for the great mercy of his +return that had been given to her.</p> + +<p>"Now mother!" he said at last, "I am going outside."</p> + +<p>"Outside!" she cried aghast, "but you are safe here! Why not stay?"</p> + +<p>He smiled and shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I shall be safe out there, too," he said, "and it is best for us all +that I go. Oh, I know the wilderness, mother, as you know the rooms of +this house!"</p> + +<p>He kissed her quickly and turned away. John Ware, who stood by, said +nothing. He felt a certain fear of his son and did not yet know how to +command him.</p> + +<p>As Henry passed from the house into the little square Lucy Upton +overtook him.</p> + +<p>"Where are you going?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"I think I can be of more help out there than in here," he replied +pointing toward the forest.</p> + +<p>"It would be better for you to stay," she said.</p> + +<p>"I shall be in no danger."</p> + +<p>"It is not that; do you know what some of them here are saying of +you—that you are estranged from us, that there is some purpose in this, +that no attack is coming! Your going now will confirm them in the +belief."</p> + +<p>His dark eyes flashed with a fierceness that startled her, and his whole +frame seemed to draw up as if he were about to spring. But the emotion +passed in a moment, and his face was a brown mask, saying nothing. He +seemed indifferent to the public opinion of his little world.</p> + +<p>"I am needed out there," he said, pointing again toward the dark line of +the forest, "and I shall go. Whether I tell the truth or not will soon +be known; they will have to wait only a little. But you believe me now, +don't you?"</p> + +<p>She looked deep into his calm eyes, and she read there only truth. But +she knew even before she looked that Henry Ware was not one who would +ever be guilty of falsehood or treachery.</p> + +<p>"Oh yes I know it," she replied, "but I wish others to know it as well."</p> + +<p>"They will," he said, and then taking her hand in his for one brief +moment he was gone. His disappearance was so sudden and soundless that +he seemed to her to melt away from her sight like a mist before the +wind. She did not even know how he had passed through the palisade, but +he was certainly outside and away. There was something weird about it +and she felt a little fear, as if an event almost supernatural had +occurred.</p> + +<p>The sudden departure of Henry Ware to the forest started the slanderous +tongues to wagging again, and they said it was a trap of some kind, +though no one could tell how. A sly report was started that he had +become that worst of all creatures in his time, a renegade, a white man +who allied himself with the red to make war upon his own people. It came +to the ears of Paul Cotter, and the heart of the loyal youth grew hot +within him. Paul was not fond of war and strife, but he had an abounding +courage, and he and Henry Ware had been through danger together.</p> + +<p>"He is changed, I will admit," he said, "but if he says we are going to +be attacked, we shall be. I wish that all of us were as true as he."</p> + +<p>He touched his gun lock in a threatening manner, and Braxton Wyatt and +the others who stood by said no more in his presence. Yet the course of +the day was against Henry's assertion. The afternoon waned, the sun, a +ball of copper, swung down into the west, long shadows fell and nothing +happened.</p> + +<p>The people moved and talked impatiently inside their wooden walls. They +spoke of going about their regular pursuits, there was work that could +be done on the outside in the twilight, and enough time had been lost +already through a false alarm. But some of the older men, with cautious +blood, advised them to wait and their counsel was taken. Night came, +thick and black, and to the more timid full of omens and presages.</p> + +<p>The forest sank away in the darkness, nothing was visible fifty yards +from the palisade and in the log houses few lights burned. The little +colony, but a pin point of light, was alone in the vast and circling +wilderness. One of the greatest tests of courage to which the human race +has ever been subjected was at hand. In all directions the forest curved +away, hundreds of miles. It would be a journey of days to find any other +of their own kind, they were hemmed in everywhere by silence and +loneliness, whatever happened they must depend upon themselves, because +there was none to bring help. They might perish, one and all, and the +rest of the world not hear of it until long afterwards.</p> + +<p>A moaning wind came up and sighed over the log houses, the younger +children—and few were too young not to guess what was expected—fell +asleep at last, but the older, those who had reached their thinking +years could not find such solace. In this black darkness their fears +became real; there was no false alarm, the forest around them hid their +enemy, but only for the time.</p> + +<p>There was little noise in the station. By the low fires in the houses +the women steadily molded bullets, and seldom spoke to each other, as +they poured the melted lead into the molds. By the walls the men too, +rifle in hand, were silent, as they sought with intent eyes to mark what +was passing in the forest.</p> + +<p>Lucy Upton was molding bullets in her father's house and they were +melting the lead at a bed of coals in the wide fireplace. None was +steadier of hand or more expert than she. Her face was flushed as she +bent over the fire and her sleeves were rolled back, showing her strong +white arms. Her lips were compressed, but as the bullets shining like +silver dropped from the mold they would part now and then in a slight +smile. She too had in her the spirit of warlike ancestors and it was +aroused now. Girl, though she was, she felt in her own veins a little of +the thrill of coming conflict.</p> + +<p>But her thoughts were not wholly of attack and defense; they followed as +well him who had come back so suddenly and who was now gone again into +the wilderness from which he had emerged. His appearance and manner had +impressed her deeply. She wished to hear more from him of the strange +wild life that he had led; she too felt, although in a more modified +form, the spell of the primeval.</p> + +<p>Her task finished she went to the door, and then drawn by curiosity she +continued until her walk brought her near the palisade where she watched +the men on guard, their dusky figures touched by the wan light that came +from the slender crescent of a moon, and seeming altogether weird and +unreal. Paul Cotter in one of his errands found her there.</p> + +<p>"You had better go back," he said. "We may be attacked at any time, and +a bullet or arrow could reach you here."</p> + +<p>"So you believe with me that an attack will be made as he said!"</p> + +<p>"Of course I do," replied Paul with emphasis. "Don't I know Henry Ware? +Weren't he and I lost together? Wasn't he the truest of comrades?"</p> + +<p>Several men, talking in low tones, approached them. Braxton Wyatt was +with them and Lucy saw at once that it was a group of malcontents.</p> + +<p>"It is nothing," said Seth Lowndes, a loud, arrogant man, the boaster of +the colony. "There are no Indians in these parts and I'm going out there +to prove it."</p> + +<p>He stood in the center of a ray of moonlight, as he spoke, and it +lighted up his red sneering face. Lucy and Paul could see him plainly +and each felt a little shiver of aversion. But neither said anything +and, in truth, standing in the dark by themselves they were not noticed +by the others.</p> + +<p>"I'm going outside," repeated Lowndes in a yet more noisy tone, "and if +I run across anything more than a deer I'll be mighty badly fooled!"</p> + +<p>One or two uttered words of protest, but it seemed to Lucy that Braxton +Wyatt incited him to go on, joining him in words of contempt for the +alleged danger.</p> + +<p>Lowndes reached the palisade and climbed upon it by means of the cross +pieces binding it together, and then he stood upon the topmost bar, +where his head and all his body, above the knees, rose clear of the +bulwark. He was outlined there sharply, a stout, puffy man, his face +redder than ever from the effect of climbing, and his eyes gleaming +triumphantly as, from his high perch, he looked toward the forest.</p> + +<p>"I tell you there is not—" But the words were cut short, the gleam died +from his eyes, the red fled from his face, and he whitened suddenly with +terror. From the forest came a sharp report, echoing in the still night, +and the puffy man, throwing up his arms, fell from the palisade back +into the inclosure, dead before he touched the ground.</p> + +<p>A fierce yell, the long ominous note of the war whoop burst from the +forest, and its sound, so full of menace and fury, was more terrible +than that of the rifle. Then came other shots, a rapid pattering volley, +and bullets struck with a low sighing sound against the upper walls of +the blockhouse. The long quavering cry, the Indian yell rose and died +again and in the black forest, still for aught else, it was weird and +unearthly.</p> + +<p>Lucy stood like stone when the lifeless body of the boaster fell almost +at her feet, and all the color was gone from her face. The terrible cry +of the savages without was ringing in her ears, and it seemed to her, +for a few moments, that she could not move. But Paul grasped her by the +arm and drew her back.</p> + +<p>"Go into your house!" he cried. "A bullet might reach you here!"</p> + +<p>Obedient to his duty he hastened to the palisade to bear a valiant hand +in the defense, and she, retreating a little, remained in the shadow of +the houses that she might see how events would go. After the first shock +of horror and surprise she was not greatly afraid, and she was conscious +too of a certain feeling of relief. Henry Ware had told the truth, he +knew of what he spoke when he brought his warning, and he had greatly +served his own.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>THE SIEGE</h3> + + +<p>It was not Lucy Upton alone who felt relief when the attack upon the +stockade came, hideous and terrifying though it might be; the suspense +so destructive of nerves and so hard to endure was at an end, and the +men rushed gladly to meet the attack, while the women with almost equal +joy reloaded empty rifles with the precious powder made from the cave +dust and passed them to the brave defenders. The children, too small to +take a part, cowered in the houses and listened to the sounds of battle, +the lashing of the rifle fire, the fierce cry of the savages in the +forest, and the answering defiance of the white men. Amid such scenes a +great state was founded and who can wonder that its defenders learned to +prize bravery first of all things?</p> + +<p>The attack was in accordance with the savage nature, a dash, irregular +volleys, shots from ambush, an endeavor to pick off the settlers, +whenever a head was shown, but no direct attempt to storm the palisade, +for which the Indian is unfitted. A bullet would not reach from the +forest, but from little hillocks and slight ridges in the open where a +brown breast was pressed close to the earth came the flash of rifles, +some hidden by the dusk, but the flame showing in little points of fire +that quickly went out. The light of the moon failed somewhat, and the +savages in ambush were able to come nearer, but now and then a +sharpshooter behind the wall, firing at the flash of the concealed +rifle, would hear an answering death cry.</p> + +<p>Lucy Upton behind the barricade with other girls and women was reloading +rifles and passing them to her father and Paul Cotter who stood in a +little wooden embrasure like a sally port. For a time the fire of battle +burned as fiercely in her veins as in those of any man, but after a +while she began to wonder what had become of Henry Ware, and presently +from some who passed she heard comments upon him again; they found fault +with his absence; he should have been there to take a part in the +defense, and while she admitted that their criticisms bore the color of +truth, she yet believed him to be away for some good purpose.</p> + +<p>For two hours the wild battle in the dark went on, to the chorus of +shouts from white man and red, the savages often coming close to the +walls, and seeking to find a shelter under them in the dark, but always +driven back. Then it ceased so suddenly that the intense silence was +more pregnant with terror than all the noise that had gone before. Paul +Cotter, looking over the palisade, could see nothing. The forest rose up +like a solid dark wall, and in the opening not a blade of grass stirred; +the battle, the savage army, all seemed to have gone like smoke melting +into the air, and Paul was appalled, feeling that a magic hand had +abruptly swept everything out of existence.</p> + +<p>"What do you see?" asked Lucy, upon whose ears the silence too was heavy +and painful.</p> + +<p>"Nothing but darkness, and what it hides I cannot guess."</p> + +<p>A report ran through the village that the savage army, beaten, had gone, +and the women, and the men with little experience, gave it currency, but +the veterans rebuked such premature rejoicing; it was their part, they +said, to watch with more vigilance than ever, and in nowise to relax +their readiness.</p> + +<p>Then the long hours began and those who could, slept. Braxton Wyatt and +his friends again impeached the credit of Henry Ware, insinuating with +sly smiles that he must be a renegade, as he had taken no part in the +defense and must now be with his savage friends. To the slur Paul Cotter +fiercely replied that he had warned them of the attack; without him the +station would have been taken by surprise, and that surely proved him to +be no traitor.</p> + +<p>The hours between midnight and day not only grew in length, but seemed +to increase in number as well, doubling and tripling, as if they would +never end for the watchers in the station. The men behind the wooden +walls and some of the women, too, intently searched the forest, seeking +to discover movements there, but nothing appeared upon its solid black +screen. Nor did any sound come from it, save the occasional gentle moan +of the wind; there was no crackling of branches, no noise of footsteps, +no rattle of arms, but always the heavy silence which seemed so deadly, +and which, by its monotony, was so painful to their ears.</p> + +<p>Lucy Upton went into her father's house, ate a little and then spreading +over herself a buffalo robe tried to sleep. Slumber was long in coming, +for the disturbed nerves refused to settle into peace, and the excited +brain brought back to her eyes distorted and overcolored visions of the +night's events. But youth and weariness had their way and she slept at +last, to find when she awakened that the dawn was coming in at the +window, and the east was ablaze with the splendid red and yellow light +of the sun.</p> + +<p>"Are they still there?" was her first question when she went forth from +her father's house, and the reply was uncertain; they might or might not +be there; the leaders had not allowed anyone to go out to see, but the +number who believed that the savages were gone was growing; and also +grew the number who believed that Henry Ware was gone with them.</p> + +<p>Even in the brilliant daylight that sharpened and defined everything as +with the etcher's point, they could see nothing save what had been +before the savages came. Their eyes reached now into the forest, but as +far as they ranged it was empty, there was no encampment, not a single +warrior passed through the undergrowth. It seemed that the grumblers +were right when they said the besieging army was gone.</p> + +<p>Lucy Upton was walking toward the palisade where she saw Paul Cotter, +when she heard a distant report and Paul's fur cap, pierced by a bullet, +flew from his head to the earth. Paul himself stood in amaze, as if he +did not know what had happened, and he did not move until Lucy shouted +to him to drop to the ground. Then he crawled quickly away from the +exposed spot, although two or three more bullets struck about him.</p> + +<p>The station thrilled once more with excitement, but the new danger was +of a kind that they did not know how to meet. It was evident that the +firing came from a high point, one commanding a view inside the walls, +and from marksmen located in such a manner the palisade offered no +shelter. Bullets were pattering among the houses, and in the open spaces +inclosed by the walls, two men were wounded already, and the threat had +become formidable.</p> + +<p>Ross and Shif'less Sol, the best of the woodsmen, soon decided that the +shots came from a large tree at the edge of the forest northeast from +the stockade, and they were sure that at least a half-dozen warriors +were lying sheltered among its giant boughs, while they sent searching +bullets into the inclosure. There had been some discussion about the +tree at the time the settlement was built, but expert opinion held that +the Indian weapons could not reach from so great a distance, and as the +task of cutting so huge a trunk when time was needed, seemed too much +they had left it, and now they saw their grievous and perhaps mortal +error.</p> + +<p>The side of the palisade facing the tree was untenable so long as the +warriors held their position, and it was even dangerous to pass from one +house to another. The terrors of the night, weighty because unknown, +were gone, but the day had brought with it a more certain menace that +all could see.</p> + +<p>The leaders held a conference on the sheltered side of one of the +houses, and their faces and their talk were full of gloom. The +schoolmaster, Ross and Sol were there, and so were John Ware and Lucy's +father. The schoolmaster, by nature and training a man of peace, was +perhaps the most courageous of them all.</p> + +<p>"It is evident that those savages have procured in some manner a number +of our long-range Kentucky rifles," he said, "but they are no better +than ours. Nor is it any farther from us to that tree than it is from +that tree to us. Why can't our best marksmen pick them off?"</p> + +<p>He looked with inquiry at Ross and Sol, who shook their heads and abated +not a whit of their gloomy looks.</p> + +<p>"They are too well sheltered there," replied Ross, "while we would not +be if we should try to answer them. Our side would get killed while they +wouldn't be hurt and we can't spare the men."</p> + +<p>"But we must find a way out! We must get rid of them somehow!" exclaimed +Mr. Ware.</p> + +<p>"That's true," said Upton, and as he spoke they heard a bullet thud +against the wall of the house. From the forest came a wild quavering +yell of triumph, full of the most merciless menace. Mr. Ware and Mr. +Upton shuddered. Each had a young daughter, and it was in the minds of +each to slay her in the last resort if there should be no other way.</p> + +<p>"If those fellows in the tree keep on driving us from the palisade," +said Ross, setting his face in the grim manner of one who forces himself +to tell the truth, "there's nothin' to prevent the main band from makin' +an attack, and while the other fellows rain bullets on us they'll be +inside the palisade."</p> + +<p>They stared at each other in silent despair, and Ross going to the +corner of the house, but keeping himself protected well, looked at the +fatal tree. No one was firing, then, and he could see nothing among its +branches. In the fresh green of its young foliage it looked like a huge +cone set upon a giant stem, and Ross shook his fist at it in futile +anger. Nor was a foe visible elsewhere. The entire savage army lay +hidden in the forest and nothing fluttered or moved but the leaves and +the grass.</p> + +<p>The others, led by the same interest, followed Ross, and keeping to the +safety of the walls, stole glances at the tree. As they looked they +heard the faint report of a shot and a cry of death, and saw a brown +body shoot down from the green cone of the tree to the ground, where it +lay still.</p> + +<p>"There is a marksman among us who can beat them at their own trick," +cried the schoolmaster in exultation. "Who did it? Who fired that shot, +Tom?"</p> + +<p>Ross did not answer. First a look of wonder came upon his face, and then +he began to study the forest, where all but nature was yet lifeless. The +faint sound of a second shot came and what followed was a duplicate of +the sequel to the first. Another brown body shot downward, and lay +lifeless beside its fellow on the grass.</p> + +<p>The master cried out once more in exultation, and wished to know why +others within the palisade did not imitate the skillful sharpshooter. +But Ross shook his head slowly and spoke these slow words:</p> + +<p>"A great piece of luck has happened to us, Mr. Pennypacker, an' how it's +happened I don't know, at least not yet. Them shots never come from any +of our men. We've got a friend outside an' he's pickin' off them +ambushed murderers one by one. The savages think we're doin' it, but +they'll soon find out the difference."</p> + +<p>There was a third shot and the tree ejected a third body.</p> + +<p>"What wonderful shootin'!" exclaimed Ross in a tone of amazement. "Them +shots come from a long distance, but all three of 'em plugged the mark +to the center. Them savages was dead before they touched the ground. I +never saw the like."</p> + +<p>The others waited expectantly, as if he could give them an explanation, +but if he had a thought in his mind he kept it to himself.</p> + +<p>"There, they've found it out," he said, when a terrific yell full of +anger came from the forest, "but they haven't got him, whoever he is. +They'd shout in a different way if they had."</p> + +<p>"Why do you say him?" asked Mr. Pennypacker. "Surely a single man has +not been doing such daring and deadly work!"</p> + +<p>"It's one man, because there are not two in all this wilderness who can +shoot like that. I'd hate to be in the place of the savages left in that +tree."</p> + +<p>The wonder of the new and unknown ally soon spread through Wareville, +and reached Lucy Upton as it reached others. A thought came to her and +she was about to speak of it, but she stopped, fearing ridicule, and +merely listened to the excited talk going on all about her.</p> + +<p>An hour later a fourth Indian was shot from the tree, and less than +fifteen minutes afterwards a fifth fell a victim to the terrible rifle. +Then two, the only survivors, dropped from the boughs and ran for the +forest. Ross, Sol and Paul Cotter were watching together and saw the +flight.</p> + +<p>"One of them brown rascals will never reach the woods," said Ross with +the intuition of the borderer.</p> + +<p>The foremost savage fell just at the edge of the forest, shot through +the heart, and the other, the sole survivor of the tree, escaped behind +the sheltering trunks.</p> + +<p>The cry of the angry savages swelled into a terrible chorus and bullets +beat upon the stockade, but the attack was quickly repulsed, and again +quiet and treacherous peace settled down upon this little spot, this pin +point in the mighty wilderness, whose struggle must be carried on +unaided, and, in truth, unknown to all the rest of the world.</p> + +<p>When the savages were driven back they melted again into the forest, and +the old silence and peace laid hold of everything, the brilliant +sunshine gilding every house, and dyeing into deeper colors the glowing +tints of the wilderness. The huge tree, so fatal to those who had sought +to use it, stood up, a great green cone, its branches waving softly +before the wind.</p> + +<p>In the little fortress the wonder and excitement yet prevailed, but +mingled with it was a devout gratitude for this help from an unknown +quarter which had been so timely and so effective. The spirits of the +garrison, from the boldest ranger down to the most timid woman, took a +sudden upward heave and they felt that they should surely repel every +attack by the savage army.</p> + +<p>The remainder of the day passed in silence and with the foe invisible, +but the guard at the palisade, now safe from ambushed marksmen, relaxed +its vigilance not at all. These men knew that they dealt with an enemy +whose uncertainty made him all the more terrible, and they would not +leave the issue to shifting chance.</p> + +<p>The day waned, the night came, heavy and dark again, and full, as it was +bound to be, of threats and omens for the beleaguered people. Lucy Upton +with Mary Ware slipped to the little wooden embrasure where Paul Cotter +was on watch.</p> + +<p>They found Paul in the sheltered nook, watching the forest and the open, +through the holes pierced for rifles, and he did not seek to hide his +pleasure at seeing them. Two other men were there, but they were +middle-aged and married, the fathers of increasing families, and they +were not offended when Paul received a major share of attention.</p> + +<p>He told them that all was quiet, his own eyes were keen, but they failed +to mark anything unusual, and he believed that the savages, profiting by +their costly experience, would make no new attempt yet a while. Then he +spoke of the mysterious help that had come to them, and the same thought +was in his mind and Lucy's, though neither spoke of it. They stood there +a while, talking in low tones and looking for excuses to linger, when +one of the older men moved a little and held up a warning hand. He had +just taken his eyes from a loophole, and he whispered that he thought he +had seen something pass in the shadow of the wall.</p> + +<p>All in the embrasure became silent at once, and Lucy, brave as she was, +could hear her heart beating. There was a slight noise on the outside of +the wall, so faint that only keen ears could hear it, and then as they +looked up they saw a hideous, painted face raised above the palisade.</p> + +<p>One of the older men threw his rifle to his shoulder, but, quick as a +flash, Paul struck his hand away from the trigger. He knew who had come, +when he looked into the eyes that looked down at him, though he felt +fear, too—he could not deny it—as he met their gaze, so fierce, so +wild, so full of the primitive man.</p> + +<p>"Don't you see?" he said, "it is Henry! Henry Ware!"</p> + +<p>Even then Lucy Upton, intimate friend though she had been, scarcely saw, +but laughing a low soft laugh of intense satisfaction, Henry dropped +lightly among them. Good excuse had these men for not knowing him as his +transformation was complete! He stood before them not a white man, but +an Indian warrior, a prince of savages. His hair was drawn up in the +defiant scalp lock, his face bore the war paint in all its variations +and violent contrast of colors, the dark-green hunting shirt and +leggings with their beaded decorations were gone, and in their place a +red Indian blanket was wrapped around him, drooping in its graceful +folds like a Roman toga.</p> + +<p>His figure, erect in the moonlight, nearly a head above the others, had +a certain savage majesty, and they gazed upon him in silence. He seemed +to know what they felt and his eyes gleamed with pride out of his darkly +painted face. He laughed again a low laugh, not like that of the white +man, but the almost inaudible chuckle of the Indian.</p> + +<p>"It had to be," he said, glancing down at his garb though not with +shame. "To do what I wished to do, it was necessary to pass as an +Indian, at least between times, and, as all the Shawnees do not know +each other, this helped."</p> + +<p>"It was you who shot the Indians in the tree; I knew it from the first," +said the voice of the guide, Ross, over their shoulders. He had come so +softly that they did not notice him before.</p> + +<p>Henry did not reply, but laughed again the dry chuckle that made Lucy +tremble she scarcely knew why, and ran his hand lovingly along the +slender barrel of his rifle.</p> + +<p>"At least you do not complain of it," he said presently.</p> + +<p>"No, we do not," replied Ross, "an' I guess we won't. You saved us, +that's sure. I've lived on the border all my life, but I never saw such +shootin' before."</p> + +<p>Then Henry gave some details of his work and Lucy Upton, watching him +closely, saw how he had been engrossed by it. Paul Cotter too noticed, +and feeling constraint, at least, demanded that Henry doff his savage +disguise, put on white men's clothes and get something to eat.</p> + +<p>He consented, though scarce seeing the necessity of it, but kept the +Indian blanket close to hand, saying that he would soon need it again. +But he was very gentle with his mother telling her that she need have no +fear for him, that he knew all the wiles of the savage and more; they +could never catch him and the outside was his place, as then he could be +of far more service than if he were merely one of the garrison.</p> + +<p>The news of Henry Ware's return was throughout the village in five +minutes, and with it came the knowledge of his great deed. In the face +of such a solid and valuable fact the vague charge that he was a +renegade died. Even Braxton Wyatt did not dare to lift his voice to that +effect again, but, with sly insinuation, he spoke of savages herding +with savages, and of what might happen some day.</p> + +<p>When night came Henry resuming his Indian garb and paint slipped out +again, and so skillful was he that he seemed to melt away like a mist in +the darkness.</p> + +<p>The savage army beleaguering the colony now found that it was assailed +by a mysterious enemy, one whom all their vigilance and skill could not +catch. They lost warrior after warrior and many of them began to think +Manitou hostile to them, but the leaders persisted with the siege. They +wished to destroy utterly this white vanguard, and they would not return +to their villages, far across the Ohio, until it was done.</p> + +<p>They no longer made a direct attack upon the walls, but, forming a +complete circle around, hung about at a convenient distance, waiting and +hoping for thirst and famine to help them. The people believed +themselves to have taken good precautions against these twin evils, but +now a terrible misfortune befell them. No rain fell and the well inside +the palisade ran dry. It was John Ware himself who first saw the coming +of the danger and he tried to hide it, but it could not, from its very +nature, be kept a secret long. The supply for each person was cut down +one half and then one fourth, and that too would soon go, unless the +welcome rains came; and the sky was without a cloud. Men who feared no +physical danger saw those whom they loved growing pale and weak before +their eyes, and they knew not what to do. It seemed that the place must +fall without a blow from the enemy.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3>A GIRL'S WAY</h3> + + +<p>Lucy left her father's house one of these dry mornings, and stood for a +few moments in the grounds, inclosed by the palisade, gazing at the dark +forest, outlined so sharply against the blue of the sky. She could see +the green of the forest beyond the fort, and she knew that in the open +spaces, where the sun reached them, tiny wild flowers of pink and +purple, nestled low in the grass, were already in bloom. From the west a +wind sweet and soft was blowing, and, as she inhaled it, she wanted to +live, and she wanted all those about her to live. She wondered, if there +was not some way in which she could help.</p> + +<p>The stout, double log cabins, rude, but full of comfort, stood in rows, +with well-trodden streets, between, then a fringe of grass around all, +and beyond that rose the palisade of stout stakes, driven deep into the +ground, and against each other. All was of the West and so was Lucy, a +tall, lithe young girl, her face tanned a healthy and becoming brown by +the sun, her clothing of home-woven red cloth, adorned at the wrists and +around the bottom of the skirt with many tiny beads of red and yellow +and blue and green, which, when she moved, flashed in the brilliant +light, like the quivering colors of a prism. She had thrust in her hair +a tiny plume of the scarlet tanager, and it lay there, like a flash of +flame, against the dark brown of her soft curls.</p> + +<p>Where she stood she could see the water of the spring near the edge of +the forest sparkling in the sunlight, as if it wished to tantalize her, +but as she looked a thought came to her, and she acted upon it at once. +She went to the little square, where her father, John Ware, Ross and +others were in conference.</p> + +<p>"Father," she exclaimed, "I will show you how to get the water!"</p> + +<p>Mr. Upton and the other men looked at her in so much astonishment that +none of them replied, and Lucy used the opportunity.</p> + +<p>"I know the way," she continued eagerly. "Open the gate, let the women +take the buckets—I will lead—and we can go to the spring and fill them +with water. Maybe the Indians won't fire on us!"</p> + +<p>"Lucy, child!" exclaimed her father. "I cannot think of such a thing."</p> + +<p>Then up spoke Tom Ross, wise in the ways of the wilderness.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Upton," he said, "the girl is right. If the women are willing to go +out it must be done. It looks like an awful thing, but—if they die we +are here to avenge them and die with them, if they don't die we are all +saved because we can hold this fort, if we have water; without it every +soul here from the oldest man down to the littlest baby will be lost."</p> + +<p>Mr. Upton covered his face with his hands.</p> + +<p>"I do not like to think of it, Tom," he said.</p> + +<p>The other men waited in silence.</p> + +<p>Lucy looked appealingly at her father, but he turned his eyes away.</p> + +<p>"See what the women say about it, Tom," he said at last.</p> + +<p>The women thought well of it. There was not one border heroine, but +many; disregarding danger they prepared eagerly for the task, and soon +they were in line more than fifty, every one with a bucket or pail in +each hand. Henry Ware, looking on, said nothing. The intended act +appealed to the nature within him that was growing wilder every day.</p> + +<p>A sentinel, peeping over the palisade, reported that all was quiet in +the forest, though, as he knew, the warriors were none the less +watchful.</p> + +<p>"Open the gate," commanded Mr. Ware.</p> + +<p>The heavy bars were quickly taken down, and the gate was swung wide. +Then a slim, scarlet-clad figure took her place at the head of the line, +and they passed out.</p> + +<p>Lucy was borne on now by a great impulse, the desire to save the fort +and all these people whom she knew and loved. It was she who had +suggested the plan and she believed that it should be she who should +lead the way, when it came to the doing of it.</p> + +<p>She felt a tremor when she was outside the gate, but it came from +excitement and not from fear—the exaltation of spirit would not permit +her to be afraid. She glanced at the forest, but it was only a blur +before her.</p> + +<p>The slim, scarlet-clad figure led on. Lucy glanced over her shoulder, +and she saw the women following her in a double file, grave and +resolute. She did not look back again, but marched on straight toward +the spring. She began to feel now what she was doing, that she was +marching into the cannon's mouth, as truly as any soldier that ever led +a forlorn hope against a battery. She knew that hundreds of keen eyes +there in the forest before her were watching her every step, and that +behind her fathers and brothers and husbands were waiting, with an +anxiety that none of them had ever known before.</p> + +<p>She expected every moment to hear the sharp whiplike crack of the rifle, +but there was no sound. The fort and all about it seemed to be inclosed +in a deathly stillness. She looked again at the forest, trying to see +the ambushed figures, but again it was only a blur before her, seeming +now and then to float in a kind of mist. Her pulses were beating fast, +she could hear the thump, thump in her temples, but the slim scarlet +figure never wavered and behind, the double file of women followed, +grave and silent.</p> + +<p>"They will not fire until we reach the spring," thought Lucy, and now +she could hear the bubble of the cool, clear water, as it gushed from +the hillside. But still nothing stirred in the forest, no rifle cracked, +there was no sound of moving men.</p> + +<p>She reached the spring, bent down, filled both buckets at the pool, and +passing in a circle around it, turned her face toward the fort, and, +after her, came the silent procession, each filling her buckets at the +pool, passing around it and turning her face toward the fort as she had +done.</p> + +<p>Lucy now felt her greatest fear when she began the return journey and +her back was toward the forest. There was in her something of the +warrior; if the bullet was to find her she preferred to meet it, face to +face. But she would not let her hands tremble, nor would she bend +beneath the weight of the water. She held herself proudly erect and +glanced at the wooden wall before her. It was lined with faces, brown, +usually, but now with the pallor showing through the tan. She saw her +father's among them and she smiled at him, because she was upheld by a +great pride and exultation. It was she who had told them what to do, and +it was she who led the way.</p> + +<p>She reached the open gate again, but she did not hasten her footsteps. +She walked sedately in, and behind her she heard only the regular tread +of the long double file of women. The forest was as silent as ever.</p> + +<p>The last woman passed in, the gate was slammed shut, the heavy bars were +dropped into place, and Mr. Upton throwing his arms about Lucy +exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"Oh, my brave daughter!"</p> + +<p>She sank against him trembling, her nerves weak after the long tension, +but she felt a great pride nevertheless. She wished to show that a woman +too could be physically brave in the face of the most terrible of all +dangers, and she had triumphantly done so.</p> + +<p>The bringing of the water, or rather the courage that inspired the act, +heartened the garrison anew, and color came back to men's faces. The +schoolmaster discussed the incident with Tom Ross, and wondered why the +Indians who were not in the habit of sparing women had not fired.</p> + +<p>"Sometimes a man or a crowd of men won't do a thing that they would do +at any other time," said Ross, "maybe they thought they could get us all +in a bunch by waitin' an' maybe way down at the bottom of their savage +souls, was a spark of generosity that lighted up for just this once. +We'll never know."</p> + +<p>Henry Ware went out that night, and returning before dawn with the same +facility that marked all his movements in the wilderness, reported that +the savage army was troubled. All such forces are loose and irregular, +with little cohesive power, and they will not bear disappointment and +waiting. Moreover the warriors having lost many men, with nothing in +repayment were grumbling and saying that the face of Manitou was set +against them. They were confirmed too in this belief by the presence of +the mysterious foe who had slain the warriors in the tree, and who had +since given other unmistakable signs of his presence.</p> + +<p>"They will have more discouragement soon," he said, "because it is going +to rain to-day."</p> + +<p>He had read the signs aright, as the sun came up amid the mists and +vapors, and the gentle wind was damp to the face; then dark clouds +spread across the western heavens, like a vast carpet unrolled by a +giant hand, and the wilderness began to moan. Low thunder muttered on +the horizon, and the somber sky was cut by vivid strokes of lightning.</p> + +<p>Nature took on an ominous and threatening hue but within the village +there was only joy; the coming storm would remove their greatest danger, +the well would fill up again, and behind the wooden walls they could +defy the savage foe.</p> + +<p>The sky was cut across by a flash of lightning so bright that it dazzled +them, the thunder burst with a terrible crash directly overhead, and +then the rain came in a perfect wall of water. It poured for hours out +of a sky that was made of unbroken clouds, deluging the earth, swelling +the river to a roaring flood, and rising higher in the well than ever +before. The forest about them was almost hidden by the torrents of rain +and they did not forget to be thankful.</p> + +<p>Toward afternoon the fall abated somewhat in violence, but became a +steady downpour out of sodden skies, and the air turned raw and chill. +Those who were not sheltered shivered, as if it were winter. The night +came on as dark as a well, and Henry Ware went out again. When he came +back he said tersely to his father:</p> + +<p>"They are gone."</p> + +<p>"Gone?" exclaimed Mr. Ware scarcely able to believe in the reality of +such good news.</p> + +<p>"Yes; the storm broke their backs. Even Indians can't stand an all-day +wetting especially when they are already tired. They think they can +never have any luck here, and they are going toward the Ohio at this +minute. The storm has saved us now just as it saved our band in the +flight from the salt works."</p> + +<p>They had such faith in his forest skill that no one doubted his word and +the village burst into joy. Women, for they were the worst sufferers +gave thanks, both silently and aloud. Henry took Ross, Sol and others to +the valley in the forest, where the savages had kept their war camp. +Here they had soaked in the mire during the storm, and all about were +signs of their hasty flight, the ground being littered with bones of +deer, elk and buffalo.</p> + +<p>"They won't come again soon," said Henry, "because they believe that the +Manitou will not give them any luck here, but it is well to be always on +the watch."</p> + +<p>After the first outburst of gratitude the people talked little of the +attack and repulse; they felt too deeply, they realized too much the +greatness of the danger they had escaped to put it into idle words. But +nearly all attributed their final rescue to Henry Ware though some saw +the hand of God in the storm which had intervened a second time for the +protection of the whites. Braxton Wyatt and his friends dared say +nothing now, at least openly against Henry, although those who loved him +most were bound to confess that there was something alien about him, +something in which he differed from the rest of them.</p> + +<p>But Henry thought little of the opinion, good or bad in which he was +held, because his heart was turning again to the wilderness, and he and +Ross went forth again to scout on the rear of the Indian force.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h3>THE BATTLE IN THE FOREST</h3> + + +<p>Henry and Ross after their second scouting expedition reported that the +great war band of the Shawnees was retreating slowly, in fact would +linger by the way, and might destroy one or two smaller stations +recently founded farther north. Instantly a new impulse flamed up among +the pioneers of Wareville. The feeling of union was strong among all +these early settlements, and they believed it their duty to protect +their weaker brethren. They would send hastily to Marlowe the nearest +and largest settlement for help, follow on the trail of the warriors and +destroy them. Such a blow, as they might inflict, would spread terror +among all the northwestern tribes and save Kentucky from many another +raid.</p> + +<p>Ross who was present in the council when the eager cry was raised shook +his head and looked more than doubtful.</p> + +<p>"They outnumber us four or five to one," he said, "an' when we go out in +the woods against 'em we give up our advantage, our wooden walls. They +can ambush us out there, an' surround us."</p> + +<p>Mr. Ware added his cautious words to those of Ross, in whom he had great +confidence. He believed it better to let the savage army go. Discouraged +by its defeat before the palisades of Wareville it would withdraw beyond +the Ohio, and, under any circumstances, a pursuit with greatly inferior +numbers, would be most dangerous.</p> + +<p>These were grave words, but they fell on ears that did not wish to +listen. They were an impulsive people and a generous chord in their +natures was touched, the desire to defend those weaker than themselves. +A good-hearted but hot-headed man named Clinton made a fiery speech. He +said that now was the time to strike a crushing blow at the Indian +power, and he thought all brave men would take advantage of it.</p> + +<p>That expression "brave men" settled the question; no one could afford to +be considered aught else, and a little army poured forth from Wareville, +Mr. Ware nominally in command, and Henry, Paul, Ross, Sol, and all the +others there. Henry saw his mother and sister weeping at the palisade, +and Lucy Upton standing beside them. His mother's face was the last that +he saw when he plunged into the forest. Then he was again the hunter, +the trailer and the slayer of men.</p> + +<p>While they considered whether or not to pursue, Henry Ware had said +nothing; but all the primitive impulses of man handed down from lost +ages of ceaseless battle were alive within him; he wished them to go, he +would show the way, the savage army would make a trail through the +forest as plain to him as a turnpike to the modern dweller in a +civilized land, and his heart throbbed with fierce exultation, when the +decision to follow was at last given. In the forest now he was again at +home, more so than he had been inside the palisade. Around him were all +the familiar sights and sounds, the little noises of the wilderness that +only the trained ear hears, the fall of a leaf, or the wind in the +grass, and the odor of a wild flower or a bruised bough.</p> + +<p>Brain and mind alike expanded. Instinctively he took the lead, not from +ambition, but because it was natural; he read all the signs and he led +on with a certainty to which neither Ross nor Shif'less Sol pretended to +aspire. The two guides and hunters were near each other, and a look +passed between them.</p> + +<p>"I knew it," said Ross; "I knew from the first that he had in him the +making of a great woodsman. You an' I, Sol, by the side of him, are just +beginners."</p> + +<p>Shif'less Sol nodded in assent.</p> + +<p>"It's so," he said. "It suits me to follow where he leads, an' since we +are goin' after them warriors, which I can't think a wise thing, I'm +mighty glad he's with us."</p> + +<p>Yet to one experienced in the ways of the wilderness the little army +though it numbered less than a hundred men would have seemed formidable +enough. Many youths were there, mere boys they would have been back in +some safer land, but hardened here by exposure into the strength and +courage of men. Nearly all were dressed in finely tanned deerskin, +hunting shirt, leggings and moccasins, fringes on hunting shirt and +leggings, and beads on moccasins. The sun glinted on the long slender, +blue steel barrel of the Western rifle, carried in the hand of every +man. At the belt swung knife and hatchet, and the eyes of all, now that +the pursuit had begun, were intense, eager and fierce.</p> + +<p>The sounds made by the little Western army, hid under the leafy boughs +of the forest, gradually died away to almost nothing. No one spoke, save +at rare intervals. The moccasins were soundless on the soft turf, and +there was no rattle of arms, although arms were always ready. In front +was Henry Ware, scanning the trail, telling with an infallible eye how +old it was, where the enemy had lingered, and where he had hastened.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker was there beside Paul Cotter. A man of peace he was, but +when war came he never failed to take his part in it.</p> + +<p>"Do you know him?" he asked of Paul, nodding toward Henry.</p> + +<p>Paul understood.</p> + +<p>"No," he replied, "I do not. He used to be my old partner, Henry Ware, +but he's another now."</p> + +<p>"Yes, he's changed," said the master, "but I am not surprised. I foresaw +it long ago, if the circumstances came right."</p> + +<p>On the second morning they were joined by the men from Marlowe who had +been traveling up one side of a triangle, while the men of Wareville had +been traveling up the other side, until they met at the point. Their +members were now raised to a hundred and fifty, and, uttering one shout +of joy, the united forces plunged forward on the trail with renewed +zeal.</p> + +<p>They were in dense forest, in a region scarcely known even to the +hunters, full of little valleys and narrow deep streams. The Indian +force had suddenly taken a sharp turn to the westward, and the knowledge +of it filled the minds of Ross and Sol with misgivings.</p> + +<p>"Maybe they know we're following 'em," said Ross; "an' for that reason +they're turnin' into this rough country, which is just full of ambushes. +If it wasn't for bein' called a coward by them hot-heads I'd say it was +time for us to wheel right about on our own tracks, an' go home."</p> + +<p>"You can't do nothin' with 'em," said Sol, "they wouldn't stand without +hitchin', an' we ain't got any way to hitch 'em. There's goin' to be a +scrimmage that people'll talk about for twenty years, an' the best you +an' me can do, Tom, is to be sure to keep steady an' to aim true."</p> + +<p>Ross nodded sadly and said no more. He looked down at the trail, which +was growing fresher and fresher.</p> + +<p>"They're slowin' up, Sol," he said at last, "I think they're waitin' for +us. You spread out to the right and I'll go to the left to watch ag'in +ambush. That boy, Henry Ware'll see everything in front."</p> + +<p>In view of the freshening trail Mr. Ware ordered the little army to stop +for a few moments and consider, and all, except the scouts on the flanks +and in front, gathered in council. Before them and all around them lay +the hills, steep and rocky but clothed from base to crest with dense +forest and undergrowth. Farther on were other and higher hills, and in +the distance the forests looked blue. Nothing about them stirred. They +had sighted no game as they passed; the deer had already fled before the +Indian army. The skies, bright and blue in the morning, were now +overcast, a dull, somber, threatening gray.</p> + +<p>"Men," said Mr. Ware, and there was a deep gravity in his tone, as +became a general on the eve of conflict, "I think we shall be on the +enemy soon or he will be on us. There were many among us who did not +approve of this pursuit, but here we are. It is not necessary to say +that we should bear ourselves bravely. If we fail and fall, our women +and children are back there, and nothing will stand between them and +savages who know no mercy. That is all you have to remember."</p> + +<p>And then a little silence fell upon everyone. Suddenly the hot-heads +realized what they had done. They had gone away from their wooden walls, +deep into the unknown wilderness, to meet an enemy four or five times +their numbers, and skilled in all the wiles and tricks of the forest. +Every face was grave, but the knowledge of danger only strengthened them +for the conflict. Hot blood became cool and cautious, and wary eyes +searched the thickets everywhere. Rash and impetuous they may have been; +but they were ready now to redeem themselves, with the valor, without +which the border could not have been won.</p> + +<p>Henry Ware had suddenly gone forward from the others, and the green +forest swallowed him up, but every nerve and muscle of him was now ready +and alert. He felt, rather than saw, that the enemy was at hand; and in +his green buckskin he blended so completely with the forest that only +the keenest sight could have picked him from the mass of foliage. His +general's eye told him, too, that the place before them was made for a +conflict which would favor the superior numbers. They had been coming up +a gorge, and if beaten they would be crowded back in it upon each other, +hindering the escape of one another, until they were cut to pieces.</p> + +<p>The wild youth smiled; he knew the bravery of the men with him, and now +their dire necessity and the thought of those left behind in the two +villages would nerve them to fight. In his daring mind the battle was +not yet lost.</p> + +<p>A faint, indefinable odor met his nostrils, and he knew it to be the oil +and paint of Indian braves. A deep red flushed through the brown of +either cheek. Returning now to his own kind he was its more ardent +partisan because of the revulsion, and the Indian scent offended him. He +looked down and saw a bit of feather, dropped no doubt from some defiant +scalp lock. He picked it up, held it to his nose a moment, and then, +when the offensive odor assailed him again, he cast it away.</p> + +<p>Another dozen steps forward, and he sank down in a clump of grass, +blending perfectly with the green, and absolutely motionless. Thirty +yards away two Shawnee warriors in all the savage glory of their war +paint, naked save for breechcloths, were passing, examining the woods +with careful eye. Yet they did not see Henry Ware, and, when they turned +and went back, he followed noiselessly after them, his figure still +hidden in the green wood.</p> + +<p>The two Shawnees, walking lightly, went on up the valley which broadened +out as they advanced, but which was still thickly clothed in forest and +undergrowth. Skilled as they were in the forest, they probably never +dreamed of the enemy who hung on their trail with a skill surpassing +their own.</p> + +<p>Henry followed them for a full two miles, and then he saw them join a +group of Indians under the trees, whom he knew by their dress and +bearing to be chiefs. They were tall, middle-aged, and they wore +blankets of green or dark blue, probably bought at the British outposts. +Behind them, almost hidden in the forest, Henry saw many other dark +faces, eager, intense, waiting to be let loose on the foe, whom they +regarded as already in the trap.</p> + +<p>Henry waited, while the two scouts whom he had followed so well, +delivered to the chief their message. He saw them beckon to the warriors +behind them, speak a few words to them, and then he saw two savage +forces slip off in the forest, one to the right and one to the left. On +the instant he divined their purpose. They were to flank the little +white army, while another division stood ready to attack in front. Then +the ambush would be complete, and Henry saw the skill of the savage +general whoever he might be.</p> + +<p>The plan must be frustrated at once, and Henry Ware never hesitated. He +must bring on the battle, before his own people were surrounded, and +raising his rifle he fired with deadly aim at one of the chiefs who fell +on the grass. Then the youth raised the wild and thrilling cry, which he +had learned from the savages themselves, and sped back toward the white +force.</p> + +<p>The death cry of the Shawnee and the hostile war whoop rang together +filling the forest and telling that the end of stealth and cunning, and +the beginning of open battle were at hand.</p> + +<p>Henry Ware was hidden in an instant by the green foliage from the sight +of the Shawnees. Keen as were their eyes, trained as they were to +noticing everything that moved in the forest, he had vanished from them +like a ghost. But they knew that the enemy whom they had sought to draw +into their snare had slipped his head out of it before the snare could +be sprung. Their long piercing yell rose again and then died away in a +frightful quaver. As the last terrible note sank the whole savage army +rushed forward to destroy its foe.</p> + +<p>As Henry Ware ran swiftly back to his friends he met both Ross and Sol, +drawn by the shot and the shouts.</p> + +<p>"It was you who fired?" asked Ross.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Henry, "they meant to lay an ambush, but they will not +have time for it now."</p> + +<p>The three stood for a few moments under the boughs of a tree, three +types of the daring men who guided and protected the van of the white +movement into the wilderness. They were eager, intent, listening, bent +slightly forward, their rifles lying in the hollow of their arms, ready +for instant use.</p> + +<p>After the second long cry the savage army gave voice no more. In all the +dense thickets a deadly silence reigned, save for the trained ear. But +to the acute hearing of the three under the tree came sounds that they +knew; sounds as light as the patter of falling nuts, no more, perhaps, +than the rustle of dead leaves driven against each other by a wind; but +they knew.</p> + +<p>"They are coming, and coming fast," said Henry. "We must join the main +force now."</p> + +<p>"They ought to be ready. That warning of yours was enough," said Ross.</p> + +<p>Without another word they turned again, darted among the trees, and in a +few moments reached the little white force. Mr. Ware, the nominal +leader, taking alarm from the shot and cries, was already disposing his +men in a long, scattering line behind hillocks, tree trunks, brushwood +and every protection that the ground offered.</p> + +<p>"Good!" exclaimed Ross, when he saw, "but we must make our line longer +and thinner, we must never let them get around us, an' it's lucky now +we've got steep hills on either side."</p> + +<p>To be flanked in Indian battle by superior numbers was the most terrible +thing that could happen to the pioneers, and Mr. Ware stretched out his +line longer and longer, and thinner and thinner. Paul Cotter was full of +excitement; he had been in deadly conflict once before, but his was a +most sensitive temperament, terribly stirred by a foe whom he could yet +neither see nor hear. Almost unconsciously, he placed himself by the +side of Henry Ware, his old partner, to whom he now looked up as a son +of battle and the very personification of forest skill.</p> + +<p>"Are they really there, Henry?" he asked. "I see nothing and hear +nothing."</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Henry, "they are in front of us scarcely a rifle shot +away, five to our one."</p> + +<p>Paul strained his eyes, but still he could see nothing, only the green +waving forest, the patches of undergrowth, the rocks on the steep hills +to right and left, and the placid blue sky overhead. It did not seem +possible to him that they were about to enter into a struggle for life +and for those dearer than life.</p> + +<p>"Don't shoot wild, Paul," said Henry. "Don't pull the trigger, until you +can look down the sights at a vital spot."</p> + +<p>A few feet away from them, peering over a log and with his rifle ever +thrust forward was Mr. Pennypacker, a schoolmaster, a graduate of a +college, an educated and refined man, but bearing his part in the dark +and terrible wilderness conflict that often left no wounded.</p> + +<p>The stillness was now so deep that even the scouts could hear no sound +in front. The savage army seemed to have melted away, into the air +itself, and for full five minutes they lay, waiting, waiting, always +waiting for something that they knew would come. Then rose the fierce +quavering war cry poured from hundreds of throats, and the savage horde, +springing out of the forests and thickets, rushed upon them.</p> + +<p>Dark faces showed in the sunlight, brown figures, naked save for the +breechcloth, horribly painted, muscles tense, flashed through the +undergrowth. The wild yell that rose and fell without ceasing ran off in +distant echoes among the hills. The riflemen of Kentucky, lying behind +trees and hillocks, began to fire, not in volleys, not by order, but +each man according to his judgment and his aim, and many a bullet flew +true.</p> + +<p>A sharp crackling sound, ominous and deadly, ran back and forth in the +forest. Little spurts of fire burned for a moment against the green, and +then went out, to give place to others. Jets of white smoke rose +languidly and floated up among the trees, gathering by and by into a +cloud, shot through with blue and yellow tints from sky and sun.</p> + +<p>Henry Ware fired with deadly aim and reloaded with astonishing speed. +Paul Cotter, by his side, was as steady as a rock, now that the suspense +was over, and the battle upon them. The schoolmaster resting on one +elbow was firing across his log.</p> + +<p>But it is not Indian tactics to charge home, unless the enemy is +frightened into flight by the war whoop and the first rush. The men of +Wareville and Marlowe did not run, but stood fast, sending the bullets +straight to the mark; and suddenly the Shawnees dropped down among the +trees and undergrowth, their bodies hidden, and began to creep forward, +firing like sharpshooters. It was now a test of skill, of eyesight, of +hearing and of aim.</p> + +<p>The forest on either side was filled with creeping forms, white or red, +men with burning eyes seeking to slay each other, meeting in strife more +terrible than that of foes who encounter each other in open conflict. +There was something snakelike in their deadly creeping, only the moving +grass to tell where they passed and sometimes where both white and red +died, locked fast in the grip of one another. Everywhere it was a +combat, confused, dreadful, man to man, and with no shouting now, only +the crack of the rifle shot, the whiz of the tomahawk, the thud of the +knife, and choked cries.</p> + +<p>Like breeds like, and the white men came down to the level of the red. +Knowing that they would receive no quarter they gave none. The white +face expressed all the cunning, and all the deadly animosity of the red. +Led by Henry Ware, Ross and Sol they practiced every device of forest +warfare known to the Shawnees, and their line, which extended across the +valley from hill to hill, spurted death from tree, bush, and rock.</p> + +<p>To Paul Cotter it was all a nightmare, a foul dream, unreal. He obeyed +his comrade's injunctions, he lay close to the earth, and he did not +fire until he could draw a bead on a bare breast, but the work became +mechanical with him. He was a high-strung lad of delicate sensibilities. +There was in his temperament something of the poet and the artist, and +nothing of the soldier who fights for the sake of mere fighting. The +wilderness appealed to him, because of its glory, but the savage +appealed to him not at all. In Henry's bosom there was respect for his +red foes from whom he had learned so many useful lessons, and his heart +beat faster with the thrill of strenuous conflict, but Paul was anxious +for the end of it all. The sight of dead faces near him, not the lack of +courage, more than once made him faint and dizzy.</p> + +<p>Twice and thrice the Shawnees tried to scale the steep hillsides, and +with their superior numbers swing around behind the enemy, but the lines +of the borderers were always extended to meet them, and the bullets from +the long-barreled rifles cut down everyone who tried to pass. It was +always Henry Ware who was first to see a new movement, his eyes read +every new motion in the grass, and foliage swaying in a new direction +would always tell him what it meant. More than one of his comrades +muttered to himself that he was worth a dozen men that day.</p> + +<p>So fierce were the combatants, so eager were they for each other's blood +that they did not notice that the sky, gray in the morning, then blue at +the opening of battle, had now grown leaden and somber again. The leaves +above them were motionless and then began to rustle dully in a raw wet +wind out of the north. The sun was quite gone behind the clouds and +drops of cold rain began to fall, falling on the upturned faces of the +dead, red and white alike with just impartiality, the wind rose, +whistled, and drove the cold drops before it like hail. But the combat +still swayed back and forth in the leaden forest, and neither side took +notice.</p> + +<p>Mr. Ware remained near the center of the white line, and retained +command, although he gave but few orders, every man fighting for himself +and giving his own orders. But from time to time Ross and Sol or Henry +brought him news of the conflict, perhaps how they had been driven back +a little at one point, and perhaps how they gained a little at another +point. He, too, a man of fifty and the head of a community, shared the +emotions of those around him, and was filled with a furious zeal for the +conflict.</p> + +<p>The clouds thickened and darkened, and the cold drops were driven upon +them by the wind, the rifle smoke, held down by the rain, made sodden +banks of vapor among the trees; but through all the clouds of vapor +burst flashes of fire, and the occasional triumphant shout or death cry +of the white man or the savage.</p> + +<p>Henry Ware looked up and he became conscious that not only clouds above +were bringing the darkness, but that the day was waning. In the west a +faint tint of red and yellow, barely discernible through the grayness, +marked the sinking sun, and in the east the blackness of night was still +advancing. Yet the conflict, as important to those engaged in it, as a +great battle between civilized foes, a hundred thousand on a side, and +far more fierce, yet hung on an even chance. The white men still stood +where they had stood when the forest battle began, and the red men who +had not been able to advance would not retreat.</p> + +<p>Henry's heart sank a little at the signs that night was coming; it would +be harder in the darkness to keep their forces in touch, and the +superior numbers of the Shawnees would swarm all about them. It seemed +to him that it would be best to withdraw a little to more open ground; +but he waited a while, because he did not wish any of their movements to +have the color of retreat. Moreover, the activity of the Shawnees rose +just then to a higher pitch.</p> + +<p>Figures were now invisible in the chill, wet dusk, fifty or sixty yards +away, and the two lines came closer. The keenest eye could see nothing +save flitting forms like phantoms, but the riflemen, trained to +quickness, fired at them and more than once sent a fatal bullet. There +were two lines of fire facing each other in the dark wood. The flashes +showed red or yellow in the twilight or the falling rain, and the Indian +yell of triumph whenever it arose, echoed, weird and terrible, through +the dripping forest.</p> + +<p>Henry stole to the side of his father.</p> + +<p>"We must fall back," he said, "or in the darkness or the night, they +will be sure to surround us and crush us."</p> + +<p>Ross was an able second to this advice, and reluctantly Mr. Ware passed +along the word to retreat. "Be sure to bring off all the wounded," was +the order. "The dead, alas! must be abandoned to nameless indignities!"</p> + +<p>The little white army left thirty dead in the dripping forest, and, as +many more carried wounds, the most of which were curable, but it was as +full of fight as ever. It merely drew back to protect itself against +being flanked in the forest, and the faces of the borderers, sullen and +determined, were still turned to the enemy.</p> + +<p>Yet the line of fire was visibly retreating, and, when the Shawnee +forces saw it, a triumphant yell was poured from hundreds of throats. +They rushed forward, only to be driven back again by the hail of +bullets, and Ross said to Mr. Ware: "I guess we burned their faces +then."</p> + +<p>"Look to the wounded! look to the wounded!" repeated Mr. Ware. "See that +no man too weak is left to help himself."</p> + +<p>They had gone half a mile when Henry glanced around for Paul. His eyes, +trained to the darkness, ran over the dim forms about him. Many were +limping and others already had arms in slings made from their hunting +shirts, but Henry nowhere saw the figure of his old comrade. A fever of +fear assailed him. One of two things had happened. Paul was either +killed or too badly wounded to walk, and somehow in the darkness they +had missed him. The schoolmaster's face blanched at the news. Paul had +been his favorite pupil.</p> + +<p>"My God!" he groaned, "to think of the poor lad in the hands of those +devils!"</p> + +<p>Henry Ware stood beside the master, when he uttered these words, +wrenched by despair from the very bottom of his chest. Pain shot through +his own heart, as if it had been touched by a knife. Paul, the +well-beloved comrade of his youth, captured and subjected to the +torture! His blood turned to ice in his veins. How could they ever have +missed the boy? Paul now seemed to Henry at least ten years younger than +himself. It was not merely the fault of a single man, it was the fault +of them all. He stared back into the thickening darkness, where the +flashes of flame burst now and then, and, in an instant, he had taken +his resolve.</p> + +<p>"I do not know where Paul is," he said, "but I shall find him."</p> + +<p>"Henry! Henry! what are you going to do?" cried his father in alarm.</p> + +<p>"I'm going back after him," replied his son.</p> + +<p>"But you can do nothing! It is sure death! Have we just found you to +lose you again?"</p> + +<p>Henry touched his father's hand. It was an act of tenderness, coming +from his stoical nature, and the next instant he was gone, amid the +smoke and the vapors and the darkness, toward the Indian army.</p> + +<p>Mr. Ware put his face in his hands and groaned, but the hand of Ross +fell upon his shoulder.</p> + +<p>"The boy will come back, Mr. Ware," said the guide, "an' will bring the +other with him, too. God has given him a woods cunnin' that none of us +can match."</p> + +<p>Mr. Ware let his hands fall, and became the man again. The retreating +force still fell back slowly, firing steadily by the flashes at the +pursuing foe.</p> + +<p>Henry Ware had not gone more than fifty yards before he was completely +hidden from his friends. Then he turned to a savage, at least in +appearance. He threw off the raccoon-skin cap and hunting shirt, drew up +his hair in the scalp lock, tying it there with a piece of fringe from +his discarded hunting shirt, and then turned off at an angle into the +woods. Presently he beheld the dark figures of the Shawnees, springing +from tree to tree or bent low in the undergrowth, but all following +eagerly. When he saw them he too bent over and fired toward his own +comrades, then he whirled again to the right, and sprang about as if he +were seeking another target. To all appearances, he was, in the darkness +and driving rain, a true Shawnee, and the manner and gesture of an +Indian were second nature to him.</p> + +<p>But he had little fear of being discovered at such a time. His sole +thought was to find his comrade. All the old days of boyish +companionship rushed upon him, with their memories. The tenderness in +his nature was the stronger, because of its long repression. He would +find him and if he were alive, he would save him; moreover he had what +he thought was a clew. He had remembered seeing Paul crouched behind a +log, firing at the enemy, and no one had seen him afterwards. He +believed that the boy was lying there yet, slain, or, if fate were +kinder, too badly wounded to move. The line of retreat had slanted +somewhat from the spot, and the savages might well have passed, in the +dark, without noticing the boy's fallen body.</p> + +<p>His own sense of direction was perfect, and he edged swiftly away toward +the fallen log, behind which Paul had lain. Many dark forms passed him, +but none sought to stop him; the counterfeit was too good; all thought +him one of themselves.</p> + +<p>Presently Henry passed no more of the flitting warriors. The battle was +moving on toward the south and was now behind him. He looked back and +saw the flashes growing fainter and heard the scattering rifle shots, +deadened somewhat by the distance. Around him was the beat of the rain +on the leaves and the sodden earth, and he looked up at a sky, wholly +hidden by black clouds. He would need all his forest lore, and all the +primitive instincts, handed down from far-off ancestors. But never were +they more keenly alive than on this night.</p> + +<p>The boy did not veer from the way, but merely by the sense of direction +took a straight path toward the fallen log that he remembered. The din +of battle still rolled slowly off toward the south, and, for the moment, +he forgot it. He came to the log, bent down and touched a cold face. It +was Paul. Instinctively his hand moved toward the boy's head and when it +touched the thick brown hair and nothing else, he uttered a little +shuddering sigh of relief. Dead or alive, the hideous Indian trophy had +not been taken. Then he found the boy's wrist and his pulse, which was +still beating faintly. The deft hands moved on, and touched the wound, +made by a bullet that had passed entirely through his shoulder. Paul had +fainted from loss of blood, and without the coming of help would surely +have been dead in another hour.</p> + +<p>The boy lay on his side, and, in some convulsion as he lost +consciousness, he had drawn his arm about his head. Henry turned him +over until the cold reviving rain fell full upon his face, and then, +raising himself again, he listened intently. The battle was still moving +on to the southward, but very slowly, and stray warriors might yet pass +and see them. The tie of friendship is strong, and as he had come to +save Paul and as he had found him too, he did not mean to be stopped +now.</p> + +<p>He stooped down and chafed the wounded youth's wrists and temples, while +the rain with its vivifying touch still drove upon his face. Paul +stirred and his pulse grew stronger. He opened his eyes catching one +vague glimpse of the anxious face above him, but he was so feeble that +the lids closed down again. But Henry was cheered. Paul was not only +alive, he was growing stronger, and, bending down, he lifted him in his +powerful arms. Then he strode away in the darkness, intending to pass in +a curve around the hostile army. Despite Paul's weight he was able also +to keep his rifle ready, because none knew better than he that all the +chances favored his meeting with one warrior or more before the curve +was made. But he was instinct with strength both mental and physical, he +was the true type of the borderer, the men who faced with sturdy heart +the vast dangers of the wilderness, the known and the unknown. At that +moment he was at his highest pitch of courage and skill, alone in the +darkness and storm, surrounded by the danger of death and worse, yet +ready to risk everything for the sake of the boy with whom he had +played.</p> + +<p>He heard nothing but the patter of the distant firing, and all around +him was the gloom, of a night, dark to intensity. The rain poured +steadily out of a sky that did not contain a single star. Paul stirred +occasionally on his shoulder, as he advanced, swiftly, picking his way +through the forest and the undergrowth. A half mile forward and his ears +caught a light footstep. In an instant he sank down with his burden, and +as he did so he caught sight of an Indian warrior, not twenty feet away. +The Shawnee saw him at the same time, and he, too, dropped down in the +undergrowth.</p> + +<p>Henry did not then feel the lust of blood. He would have been willing to +pass on, and leave the Shawnee to himself; but he knew that the Shawnee +would not leave him. He laid Paul upon his back, in order that the rain +might beat upon his face, and then crouched beside him, absolutely +motionless, but missing nothing that the keenest eye or ear might +detect. It was a contest of patience, and the white youth brought to +bear upon it both the red man's training and his own.</p> + +<p>A half hour passed, and within that small area there was no sound but +the beat of the rain on the leaves and the sticky earth. Perhaps the +warrior thought he had been deceived; it was merely an illusion of the +night that he thought he saw; or if he had seen anyone the man was now +gone, creeping away through the undergrowth. He stirred among his own +bushes, raised up a little to see, and gave his enemy a passing glimpse +of his face. But it was enough; a rifle bullet struck him between the +eyes and the wilderness fighter lay dead in the forest.</p> + +<p>Henry bestowed not a thought on the slain warrior, but, lifting up Paul +once more, continued on his wide curve, as if nothing had happened. No +one interrupted him again, and after a while he was parallel with the +line of fire. Then he passed around it and came to rocky ground, where +he laid Paul down and chafed his hands and face. The wounded boy opened +his eyes again, and, with returning strength, was now able to keep them +open.</p> + +<p>"Henry!" he said in a vague whisper.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Paul, it is I," Henry replied quietly.</p> + +<p>Paul lay still and struggled with memory. The rain was now ceasing, and +a few shafts of moonlight, piercing through the clouds, threw silver +rays on the dripping forest.</p> + +<p>"The battle!" said Paul at last. "I was firing and something struck me. +That was the last I remember."</p> + +<p>He paused and his face suddenly brightened. He cast a look of gratitude +at his comrade.</p> + +<p>"You came for me?" he said.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Henry, "I came for you, and I brought you here."</p> + +<p>Paul closed his eyes, lay still, and then at a ghastly thought, opened +his eyes again.</p> + +<p>"Are only we two left?" he asked. "Are all the others killed? Is that +why we are hiding here in the forest?"</p> + +<p>"No," replied Henry, "we are holding them off, but we decided that it +was wiser to retreat. We shall join our own people in the morning."</p> + +<p>Paul said no more, and Henry sheltered him as best he could under the +trees. The wet clothing he could not replace, and that would have to be +endured. But he rubbed his body to keep him warm and to induce +circulation. The night was now far advanced, and the distant firing +became spasmodic and faint. After a while it ceased, and the weary +combatants lay on their arms in the thickets.</p> + +<p>The clouds began to float off to the eastward. By and by all went down +under the horizon, and the sky sprang out, a solid dome of calm, +untroubled blue, in which the stars in myriads twinkled and shone. A +moon of unusual splendor bathed the wet forest in a silver dew.</p> + +<p>Henry sat in the moonlight, watching beside Paul, who dozed or fell into +a stupor. The moonlight passed, the darkest hours came and then up shot +the dawn, bathing a green world in the mingled glory of red and gold. +Henry raised Paul again, and started with him toward the thickets, where +he knew the little white army lay.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>John Ware had borne himself that night like a man, else he would not +have been in the place that he held. But his heart had followed his son, +when he turned back toward the savage army, and, despite the reassuring +words of Ross, he already mourned him as one dead. Yet he was faithful +to his greater duty, remembering the little force that he led and the +women and children back there, of whom they were the chief and almost +the sole defenders. But if he reached Wareville again how could he tell +the tale of his loss? There was one to whom no excuse would seem good. +Often Mr. Pennypacker was by his side, and when the darkness began to +thin away before the moonlight these two men exchanged sad glances. Each +understood what was in the heart of the other, but neither spoke.</p> + +<p>The hours of night and combat dragged heavily. When the waning fire of +the savages ceased they let their own cease also, and then sought ground +upon which they might resist any new attack, made in the daylight. They +found it at last in a rocky region that doubled the powers of the +defense. Ross was openly exultant.</p> + +<p>"We scorched 'em good yesterday an' to-night," he said, "an' if they +come again in the day we'll just burn their faces away."</p> + +<p>Most of the men, worn to the bone, sank down to sleep on the wet ground +in their wet clothes, while the others watched, and the few hours, left +before the morning, passed peacefully away.</p> + +<p>At the first sunlight the men were awakened, and all ate cold food which +they carried in their knapsacks. Mr. Ware and the schoolmaster sat +apart. Mr. Ware looked steadily at the ground and the schoolmaster, +whose heart was wrenched both with his own grief and his friend's, knew +not what to say. Neither did Ross nor Sol disturb them for the moment, +but busied themselves with preparations for the new defense.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pennypacker was gazing toward the southwest and suddenly on the +crest of a low ridge a black and formless object appeared between him +and the sun. At first he thought it was a mote in his eye, and he rubbed +the pupils but the mote grew larger, and then he looked with a new and +stronger interest. It was a man; no, two men, one carrying the other, +and the motion of the man who bore the other seemed familiar. The +master's heart sprang up in his throat, and the blood swelled in a new +tide in his veins. His hand fell heavily, but with joy, on the shoulder +of Mr. Ware.</p> + +<p>"Look up! Look up!" he cried, "and see who is coming!"</p> + +<p>Mr. Ware looked up and saw his son, with the wounded Paul Cotter on his +shoulder, walking into camp. Then—the borderers were a pious people—he +fell upon his knees and gave thanks. Two hours later the Shawnees in +full force made a last and desperate attack upon the little white army. +They ventured into the open, as venture they must to reach the +defenders, and they were met by the terrible fire that never missed. At +no time could they pass the deadly hail of bullets, and at last, leaving +the ground strewed with their dead, they fell back into the forest, and +then, breaking into a panic, did not cease fleeing until they had +crossed the Ohio. Throughout the morning Henry Ware was one of the +deadliest sharpshooters of them all, while Paul Cotter lay safely in the +rear, and fretted because his wound would not let him do his part.</p> + +<p>The great victory won, it was agreed that Henry Ware had done the best +of them all, but they spent little time in congratulations. They +preferred the sacred duty of burying the dead, even seeking those who +had fallen in the forest the night before; and then they began their +march southward, the more severely wounded carried on rude litters at +first, but as they gained strength after a while walking, though lamely. +Paul recovered fast, and when he heard the story, he looked upon Henry +as a knight, the equal of any who ever rode down the pages of chivalry.</p> + +<p>But all alike carried in their hearts the consciousness that they had +struck a mighty blow that would grant life to the growing settlements, +and, despite their sadly thinned ranks, they were full of a pride that +needed no words. The men of Wareville and the men of Marlowe parted at +the appointed place, and then each force went home with the news of +victory.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h3>THE TEST</h3> + + +<p>The people of Wareville had good reason alike for pride and for sorrow, +pride for victory, and sorrow for the fallen, but they spent no time in +either, at least openly, resuming at once the task of founding a new +state.</p> + +<p>Henry Ware, the hero of the hour and the savior of the village, laid +aside his wild garb and took a place in his father's fields. The work +was heavy, the Indian corn was planted, but trees were to be felled, +fences were to be cut down, and as he was so strong a larger share than +usual was expected of him. His own father appreciated these hopes and +was resolved that his son should do his full duty.</p> + +<p>Henry entered upon his task and from the beginning he had misgivings, +but he refused to indulge them. He handled a hoe on his first day from +dawn till dark in a hot field, and all the while the mighty wilderness +about him was crying out to him in many voices. While the sun glowed +upon him, and the sweat ran down his face he could see the deep cool +shade of the forest—how restful and peaceful it looked there! He knew a +sheltered glade where the buffalo were feeding, he could find the deer +reposing in a thicket, and to the westward was a new region of hills and +clear brooks, over which he might be the first white man to roam.</p> + +<p>His blood tingled with his thoughts, but he never said a word, only +bending lower to his task, and hardening his resolve. The voices of the +wilderness might call, and he could not keep from hearing them, but he +need not go. The amount of work he did that day was wonderful to all who +saw, his vast strength put him far ahead of all others and back of his +strength was his will. But they said nothing and he was glad they did +not speak.</p> + +<p>When he went home in the dusk he overtook Lucy Upton near the palisade. +She was in the same red dress that she wore when she ran the gantlet and +in the twilight it seemed to be tinged to a deeper scarlet. She was +walking swiftly with the easy, swinging grace of a good figure and good +health, but when he joined her she went more slowly.</p> + +<p>He did not speak for a few moments, and she gave him a silent glance of +sympathy. In her woman's heart she guessed the cause of his trouble, and +while she had been afraid of him when he appeared suddenly as the Indian +warrior yet she liked him better in that part than as she now saw him. +Then he was majestic, now he was prosaic, and it seemed to her that his +present rôle was unfitting.</p> + +<p>"You are tired," she said at last.</p> + +<p>"Well, not in the body exactly, but I feel like resting."</p> + +<p>There was no complaint in his tone, but a slight touch of irony.</p> + +<p>"Do you think that you will make a good farmer?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"As good as the times and our situation allow," he replied. "Wandering +parties of the savages are likely to pass near here and in the course of +time they may send back an army. Besides one has to hunt now, as for a +long while we must depend on the forest for a part of our food."</p> + +<p>It seemed to her that these things did not cause him sorrow, that he +turned to them as a sort of relief: his eyes sparkled more brightly when +he spoke of the necessity for hunting and the possible passage of Indian +parties which must be repelled. Girl though she was, she felt again a +little glow of sympathy, guessing as she did his nature; she could +understand how he thrilled when he heard the voices of the forest +calling to him.</p> + +<p>They reached the gate of the palisade and passed within. It was full +dusk now, the forest blurring together into a mighty black wall, and the +outlines of the houses becoming shadowy. The Ware family sat awhile that +evening by the hearth fire, and John Ware was full of satisfaction. A +worthy man, he had neither imagination nor primitive instincts and he +valued the wilderness only as a cheap place in which to make homes. He +spoke much of clearing the ground, of the great crops that would come, +and of the profit and delight afforded by regular work year after year +on the farm. Henry Ware sat in silence, listening to his father's +oracular tones, but his mother, glancing at him, had doubts to which she +gave no utterance.</p> + +<p>The days passed and as the spring glided into summer they grew hotter. +The sun glowed upon the fields, and the earth parched with thirst. In +the forest the leaves were dry and they rustled when the wind blew upon +them. The streams sank away again, as they had done during the siege, +and labor became more trying. Yet Henry Ware never murmured, though his +soul was full of black bitterness. Often he would resolutely turn his +eyes from the forest where he knew the deep cool pools were, and keep +them on the sun-baked field. His rifle, which had seemed to reproach +him, inanimate object though it was, he hid in a corner of the house +where he could not see it and its temptation. In order to create a +counter-irritant he plunged into work with the most astonishing vigor.</p> + +<p>John Ware, in those days, was full of pride and satisfaction, he +rejoiced in the industrial prowess of his son, and he felt that his own +influence had prevailed, he had led Henry back to the ways of +civilization, the only right ways, and he enjoyed his triumph. But the +schoolmaster, in secret, often shook his head.</p> + +<p>The summer grew drier and hotter, it was a period of drought again and +the little children gasped through the sweating nights. Afar they saw +the blaze of forest fires and ashes and smoke came on the wind. Henry +toiled with a dogged spirit, but every day the labor grew more bitter to +him; he took no interest in it, he did not wish to calculate the result +in the years to come, when all around him, extending thousands of miles, +was an untrodden wilderness, in which he might roam and hunt until the +end, although his years should be a hundred.</p> + +<p>It was worst at night, when he lay awake by a window, breathing the hot +air, then the deep cool forest extended to him her kindest invitation, +and it took all his resolution to resist her welcome. The wind among the +trees was like music, but it was a music to which he must close his +ears. Then he remembered his vast wanderings with Black Cloud and his +red friends, how they had crossed great and unnamed rivers, the days in +the endless forest and the other days on the endless plains, and of the +mighty lake they had reached in their northernmost journey—how cool and +pleasant that lake seemed now! His mind ran over every detail of the +great buffalo hunts, of those trips along the streams to trap the beaver +and the events in the fight with the hostile tribe.</p> + +<p>All these recollections seemed very vivid and real to him now, and the +narrow life of Wareville faded into a mist out of which shone only the +faces of those whom he loved—it was they alone who had brought him back +to Wareville, but he knew that their ways were not his ways, and it was +hard to confine his spirit within the narrow limits of a settlement.</p> + +<p>But his long martyrdom went on, the summer was growing old, with the +work of planting and cultivating almost done and the harvest soon to +follow, and whatever his feelings may have been he had never flinched a +single time. Nourished by his great labors the Ware farm far surpassed +all others, and the pride of John Ware grew. He also grew more exacting +with his pride, and this quality brought on the crisis.</p> + +<p>Henry was building a fence one particularly hot afternoon, and his +father coming by, cool and fresh, found fault with his work, chiefly to +show his authority, because the work was not badly done—Mr. Ware was a +good man, but like other good men he had a rare fault-finding impulse. +The voices in the woods had been calling very loudly that day and +Henry's temper suddenly flashed into a flame. But he did not give way to +any external outburst of passion, speaking in a level, measured voice.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry you do not like it," he said, "because it is the last work I +am going to do here."</p> + +<p>"Why—what do you mean?" exclaimed his father in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"I am done," replied Henry in his firm tones, and dropping the fence +rail that he held he walked to the house, every nerve in him thrilling +with expectation of the pleasure that was to come. His mother was there, +and she started in fear at his face.</p> + +<p>"It is true, mother," he said, "I am not going to deceive you, I am +going into the forest, but I will come again and often. It is the only +life that I can lead, I was made for it I suppose; I have tried the +other out there in the fields, and I have tried hard, but I cannot stand +it."</p> + +<p>She knew too well to seek to stop him. He took his rifle from its +secluded corner, and the feeling of it, stock and barrel, was good to +his hands. He put on the buckskin hunting shirt, leggings and moccasins, +fringed and beaded, and with them he felt all his old zest and pride +returning. He kissed his mother and sister good-by, shook hands with his +younger brother, did the same with his astonished father at the door, +and then, rifle on shoulder, disappeared in the circling forest.</p> + +<p>That night Braxton Wyatt sneered and said that a savage could not keep +from being a savage, but Paul Cotter turned upon him so fiercely that he +took it back. The schoolmaster made no comment aloud, but to himself he +said, "It was bound to come and perhaps it is no loss that it has come."</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Henry Ware was tasting the fiercest and keenest joy of his +life. The great forest seemed to reach out its boughs like kind arms to +welcome and embrace. How cool was the shade! How the shafts of sunlight +piercing the leaves fell like golden arrows on the ground! How the +little brooks laughed and danced over the pebbles! This was his world +and he had been too long away from it. Everything was friendly, the huge +tree trunks were like old comrades, the air was fresher and keener than +any that he had breathed in a long time, and was full of new life and +zest. All his old wilderness love rushed back to him, and now after many +months he felt at home.</p> + +<p>Strong as he was already new strength flowed into his frame and he threw +back his head, and laughed a low happy laugh. Then rifle at the trail he +ran for miles among the trees from the pure happiness of living, but +noting as he passed with wonderfully keen eyes every trail of a wild +animal and all the forest signs that he knew so well. He ran many miles +and he felt no weariness. Then he threw himself down on Mother Earth, +and rejoiced at her embrace. He lay there a long time, staring up +through the leaves and the shifting sunlight, and he was so still that a +hare hopped through the undergrowth almost at his feet, never taking +alarm. To Henry Ware then the world seemed grand and beautiful, and of +all things in it God had made the wilderness the finest, lingering over +every detail with a loving hand.</p> + +<p>He watched the setting of the sun and the coming of the twilight. The +sun was a great blazing ball and the western sky flowed away from it in +circling waves of blue and pink and gold, then long shadows came over +the forest, and the distant trees began to melt together into a gigantic +dark wall. To the dweller in cities all this vast loneliness and +desolation would have been dreary and weird beyond description; he would +have shuddered with superstitious awe, starting in fear at the slightest +sound, but there was no such quality in it for Henry Ware. He saw only +comradeship and the friendly veil of the great creeping shadow. His eye +could pierce the thickest night, and fear, either of the darkness or +things physical, was not in him.</p> + +<p>He rose after a while, when the last sign of day was gone, and walked +on, though more slowly. He made no noise as he passed, stepping lightly, +but with sure foot like one with both genius and training for the +wilderness. He knelt at a little brook to slake his thirst, but did not +stop long there. His happiness decreased in nowise. The familiar voices +of the night were speaking to him. He heard the distant hoot of an owl, +a deer rustled in the bush, a lizard scuttled over the leaves, and he +rejoiced at the sounds. He did not think of hunger but toward midnight +he raked some of last year's fallen leaves close to the trunk of a big +tree, lay down upon them, and fell in a few moments into happy and +dreamless sleep.</p> + +<p>He awoke with the first rays of the dawn, shot a deer after an hour's +search, and then cooked his breakfast by the side of one of the little +brooks. It was the first food that had tasted just right to him in many +weeks, and afterwards he lay by the camp fire awhile, and luxuriated. He +had the most wonderful feeling of peace and ease; all the world was his +to go where he chose and to do what he chose, and he began to think of +an autumn camp, a tiny lodge in the deepest recess of the wilderness, +where he could store spare ammunition, furs and skins and find a +frequent refuge, when the time for storms and cold came. He would build +at his ease—there was plenty of time and he would fill in the intervals +with hunting and exploration.</p> + +<p>He ranged that day toward the north and the west, moving with +deliberation, and not until the third or the fourth day did he come to +the place that he had in mind. In the triangle between the junction of +two streams was a marshy area, thickly grown with bushes and slim trees, +that thrust their roots deep down through the mire into more solid soil. +The marsh was perhaps two acres in extent; right in the heart of it was +a piece of firm earth about forty feet square and here Henry meant to +build his lodge. He alone knew the path across the marsh over fallen +logs lying near enough to each other to be reached by an agile man, and +on the tiny island all his possessions would be safe.</p> + +<p>He worked a week at his hut, and it was done, a little lean-to of bark +and saplings, partly lined with skins, but proof against rain or snow. +On the floor he spread the skins and furs of animals that he killed, and +on the walls he hung trophies of the hunt.</p> + +<p>Two weeks after his house was finished he used it at its full value. +Summer was gone and autumn was coming, a great rain poured and the wind +blew cold. Dead leaves fell in showers from the trees, and the boughs +swaying before the gale creaked dismally against each other. But it all +gave to Henry a supreme sense of physical comfort. He lay in his snug +hut, and, pulling a little to one side the heavy buffalo robe that hung +over the doorway, watched the storm rage through the wilderness. He had +no sense of loneliness, his mind was in perfect tune with everything +about him, and delighted in the triumphant manifestation of nature.</p> + +<p>He stayed there all day, content to lie still and meditate vaguely of +anything that came of its own accord into his mind. About the twilight +hour he cooked some venison, ate it and then slept a dreamless sleep +through the night.</p> + +<p>The rain ceased the next day but the air became crisp and cold, and +autumn was fully come. In a week the forest was dyed into the most +glowing colors, red and yellow and brown, and the shades between. The +heavens were pure blue and gold, and it was a poignant delight to +breathe the keen air. Again he ranged far and rejoiced in the hunting. +His infallible rifle never missed, and in the little hut in the marsh +the stock of furs and skins grew so fast that scarcely room for himself +was left. He hid a fresh store at another place in the forest, and then +he returned to Wareville for a day. His father greeted him with some +constraint, not with coldness exactly, but with lack of understanding. +His mother and his sister wept with joy and Mrs. Ware said: "I was +expecting you about this time and you have not disappointed me."</p> + +<p>He stayed two days and his keen eyes, so observant of material matters, +noted that the colony was not doing well for the time, the drought +having almost ruined the crops and there was full promise of scanty food +and a hard winter. Now came his opportunity. He had looked upon his +month in the forest as in part a holiday, and he never intended to throw +aside all responsibility for others, roving the wilderness absolutely +free from care. He knew that he would have work to do, he felt that he +should have it, and now he saw the way to do the kind of work that he +loved to do.</p> + +<p>He replenished his supply of ammunition, took up his rifle again and +returned to the forest. Now he used all his surpassing knowledge and +skill in the chase, and game began to pour into the colony, bear, deer, +buffalo and the smaller animals, until he alone seemed able to feed the +entire settlement through the winter.</p> + +<p>He experienced a new thrill keener and more delightful than any that had +gone before; he was doing for others and the knowledge was most +pleasant. Winter came on, fierce and unyielding with almost continuous +snow and ice, and Henry Ware was the chief support of that little +village in the wilderness. The game wandering with its fancy, or perhaps +taking alarm at the new settlement had drifted far, and he alone of all +the hunters could find it. The voices that had been raised against him a +second time were stilled again, because no one dared to accuse when his +single figure stood between them and starvation.</p> + +<p>He took Paul Cotter with him on some of his hunts, but never even to +Paul did he tell the secret of his hut in the morass; that was to be +guarded for himself alone. He was fond of Paul, but Paul able though he +was fell far behind Henry in the forest.</p> + +<p>The debt of Wareville to him grew and none felt privileged to criticise +him now, as he appeared from the forest and disappeared into it again on +his self-chosen tasks.</p> + +<p>The winter broke up at last, but with the spring came a new and more +formidable danger. Small parties of Indians, not strong enough to attack +Wareville itself but sufficient for forest ambush, began to appear in +the country, and two or three lives that could be ill spared were lost. +Now Henry Ware showed his supreme value; he was a match and more than a +match for the savages at all their own tricks, and he became the ranger +for the settlement, its champion against a wild and treacherous foe.</p> + +<p>The tales of his skill and prowess spread far through the wilderness. +Single handed he would not hesitate in the depths of the forest to +attack war parties of half a dozen, and while suffering heavily +themselves they could never catch their daring tormentor. These tales +even spread across the Ohio to the Indian villages, where they told of a +blond and giant white youth in the South who was the spirit of death, +whom no runner could overtake, whom no bullet could slay and who raged +against the red man with an invincible wrath.</p> + +<p>As his single hand had fed them through the winter so his single hand +protected them from death in the spring. He seemed to know by instinct +when the war parties were coming and where they would appear. Always he +confronted them with some devious attack that they did not know how to +meet, and Wareville remained inviolate.</p> + +<p>Then, in the summer, when the war bands were all gone he came back to +Wareville to stay a while, although, everyone, himself included, knew +that he would always remain a son of the wilderness, spending but part +of his time in the houses of men.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<h3>AN ERRAND AND A FRIEND</h3> + + +<p>Two stalwart lads were marching steadily through the deep woods, some +months later. They were boys in years, but in size, strength, alertness +and knowledge of the forest far beyond their age. One, in particular, +would have drawn the immediate and admiring glance of every keen-eyed +frontiersman, so powerful was he, and yet so light and quick of +movement. His wary glance seemed to read every secret of tree, bush and +grass, and his head, crowned by a great mass of thick, yellow hair, rose +several inches above that of his comrade, who would have been called by +most people a tall boy.</p> + +<p>The two youths were dressed almost alike. Each wore a cap of raccoon +fur, with the short tail hanging from the back of it as a decoration. +Their bodies were clad in hunting shirts, made of the skin of the deer, +softly and beautifully tanned and dyed green. The fine fringe of the +shirt hung almost to the knees, and below it were leggings also of +deerskin, beaded at the seams. The feet were inclosed in deerskin +moccasins, fitting tightly, but very soft and light. A rifle, a +tomahawk, and a useful knife at the belt completed the equipment.</p> + +<p>They were walking, but each boy led a stout horse, and on the back of +this horse was a great brown sack that hung down, puffy, on either side. +The sacks were filled with gunpowder made from cave-dust and the two +boys, Henry Ware and Paul Cotter, were carrying it to a distant village +that had exhausted its supply, but which, hearing of the strange new way +in which Wareville obtained it, had sent begging for a loan of this +commodity, more precious to the pioneer than gold and jewels. The +response was quick and spontaneous and Henry and Paul had been chosen to +take the powder, an errand in which both rejoiced. Already they had been +two days in the great wilderness, now painted in gorgeous colors by the +hand of autumn, and they had not seen a sign of a human being, white or +red.</p> + +<p>They walked steadily on, and the trained horses followed, each just +behind his master, although there was no hand upon the bridle. They +stopped presently at the low rounded crest of a hill, where the forest +opened out a little, and, as if with the same impulse, each looked off +toward the vast horizon with a glowing eye. The mighty forest, vivid +with its gleaming reds and yellows and browns, rolled away for miles, +and then died to the eye where the silky blue arch of the sky came down +to meet it. Now and then there was a flash of silver, where a brook ran +between the hills, and the wind brought an air, crisp, fresh and full of +life.</p> + +<p>It was beautiful, this great wilderness of Kaintuckee, and each boy saw +it according to his nature. Henry, the soul of action, the boy of the +keen senses and the mighty physical nature, loved it for its own sake +and for what it was in the present. He fitted into it and was a part of +it. The towns and the old civilization in the east never called to him. +He had found the place that nature intended for him. He was here the +wilderness rover, hunter and scout, the border champion and defender, +the primitive founder of a state, without whom, and his like, our Union +could never have been built up. Henry gloried in the wilderness and +loved its life which was so easy to him. Paul, the boy of thought, was +always looking into the future, and already he foresaw what would come +to pass in a later generation.</p> + +<p>Neither spoke, and presently, by the same impulse, they started on +again, descending the low hill, and plunging once more into the forest. +When they had gone about half a mile, Henry stopped suddenly. His +wonderful physical organism, as sensitive as the machinery of a watch, +had sounded an alarm. A faint sound, not much more than the fall of a +dying leaf, came to his ears and he knew at once that it was not a +natural noise of the forest. He held up his hand and stopped, and Paul, +who trusted him implicitly, stopped also. Henry listened intently with +ears that heard everything, and the sound came to him again. It was a +footfall. A human being, besides themselves, was near in the forest!</p> + +<p>"Come, Paul," he said, and he began to creep toward the sound, the two +darting from tree to tree, and making no noise among the fallen leaves, +as they brushed past, with their soft moccasins. The trained horses +remained where they had been left, silent and motionless.</p> + +<p>Henry, as was natural, was in front, and he was the first to see the +object that had caused the noise. A man stepped from the shelter of a +tree's great trunk, and, although armed, he held up one hand, in the +manner of a friend. He was an Indian of middle age and dignified look, +although he was not painted like any of the tribes that came down to +make war in Kentucky.</p> + +<p>Henry recognized at once the friendly signal, and he too stepped from +the cover of the forest, walking slowly toward the warrior, who was +undoubtedly a chief and a man of importance. Twenty feet away, the boy +started a little, and a sudden light leaped into his eyes. Then he +strode up rapidly, and took the warrior's hand after the white custom.</p> + +<p>"Black Cloud! My friend!" he said.</p> + +<p>"You know me! You have not forgotten?" replied the chief and his eyes +gleamed ever so quickly.</p> + +<p>"You have come far from your people and among hostile tribes to see me?" +said Henry who instantly divined the truth.</p> + +<p>"It is so," replied the chief, "and to ask you to go back with me. Our +warriors miss you."</p> + +<p>Henry was moved to the depths of his nature. Black Cloud had come a +thousand miles to ask him this question, and he had a far, sweet vision +of a life utterly wild and free. Again he saw the great plains, and +again came to his ears, like rolling thunder, the tread of the +myriad-footed buffalo herd. He was tempted sorely tempted and he knew +it, but, with a mighty effort he put the temptation away from him and +shook his head.</p> + +<p>"It cannot be, Black Cloud," he said. "My people need me, as yours need +you."</p> + +<p>A shadow passed over the eyes of the chief, but it was gone in a moment. +He knew that the answer was final, and he said not another word on the +subject.</p> + +<p>Black Cloud went on with Henry and Paul half a day, then he bade them +farewell. They watched him go, but it could be only for a minute or two, +because his form quickly melted away into the forest. Then the two boys, +turning their faces steadily toward duty, marched on, and the great +wilderness, gleaming in its reds and yellows and browns curved about +them.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG TRAILERS***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 19477-h.txt or 19477-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/4/7/19477">http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/4/7/19477</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Altsheler + + + +Release Date: October 5, 2006 [eBook #19477] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG TRAILERS*** + + +E-text prepared by the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading +Team (http://www.pgdp.net/) + + + +THE YOUNG TRAILERS + +A Story of Early Kentucky + +by + +JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + + + + + + + +Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. +New York +Copyright, 1907, by +D. Appleton and Company +All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, must not be +reproduced in any form without permission of the publishers. +Copyright 1934 by Sallie B. Altsheler +Printed in the United States of America + + + + +TO +SYDNEY +A YOUNG KENTUCKIAN + + + + +CONTENTS + + I.--Into the Unknown + + II.--The First Great Exploit + + III.--Lost in the Wilderness + + IV.--The Haunted Forest + + V.--Afloat + + VI.--The Voice of the Woods + + VII.--The Giant Bones + + VIII.--The Wild Turkey's "Gobble" + + IX.--The Escape + + X.--The Cave Dust + + XI.--The Forest Spell + + XII.--The Primitive Man + + XIII.--The Call of Duty + + XIV.--The Return + + XV.--The Siege + + XVI.--A Girl's Way + + XVII.--The Battle in the Forest + + XVIII.--The Test + + XIX.--An Errand and a Friend + + + + +THE YOUNG TRAILERS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +INTO THE UNKNOWN + + +It was a white caravan that looked down from the crest of the mountains +upon the green wilderness, called by the Indians, _Kain-tuck-ee_. The +wagons, a score or so in number, were covered with arched canvas, +bleached by the rains, and, as they stood there, side by side, they +looked like a snowdrift against the emerald expanse of forest and +foliage. + +The travelers saw the land of hope, outspread before them, a wide sweep +of rolling country, covered with trees and canebrake, cut by streams of +clear water, flowing here and there, and shining in the distance, amid +the green, like threads of silver wire. All gazed, keen with interest +and curiosity, because this unknown land was to be their home, but none +was more eager than Henry Ware, a strong boy of fifteen who stood in +front of the wagons beside the guide, Tom Ross, a tall, lean man the +color of well-tanned leather, who would never let his rifle go out of +his hand, and who had Henry's heartfelt admiration, because he knew so +much about the woods and wild animals, and told such strange and +absorbing tales of the great wilderness that now lay before them. + +But any close observer who noted Henry Ware would always have looked at +him a second time. He was tall and muscled beyond his years, and when he +walked his figure showed a certain litheness and power like that of the +forest bred. His gaze was rapid, penetrating and inclusive, but never +furtive. He seemed to fit into the picture of the wilderness, as if he +had taken a space reserved there for him, and had put himself in +complete harmony with all its details. + +The long journey from their old home in Maryland had been a source of +unending variety and delight to Henry. There had been no painful +partings. His mother and his brother and young sister were in the fourth +wagon from the right, and his father stood beside it. Farther on in the +same company were his uncles and aunts, and many of the old neighbors. +All had come together. It was really the removal of a village from an +old land to a new one, and with the familiar faces of kindred and +friends around them, they were not lonely in strange regions, though +mountains frowned and dark forests lowered. + +It was to Henry a return rather than a removal. He almost fancied that +in some far-off age he had seen all these things before. The forests and +the mountains beckoned in friendly fashion; they had no terrors, for +even their secrets lay open before him. He seemed to breathe a newer and +keener air than that of the old land left behind, and his mind expanded +with the thought of fresh pleasures to come. The veteran guide, Ross, +alone observed how the boy learned, through intuition, ways of the +wilderness that others achieved only by hard experience. + +They had met fair weather, an important item in such a journey, and +there had been no illness, beyond trifling ailments quickly cured. As +they traveled slowly and at their ease, it took them a long time to pass +through the settled regions. This part of the journey did not interest +Henry so much. He was eager for the forests and the great wilderness +where his fancy had already gone before. He wanted to see deer and bears +and buffaloes, trees bigger than any that grew in Maryland, and +mountains and mighty rivers. But they left the settlements behind at +last, and came to the unbroken forest. Here he found his hopes +fulfilled. They were on the first slopes of the mountains that divide +Virginia from Kentucky, and the bold, wild nature of the country pleased +him. He had never seen mountains before, and he felt the dignity and +grandeur of the peaks. + +Sometimes he went on ahead with Tom Ross, the guide, his chosen friend, +and then he considered himself, in very truth, a man, or soon to become +one, because he was now exploring the unknown, leading the way for a +caravan--and there could be no more important duty. At such moments he +listened to the talk of the guide who taught the lesson that in the +wilderness it was always important to see and to listen, a thing however +that Henry already knew instinctively. He learned the usual sounds of +the woods, and if there was any new noise he would see what made it. He +studied, too, the habits of the beasts and birds. As for fishing, he +found that easy. He could cut a rod with his clasp knife, tie a string +to the end of it and a bent pin to the end of a string, and with this +rude tackle he could soon catch in the mountain creeks as many fish as +he wanted. + +Henry liked the nights in the mountains; in which he did not differ from +his fellow-travelers. Then the work of the day was done; the wagons were +drawn up in a half circle, the horses and the oxen were resting or +grazing under the trees, and, as they needed fires for warmth as well as +cooking, they built them high and long, giving room for all in front of +the red coals if they wished. The forest was full of fallen brushwood, +as dry as tinder, and Henry helped gather it. It pleased him to see the +flames rise far up, and to hear them crackle as they ate into the heart +of the boughs. He liked to see their long red shadows fall across the +leaves and grass, peopling the dark forest with fierce wild animals; he +would feel all the cosier within the scarlet rim of the firelight. Then +the men would tell stories, particularly Ross, the guide, who had +wandered much and far in Kentucky. He said that it was a beautiful land. +He spoke of the noble forests of beech and oak and hickory and maple, +the dense canebrake, the many rivers, and the great Ohio that received +them all--the Beautiful River, the Indians called it--and the game, with +which forests and open alike swarmed, the deer, the elk, the bear, the +panther and the buffalo. Now and then, when the smaller children were +asleep in the wagons and the larger ones were nodding before the fires, +the men would sink their voices and speak of a subject which made them +all look very grave indeed. It sounded like Indians, and the men more +than once glanced at their rifles and powderhorns. + +But the boy, when he heard them, did not feel afraid. He knew that +savages of the most dangerous kind often came into the forests of +Kentucky, whither they were going, but he thrilled rather than shivered +at the thought. Already he seemed to have the knowledge that he would be +a match for them at any game they wished to play. + +Henry usually slept very soundly, as became a boy who was on his feet +nearly all day, and who did his share of the work; but two or three +times he awoke far in the night, and, raising himself up in the wagon, +peeped out between the canvas cover and the wooden body. He saw a very +black night in which the trees looked as thin and ghostly as shadows, +and smoldering fires, beside which two men rifle on shoulder, always +watched. Often he had a wish to watch with them, but he said nothing, +knowing that the others would hold him too young for the task. + +But to-day he felt only joy and curiosity. They were now on the crest of +the last mountain ridge and before them lay the great valley of +Kentucky; their future home. The long journey was over. The men took off +their hats and caps and raised a cheer, the women joined through +sympathy and the children shouted, too, because their fathers and +mothers did so, Henry's voice rising with the loudest. + +A slip of a girl beside Henry raised an applauding treble and he smiled +protectingly at her. It was Lucy Upton, two years younger than himself, +slim and tall, dark-blue eyes looking from under broad brows, and +dark-brown curls, lying thick and close upon a shapely head. + +"Are you not afraid?" she asked. + +"Afraid of what?" replied Henry Ware, disdainfully. + +"Of the forests over there in Kentucky. They say that the savages often +come to kill." + +"We are too strong. I do not fear them." + +He spoke without any vainglory, but in the utmost confidence. She +glanced covertly at him. He seemed to her strong and full of resource. +But she would not show her admiration. + +They passed from the mountain slope into a country which now sank away +in low, rolling hills like the waves of the sea and in which everything +grew very beautiful. Henry had never seen such trees in the East. The +beech, the elm, the hickory and the maple reached gigantic proportions, +and wherever the shade was not too dense the grass rose heavy and rank. +Now and then they passed thickets of canebrake, and once, at the side of +a stream, they came to a salt "lick." It was here that a fountain +spouted from the base of a hill, and, running only a few feet, emptied +into a creek. But its waters were densely impregnated with salt, and all +around its banks the soft soil was trodden with hundreds of footsteps. + +"The wild beasts made these," said the guide to Henry. "They come here +at night: elk, deer, buffalo, wolves, and all the others, big and +little, to get the salt. They drink the water and they lick up the salt +too from the ground." + +A fierce desire laid hold of the boy at these words. He had a small +rifle of his own, which however he was not permitted to carry often. But +he wanted to take it and lie beside the pool at night when the game came +down to drink. The dark would have no terrors for him, nor would he need +companionship. He knew what to do, he could stay in the bush noiseless +and motionless for hours, and he would choose only the finest of the +deer and the bear. He could see himself drawing the bead, as a great +buck came down in the shadows to the fountain and he thrilled with +pleasure at the thought. Each new step into the wilderness seemed to +bring him nearer home. + +Their stay beside the salt spring was short, but the next night they +built the fire higher than ever because just after dark they heard the +howling of wolves, and a strange, long scream, like the shriek of a +woman, which the men said was the cry of a panther. There was no danger, +but the cries sounded lonesome and terrifying, and it took a big fire to +bring back gayety. + +Henry had not yet gone to bed, but was sitting in his favorite place +beside the guide, who was calmly smoking a pipe, and he felt the +immensity of the wilderness. He understood why the people in this +caravan clung so closely to each other. They were simply a big family, +far away from anybody else, and the woods, which curved around them for +so many hundreds of miles, held them together. + +The men talked more than usual that night, but they did not tell +stories; instead they asked many questions of the guide about the +country two days' journey farther on, which, Ross said, was so good, and +it was agreed among them that they should settle there near the banks of +a little river. + +"It's the best land I ever saw," said Ross, "an' as there's lots of +canebrake it won't be bad to clear up for farmin'. I trapped beaver in +them parts two years ago, an' I know." + +This seemed to decide the men, and the women, too, for they had their +share in the council. The long journey was soon to end, and all looked +pleased, especially the women. The great question settled, the men +lighted their pipes and smoked a while, in silence, before the blazing +fires. Henry watched them and wished that he too was a man and could +take part in these evening talks. He was excited by the knowledge that +their journey was to end so soon, and he longed to see the valley in +which they were to build their homes. He climbed into the wagon at last +but he could not sleep. His beloved rifle, too, was lying near him, and +once he reached out his hand and touched it. + +The men, by and by, went to the wagons or, wrapping themselves in +blankets, slept before the flames. Only two remained awake and on guard. +They sat on logs near the outskirts of the camp and held their rifles in +their hands. + +Henry dropped the canvas edge and sought sleep, but it would not come. +Too many thoughts were in his mind. He was trying to imagine the +beautiful valley, described by Ross, in which they were to build their +houses. He lifted the canvas again after a while and saw that the fires +had sunk lower than ever. The two men were still sitting on the logs and +leaning lazily against upthrust boughs. The wilderness around them was +very black, and twenty yards away, even the outlines of the trees were +lost in the darkness. + +Henry's sister who was sleeping at the other end of the wagon awoke and +cried for water. Mr. Ware raised himself sleepily, but Henry at once +sprang up and offered to get it. "All right," Mr. Ware said. + +Henry quickly slipped on his trousers and taking the tin cup in his hand +climbed out of the wagon. He was in his bare feet, but like other +pioneer boys he scorned shoes in warm weather, and stubble and pebbles +did not trouble him. + +The camp was in a glade and the spring was just at the edge of the +woods--they stopped at night only by the side of running water, which +was easy to find in this region. Near the spring some of the horses and +two of the oxen were tethered to stout saplings. As Henry approached, a +horse neighed, and he noticed that all of them were pulling on their +ropes. The two careless guards were either asleep or so near it that +they took no notice of what was passing, and Henry, unwilling to call +their attention for fear he might seem too forward, walked among the +animals, but was still unable to find the cause of the trouble. He knew +everyone by name and nature, and they knew him, for they had been +comrades on a long journey, and he patted their backs and rubbed their +noses and tried to soothe them. They became a little quieter, but he +could not remain any longer with them because his sister was waiting at +the wagon for the water. So he went to the spring and, stooping down, +filled his cup. + +When Henry rose to his full height, his eyes happened to be turned +toward the forest, and there, about seven or eight feet from the ground, +and not far from him he saw two coals of fire. He was so startled that +the cup trembled in his hand, and drops of water fell splashing back +into the spring. But he stared steadily at the red points, which he now +noticed were moving slightly from side to side, and presently he saw +behind them the dim outlines of a long and large body. He knew that this +must be a panther. The habits of all the wild animals, belonging to this +region, had been described to him so minutely by Ross that he was sure +he could not be mistaken. Either it was a very hungry or a very ignorant +panther to hover so boldly around a camp full of men and guns. + +The panther was crouched on a bough of a tree, as if ready to spring, +and Henry was the nearest living object. It must be he at whom the great +tawny body would be launched. But as a minute passed and the panther did +not move, save to sway gently, his courage rose, especially when he +remembered a saying of Ross that it was the natural impulse of all wild +animals to run from man. So he began to back away, and he heard behind +him the horses trampling about in alarm. The lazy guards still dozed and +all was quiet at the wagons. Now Henry recalled some knowledge that he +had learned from Ross and he made a resolve. He would show, at a time, +when it was needed, what he really could do. He dropped his cup, rushed +to the fire, and picked up a long brand, blazing at one end. + +Swinging his torch around his head until it made a perfect circle of +flame he ran directly toward the panther, uttering a loud shout as he +ran. The animal gave forth his woman's cry, this time a shriek of +terror, and leaping from the bough sped with cat-like swiftness into the +forest. + +All the camp was awake in an instant, the men springing out of the +wagons, gun in hand, ready for any trouble. When they saw only a boy, +holding a blazing torch above his head, they were disposed to grumble, +and the two sleepy guards, seeking an excuse for themselves, laughed +outright at the tale that Henry told. But Mr. Ware believed in the truth +of his son's words, and the guide, who quickly examined the ground near +the tree, said there could be no doubt that Henry had really seen the +panther, and had not been tricked by his imagination. The great tracks +of the beast were plainly visible in the soft earth. + +"Pushed by hunger, an' thinking there was no danger, he might have +sprung on one of our colts or a calf," said Ross, "an' no doubt the boy +with his ready use of a torch has saved us from a loss. It was a brave +thing for him to do." + +But Henry took no pride in their praise. It was no part of his ambition +merely to drive away a panther, instead he had the hunter's wish to kill +him. He would be worthy of the wilderness. + +Henry despite his lack of pride found the world very beautiful the next +day. It was a fair enough scene. Nature had done her part, but his +joyous mind gave to it deeper and more vivid colors. The wind was +blowing from the south, bringing upon its breath the odor of wild +flowers, and all the forest was green with the tender green of young +spring. The cotton-tailed hares that he called rabbits ran across their +path. Squirrels talked to one another in the tree tops, and defiantly +threw the shells of last year's nuts at the passing travelers. Once they +saw a stag bending down to drink at a brook, and when the forest king +beheld them he raised his head, and merely stared at these strange new +invaders of the wilds. Henry admired his beautiful form and splendid +antlers nor would he have fired at him had it even been within orders. +The deer gazed at them a few moments, and then, turning and tossing his +head, sped away through the forest. + +All that he saw was strange and grand to Henry, and he loved the +wilderness. About noon he and Ross went back to the wagons and that +night they encamped on the crest of a range of low and grassy hills. +This was the rim of the valley that they had selected on the guide's +advice as their future home, and the little camp was full of the +liveliest interest in the morrow, because it is a most eventful thing, +when you are going to choose a place which you intend shall be your home +all the rest of your days. So the men and women sat late around the +fires and even boys of Henry's age were allowed to stay up, too, and +listen to the plans which all the grown people were making. Theirs had +not been a hard journey, only long and tedious--though neither to +Henry--and now that its end was at hand, work must be begun. They would +have homes to build and a living to get from the ground. + +"Why, I could live under the trees; I wouldn't want a house," whispered +Henry to the guide, "and when I needed anything to eat, I'd kill game." + +"A hunter might do that," replied Ross, "but we're not all hunters an' +only a few of us can be. Sometimes the game ain't standin' to be shot at +just when you want it, an' as for sleepin' under the trees it's all very +fine in summer, if it don't rain, but 'twould be just a least bit chilly +in winter when the big snows come as they do sometimes more'n a foot +deep. I'm a hunter myself, an' I've slept under trees an' in caves, an' +on the sheltered side of hills, but when the weather's cold give me for +true comfort a wooden floor an' a board roof. Then I'll bargain to sleep +to the king's taste." + +But Henry was not wholly convinced. He felt in himself the power to meet +and overcome rain or cold or any other kind of weather. + +Everybody in the camp, down to the tiniest child, was awake the next +morning by the time the first bar of gray in the east betokened the +coming day. Henry was fully dressed, and saw the sun rise in a +magnificent burst of red and gold over the valley that was to be their +valley. The whole camp beheld the spectacle. They had reached the crest +of the hill the evening before, too late to get a view and they were +full of the keenest curiosity. + +It was now summer, but, having been a season of plenteous rains, grass +and foliage were of the most vivid and intense green. They were entering +one of the richest portions of Kentucky, and the untouched soil was +luxuriant with fertility. As a pioneer himself said: "All they had to do +was to tickle it with a hoe, and it laughed into a harvest." There was +the proof of its strength in the grass and the trees. Never before had +the travelers seen oaks and beeches of such girth or elms and hickories +of such height. The grass was high and thick and the canebrake was so +dense that passage through it seemed impossible. Down the center of the +valley, which was but one of many, separated from each other by low easy +hills, flowed a little river, cleaving its center like a silver blade. + +It was upon this beautiful prospect that the travelers saw the sun rise +that morning and all their troubles and labors rolled away. Even the +face of Mr. Ware who rarely yielded to enthusiasm kindled at the sight +and, lifting his hand, he made with it a circle that described the +valley. + +"There," he said. "There is our home waiting for us." + +"Hurrah!" cried Henry, flinging aloft his cap. "We've come home." + +Then the wagon train started again and descended into the valley, which +in very truth and fact was to be "home." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE FIRST GREAT EXPLOIT + + +They found the valley everything in beauty and fertility that Ross had +claimed for it, and above all it had small "openings," that is, places +where the trees did not grow. This was very important to the travelers, +as the labor of cutting down the forest was immense, and even Henry knew +that they could not live wholly in the woods, as both children and crops +must have sunshine to make them grow. The widest of these open spaces +about a half mile from the river, they selected as the site of their new +city to which they gave the name of Wareville in honor of their leader. +A fine brook flowed directly through the opening, but Ross said it would +be a good place, too, to sink a well. + +It was midsummer now and the period of dry weather had begun. So the +travelers were very comfortable in their wagon camp while they were +making their new town ready to be lived in. Both for the sake of company +and prudence they built the houses in a close cluster. First the men, +and most of them were what would now be called jacks-of-all-trades, +felled trees, six or eight inches in diameter, and cut them into logs, +some of which were split down the center, making what are called +puncheons; others were only nicked at the ends, being left in the rough, +that is, with the bark on. + +The round logs made the walls of their houses. First, the place where +the house was to be built was chosen. Next the turf was cut off and the +ground smoothed away. Then they "raised" the logs, the nicked ends +fitting together at the corner, the whole inclosing a square. Everybody +helped "raise" each house in turn, the men singing "hip-hip-ho!" as they +rolled the heavy logs into position. + +A place was cut out for a window and fastened with a shutter and a +larger space was provided in the same manner for a door. They made the +floor out of the puncheons, turned with the smooth side upward, and the +roof out of rough boards, sawed from the trees. The chimney was built of +earth and stones, and a great flat stone served as the fireplace. Some +of the houses were large enough to have two rooms, one for the grown +folks and one for the children, and Mr. Ware's also had a little lean-to +or shed which served as a kitchen. + +It seemed at first to Henry, rejoicing then in the warm, sunny weather, +that they were building in a needlessly heavy and solid fashion. But +when he thought over it a while he remembered what Ross said about the +winters and deep snows of this new land. Indeed the winters in Kentucky +are often very cold and sometimes for certain periods are quite as cold +as those of New York or New England. + +When the little town was finished at last it looked both picturesque and +comfortable, a group of about thirty log houses, covering perhaps an +acre of ground. But the building labors of the pioneers did not stop +here. Around all these houses they put a triple palisade, that is three +rows of stout, sharpened stakes, driven deep into the ground and rising +full six feet above it. At intervals in this palisade were circular +holes large enough to admit the muzzle of a rifle. + +They built at each corner of the palisade the largest and strongest of +their houses,--two-story structures of heavy logs, and Henry noticed +that the second story projected over the first. Moreover, they made +holes in the edge of the floor overhead so that one could look down +through them upon anybody who stood by the outer wall. Ross went up into +the second story of each of the four buildings, thrust the muzzle of his +rifle into every one of the holes in turn, and then looked satisfied. +"It is well done," he said. "Nobody can shelter himself against the wall +from the fire of defenders up here." + +These very strong buildings they called their blockhouses, and after +they finished them they dug a well in the corner of the inclosed ground, +striking water at a depth of twenty feet. Then their main labors were +finished, and each family now began to furnish its house as it would or +could. + +It was not all work for Henry while this was going on, and some of the +labor itself was just as good as play. He was allowed to go considerable +distances with Ross, and these journeys were full of novelty. He was a +boy who came to places which no white boy had ever seen before. It was +hard for him to realize that it was all so new. Behold a splendid grove +of oaks! he was its discoverer. Here the little river dropped over a +cliff of ten feet; his eyes were the first to see the waterfall. From +this high hill the view was wonderful; he was the first to enjoy it. +Forest, open and canebrake alike were swarming with game, and he saw +buffaloes, deer, wild turkeys, and multitudes of rabbits and squirrels. +Unaccustomed yet to man, they allowed the explorers to come near. + +Ross and Henry were accompanied on many of these journeys by Shif'less +Sol Hyde. Sol was a young man without kith or kin in the settlement, and +so, having nobody but himself to take care of, he chose to roam the +country a great portion of the time. He was fast acquiring a skill in +forest life and knowledge of its ways second only to that of Ross, the +guide. Some of the men called Sol lazy, but he defended himself. "The +good God made different kinds of people and they live different kinds of +lives," said he. "Mine suits me and harms nobody." Ross said he was +right, and Sol became a hunter and scout for the settlement. + +There was no lack of food. They yet had a good supply of the provisions +brought with them from the other side of the mountains, but they saved +them for a possible time of scarcity. Why should they use this store +when they could kill all the game they needed within a mile of their own +house smoke? Now Henry tasted the delights of buffalo tongue and beaver +tail, venison, wild turkey, fried squirrel, wild goose, wild duck and a +dozen kinds of fish. Never did a boy have more kinds of meat, morning, +noon, and night. The forest was full of game, the fish were just +standing up in the river and crying to be caught, and the air was +sometimes dark with wild fowl. Henry enjoyed it. He was always hungry. +Working and walking so much, and living in the open air every minute of +his life, except when he was eating or sleeping, his young and growing +frame demanded much nourishment, and it was not denied. + +At last the great day came when he was allowed to kill a deer if he +could. Both Ross and Shif'less Sol had interceded for him. "The boy's +getting big and strong an' it's time he learned," said Ross. "His hand's +steady enough an' his eye's good enough already," said Shif'less Sol, +and his father agreeing with them told them to take him and teach him. + +Two miles away, near the bank of the river, was a spring to which the +game often came to drink, and for this spring they started a little +while before sundown, Henry carrying his rifle on his shoulder, and his +heart fluttering. He felt his years increase suddenly and his figure +expand with equal abruptness. He had become a man and he was going forth +to slay big game. Yet despite his new manhood the blood would run to his +head and he felt his nerves trembling. He grasped his precious rifle +more firmly and stole a look out of the corner of his eye at its barrel +as it lay across his left shoulder. Though a smaller weapon it was +modeled after the famous Western rifle, which, with the ax, won the +wilderness. The stock was of hard maple wood delicately carved, and the +barrel was comparatively long, slender, and of blue steel. The sights +were as fine-drawn as a hair. When Henry stood the gun beside himself, +it was just as tall as he. He carried, too, a powderhorn, and the horn, +which was as white as snow, was scraped so thin as to be transparent, +thus enabling its owner to know just how much powder it contained, +without taking the trouble of pouring it out. His bullets and wadding he +carried in a small leather pouch by his side. + +When they reached the spring the sun was still a half hour high and +filled the west with a red glow. The forest there was tinted by it, and +seen thus in the coming twilight with those weird crimsons and scarlets +showing through it, the wilderness looked very lonely and desolate. An +ordinary boy, at the coming of night would have been awed, if alone, by +the stillness of the great unknown spaces, but it found an answering +chord in Henry. + +"Wind's blowin' from the west," said Sol, and so they went to the +eastern side of the spring, where they lay down beside a fallen log at a +fair distance. There was another log, much closer to the spring, but +Ross conferring aside with Sol chose the farther one. "We want to teach +the boy how to shoot an' be of some use to himself, not to slaughter," +said Ross. Then the three remained there, a long time, and noiseless. +Henry was learning early one of the first great lessons of the forest, +which is silence. But he knew that he could have learned this lesson +alone. He already felt himself superior in some ways to Ross and Sol, +but he liked them too well to tell them so, or to affect even equality +in the lore of the wilderness. + +The sun went down behind the Western forest, and the night came on, +heavy and dark. A light wind began to moan among the trees. Henry heard +the faint bubble of the water in the spring, and saw beside him the +forms of his two comrades. But they were so still that they might have +been dead. An hour passed and his eyes growing more used to the dimness, +he saw better. There was still nothing at the spring, but by and by Ross +put his hand gently upon his arm, and Henry, as if by instinct, looked +in the right direction. There at the far edge of the forest was a deer, +a noble stag, glancing warily about him. + +The stag was a fine enough animal to Ross and Sol, but to Henry's +unaccustomed eyes he seemed gigantic, the mightiest of his kind that +ever walked the face of the earth. + +The deer gazed cautiously, raising his great head, until his antlers +looked to Henry like the branching boughs of a tree. The wind was +blowing toward his hidden foes, and brought him no omen of coming +danger. He stepped into the open and again glanced around the circle. It +seemed to Henry that he was staring directly into the deer's eyes, and +could see the fire shining there. + +"Aim at that spot there by the shoulder, when he stoops down to drink," +said Ross in the lowest of tones. + +Satisfied now that no enemy was near, the stag walked to the spring. +Then he began to lower slowly the great antlers, and his head approached +the water. Henry slipped the barrel of his rifle across the log and +looked down the sights. He was seized with a tremor, but Ross and +Shif'less Sol, with a magnanimity that did them credit, pretended not to +notice it. The boy soon mastered the feeling, but then, to his great +surprise, he was attacked by another emotion. Suddenly he began to have +pity, and a fellow-feeling for the stag. It, too, was in the great +wilderness, rejoicing in the woods and the grass and the running streams +and had done no harm. It seemed sad that so fine a life should end, +without warning and for so little. + +The feeling was that of a young boy, the instinct of one who had not +learned to kill, and he suppressed it. Men had not yet thought to spare +the wild animals, or to consider them part of a great brotherhood, least +of all on the border, where the killing of game was a necessity. And so +Henry, after a moment's hesitation, the cause of which he himself +scarcely knew, picked the spot near the shoulder that Ross had +mentioned, and pulled the trigger. + +The stag stood for a moment or two as if dazed, then leaped into the air +and ran to the edge of the woods, where he pitched down head foremost. +His body quivered for a little while and then lay still. + +Henry was proud of his marksmanship, but he felt some remorse, too, when +he looked upon his victim. Yet he was eager to tell his father and his +young sister and brother of his success. They took off the pelt and cut +up the deer. A part of the haunch Henry ate for dinner and the antlers +were fastened over the fireplace, as the first important hunting trophy +won by the eldest son of the house. + +Henry did not boast much of his triumph, although he noticed with secret +pride the awe of the children. His best friend, Paul Cotter, openly +expressed his admiration, but Braxton Wyatt, a boy of his own age, whom +he did not like, sneered and counted it as nothing. He even cast doubt +upon the reality of the deed, intimating that perhaps Ross or Sol had +fired the shot, and had allowed Henry to claim the credit. + +Henry now felt incessantly the longing for the wilderness, but, for the +present, he helped his father furnish their house. It was too late to +plant crops that year, nor were the qualities of the soil yet altogether +known. It was rich beyond a doubt, but they could learn only by trial +what sort of seed suited it best. So they let that wait a while, and +continued the work of making themselves tight and warm for the winter. + +The skins of deer and buffalo and beaver, slain by the hunters, were +dried in the sun, and they hung some of the finer ones on the walls of +the rooms to make them look more cozy and picturesque. Mrs. Ware also +put two or three on the floors, though the border women generally +scorned them for such uses, thinking them in the way. Henry also helped +his father make stools and chairs, the former a very simple task, +consisting of a flat piece of wood, chopped or sawed out, in which three +holes were bored to receive the legs, the latter made of a section of +sapling, an inch or so in diameter. But the baskets required longer and +more tedious work. They cut green withes, split them into strips and +then plaiting them together formed the basket. In this Mrs. Ware and +even the little girl helped. They also made tables and a small stone +furnace or bake-oven for the kitchen. + +Their chief room now looked very cozy. In one corner stood a bedstead +with low, square posts, the bed covered with a pure white counterpane. +At the foot of the bedstead was a large heavy chest, which served as +bureau, sofa and dressing case. In the center of the room stood a big +walnut table, on the top of which rested a nest of wooden trays, +flanked, on one side, by a nicely folded tablecloth, and on the other by +a butcher knife and a Bible. In a corner was a cupboard consisting of a +set of shelves set into the logs, and on these shelves were the +blue-edged plates and yellow-figured teacups and blue teapot that Mrs. +Ware had received long ago from her mother. The furniture in the +remainder of the house followed this pattern. + +The heaviest labor of all was to extend the "clearing"; that is, to cut +down trees and get the ground ready for planting the crops next spring, +and in this Henry helped, for he was able to wield an ax blow for blow +with a grown man. When he did not have to work he went often to the +river, which was within sight of Wareville, and caught fish. Nobody +except the men, who were always armed, and who knew how to take care of +themselves, was allowed to go more than a mile from the palisade, but +Henry was trusted as far as the river; then the watchman in the lookout +on top of the highest blockhouse could see him or any who might come, +and there, too, he often lingered. + +He did not hate his work, yet he could not say that he liked it, and, +although he did not know it, the love of the wild man's ways was +creeping into his blood. The influence of the great forests, of the vast +unknown spaces, was upon him. He could lie peacefully in the shade of a +tree for an hour at a time, dreaming of rivers and mountains farther on +in the depths of the wilderness. He felt a kinship with the wild things, +and once as he lay perfectly still with his eyes almost closed, a stag, +perhaps the brother to the one that he had killed, came and looked at +him out of great soft eyes. It did not seem odd at the time to Henry +that the stag should do so; he took it then as a friendly act, and lest +he should alarm this new comrade of the woods he did not stir or even +raise his eyelids. The stag gazed at him a few moments, and then, +tossing his great antlers, turned and walked off in a graceful and +dignified way through the woods. Henry wondered where the deer would go, +and if it would be far. He wished that he, too, could roam the +wilderness so lightly, wandering where he wished, having no cares and +beholding new scenes every day. That would be a life worth living. + +The next morning his mother said to his father: + +"John, the boy is growing wild." + +"Yes," replied the father. "They say it often happens with those who are +taken young into the wilderness. The forest lays a spell upon them when +they are easy to receive impressions." + +The mother looked troubled, but Mr. Ware laughed. + +"Don't bother about it," he said. "It can be cured. We have merely to +teach him the sense of responsibility." + +This they proceeded to do. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +LOST IN THE WILDERNESS + + +The method by which Mr. and Mrs. Ware undertook to teach Henry a sense +of responsibility was an increase of work. Founding a new state was no +light matter, and he must do his share. Since he loved to fish, it +became his duty to supply the table with fish, and that, too, at regular +hours, and he also began to think of traps and snares, which he would +set in the autumn for game. It was always wise for the pioneer to save +his powder and lead, the most valuable of his possessions and the +hardest to obtain. Any food that could be procured without its use was a +welcome addition. + +But fishing remained his easiest task, and he did it all with a pole +that he cut with his clasp knife, a string and a little piece of bent +and stiffened wire. He caught perch, bass, suckers, trout, sunfish, +catfish, and other kinds, the names of which he did not know. Sometimes +when his hook and line had brought him all that was needed, and the day +was hot, he would take off his clothing and plunge into the deep, cool +pools. Often his friend, Paul Cotter, was with him. Paul was a year +younger than Henry, and not so big. Hence the larger boy felt himself, +in a certain sense, Paul's teacher and protector, which gave him a +comfortable feeling, and a desire to help his comrade as much as he +could. + +He taught the smaller lad new tricks in swimming, and scarcely a day +passed when two sunburned, barefooted boys did not go to the river, +quickly throw off their clothing, and jump into the clear water. There +they swam and floated for a long time, dived, and ducked each other, and +then lay on the grass in the sun until they dried. + +"Paul," said Henry once, as they were stretched thus on the bank, +"wouldn't you like to have nothing to do, but wander through the woods +just as you pleased, sleep wherever you wished, and kill game when you +grew hungry, just like the Indians?" + +Henry's eyes were on the black line of the forest, and the blue haze of +the sky beyond. His spirit was away in the depths of the unknown. + +"I don't know," replied Paul. "I guess a white boy has to become a white +man, after a while, and they say that the difference between a white man +and the Indian is that the white man has to work." + +"But the Indians get along without it," said Henry. + +"No they don't," replied Paul. "We win all the country because we've +learned how to do things while we are working." + +Yet Henry was unconvinced, and his thoughts wandered far into the black +forest and the blue haze. + +The cattle pastured near the deepest of the swimming holes, and it often +fell to the lot of the boys to bring them into the palisade at sunset. +This was a duty of no little importance, because if any of the cattle +wandered away into the forest and were lost, they could not be replaced. +It was now the latter half of summer, and the grass and foliage were +fast turning brown in the heat. Late on the afternoon of one of the very +hottest days Henry and Paul went to the deepest swimming hole. There had +not been a breath of air stirring since morning; not a blade of grass, +not a leaf quivered. The skies burned like a sheet of copper. + +The boys panted, and their clothing, wet with perspiration, clung to +them. The earth was hot under their feet. Quickly they threw off their +garments and sprang into the water. How cool and grateful it felt! There +they lingered long, and did not notice the sudden obscurity of the sun +and darkening of the southwest. + +A slight wind sprang up presently, and the dry leaves and grass began to +rustle. There was thunder in the distance and a stroke of lightning. The +boys were aroused, and scrambling out of the water put on their +clothing. + +"A storm's coming," said Henry, who was weatherwise, "and we must get +the cattle in." + +These sons of the forest did not fear rain, but they hurried on their +clothing, and they noticed, too, how rapidly the storm was gathering. +The heat had been great for days, and the earth was parched and thirsty. +The men had talked in the evening of rain, and said how welcome it would +be, and now the boys shared the general feeling. The drought would be +ended. The thirsty earth would drink deep and grow green again. + +The rolling clouds, drawn like a great curtain over the southwest, +advanced and covered all the heavens. The flashes of lightning followed +each other so fast that, at times, they seemed continuous; the forest +groaned as it bent before the wind. Then the great drops fell, and soon +they were beating the earth like volleys of pistol bullets. Fragments of +boughs, stripped off by the wind, swept by. Never had the boys in their +Eastern home known such thunder and lightning. The roar of one was +always in their ears, and the flash of the other always in their eyes. + +The frightened cattle were gathered into a group, pressing close +together for company and protection. The boys hurried them toward the +stockade, but one cow, driven by terror, broke from the rest and ran +toward the woods. Agile Henry, not willing to lose a single straggler, +pursued the fugitive, and Paul, wishing to be as zealous, followed. The +rest of the cattle, being so near and obeying the force of habit, went +on into the stockade. + +It was the wildest cow of the herd that made a plunge for the woods, and +Henry, knowing her nature, expected trouble. So he ran as fast as he +could, and he was not aware until they were in the forest that Paul was +close behind him. Then he shouted: + +"Go back, Paul! I'll bring her in." + +But Paul would not turn. There was fire in his blood. He considered it +as much his duty to help as it was Henry's. Moreover, he would not +desert his comrade. + +The fugitive, driven by the storm acting upon its wild nature, continued +at great speed, and the panting boys were not able to overtake her. So +on the trio went, plunging through the woods, and saving themselves from +falls, or collisions with trees, only by the light from the flashes of +lightning. Many boys, even on the border, would have turned back, but +there was something tenacious in Henry's nature; he had undertaken to do +a thing, and he did not wish to give it up. Besides that cow was too +valuable. And Paul would not leave his comrade. + +Away the cow went, and behind her ran her pursuers. The rain came +rushing and roaring through the woods, falling now in sheets, while +overhead the lightning still burned, and the thunder still crashed, +though with less frequency. Both the boys were drenched, but they did +not mind it; they did not even know it at the time. The lightning died +presently, the thunder ceased to rumble, and then the darkness fell like +a great blanket over the whole forest. The chase was blotted out from +them, and the two boys, stopping, grasped each other's hands for the +sake of company. They could not see twenty feet before them, but the +rain still poured. + +"We'll have to give her up," said Henry reluctantly. "We couldn't follow +a whole herd of buffaloes in all this black night." + +"Maybe we can find her to-morrow," said Paul. + +"Maybe so," replied Henry. "We've got to wait anyhow. Let's go home." + +They started back for Wareville, keeping close together, lest they lose +each other in the darkness, and they realized suddenly that they were +uncomfortable. The rain was coming in such sheets directly in their +faces that it half blinded them, now and then their feet sank deep in +mire and their drenched bodies began to grow cold. The little log houses +in which they lived now seemed to them palaces, fit for a king, and they +hastened their footsteps, often tripping on vines or running into +bushes. But Henry was trying to see through the dark woods. + +"We ought to be near the clearing," he said. + +They stopped and looked all about, seeking to see a light. They knew +that one would be shining from the tower of the blockhouse as a guide to +them. But they saw none. They had misjudged the distance, so they +thought, and they pushed on a half hour longer, but there was still no +light, nor did they come to a clearing. Then they paused. Dark as it was +each saw a look of dismay on the face of the other. + +"We've come the wrong way!" exclaimed Paul. + +"Maybe we have," reluctantly admitted Henry. + +But their dismay lasted only a little while. They were strong boys, used +to the wilderness, and they did not fear even darkness and wandering +through the woods. Moreover, they were sure that they should find +Wareville long before midnight. + +They changed their course and continued the search. The rain ceased by +and by, the clouds left the heavens, and the moon came out, but they saw +nothing familiar about them. The great woods were dripping with water, +and it was the only sound they heard, besides that made by themselves. +They stopped again, worn out and disconsolate at last. All their walking +only served to confuse them the more. Neither now had any idea of the +direction in which Wareville lay, and to be lost in the wilderness was a +most desperate matter. They might travel a thousand miles, should +strength last them for so great a journey, and never see a single human +being. They leaned against the rough bark of a great oak tree, and +stared blankly at each other. + +"What are we to do?" asked Paul. + +"I can't say," replied Henry. + +The two boys still looked blank, but at last they laughed--and each +laughed at the other's grewsome face. Then they began once more to cast +about them. The cold had passed and warm winds were blowing up from the +south. The forest was drying, and Henry and Paul, taking off their +coats, wrung the water from them. They were strong lads, inured to many +hardships of the border and the forest, and they did not fear ill +results from a mere wetting. Nevertheless, they wished to be +comfortable, and under the influence of the warm wind they soon found +themselves dry again. But they were so intensely sleepy that they could +scarcely keep their eyes open, and now the wilderness training of both +came into use. + +It was a hilly country, with many outcroppings of stone and cavelike +openings in the sides of the steep but low hills, and such a place as +this the boys now sought. But it was a long hunt and they grew more +tired and sleepy at every step. They were hungry, too, but if they might +only sleep they could forget that. They heard again the hooting of owls +and the wind, moaning among the leaves, made strange noises. Once there +was a crash in a thicket beside them, and they jumped in momentary +alarm, but it was only a startled deer, far more scared than they, +running through the bushes, and Henry was ashamed of his nervous +impulse. + +They found at last their resting place, a sheltered ledge of dry stone +in the hollow of a hill. The stone arched above them, and it was dark in +the recess, but the boys were too tired now to worry about shadows. They +crept into the hollow, and, scraping up fallen leaves to soften the hard +stone, lay down. Both were off to slumberland in less than five minutes. + +The hollow faced the East, and the bright sun, shining into their eyes, +awakened them at last. Henry sprang up, amazed. The skies were a silky +blue, with little white clouds sailing here and there. The forest, +new-washed by the rain, smelt clean and sweet. The south wind was still +blowing. The world was bright and beautiful, but he was conscious of an +acute pain at the center of his being. That is, he was increasingly +hungry. Paul showed equal surprise, and was a prey to the same annoying +sensation in an important region. He looked up at the sun, and found +that it was almost directly overhead, indicating noon. + +All the country about them was strange, an unbroken expanse of hill and +forest, and nowhere a sign of a human being. They scrutinized the +horizon with the keen eyes of boyhood, but they saw no line of smoke, +rising from the chimneys of Wareville. Whether the villages lay north or +south or east or west of them they did not know, and the wind that +sighed so gently through the forest never told. They were alone in the +wilderness and they knew, moreover, that the wilderness was very vast +and they were very small. But Henry and Paul did not despair; in fact no +such thought entered Henry's mind. Instead he began to find a certain +joy in the situation; it appealed to his courage. They resolved to find +something to eat, and they used first a temporary cure for the pangs of +hunger. Each had a strong clasp knife and they cut strips of the soft +inner bark of the slippery-elm tree, which they chewed, drawing from it +a little strength and sustenance. They found an hour or two later some +nearly ripe wild plums, which they ate in small quantities, and, later +on, ripe blackberries very juicy and sweet. Paul wanted to be voracious, +but Henry restrained him, knowing well that if he indulged liberally he +might suffer worse pangs than those of hunger. Slender as was this diet +the boys felt much strengthened, and their spirits rose in a wonderful +manner. + +"We're bound to be found sooner or later," said Henry, "and it's strange +if we can't live in the woods until then." + +"If we only had our guns and ammunition," said Paul, "we could get all +the meat we wanted, and live as well as if we were at home." + +This was true, because in the untrodden forest the game was plentiful +all about them, but guns and ammunition they did not have, and it was +vain to wish for them. They must obtain more solid food than wild plums +and blackberries, if they would retain their strength, and both boys +knew it. Yet they saw no way and they continued wandering until they +came to a creek. They sat a while on its banks and looked down at the +fish with which it was swarming, and which they could see distinctly in +its clear waters. + +"Oh, if we only had one of those fine fellows!" said Paul. + +"Then why not have him?" exclaimed Henry, a sudden flash appearing in +his eye. + +"Yes, why not?" replied Paul with sarcasm. "I suppose that all we have +to do is to whistle and the finest of 'em will come right out here on +the bank, and ask us to cook and eat 'em." + +"We haven't any hooks and lines now but we might make 'em," said Henry. + +"Make 'em!" said Paul, and he looked in amazement at his comrade. + +"Out of our clothes," replied Henry. + +Then he proceeded to show what he meant and Paul, too, when he saw him +begin, was quickly taken with the idea. They drew many long strands from +the fiber of their clothing--cloth in those days was often made as +strong as leather--and twisted and knotted them together until they had +a line fifteen feet long. It took them at least two hours to complete +this task, and then they contemplated their work with pride. But the +look of joy on Paul's face did not last long. + +"How on earth are we to get a hook, Henry?" he asked. + +"I'll furnish that," replied Henry, and he took the small steel buckle +with which his trousers were fastened together at the back. Breaking +this apart he bent the slenderest portion of it into the shape of a +hook, and fastened it to the end of his line. + +"If we get a fish on this he may slip off or he may not, but we must +try," he said. + +The fishing rod and the bait were easy matters. A slender stem of +dogwood, cut with a clasp knife, served for the first, and, to get the +latter, they had nothing to do but turn up a flat stone, and draw angle +worms from the moist earth beneath. + +The hook was baited and with a triumphant flourish Henry swung it toward +the stream. + +"Now," he said, "for the biggest fish that ever swam in this creek." + +The boys might have caught nothing with such a rude outfit, but +doubtless that stream was never fished in before, and its inhabitants, +besides being full of a natural curiosity, did not dream of any danger +coming from the outer air. Therefore they bit at the curious-looking +metallic thing with the tempting food upon it which was suddenly dropped +from somewhere. + +But the first fish slipped off as Henry had feared, and then there was +nothing to do but try again. It was not until the sixth or seventh bite +that he succeeded in landing a fine perch upon the bank, and then Paul +uttered a cry of triumph, but Henry, as became his superior dignity at +that moment, took his victory modestly. It was in reality something to +rejoice over, as these two boys were perhaps in a more dangerous +situation than they, with all their knowledge of the border, understood. +The wilderness was full of animal life, but it was fleeter than man, +and, without weapons they were helpless. + +"And now to cook him," said Henry. So speaking, he took from his pocket +the flint and steel that he had learned from the men always to carry, +while Paul began to gather fallen brushwood. + +To light the fire Henry expected to be the easiest of their tasks, but +it proved to be one of the most difficult. He struck forth the elusive +sparks again and again, but they went out before setting fire to the +wood. He worked until his fingers ached and then Paul relieved him. It +fell to the younger boy's lot to succeed. A bright spark flying forth +rested a moment among the lightest and dryest of the twigs, igniting +there. A tiny point of flame appeared, then grew and leaped up. In a few +moments the great pile of brushwood was in a roaring blaze, and then the +boys cooked their fish over the coals. They ate it all with supreme +content, and they believed they could feel the blood flowing in a new +current through their veins and their strength growing, too. + +But they knew that they would have to prepare for the future and draw +upon all their resources of mind and body. Their hook and line was but a +slender appliance and they might not have such luck with it again. Paul +suggested that they make a fish trap, of sticks tied together with +strips cut from their clothing, and put it in the creek, and Henry +thought it was a good idea, too. So they agreed to try it on the morrow, +if they should not be found meanwhile, and then they debated the subject +of snares. + +The undergrowth was swarming with rabbits, and they would make most +toothsome food. Rabbits they must have, and again Henry led the way. He +selected a small clear spot near the thick undergrowth where a rabbit +would naturally love to make his nest and around a circle about six +inches in diameter he drove a number of smooth pegs. Then he tied a +strong cord made of strips of their clothing to one end of a stout bush, +which he bent over until it curved in a semicircle. The other end of the +cord was drawn in a sliding loop around the pegs, and was attached to a +little wooden trigger, set in the center of the inclosure. + +The slightest pressure upon this trigger would upset it, cause the noose +to slip off the pegs and close with a jerk around the neck of anything +that might have its head thrust into the inclosure. The bush, too, would +fly back into place and there would be the intruder, really hanged by +himself. It was the common form of snare, devised for small game by the +boys of early Kentucky, and still used by them. + +Henry and Paul made four of these ingenious little contrivances, and +baited them with bruised pieces of the small plantain leaves that the +rabbits love. Then they contemplated their work again with satisfaction. +But Paul suddenly began to look rueful. + +"If we have to pay out part of our clothes every time we get a dinner we +soon won't have any left," he said. + +Henry only laughed. + +It was now near sunset, and, as they had worked hard they would have +been thankful for supper, but there was none to be thankful for, and +they were too tired to fish again. So they concluded to go to sleep, +which their hard work made very easy, and dream of abundant harvests on +the morrow. + +They gathered great armfuls of the fallen brushwood, littering the +forest, and built a heap as high as their heads, which blazed and roared +in a splendid manner, sending up, too, a column of smoke that rose far +above the trees and trailed off in the blue sky. + +It was a most cheerful bonfire, and it was a happy thought for the boys +to build it, even aside from its uses as a signal, as the coming of +night in the wilderness is always most lonesome and weird. + +They lay down near each other on the soft turf, and Henry watched the +red sun sink behind the black forest in the west. The strange, +sympathetic feeling for the wilderness again came into his mind. He +thought once more of the mysterious regions that lay beyond the line +where the black and red met. He could live in the woods, he was living +now without arms, even, and if he only had his rifle and ammunition he +could live in luxury. And then the wonderful freedom! That old thought +came to him with renewed force. To roam as he pleased, to stop when he +pleased and to sleep where he pleased! He would make a canoe, and float +down the great rivers to their mouths. Then he would wander far out on +the vast plains, which they say lay beyond the thousand miles of forest, +and see the buffalo in millions go thundering by. That would be a life +without care. + +He fell asleep presently, but he was awakened after a while by a +long-drawn plaintive shriek answered by a similar cry. Once he would +have been alarmed by the sound, but now he knew it was panther talking +to panther. He and Paul were unarmed, but they had something as +effective as guns against panthers and that was the great bonfire which +still roared and blazed near them. He was glad now for a new reason that +they had built it high, because the panther's cry was so uncanny and +sent such a chill down one's back. He looked at Paul, but his comrade +still slept soundly, a peaceful smile showing on his face. He remembered +the words of Ross that no wild animal would trouble man if man did not +trouble him, and, rolling a little nearer to Paul, he shut his eyes and +sought sleep. + +But sleep would not come, and presently he heard the cry of the panther +again but much nearer. He was lying with his ear to the ground. Now the +earth is a conductor of sound and Henry was sure that he heard a soft +tread. He rose upon his elbow and gazed into the darkness. There he +beheld at last a dim form moving with sinuous motion, and slowly it took +the shape of a great cat-like animal. Then he saw just behind it another +as large, and he knew that they were the two panthers whose cries he had +heard. + +Henry was not frightened, although there was something weird and uncanny +in the spectacle of these two powerful beasts of prey, stealing about +the fire, before which two unarmed boys reposed. He knew, however, that +they were drawn not by the desire to attack, but by a kind of terrified +curiosity. The fire was to them the magnet that the snake is to the +fascinated bird. He longed then for his gun, the faithful little rifle +that was reposing on the hooks over his bed in his father's house. "I'd +make you cry for something," he said to himself, looking at the largest +of the panthers. + +The animals lingered, glaring at the boys and the fire with great red +eyes, and presently Henry, doing as he had done on a former occasion, +picked up a blazing torch and, shouting, rushed at them. + +The panthers sprang headlong through the undergrowth, in their eagerness +to get away from the terrible flaming vision that was darting down upon +them. Their flight was so quick that they disappeared in an instant and +Henry knew they would not venture near the site of the fire again in a +long time. He turned back and found Paul surprised and alarmed standing +erect and rubbing his eyes. + +"Why--why--what's the matter?" cried Paul. + +"Oh, it's nothing," replied Henry. + +Then he told about the panthers. Paul did not know as much as Henry +concerning panthers and the affair got on his nerves. The lonely and +vast grandeur of the wilderness did not have the attraction for him that +it had for his comrade, and he wished again for the strong log walls and +comfortable roofs of Wareville. But Henry reassured him. The testimony +of the hunters about the timidity of wild beasts was unanimous and he +need have no fears. So Paul went to sleep again, but Henry lingered as +before. + +He threw fresh fuel on the fire. Then he lay down again and gradually +weary nature became the master of him. The woods grew dim, and faded +away, the fire vanished and he was in slumberland. + +When Henry awoke it was because some one was tugging at his shoulder. He +knew now that the Indian warriors had come across the Ohio, and had +seized him, and he sprang up ready to make a fierce resistance. + +"Don't fight, Henry! It's me--Paul!" cried a boyish voice, and Henry +letting his muscles relax rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. It was Paul +sure enough standing beside him, and the sun again was high up in the +heavens. The fire was still burning, though it had died down somewhat. + +"Oh, my breakfast!" cried Henry as he felt a sudden pang. + +"Come, let's see if we're going to have any," said Paul, and off they +went to their snares. The first had not been touched, nor had the +second. The bait was gone from the third, and the loop sprung, but there +was nothing in it. The hearts of the boys sank and they thought again of +wild plums and blackberries which were but a light diet. But when they +came to the fourth snare their triumph was complete. A fat rabbit, +caught in the loop, was hanging by the neck, beside the bush. + +"It's lucky the forest is so full of game that some of it falls into our +trap," said Henry. + +They cooked the rabbit, and again they were so hungry that they ate it +all. Then they improvised new fishing tackle and both boys began to +fish. They knew that they must devote their whole time to this problem +of food, and they decided, for the present, not to leave the creek. They +were afraid to renew the search for Wareville, lest they wander deeper +into the wilderness, and moreover lose the way to the creek which seemed +to be the surest source of food. So they would stay a while where they +were, and keep their fire burning high as a signal to searchers. + +Either the fish had learned that the curiously shaped thing with the +tempting bait upon it was dangerous, or they had gone to visit friends +in distant parts of the creek, for, at least two hours passed, without +either boy getting a bite. When the fish did lay hold it was usually to +slip again from the rude hook, and it was at least another hour before +they caught a fish. It was Paul who achieved the feat, and it repaid him +for being asleep when the panthers came, a matter that had lain upon his +mind somewhat. + +They persisted in this work until Henry also made a catch and then they +gathered more plums and berries. They dug up, too, the root of the +Indian turnip, an herb that burnt the mouth like fire, but which Henry +said they could use, after soaking it a long time in water. Then they +discussed the matter of the fish trap which they thought they could make +in a day's work. This would relieve them of much toil, but they deferred +its beginning until the morrow, and used the rest of the day in making +two more snares for rabbits. + +Paul now suggested that they accumulate as much food as possible, cook +it and putting it on their backs follow the creek to its mouth. He had +no doubt that it emptied into the river that flowed by Wareville and +then by following the stream, if his surmise was right, they could reach +home again. It was a plausible theory and Henry agreed with him. +Meanwhile they built their fire high again and lay down for another +night's rest in the woods. The next day they devoted to the fish trap +which was successfully completed, and put in the river, and then they +took their places on the turf for the third night beside the camp fire. + +The day, like its predecessor, had been close and hot. All traces of the +great rain were gone. Forest and earth were again as dry as tinder. They +refreshed themselves with a swim in the creek just before lying down to +sleep, but they were soon panting with the heat. It seemed to hang in +heavy clouds, and the forest shut out any fresh air that might be moving +high up. + +Despite the great heat the boys had built the fire as high as usual, +because they knew that the search for them would never cease so long as +there was a hope of success, and they thought that the signal should not +be lacking. But now they moved away from it and into the shadow of the +woods. + +"If only the wind would blow!" said Henry. + +"And I'd be willing to stand a rain like the one in which we got lost," +said Paul. + +But neither rain nor wind came, and after a while they fell asleep. +Henry was awakened at an unknown hour of the night by a roaring in his +ears, and at first he believed that Paul was about to have his storm. +Then he was dazzled by a great rush of light in his eyes, and he sprang +to his feet in sudden alarm. + +"Up, Paul!" he cried, grasping his comrade by the shoulder. "The woods +are on fire!" + +Paul was on his feet in an instant, and the two were just in time. +Sparks flew in their faces and the flames twisting into pyramids and +columns leaped from tree to tree with a sound like thunder as they came. +Boughs, burnt through, fell to the ground with a crash. The sparks rose +in millions. + +The boys had slept in their clothes or rather what was left of them, +and, grasping each other's hands, they ran at full speed toward the +creek, with the great fire roaring and rushing after them. Henry looked +back once but the sight terrified him and the sparks scorched his face. +He knew that the conflagration had been set by their own bonfire, fanned +by a rising wind as they slept, but it was no time to lament. The rush +and sweep of the flames, feeding upon the dry forest and gathering +strength as they came, was terrific. It was indeed like the thunder of a +storm in the ears of the frightened boys, and they fairly skimmed over +the ground in the effort to escape the red pursuer. They could feel its +hot breath on their necks, while the smoke and the sparks flew over +their heads. They dashed into the creek, and each dived down under the +water which felt so cool and refreshing. + +"Let's stay here," said Paul, who enjoyed the present. + +"We can't think of such a thing," replied Henry. "This creek won't stop +that fire half a minute!" + +A fire in a sun-dried Western forest is a terrible thing. It rushes on +at a gallop, roaring and crackling like the battle-front of an army, and +destroying everything that lies before it. It leaves but blackened +stumps and charred logs behind, and it stops only when there is no +longer food for it to devour. + +The boys sprang out of the creek and ran up the hill. Henry paused a +moment at its crest, and looked back again. The aspect of the fire was +more frightful than ever. The flames leaped higher than the tops of the +tallest trees, and thrust out long red twining arms, like coiling +serpents. Beneath was the solid red bank of the conflagration, preceded +by showers of ashes and smoke and sparks. The roar increased and was +like that of many great guns in battle. + +"Paul!" exclaimed Henry seizing his comrade's hand again. "We've got to +run, as we've never run before! It's for our lives now!" + +It was in good truth for their lives, and bending low their heads, the +two boys, hand in hand, raced through the forest, with the ruthless +pursuer thundering after them. Henry as he ran, glanced back once more +and saw that the fire was gaining upon them. The serpents of flame were +coming nearer and nearer and the sparks flew over their heads in greater +showers. Paul was panting, and being the younger and smaller of the two +his strength was now failing. Henry felt his comrade dragging upon his +hand. If he freed himself from Paul's grasp he could run faster, but he +remembered his silent resolve to take Paul back to his people. Even were +it not for those others at Wareville he could never desert his friend at +such a moment. So he pulled on Paul's hand to hasten his speed, and +together the boys went on. + +The two noticed presently that they were not alone in their flight, a +circumstance that had escaped them in the first hurry and confusion. +Deer and rabbits, too, flew before the hurricane of fire. The deer were +in a panic of terror, and a great stag ran for a few moments beside the +boys, not noticing them, or, in his fear of greater evil, having no fear +of human beings who were involved in the same danger. Three or four +buffaloes, too, presently joined the frightened herd of game, one, a +great bull running with head down and blowing steam from his nostrils. + +Paul suddenly sank to his knees and gasped: + +"I can't go on! Let me stay here and you save yourself, Henry!" + +Henry looked back at the great fiery wall that swept over the ground, +roaring like a storm. It was very near now and the smoke almost blinded +him. A boy with a spirit less stanch than his might well have fled in a +panic, leaving his companion to his death. But the nearer the danger +came the more resolute Henry grew. He saw, too, that he must sting Paul +into renewed action. + +"Get up!" he exclaimed, and he jerked the fainting boy to his feet. +Then, snatching a stick, he struck Paul several smart blows on his back. +Paul cried out with the sudden pain, and, stimulated by it into physical +action, began to run with renewed speed. + +"That's right, Paul!" cried Henry, dropping his stick and seizing his +comrade again by the hand. "One more big try and we'll get away! Just +over this hill here it's open ground, and the fire will have to stop!" + +It was a guess, only made to encourage Paul, and Henry had small hope +that it would come true, but when they reached the brow of the hill both +uttered a shout of delight. There was no forest for perhaps a quarter of +a mile beyond, and down the center of the open glittered a silver streak +that meant running water. + +Henry was so joyous that he cried out again. + +"See, Paul! See!" he exclaimed. "Here's safety! Now we'll run!" + +How they did run! The sight gave them new strength. They shot out of +that terrible forest and across the short dry grass, burnt brown by late +summer days, running for life toward the flowing water. They did not +stop to notice the size of the stream, but plunged at once into its +current. + +Henry sank with a mighty splash, and went down, down, it seemed to him, +a mile. Then his feet touched a hard, rocky bottom, and he shot back to +the surface, spluttering and blowing the water out of eyes, mouth and +nostrils. A brown head was bobbing beside him. He seized it by the hair, +pulled it up, and disclosed the features of Paul, his comrade. Paul, +too, began to splutter and at the same time to try to swim. + +Splash! + +A heavy body struck the water beside them with a thud too great for that +of a man. It was the stag leaping also for safety and he began to swim +about, looking at the boys with great pathetic eyes, as if he would ask +them what he ought to do next for his life. Apparently his fear of +mankind had passed for the moment. They were bound together by the +community of danger. + +Splash! Splash! Splash! + +The water resounded like the beating of a bass drum. Three more deer, a +buffalo, and any number of smaller game sprang into the stream, and +remained there swimming or wading. + +"Here, Paul! Here's a bar that we can stand on," said Henry who had +found a footing. At the same time he grasped Paul by the wrist, and drew +him to the bar. There they stood in the water to their necks, and +watched the great fire as it divided at the little prairie, and swept +around them, passing to left and right. It was a grim sight. All the +heavens seemed ablaze, and the clouds of smoke were suffocating. Even +there in the river the heat was most oppressive, and at times the faces +of the boys were almost scorched. Then they would thrust their heads +under the water, and keep them there as long as they could hold their +breath, coming up again greatly refreshed. The wild game clustered near +in common terror. + +"It's a lucky thing for us the river and prairie are here," said Henry. +"Another half mile and we'd have been ashes." + +Paul was giving thanks under his breath, and watching the fire with +awe-stricken eyes. It swept past them and rushed on, in a great red +cloud, that ate all in its path and gave forth much noise. + +It was now on the far side of the prairie, and soon began to grow +smaller in the distance. Yet so great was the wall of fire that it was +long in sight, dying at last in a red band under the horizon. Even then +all the skies were still filled with drifting smoke and ashes. + +The boys looked back at the path over which they had come, and although +the joy of escape was still upon them it was with real grief that they +beheld the stricken forest, lately so grand a sight. It was now but a +desolate and blackened ruin. Here and there charred trunks stood like +the chimneys of burned houses, and others lay upon the ground like +fallen and smoking rafters. Scattered about were great beds of living +coals, where the brush had been thickest, and smoke rose in columns from +the burned grass and hot earth. It was all like some great temple +destroyed by fire; and such it was, the grandest of all temples, the +natural temple of the forest. + +"We kindled that fire," said Paul. + +"I guess we did," responded Henry, "but we didn't know our spark would +grow into so great a blaze." + +They swam to the bank and walked toward the remains of the forest. But +the ground was still hot to their feet, and the smoke troubled them. +Near the edge of the wood they found a deer still alive and with a +broken leg, tripped in its panic-stricken flight or struck by a fallen +tree. Henry approached cautiously and slew him with his clasp knife. He +felt strong pity as the fallen animal looked at him with great mournful +eyes, but they were two hungry boys, and they must have a food supply if +they would live in the woods. + +They cleaned and dressed the deer and found that the carcass was as much +as they could carry. But with great toil they lifted it over the hot +ground, and then across another little prairie, until they came to woods +only partially burned. There they hung the body to the bough of a tree, +out of the reach of beasts of prey. + +Then they took thought for the future. Barring the deer which would last +some time they would now have to begin all over again, but they resolved +to spend the rest of the present day, there under the shade of the +trees. They were too much exhausted with exertion and excitement to +undertake any new risk just yet. + +Paul was afflicted with a great longing for home that afternoon. The +fire and their narrow escape were still on his nerves. His muscular +fiber was not so enduring as that of Henry, and the wilderness did not +make so keen an appeal to him. Their hardships were beginning to weigh +upon him and he thought all the time of Wareville, and the comfortable +little log houses and the certain and easy supplies of food. Henry knew +what was on his comrade's mind but he did not upbraid him for weakness +of spirit. He, too, had memories of Wareville, and he pitied the grief +of their people who must now be mourning them as lost forever. But he +had been thinking long and hard and he had a plan. Finally he announced +to Paul that they would build a raft. + +"I believe this is the same river that runs by Wareville," he said. "I +never heard Ross or Shif'less Sol or any of the men speak of another +river, near enough for us to have reached it, since we've been wandering +around. So it must be the same. Now either we are above Wareville or we +are below it. We've got to guess at that and take the risk of it. We can +roll a lot of the logs and timber into the river, tie 'em together, and +float with the stream until we come to Wareville." + +"But if we never come to it?" asked Paul. + +"Then all we have to do is to get off the raft and follow the river back +up the bank. Then we are sure to reach home." + +This was so plausible that Paul was full of enthusiasm and they decided +that they would set to work on the raft early in the morning. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE HAUNTED FOREST + + +As the two boys sat before their camp fire that night, after making +their plan, they were far from feeling gloomy. Another revulsion had +come. Safe, for the moment, after their recent run for life, it seemed +to them that they were safe for all time. They were rested, they had +eaten good food in plenty, and the fire was long since but a dim red +blur on the horizon. Ashes, picked up by wandering puffs of wind, still +floated here and there among the burned tree trunks, and now and then a +shower of sparks burst forth, as a bough into which the flames had eaten +deep, broke and fell to the ground; but fear had gone from the lads, +and, in its place, came a deep content. They were used to the forest, +and in the company of each other they felt neither loneliness nor +despair. + +"It's good here," said Paul who was a reader and a philosopher. "I guess +a fellow's life looks best to him just after he's thought he was going +to lose it, but didn't." + +"I think that's true," said Henry, glancing toward the far horizon, +where the red blur still showed under the twilight. "But that was just a +little too close for fun." + +But his satisfaction was even deeper than Paul's. The wilderness and its +ways made a stronger appeal to him. Paul, without Henry, would have felt +loneliness and fear, but Henry alone, would have faced the night +undaunted. Already the great forest was putting upon him its magic +spell. + +"Have you eaten enough, Paul?" he asked. + +"I should like to eat more, but I'm afraid I can't find a place for it," +replied Paul ruefully. + +Henry laughed. He felt himself more than ever Paul's protector and +regarded all his weaknesses with kindly tolerance. There the two lay +awhile, stretched out on the soft, warm earth, watching the twilight +deepen into night. Henry was listening to the voice of the wilderness, +which spoke to him in such pleasant tones. He heard a faint sighing, +like some one lightly plucking the strings of a guitar, and he knew that +it was the wandering breeze among the burned boughs; he heard now and +then a distant thud, and he knew that it was the fall of a tree, into +whose trunk the flames had bit deeply; as he lay with his ear to the +earth he heard more than once a furtive footfall as light as air, and he +knew that some wild animal was passing. But he had no fear, the fire was +a ring of steel about them. + +Paul heard few of these sounds, or if hearing them he paid no heed. The +wilderness was not talking to him. He was merely in the woods and he was +very glad indeed to have his strong and faithful comrade beside him. + +The twilight slipped away and the night came, thick and dark. The red +blur lingered, but the faintest line of pink under the dark horizon, and +the scorched tree trunks that curved like columns in a circle around +them became misty and unreal. Despite himself Paul began to feel a +little fear. He was a brave boy, but this was the wilderness, the +wilderness in the dark, peopled by wild animals and perhaps by wilder +men, and they were lost in it. He moved a little closer to his comrade. +But Henry, into whose mind no such thoughts had come, rose presently, +and heaped more wood on the fire. He was merely taking an ordinary +precaution, and this little task finished, he spoke to Paul in a vein of +humor, purposely making his words sound very big. + +"Mr. Cotter," he said, "it seems to me that two worthy gentlemen like +ourselves who have had a day of hard toil should retire for the night, +and seek the rest that we deserve." + +"What you say is certainly true, Mr. Ware," responded Paul who had a +lively fancy, "and I am glad to see that we have happened upon an inn, +worthy of our great merits, and of our high position in life. This, you +see, Mr. Ware, is the Kaintuckee Inn, a most spacious place, noted for +its pure air, and the great abundance of it. In truth, Mr. Ware, I may +assert to you that the ventilation is perfect." + +"So I see, Mr. Cotter," said Henry, pursuing the same humor. "It is +indeed a noble place. We are not troubled by any guest, beneath us in +quality, nor are we crowded by any of our fellow lodgers." + +"True! True!" said Paul, his bright eyes shining with his quick spirit, +"and it is a most noble apartment that we have chosen. I have seldom +been in one more spacious. My eyes are good, but good as they are I +cannot see the ceiling, it is so high. I look to right and left, and the +walls are so far away that they are hidden in the dark." + +"Correctly spoken, Mr. Cotter," said Henry taking up the thread of talk, +"and our inn has more than size to speak for it. It is furnished most +beautifully. I do not know of another that has in it so good a larder. +Its great specialty is game. It has too a most wonderful and plenteous +supply of pure fresh water and that being so I propose that we get a +drink and go to bed." + +The two boys went down to the little brook that ran near, and drank +heartily. They then returned within the ring of fire. + +They were thoroughly tired and sleepy, and they quickly threw themselves +down upon the soft warm earth, pillowing their heads on their arms, and +the great Kaintuckee Inn bent over them a roof of soft, summer skies. + +But the wilderness never sleeps, and its people knew that night that a +stranger breed was abroad among them. The wind rose a little, and its +song among the burned branches became by turns a music and a moan. The +last cinder died, the earth cooled, and the forest creatures began to +stir in the woodland aisles where the fire had passed. The disaster had +come and gone, and perhaps it was already out of their memories forever. +Rabbits timidly sought their old nests. A wild cat climbed a tree, +scarcely yet cool beneath his claws, and looked with red and staring +eyes at the ring of fire that formed a core of light in the forest, and +the two extraordinary beings that slept within its shelter. A deer came +down to the brook to drink, snorted at the sight of the red gleam among +the trees, and then, when the strange odor came on the wind to its +nostrils, fled in wild fright through the forest. + +The news, in some way unknown to man, was carried to all the forest +creatures. A new species, strange, unexplainable, had come among them, +and they were filled with curiosity. Even the weak who had need to fear +the strong, edged as near as they dared, and gazed at the singular +beings who lay inside the red blaze. The wild cat crawled far out on the +bare bough, and stared, half afraid, half curious, and also angry at the +intrusion. He could see over the red blaze and he saw the boys stretched +upon the ground, their faces, very white to the eye of the forest, +upturned to the sky. To human gaze they would have seemed as two dead, +but the keen eyes of the wild cat saw their chests rising and falling +with deep regular breaths. + +The darkness deepened and then after a while began to lighten. A +beautiful clear moon came out and sheathed all the burned forest in +gleaming silver. But the boys were still far away in a happy +slumberland. The wild cat fled in alarm at the light, and the timid +things drew back farther among the trees. + +Time passed, and the red ring of fire about Paul and Henry sank. Hasty +and tired, they had not drawn up enough wood to last out the night, and +now the flames died, one by one. Then the coals smoldered and after a +while they too began to go out, one by one. The red ring of fire that +inclosed the two boys was slowly going away. It broke into links, and +then the links went out. + +Light clouds came up from the west, and were drawn, like a veil, across +the sky. The moon began to fade, the silver armor melted away from the +trees, and the wild cat that had come back could scarcely see the two +strange beings, keen though his eyes were, so dense was the shadow where +they lay. The wild things, still devoured with curiosity, pressed +nearer. The terrible red light that filled their souls with dread, was +gone, and the forest had lost half its terror. There was a ring of eyes +about Henry and Paul, but they yet abode in glorious slumberland, +peaceful and happy. + +Suddenly a new note came into the sounds of the wilderness, one that +made the timid creatures tremble again with dread. It was faint and very +far, more like a quaver brought down upon the wind, but the ring of eyes +drew back into the forest, and then, when the quaver came a second time, +the rabbits and the deer fled, not to return. The lips of the wild cat +contracted into a snarl, but his courage was only of the moment, he +scampered away and he did not stop until he had gone a full mile. Then +he swiftly climbed the tallest tree that he could find, and hid in its +top. + +The ring of eyes was gone, as the ring of fire had died, but Henry and +Paul slept on, although there was full need for them to be awake. The +long, distant quaver, like a whine, but with something singularly +ferocious in its note came again on the wind, and, far away, a score of +forms, phantom and dusky, in the shadow were running fast, with low, +slim bodies, and outstretched nostrils that had in them a grateful odor +of food, soon to come. + +Nature had given to Henry Ware a physical mechanism of great strength, +but as delicate as that of a watch. Any jar to the wheels and springs +was registered at once by the minute hand of his brain. He stirred in +his sleep and moved one hand in a troubled way. He was not yet awake, +but the minute hand was quivering, and through all his wonderfully +sensitive organism ran the note of alarm. He stirred again and then +abruptly sat up, his eyes wide open, and his whole frame tense with a +new and terrible sensation. He saw the dead coals, where the fire had +been; the long, quavering and ferocious whine came to his ears, and, in +an instant, he understood. It was well for the two that Henry was by +nature a creature of the forest! He sprang to his feet and with one +sweeping motion pulled Paul to his also. + +"Up! Up, Paul!" he cried. "The fire is out, and the wolves are coming!" + +Paul's physical senses were less acute and delicate than Henry's, and he +did not understand at once. He was still dazed, and groping with his +hands in the dusk, but Henry gave him no time. + +"It's our lives, Paul!" he cried. "Another enemy as bad as the fire is +after us!" + +Not twenty feet away grew a giant beech, spreading out low and mighty +boughs, and Henry leaped for it, dragging Paul after him. + +"Up you go!" he cried, and Paul, not yet fully awake, instinctively +obeyed the fierce command. Then Henry leaped lightly after him and as +they climbed higher among the boughs the ferocious whine burst into a +long terrible howl, and the dusky forms, running low, gaunt and ghostly +in the shadow, shot from the forest, and hurled themselves at the beech +tree. + +Henry, despite all his courage, shuddered, and while he clutched a bough +tightly with one hand put the other upon his comrade to see that he did +not fall. He could feel Paul trembling in his grasp. + +The two looked down upon the inflamed red eyes, the cruelly sharp, white +teeth and slavering mouths, and, still panting from their climb, each +breathed a silent prayer of thankfulness. They had been just in time to +escape a pack of wolves that howled horribly for a while, and then sat +upon their haunches, staring silently up at the sweet new food, which +they believed would fall at last into their mouths. + +Paul at length said weakly: + +"Henry, I'm mighty glad you're a light sleeper. If it had been left to +me to wake up first I'd have woke up right in the middle of the stomachs +of those wolves." + +"Well, we're here and we're safe for the present," said Henry who never +troubled himself over what was past and gone, "and I think this is a +mighty fine beech tree. I know that you and I, Paul, will never see +another so big and friendly and good as it is." + +Paul laughed, now with more heart. + +"You are right, Henry," he said. "You are a mighty good friend, Mr. Big +Beech Tree, and as a mark of gratitude I shall kiss you right in the +middle of your honest barky old forehead," and he touched his lips +lightly to the great trunk. Paul was an imaginative boy, and his whim +pleased him. Such a thought would not have come to Henry, but he liked +it in Paul. + +"I think it's past midnight, Paul," said Henry, "and we've been lucky +enough to have had several hours' sleep." + +"But they'll go away as soon as they realize they can't get us," said +Paul, "and then we can climb down and build a new and bigger ring of +fire about us." + +Henry shook his head. + +"They don't realize it," he replied. "I know they expect just the +contrary, Paul. They are as sure as a wolf can be that we will drop +right into their mouths, just ready and anxious to be eaten. Look at +that old fellow with his forepaws on the tree! Did you ever see such +confidence?" + +Paul looked down fearfully, and the eyes of the biggest of the wolves +met his, and held him as if he were charmed. The wolf began to whine and +lick his lips, and Paul felt an insane desire to throw himself down. + +"Stop it, Paul!" Henry cried sharply. + +Paul jerked his eyes away, and shuddered from head to foot. + +"He was asking me to come," he said hysterically, "and I don't know how +it was, but for a moment I felt like going." + +"Yes and a warm welcome he would have given you," said Henry still +sharply. "Remember that your best friend just now is not Mr. Big Wolf, +but Mr. Big Beech Tree, and it's a wise boy who sticks to his best +friend." + +"I'm not likely to forget it," said Paul. + +He shuddered again at the memory of the terrible, haunting eyes that had +been able for a brief moment to draw him downward. Then he clasped the +friendly tree more tightly in his arms, and Henry smiled approval. + +"That's right, Paul," he said, "hold fast. I'd a heap rather be up here +than down there." + +Paul felt himself with his hand. + +"I'm all in one piece up here," he said, "and I think that's good for a +fellow who wants to live and grow." + +Henry laughed with genuine enjoyment. Paul was getting back his sense of +humor, and the change meant that his comrade was once more strong and +alert. Then the larger boy looked down at their besiegers, who were +sitting in a solemn circle, gazing now at the two lads and now at the +venison, hanging from the boughs of another tree very near. In the dusk +and the shadows they were a terrible company, gaunt and ghostly, gray +and grim. + +For a long time the wolves neither moved nor uttered a sound; they +merely sat on their haunches and stared upward at the living prey that +they felt would surely be theirs. The clouds, caught by wandering +breezes, were stripped from the face of the sky, and the moonlight came +out again, clear, and full, sheathing the scorched trunks once more in +silver armor, and stretching great blankets of light on the burned and +ashy earth. It fell too on the gaunt figures of the gray wolves, but the +silent and deadly circle did not stir. In the moonlight they grew more +terrible, the red eyes became more inflamed and angry, because they had +to wait so long for what they considered theirs by right, the snarling +lips were drawn back a little farther, and the sharp white teeth gleamed +more cruelly. + +Time passed again, dragging slowly and heavily for the besieged boys in +the tree, but the wolves, though hungry, were patient. Strong in union +they were lords of the forest, and they felt no fear. A shambling black +bear, lumbering through the woods, suddenly threw up his nose in the +wind, and catching the strong pungent odor, wheeled abruptly, lumbering +off on another course. The wild cat did not come back, but crouched +lower in his tree top; the timid things remained hidden deep in their +nests and burrows. + +It was a new kind of game that the wolves had scented and driven to the +boughs, something that they had never seen before, but the odor was very +sweet and pleasant in their nostrils. It was a tidbit that they must +have, and, red-eyed, they stared at the two strange, toothsome +creatures, who stirred now and then in the tree, and who made queer +sounds to each other. When they heard these occasional noises the pack +would reply with a long ferocious whine that seemed to double on itself +and give back echoes from every point of the compass. In the still night +it went far, and the timid things, when they heard it, trembled all over +in their nests and burrows. Then the leader, the largest and most +terrible of the pack would stretch himself upon the tree trunk, and claw +at the scorched bark, but the food he craved was still out of reach. + +They noticed that the strange creatures in the tree began to move +oftener, and to draw their limbs up as if they were growing stiff, and +then their long-drawn howl grew longer and more ferocious than ever; the +game, tired out, would soon drop into their mouths. But it did not, the +two creatures made sounds as if they were again encouraging each other, +and the hearts of the wolves filled with rage and impatience that they +should be cheated so long. + +The night advanced; the moonlight faded again and the dark hours that +come before the dawn were at hand. The forest became black and misty +like a haunted wood, and the dim forms of the wolves were the ghosts +that lived in it. But to their sharp red eyes the dark was nothing; they +saw the two beings in the tree do a very queer thing; they tore strips +from themselves, so it seemed to the wolves, from their clothing in +fact, and wound it about their bodies and a bough of the tree against +which they rested. But the wolves did not understand, only they knew +that the creatures did not stir again or make any kind of noise for a +long time. + +When the darkness was thickest the wolves grew hot with impatience. +Already they smelled the dawn and in the light their courage would ooze. +Could it be that the food they coveted would not fall into their mouths? +The dread suspicion filled every vein of the old leader with wrath, and +he uttered a long terrible howl of doubt and anger; the pack took up the +note and the lonely forest became alive with its echoes. But the +creatures in the tree stirred only a little, and made very few sounds. +They seemed to be safe and content, and the wolves raged back and forth, +leaping and howling. + +The old leader felt the dark thin and lighten, and the scent of the +coming dawn became more oppressive to him. A little needle of fear shot +into his heart, and his muscles began to grow weak. He saw afar in the +east the first pale tinge, faint and gray, of the dreadful light that he +feared and hated. His howl now was one of mingled anger and +disappointment, and the pack imitated the note of the king. + +The black veil over the forest gave way to one of gray. The dreadful bar +of light in the east broadened and deepened, and became beaming, intense +and brilliant. The needle of terror at the heart of the gray wolf +stabbed and tore. His red eyes could not face the great red sun that +swung now above the earth, shooting its fierce beams straight at him. +The dark, so kindly and so encouraging, beloved of his kind, was gone, +and the earth swam in a hideous light, every ray of which was hostile. +His blood changed to water, his knees bent under him, and then, to turn +fear to panic, came a powerful odor on the light, morning wind. It was +like the scent of the two strange, succulent creatures in the tree, but +it was the odor of many--many make strength he knew--and the great gray +wolf was sore afraid. + +The sun shot higher and the world was bathed in a luminous golden glow. +The master-wolf cast one last, longing look at the lost food in the +tree, and then, uttering a long quavering howl of terror, which the pack +took up and carried in many echoes, fled headlong through the forest +with his followers close behind, all running low and fast, and with +terror hot at their heels. Their gaunt, gray bodies were gone in a +moment, like ghosts that vanish at the coming of the day. + +"Rouse up, Paul!" cried Henry. "They are gone, afraid of the sun, and +it's safe for us now on the ground." + +"And mighty glad I am!" said Paul. "The great Inn of Kaintuckee was not +so hospitable after all, or at least some of our fellow guests were too +hungry." + +"It's because we were careless about our fire," said Henry. "If we had +obeyed all the rules of the inn, we should have had no trouble. Jump +down, Paul!" + +Henry dropped lightly and cheerfully to the ground. As usual he let the +past and its dangers slip, forgotten, behind him. Paul alighted beside +him and the wilderness witnessed the strange sight of two stout boys, +running up and down, pounding and rubbing their hands and arms, uttering +little cries of pain, as the blood flowed at first slowly and with +difficulty in their cramped limbs, and then of delight, as the +circulation became free and easy. + +"Now for breakfast," said Henry. "It will be easy, as Mr. Landlord has +kept the venison hanging on the tree there for us." + +Henry was breathing the fresh morning air, and rejoicing in the +sunlight. His wonderful physical nature had cast away all thought of +fear, but Paul, who had the sensitive mind and delicate fancy, was still +troubled. + +"Henry," he said, "I'm not willing to stay here, even to eat the deer +meat. All through those hours we were up there it was a haunted forest +for me. I don't want to see this spot any more, and I'd like to get away +from it just as soon as I can." + +Was it some instinct? or an unseen warning given to Paul, and registered +on his sensitive mind, as a photographic plate takes light? To the keen +nose of the old wolf leader an alarming odor had come with the dawn! Was +a kindred signal sent to Paul? + +Henry stared at his comrade in surprise, but he knew that he and Paul +were different, and he respected those differences which might be either +strength or weakness. + +"All right, if you wish it, Paul," he said, lightly. "There are many +rooms in the Kaintuckee Inn, and if the one we have doesn't suit us +we'll just take another. Wait till I cut this venison down, and we'll +move without paying our score." + +"I guess we paid that to the wolves," said Paul, smiling a little. + +Henry detached the venison and divided it. Then each took his share, and +they moved swiftly away among the trees, still keeping to the general +course of the river. They came presently to a large area of unburned +forest, thick with foliage and undergrowth and, without hesitation, they +plunged into it. Henry was in front and suddenly to his keen ears came a +sound which he knew was not one of the natural noises of the forest. He +listened and it continued, a beat, faint but regular and steady. He knew +that it was made by footfalls, and he knew, too, that in the wilderness +everyone is an enemy until he is proved to be a friend. They were in the +densest of the undergrowth, and thought and action came to him on the +heels of each other, swift as lightning. + +"Sink down, Paul! Sink down!" he cried, and grasping his comrade by the +shoulder he bore him down among the thick bushes, going down with him. + +"Don't move for your life!" he whispered. "Men are about to pass and +they cannot be our kind!" + +Paul at once became as still as death. He too under the strain of the +wilderness life and the need of caring for oneself was becoming +wonderfully acute of the senses and ready of action. The two boys +crouched close together, their heads below the tops of the bushes, +although they could see between the leaves and twigs, and neither moved +a hair. + +Almost hidden in the foliage a line of Indian warriors, like dusky +phantoms, passed, in single file, and apparently stepping in one +another's tracks. Well for the boys that Paul had felt his impulse to +leave the vicinity of the besieged tree, because the course of the +warriors would carry them very near it, and they could not fail to +detect the alien presence. But no such suspicion seemed to enter their +minds now, and, like the wolves, they were traveling fast, but +southward. + +The boys stared through the leaves and twigs, afraid but fascinated. +They were fourteen in all--Henry counted them--but never a warrior spoke +a word, and the grim line was seen but a moment and then gone, though +their dark painted faces long remained engraved, like pictures, on the +minds of both. But to Paul it was, for the instant, like a dream. He saw +them, and then he did not. The leaves of the bushes rustled a little +when they passed, and then were still. + +"They must be Southern Indians," whispered Henry. "Cherokees most +likely. They come up here now and then to hunt, but they seldom stay +long, for fear of the more warlike and powerful Northern Indians, who +come down to Kaintuckee for the same purpose, at least that's what I +heard Ross and Sol say." + +"Well, they did seem to be traveling fast," breathed Paul, "and I'm +mighty glad of it. Do you think, Henry, they could have done any harm at +Wareville?" + +Henry shook his head. + +"I have no such fear," he said. "We are a good long distance from home, +and they've probably gone by without ever hearing of the place. Ross has +always said that no danger was to be dreaded from the south." + +"I guess it's so," said Paul with deep relief, "but I think, Henry, that +you and I ought to go down to the river's bank, and build that raft as +soon as we can." + +"All right," said Henry calmly. "But we'll first eat our venison." + +They quickly did as they agreed, and felt greatly strengthened and +encouraged after a hearty breakfast. Then with bold hearts and quick +hands they began their task. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +AFLOAT + + +The boys began at once the work on their raft, a rude structure of a few +fallen logs, fastened together with bark and brush, but simple, strong +and safe. They finished it in two days, existing meanwhile on the deer +meat, and early the morning afterwards, the clumsy craft, bearing the +two navigators, was duly intrusted to the mercy of the unknown river. +Each of the boys carried a slender hickory pole with which to steer, and +they also fastened securely to the raft the remainder of their deer, +their most precious possession. + +They pushed off with the poles, and the current catching their craft, +carried it gently along. It was a fine little river, running in a deep +channel, and Henry became more sure than ever that it was the one that +flowed by Wareville. He was certain that the family resemblance was too +strong for him to be mistaken. + +They floated on for hours, rarely using their poles to increase the +speed of the raft and by and by they began to pass between cliffs of +considerable height. The forest here was very dense. Mighty oaks and +hickories grew right at the water's edge, throwing out their boughs so +far that often the whole stream was in the shade. Henry enjoyed it. This +was one of the things that his fancy had pictured. He was now floating +down an unknown river, through unknown lands, and, like as not, his and +Paul's were the first human eyes that had ever looked upon these hills +and splendid forests. Reposing now after work and danger he breathed +again the breath of the wilderness. He loved it--its silence, its +magnificent spaces, and its majesty. He was glad that he had come to +Kentucky, where life was so much grander than it was back in the old +Eastern regions. Here one was not fenced in and confined and could grow +to his true stature. + +They ate their dinner on the raft, still floating peacefully and tried +to guess how far they had come, but neither was able to judge the speed +of the current. Paul fitted himself into a snug place on their queer +craft and after a while went to sleep. Henry watched him, lest he turn +over and fall into the river and also kept an eye out for other things. + +He was watching thus, when about the middle of the afternoon he saw a +thin dark line, lying like a thread, against the blue skies. He studied +it long and came to the conclusion that it was smoke. + +"Smoke!" said he to himself. "Maybe that means Wareville." + +The raft glided gently with the current, moving so smoothly and +peacefully that it was like the floating of a bubble on a summer sea. +Paul still lay in a dreamless sleep. The water was silver in the shade +and dim gold where the sunshine fell upon it, and the trees, a solid +mass, touched already by the brown of early autumn, dropped over the +stream. Afar, a fine haze, like a misty veil, hung over the forest. The +world was full of peace and primitive beauty. + +They drifted on and the spire of smoke broadened and grew. The look of +the river became more and more familiar. Paul still slept and Henry +would not awaken him. He looked at the face of his comrade as he +slumbered and noticed for the first time that it was thin and pale. The +life in the woods had been hard upon Paul. Henry did not realize until +this moment how very hard it had been. The sight of that smoke had not +come too soon. + +There was a shout from the bank followed by the crash of bodies among +the undergrowth. + +"Smoke me, but here they are! A-floatin' down the river in their own +boat, as comfortable as two lords!" + +It was the voice of Shif'less Sol, and his face, side by side with that +of Ross, the guide, appeared among the trees at the river's brink. Henry +felt a great flush of joy when he saw them, and waved his hands. Paul, +awakened by the shouts, was in a daze at first, but when he beheld old +friends again his delight was intense. + +Henry thrust a pole against the bottom and shoved the raft to the bank. +Then he and Paul sprang ashore and shook hands again and again with Ross +and Sol. Ross told of the long search for the two boys. He and Mr. Ware +and Shif'less Sol and a half dozen others had never ceased to seek them. +They feared at one time that they had been carried off by savages, but +nowhere did they find Indian traces. Then their dread was of starvation +or death by wild animals, and they had begun to lose hope. + +Both Henry and Paul were deeply moved by the story of the grief at +Wareville. They knew even without the telling that this sorrow had never +been demonstrative. The mothers of the West were too much accustomed to +great tragedies to cry out and wring their hands when a blow fell. +Theirs was always a silent grief, but none the less deep. + +Then, guided by Ross and the shiftless one, they proceeded to Wareville +which was really at the bottom of the smoke spire, where they were +received, as two risen from the dead, in a welcome that was not noisy, +but deep and heartfelt. The cow, the original cause of the trouble, had +wandered back home long ago. + +"How did you live in the forest?" asked Mr. Ware of Henry, after the +first joy of welcome was shown. + +"It was hard at first, but we were beginning to learn," replied the boy. +"If we'd only had our rifles 'twould have been no trouble. And father, +the wilderness is splendid!" + +The boy's thoughts wandered far away for a moment to the wild woods +where he again lay in the shade of mighty oaks and saw the deer come +down to drink. Mr. Ware noticed the expression on Henry's face and took +reflection. "I must not let the yoke bear too heavy upon him," was his +unspoken thought. + +But Paul's joy was unalloyed; he preferred life at Wareville to life in +the wilderness amid perpetual hardships, and when they gave the great +dinner at Mr. Ware's to celebrate the return of the wanderers he reached +the height of human bliss. Both Ross and Shif'less Sol were present and +with them, too, were Silas Pennypacker who could preach upon occasion +for the settlement and did it, now and then, and John Upton, who next to +Mr. Ware was the most notable man in Wareville, and his daughter Lucy, +now a shy, pretty girl of twelve, and more than twenty others. Even +Braxton Wyatt was among the members although he still sneered at Henry. + +Theirs was in very truth a table fit for a king. In fact few kings could +duplicate it, without sending to the uttermost parts of the earth, and +perhaps not then. Meat was its staple. They had wild duck, wild goose, +wild turkey, deer, elk, beaver tail, and a half dozen kinds of fish; but +the great delicacy was buffalo hump cooked in a peculiar way--that is, +served up in the hide of a buffalo from which the hair had been singed +off, and baked in an earthen oven. Ross, who had learned it from the +Indians, showed them how to do this, and they agreed that none of them +had ever before tasted so fine a dish. When the dinner was over, Henry +and Paul had to answer many questions about their wanderings, and they +were quite willing to do so, feeling at the moment a due sense of their +own importance. + +A shade passed over the faces of some of the men at the mention of the +Indians, whom Henry and Paul had seen, but Ross agreed with Henry that +they were surely of the South, going home from a hunting trip, and so +they were soon forgotten. + +Henry's work after their return included an occasional hunting +excursion, as game was always needed. His love of the wilderness did not +decrease when thus he ranged through it and began to understand its +ways. Familiarity did not breed contempt. The magnificent spaces and +mighty silence appealed to him with increasing force. The columns of the +trees were like cathedral aisles and the pure breath of the wind was +fresh with life. + +The first part of the autumn was hot and dry. The foliage died fast, the +leaves twisted and dried up and the brown grass stems fell lifeless to +the earth. A long time they were without rain, and a dull haze of heat +hung over the simmering earth. The river shrank in its bed, and the +brooks became rills. + +Henry still hunted with his older comrades, though often at night now, +and he saw the forest in a new phase. Dried and burned it appealed to +him still. He learned to sleep lightly, that is, to start up at the +slightest sound, and one morning after the wilderness had been growing +hotter and dryer than ever he was awakened by a faint liquid touch on +the roof. He knew at once that it was the rain, wished for so long and +talked of so much, and he opened the shutter window to see it fall. + +The sun was just rising, but showed only a faint glow of pink through +the misty clouds, and the wind was light. The clouds opened but a little +at first and the great drops fell slowly. The hot earth steamed at the +touch, and, burning with thirst, quickly drank in the moisture. The wind +grew and the drops fell faster. The heat fled away, driven by the waves +of cool, fresh air that came out of the west. Washed by the rain the dry +grass straightened up, and the dying leaves opened out, springing into +new life. Faster and faster came the drops and now the sound they made +was like the steady patter of musketry. Henry opened his mouth and +breathed the fresh clean air, and he felt that like the leaves and grass +he, too, was gaining new life. + +When he went forth the next day in the dripping forest the wilderness +seemed to be alive. The game swarmed everywhere and he was a lazy man +who could not take what he wished. It was like a late touch of spring, +but it did not last long, for then the frosts came, the air grew crisp +and cool and the foliage of the forest turned to wonderful reds and +yellows and browns. From the summit of the blockhouse tower Henry saw a +great blaze of varied color, and he thought that he liked this part of +the year best. He could feel his own strength grow, and now that cold +weather was soon to come he would learn new ways to seek game and new +phases of the wilderness. + +The autumn and its beauty deepened. The colors of the foliage grew more +intense and burned afar like flame. The settlers lightened their work +and most of them now spent a large part of the time in hunting, pursuing +it with the keen zest, born of a natural taste and the relaxation from +heavy labors. Mr. Ware and a few others, anxious to test the qualities +of the soil, were plowing up newly cleared land to be sown in wheat, but +Henry was compelled to devote only a portion of his time to this work. +The remaining hours, not needed for sleep, he was usually in the forest +with Paul and the others. + +The hunting was now glorious. Less than three miles from the fort and +about a mile from the river Henry and Paul found a beaver dam across a +tributary creek and they laid rude traps for its builders, six of which +they caught in the course of time. Ross and Sol showed them how to take +off the pelts which would be of value when trade should be opened with +the east, and also how to cook beaver tail, a dish which could, with +truth, be called a rival of buffalo hump. + +Now the settlers began to accumulate a great supply of game at +Wareville. Elk and deer and bear and buffalo and smaller animals were +being jerked and dried at every house, and every larder was filled to +the brim. There could be no lack of food the coming winter, the settlers +said, and they spoke with some pride of their care and providence. + +The village was gaining in both comfort and picturesqueness. Tanned +skins of the deer, elk, buffalo, bear, wolf, panther and wild cat hung +on the walls of every house, and were spread on every floor. The women +contrived fans and ornaments of the beautiful mottled plumage of the +wild turkey. Cloth was hard to obtain in the wilderness, as it might be +a year before a pack train would come over the mountains from the east, +and so the women made clothing of the softest and lightest of the +dressed deer skin. There were hunting shirts for the men and boys, +fastened at the waist by a belt, and with a fringe three or four inches +long, the bottom of which fell to the knees. The men and boys also made +themselves caps of raccoon skin with the tail sewed on behind as a +decoration. Henry and Paul were very proud of theirs. + +The finest robes of buffalo skin were saved for the beds, and Ross gave +warning that they should have full need of them. Winters in Kentucky, he +said, were often cold enough to freeze the very marrow in one's bones, +when even the wildest of men would be glad enough to leave the woods and +hover over a big fire. But the settlers provided for this also by +building great stacks of firewood beside each house. They were as well +equipped with axes--keen, heavy weapons--as they were with rifles and +ammunition, and these were as necessary. The forest around Wareville +already gave great proof of their prowess with the ax. + +Now the autumn was waning. Every morning the wilderness gleamed and +sparkled beneath a beautiful covering of white frost. The brown in the +leaves began to usurp the yellows and the reds. The air, crisp and cold, +had a strange nectar in it and its very breath was life. The sun lay in +the heavens a ball of gold, and a fine haze, like a misty golden veil, +hung over the forest. It was Indian summer. + +Then Indian summer passed and winter, which was very early that year, +came roaring down on Wareville. The autumn broke up in a cold rain which +soon turned to snow. The wind swept out of the northwest, bitter and +chill, and the desolate forest, every bough stripped of its leaves, +moaned before the blast. + +But it was cheerful, when the sleet beat upon the roof and the cold wind +rattled the rude shutters, to sit before the big fires and watch them +sparkle and blaze. + +There was another reason why Henry should now begin to spend much of his +time indoors. The Rev. Silas Pennypacker opened his school for the +winter, and it was necessary for Henry to attend. Many of the pioneers +who crossed the mountains from the Eastern States and founded the great +Western outpost of the nation in Kentucky were men of education and +cultivation, with a knowledge of books and the world. They did not +intend that their children should grow up mere ignorant borderers, but +they wished their daughters to have grace and manners and their sons to +become men of affairs, fit to lead the vanguard of a mighty race. So a +first duty in the wilderness was to found schools, and this they did. + +The Reverend Silas was no lean and thin body, no hanger-on upon stronger +men, but of fine girth and stature with a red face as round as the full +moon, a glorious laugh and the mellowest voice in the colony. He was by +repute a famous scholar who could at once give the chapter and text of +any verse in the Bible and had twice read through the ponderous history +of the French gentleman, M. Rollin. It was said, too, that he had nearly +twenty volumes of some famous romances by a French lady, one +Mademoiselle de Scudery, brought over the mountains in a box, but of +this Henry and Paul could not speak with certainty, as a certain wooden +cupboard in Mr. Pennypacker's house was always securely locked. + +But the teacher was a favorite in the settlement with both men and +women. A sight of his cheerful face was considered good enough to cure +chills and fever, and for the matter of that he was an expert hand with +both ax and rifle. His uses in Wareville were not merely mental and +spiritual. He was at all times able and willing to earn his own bread +with his own strong hands, though the others seldom permitted him to do +so. + +Henry entered school with some reluctance. Being nearly sixteen now, +with an unusually powerful frame developed by a forest life, he was as +large as an ordinary man and quite as strong. He thought he ought to +have done with schools, and set up in man's estate but his father +insisted upon another winter under Mr. Pennypacker's care and Henry +yielded. + +There were perhaps thirty boys and girls who sat on the rough wooden +benches in the school and received tuition. Mr. Pennypacker did not +undertake to guide them through many branches of learning, but what he +taught he taught well. He, too, had the feeling that these boys and +girls were to be the men and women who would hold the future of the West +in their hands, and he intended that they should be fit. There were +statesmen and generals among those red-faced boys on the benches, and +the wives and mothers of others among the red-faced girls who sat near +them, and he tried to teach them their duty as the heirs of a +wilderness, soon to be the home of a great race. + +Among his favorite pupils was Paul who had not Henry's eye and hand in +the forest, but who loved books and the knowledge of men. He could +follow the devious lines of history when Henry would much rather have +been following the devious trail of a deer. Nevertheless, Henry +persisted, borne up by the emulation of his comrade, and the knowledge +that it was his last winter in school. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE VOICE OF THE WOODS + + +To study now was the hardest task that Henry had ever undertaken. It was +even easier to find food when he and Paul were unarmed and destitute in +the forest. The walls of the little log house in which he sat inclosed +him like a cell, the air was heavy and the space seemed to grow narrower +and narrower. Then just when the task was growing intolerable he would +look across the room and seeing the studious face of Paul bent over the +big text of an ancient history, he would apply himself anew to his labor +which consisted chiefly of "figures," a bit of the world's geography, +and a little look into the history of England. + +Mr. Pennypacker would neither praise nor blame, but often when the boy +did not notice he looked critically at Henry. "I don't think your son +will be a great scholar," he said once to Mr. Ware, "but he will be a +Nimrod, a mighty hunter before men, and a leader in action. It's as +well, for his is the kind that will be needed most and for a long time +in this wilderness, and back there in the old lands, too." + +"It is so," replied Mr. Ware, "the clouds do gather." + +Involuntarily he looked toward the east, and Mr. Pennypacker's eyes +followed him. But both remained silent upon that portion of their +thoughts. + +"Moreover I tell you for your comfort that the lad has a sense of duty," +added the teacher. + +Henry shot a magnificent stag with great antlers a few days later, and +mounting the head he presented it to Mr. Pennypacker. But on the +following day the master looked very grave and Henry and Paul tried to +guess the cause. Henry heard that Ross had arrived the night before from +the nearest settlement a hundred miles away, but had stayed only an +hour, going to their second nearest neighbor distant one hundred and +fifty miles. He brought news of some kind which only Mr. Ware, Mr. +Upton, the teacher and three or four others knew. These were not ready +to speak and Paul and Henry were well aware that nothing on earth could +make them do so until they thought the time was fit. + +It was a long, long morning. Henry had before him a map of the Empire of +Muscovy but he saw little there. Instead there came between him and the +page a vision of the beaver dam and the pool above it, now covered with +a sheet of ice, and of the salt spring where the deer came to drink, and +of a sheltered valley in which a herd of elk rested every night. + +Mr. Pennypacker was singularly quiet that morning. It was his custom to +call up his pupils and make them recite in a loud voice, but the hours +passed and there were no recitations. The teacher seemed to be looking +far away at something outside the schoolroom, and his thoughts followed +his eyes. Henry by and by let his own roam as they would and he was in +dreamland, when he was aroused by a sharp smack of the teacher's +homemade ruler upon his homemade desk. + +But the blow was not aimed at Henry or anybody in particular. It was an +announcement to all the world in general that Mr. Pennypacker was about +to speak on a matter of importance. Henry and Paul guessed at once that +it would be about the news brought by Ross. + +Mr. Pennypacker's face grew graver than ever as he spoke. He told them +that when they left the east there was great trouble between the +colonies and the mother country. They had hoped that it would pass away, +but now, for the first time in many months, news had come across the +mountains from their old home, and had entered the great forest. The +troubles were not gone. On the contrary they had become worse. There had +been fighting, a battle in which many had been killed, and a great war +was begun. The colonies would all stand together, and no man could tell +what the times would bring forth. + +This was indeed weighty news. Though divided from their brethren in the +east by hundreds of miles of mountain and forest the patriotism of the +settlers in the wilderness burned with a glow all the brighter on that +account. More than one young heart in that rude room glowed with a +desire to be beside their countrymen in the far-off east, rifle in hand. + +But Mr. Pennypacker spoke again. He said that there was now a greater +duty upon them to hold the west for the union of the colonies. Their +task was not merely to build homes for themselves, but to win the land +that it might be homes for others. There were rumors that the savages +would be used against them, that they might come down in force from the +north, and therefore it was the part of everyone, whether man, woman or +child to redouble his vigilance and caution. Then he adjourned school +for the day. + +The boys drew apart from their elders and discussed the great news. +Henry's blood was on fire. The message from that little Massachusetts +town, thrilled him as nothing in his life had done before. He had a +vague idea of going there, and of doing what he considered his part, and +he spoke to Paul about it, but Paul thought otherwise. + +"Why, Henry!" he said. "We may have to defend ourselves here and we'll +need you." + +The people of Wareville knew little about the causes of the war and +after this one message brought by Ross they heard no more of its +progress. They might be fighting great battles away off there on the +Atlantic coast, but no news came through the wall of woods. Wareville +itself was peaceful, and around it curved the mighty forest which told +nothing. + +Mountains and forest alike lay under deep snow, and it was not likely +that they would hear anything further until spring, because the winter +was unusually cold and a man who ventured now on a long journey was +braver than his fellows. + +The new Kentuckians were glad that they had provided so well for winter. +All the cupboards were full and there was no need for them now to roam +the cold forests in search of game. They built the fires higher and +watched the flames roar up the chimneys, while the little children +rolled on the floor and grasped at the shadows. + +Though but a bit of mankind hemmed in by the vast and frozen wilderness +theirs was not an unhappy life by any means. The men and boys, though +now sparing their powder and ball, still set traps for game and were not +without reward. Often they found elk and deer, and once or twice a +buffalo floundering in the deep snowdrifts, and these they added to the +winter larder. They broke holes in the ice on the river and caught fish +in abundance. They worked, too, about the houses, making more tables and +benches and chairs and shelves and adding to their bodily comforts. + +The great snow lasted about a month and then began to break up with a +heavy rain which melted all the ice, but which could not carry away all +the snow. The river rose rapidly and overflowed its banks but Wareville +was safe, built high on the hill where floods could not reach. Warm +winds followed the rain and the melting snow turned great portions of +the forest into lakes. The trees stood in water a yard deep, and the +aspect of the wilderness was gloomy and desolate. Even the most resolute +of the hunters let the game alone at such a time. Often the warm winds +would cease to blow when night came and then the great lagoons would be +covered with a thin skim of ice which melted again the next day under +the winds and the sun. All this brought chills and fever to Wareville +and bitter herbs were sought for their cure. But the strong frame of +Henry was impervious to the attacks and he still made daily journeys to +his traps in the wet and steaming wilderness. + +Henry was now reconciled to the schoolroom. It was to be his last term +there and he realized with a sudden regret that it was almost at its +end. He was beginning to feel the sense of responsibility, that he was +in fact one of the units that must make up the state. + +Despite these new ideas a sudden great longing lay hold of him. The +winds from the south were growing warmer and warmer, all the snow and +ice was gone long ago, faint touches of green and pink were appearing on +grass and foliage and the young buds were swelling. Henry heard the +whisper of these winds and every one of them called to him. He knew that +he was wanted out there in the woods. He began to hate the sight of +human faces, he wished to go alone into the wilderness, to see the deer +steal among the trees and to hear the beaver dive into the deep waters. +He felt himself a part of nature and he would breathe and live as nature +did. + +He grew lax in his tasks; he dragged his feet and there were even times +when he was not hungry. When his mother noticed the latter circumstance +she knew surely that the boy was ill, but her husband shrewdly said: + +"Henry, the spring has come; take your rifle and bring us some fresh +venison." + +So Henry shouldered his rifle and went forth alone upon the quest, even +leaving behind Paul, his chosen comrade. He did not wish human +companionship that day, nor did he stop until he was deep in the +wilderness. How he felt then the glory of living! The blood was flushing +in his veins as the sap was rising in the trees around him. The world +was coming forth from its torpor of winter refreshed and strengthened. +He saw all about him the signs of new life--the tender young grass in +shades of delicate green, the opening buds on the trees, and a subtle +perfume that came on the edge of the Southern wind. Beyond him the wild +turkeys on the hill were calling to each other. + +He stood there a long time breathing the fresh breath of this new world, +and the old desire to wander through illimitable forests and float +silently down unknown rivers came over him. He would not feel the need +of companionship on long wanderings. Nature would then be sufficient, +talking to him in many tongues. + +The wind heavy, with perfumes of the South, came over the hill and on +its crest the wild turkeys were still clucking to each other. Henry, +through sheer energy and flush of life, ran up the slope, and watched +them as they took flight through the trees, their brilliant plumage +gleaming in the sunshine. + +It was the highest hill near Wareville and he stood a while upon its +crest. The wilderness here circled around him, and, in the distance, it +blended into one mass, already showing a pervading note of green with +faint touches of pink bloom appearing here and there. The whole of it +was still and peaceful with no sign of human life save a rising spire of +smoke behind him that told where Wareville stood. + +He walked on. Rabbits sprang out of the grass beside him and raced away +into the thickets. Birds in plumage of scarlet and blue and gold shot +like a flame from tree to tree. The forest, too, was filled with the +melody of their voices, but Henry took no notice. + +He paused a while at the edge of a brook to watch the silver sunfish +play in the shallows, then he leaped the stream and went on into the +deeper woods, a tall, lithe, strong figure, his eyes gazing at no one +thing, the long slender-barreled rifle lying forgotten across his +shoulder. + +A great stag sprang up from the forest and stood for a few moments, +gazing at him with expanding and startled eyes. Henry standing quite +still returned the look, seeking to read the expression in the eyes of +the deer. + +Thus they confronted each other a half minute and then the stag turning +fled through the woods. There was no undergrowth, and Henry for a long +time watched the form of the deer fleeing down the rows of trees, as it +became smaller and smaller and then disappeared. + +All the forest glowed red in the setting sun when he returned home. + +"Where is the deer?" asked his father. + +"Why--why I forgot it!" said Henry in confused reply. + +Mr. Ware merely smiled. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE GIANT BONES + + +About this time many people in Wareville, particularly the women and +children began to complain of physical ills, notably lassitude and a +lack of appetite; their food, which consisted largely of the game +swarming all around the forest, had lost its savor. There was no mystery +about it; Tom Ross, Mr. Ware and others promptly named the cause; they +needed salt, which to the settlers of Kentucky was almost as precious as +gold; it was obtained in two ways, either by bringing it hundreds of +miles over the mountains from Virginia in wagons or on pack horses, or +by boiling it out at the salt springs in the Indian-haunted woods. + +They had neither the time nor the men for the long journey to Virginia, +and they prepared at once for obtaining it at the springs. They had +already used a small salt spring but the supply was inadequate, and they +decided to go a considerable distance northward to the famous Big Bone +Lick. Nothing had been heard in a long time of Indian war parties south +of the Ohio, and they believed they would incur no danger. Moreover they +could bring back salt to last more than a year. + +When they first heard of the proposed journey, Paul Cotter pulled Henry +to one side. They were just outside the palisade, and it was a beautiful +day, in early spring. Already kindly nature was smoothing over the cruel +scars made by the axes in the forest, and the village within the +palisade began to have the comfortable look of home. + +"Do you know what the Big Bone Lick is, Henry?" asked Paul eagerly. + +"No," replied Henry, wondering at his chum's excitement. + +"Why it's the most wonderful place in all the world!" said Paul, jumping +up and down in his wish to tell quickly. "There was a hunter here last +winter who spoke to me about it. I didn't believe him then, it sounded +so wonderful, but Mr. Pennypacker says it's all true. There's a great +salt spring, boiling out of the ground in the middle of a kind of marsh, +and all around it, for a long distance, are piled hundreds of large +bones, the bones of gigantic animals, bigger than any that walk the +earth to-day." + +"See here, Paul," said Henry scornfully, "you can't stuff my ears with +mush like that. I guess you were reading one of the master's old +romances, and then had a dream. Wake up, Paul!" + +"It's true every word of it!" + +"Then if there were such big animals, why don't we see 'em sometimes +running through the forest?" + +"My, they've all been dead millions of years and their bones have been +preserved there in the marsh. They lived in another geologic era--that's +what Mr. Pennypacker calls it--and animals as tall as trees strolled up +and down over the land and were the lords of creation." + +Henry puckered his lips and emitted a long whistle of incredulity. + +"Paul," he said, reprovingly, "you do certainly have the gift of +speech." + +But Paul was not offended at his chum's disbelief. + +"I'm going to prove to you, Henry, that it's true," he said. "Mr. +Pennypacker says it's so, he never tells a falsehood and he's a scholar, +too. But you and I have got to go with the salt-makers, Henry, and we'll +see it all. I guess if you look on it with your own eyes you'll believe +it." + +"Of course," said Henry, "and of course I'll go if I can." + +A trip through the forest and new country to the great salt spring was +temptation enough in itself, without the addition of the fields of big +bones, and that night in both the Ware and Cotter homes, eloquent boys +gave cogent reasons why they should go with the band. + +"Father," said Henry, "there isn't much to do here just now, and they'll +want me up at Big Bone Lick, helping to boil the salt and a lot of +things." + +Mr. Ware smiled. Henry, like most boys, seldom showed much zeal for +manual labor. But Henry went on undaunted. + +"We won't run any risk. No Indians are in Kentucky now and, father, I +want to go awful bad." + +Mr. Ware smiled again at the closing avowal, which was so frank. Just at +that moment in another home another boy was saying almost exactly the +same things, and another father ventured the same answer that Mr. Ware +did, in practically the same words such as these: + +"Well, my son, as it is to be a good strong company of careful and +experienced men who will not let you get into any mischief, you can go +along, but be sure that you make yourself useful." + +The party was to number a dozen, all skilled foresters, and they were to +lead twenty horses, all carrying huge pack saddles for the utensils and +the invaluable salt. Mr. Silas Pennypacker who was a man of his own will +announced that he was going, too. He puffed out his ruddy cheeks and +said emphatically: + +"I've heard from hunters of that place; it's one of the great +curiosities of the country and for the sake of learning I'm bound to see +it. Think of all the gigantic skeletons of the mastodon, the mammoth and +other monsters lying there on the ground for ages!" + +Henry and Paul were glad that Mr. Pennypacker was to be with them, as in +the woods he was a delightful comrade, able always to make instruction +entertaining, and the superiority of his mind appealed unconsciously to +both of these boys who--each in his way--were also of superior cast. + +They departed on a fine morning--the spring was early and held +steady--and all Wareville saw them go. It was a brilliant little +cavalcade; the horses, their heads up to scent the breeze from the +fragrant wilderness, and the men, as eager to start, everyone with a +long slender-barreled Kentucky rifle on his shoulder, the fringed and +brilliantly colored deerskin hunting shirt falling almost to his knees, +and, below that deerskin leggings and deerskin moccasins adorned with +many-tinted beads. It was a vivid picture of the young West, so young, +and yet so strong and so full of life, the little seed from which so +mighty a tree was soon to grow. + +All of them stopped again, as if by an involuntary impulse, at the edge +of the forest, and waved their hands in another, and, this time, in a +last good-by to the watchers at the fort. Then they plunged into the +mighty wilderness, which swept away and away for unknown thousands of +miles. + +They talked for a while of the journey, of the things that they might +see by the way, and of those that they had left behind, but before long +conversation ceased. The spell of the dark and illimitable woods, in +whose shade they marched, fell upon them, and there was no noise, but +the sound of breathing and the tread of men and horses. They dropped, +too, from the necessities of the path through the undergrowth, into +Indian file, one behind the other. + +Henry was near the rear of the line, the stalwart schoolmaster just in +front of him, and his comrade Paul, just behind. He was full of +thankfulness that he had been allowed to go on this journey. It all +appealed to him, the tale that Paul told of the giant bones and the +great salt spring, the dark woods full of mystery and delightful danger, +and his own place among the trusted band, who were sent on such an +errand. His heart swelled with pride and pleasure and he walked with a +light springy step and with endurance equal to that of any of the men +before him. He looked over his shoulder at Paul, whose face also was +touched with enthusiasm. + +"Aren't you glad to be along?" he asked in a whisper. + +"Glad as I can be," replied Paul in the same whisper. + +Up shot the sun showering golden beams of light upon the forest. The air +grew warmer, but the little band did not cease its rapid pace northward +until noon. Then at a word from Ross all halted at a beautiful glade, +across which ran a little brook of cold water. The horses were tethered +at the edge of the forest, but were allowed to graze on the young grass +which was already beginning to appear, while the men lighted a small +fire of last year's fallen brushwood, at the center of the glade on the +bank of the brook. + +"We won't build it high," said Ross, who was captain as well as guide, +"an' then nobody in the forest can see it. There may not be an Indian +south of the Ohio, but the fellow that's never caught is the fellow that +never sticks his head in the trap." + +"Sound philosophy! sound philosophy! your logic is irrefutable, Mr. +Ross," said the schoolmaster. + +Ross grinned. He did not know what "irrefutable" meant, but he did know +that Mr. Pennypacker intended to compliment him. + +Paul and Henry assisted with the fire. In fact they did most of the +work, each wishing to make good his assertion that he would prove of use +on the journey. It was a brief task to gather the wood and then Ross and +Shif'less Sol lighted the fire, which they permitted merely to smolder. +But it gave out ample heat and in a few minutes they cooked over it +their venison and corn bread and coffee which they served in tin cups. +Henry and Paul ate with the ferocious appetite that the march and the +clean air of the wilderness had bred in them, and nobody restricted +them, because the forest was full of game, and such skillful hunters and +riflemen could never lack for a food supply. + +Mr. Pennypacker leaned with an air of satisfaction against the upthrust +bough of a fallen oak. + +"It's a wonderful world that we have here," he said, "and just to think +that we're among the first white men to find out what it contains." + +"All ready!" said Tom Ross, "then forward we go, we mustn't waste time +by the way. They need that salt at Wareville." + +Once more they resumed the march in Indian file and amid the silence of +the woods. About the middle of the afternoon Ross invited Mr. +Pennypacker and the two boys to ride three of the pack horses. Henry at +first declined, not willing to be considered soft and pampered, but as +the schoolmaster promptly accepted and Paul who was obviously tired did +the same, he changed his mind, not because he needed rest, but lest Paul +should feel badly over his inferiority in strength. + +Thus they marched steadily northward, Ross leading the way, and +Shif'less Sol who was lazy at the settlement, but never in the woods +where he was inferior in knowledge and skill to Ross only, covering the +rear. Each of these accomplished borderers watched every movement of the +forest about him, and listened for every sound; he knew with the eye of +second sight what was natural and if anything not belonging to the usual +order of things should appear, he would detect it in a moment. But they +saw and heard nothing that was not according to nature: only the wind +among the boughs, or the stamp of an elk's hoof as it fled, startled at +the scent of man. The hostile tribes from north and south, fearful of +the presence of each other, seemed to have deserted the great wilderness +of Kentucky. + +Henry noted the beauty of the country as they passed along; the gently +rolling hills, the rich dark soil and the beautiful clear streams. Once +they came to a river, too deep to wade, but all of them, except the +schoolmaster, promptly took off their clothing and swam it. + +"My age and my calling forbid my doing as the rest of you do," said the +schoolmaster, "and I think I shall stick to my horse." + +He rode the biggest of the pack horses, and when the strong animal began +to swim, Mr. Pennypacker thrust out his legs until they were almost +parallel with the animal's neck, and reached the opposite bank, +untouched by a drop of water. No one begrudged him his dry and unlabored +passage; in fact they thought it right, because a schoolmaster was +mightily respected in the early settlements of Kentucky and they would +have regarded it as unbecoming to his dignity to have stripped, and swum +the river as they did. + +Henry and Paul in their secret hearts did not envy the schoolmaster. +They thought he had too great a weight of dignity to maintain and they +enjoyed cleaving the clear current with their bare bodies. What! be +deprived of the wilderness pleasures! Not they! The two boys did not +remount, after the passage of the river, but, fresh and full of life, +walked on with the others at a pace so swift that the miles dropped +rapidly behind them. They were passing, too, through a country rarely +trodden even by the red men; Henry knew it by the great quantities of +game they saw; the deer seemed to look from every thicket, now and then +a magnificent elk went crashing by, once a bear lumbered away, and twice +small groups of buffalo were stampeded in the glades and rushed off, +snorting through the undergrowth. + +"They say that far to the westward on plains that seem to have no end +those animals are to be seen in millions," said Mr. Pennypacker. + +"It's so, I've heard it from the Indians," confirmed Ross the guide. + +They stopped a little while before sundown, and as the game was so +plentiful all around them, Ross said he would shoot a deer in order to +save their dried meat and other provisions. + +"You come with me, while the others are making the camp," he said to +Henry. + +The boy flushed with pride and gratification, and, taking his rifle, +plunged at once into the forest with the guide. But he said nothing, +knowing that silence would recommend him to Ross far more than words, +and took care to bring down his moccasined feet without sound. Nor did +he let the undergrowth rustle, as he slipped through it, and Ross +regarded him with silent approval. "A born woodsman," he said to +himself. + +A mile from the camp they stopped at the crest of a little hill, thickly +clad with forest and undergrowth, and looked down into the glade beyond. +Here they saw several deer grazing, and as the wind blew from them +toward the hunters they had taken no alarm. + +"Pick the fat buck there on the right," whispered Ross to Henry. + +Henry said not a word. He had learned the taciturnity of the woods, and +leveling his rifle, took sure aim. There was no buck fever about him +now, and, when his rifle cracked, the deer bounded into the air and +dropped down dead. Ross, all business, began to cut up and clean the +game, and with Henry's aid, he did it so skillfully and rapidly that +they returned to the camp, loaded with the juicy deer meat, by the time +the fire and everything else was ready for them. + +Henry and Paul ate with eager appetites and when supper was over they +wrapped themselves in their blankets and lay down before the fire under +the trees. Paul went to sleep at once, but Henry did not close his eyes +so soon. Far in the west he saw a last red bar of light cast by the +sunken sun and the deep ruddy glow over the fringe of the forest. Then +it suddenly passed, as if whisked away by a magic hand, and all the +wilderness was in darkness. But it was only for a little while. Out came +the moon and the stars flashed one by one into a sky of silky blue. A +south wind lifting up itself sang a small sweet song among the branches, +and Henry uttered a low sigh of content, because he lived in the +wilderness, and because he was there in the depths of the forest on an +important errand. Then he fell sound asleep, and did not awaken until +Ross and the others were cooking breakfast. + +A day or two later they reached the wonderful Big Bone Lick, and they +approached it with the greatest caution, because they were afraid lest +an errand similar to theirs might have drawn hostile red men to the +great salt spring. But as they curved about the desired goal they saw no +Indian sign, and then they went through the marsh to the spring itself. + +Henry opened his eyes in amazement. All that the schoolmaster and Paul +had told was true, and more. Acres and acres of the marsh lands were +fairly littered with bones, and from the mud beneath other and far +greater bones had been pulled up and left lying on the ground. Henry +stood some of these bones on end, and they were much taller than he. +Others he could not lift. + +"The mastodon, the mammoth and I know not what," said Mr. Pennypacker in +a transport of delight. "Henry, you and Paul are looking upon the +remains of animals, millions of years old, killed perhaps in fights with +others of their kind, over these very salt springs. There may not be +another such place as this in all the world." + +Mr. Pennypacker for the first day or two was absolutely of no help in +making the salt, because he was far too much excited about the bones and +the salt springs themselves. + +"I can understand," said Henry, "why the animals should come here after +the salt, since they crave salt just as we do, but it seems strange to +me that salt water should be running out of the ground here, hundreds of +miles from the sea." + +"It's the sea itself that's coming up right at our feet," replied the +schoolmaster thoughtfully. "Away back yonder, a hundred million years +ago perhaps, so far that we can have no real conception of the time, the +sea was over all this part of the world. When it receded, or the ground +upheaved, vast subterranean reservoirs of salt water were left, and now, +when the rain sinks down into these full reservoirs a portion of the +salt water is forced to the surface, which makes the salt springs that +are scattered over this part of the country. It is a process that is +going on continually. At least, that's a plausible theory, and it's as +good as any other." + +But most of the salt-makers did not bother themselves about causes, and +they accepted the giant bones as facts, without curiosity about their +origin. Nor did they neglect to put them to use. By sticking them deep +in the ground they made tripods of them on which they hung their kettles +for boiling the salt water, and of others they devised comfortable seats +for themselves. To such modern uses did the mastodon come! But to the +schoolmaster and the two boys the bones were an unending source of +interest, and in the intervals of labor, which sometimes were pretty +long, particularly for Mr. Pennypacker, they were ever prowling in the +swamp for a bone bigger than any that they had found before. + +But the salt-making progressed rapidly. The kettles were always boiling +and sack after sack was filled with the precious commodity. At night +wild animals, despite the known presence of strange, new creatures, +would come down to the springs, so eager were they for the salt, and the +men rarely molested them. Only a deer now and then was shot for food, +and Henry and Paul lay awake one night, watching two big bull buffaloes, +not fifty yards away, fighting for the best place at a spring. + +Ross and Shif'less Sol did not do much of the work at the salt-boiling, +but they were continually scouting through the forest, on a labor no +less important, watching for raiding war parties who otherwise might +fall unsuspected upon the toilers. Henry, as a youth of great promise, +was sometimes taken with them on these silent trips through the woods, +and the first time he went he felt badly on Paul's account, because his +comrade was not chosen also. But when he returned he found that his +sympathy was wasted. Paul and the master were deeply absorbed in the +task of trying to fit together some of the gigantic bones that is, to +re-create the animal to which they thought the bones belonged, and Paul +was far happier than he would have been on the scout or the hunt. + +The day's work was ended and all the others were sitting around the camp +fire, with the dying glow of the setting sun flooding the springs, the +marshes and the camp fire, but Paul and the master toiled zealously at +the gigantic figure that they had up-reared, supported partly with +stakes, and bearing a remote resemblance to some animal that lived a few +million years or so ago. The master had tied together some of the bones +with withes, and he and Paul were now laboriously trying to fit a +section of vertebrae into shape. + +Shif'less Sol who had gone with Henry sat down by the fire, stuffed a +piece of juicy venison into his mouth and then looked with eyes of +wonder at the two workers in the cause of natural history. + +"Some people 'pear to make a heap o' trouble for theirselves," he said, +"now I can't git it through my head why anybody would want to work with +a lot o' dead old bones when here's a pile o' sweet deer meat just +waitin' an' beggin' to be et up." + +At that moment the attempt of Paul and the schoolmaster to reconstruct a +prehistoric beast collapsed. The figure that they had built up with so +much care and labor suddenly slipped loose somewhere, and all the bones +fell down in a heap. The master stared at them in disgust and exclaimed: + +"It's no use! I can't put them together away out here in the +wilderness!" + +Then he stalked over to the fire, and taking a deer steak, ate hungrily. +The steak was very tender, and gradually a look of content and peace +stole over Mr. Pennypacker's face. + +"At least," he murmured, "if it's hard to be a scholar here, one can +have a glorious appetite, and it is most pleasant to gratify it." + +As the dark settled down Ross said that in one day more they ought to +have all the salt the horses could carry, and then it would be best to +depart promptly and swiftly for Wareville. A half hour later all were +asleep except the sentinel. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE WILD TURKEY'S GOBBLE + + +Henry had conducted himself so well on his first scout and, had shown +such signs of efficiency that Ross concluded to take him again the next +day. Henry's heart swelled with pride, and he was no longer worried +about Paul, because he saw that the latter's interest and ambitions were +not exactly the same as his own. Henry could not have any innate respect +for heaps of "old bones," but if Paul and the master found them worthy +of such close attention, they must be right. + +Henry and Ross slipped away into the undergrowth, and Henry soon noticed +that the guide's face, which was tense and preoccupied, seemed graver +than usual. The boy was too wise to ask questions, but after they had +searched through the forest for several hours Ross remarked in the most +casual way: + +"I heard the gobble of a wild turkey away off last night." + +"Yes," said Henry, "there are lots of 'em about here. You remember the +one I shot Tuesday?" + +Ross did not reply just then, but in about five minutes he vouchsafed: + +"I'm looking for the particular wild turkey I heard last night." + +"Why that one, when there are so many, and how would you know him from +the others if you found him?" asked Henry quickly, and then a deep +burning flush of shame broke through the tan of his cheeks. He, Henry +Ware, a rover of the wilderness to ask such foolish questions! A child +of the towns would have shown as much sense. Ross who was looking +covertly at him, out of the corner of his eye, saw the mounting blush, +and was pleased. The boy had spoken impulsively, but he knew better. + +"You understand, I guess," said Ross. + +"Yes," replied Henry, "I know why you want to find that wild turkey, and +I know why you said last night we ought to leave the salt springs just +as soon as we can." + +The smile on the face of the scout brightened. Here was the most +promising pupil who had ever sat at his feet for instruction; and now +they redoubled their caution, as their soundless bodies slipped through +the undergrowth. Everywhere they looked for the trail of that wild +turkey. It may be said that a turkey can and does fly in the air and +leaves no trail, but Henry knew that the one for which they looked might +leave no trail, but it did not fly in the air. + +Time passed; noon and part of the afternoon were gone, and they were +still curving in a great circle about the camp, when Ross, suddenly +stopped beside a little brook, or branch, as he and his comrades always +called them, and pointed to the soft soil at the edge of the water. +Henry followed the long finger and saw the outline of a footstep. + +"Our turkey has passed here." + +The guide nodded. + +"Most likely," he said, "and if not ours, then one of the same flock. +But that footprint is three or four hours old. Come on, we'll follow +this trail until it grows too warm." + +The footsteps led down the side of the brook, and when they curved away +from it Ross was able to trace them on the turf and through the +undergrowth. A half mile from the start other footsteps joined them, and +these were obviously made by many men, perhaps a score of warriors. + +"You see," said Ross, "I guess they've just come across the Ohio or we +wouldn't be left all these days b'il'n salt so peaceful, like as if +there wasn't an Indian in the whole world." + +Henry drew a deep breath. Like all who ventured into the West he +expected some day to be exposed to Indian danger and attack, but it had +been a vague thought. Even when they came north to the Big Bone Lick it +was still a dim far-away affair, but now he stood almost in its +presence. The Shawnees, whose name was a name of terror to the new +settlements, were probably not a mile away. He felt tremors but they +were not tremors of fear. Courage was an instinctive quality in him. +Nature had put it there, when she fashioned him somewhat in the mold of +the primitive man. + +"Step lighter than you ever did afore in your life," said Ross, "an' +bend low an' follow me. But don't you let a single twig nor nothin' snap +as you pass." + +He spoke in a sharp, emphatic whisper, and Henry knew that he considered +the enemy near. But there was no need to caution the boy, in whom the +primal man was already awakened. Henry bent far down, and holding his +rifle before him in such a position that it could be used at a moment's +warning, was following behind Ross so silently that the guide, hearing +no sound, took an instant's backward glance. When he saw the boy he +permitted another faint smile of approval to pass over his face. + +They advanced about three-quarters of a mile and then at the crest of a +hill thickly clothed in tall undergrowth the guide sank down and pointed +with a long ominous forefinger. + +"Look," he said. + +Henry looked through the interlacing bushes and, for the second time in +his life, gazed upon a band of red men. And as he looked, his blood for +a moment turned cold. Perhaps thirty in number, they were sitting in a +glade about a little fire. All of them had blankets of red or blue about +them and they carried rifles. Their faces were hideous with war paint +and their coarse black hair rose in the defiant scalp lock. + +"Maybe they don't know that our men are at the Lick," said Ross, "or if +they do they don't think we know they've come, an' they're planning for +an attack to-night, when they could slip up on us sleepin'." + +The guide's theory seemed plausible to Henry, but he said nothing. It +did not become him to venture opinions before one who knew so much of +the wilderness. + +"It can't be more'n two o'clock," whispered Ross, "an' they'd attack +about midnight. That gives us ten hours. Henry, the Lord is with us. +Come." + +He slid away through the bushes and Henry followed him. When they were a +half mile from the Indian camp they increased their speed to an +astonishing gait and in a half hour were at the Big Bone Lick. + +"Have 'em to load up all the salt at once," said Ross to Shif'less Sol, +"an' we must go kitin' back to Wareville as if our feet was greased." + +Shif'less Sol shot him a single look of comprehension and Ross nodded. +Then the shiftless one went to work with extraordinary diligence and the +others imitated his speed. To the schoolmaster Ross breathed the one +word "Shawnees," and Henry in a few sentences told Paul what he had +seen. + +Fortunately the precious salt was packed--they had no intention of +deserting it, however close the danger--and it was quickly transferred +to the backs of the horses along with the food for the way. In a little +more than a half hour they were all ready and then they fled southward, +Shif'less Sol, this time, leading the way, the guide Ross at the rear, +eye and ear noticing everything, and every nerve attuned to danger. + +The master cast back one regretful glance at his beloved giant bones, +and then, with resignation, turned his face permanently toward the south +and the line of retreat. + +"O Henry," whispered Paul, half in delight, half in terror, "did you +really see them?" + +"Yes," replied Henry, "twenty or more of 'em, and an ugly lot they were, +too, I can tell you, Paul. I believe we could whip 'em in a stand-up +fight, though they are three to our one, but they know more of these +woods than we do and then there's the salt; we've got to save what we've +come for." + +He sighed a little. He did not wholly like the idea of running away, +even from a foe thrice as strong. Yet he could not question the wisdom +of Ross and Shif'less Sol, and he made no protest. + +The men looked after the heavily laden horses--nobody could ride except +as a last resort--and southward they went in Indian file as they had +come. Henry glanced around him and saw nothing that promised danger. It +was only another beautiful afternoon in early spring. The forest glowed +in the tender green of the young buds, and, above them arched the sky a +brilliant sheet of unbroken blue. Never did a world look more +attractive, more harmless, and it seemed incredible that these woods +should contain men who were thirsting for the lives of other men. But he +had seen; he knew; he could not forget that hideous circle of painted +faces in the glade, upon which he and Ross had looked from the safe +covert of the undergrowth. + +"Do you think they'll follow us, Henry?" asked Paul. + +"I don't know," replied Henry, "but it's mighty likely. They'll hang on +our trail for a long time anyway." + +"And if they overtake us, there'll be a fight?" + +"Of course." + +Henry, watching Paul keenly, saw him grow pale. But his lips did not +tremble and that passing pallor failed to lower Paul in Henry's esteem. +The bigger and stronger boy knew his comrade's courage and tenacity, and +he respected him all the more for it, because he was perhaps less fitted +than some others for the wild and dangerous life of the border. + +After these few words they sank again into silence, and to Paul and the +master the sun grew very hot. It was poised now at a convenient angle in +the heavens, and poured sheaves of fiery rays directly upon them. Mr. +Pennypacker began to gasp. He was a man of dignity, a teacher of youth, +and it did not become him to run so fast from something that he could +not see. Ross's keen eye fell upon him. + +"I think you'd better mount one of the horses," he said; "the big bay +there can carry his salt and you too for a while until you are rested." + +"What! I ride, when everybody else is afoot!" exclaimed Mr. Pennypacker, +indignantly. + +"You're the only schoolmaster we have and we can't afford to lose you," +said Ross without the suspicion of a grin. + +Mr. Pennypacker looked at him, but he could not detect any change of +countenance. + +"Hop up," continued Ross, "it ain't any time to be bashful. Others of us +may have to do it afore long." + +Mr. Pennypacker yielded with a sigh, sprang lightly upon the horse, and +then when he enjoyed the luxury of rest was glad that he had yielded. +Paul, and one or two others took to the horses' backs later on, but +Henry continued the march on foot with long easy strides, and no sign of +weakening. Ross noticed him more than once but he never made any +suggestion to Henry that he ride; instead the faint smile of approval +appeared once more on the guide's face. + +The sun began to sink, the twilight came, and then night. Ross called a +halt, and, clustered in the thickest shadows of the forest, they ate +their supper and rested their tired limbs. No fire was lighted, but they +sat there under the trees, hungrily eating their venison, and talking in +the lowest of whispers. + +Mr. Pennypacker was much dissatisfied. He had been troubled by the hasty +flight and his dignity suffered. + +"It is not becoming that white men should run away from an inferior +race," he said. + +"Maybe it ain't becomin', but it's safe," said Ross. + +"At least we are far enough away now," continued the master, "and we +might rest here comfortably until dawn. We haven't seen or heard a sign +of pursuit." + +"You don't know the natur' of the red warriors, Mr. Pennypacker," said +the leader deferentially but firmly, "when they make the least noise +then they're most dangerous. Now I'm certain sure that they struck our +trail not long after we left Big Bone Lick, an' in these woods the man +that takes the fewest risks is the one that lives the longest." + +It was a final statement. In the present emergency the leader's +authority was supreme. They rested about an hour with no sound save the +shuffling feet of the horses which could not be kept wholly quiet; and +then they started on again, not going so quickly now, because the night +was dark, and they wished to make as little noise as possible, threshing +about in the undergrowth. + +Paul pressed up by the side of Henry. + +"Do you think we shall have to go on all night, this way?" he asked. +"Wasn't Mr. Pennypacker right, when he said we were out of danger?" + +"No, the schoolmaster was wrong," replied Henry. "Tom Ross knows more +about the woods and what is likely to happen in them than Mr. +Pennypacker could know in all his life, if he were to live a thousand +years. It's every man to his own trade, and it's Tom's trade that we +need now." + +After hearing these sage words of youth Paul asked no more questions, +but he and Henry kept side by side throughout the night, that is, when +neither of them was riding, because Henry, like all the others, now took +turns on horseback. Twice they crossed small streams and once a larger +one, where they exercised the utmost caution to keep their precious salt +from getting wet. Fortunately the great pack saddles were a protection, +and they emerged on the other side with both salt and powder dry. + +When the night was thickest, in the long, dark hour just before the +dawn, Henry and Paul, who were again side by side, heard a faint, +distant cry. It was a low, wailing note that was not unpleasant, +softened by the spaces over which it came. It seemed to be far behind +them, but inclining to the right, and after a few moments there came +another faint cry just like it, also behind them, but far to the left. +Despite the soft, wailing note both Henry and Paul felt a shiver run +through them. The strange low sound, coming in the utter silence of the +night, had in it something ominous. + +"It was the cry of a wolf," said Paul. + +"And his brother wolf answered," said Henry. + +Shif'less Sol was just behind them, and they heard him laugh, a low +laugh, but full of irony. Paul wheeled about at once, his pride aflame +at the insinuation that he did not know the wolf's long whine. + +"Well, wasn't it a wolf--and a wolf that answered?" he asked. + +"Yes, a wolf an' a wolf that answered," replied Shif'less Sol with +sardonic emphasis, "but they had only four legs between 'em. Them was +the signal cries of the Shawnees, an', as Tom has been tellin' you all +the time, they're hot on our trail. It's a mighty lucky thing for us we +didn't undertake to stay all night back there where we stopped." + +Paul turned pale again, but his courage as usual came back. "Thank God +it will be daylight soon," he murmured to himself, "and then if they +overtake us we can see them." + +Faint and far, but ominous and full of threat came the howl of the wolf +again, first from the right and then from the left, and then from points +between. Henry noticed that Ross and Shif'less Sol seemed to draw +themselves together, as if they would make every nerve and muscle taut, +and then his eyes shifted to Mr. Pennypacker, and seeing him, he knew at +once that the master did not understand; he had not heard the words of +Shif'less Sol. + +"It seems that we are pursued by a pack of wolves instead of a war +party," said Mr. Pennypacker. "At least we are numerous enough to beat +off a lot of cowardly four-footed assailants." + +Henry smiled from the heights of his superior knowledge. + +"Those are not wolves, Mr. Pennypacker," he said, "those are the +Shawnees calling to one another." + +"Then, why in Heaven's name don't they speak their own language!" +exclaimed the exasperated schoolmaster, "instead of using that which +appertains only to the prowling beast?" + +Henry, despite himself, was forced to smile, but he turned his face and +hid the smile--he would not offend the schoolmaster whom he esteemed +sincerely. + +The dawn now began to brighten. The sun, a flaming red sword, cleft the +gray veil, and then poured down a torrent of golden beams upon the vast, +green wilderness of Kentucky. Henry, as he looked around upon the little +band, realized what a tiny speck of human life they were in all those +hundreds of miles of forest, and what risks they ran. + +Ross gave the word to halt, and again they ate of cold food. While the +others sat on fallen timber or leaned against tree trunks, Ross and Sol +talked in low tones, but Henry could see that all their words were +marked by the deepest earnestness. Ross presently turned to the men and +said in tones of greatest gravity: + +"All of you heard the howlin' just afore dawn, an' I guess all of you +know it was not made by real wolves, but by Shawnees, callin' to each +other an' directin' the chase of us. We've come fast, but they've come +faster, an' I know that by noon we'll have to fight." + +The schoolmaster's eyes opened in wonder. + +"Do you really mean to say that they are overhauling us?" he asked. + +"I shore do," replied Ross. "You see, they're better trained travelers +for woods than we are, an' they are not hampered by anythin'." + +Mr. Pennypacker said nothing more, but his lips suddenly closed tightly +and his eyes flashed. In the great battle ground of the white man and +the red man, called Kentucky, the early schoolmaster was as ready as any +one else to fight. + +Ross and Sol again consulted and then Ross said: + +"We think that since we have to fight it would be better to fight when +we are fresh and steady and in the best place we can find." + +All the men nodded. They were tired of running and when Ross gave the +word to stop again they did so promptly. The questioning eyes of both +Ross and Sol roamed round the forest and finally and simultaneously the +two uttered a low cry of pleasure. They had come into rocky ground and +they had been ascending. Before them was a hill with a rather steep +ascent, and dropping off almost precipitously on three sides. + +"We couldn't find a better place," said Ross loud enough for all to +hear. "It looks like a fort just made for us." + +"But there is no line of retreat," objected the schoolmaster. + +"We had a line of a retreat last night and all this mornin' an' we've +been followin' it all the time," rejoined the leader. "Now we don't need +it no more, but what we do need to do is to make a stan'-up fight, an' +lick them fellers." + +"And save our salt," added the master. + +"Of course," said Ross emphatically. "We didn't come all these miles an' +work all these days just to lose what we went so far after an' worked so +hard for." + +They retreated rapidly upon the great jutting peninsula of rocky soil, +which fortunately was covered with a good growth of trees, and tethered +the horses in a thick grove near the end. + +"Now, we'll just unload our salt an' make a wall," said Ross with a +trace of a smile. "They can shoot our salt as much as they please, just +so they don't touch us." + +The bags of salt were laid in the most exposed place across the +narrowest neck of the peninsula and they also dragged up all the fallen +tree trunks and boughs that they could find to help out their primitive +fortification. Then they sat down to wait, a hard task for men, but +hardest of all for two boys like Henry and Paul. + +Two of the men went back with the horses to watch over them and also to +guard against any possible attempt to scale the cliff in their rear, but +the others lay close behind the wall of salt and brushwood. The sun +swung up toward the zenith and shone down upon a beautiful world. All +the wilderness was touched with the tender young green of spring and +nothing stirred but the gentle wind. The silky blue sky smiled over a +scene so often enacted in early Kentucky, that great border battle +ground of the white man and the red, the one driven by the desire for +new and fertile acres that he might plow and call his own, the other by +an equally fierce desire to retain the same acres, not to plow nor even +to call his own, but that he might roam and hunt big game over them at +will. + +The great red eye of the sun, poised now in the center of the heavens, +looked down at the white men crouched close to the earth behind their +low and primitive wall, and then it looked into the forest at the red +men creeping silently from tree to tree, all the eager ferocity of the +man hunt on the face of everyone. + +But Paul and Henry, behind their wall, saw nothing and heard nothing but +the breathing of those near them. They fingered their rifles and through +the crevices between the bags studied intently the woods in front of +them, where they beheld no human being nor any trace of a foe. Henry +looked from tree to tree, but he could see no flitting shadow. Where the +patches of grass grew it moved only with the regular sweep of the +breeze. He began to think that Ross and Sol must be mistaken. The +warriors had abandoned the pursuit. He glanced at Ross, who was not a +dozen feet away, and the leader's face was so tense, so eager and so +earnest that Henry ceased to doubt, the man's whole appearance indicated +the knowledge of danger, present and terrible. + +Even as Henry looked, Ross suddenly threw up his rifle, and, apparently +without aim, pulled the trigger. A flash of fire leaped from the long +slender muzzle of blue steel, there was a sharp report like the swift +lash of a whip, and then a cry, so terrible that Henry, strong as he +was, shuddered in every nerve and muscle. The short high-pitched and +agonizing shout died away in a wail and after it came silence, grim, +deadly, but so charged with mysterious suspense that both Henry and Paul +felt the hair lifting itself upon their heads. Henry had seen nothing, +but he knew well what had happened. + +"They've come and Ross has killed one of 'em," he whispered breathlessly +to Paul. + +"That yell couldn't mean anything else," said Paul trembling. "I'll hear +it again every night for a year." + +"I hope we'll both have a chance to hear it again every night for a +year," said Henry with meaning. + +The master crouched nearer to the boys. He was one of the bravest of the +men and in that hour of danger and suspense his heart yearned over these +two lads, his pupils, each a good boy in his own way. He felt that it +was a part of his duty to get them safely back to Wareville and their +parents, and he meant to fulfill the demands of his conscience. + +"Keep down, lads," he said, touching Henry on his arm, "don't expose +yourselves. You are not called upon to do anything, unless it comes to +the last resort." + +"We are going to do our best, of course, we are!" replied Henry with +some little heat. + +He resented the intimation that he could not perform a man's full duty, +and Mr. Pennypacker, seeing that his feelings were touched, said no +more. + +A foreboding silence followed the death cry of the fallen warrior, but +the brilliant sunshine poured down on the woods, just as if it were a +glorious summer afternoon with no thought of strife in a human breast +anywhere. Henry again searched the forest in front of them, and, +although he could see nothing, he was not deceived now by this +appearance of silence and peace. He knew that their foes were there, +more thirsty than ever for their blood, because to the natural desire +now was added the tally of revenge. + +More than an hour passed, and then the forest in front of them burst +into life. Rifles were fired from many points, the sharp crack blending +into one continuous ominous rattle; little puffs of white smoke arose, +whistling bullets buried themselves with a sighing sound in the bags of +salt, and high above all rang the fierce yell, the war whoop of the +Shawnees, the last sound that many a Kentucky pioneer ever heard. + +The terrible tumult, and above all, the fierce cry of the warriors sent +a thrill of terror through Paul and Henry, but their disciplined minds +held their bodies firm, and they remained crouched by the primitive +breastwork, ready to do their part. + +"Steady, everybody! Steady!" exclaimed Ross in a loud sharp voice, every +syllable of which cut through the tumult. "Don't shoot until you see +something to shoot at, an' then make your aim true!" + +Henry now began to see through the smoke dusky figures leaping from tree +to tree, but always coming toward them. It was his impulse to fire, the +moment a flitting figure appeared, gone the next instant like a shadow, +but remembering Ross's caution and their terrible need he restrained +himself although his finger already lay caressingly on the trigger. +Around him the rifles had begun to crack. Ross and Sol were firing with +slow deliberate aim, and then reloading with incredible swiftness, and +down the line the others were doing likewise. Bullets were spattering +into trunks and boughs, or burying themselves with a soft sigh in the +salt, but Henry could not see that anybody was yet hurt. + +He saw presently a dark figure passing from one tree to another and the +passage was long enough for him to take a good aim at a hideously +painted breast. He pulled the trigger and then involuntarily he shut his +eyes--he was a hunter, but he had never hunted men before. When he +looked again he saw a blur upon the ground, and despite himself and the +fight for life, he shuddered. Paul beside him was now in a state of wild +excitement. The smaller boy's nerves were not so steady and he was +loading and firing almost at random. Finally he lifted himself almost +unconsciously to his full height, but he was dragged down the next +instant, as if he had been seized from below by a bear. + +"Paul!" fiercely exclaimed the schoolmaster, all the instincts of a +pedagogue rising within him, "if you jump up that way again exposing +yourself to their bullets, I'll turn you over my knee right here, big as +you are, and give you a licking that you'll remember all your life!" + +The master was savagely in earnest and Paul did not jump up again. Henry +fired once more, and a third time and the tumult rose to its height. +Then it ceased so suddenly and so absolutely that the silence was +appalling. The wind blew the smoke away, a few dark objects lay close to +the ground among the trees before them, but not a sound came from the +forest, and no flitting form was there. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE ESCAPE + + +Henry and Paul, with their eyes at the crevices, stared and stared, but +they saw only those dark, horrible forms lying close to the earth, and +heard again the peaceful wind blowing among the peaceful trees. The +savage army had melted away as if it had never been, and the dark +objects might have been taken for stones or pieces of wood. + +"We beat 'em off, an' nobody on our side has more'n a scratch," +exclaimed Shif'less Sol jubilantly. + +"That's so," said Ross, casting a critical eye down the line, "it's +because we had a good position an' made ready. There's nothin' like +takin' a thing in time. How're you, boys?" + +"All right, but I've been pretty badly scared I can tell you," replied +Paul frankly. "But we are not hurt, are we, Henry?" + +"Thank God," murmured the schoolmaster under his breath, and then he +said aloud to Ross: "I suppose they'll leave us alone now." + +Ross shook his head. + +"I wish I could say it," he replied, "but I can't. We've laid out four +of 'em, good and cold, an' the Shawnees, like all the other redskins, +haven't much stomach for a straightaway attack on people behind +breastworks; I don't think they'll try that again, but they'll be up to +new mischief soon. We must watch out now for tricks. Them's sly devils." + +Ross was a wise leader and he gave food to his men, but he cautioned +them to lie close at all times. Two or three bullets were fired from the +forest but they whistled over their heads and did no damage. They seemed +safe for the present, but Ross was troubled about the future, and +particularly the coming of night, when they could not protect themselves +so well, and the invaders, under cover of darkness, might slip forward +at many points. Henry himself was man enough and experienced enough to +understand the danger, and for the moment, he wondered with a kind of +impersonal curiosity how Ross was going to meet it. Ross himself was +staring at the heavens, and Henry, following his intent eyes, noticed a +change in color and also that the atmosphere began to have a different +feeling to his lungs. So much had he been engrossed by the battle, and +so great had been his excitement, that such things as sky and air had no +part then in his life, but now in the long dead silence, they obtruded +themselves upon him. + +The last wisp of smoke drifted away among the trees, and the sunlight, +although it was mid-afternoon, was fading. Presently the skies were a +vast dome of dull, lowering gray, and the breeze had a chill edge. Then +the wind died and not a leaf or blade of grass in the forest stirred. +Somber clouds came over the brink of the horizon in the southwest, and +crept threateningly up the great curve of the sky. The air steadily +darkened, and suddenly the dim horizon in the far southwest was cut by a +vivid flash of lightning. Low thunder grumbled over the distant hills. + +"It's a storm, an' it's to be a whopper," said Shif'less Sol. + +"Ay," returned Ross, who had been back among the horses, "an' it may +save us. All you fellows be sure to keep your powder dry." + +There would be little danger of that fatal catastrophe, the wetting of +the powder, as it was carried in polished horns, stopped securely, nor +would there be any danger either of the salt being melted, as it was +inclosed in bags made of deerskin, which would shed water. + +"One of the men," continued Ross, "has found a big gully running down +the back end of the hill, an' I think if we're keerful we can lead the +horses to the valley that way. But just now, we'll wait." + +Henry and Paul were watching, as if fascinated. They had seen before the +great storms that sometimes sweep the Mississippi Valley, but the one +preparing now seemed to be charged with a deadly power, far surpassing +anything in their experience. It came on, too, with terrible swiftness. +The thunder, at first a mere rumble, rose rapidly to crash after crash +that stunned their ears. The livid flash of lightning that split the +southwest like a flaming sword appeared and reappeared with such +intensity that it seemed never to have gone. The wind rose and the +forest groaned. From afar came a sullen roar, and then the great +hurricane rushed down upon them. + +"Lie flat!" shouted Ross. + +All except four or five who held the struggling and frightened horses +threw themselves upon the ground, and, although Henry and Paul hugged +the earth, their ears were filled with the roar and scream of the wind, +and the crackle of boughs and whole tree trunks snapped through, like +the rattle of rifle fire. The forest in front of them was quickly filled +with fallen trees, and fragments whistled over their heads, but +fortunately they were untouched. + +The great volley of wind was gone in a few moments, as if it were a +single huge cannon shot. It whistled off to the eastward, but left in +its path a trail of torn and fallen trees. Then in its path came the +sweep of the great rain; the air grew darker, the thunder ceased to +crash, the lightning died away, and the water poured down in sheets over +the black and mangled forest. + +"Now boys, we'll start," said Ross. "Them Shawnees had to hunt cover, +an' they can't see us nohow. Up with them bags of salt!" + +In an incredibly short time the salt was loaded on the pack horses and +then they were picking their way down the steep and dangerous gully in +the side of the hill. Henry, Paul and the master locked hands in the +dark and the driving rain, and saved each other from falls. Ross and Sol +seemed to have the eyes of cats in the dark and showed the way. + +"My God!" murmured Mr. Pennypacker, "I could not have dreamed ten years +ago that I should ever take part in such a scene as this!" + +Low as he spoke, Henry heard him and he detected, too, a certain note of +pride in the master's tone, as if he were satisfied with the manner in +which he had borne himself. Henry felt the same satisfaction, although +he could not deny that he had felt many terrors. + +After much difficulty and some danger they reached the bottom of the +hill unhurt, and then they sped across a fairly level country, not much +troubled by undergrowth or fallen timber, keeping close together so that +no one might be lost in the darkness and the rain, Ross, as usual, +leading the line, and Shif'less Sol bringing up the rear. Now and then +the two men called the names of the others to see that all were present, +but beyond this precaution no word was spoken, save in whispers. + +Henry and Paul felt a deep and devout thankfulness for the chance that +had saved them from a long siege and possible death; indeed it seemed to +them that the hand of God had turned the enemy aside, and in their +thankfulness they forgot that, soaked to the bone, cold and tired, they +were still tramping through the lone wilderness, far from Wareville. + +The darkness and the pouring rain endured for about an hour, then both +began to lighten, streaks of pale sky appeared in the east, and the +trees like cones emerged from the mist and gloom. All of the +salt-workers felt their spirits rise. They knew that they had escaped +from the conflict wonderfully well; two slight wounds, not more than the +breaking of skin, and that was all. Fresh strength came to them, and as +they continued their journey the bars of pale light broadened and +deepened, and then fused into a solid blue dawn, as the last cloud +disappeared and the last shower of rain whisked away to the northward. A +wet road lay before them, the drops of water yet sparkling here and +there, like myriads of beads. Ross drew a deep breath of relief and +ordered a halt. + +"The Shawnees could follow us again," he said, "but they know now that +they bit off somethin' a heap too tough for them to chaw, an' I don't +think they'll risk breaking a few more teeth on it, specially after +havin' been whipped aroun' by the storm as they must 'a been." + +"And to think we got away and brought our salt with us, too!" said Mr. +Pennypacker. + +Dark came soon, and Ross and Sol felt so confident they were safe from +another attack that they allowed a fire to be lighted, although they +were careful to choose the center of a little prairie, where the rifle +shots of an ambushed foe in the forest could not reach them. + +It was no easy matter to light a fire, but Ross and Sol at last +accomplished it with flint, steel and dry splinters cut from the under +side of fallen logs. Then when the blaze had taken good hold they heaped +more brushwood upon it and never were heat and warmth more grateful to +tired travelers. + +Henry and Paul did not realize until then how weary and how very wet +they were. They basked in the glow, and, with delight watched the great +beds of coals form. They took off part of their clothing, hanging it +before the fire, and when it was dry and warm put it on again. Then they +served the rest the same way, and by and by they wore nothing but warm +garments. + +"I guess two such terrible fighters as you," said Ross to Henry and +Paul, "wouldn't mind a bite to eat. I've allers heard tell as how the +Romans after they had fought a good fight with them Carthaginians or +Macedonians or somebody else would sit down an' take some good grub into +their insides, an' then be ready for the next spat." + +"Will we eat? will we eat? Oh, try us, try us," chanted Henry and Paul +in chorus, their mouths stretching simultaneously into wide grins, and +Ross grinned back in sympathy. + +The revulsion had come for the two boys. After so much danger and +suffering, the sense of safety and the warmth penetrating their bones +made them feel like little children, and they seized each other in a +friendly scuffle, which terminated only when they were about to roll +into the fire. Then they ate venison as if they had been famished. +Afterwards, when they were asleep on their blankets before the fire, +Ross said to Mr. Pennypacker: + +"They did well, for youngsters." + +"They certainly did, Mr. Ross," said the master. "I confess to you that +there were times to-day when learning seemed to offer no consolation." + +Ross smiled a little, and then his face quickly became grave. + +"It's what we've got to go through out here," he said. "Every settlement +will have to stand the storm." + +A vigilant watch was kept all the long night but there was no sign of a +second Shawnee attack. Ross had reckoned truly when he thought the +Shawnees would not care to risk further pursuit, and the next day they +resumed their journey, under a drying sun. + +They were not troubled any more by Indian attacks, but the rest of the +way was not without other dangers. The rivers were swollen by the spring +rains, and they had great trouble in carrying the salt across on the +swimming horses. Once Paul was swept down by a swift and powerful +current, but Henry managed to seize and hold him until others came to +the rescue. Men and boys alike laughed over their trials, because they +felt now all the joy of victory, and their rapid march south amid the +glories of spring, unfolding before them, appealed to the instincts of +everyone in the band, the same instincts that had brought them from the +East into the wilderness. + +They were passing through the region that came to be known in later days +as the Garden of Kentucky. Then it was covered with magnificent forest +and now they threaded their way through the dense canebrake. Squirrels +chattered in every tree top, deer swarmed in the woods, and the buffalo +was to be found in almost every glen. + +"I do not wonder," said the thoughtful schoolmaster, "that the Indian +should be loath to give up such choice hunting grounds, but, fight as +cunningly and bravely as he will, his fate will come." + +But Henry, with only the thoughts of youth, could not conceive of the +time when the vast wilderness should be cut down and the game should go. +He was concerned only with the present and the words of Mr. Pennypacker +made upon him but a faint and fleeting impression. + +At last on a sunny morning, whole, well fed, with their treasure +preserved, and all fresh and courageous, they approached Wareville. The +hearts of Henry and Paul thrilled at the signs of white habitation. They +saw where the ax had bitten through a tree, and they came upon broad +trails that could be made only by white men, going to their work, or +hunting their cattle. + +But it was Paul who showed the most eagerness. He was whole-hearted in +his joy. Wareville then was the only spot on earth for him. But Henry +turned his back on the wilderness with a certain reluctance. A primitive +strain in him had been awakened. He was not frightened now. The danger +of the battle had aroused in him a certain wild emotion which repeated +itself and refused to die, though days had passed. It seemed to him at +times that it would be a great thing to live in the forest, and to have +knowledge and wilderness power surpassing those even of Shif'less Sol or +Ross. He had tasted again the life of the primitive man and he liked it. + +Mr. Pennypacker was visibly joyful. The wilderness appealed to him in a +way, but he considered himself essentially a man of peace, and Wareville +was becoming a comfortable abode. + +"I have had my great adventure," he said, "I have helped to fight the +wild men, and in the days to come I can speak boastfully of it, even as +the great Greeks in Homer spoke boastfully of their achievements, but +once is enough. I am a man of peace and years, and I would fain wage the +battles of learning rather than those of arms." + +"But you did fight like a good 'un when you had to do it, schoolmaster," +said Ross. + +Mr. Pennypacker shook his head and replied gravely: + +"Tom, you do right to say 'when I had to do it,' but I mean that I shall +not have to do it any more." + +Ross smiled. He knew that the schoolmaster was one of the bravest of +men. + +Now they came close to Wareville. From a hill they saw a thin, blue +column of smoke rising and then hanging like a streamer across the clear +blue sky. + +"That comes from the chimneys of Wareville," said Ross, "an' I guess +she's all right. That smoke looks kinder quiet, as if nothin' out of the +way had happened." + +They pressed forward with renewed speed, and presently a shout came from +the forest. Two men ran to meet them, and rejoiced at the sight of the +men unharmed, and every horse heavily loaded with salt. Then it was a +triumphal procession into Wareville, with the crowd about them +thickening as they neared the gates. Henry's mother threw her arms about +his neck, and his father grasped him by the hand. Paul was in the center +of his own family, completely submerged, and all the space within the +palisade resounded with joyous laugh and welcome, which became all the +more heartfelt, when the schoolmaster told of the great danger through +which they had passed. + +That evening, when they sat around the low fire in his father's +home--the spring nights were yet cool--Henry had to repeat the story of +the salt-making and the great adventure with the Shawnees. He grew +excited as he told of the battle and the storm, his face flushed, his +eyes shot sparks, and, as Mrs. Ware looked at him, she realized, half in +pride, half in terror, that she was the mother of a hunter and warrior. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE CAVE DUST + + +The great supply of salt brought by Ross and his men was welcome to +Wareville, as the people had begun to suffer for it, but they would have +enough now to last them a full year, and a year was a long time to look +ahead. Great satisfaction was expressed on that score, but the news that +a Shawnee war party was in Kentucky and had chased them far southward +caused Mr. Ware and other heads of the village to look very grave and to +hold various councils. + +As a result of these talks the palisade was strengthened with another +row of strong stakes, and they took careful stock of their supplies of +ammunition. Lead they had in plenty, but powder was growing scarce. A +fresh supply had been expected with a new band of settlers from Virginia +but the band had failed to come, and the faces of the leaders grew yet +graver, when they looked at the dwindling supply, and wondered how it +could be replenished for the dire need that might arise. It was now that +Mr. Pennypacker came forward with a suggestion and he showed how book +learning could be made of great value, even in the wilderness. + +"You will recall," he said to Mr. Ware and Mr. Upton, and other heads of +the settlement, "that some of our hunters have reported the existence of +great caves to the southwestward and that they have brought back from +them wonderful stalactites and stalagmites and also dust from the cave +floors. I find that this dust is strongly impregnated with niter; from +niter we obtain saltpeter and from saltpeter we make gunpowder. We need +not send to Virginia for our powder, we can make it here in Kentucky for +ourselves." + +"Do you truly think so, Mr. Pennypacker?" asked Mr. Ware, doubtfully. + +"Think so! I know so," replied the schoolmaster in sanguine tones. "Why, +what am I a teacher for if I don't know a little of such things? And +even if you have doubts, think how well the experiment is worth trying. +Situated as we are, in this wild land, powder is the most precious thing +on earth to us." + +"That is true! that is true!" said Mr. Ware with hasty emphasis. +"Without it we shall lie helpless before the Indian attack, should it +come. If, as you say, this cave dust contains the saltpeter, the rest +will be easy." + +"It contains saltpeter and the rest _will_ be easy!" + +"Then, you must go for it. Ross and Sol and a strong party must go with +you, because we cannot run the risk of losing any of you through the +Indians." + +"I am sure," said Mr. Pennypacker, "that we shall incur no danger from +Indians. The region of the great caves lies farther south than Wareville +and the Southern Indians, who are less bold than the Northern tribes, +are not likely to come again into Kentucky. The hunters say that Indians +have not been in that particular region for years." + +"Yes, I think you are right," said Mr. Ware, "but be careful anyhow." + +Henry, when he heard of the new expedition, was wild to go, but his +parents, remembering the great danger of the journey to the salt licks, +were reluctant with their permission. Then Ross interceded effectively. + +"The boy is just fitted for this sort of work," he said. "He isn't in +love with farming, he's got other blood in him, but down there he will +be just about the best man that Wareville has to send, an' there won't +be any Indians." + +There was no reply to such an argument, because in the border +settlements the round peg must go in the round hole; the conditions of +survival demanded no surplusage and no waste. + +When Paul heard that Henry was to go he gave his parents no rest, and +when Mr. Pennypacker, whose favorite he was, seconded his request, on +the ground that he would need a scholar with him the permission had to +be granted. + +Rejoicing, the two boys set forth with the others, the dangers of the +Shawnee battle and their terrors already gone from their minds. They +would meet no Indians this time, and the whole powder-making expedition +would be just one great picnic. The summer was now at hand, and the +forests were an unbroken mass of brilliant green. In the little spaces +of earth where the sunlight broke through, wild flowers, red, blue, pink +and purple peeped up and nodded gayly, when the light winds blew. Game +abounded, but they killed only enough for their needs, Ross saying it +was against the will of God to shoot a splendid elk or buffalo and leave +him to rot, merely for the pleasure of the killing. + +After a while they forded a large river, passed out of the forests, and +came into a great open region, to which they gave the name of Barrens, +not because it was sterile, but because it was bare of trees. Henry, at +first, thought it was the land of prairies, but Ross, after examining it +minutely, said that if left to nature it would be forested. It was his +theory that the Indians in former years had burned off the young tree +growth repeatedly in order to make great grazing grounds for the big +game. Whether his supposition was true or not, and Henry thought it +likely to be true, the Barrens were covered with buffalo, elk and deer. +In fact they saw buffalo in comparatively large numbers for the first +time, and once they looked upon a herd of more than a hundred, grazing +in the rich and open meadows. Panthers attracted by the quantity of game +upon which they could prey screamed horribly at night, but the flaming +camp fires of the travelers were sufficient to scare them away. + +All these things, the former salt-makers, and powder-makers that hoped +to be, saw only in passing. They knew the value of time and they +hastened on to the region of great caves, guided this time by one of +their hunters, Jim Hart, although Ross as usual was in supreme command. +But Hart had spent some months hunting in the great cave region and his +report was full of wonders. + +"I think there are caves all over, or rather, under this country that +the Indians call Kaintuckee," he said, "but down in this part of it +they're the biggest." + +"You are right about Kentucky being a cave region," said the +schoolmaster, "I think most of it is underlaid with rock, anywhere from +five thousand to ten thousand feet thick, and in the course of ages, +through geological decay or some kindred cause, it has become +crisscrossed with holes like a great honeycomb." + +"I'm pretty sure about the caves," said Ross, "but what I want to know +is about this peter dirt." + +"We'll find it and plenty of it," replied the master confidently. "That +sample was full of niter, and when we leach it in our tubs we shall have +the genuine saltpeter, explosive dust, if you choose to call it, that is +the solution of gunpowder." + +"Which we can't do without," said Henry. + +They passed out of the Barrens, and entered a region of high, rough +hills, and narrow little valleys. Hills and valleys alike were densely +clothed with forest. + +Hart pointed to several, large holes in the sides of the hills, always +at or near the base and said they were the mouths of caves. + +"But the big one, in which I got the peter dirt is farther on," he said. + +They came to the place he had in mind, just as the twilight was falling, +a hole, a full man's height at the bottom of a narrow valley, but +leading directly into the side of the circling hill that inclosed the +bowl-like depression. Henry and Paul looked curiously at the black mouth +and they felt some tremors at the knowledge that they were to go in +there, and to remain inside the earth for a long time, shut from the +light of day. It was the dark and not the fear of anything visible, that +frightened them. + +But they made no attempt to enter that evening, although night would be +the same as day in the cave. Instead they provided for a camp, as the +horses and a sufficient guard would have to remain outside. The valley +itself was an admirable place, since it contained pasturage for the +horses, while at the far end was a little stream of water, flowing out +of the hill and trickling away through a cleft into another and slightly +lower valley. + +After tethering the horses, they built a fire near the cave mouth and +sat down to cook, eat, rest and talk. + +"Ain't there danger from bad air in there?" asked Ross. "I've heard tell +that sometimes in the ground air will blow all up, when fire is touched +to it, just like a bar'l o' gunpowder." + +"The air felt just as fresh an' nice as daylight when I went in," said +Hart, "an' if it comes to that it will be better than it is out here +because it's allus even an' cool." + +"It is so," said the master meditatively. "All the caves discovered so +far in Kentucky have fresh pure air. I do not undertake to account for +it." + +That night they cut long torches of resinous wood, and early the next +morning all except two, who were left to guard the horses, entered the +cave, led by Hart, who was a fearless man with an inquiring mind. +Everyone carried a torch, burning with little smoke, and after they had +passed the cave mouth, which was slightly damp, they came to a perfectly +dry passage, all the time breathing a delightfully cool and fresh air, +full of vigor and stimulus. + +Paul and Henry looked back. They had come so far now that the light of +day from the cave mouth could not reach them, and behind them was only +thick impervious blackness. Before them, where the light of the torches +died was the same black wall, and they themselves were only a little +island of light. But they could see that the cave ran on before them, as +if it were a subterranean, vaulted gallery, hewed out of the stone by +hands of many Titans! Henry held up his torch, and from the roof twenty +feet above his head the stone flashed back multicolored and glittering +lights. Paul's eyes followed Henry's and the gleaming roof appealed to +his sensitive mind. + +"Why, it's all a great underground palace!" he exclaimed, "and we are +the princes who are living in it!" + +Hart heard Paul's enthusiastic words and he smiled. + +"Come here, Paul," he said, "I want to show you something." + +Paul came at once and Hart swung the light of his torch into a dark +cryptlike opening from the gallery. + +"I see some dim shapes lying on the floor in there, but I can't tell +exactly what they are," said Paul. + +"Come into this place itself." + +Paul stepped into the crypt, and Hart with the tip of his moccasined toe +gently moved one of the recumbent forms. Paul could not repress a little +cry as he jumped back. He was looking at the dark, withered face of an +Indian, that seemed to him a thousand years old. + +"An' the others are Indians, too," said Hart. "An' they needn't trouble +us. God knows how long they've been a-layin' here where their friends +brought 'em for burial. See the bows an' arrows beside 'em. They ain't +like any that the Indians use now." + +"And the dry cave air has preserved them, for maybe two or three hundred +years," said the schoolmaster. "No, their dress and equipment do not +look like those of any Indians whom I have seen." + +"Let's leave them just as they are," said Paul. + +"Of course," said Ross, "it would be bad luck to move 'em." + +They went on farther into the cave, and found that it increased in +grandeur and beauty. The walls glittered with the light of the torches, +the ceiling rose higher, and became a great vaulted dome. From the roof +hung fantastic stalactites and from the floor stalagmites equally +fantastic shot up to meet them. Slow water fell drop by drop from the +point of the stalactite upon the point of the stalagmite. + +"That has been going on for ages," said the schoolmaster, "and the same +drop of water that leaves some of its substance to form the stalactite, +hanging from the roof, goes to form the stalagmite jutting up from the +floor. Come, Paul, here's a seat for you. You must rest a bit." + +They beheld a rock formation almost like a chair, and, Paul sitting down +in it, found it quite comfortable. But they paused only a moment, and +then passed on, devoting their attention now to the cave dust, which was +growing thicker under their feet. The master scooped up handfuls of it +and regarded it attentively by the close light of his torch. + +"It's the genuine peter dust!" he exclaimed exultantly. "Why, we can +make powder here as long as we care to do so." + +"You are sure of it, master?" asked Ross anxiously. + +"Sure of it!" replied Mr. Pennypacker. "Why, I know it. If we stayed +here long enough we could make a thousand barrels of gunpowder, good +enough to kill any elk or buffalo or Indian that ever lived." + +Ross breathed a deep sigh of relief. He had had his doubts to the last, +and none knew better than he how much depended on the correctness of the +schoolmaster's assertion. + +"There seems to be acres of the dust about here," said Ross, "an' I +guess we'd better begin the makin' of our powder at once." + +They went no farther for the present, but carried the dust in, sack +after sack, to the mouth of the cave. Then they leached it, pouring +water on it in improvised tubs, and dissolving the niter. This solution +they boiled down and the residuum was saltpeter or gunpowder, without +which no settlement in Kentucky could exist. + +The little valley now became a scene of great activity. The fires were +always burning and sack after sack of gunpowder was laid safely away in +a dry place. Henry and Paul worked hard with the others, but they never +passed the crypt containing the mummies, without a little shudder. In +some of the intervals of rest they explored portions of the cave, +although they were very cautious. It was well that they were so as one +day Henry stopped abruptly with a little gasp of terror. Not five feet +before him appeared the mouth of a great perpendicular well. It was +perfectly round, about ten feet across, and when Henry and Paul held +their torches over the edge, they could see no bottom. Henry shouted, +throwing his voice as far forward as possible, but only a dull, distant +echo came back. + +"We'll call that the Bottomless Pit," he said. + +"Bottomless or not, it's a good thing to keep out of," said Paul. "It +gives me the shudders, Henry, and I don't think I'll do much more +exploring in this cave." + +In fact, the gunpowder-making did not give them much more chance, and +they were content with what they had already seen. The cave had many +wonders, but the sunshine outside was glorious and the vast mass of +green forest was very restful to the eye. There was hunting to be done, +too, and in this Henry bore a good part, he and Ross supplying the fresh +meat for their table. + +A fine river flowed not two miles away and Paul installed himself as +chief fisherman, bringing them any number of splendid large fish, very +savory to the taste. Ross and Sol roamed far among the woods, but they +reported absolutely no Indian sign. + +"I don't believe any of the warriors from either north or south have +been in these parts for years," said Ross. + +"Luckily for us," added Mr. Pennypacker, "I don't want another such +retreat as that we had from the salt springs." + +Ross's words came true. The powder-making was finished in peace, and the +journey home was made under the same conditions. At Wareville there was +a shout of joy and exultation at their arrival. They felt that they +could hold their village now against any attack, and Mr. Pennypacker was +a great man, justly honored among his people. He had shown them how to +make powder, which was almost as necessary to them as the air they +breathed, and moreover they knew where they could always get materials +needed for making more of it. + +Truly learning was a great thing to have, and they respected it. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE FOREST SPELL + + +When the adventurers returned the rifle and ax were laid aside at +Wareville, for the moment, because the supreme test was coming. The soil +was now to respond to its trial, or to fail. This was the vital question +to Wareville. The game, in the years to come, must disappear, the forest +would be cut down, but the qualities of the earth would remain; if it +produced well, it would form the basis of a nation, if not, it would be +better to let all the work of the last year go and seek another home +elsewhere. + +But the settlers had little doubt. All their lives had been spent close +to the soil, and they were not to be deceived, when they came over the +mountains in search of a land richer than any that they had tilled +before. They had seen its blackness, and, plowing down with the spade, +they had tested its depth. They knew that for ages and ages leaf and +bough, falling upon it, had decayed there and increased its fertility, +and so they awaited the test with confidence. + +The green young shoots of the wheat, sown before the winter, were the +first to appear, and everyone in Wareville old enough to know the +importance of such a manifestation went forth to examine them. Mr. Ware, +Mr. Upton and Mr. Pennypacker held solemn conclave, and the final +verdict was given by the schoolmaster, as became a man who might not be +so strenuous in practice as the others, but who nevertheless was more +nearly a master of theory. + +"The stalks are at least a third heavier than those in Maryland or +Virginia at the same age," he said, "and we can fairly infer from it +that the grain will show the same proportion of increase. I take a third +as a most conservative estimate; it is really nearer a half. Wareville +can, with reason, count upon twenty-five bushels of wheat to the acre, +and it is likely to go higher." + +It was then no undue sense of elation that Wareville felt, and it was +shared by Henry and Paul, and even young Lucy Upton. + +"It will be a rich country some day when I'm an old, old woman," she +said to Henry. + +"It's a rich country now," replied he proudly, "and it will be a long, +long time before you are an old woman." + +They began now to plow the ground cleared the autumn before--"new +ground" they called it--for the spring planting of maize. This, often +termed "Indian corn" but more generally known by the simple name corn, +was to be their chief crop, and the labor of preparation, in which Henry +had his full share, was not light. Their plows were rude, made by +themselves, and finished with a single iron point, and the ground, which +had supported the forest so lately, was full of roots and stumps. So the +passage of the plow back and forth was a trial to both the muscles and +the spirit. Henry's body became sore from head to foot, and by and by, +as the spring advanced and the sun grew hotter, he looked longingly at +the shade of the forest which yet lay so near, and thought of the deep, +cool pools and the silver fish leaping up, until their scales shone like +gold in the sunshine, and of the stags with mighty antlers coming down +to drink. He was sorry for the moment that he was so large and strong +and was so useful with plow and hoe. Then he might be more readily +excused and could take his rifle and seek the depths of the forest, +where everything grew by nature's aid alone, and man need not work, +unless the spirit moved him to do so. + +They planted the space close around the fort in gardens and here after +the ground was "broken up" or plowed, the women and the girls, all tall +and strong, did the work. + +The summer was splendid in its promise and prodigal in its favors. The +rains fell just right, and all that the pioneers planted came up in +abundance. The soil, so kind to the wheat, was not less so to the corn +and the gardens. Henry surveyed with pride the field of maize cultivated +by himself, in which the stalks were now almost a foot high, looking in +the distance like a delicate green veil spread over the earth. His +satisfaction was shared by all in Wareville because after this +fulfillment of the earth's promises, they looked forward to continued +seasons of plenty. + +When the heavy work of planting and cultivating was over and there was +to be a season of waiting for the harvest, Henry went on the great +expedition to the Mississippi. + +In the party were Ross, Shif'less Sol, the schoolmaster, Henry and Paul. +Wareville had no white neighbor near and all the settlements lay to the +north or east. Beyond them, across the Ohio, was the formidable cloud of +Indian tribes, the terror of which always overhung the settlers. West of +them was a vast waste of forest spreading away far beyond the +Mississippi, and, so it was supposed, inhabited only by wild animals. It +was thought well to verify this supposition and therefore the exploring +expedition set out. + +Each member of the party carried a rifle, hunting knife and ammunition, +and in addition they led three pack horses bearing more ammunition, +their meal, jerked venison and buffalo meat. This little army expected +to live upon the country, but it took the food as a precaution. + +They started early of a late but bright summer morning, and Henry found +all his old love of the wilderness returning. Now it would be gratified +to the full, as they should be gone perhaps two months and would pass +through regions wholly unknown. Moreover he had worked hard for a long +time and he felt that his holiday was fully earned; hence there was no +flaw in his hopes. + +It required but a few minutes to pass through the cleared ground, the +new fields, and reach the forest and as they looked back they saw what a +slight impression they had yet made on the wilderness. Wareville was but +a bit of human life, nothing more than an islet of civilization in a sea +of forest. + +Five minutes more of walking among the trees, and then both Wareville +and the newly opened country around it were shut out. They saw only the +spire of smoke that had been a beacon once to Henry and Paul, rising +high up, until it trailed off to the west with the wind, where it lay +like a whiplash across the sky. This, too, was soon lost as they +traveled deeper into the forest, and then they were alone in the +wilderness, but without fear. + +"When we were able to live here without arms or ammunition it's not +likely that we'll suffer, now is it?" said Paul to Henry. + +"Suffer!" exclaimed Henry. "It's a journey that I couldn't be hired to +miss." + +"It ought to be enjoyable," said Mr. Pennypacker; "that is, if our +relatives don't find it necessary to send into the Northwest, and try to +buy back our scalps from the Indian tribes." + +But the schoolmaster was not serious. He had little fear of Indians in +the western part of Kentucky, where they seldom ranged, but he thought +it wise to put a slight restraint upon the exuberance of youth. + +They camped that night about fifteen miles from Wareville under the +shadow of a great, overhanging rock, where they cooked some squirrels +that the shiftless one shot, in a tall tree. The schoolmaster upon this +occasion constituted himself cook. + +"There is a popular belief," he said when he asserted his place, "that a +man of books is of no practical use in the world. I hereby intend to +give a living demonstration to the contrary." + +Ross built the fire, and while the schoolmaster set himself to his task, +Henry and Paul took their fish hooks and lines and went down to the +creek that flowed near. It was so easy to catch perch and other fish +that there was no sport in it, and as soon as they had enough for supper +and breakfast they went back to the fire where the tempting odors that +arose indicated the truth of the schoolmaster's assertion. The squirrels +were done to a turn, and no doubt of his ability remained. + +Supper over, they made themselves beds of boughs under the shadow of the +rock, while the horses were tethered near. They sank into dreamless +sleep, and it was the schoolmaster who awakened Paul and Henry the next +morning. + +They entered that day a forest of extraordinary grandeur, almost clear +of undergrowth and with illimitable rows of mighty oak and beech trees. +As they passed through, it was like walking under the lofty roof of an +immense cathedral. The large masses of foliage met overhead and shut out +the sun, making the space beneath dim and shadowy, and sometimes it +seemed to the explorers that an echo of their own footsteps came back to +them. + +Henry noted the trees, particularly the beeches which here grow to finer +proportions than anywhere else in the world, and said he was glad that +he did not have to cut them down and clear the ground, for the use of +the plow. + +After they passed out of this great forest they entered the widest +stretch of open country they had yet seen in Kentucky, though here and +there they came upon patches of bushes. + +"I think this must have been burned off by successive forest fires," +said Ross, "Maybe hunting parties of Indians put the torch to it in +order to drive the game." + +Certainly these prairies now contained an abundance of animal life. The +grass was fresh, green and thick everywhere, and from a hill the +explorers saw buffalo, elk, and common deer grazing or browsing on the +bushes. + +As the game was so abundant Paul, the least skillful of the party in +such matters, was sent forth that evening to kill a deer and this he +triumphantly accomplished to his own great satisfaction. They again +slept in peace, now under the low-hanging boughs of an oak, and +continued the next day to the west. Thus they went on for days. + +It was an easy journey, except when they came to rivers, some of which +were too deep for fording, but Ross had made provision for them. Perched +upon one of the horses was a skin canoe, that is, one made of stout +buffalo hide to be held in shape by a slight framework of wood on the +inside, such as they could make at any time. Two or three trips in this +would carry themselves and all their equipment over the stream while the +horses swam behind. + +They soon found it necessary to put their improvised canoe to use as +they came to a great river flowing in a deep channel. Wild ducks flew +about its banks or swam on the dark-blue current that flowed quietly to +the north. This was the Cumberland, though nameless then to the +travelers, and its crossing was a delicate operation as any incautious +movement might tip over the skin canoe, and, while they were all good +swimmers, the loss of their precious ammunition could not be taken as +anything but a terrible misfortune. + +Traveling on to the west they came to another and still mightier river, +called by the Indians, so Ross said, the Tennessee, which means in their +language the Great Spoon, so named because the river bent in curves like +a spoon. This river looked even wilder and more picturesque than the +Cumberland, and Henry, as he gazed up its stream, wondered if the white +man would ever know all the strange regions through which it flowed. +Vast swarms of wild fowl, as at the Cumberland, floated upon its waters +or flew near and showed but little alarm as they passed. When they +wished food it was merely to go a little distance and take it as one +walks to a cupboard for a certain dish. + +Now, the aspect of the country began to change. The hills sank. The +streams ceased to sparkle and dash helter-skelter over the stones; +instead they flowed with a deep sluggish current and always to the west. +In some the water was so nearly still that they might be called lagoons. +Marshes spread out for great distances, and they were thronged with +millions of wild fowl. The air grew heavier, hotter and damper. + +"We must be approaching the Mississippi," said Henry, who was quick to +draw an inference from these new conditions. + +"It can't be very far," replied Ross, "because we are in low country +now, and when we get into the lowest the Mississippi will be there." + +All were eager for a sight of the great river. Its name was full of +magic for those who came first into the wilderness of Kentucky. It +seemed to them the limits of the inhabitable world. Beyond stretched +vague and shadowy regions, into which hunters and trappers might +penetrate, but where no one yet dreamed of building a home. So it was +with some awe that they would stand upon the shores of this boundary, +this mighty stream that divided the real from the unreal. + +But traveling was now slow. There were so many deep creeks and lagoons +to cross, and so many marshes to pass around that they could not make +many miles in a day. They camped for a while on the highest hill that +they could find and fished and hunted. While here they built themselves +a thatch shelter, acting on Ross's advice, and they were very glad that +they did so, as a tremendous rain fell a few days after it was finished, +deluging the country and swelling all the creeks and lagoons. So they +concluded to stay until the earth returned to comparative dryness again +in the sunshine, and meanwhile their horses, which did not stand the +journey as well as their masters, could recuperate. + +Two days after they resumed the journey, they stood on the low banks of +the Mississippi and looked at its vast yellow current flowing in a +mile-wide channel, and bearing upon its muddy bosom, bushes and trees, +torn from slopes thousands of miles away. It was not beautiful, it was +not even picturesque, but its size, its loneliness and its desolation +gave it a somber grandeur, which all the travelers felt. It was the same +river that had received De Soto's body many generations before, and it +was still a mystery. + +"We know where it goes to, for the sea receives them all," said Mr. +Pennypacker, "but no man knows whence it comes." + +"And it would take a good long trip to find out," said Sol. + +"A trip that we haven't time to take," returned the schoolmaster. + +Henry felt a desire to make that journey, to follow the great stream, +month after month, until he traced it to the last fountain and uncovered +its secret. The power that grips the explorer, that draws him on through +danger, known and unknown, held him as he gazed. + +They followed the banks of the stream at a slow pace to the north, +sweltering in the heat which seemed to come to a focus here at the +confluence of great waters, until at last they reached a wide extent of +low country overgrown with bushes and cut with a broad yellow band +coming down from the northeast. + +"The Ohio!" said Ross. + +And so it was; it was here that the stream called by the Indians "The +Beautiful River"--though not deserving the name at this place--lost +itself in the Mississippi and at the junction it seemed full as mighty a +river as the great Father of Waters himself. + +They did not stay long at the meeting of the two rivers, fearing the +miasma of the marshy soil, but retreated to the hills where they went +into camp again. Yet Ross, and Henry, and Sol crossed both the Ohio and +the Mississippi in the frail canoe for the sake of saying that they had +been on the farther shores. The three, leaving Paul and the schoolmaster +to guard the camp, even penetrated to a considerable distance in the +prairie country beyond the Ohio. Here Henry saw for the first time a +buffalo herd of size. Buffaloes were common enough in Kentucky, but the +country being mostly wooded they roamed there in small bands. North of +the Ohio he now beheld these huge shaggy animals in thousands and he +narrowly escaped being trampled to death by a herd which, frightened by +a pack of wolves, rushed down upon him like a storm. It was Ross who +saved him by shooting the leading bull, thus compelling them to divide +when they came to his body, by which action they left a clear space +where he and Henry stood. After that Henry, as became one of +fast-ripening experience and judgment, grew more cautious. + +All the party were in keen enjoyment of the great journey, and felt in +their veins the thrill of the wilderness. Paul's studious face took on +the brown tan of autumn, and even the schoolmaster, a man of years who +liked the ways of civilization, saw only the pleasures of the forest and +closed his eyes to its hardships. But there was none who was caught so +deeply in the spell of the wilderness as Henry, not even Ross nor the +shiftless one. There was something in the spirit of the boy that +responded to the call of the winds through the deep woods, a harking +back to the man primeval, a love for nature and silence. + +The forest hid many things from the schoolmaster, but he knew the hearts +of men, and he could read their thoughts in their eyes, and he was the +first to notice the change in Henry or rather less a change than a +deepening and strengthening of a nature that had not found until now its +true medium. The boy did not like to hear them speak of the return, he +loved his people and he would serve them always as best he could, but +they were prosperous and happy back there in Wareville and did not need +him; now the forest beckoned to him, and, speaking to him in a hundred +voices, bade him stay. When he roamed the woods, their majesty and leafy +silence appealed to all his senses. The two vast still rivers threw over +him the spell of mystery, and the secret of the greater one, its hidden +origin, tantalized him. Often he gazed northward along its yellow +current and wondered if he could not pierce that secret. Dimly in his +mind, formed a plan to follow the yellow stream to its source some day, +and again he thrilled with the thought of great adventures and mighty +wanderings, where men of his race had never gone before. + +Knowledge, too, came to him with an ease and swiftness that filled with +surprise experienced foresters like Ross and Sol. The woods seemed to +unfold their secrets to him. He learned the nature of all the herbs, +those that might be useful to man and those that might be harmful, he +was already as skillful with a canoe as either the guide or the +shiftless one, he could follow a trail like an Indian, and the habits of +the wild animals he observed with a minute and remembering eye. All the +lore of those far-away primeval ancestors suddenly reappeared in him at +the voice of the woods, and was ready for his use. + +"It will not be long until Henry is a man," said Ross one evening as +they sat before their camp fire and saw the boy approaching, a deer that +he had killed borne upon his shoulders. + +"He is a man now," said the schoolmaster with gravity and emphasis as he +looked attentively at the figure of the youth carrying the deer. No one +ever before had given him such an impression of strength and physical +alertness. He seemed to have grown, to have expanded visibly since their +departure from Wareville. The muscles of his arm stood up under the +close-fitting deerskin tunic, and the length of limb and breadth of +shoulder in the boy indicated a coming man of giant mold. + +"What a hunter and warrior he will make!" said Ross. + +"A future leader of wilderness men," said Mr. Pennypacker softly, "but +there is wild blood in those veins; he will have to be handled well." + +Henry threw down the deer and greeted them with cheerful words that came +spontaneously from a joyful soul. They had built their fire, not a large +one, in an oak opening and all around the trees rose like a mighty +circular wall. The red shadows of a sun that had just set lingered on +the western edge of the forest, but in the east all was black. Out of +this vastness came the rustling sound of the wind as it moved among the +autumn leaves. In the opening was a core of ruddy light and the living +forms of men, but it was only a tiny spot in the immeasurable +wilderness. + +The schoolmaster and he alone felt their littleness. The autumn night +was crisp, and from his seat on a log he held out his fingers to the +warm blaze. Now and then a yellow or red leaf caught in the light wind +drifted to his feet and he gazed up half in fear at the great encircling +wall of blackness. Then he uttered silent thanks that he was with such +trusty men as the guide and the shiftless one. + +The effect upon Henry was not the same. He had become silent while the +others talked, and he half reclined against a tree, looking at the sky +that showed a dim and shadowy disk through the opening. But there was +nothing of fear in his mind. A delicious sense of peace and satisfaction +crept over him. All the voices of the night seemed familiar and good. A +lizard slipped through the grass and the eye and ear of Henry alone +noticed it; neither the guide nor the shiftless one had seen or heard +its passage. He measured the disk of the heavens with his glance and +foretold unerringly whether it would be clear or cloudy on the morrow, +and when something rustled in the woods, he knew, without looking, that +it was a hare frightened by the blaze fleeing from its covert. A tiny +brook trickled at the far edge of the fire's rim, and he could tell by +the color of the waters through what kind of soil it had come. + +Paul sat down near him, and began to talk of home. Henry smiled upon him +indulgently; his old relation of protector to the younger boy had grown +stronger during this trip; in the forest he was his comrade's superior +by far, and Paul willingly admitted it; in such matters he sought no +rivalry with his friend. + +"I wonder what they are doing way down there?" said Paul, waving his +hand toward the southeast. "Just think of it, Henry! they are only one +little spot in the wilderness, and we are only another little spot way +up here! In all the hundreds of miles between, there may not be another +white face!" + +"It is likely true, but what of it?" replied Henry. "The bigger the +wilderness the more room in it for us to roam in. I would rather have +great forests than great towns." + +He turned lazily and luxuriously on his side, and, gazing into the red +coals, began to see there visions of other forests and vast plains, with +himself wandering on among the trees and over the swells. His comrades +said nothing more because it was comfortable in their little camp, and +the peace of the wilds was over them all. The night was cold, but the +circling wall of trees sheltered the opening, and the fire in the center +radiated a grateful heat in which they basked. The scholar, Mr. +Pennypacker, rested his face upon his hands, and he, too, was dreaming +as he stared into the blaze. Paul, his blanket wrapped around him and +his head pillowed upon soft boughs, was asleep already. Ross and Sol +dozed. + +But Henry neither slept nor wished to do so. His gaze shifted from the +red coals to the silver disk of the sky. The world seemed to him very +beautiful and very intimate. These illimitable expanses of forest +conveyed to him no sense of either awe or fear. He was at home. He had +become for the time a being of the night, piercing the darkness with the +eyes of a wild creature, and hearkening to the familiar voices around +him that spoke to him and to him alone. Never was sleep farther from +him. The shifting firelight in its flickering play fell upon his face +and revealed it in all its clear young boyish strength, the firm neck, +the masterful chin, the calm, resolute eyes set wide apart, the lean +big-boned fingers, lying motionless across his knees. + +Mr. Pennypacker began to nod, then he, too, wrapped himself in his +blanket, lay back and soon fell fast asleep; in a few minutes Sol +followed him to the land of real dreams, and after a brief interval +Ross, too, yielded. Henry alone was awake, drinking deep of the night +and its lonely joy. + +The silver disk of the sky turned into gray under a cloud, the darkness +swept up deeper and thicker, the light of the fire waned, but the boy +still leaned against the log, and upon his sensitive mind every change +of the wilderness was registered as upon the delicate surface of a +plate. He glanced at his sleeping comrades and smiled. The smile was the +index to an unconscious feeling of superiority. Ross and Sol were two or +three times his age, but they slept while he watched, and not Ross +himself in all his years in the wilderness had learned many things that +came to him by intuition. + +Hours passed and the boy was yet awake. New feelings, vague and +undetermined came into his mind but through them all went the feeling of +mastery. He, though a boy, was in many respects the chief, and while he +need not assert his leadership yet a while, he could never doubt its +possession. + +The light died far down and only a few smoldering coals were left. The +blackness of the night, coming ever closer and closer, hovered over his +companions and hid their faces from him. The great trunks of the trees +grew shadowy and dim. Out of the darkness came a sound slight but not in +harmony with the ordinary noises of the forest. His acute senses, the +old inherited primitive instinct, noticed at once the jarring note. He +moved ever so little but an extraordinary change came over his face. The +idle look of luxury and basking warmth passed away and the eyes became +alert, watchful, defiant. Every feature, every muscle was drawn, as if +he were at the utmost tension. Almost unconsciously his figure sank down +farther against the log, until it blended perfectly with the bark and +the fallen leaves below. Only an eye of preternatural keenness could +have separated the outline of the boy from the general scene. + +For five minutes he lay and moved not a particle. Then the discordant +note came again among the familiar sounds of the forest and he glanced +at his comrades. They slept peacefully. His lip curled slightly, not +with contempt but with that unconscious feeling of superiority; they +would not have noticed, even had they been awake. + +His hands moved forward and grasped his rifle. Then he began to slip +away from the opening and into the forest, not by walking nor altogether +by crawling, but by a curious, noiseless, gliding motion, almost like +that of a serpent. Always he clung to the shadows where his shifting +body still blended with the dark, and as he advanced other primitive +instincts blazed up in him. He was a hunter pursuing for the first time +the highest and most dangerous game of all game and the thrill through +his veins was so keen that he shivered slightly. His chin was projected, +and his eyes were two red spots in the night. All the while his comrades +by the fire, even the trained foresters, slumbered in peace, no warning +whatever coming to their heavy heads. + +The boy reached the wall of the woods, and now his form was completely +swallowed up in the blackness there. He lay a while in the bushes, +motionless, all his senses alert, and for the third time the jarring +note came to his ears. The maker of it was on his right, and, as he +judged, perhaps a couple of hundred yards away. He would proceed at once +to that point. It is truth to say that no thought of danger entered his +mind; the thrills of the present and its chances absorbed him. It seemed +natural that he should do this thing, he was merely resuming an old +labor, discontinued for a time. + +He raised his head slightly, but even his keen eyes could see nothing in +the forest save trunks and branches, ghostly and shapeless, and the +regular rustle of the wind was not broken now by the jarring note. But +the darkness heavy and ominous, was permeated with the signs of things +about to happen, and heavy with danger, a danger, however, that brought +no fear to Henry for himself, only for others. A faint sighing note as +of a distant bird came on the wind, and pausing, he listened intently. +He knew that it was not a bird, that sound was made by human lips, and +once more a light shiver passed over his frame; it was a signal, +concerning his comrades and himself, and he would turn aside the danger +from those old friends of his who slept by the fire, in peace and +unknowing. + +He resumed his cautious passage through the undergrowth, and, the +inherited instinct blossoming so suddenly into full flower, was still +his guide. Not a sound marked his advance, the forest fell silently +behind him, and he went on with unerring knowledge to the spot from +which the discordant sounds had come. + +He approached another opening among the trees, like unto that in which +his comrades slept, and now, lying close in the undergrowth, he looked +for the first time upon the sight which so often boded ill to his kind. +The warriors were in a group, some sitting others standing, and though +there was no fire and the moonlight was slight he could mark the +primitive brutality of their features, the nature of the animal that +fought at all times for life showing in their eyes. They were hard, +harsh and repellent in every aspect, but the boy felt for a moment a +singular attraction, there was even a distant feeling of kinship as if +he, too, could live this life and had lived it. But the feeling quickly +passed, and in its place came the thought of his comrades whom he must +save. + +The older of the warriors talked in a low voice, saying unknown words in +a harsh, guttural tongue, and Henry could guess only at their meaning. +But they seemed to be awaiting a signal and presently the low thrilling +note was heard again. Then the warriors turned as if this were the +command to do so, and came directly toward the boy who lay in the +darkest shadows of the undergrowth. + +Henry was surprised and startled but only for a moment, then the +primeval instinct came to his aid and swiftly he sank away in the bushes +in front of them, as before, no sound marking his passage. He thought +rapidly and in all his thoughts there was none of himself but as the +savior of the little party. It seemed to come to him naturally that he +should be the protector and champion. + +When he had gone about fifty yards he uttered a shout, long, swelling +and full of warning. Then he turned to his right and crashed through the +undergrowth, purposely making a noise that the pursuing warriors could +not fail to hear. Ross and the others, he knew, would be aroused +instantly by his cry and would take measures of safety. Now the savages +would be likely to follow him alone, and he noted by the sounds that +they had turned aside to do so. + +At this moment Henry Ware felt nothing but exultation that he, a boy, +should prove himself a match for all the cunning of the forest-bred, and +he thought not at all of the pursuit that came so fiercely behind him. + +He ran swiftly and now directly more than a mile from the camp of his +friends. Then the inherited instinct that had served him so well failed; +it could not warn him of the deep little river that lay straight across +his path flowing toward the Mississippi. He came out upon its banks and +was ready to drop down in its waters, but he saw that before he could +reach the farther shore he would be a target for his pursuers. He +hesitated and was about to turn at a sharp angle, but the warriors +emerged from the forest. It was then too late. + +The savages uttered a shout of triumph, the long, ferocious, whining +note, so terrible in its intensity and meaning, and Henry, raising his +rifle, fired at a painted breast. The next moment they were hurled upon +him in a brown mass. He felt a stunning blow upon the head, sparks flew +before his eyes, and the world reeled away into darkness. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE PRIMITIVE MAN + + +When Henry came back to his world he was lying upon the ground, with his +head against a log, and about him was a circle of brown faces, cold, +hard, expressionless and apparently devoid of human feeling; pity and +mercy seemed to be unknown qualities there. But the boy met them with a +gaze as steady as their own, and then he glanced quickly around the +circle. There was no other prisoner and he saw no ghastly trophy; then +his comrades had escaped, and, deep satisfaction in his heart, he let +his head fall back upon the log. They could do now as they chose with +him, and whatever it might be he felt that he had no cause to fear it. + +Three other warriors came in presently, and Henry judged that all the +party were now gathered there. He was still lying near the river on +whose banks he had been struck down, and the shifting clouds let the +moonlight fall upon him. He put his hand to his head where it ached, and +when he took it away, there was blood on his fingers. He inferred that a +heavy blow had been dealt to him with the flat of a tomahawk, but with +the stained fingers he made a scornful gesture. One of the warriors, +apparently a chief, noticed the movement, and he muttered a word or two +which seemed to have the note of approval. Henry rose to his feet and +the chief still regarded him, noting the fearless look, and the hint of +surpassing physical powers soon to come. He put his hand upon the boy's +shoulder and pointed toward the north and west. Henry understood him. +His life was to be spared for the present, at least, and he was to go +with them into the northwest, but to what fate he knew not. + +One of the warriors bathed his head, and put upon it a lotion of leaves +which quickly drove away the pain. Henry suffered his ministrations with +primitive stoicism, making no comment and showing no interest. + +At a word from the leader they took up their silent march, skirting the +river for a while until they came to a shallow place, where they forded +it, and buried themselves again in the dark forest. They passed among +its shades swiftly, silently and in single file, Henry near the middle +of the column, his figure in the dusk blending into the brown of theirs. +He had completely recovered his strength, and, save for the separation +from his friends and their consequent wonder and sorrow, he would not +have grieved over the mischance. Instinct told him--perhaps it was his +youth, perhaps his ready adaptability that appealed to his captors--that +his life was safe--and now he felt a keen curiosity to know the outcome. +It seemed to him too that without any will of his own he was about to +begin the vast wanderings that he had coveted. + +Hour after hour the silent file trod swiftly on into the northwest, no +one speaking, their footfalls making no sound on the soft earth. The +moonlight deepened again, and veiled the trunks and branches in ghostly +silver or gray. By and by it grew darker and then out of the blackness +came the first shoot of dawn. A shaft of pale light appeared in the +east, then broadened and deepened, bringing in its trail, in terrace +after terrace, the red and gold of the rising sun. Then the light swept +across the heavens and it was full day. + +They were yet in the forest and the dawn was cold. Here and there in the +open spaces and on the edges of the brown leaves appeared the white +gleam of frost. The rustle of the woods before the western wind was +chilly in the ear. But Henry was without sign of fatigue or cold. He +walked with a step as easy and as tireless as that of the strongest +warrior in the band, and at all times he held himself, as if he were one +of them, not their prisoner. + +About an hour after dawn the party which numbered fifteen men halted at +a signal from the chief and began to eat the dried meat of the buffalo, +taken from their pouches. They gave him a good supply of the food, and +he found it tough but savory. Hunger would have given a sufficient sauce +to anything and as he ate in a sort of luxurious content he studied his +captors with the advantage of the daylight. The full sunshine disclosed +no more of softness and mercy than the night had shown. The features +were immobile, the eyes fixed and hard, but when the gaze of any one of +them, even the chief, met the boy's it was quickly turned. There was +about them something furtive, something of the lower kingdom of the +animals. That inherited primitive instinct, recently flaming up with +such strength in him, did not tell him that they were his full brethren. +But he did not hate them, instead they interested him. + +After eating they rested an hour or more in the covert of a thicket and +Henry saw the beautiful day unfold. The sunshine was dazzling in its +glory, the crisp wind made one's blood sparkle like a tonic, and it was +good merely to live. A vast horizon inclosed only the peace of the +wilderness. + +The chief said some words to Henry, but the boy could understand none of +them, and he shook his head. Then the chief took the rifle that had +belonged to the captive, tapped it on the barrel and pointed toward the +southeast. Henry nodded to indicate that he had come from that point, +and then smiling swept the circle of the northwestern horizon with his +hands. He meant to say that he would go with them without resistance, +for the present, at least, and the chief seemed to understand, as his +face relaxed into a look of comprehension and even of good nature. + +Their march was resumed presently and as before it was straight into the +northwest. They passed out of the forest crossed the Ohio in hidden +canoes and entered a region of small but beautiful prairies, cut by +shallow streams, which they waded with undiminished speed. Henry began +to suspect that the band came from some very distant country, and was +hastening so much in order not to be caught on the hunting grounds of +rival tribes. The northwesterly direction that they were following +confirmed him in this belief. + +All the day passed on the march but shortly after the night came on and +they had eaten a little more of the jerked meat, they lay down in a +thicket, and Henry, unmindful of his captivity, fell in a few minutes +into a sleep that was deep, sweet and dreamless. He did not know then +that before he was asleep long the chief took a robe of tanned deerskin +and threw it over him, shielding his body from the chill autumn night. +In the morning shortly before he awoke the chief took away the robe. + +That day they came to a mighty river and Henry knew that the yellow +stream was that of the Mississippi. The Indians dragged from the +sheltering undergrowth two canoes, in which the whole party paddled up +stream until nightfall, when they hid the canoes again in the foliage on +the western shore, and then encamped on the crest. They seemed to feel +that they were out of danger now as they built a fine fire and the +captive basked in its warmth. + +Henry had not made the slightest effort to escape, nor had he indicated +any wish to do so, finding his reward in the increased freedom which the +warriors gave to him. He had never been bound and now he could walk as +he chose in a limited area about the camp. But he did not avail himself +of the privilege, for the present, preferring to sit by the fire, where +he saw pictures of Wareville and those whom he loved. Then he had a +swift twinge of conscience. When they heard they would grieve deep and +long for him and one, his mother, would never forget. He should have +sought more eagerly to escape, and he glanced quickly about him, but +there was no chance. However careless the warriors might seem there was +always one between him and the forest. He resigned himself with a sigh +but had he thought how quickly the pain passed his conscience would have +hurt him again. Now he felt much comfort where he sat; the night was +really cold, bitingly cold, and it was a glorious fire. As he sat before +it and basked in its radiance he felt the glorious physical joy that +must have thrilled some far-away primeval ancestor, as he hugged the +coals in his cave after coming in from the winter storm. + +Henry had the best place by the fire and a warrior who was sitting where +his back was exposed to the wind moved over and shoved him away. Henry +without a word smote him in the face with such force that the man fell +flat and Henry thrust him aside, resuming his original position. The +warrior rose to his feet and rubbed his bruised face, looking doubtfully +at the boy who sat in such stolid silence, staring into the coals and +paying no further attention to his opponent. The Indian never uses his +fists, and his hand strayed to the handle of his tomahawk; then, as it +strayed away again he sat down on the far side of the fire, and he too +began to stare stolidly into the red coals. The chief, Black Cloud, +bestowed on both a look of approval, but uttered no comment. + +Presently Black Cloud gave some orders to his men and they lay down to +sleep, but the chief took the deerskin robe and handed it to Henry. His +manner was that of one making a gift, and a gesture confirmed the +impression. Henry took the robe which he would need and thanked the +chief in words whose meaning the donor might gather from the tone. Then +he lay down and slept as before a dreamless sleep all through the night. + +Their journey lasted many days and every hour of it was full of interest +to Henry, appealing alike to his curiosity and its gratification. He was +launched upon the great wandering and he found in it both the glamour +and the reality that he wished, the reality in the rivers and the +forests and the prairies that he saw, and the glamour in the hope of +other and greater rivers and forests and prairies to come. + +Indian summer was at hand. All the woods were dyed in vivid colors, reds +and yellows and browns, and glowed with dazzling hues in the intense +sunlight. Often the haze of Indian summer hung afar and softened every +outline. Henry's feeling that he was one of the band grew stronger, and +they, too, began to regard him as their own. His freedom was extended +more and more and with astonishing quickness he soon picked up enough +words of their dialect to make himself intelligible. They took him with +them, when they turned aside for hunting expeditions, and he was +permitted now and then to use his own rifle. Only six men in the band +had guns, and two of these guns were rifles the other four being +muskets. Henry soon showed that he was the best marksman among them and +respect for him grew. The Indian whom he knocked down was slightly gored +by a stag when only Henry was near, but Henry slew the stag, bound up +the man's wound and stayed by him until the others came. The warrior, +Gray Fox, speedily became one of his best friends. + +Henry's enjoyment became more intense; all the trammels of civilization +were now thrown aside, he never thought of the morrow because the day +with its interests was sufficient, and from his new friends he learned +fresh lore of the forest with marvelous rapidity; they taught him how to +trail, to take advantage of every shred of cover and to make signals by +imitating the cry of bird or beast. Once they were caught in a +hailstorm, when it turned bitterly cold, but he endured it as well as +the best of them, and made not a single complaint. + +They came at last to their village, a great distance west of the +Mississippi, a hundred lodges perhaps, pitched in a warm and sheltered +valley and the boy, under the fostering care of Black Cloud, was +formally adopted into the tribe, taking up at once the thread of his new +life, and finding in it the same keen interest that had marked all the +stages of the great journey. + +The climate here was colder than that from which he had come, and +winter, with fierce winds from the Great Plains was soon upon them. But +the camp which was to remain there until spring was well chosen and the +steep hills about them fended off the worst of the blast. Yet the snow +came soon in great, whirling flakes and fell all one night. The next +morning the boy saw the world in white and he found it singularly +beautiful. The snow he did not mind as clothing of dressed skins had +been given to him and he had a warm buffalo robe for a blanket. Now, +young as he was, he became one of the best hunters for the village and +with the others he roamed far over the snowy hills in search of game. +Many were the prizes that fell to his steady aim and eye, chief among +them the deer, the bear and the buffalo. + +His fame in the village grew fast, and it would be hiding the fact to +deny that he enjoyed it. The wild rough life with its limitless range +over time and space appealed to every instinct in him, and his new fame +as a tireless and skillful hunter was very sweet to him. He thought of +his people and Wareville, it is true, but he consoled himself again with +the belief that they were well and he would return to them when the +chance came, and then he plunged all the deeper and with all the more +zest into his new life which had so many fascinations. At Wareville +there were certain bounds which he must respect, certain weights which +he must carry, but here he was free from both. + +Meanwhile his body thrived at a prodigious rate. One could almost see +him grow. There was not a warrior in the village who was as strong as +he, and already he surpassed them all in endurance; none was so fleet of +foot nor so tireless. His face and hair darkened in the wind and sun, +his last vestige of civilized garb had disappeared long ago, and he was +clothed wholly in deerskin. His features grew stronger and keener and +the eyes were incessantly watchful, roving hither and thither, covering +every point within range. It would have taken more than a casual glance +now to discover that he was white. + +The winter deepened. The snow was continuous, fierce blasts blew in from +the distant western plains and even searched out their sheltered valley. +The old men and the women shivered in the lodges, but sparkling young +blood and tireless action kept the boy warm and flourishing through it +all. Game grew scarce about them and the hunters went far westward in +search of the buffalo. + +Henry was with the party that traveled farthest toward the setting sun, +and it was long before they returned. Winter was at its height and when +they came out of the forest into the waving open stretches which are the +Great Plains all things were hidden by the snow. + +Henry from the summit of a little hill saw before him an expanse as +mighty as the sea, and like it in many of its aspects. They told him +that it rolled away to the westward, no man knew how far, as none of +them had ever come to the end of it. In summer it was covered with life. +Here grew thick grass and wild flowers and the buffalo passed in +millions. + +It inspired in Henry a certain awe and yet by its very vagueness and +immensity it attracted. Just as he had wished to explore the secrets of +the forest he would like now to tread the Great Plains and find what +they held. + +They turned toward the southwest in search of buffalo and were caught in +a great storm of wind and hail. The cold was bitter and the wind cut to +the bone. They were saved from freezing to death only by digging a rude +shelter through the snow into the side of a hill, and there they +crouched for two days with so little food left in their knapsacks, that +without game, they would perish, in a week, of hunger, if the cold did +not get the first chance. The most experienced hunters went forth, but +returned with nothing, thankful for so little a mercy as the ability to +get back to their half-shelter. + +Henry at last took his rifle and ventured out alone--the others were too +listless to stop him--and before the noon hour he found a buffalo bull, +some outcast from the herd which had gone southward, struggling in the +snow. The bull was old and lean, and it took two bullets to bring him +down, but his death meant their life and Henry hurried to the camp with +the joyful news. It was clearly recognized that he had saved them, but +no one said anything and Henry was glad of their silence. + +When the storm ceased they renewed their journey toward the south with a +plentiful supply of food and not long afterwards the snow began to melt. +Under the influence of a warm wind out of the southwest it disappeared +with marvelous quickness; one day the earth was all white, and the next +it was all brown. The warm wind continued to blow, and then faint +touches of green began to appear in the dead grass; there were delicate +odors, the breath of the great warm south, and they knew that spring was +not far away. + +In a week they ran into the buffalo herd, a mighty black mass of moving +millions. The earth rumbled hollowly under the tread of a myriad feet, +and the plain was black with bodies to the horizon and beyond. + +They killed as many of the buffalo as they wished and after the fashion +of the more northerly Indians reduced the meat to pemmican. Then, each +man bearing as much as he could conveniently carry, they began their +swift journey homeward, not knowing whether they would arrive in time +for the needs of the village. + +Henry felt a deep concern for these new friends of his who were left +behind in the valley. He shared the anxiety of the others who feared +lest they would be too late and that fact reconciled him to the retreat +from the Great Plains, whose mysteries he longed to unravel. + +As they went swiftly eastward the spring unfolded so fast that it seemed +to Henry to come with one great jump. They were now in the forests and +everywhere the trees were laden with fresh buds, in all the open spaces +the young grass was springing up, and the brooks, as if rejoicing in +their new freedom from the ice-bound winter, ran in sparkling little +streams between green banks. + +The physical world was full of beauty to him, more so than ever because +his power of feeling it had grown. During the winter and by the +triumphant endurance of so many hardships his form had expanded and the +tide of sparkling blood had risen higher. Although a captive he was +regarded in a sense as the leader of the hunting party; it was obvious, +in the deference that the others, though much older, showed to him and +he knew that only his resource, courage and endurance had saved them all +from death. A song of triumph was singing in his veins. + +They found the village at the edge of starvation despite the approach of +spring; two or three of the older people had died already of weakness, +and their supplies arrived just in time to relieve the crisis. There +were willing tongues to tell of his exploits, and Henry soon perceived +that he was a hero to them all and he enjoyed it, because it was natural +to him to be a leader, and he loved to breathe the air of approbation. +Yet as they valued him more they grew more jealous of him, and they +watched him incessantly, lest he should take it into his head to flee to +the people who were once his own. Henry saw the difficulty and again it +soothed his conscience by showing to him that he could not do what he +yet had a lingering feeling that he ought to do. + +Good luck seemed to come in a shower to the village with the return of +the hunting party. Spring leaped suddenly into full bloom, and the woods +began to swarm with game. It was the most plentiful season that the +oldest man could recall, there was no hunter so lazy and so dull that he +could not find the buffalo and the deer. + +Then the band, with the spirit of irresponsible wandering upon it, took +down its lodges and traveled slowly into the north farther and farther +from the little settlement away down in Kentucky. There was peace among +the tribes and they could go as they chose. They came at last to the +shores of a mighty lake, Superior, and here when Henry looked out upon +an expanse of water, as limitless to the eyes as the sea, he felt the +same thrill of awe that had passed through his veins when the Great +Plains lay outspread before him. As it was now midsummer and the forests +crackled in the heat they lingered long by the deep cool waters of the +lake. Here white traders, Frenchmen speaking a tongue unknown to Henry, +came to them with rifles, ammunition and bright-colored blankets to +trade for furs. More than one of them saw and admired the tall powerful +young warrior with the singularly watchful eyes but not one of them knew +that under his paint and tan he was whiter than themselves; instead they +took him to be the wildest of the wild. + +Henry's heart had throbbed a little at the first sight of them, but it +was only for a moment, then it beat as steadily as ever; white like +himself they might be, but they were of an alien race; their speech was +not his speech, their ways not his ways and he turned from them. He was +glad when they were gone. + +Toward the end of summer they went south again and wandered idly through +pleasant places. It was still a full season with wild fruits hanging +from the trees and game everywhere. There had been no sickness in the +little tribe and they basked in physical content. It was now a careless +easy life with the stimulus of wandering and hunting and all the old +primeval instincts in Henry, made stronger by habit, were gratified. He +fell easily into the ways of his friends; when there was nothing to do +he could sit for hours looking at the forests and the streams and the +sunshine, letting his soul steep in the glory of it all. To his other +qualities he now added that of illimitable patience. He could wait for +what he wished as the Eskimo sits for days at the air hole until the +seal appears. + +In their devious wanderings they kept a general course toward the valley +in which they had passed the first winter, intending to renew their camp +there during the cold weather, but autumn, as they intended, was at hand +before they reached it. They were yet a long distance north and west of +their valley when they were threatened by a danger with which they had +not reckoned. A local tribe claimed that the band was infringing upon +their hunting grounds and began war with a treacherous attack upon a +hunting party. + +The war was not long but the few hundreds who took part in it shared all +the passions and fierce emotions of two great nations in conflict. Henry +was in the thick of it, first alike in attack and defense, superior to +the Indians themselves in wiles and cunning. Several of the hostile +tribe fell at his hand, although he could not take a scalp, the remnants +of his early training forbidding it. But once or twice he was ashamed of +the weakness. The hostile party was triumphantly beaten off with great +loss to itself and Henry and his friends pursued their journey leisurely +and triumphantly. Now besides being a great hunter he was a great +warrior too. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE CALL OF DUTY + + +They arrived at their valley and prepared for the second winter there, +returning to the place for several reasons, chief among them being the +right of prescription, to which the other tribes yielded tacit consent. +The Indian recks little of the future, but in his reversion to primitive +type Henry had taken with him much of the acquired and modern knowledge +of education. He looked ahead, and, under his constant suggestion, +advice and pressure they stored so much food for the winter that there +was no chance of another famine, whatever might happen to the game. + +Before they went into winter quarters Henry clearly perceived one +thing--he was first in the little tribe; even Black Cloud, the chief, +willingly took second place to him. He was first alike in strength and +wisdom and it was patent to all. He was now, although only a boy in +years, nearly at his full height, almost a head above an ordinary +warrior, with wonderfully keen eyes, set wide apart, and a square +projecting chin, so firm that it seemed to be carved of brown marble. +His shoulders were of great breadth, but his lean figure had all the +graceful strength and ease of some wild animal native to the forest. He +was scrupulous in his attire, and wore only the finest skins and furs +that the village could furnish. + +Henry felt the deference of the tribe and it pleased him. He glided +naturally into the place of leader, feeling the responsibility and +liking it. He was tactful, too, he would not push Black Cloud from his +old position, but merely remained at his right hand and ruled through +him. The chief was soothed and flattered, and the arrangement worked to +the pleasure of both, and to the great good of the village which now +enjoyed a winter of prosperity hitherto unknown to such natives of the +woods. Nobody had to go hungry, there was abundant provision against the +cold. Henry, though not saying it, knew that with him the credit lay, +and just now the world seemed very full. As human beings go he was +thoroughly happy; the life fitted him, satisfied all his wants, and the +memory of his own people became paler and more distant; they could do +very well without him; they were so many, one could be spared, and when +the chance came he would send word to them that he was alive and well, +but that he would not come back. + +When the buds began to burst they traveled eastward, until they came to +the Mississippi. The sight of its stream brought back to Henry a thought +of those with whom he had first seen it and he felt a pang of remorse. +But the pang was fleeting, and the memory too he resolutely put aside. + +They crossed the Mississippi and advanced into the land of little +prairies, a green, rich region, pleasant to the eye and full of game. +They wandered and hunted here, drifting slowly to the eastward, until +they came upon a great encampment of the fierce and warlike nation, +known as the Shawnees. The Shawnees were in their war paint and were +singing warlike songs. It was evident to the most casual visitor that +they were going forth to do battle. + +It was late in the afternoon when Henry, Black Cloud and two others came +upon this encampment. His own band had pitched its lodges some miles +behind, but the kinship of the forest and the peace between them, made +the four the guests of the Shawnees as long as they chose to stay. + +At least a thousand warriors were in all the hideous varieties of war +paint, and the scene, in the waning light, was weird and ominous even to +Henry. The war songs in their very monotony were chilling, and full of +ferocity, and in all the thousand faces there was not one that shone +with the light of kindness and mercy. + +Long glances were cast at Henry, but even their keen eyes failed to +notice that he was not an Indian, and he stood watching them, his face +impassive, but his interest aroused. A dozen warriors naked to the waist +and hideously painted were singing a war song, while they capered and +jumped to its unrhythmic tune. Suddenly one of them snatched something +from his girdle and waved it aloft in triumph. Henry knew that it was a +scalp, many of which he had seen, and he paid little attention, but the +Indian came closer, still singing and dancing, and waving his hideous +trophy. + +The scalp flashed before Henry's eyes, and it displayed not the coarse +black locks of the savage, but hair long, fine and yellow like silk. He +knew that it was the scalp of a white girl, and a sudden, shuddering +horror seized him. It had belonged to one of his own kind, to the race +into which he had been born and with which he had passed his boyhood. +His heart filled with hatred of these Shawnees, but the warriors of his +own little tribe would take scalps, and if occasion came, the scalps of +white people, yes, of white women and white girls! He tried to dismiss +the thought or rather to crush it down, but it would not yield to his +will; always it rose up again. + +He walked back to the edge of the encampment, where some of the warriors +were yet singing the war songs that with all of their monotony were so +weird and chilling. Twilight was over the forest, save in the west, +where a blood-red tint from the sunken sun lingered on trunk and bough, +and gleamed across the faces of the dancing warriors. In this lurid +light Henry suddenly saw them savage, inhuman, implacable. They were +truly creatures of the wilderness, the lust of blood was upon them, and +they would shed it for the pleasure of seeing it flow. Henry's primeval +world darkened as he looked upon them. + +He was about to leave with Black Cloud and his friends when it occurred +to him to ask which way the war party was going and who were the +destined victims. He spoke to two or three warriors until he came to one +who understood the tongue of his little tribe. + +The man waved his hand toward the south. + +"Off there; far away," he said. "Beyond the great river." + +Henry knew that in this case "great river" meant the Ohio and he was +somewhat surprised; it was still a long journey from the Ohio to the +land of the Cherokees, Chickasaws and Choctaws with whom the Northern +tribes sometimes fought, and he spoke of it to the warrior, but the man +shook his head, and said they were going against the white people; there +was a village of them in a sheltered valley beside a little river, they +had been there three or four years and had flourished in peace; freedom +so long from danger had made them careless, but the Shawnee scouts had +looked from the woods upon the settlement, and the war band would slay +or take them all with ease. + +The man had not spoken a half dozen words before Henry knew that +Wareville was the place, upon which the doom was so soon to fall. The +chill of horror that had seized him at sight of the yellow-haired scalp +passed over him again, deeper, stronger and longer than before. And the +colony would fall! There could be no doubt of it! Nothing could save it! +The hideous band, raging with tomahawk and knife, would dash without a +word of warning, like a bolt from the sky upon Wareville so long +sheltered and peaceful in its valley. And he could see all the phases of +the savage triumph, the surprise, the triumphant and ferocious yells, +the rapid volleys of the rifles, the flashing of the blades, the burning +buildings, the shouts, the cries, and men, women and children in one red +slaughter. In another year the forest would be springing up where +Wareville had been, and the wolf and the fox would prowl among the +charred timbers. And among the bleaching bones would be those of his own +mother and sister and Lucy Upton--if they were not taken away for a +worse fate. + +He endured the keenest thrill of agony that life had yet held for him. +All his old life, the dear familiar ties surged up, and were hot upon +his brain. His place was there! with them! not here! He had yielded too +easily to the spell of the woods and the call of the old primeval +nature. He might have escaped long ago, there had been many +opportunities, but he could not see them. His blindness had been +willful, the child of his own desires. He knew it too well now. He saw +himself guilty and guilty he was. + +But in that moment of agony and fear for his own he was paying the price +of his guilt. The sense of helplessness was crushing. In two hours the +war party would start and it would flit southward like the wind, as +silent but far more deadly. No, nothing could save the innocent people +at Wareville; they were as surely doomed as if their destruction had +already taken place. + +But not one of these emotions, so tense and so deep, was written on the +face of him whom even the Shawnees did not know to be white. Not a +feature changed, the Indian stoicism and calm, the product alike of his +nature and cultivation, clung to him. His eyes were veiled and his +movements had their habitual gravity and dignity. + +He walked with Black Cloud to the edge of the encampment, said farewell +to the Shawnees, and then, with a great surge of joy, his resolution +came to him. It was so sudden, so transforming that the whole world +changed at once. The blood-red tint, thrown by the sunken sun, was gone +from the forest, but instead the silver sickle of the moon was rising +and shed a radiant light of hope. + +He said nothing until they had gone a mile or so and then, drawing Black +Cloud aside, spoke to him words full of firmness, but not without +feeling. He made no secret of his purpose, and he said that if Black +Cloud and the others sought to stay him with force with force he would +reply. He must go, and he would go at once. + +Black Cloud was silent for a while, and Henry saw the faintest quiver in +his eyes. He knew that he held a certain place in the affections of the +chief, not the place that he might hold in the regard of a white man, it +was more limited and qualified, but it was there, nevertheless. + +"I am the captive of the tribe I know," said Henry. "It has made me its +son, but my white blood is not changed and I must save my people. The +Shawnees march south to-night against them and I go to give warning. It +is better that I go in peace." + +He spoke simply, but with dignity, and looked straight into the eyes of +the chief, where he saw that slight pathetic quiver come again. + +"I cannot keep you now if you would go," said Black Cloud, "but it may +be when you are far away that the forest and we with whom you have lived +and hunted so many seasons will call to you again, in a voice to which +you must listen." + +Henry was moved; perhaps the chief was telling the truth. He saw the +hardships and bareness of the wilderness but the life there appealed to +him and satisfied the stronger wants of his nature; he seemed to be the +reincarnation of some old forest dweller, belonging to a time thousands +of years ago, yet the voice of duty, which was in this case also the +voice of love, called to him, too, and now with the louder voice. He +would go, and there must be no delay in his going. + +"Farewell, Black Cloud," he said with the same simplicity. "I will think +often of you who have been good to me." + +The chief called the other warriors and told them their comrade was +going far to the south, and they might never see him again. Their faces +expressed nothing, whatever they may have felt. Henry repeated the +farewell, hesitated no longer and plunged into the forest. But he +stopped when he was thirty or forty yards away and looked back. The +chief and the warriors stood side by side as he had left them, +motionless and gazing after him. It was night now and to eyes less keen +than Henry's their forms would have melted into the dusk, but he saw +every outline distinctly, the lean brown features and the black shining +eyes. He waved his hands to them--a white man's action--and resumed his +flight, not looking back again. + +It was a dark night and the forest stretched on, black and endless, the +trunks of the trees standing in rows like phantoms of the dusk. Henry +looked up at the moon and the few stars, and reckoned his course. +Wareville lay many hundred miles away, chiefly to the south, and he had +a general idea of the direction, but the war party would know exactly, +and its advantage there would perhaps be compensation for the superior +speed of one man. But Henry, for the present, would not think of such a +disaster as failure; on the contrary he reckoned with nothing but +success, and he felt a marvelous elation. + +The decision once taken the rebound had come with great force, and he +felt that he was now about to make atonement for his long neglect, and +more than neglect. Perhaps it had been ordained long ago that he should +be there at the critical moment, see the danger and bring them the +warning that would save. There was consolation in the thought. + +He increased his pace and sped southward in the easy trot that he had +learned from his red friends, a gait that he could maintain +indefinitely, and with which he could put ground behind him at a +remarkable rate. His rifle he carried at the trail, his head was bent +slightly forward, and he listened intently to every sound of the forest +as he passed; nothing escaped his ear, whether it was a raccoon stirring +among the branches, a deer startled from its covert, or merely the wind +rustling the leaves. Instinct also told him that the forest was at +peace. + +To the ordinary man the night with its dusk, the wilderness with its +ghostly tree trunks, and the silence would have been full of weirdness +and awe, black with omens and presages. Few would not have chilled to +the marrow to be alone there, but to Henry it brought only hope and the +thrill of exultation. He had no sense of loneliness, the forest hid no +secrets for him; this was home and he merely passed through it on a +great quest. + +He looked up at the moon and stars, and confirmed himself in his course, +though he never slackened speed as he looked. He came out of the forest +upon a prairie, and here the moonlight was brighter, touching the crests +of the swells with silver spear-points. A dozen buffaloes rose up and +snorted as he flitted by, but he scarcely bestowed a passing glance upon +the black bulk of the animals. The prairie was only two or three miles +across, and at the far edge flowed a shallow creek which he crossed at +full speed, and entered the forest again. Now he came to rough country, +steep little hills, and a dense undergrowth of interlacing bushes, and +twining thorny vines. But he made his way through them in a manner that +only one forest-bred could compass, and pressed on with speed but little +slackened. + +When the night became darkest, in the forest just before morning he lay +down in the deepest shadow of a thicket, his hand upon his rifle, and in +a few minutes was sleeping soundly. It was a matter of training with him +to sleep whenever sleep was needed and he had no nerves. He knew, too, +despite his haste that he must save his strength, and he did not +hesitate to follow the counsels of prudence. + +It was his will that he should sleep about four hours, and, his system +obeying the wish, he awoke at the appointed time. The sun was rising +over the vast, green wilderness, lighting up a world seemingly as lonely +and deserted as it had been the night before. The unbroken forest, +touched with the tender tints of young spring and bathed in the pure +light of the first dawn, bent gently to a west wind that breathed only +of peace. + +Henry stood up and inhaled the odorous air. He was a striking figure, +yet a few yards away he would have been visible only to the trained eye; +his half-savage garb of tanned deerskin, stained green and trimmed at +the edges with green beads and little green feathers, blended with the +colors of the forest and merely made a harmonious note in the whole. His +figure compact, powerful and always poised as if ready for a spring +swayed slightly, while his eyes that missed nothing searched every nook +in the circling woods. He was then neither the savage nor the civilized +man, but he had many of the qualities of both. + +The slight swaying motion of his body ceased suddenly and he remained as +still as a rock. He seemed to be a part of the green bushes that grew +around him, yet he was never more watchful, never more alert. The +indefinable sixth sense, developed in him by the wilderness, had taken +alarm; there was a presence in the forest, foreign in its nature; it was +not sight nor hearing nor yet smell that told him so, but a feeling or +rather a sort of prescience. Then an extraordinary thrill ran through +him; it was an emotion partaking in its nature of joy and anticipation; +he was about to be confronted by some danger, perhaps a crisis, and the +physical faculties, handed down by a far-off ancestor, expanded to meet +it. He knew that he would conquer, and he felt already the glow of +triumph. + +Presently he sank down in the undergrowth so gently that not a bush +rustled; there was no displacement of nature, the grass and the foliage +were just as they had been, but the figure, visible before to the +trained eye at a dozen paces, could not have been seen now at all. Then +he began to creep through the grass with a swift easy gliding motion +like that of a serpent, moving at a speed remarkable in such a position +and quite soundless. He went a full half mile before he stopped and rose +to his knees, and then his face was hidden by the bushes, although the +eyes still searched every part of the forest. + +His look was now wholly changed. He might be the hunted, but he bore +himself as the hunter. All vestige of the civilized man, trained to +humanity and mercy, was gone. Those who wished to kill were seeking him +and he would kill in return. The thin lips were slightly drawn back, +showing the line of white teeth, the eyes were narrowed and in them was +the cold glitter of expected conflict. Brown hands, lean but big-boned +and powerful, clasped a rifle having a long slender barrel and a +beautifully carved stock. It was a figure, terrible alike in its +manifestation of physical power and readiness, and in the fierce eye +that told what quality of mind lay behind it. + +He sank down again and moved in a small circle to the right. His +original thrill of joy was now a permanent emotion; he was like some one +playing an exciting game into which no thought of danger entered. He +stopped behind a large tree, and sheltering himself riveted his eyes on +a spot in the forest about fifty yards away. No one else could have +found there anything suspicious, anything to tell of an alien presence, +but he no longer doubted. + +At the detected point a leaf moved, but not in the way it should have +swayed before the gentle wind, and there was a passing spot of brown in +the green of the bushes. It was visible only for a moment, but it was +sufficient for the attuned mind and body of Henry Ware. Every part of +him responded to the call. The rifle sprang to his shoulder and before +the passing spot of brown was gone, a stream of fire spurted from its +slender muzzle, and its sharp cracking report like the lashing of a whip +was blended with the long-drawn howl, so terrible in its note, that is +the death cry of a savage. + +The bullet had scarcely left his gun before he fell back almost flat, +and the answering shot sped over his head. It was for this that he sank +down, and before the second shot died he sprang to his feet and rushed +forward, drawing his tomahawk and uttering a shout that rolled away in +fierce echoes through the forest. + +He knew that his enemies were but two; in his eccentric course through +the forest he had passed directly over their trail, and he had read the +signs with an infallible eye. Now one was dead and the other like +himself had an unloaded gun. The rest of his deed would be a mere matter +of detail. + +The second savage uttered his war cry and sprang forward from the +bushes. He might well have recoiled at the terrible figure that rushed +to meet him; in all his wild life of risks he had never before been +confronted by anything so instinct with terror, so ominous of death. But +he did not have time to take thought before he was overwhelmed by his +resistless enemy. + +It was an affair of but a few moments. The Indian threw his tomahawk but +Henry parried the blade upon the barrel of his rifle which he still +carried in his left hand, and his own tomahawk was whirled in a +glittering curve about his head. Now it was launched with mighty force +and the savage, cloven to the chin, sank soundless to the earth; he had +been smitten down by a force so sudden and absolute that he died +instantly. + +The victor, elate though he was, paused, and quickly reloaded his +rifle--wilderness caution would allow nothing else--and afterwards +advancing looked first at the savage whom he had slain in the open and +then at the other in the bushes. There was no pity in him, his only +emotion was a great sense of power; they had hunted him, two to one, and +they born in the woods, but he had outwitted and slain them both. He +could have escaped, he could have easily left them far behind when he +first discovered that they were stalking him, but he had felt that they +should be punished and now the event justified his faith. + +It was not his first taking of human life, and while he would have +shuddered at the deed a year ago he felt no such sensation now; they +were merely dangerous wild animals that had crossed his path, and he had +put them out of it in the proper way; his feeling was that of the hunter +who slays a grizzly bear or a lion, only he had slain two. + +He stood looking at them, and save for the rustling of the young grass +under the gentle western wind the wilderness was silent and at peace. +The sun was shooting up higher and higher and a vast golden light hung +over the forest, gilding every leaf and twig. Henry Ware turned at last +and sped swiftly and silently to the south, still thrilling with +exultation over his deed, and the sequel that he knew would quickly +come. But in the few brief minutes his nature had reverted another and +further step toward the primitive. + +When he had gone a half mile in his noiseless flight he stopped, and, +listening intently, heard the faint echo of a long-drawn, whining cry. +After that came silence, heavy and ominous. But Henry only laughed in +noiseless mirth. All this he had expected. He knew that the larger party +to which the two warriors belonged would find the bodies, with hasty +pursuit to follow after the single cry. That was why he lingered. He +wanted them to pursue, to hang upon his trail in the vain hope that they +could catch him; he would play with them, he would enjoy the game +leading them on until they were exhausted, and then, laughing, he would +go on to the south at his utmost speed. + +A new impulse drove him to another step in the daring play, and, raising +his head, he uttered his own war cry, a long piercing shout that died in +distant echoes; it was at once a defiance, and an intimation to them +where they might find him, and then, mirth in his eyes, he resumed his +flight, although, for the present, he chose to keep an unchanging +distance between his pursuers and himself. + +That party of warriors may have pursued many a man before and may have +caught most of them, but the greatest veteran of them all had never hung +on the trail of such another annoying fugitive. All day he led them in +swift flight toward the south, and at no time was he more than a little +beyond their reach; often they thought their hands were about to close +down upon him, that soon they would enjoy the sight of his writhings +under the fagot and the stake, but always he slipped away at the fatal +moment, and their savage hearts were filled with bitterness that a lone +fugitive should taunt them so. His footsteps were those of the white +man, but his wile and cunning were those of the red, and curiosity was +added to the other motives that drew them on. + +At the coming of the twilight one of their best warriors who pursued at +some distance from the main band was slain by a rifle shot from the +bushes, then came that defiant war cry again, faint, but full of irony +and challenge, and then the trail grew cold before them. He whom they +pursued was going now with a speed that none of them could equal, and +the darkness itself, thick and heavy, soon covered all sign of his +flight. + +Henry Ware's expectations of joy had been fulfilled and more; it was the +keenest delight that had yet come into his life. At all times he had +been master of the situation, and as he drew them southward, he +fulfilled his duty at the same time and enjoyed his sport. Everything +had fallen out as he planned, and now, with the night at hand, he shook +them off. + +Through the day he had eaten dried venison from his pouch, as he ran, +and he felt no need to stop for food. So, he did not cease the flight +until after midnight when he lay down again in a thicket and slept +soundly until daylight. He rose again, refreshed, and faster than ever +sped on his swift way toward Wareville. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE RETURN + + +Wareville lay in its pleasant valley, rejoicing in the young spring, so +kind with its warm rains that the men of the village foresaw a great +season for crops. The little river flowed in a silver current, smoke +rose from many chimneys, and now and then the red homemade linsey dress +of a girl gleamed in the sunlight like the feathers of the scarlet +tanager. To the left were the fields cleared for Indian corn, and to the +right were the gardens. Beyond both were the hills and the unbroken +forest. + +Now and then a man, carrying on his shoulder the inevitable Kentucky +rifle, long and slender-barreled, passed through the palisade, but the +cardinal note of the scene was peace and cheerfulness. The town was +prospering, its future no longer belonged to chance; there would be +plenty, of the kind that they liked. + +In the Ware house was a silent sadness, silent because these were stern +people, living in a stern time, and it was the custom to hide one's +griefs. The oldest son was gone; whether he had perished nobody knew, +nor, if he had perished, how. + +John Ware was not an emotional man, feelings rarely showed on his face, +and his wife alone knew how hard the blow had been to him--she knew +because she had suffered from the same stroke. But the children, the +younger brother Charles and the sister Mary could not always remember, +and with them the impression of the one who was gone would grow dimmer +in time. The border too always expected a certain percentage of loss in +human life, it was one of the facts with which the people must reckon, +and thus the name of Henry Ware was rarely spoken. + +To-day was without a cloud. New emigrants had come across the mountains, +adding welcome strength to the colony, and extending the limits of the +village. But danger had passed them by, they had heard once or twice +more of the great war in the far-away East, but it was so distant and +vague that most of them forgot it; the Indians across the Ohio had never +come this way, and so far Henry Ware was the only toll that they had +paid to the wilderness. There was cause for happiness, as human +happiness goes. + +A slim girl bearing in her hand a wooden pail came through the gate of +the palisade. She was bare-headed, but her wonderful dark-brown hair +coiled in a shining mass was touched here and there with golden gleams +where the sunshine fell upon it. Her face, browned somewhat, was yet +very white on the forehead, and the cheeks had the crimson flush of +health. She wore a dress of homemade linsey dyed red, and its close fit +suggested the curves of her supple, splendid young figure. She walked +with strong elastic step toward the spring that gushed from a hillside, +and which after a short course fell into the little river. + +It was Lucy Upton, grown much taller now, as youth develops rapidly on +the border, a creature nourished into physical perfection first by the +good blood that was in her, then developed in the open air, and by work, +neither too little nor too much. + +She reached the spring, and setting the pail by its side looked down at +the cool, gushing stream. It invited her and she ran her white rounded +arm through it, making curves and oblongs that were gone before they +were finished. She was in a thoughtful mood. Once or twice she looked at +the forest, and each time that she looked she shivered because the +shadow of the wilderness was then very heavy upon her. + +Silas Pennypacker, the schoolmaster, came to the spring while she was +there, and they spoke together, because they were great friends, these +two. He was unchanged, the same strong gray man, with the ruddy face. He +was not unhappy here despite the seeming incongruity of his presence. +The wilderness appealed to him too in a way, he was the intellectual +leader of the colony and almost everything that his nature called for +met with a response. + +"The spring is here, Lucy," he said, "and it has been an easy winter. We +should be thankful that we have fared so well." + +"I think that most of us are," she replied. "We'll soon be a big town." + +She glanced at the spreading settlement, and this launched Mr. +Pennypacker upon a favorite theme of his. He liked to predict how the +colony would grow, sowing new seed, and already he saw great cities to +be. He found a ready listener in Lucy. This too appealed to her +imagination at times, and if at other times interest was lacking, she +was too fond of the old man to let him know it. Presently when she had +finished she filled the pail and stood up, straight and strong. + +"I will carry it for you," said the schoolmaster. + +She laughed. + +"Why should I let you?" she asked. "I am more able than you." + +Most men would have taken it ill to have heard such words from a girl, +but she was one among many, above the usual height for her years; she +created at once the impression of great strength, both physical and +mental; the heavy pail of water hung in her hand, as if it were a trifle +that she did not notice. The master smiled and looked at her with eyes +of fatherly admiration. + +"I must admit that you tell the truth," he said. "This West of ours +seems to suit you." + +"It is my country now," she said, "and I do not care for any other." + +"Since you will not let me carry the water you will at least let me walk +with you?" he said. + +She did not reply, and he was startled by the sudden change that came +over her. + +First a look of wonder showed on her face, then she turned white, every +particle of color leaving her cheeks. The master could not tell what her +expression meant, and he followed her eyes which were turned toward the +wilderness. + +From the forest came a figure very strange to Silas Pennypacker, a +figure of barbaric splendor. It was a youth of great height and powerful +frame, his face so brown that it might belong to either the white or the +red race, but with fine clean features like those of a Greek god. He was +clad in deerskins, ornamented with little colored beads and fringes of +brilliant dyes. He carried a slender-barreled rifle over his shoulder, +and he came forward with swift, soundless steps. + +The master recoiled in alarm at the strange and ominous figure, but as +the red flooded back into the girl's cheeks she put her hand upon his +arm. + +"It is he! I knew that he was not dead!" she said in an intense +tremulous whisper. The words were indefinite, but the master knew whom +she meant, and there was a surge of joy in his heart, to be followed the +next moment by doubt and astonishment. It was Henry Ware who had come +back, but not the same Henry Ware. + +Henry was beside them in a moment and he seized their hands, first the +hands of one and then of the other, calling them by name. + +The master recovering from his momentary diffidence threw his arms +around his former pupil, welcomed him with many words, and wanted to +know where he had been so long. + +"I shall tell you, but not now," replied Henry, "because there is no +time to spare; you are threatened by a great danger. The Shawnees are +coming with a thousand warriors and I have hastened ahead to warn you." + +He hurried them inside the palisade, his manner tense, masterful and +convincing, and there he met his mother, whose joy, deep and grateful, +was expressed in few words after the stern Puritan code. The father and +the brother and sister came next, but the younger people like Lucy felt +a little fear of him, and his old comrade Paul Cotter scarcely knew him. + +He told in a few words of his escape from a far Northwestern tribe, of +the coming of the Shawnees, and of the need to take every precaution for +defense. + +"There is no time to spare," he said. "All must be called in at once." + +A man with powerful lungs blew long on a cow's horn, those who were at +work in the fields and the forest hastened in, the gates were barred, +the best marksmen were sent to watch in the upper story of the +blockhouses and at the palisade, and the women began to mold bullets. + +Henry Ware was the pervading spirit through all the preparations. He +knew everything and thought of everything, he told them the mode of +Indian attack and how they could best meet it, he compelled them to +strengthen the weak spots in the palisade, and he encouraged all those +who were faint of heart and apprehensive. + +Lucy's slight fear of him remained, but with it now came admiration. She +saw that his was a soul fit to lead and command, the work that he was +about to do he loved, his eyes were alight with the fire of battle; a +certain joy was shining there, and all, feeling the strength of his +spirit, obeyed him without asking why. + +Only Braxton Wyatt uttered doubts with words and sneered with looks. He +too had become a hunter of skill, and hence what he said might have some +merit. + +"It seems strange that Henry Ware should come so suddenly when he might +have come before," he remarked with apparent carelessness to Lucy Upton. + +She looked at him with sharp interest. The same thought had entered her +mind, but she did not like to hear Braxton Wyatt utter it. + +"At all events he is about to save us from a great danger," she said. + +Wyatt laughed and his thin long features contracted in an ugly manner. + +"It is a tale to impress us and perhaps to cover up something else," he +replied. "There is not an Indian within two hundred miles of us. I know, +I have been through the woods and there is no sign." + +She turned away, liking his words little and his manner less. She +stopped presently by a corner of one of the houses on a slight elevation +whence she could see a long distance beyond the palisade. So far as +seeming went Braxton Wyatt was certainly right. The spring day was full +of golden sunshine, the fresh new green of the forest was unsullied, and +it was hard to conjure up even the shadow of danger. + +Wyatt might have ground for his suspicion, but why should Henry Ware +sound a false alarm? The words "perhaps to cover up something else" +returned to her mind, but she dismissed them angrily. + +She went to the Ware house and rejoiced with Mrs. Ware, to whom a son +had come back from the dead, and in whose joy there was no flaw. +According to her mother's heart a wonder had been performed, and it had +been done for her special benefit. + +The village was in full posture of defense, all were inside the walls +and every man had gone to his post. They now awaited the attack, and yet +there was some distrust of Henry Ware. Braxton Wyatt, a clever youth, +had insidiously sowed the seeds of suspicion, and already there was a +crop of unbelief. By indirection he had called attention to the strange +appearance of the returned wanderer, the Indianlike air that he had +acquired, his new ways unlike their own, and his indifference to many +things that he had formerly liked. He noticed the change in Henry Ware's +nature and he brought it also to the notice of others. + +It seemed as the brilliant day passed peacefully that Wyatt was right +and Henry, for some hidden purpose of his own, perhaps to hide the +secret of his long absence, had brought to them this sounding alarm. +There was the sun beyond the zenith in the heavens, the shadows of +afternoon were falling, and the yellow light over the forest softened +into gray, but no sign of an enemy appeared. + +If Henry Ware saw the discontent he did not show his knowledge; the +light of the expected conflict was still in his eyes and his thoughts +were chiefly of the great event to come; yet in an interval of waiting +he went back to the house and told his mother of much that had befallen +him during his long absence; he sought to persuade himself now that he +could not have escaped earlier, and perhaps without intending it he +created in her mind the impression that he sought to engrave upon his +own; so she was fully satisfied, thankful for the great mercy of his +return that had been given to her. + +"Now mother!" he said at last, "I am going outside." + +"Outside!" she cried aghast, "but you are safe here! Why not stay?" + +He smiled and shook his head. + +"I shall be safe out there, too," he said, "and it is best for us all +that I go. Oh, I know the wilderness, mother, as you know the rooms of +this house!" + +He kissed her quickly and turned away. John Ware, who stood by, said +nothing. He felt a certain fear of his son and did not yet know how to +command him. + +As Henry passed from the house into the little square Lucy Upton +overtook him. + +"Where are you going?" she asked. + +"I think I can be of more help out there than in here," he replied +pointing toward the forest. + +"It would be better for you to stay," she said. + +"I shall be in no danger." + +"It is not that; do you know what some of them here are saying of +you--that you are estranged from us, that there is some purpose in this, +that no attack is coming! Your going now will confirm them in the +belief." + +His dark eyes flashed with a fierceness that startled her, and his whole +frame seemed to draw up as if he were about to spring. But the emotion +passed in a moment, and his face was a brown mask, saying nothing. He +seemed indifferent to the public opinion of his little world. + +"I am needed out there," he said, pointing again toward the dark line of +the forest, "and I shall go. Whether I tell the truth or not will soon +be known; they will have to wait only a little. But you believe me now, +don't you?" + +She looked deep into his calm eyes, and she read there only truth. But +she knew even before she looked that Henry Ware was not one who would +ever be guilty of falsehood or treachery. + +"Oh yes I know it," she replied, "but I wish others to know it as well." + +"They will," he said, and then taking her hand in his for one brief +moment he was gone. His disappearance was so sudden and soundless that +he seemed to her to melt away from her sight like a mist before the +wind. She did not even know how he had passed through the palisade, but +he was certainly outside and away. There was something weird about it +and she felt a little fear, as if an event almost supernatural had +occurred. + +The sudden departure of Henry Ware to the forest started the slanderous +tongues to wagging again, and they said it was a trap of some kind, +though no one could tell how. A sly report was started that he had +become that worst of all creatures in his time, a renegade, a white man +who allied himself with the red to make war upon his own people. It came +to the ears of Paul Cotter, and the heart of the loyal youth grew hot +within him. Paul was not fond of war and strife, but he had an abounding +courage, and he and Henry Ware had been through danger together. + +"He is changed, I will admit," he said, "but if he says we are going to +be attacked, we shall be. I wish that all of us were as true as he." + +He touched his gun lock in a threatening manner, and Braxton Wyatt and +the others who stood by said no more in his presence. Yet the course of +the day was against Henry's assertion. The afternoon waned, the sun, a +ball of copper, swung down into the west, long shadows fell and nothing +happened. + +The people moved and talked impatiently inside their wooden walls. They +spoke of going about their regular pursuits, there was work that could +be done on the outside in the twilight, and enough time had been lost +already through a false alarm. But some of the older men, with cautious +blood, advised them to wait and their counsel was taken. Night came, +thick and black, and to the more timid full of omens and presages. + +The forest sank away in the darkness, nothing was visible fifty yards +from the palisade and in the log houses few lights burned. The little +colony, but a pin point of light, was alone in the vast and circling +wilderness. One of the greatest tests of courage to which the human race +has ever been subjected was at hand. In all directions the forest curved +away, hundreds of miles. It would be a journey of days to find any other +of their own kind, they were hemmed in everywhere by silence and +loneliness, whatever happened they must depend upon themselves, because +there was none to bring help. They might perish, one and all, and the +rest of the world not hear of it until long afterwards. + +A moaning wind came up and sighed over the log houses, the younger +children--and few were too young not to guess what was expected--fell +asleep at last, but the older, those who had reached their thinking +years could not find such solace. In this black darkness their fears +became real; there was no false alarm, the forest around them hid their +enemy, but only for the time. + +There was little noise in the station. By the low fires in the houses +the women steadily molded bullets, and seldom spoke to each other, as +they poured the melted lead into the molds. By the walls the men too, +rifle in hand, were silent, as they sought with intent eyes to mark what +was passing in the forest. + +Lucy Upton was molding bullets in her father's house and they were +melting the lead at a bed of coals in the wide fireplace. None was +steadier of hand or more expert than she. Her face was flushed as she +bent over the fire and her sleeves were rolled back, showing her strong +white arms. Her lips were compressed, but as the bullets shining like +silver dropped from the mold they would part now and then in a slight +smile. She too had in her the spirit of warlike ancestors and it was +aroused now. Girl, though she was, she felt in her own veins a little of +the thrill of coming conflict. + +But her thoughts were not wholly of attack and defense; they followed as +well him who had come back so suddenly and who was now gone again into +the wilderness from which he had emerged. His appearance and manner had +impressed her deeply. She wished to hear more from him of the strange +wild life that he had led; she too felt, although in a more modified +form, the spell of the primeval. + +Her task finished she went to the door, and then drawn by curiosity she +continued until her walk brought her near the palisade where she watched +the men on guard, their dusky figures touched by the wan light that came +from the slender crescent of a moon, and seeming altogether weird and +unreal. Paul Cotter in one of his errands found her there. + +"You had better go back," he said. "We may be attacked at any time, and +a bullet or arrow could reach you here." + +"So you believe with me that an attack will be made as he said!" + +"Of course I do," replied Paul with emphasis. "Don't I know Henry Ware? +Weren't he and I lost together? Wasn't he the truest of comrades?" + +Several men, talking in low tones, approached them. Braxton Wyatt was +with them and Lucy saw at once that it was a group of malcontents. + +"It is nothing," said Seth Lowndes, a loud, arrogant man, the boaster of +the colony. "There are no Indians in these parts and I'm going out there +to prove it." + +He stood in the center of a ray of moonlight, as he spoke, and it +lighted up his red sneering face. Lucy and Paul could see him plainly +and each felt a little shiver of aversion. But neither said anything +and, in truth, standing in the dark by themselves they were not noticed +by the others. + +"I'm going outside," repeated Lowndes in a yet more noisy tone, "and if +I run across anything more than a deer I'll be mighty badly fooled!" + +One or two uttered words of protest, but it seemed to Lucy that Braxton +Wyatt incited him to go on, joining him in words of contempt for the +alleged danger. + +Lowndes reached the palisade and climbed upon it by means of the cross +pieces binding it together, and then he stood upon the topmost bar, +where his head and all his body, above the knees, rose clear of the +bulwark. He was outlined there sharply, a stout, puffy man, his face +redder than ever from the effect of climbing, and his eyes gleaming +triumphantly as, from his high perch, he looked toward the forest. + +"I tell you there is not--" But the words were cut short, the gleam died +from his eyes, the red fled from his face, and he whitened suddenly with +terror. From the forest came a sharp report, echoing in the still night, +and the puffy man, throwing up his arms, fell from the palisade back +into the inclosure, dead before he touched the ground. + +A fierce yell, the long ominous note of the war whoop burst from the +forest, and its sound, so full of menace and fury, was more terrible +than that of the rifle. Then came other shots, a rapid pattering volley, +and bullets struck with a low sighing sound against the upper walls of +the blockhouse. The long quavering cry, the Indian yell rose and died +again and in the black forest, still for aught else, it was weird and +unearthly. + +Lucy stood like stone when the lifeless body of the boaster fell almost +at her feet, and all the color was gone from her face. The terrible cry +of the savages without was ringing in her ears, and it seemed to her, +for a few moments, that she could not move. But Paul grasped her by the +arm and drew her back. + +"Go into your house!" he cried. "A bullet might reach you here!" + +Obedient to his duty he hastened to the palisade to bear a valiant hand +in the defense, and she, retreating a little, remained in the shadow of +the houses that she might see how events would go. After the first shock +of horror and surprise she was not greatly afraid, and she was conscious +too of a certain feeling of relief. Henry Ware had told the truth, he +knew of what he spoke when he brought his warning, and he had greatly +served his own. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE SIEGE + + +It was not Lucy Upton alone who felt relief when the attack upon the +stockade came, hideous and terrifying though it might be; the suspense +so destructive of nerves and so hard to endure was at an end, and the +men rushed gladly to meet the attack, while the women with almost equal +joy reloaded empty rifles with the precious powder made from the cave +dust and passed them to the brave defenders. The children, too small to +take a part, cowered in the houses and listened to the sounds of battle, +the lashing of the rifle fire, the fierce cry of the savages in the +forest, and the answering defiance of the white men. Amid such scenes a +great state was founded and who can wonder that its defenders learned to +prize bravery first of all things? + +The attack was in accordance with the savage nature, a dash, irregular +volleys, shots from ambush, an endeavor to pick off the settlers, +whenever a head was shown, but no direct attempt to storm the palisade, +for which the Indian is unfitted. A bullet would not reach from the +forest, but from little hillocks and slight ridges in the open where a +brown breast was pressed close to the earth came the flash of rifles, +some hidden by the dusk, but the flame showing in little points of fire +that quickly went out. The light of the moon failed somewhat, and the +savages in ambush were able to come nearer, but now and then a +sharpshooter behind the wall, firing at the flash of the concealed +rifle, would hear an answering death cry. + +Lucy Upton behind the barricade with other girls and women was reloading +rifles and passing them to her father and Paul Cotter who stood in a +little wooden embrasure like a sally port. For a time the fire of battle +burned as fiercely in her veins as in those of any man, but after a +while she began to wonder what had become of Henry Ware, and presently +from some who passed she heard comments upon him again; they found fault +with his absence; he should have been there to take a part in the +defense, and while she admitted that their criticisms bore the color of +truth, she yet believed him to be away for some good purpose. + +For two hours the wild battle in the dark went on, to the chorus of +shouts from white man and red, the savages often coming close to the +walls, and seeking to find a shelter under them in the dark, but always +driven back. Then it ceased so suddenly that the intense silence was +more pregnant with terror than all the noise that had gone before. Paul +Cotter, looking over the palisade, could see nothing. The forest rose up +like a solid dark wall, and in the opening not a blade of grass stirred; +the battle, the savage army, all seemed to have gone like smoke melting +into the air, and Paul was appalled, feeling that a magic hand had +abruptly swept everything out of existence. + +"What do you see?" asked Lucy, upon whose ears the silence too was heavy +and painful. + +"Nothing but darkness, and what it hides I cannot guess." + +A report ran through the village that the savage army, beaten, had gone, +and the women, and the men with little experience, gave it currency, but +the veterans rebuked such premature rejoicing; it was their part, they +said, to watch with more vigilance than ever, and in nowise to relax +their readiness. + +Then the long hours began and those who could, slept. Braxton Wyatt and +his friends again impeached the credit of Henry Ware, insinuating with +sly smiles that he must be a renegade, as he had taken no part in the +defense and must now be with his savage friends. To the slur Paul Cotter +fiercely replied that he had warned them of the attack; without him the +station would have been taken by surprise, and that surely proved him to +be no traitor. + +The hours between midnight and day not only grew in length, but seemed +to increase in number as well, doubling and tripling, as if they would +never end for the watchers in the station. The men behind the wooden +walls and some of the women, too, intently searched the forest, seeking +to discover movements there, but nothing appeared upon its solid black +screen. Nor did any sound come from it, save the occasional gentle moan +of the wind; there was no crackling of branches, no noise of footsteps, +no rattle of arms, but always the heavy silence which seemed so deadly, +and which, by its monotony, was so painful to their ears. + +Lucy Upton went into her father's house, ate a little and then spreading +over herself a buffalo robe tried to sleep. Slumber was long in coming, +for the disturbed nerves refused to settle into peace, and the excited +brain brought back to her eyes distorted and overcolored visions of the +night's events. But youth and weariness had their way and she slept at +last, to find when she awakened that the dawn was coming in at the +window, and the east was ablaze with the splendid red and yellow light +of the sun. + +"Are they still there?" was her first question when she went forth from +her father's house, and the reply was uncertain; they might or might not +be there; the leaders had not allowed anyone to go out to see, but the +number who believed that the savages were gone was growing; and also +grew the number who believed that Henry Ware was gone with them. + +Even in the brilliant daylight that sharpened and defined everything as +with the etcher's point, they could see nothing save what had been +before the savages came. Their eyes reached now into the forest, but as +far as they ranged it was empty, there was no encampment, not a single +warrior passed through the undergrowth. It seemed that the grumblers +were right when they said the besieging army was gone. + +Lucy Upton was walking toward the palisade where she saw Paul Cotter, +when she heard a distant report and Paul's fur cap, pierced by a bullet, +flew from his head to the earth. Paul himself stood in amaze, as if he +did not know what had happened, and he did not move until Lucy shouted +to him to drop to the ground. Then he crawled quickly away from the +exposed spot, although two or three more bullets struck about him. + +The station thrilled once more with excitement, but the new danger was +of a kind that they did not know how to meet. It was evident that the +firing came from a high point, one commanding a view inside the walls, +and from marksmen located in such a manner the palisade offered no +shelter. Bullets were pattering among the houses, and in the open spaces +inclosed by the walls, two men were wounded already, and the threat had +become formidable. + +Ross and Shif'less Sol, the best of the woodsmen, soon decided that the +shots came from a large tree at the edge of the forest northeast from +the stockade, and they were sure that at least a half-dozen warriors +were lying sheltered among its giant boughs, while they sent searching +bullets into the inclosure. There had been some discussion about the +tree at the time the settlement was built, but expert opinion held that +the Indian weapons could not reach from so great a distance, and as the +task of cutting so huge a trunk when time was needed, seemed too much +they had left it, and now they saw their grievous and perhaps mortal +error. + +The side of the palisade facing the tree was untenable so long as the +warriors held their position, and it was even dangerous to pass from one +house to another. The terrors of the night, weighty because unknown, +were gone, but the day had brought with it a more certain menace that +all could see. + +The leaders held a conference on the sheltered side of one of the +houses, and their faces and their talk were full of gloom. The +schoolmaster, Ross and Sol were there, and so were John Ware and Lucy's +father. The schoolmaster, by nature and training a man of peace, was +perhaps the most courageous of them all. + +"It is evident that those savages have procured in some manner a number +of our long-range Kentucky rifles," he said, "but they are no better +than ours. Nor is it any farther from us to that tree than it is from +that tree to us. Why can't our best marksmen pick them off?" + +He looked with inquiry at Ross and Sol, who shook their heads and abated +not a whit of their gloomy looks. + +"They are too well sheltered there," replied Ross, "while we would not +be if we should try to answer them. Our side would get killed while they +wouldn't be hurt and we can't spare the men." + +"But we must find a way out! We must get rid of them somehow!" exclaimed +Mr. Ware. + +"That's true," said Upton, and as he spoke they heard a bullet thud +against the wall of the house. From the forest came a wild quavering +yell of triumph, full of the most merciless menace. Mr. Ware and Mr. +Upton shuddered. Each had a young daughter, and it was in the minds of +each to slay her in the last resort if there should be no other way. + +"If those fellows in the tree keep on driving us from the palisade," +said Ross, setting his face in the grim manner of one who forces himself +to tell the truth, "there's nothin' to prevent the main band from makin' +an attack, and while the other fellows rain bullets on us they'll be +inside the palisade." + +They stared at each other in silent despair, and Ross going to the +corner of the house, but keeping himself protected well, looked at the +fatal tree. No one was firing, then, and he could see nothing among its +branches. In the fresh green of its young foliage it looked like a huge +cone set upon a giant stem, and Ross shook his fist at it in futile +anger. Nor was a foe visible elsewhere. The entire savage army lay +hidden in the forest and nothing fluttered or moved but the leaves and +the grass. + +The others, led by the same interest, followed Ross, and keeping to the +safety of the walls, stole glances at the tree. As they looked they +heard the faint report of a shot and a cry of death, and saw a brown +body shoot down from the green cone of the tree to the ground, where it +lay still. + +"There is a marksman among us who can beat them at their own trick," +cried the schoolmaster in exultation. "Who did it? Who fired that shot, +Tom?" + +Ross did not answer. First a look of wonder came upon his face, and then +he began to study the forest, where all but nature was yet lifeless. The +faint sound of a second shot came and what followed was a duplicate of +the sequel to the first. Another brown body shot downward, and lay +lifeless beside its fellow on the grass. + +The master cried out once more in exultation, and wished to know why +others within the palisade did not imitate the skillful sharpshooter. +But Ross shook his head slowly and spoke these slow words: + +"A great piece of luck has happened to us, Mr. Pennypacker, an' how it's +happened I don't know, at least not yet. Them shots never come from any +of our men. We've got a friend outside an' he's pickin' off them +ambushed murderers one by one. The savages think we're doin' it, but +they'll soon find out the difference." + +There was a third shot and the tree ejected a third body. + +"What wonderful shootin'!" exclaimed Ross in a tone of amazement. "Them +shots come from a long distance, but all three of 'em plugged the mark +to the center. Them savages was dead before they touched the ground. I +never saw the like." + +The others waited expectantly, as if he could give them an explanation, +but if he had a thought in his mind he kept it to himself. + +"There, they've found it out," he said, when a terrific yell full of +anger came from the forest, "but they haven't got him, whoever he is. +They'd shout in a different way if they had." + +"Why do you say him?" asked Mr. Pennypacker. "Surely a single man has +not been doing such daring and deadly work!" + +"It's one man, because there are not two in all this wilderness who can +shoot like that. I'd hate to be in the place of the savages left in that +tree." + +The wonder of the new and unknown ally soon spread through Wareville, +and reached Lucy Upton as it reached others. A thought came to her and +she was about to speak of it, but she stopped, fearing ridicule, and +merely listened to the excited talk going on all about her. + +An hour later a fourth Indian was shot from the tree, and less than +fifteen minutes afterwards a fifth fell a victim to the terrible rifle. +Then two, the only survivors, dropped from the boughs and ran for the +forest. Ross, Sol and Paul Cotter were watching together and saw the +flight. + +"One of them brown rascals will never reach the woods," said Ross with +the intuition of the borderer. + +The foremost savage fell just at the edge of the forest, shot through +the heart, and the other, the sole survivor of the tree, escaped behind +the sheltering trunks. + +The cry of the angry savages swelled into a terrible chorus and bullets +beat upon the stockade, but the attack was quickly repulsed, and again +quiet and treacherous peace settled down upon this little spot, this pin +point in the mighty wilderness, whose struggle must be carried on +unaided, and, in truth, unknown to all the rest of the world. + +When the savages were driven back they melted again into the forest, and +the old silence and peace laid hold of everything, the brilliant +sunshine gilding every house, and dyeing into deeper colors the glowing +tints of the wilderness. The huge tree, so fatal to those who had sought +to use it, stood up, a great green cone, its branches waving softly +before the wind. + +In the little fortress the wonder and excitement yet prevailed, but +mingled with it was a devout gratitude for this help from an unknown +quarter which had been so timely and so effective. The spirits of the +garrison, from the boldest ranger down to the most timid woman, took a +sudden upward heave and they felt that they should surely repel every +attack by the savage army. + +The remainder of the day passed in silence and with the foe invisible, +but the guard at the palisade, now safe from ambushed marksmen, relaxed +its vigilance not at all. These men knew that they dealt with an enemy +whose uncertainty made him all the more terrible, and they would not +leave the issue to shifting chance. + +The day waned, the night came, heavy and dark again, and full, as it was +bound to be, of threats and omens for the beleaguered people. Lucy Upton +with Mary Ware slipped to the little wooden embrasure where Paul Cotter +was on watch. + +They found Paul in the sheltered nook, watching the forest and the open, +through the holes pierced for rifles, and he did not seek to hide his +pleasure at seeing them. Two other men were there, but they were +middle-aged and married, the fathers of increasing families, and they +were not offended when Paul received a major share of attention. + +He told them that all was quiet, his own eyes were keen, but they failed +to mark anything unusual, and he believed that the savages, profiting by +their costly experience, would make no new attempt yet a while. Then he +spoke of the mysterious help that had come to them, and the same thought +was in his mind and Lucy's, though neither spoke of it. They stood there +a while, talking in low tones and looking for excuses to linger, when +one of the older men moved a little and held up a warning hand. He had +just taken his eyes from a loophole, and he whispered that he thought he +had seen something pass in the shadow of the wall. + +All in the embrasure became silent at once, and Lucy, brave as she was, +could hear her heart beating. There was a slight noise on the outside of +the wall, so faint that only keen ears could hear it, and then as they +looked up they saw a hideous, painted face raised above the palisade. + +One of the older men threw his rifle to his shoulder, but, quick as a +flash, Paul struck his hand away from the trigger. He knew who had come, +when he looked into the eyes that looked down at him, though he felt +fear, too--he could not deny it--as he met their gaze, so fierce, so +wild, so full of the primitive man. + +"Don't you see?" he said, "it is Henry! Henry Ware!" + +Even then Lucy Upton, intimate friend though she had been, scarcely saw, +but laughing a low soft laugh of intense satisfaction, Henry dropped +lightly among them. Good excuse had these men for not knowing him as his +transformation was complete! He stood before them not a white man, but +an Indian warrior, a prince of savages. His hair was drawn up in the +defiant scalp lock, his face bore the war paint in all its variations +and violent contrast of colors, the dark-green hunting shirt and +leggings with their beaded decorations were gone, and in their place a +red Indian blanket was wrapped around him, drooping in its graceful +folds like a Roman toga. + +His figure, erect in the moonlight, nearly a head above the others, had +a certain savage majesty, and they gazed upon him in silence. He seemed +to know what they felt and his eyes gleamed with pride out of his darkly +painted face. He laughed again a low laugh, not like that of the white +man, but the almost inaudible chuckle of the Indian. + +"It had to be," he said, glancing down at his garb though not with +shame. "To do what I wished to do, it was necessary to pass as an +Indian, at least between times, and, as all the Shawnees do not know +each other, this helped." + +"It was you who shot the Indians in the tree; I knew it from the first," +said the voice of the guide, Ross, over their shoulders. He had come so +softly that they did not notice him before. + +Henry did not reply, but laughed again the dry chuckle that made Lucy +tremble she scarcely knew why, and ran his hand lovingly along the +slender barrel of his rifle. + +"At least you do not complain of it," he said presently. + +"No, we do not," replied Ross, "an' I guess we won't. You saved us, +that's sure. I've lived on the border all my life, but I never saw such +shootin' before." + +Then Henry gave some details of his work and Lucy Upton, watching him +closely, saw how he had been engrossed by it. Paul Cotter too noticed, +and feeling constraint, at least, demanded that Henry doff his savage +disguise, put on white men's clothes and get something to eat. + +He consented, though scarce seeing the necessity of it, but kept the +Indian blanket close to hand, saying that he would soon need it again. +But he was very gentle with his mother telling her that she need have no +fear for him, that he knew all the wiles of the savage and more; they +could never catch him and the outside was his place, as then he could be +of far more service than if he were merely one of the garrison. + +The news of Henry Ware's return was throughout the village in five +minutes, and with it came the knowledge of his great deed. In the face +of such a solid and valuable fact the vague charge that he was a +renegade died. Even Braxton Wyatt did not dare to lift his voice to that +effect again, but, with sly insinuation, he spoke of savages herding +with savages, and of what might happen some day. + +When night came Henry resuming his Indian garb and paint slipped out +again, and so skillful was he that he seemed to melt away like a mist in +the darkness. + +The savage army beleaguering the colony now found that it was assailed +by a mysterious enemy, one whom all their vigilance and skill could not +catch. They lost warrior after warrior and many of them began to think +Manitou hostile to them, but the leaders persisted with the siege. They +wished to destroy utterly this white vanguard, and they would not return +to their villages, far across the Ohio, until it was done. + +They no longer made a direct attack upon the walls, but, forming a +complete circle around, hung about at a convenient distance, waiting and +hoping for thirst and famine to help them. The people believed +themselves to have taken good precautions against these twin evils, but +now a terrible misfortune befell them. No rain fell and the well inside +the palisade ran dry. It was John Ware himself who first saw the coming +of the danger and he tried to hide it, but it could not, from its very +nature, be kept a secret long. The supply for each person was cut down +one half and then one fourth, and that too would soon go, unless the +welcome rains came; and the sky was without a cloud. Men who feared no +physical danger saw those whom they loved growing pale and weak before +their eyes, and they knew not what to do. It seemed that the place must +fall without a blow from the enemy. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A GIRL'S WAY + + +Lucy left her father's house one of these dry mornings, and stood for a +few moments in the grounds, inclosed by the palisade, gazing at the dark +forest, outlined so sharply against the blue of the sky. She could see +the green of the forest beyond the fort, and she knew that in the open +spaces, where the sun reached them, tiny wild flowers of pink and +purple, nestled low in the grass, were already in bloom. From the west a +wind sweet and soft was blowing, and, as she inhaled it, she wanted to +live, and she wanted all those about her to live. She wondered, if there +was not some way in which she could help. + +The stout, double log cabins, rude, but full of comfort, stood in rows, +with well-trodden streets, between, then a fringe of grass around all, +and beyond that rose the palisade of stout stakes, driven deep into the +ground, and against each other. All was of the West and so was Lucy, a +tall, lithe young girl, her face tanned a healthy and becoming brown by +the sun, her clothing of home-woven red cloth, adorned at the wrists and +around the bottom of the skirt with many tiny beads of red and yellow +and blue and green, which, when she moved, flashed in the brilliant +light, like the quivering colors of a prism. She had thrust in her hair +a tiny plume of the scarlet tanager, and it lay there, like a flash of +flame, against the dark brown of her soft curls. + +Where she stood she could see the water of the spring near the edge of +the forest sparkling in the sunlight, as if it wished to tantalize her, +but as she looked a thought came to her, and she acted upon it at once. +She went to the little square, where her father, John Ware, Ross and +others were in conference. + +"Father," she exclaimed, "I will show you how to get the water!" + +Mr. Upton and the other men looked at her in so much astonishment that +none of them replied, and Lucy used the opportunity. + +"I know the way," she continued eagerly. "Open the gate, let the women +take the buckets--I will lead--and we can go to the spring and fill them +with water. Maybe the Indians won't fire on us!" + +"Lucy, child!" exclaimed her father. "I cannot think of such a thing." + +Then up spoke Tom Ross, wise in the ways of the wilderness. + +"Mr. Upton," he said, "the girl is right. If the women are willing to go +out it must be done. It looks like an awful thing, but--if they die we +are here to avenge them and die with them, if they don't die we are all +saved because we can hold this fort, if we have water; without it every +soul here from the oldest man down to the littlest baby will be lost." + +Mr. Upton covered his face with his hands. + +"I do not like to think of it, Tom," he said. + +The other men waited in silence. + +Lucy looked appealingly at her father, but he turned his eyes away. + +"See what the women say about it, Tom," he said at last. + +The women thought well of it. There was not one border heroine, but +many; disregarding danger they prepared eagerly for the task, and soon +they were in line more than fifty, every one with a bucket or pail in +each hand. Henry Ware, looking on, said nothing. The intended act +appealed to the nature within him that was growing wilder every day. + +A sentinel, peeping over the palisade, reported that all was quiet in +the forest, though, as he knew, the warriors were none the less +watchful. + +"Open the gate," commanded Mr. Ware. + +The heavy bars were quickly taken down, and the gate was swung wide. +Then a slim, scarlet-clad figure took her place at the head of the line, +and they passed out. + +Lucy was borne on now by a great impulse, the desire to save the fort +and all these people whom she knew and loved. It was she who had +suggested the plan and she believed that it should be she who should +lead the way, when it came to the doing of it. + +She felt a tremor when she was outside the gate, but it came from +excitement and not from fear--the exaltation of spirit would not permit +her to be afraid. She glanced at the forest, but it was only a blur +before her. + +The slim, scarlet-clad figure led on. Lucy glanced over her shoulder, +and she saw the women following her in a double file, grave and +resolute. She did not look back again, but marched on straight toward +the spring. She began to feel now what she was doing, that she was +marching into the cannon's mouth, as truly as any soldier that ever led +a forlorn hope against a battery. She knew that hundreds of keen eyes +there in the forest before her were watching her every step, and that +behind her fathers and brothers and husbands were waiting, with an +anxiety that none of them had ever known before. + +She expected every moment to hear the sharp whiplike crack of the rifle, +but there was no sound. The fort and all about it seemed to be inclosed +in a deathly stillness. She looked again at the forest, trying to see +the ambushed figures, but again it was only a blur before her, seeming +now and then to float in a kind of mist. Her pulses were beating fast, +she could hear the thump, thump in her temples, but the slim scarlet +figure never wavered and behind, the double file of women followed, +grave and silent. + +"They will not fire until we reach the spring," thought Lucy, and now +she could hear the bubble of the cool, clear water, as it gushed from +the hillside. But still nothing stirred in the forest, no rifle cracked, +there was no sound of moving men. + +She reached the spring, bent down, filled both buckets at the pool, and +passing in a circle around it, turned her face toward the fort, and, +after her, came the silent procession, each filling her buckets at the +pool, passing around it and turning her face toward the fort as she had +done. + +Lucy now felt her greatest fear when she began the return journey and +her back was toward the forest. There was in her something of the +warrior; if the bullet was to find her she preferred to meet it, face to +face. But she would not let her hands tremble, nor would she bend +beneath the weight of the water. She held herself proudly erect and +glanced at the wooden wall before her. It was lined with faces, brown, +usually, but now with the pallor showing through the tan. She saw her +father's among them and she smiled at him, because she was upheld by a +great pride and exultation. It was she who had told them what to do, and +it was she who led the way. + +She reached the open gate again, but she did not hasten her footsteps. +She walked sedately in, and behind her she heard only the regular tread +of the long double file of women. The forest was as silent as ever. + +The last woman passed in, the gate was slammed shut, the heavy bars were +dropped into place, and Mr. Upton throwing his arms about Lucy +exclaimed: + +"Oh, my brave daughter!" + +She sank against him trembling, her nerves weak after the long tension, +but she felt a great pride nevertheless. She wished to show that a woman +too could be physically brave in the face of the most terrible of all +dangers, and she had triumphantly done so. + +The bringing of the water, or rather the courage that inspired the act, +heartened the garrison anew, and color came back to men's faces. The +schoolmaster discussed the incident with Tom Ross, and wondered why the +Indians who were not in the habit of sparing women had not fired. + +"Sometimes a man or a crowd of men won't do a thing that they would do +at any other time," said Ross, "maybe they thought they could get us all +in a bunch by waitin' an' maybe way down at the bottom of their savage +souls, was a spark of generosity that lighted up for just this once. +We'll never know." + +Henry Ware went out that night, and returning before dawn with the same +facility that marked all his movements in the wilderness, reported that +the savage army was troubled. All such forces are loose and irregular, +with little cohesive power, and they will not bear disappointment and +waiting. Moreover the warriors having lost many men, with nothing in +repayment were grumbling and saying that the face of Manitou was set +against them. They were confirmed too in this belief by the presence of +the mysterious foe who had slain the warriors in the tree, and who had +since given other unmistakable signs of his presence. + +"They will have more discouragement soon," he said, "because it is going +to rain to-day." + +He had read the signs aright, as the sun came up amid the mists and +vapors, and the gentle wind was damp to the face; then dark clouds +spread across the western heavens, like a vast carpet unrolled by a +giant hand, and the wilderness began to moan. Low thunder muttered on +the horizon, and the somber sky was cut by vivid strokes of lightning. + +Nature took on an ominous and threatening hue but within the village +there was only joy; the coming storm would remove their greatest danger, +the well would fill up again, and behind the wooden walls they could +defy the savage foe. + +The sky was cut across by a flash of lightning so bright that it dazzled +them, the thunder burst with a terrible crash directly overhead, and +then the rain came in a perfect wall of water. It poured for hours out +of a sky that was made of unbroken clouds, deluging the earth, swelling +the river to a roaring flood, and rising higher in the well than ever +before. The forest about them was almost hidden by the torrents of rain +and they did not forget to be thankful. + +Toward afternoon the fall abated somewhat in violence, but became a +steady downpour out of sodden skies, and the air turned raw and chill. +Those who were not sheltered shivered, as if it were winter. The night +came on as dark as a well, and Henry Ware went out again. When he came +back he said tersely to his father: + +"They are gone." + +"Gone?" exclaimed Mr. Ware scarcely able to believe in the reality of +such good news. + +"Yes; the storm broke their backs. Even Indians can't stand an all-day +wetting especially when they are already tired. They think they can +never have any luck here, and they are going toward the Ohio at this +minute. The storm has saved us now just as it saved our band in the +flight from the salt works." + +They had such faith in his forest skill that no one doubted his word and +the village burst into joy. Women, for they were the worst sufferers +gave thanks, both silently and aloud. Henry took Ross, Sol and others to +the valley in the forest, where the savages had kept their war camp. +Here they had soaked in the mire during the storm, and all about were +signs of their hasty flight, the ground being littered with bones of +deer, elk and buffalo. + +"They won't come again soon," said Henry, "because they believe that the +Manitou will not give them any luck here, but it is well to be always on +the watch." + +After the first outburst of gratitude the people talked little of the +attack and repulse; they felt too deeply, they realized too much the +greatness of the danger they had escaped to put it into idle words. But +nearly all attributed their final rescue to Henry Ware though some saw +the hand of God in the storm which had intervened a second time for the +protection of the whites. Braxton Wyatt and his friends dared say +nothing now, at least openly against Henry, although those who loved him +most were bound to confess that there was something alien about him, +something in which he differed from the rest of them. + +But Henry thought little of the opinion, good or bad in which he was +held, because his heart was turning again to the wilderness, and he and +Ross went forth again to scout on the rear of the Indian force. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE BATTLE IN THE FOREST + + +Henry and Ross after their second scouting expedition reported that the +great war band of the Shawnees was retreating slowly, in fact would +linger by the way, and might destroy one or two smaller stations +recently founded farther north. Instantly a new impulse flamed up among +the pioneers of Wareville. The feeling of union was strong among all +these early settlements, and they believed it their duty to protect +their weaker brethren. They would send hastily to Marlowe the nearest +and largest settlement for help, follow on the trail of the warriors and +destroy them. Such a blow, as they might inflict, would spread terror +among all the northwestern tribes and save Kentucky from many another +raid. + +Ross who was present in the council when the eager cry was raised shook +his head and looked more than doubtful. + +"They outnumber us four or five to one," he said, "an' when we go out in +the woods against 'em we give up our advantage, our wooden walls. They +can ambush us out there, an' surround us." + +Mr. Ware added his cautious words to those of Ross, in whom he had great +confidence. He believed it better to let the savage army go. Discouraged +by its defeat before the palisades of Wareville it would withdraw beyond +the Ohio, and, under any circumstances, a pursuit with greatly inferior +numbers, would be most dangerous. + +These were grave words, but they fell on ears that did not wish to +listen. They were an impulsive people and a generous chord in their +natures was touched, the desire to defend those weaker than themselves. +A good-hearted but hot-headed man named Clinton made a fiery speech. He +said that now was the time to strike a crushing blow at the Indian +power, and he thought all brave men would take advantage of it. + +That expression "brave men" settled the question; no one could afford to +be considered aught else, and a little army poured forth from Wareville, +Mr. Ware nominally in command, and Henry, Paul, Ross, Sol, and all the +others there. Henry saw his mother and sister weeping at the palisade, +and Lucy Upton standing beside them. His mother's face was the last that +he saw when he plunged into the forest. Then he was again the hunter, +the trailer and the slayer of men. + +While they considered whether or not to pursue, Henry Ware had said +nothing; but all the primitive impulses of man handed down from lost +ages of ceaseless battle were alive within him; he wished them to go, he +would show the way, the savage army would make a trail through the +forest as plain to him as a turnpike to the modern dweller in a +civilized land, and his heart throbbed with fierce exultation, when the +decision to follow was at last given. In the forest now he was again at +home, more so than he had been inside the palisade. Around him were all +the familiar sights and sounds, the little noises of the wilderness that +only the trained ear hears, the fall of a leaf, or the wind in the +grass, and the odor of a wild flower or a bruised bough. + +Brain and mind alike expanded. Instinctively he took the lead, not from +ambition, but because it was natural; he read all the signs and he led +on with a certainty to which neither Ross nor Shif'less Sol pretended to +aspire. The two guides and hunters were near each other, and a look +passed between them. + +"I knew it," said Ross; "I knew from the first that he had in him the +making of a great woodsman. You an' I, Sol, by the side of him, are just +beginners." + +Shif'less Sol nodded in assent. + +"It's so," he said. "It suits me to follow where he leads, an' since we +are goin' after them warriors, which I can't think a wise thing, I'm +mighty glad he's with us." + +Yet to one experienced in the ways of the wilderness the little army +though it numbered less than a hundred men would have seemed formidable +enough. Many youths were there, mere boys they would have been back in +some safer land, but hardened here by exposure into the strength and +courage of men. Nearly all were dressed in finely tanned deerskin, +hunting shirt, leggings and moccasins, fringes on hunting shirt and +leggings, and beads on moccasins. The sun glinted on the long slender, +blue steel barrel of the Western rifle, carried in the hand of every +man. At the belt swung knife and hatchet, and the eyes of all, now that +the pursuit had begun, were intense, eager and fierce. + +The sounds made by the little Western army, hid under the leafy boughs +of the forest, gradually died away to almost nothing. No one spoke, save +at rare intervals. The moccasins were soundless on the soft turf, and +there was no rattle of arms, although arms were always ready. In front +was Henry Ware, scanning the trail, telling with an infallible eye how +old it was, where the enemy had lingered, and where he had hastened. + +Mr. Pennypacker was there beside Paul Cotter. A man of peace he was, but +when war came he never failed to take his part in it. + +"Do you know him?" he asked of Paul, nodding toward Henry. + +Paul understood. + +"No," he replied, "I do not. He used to be my old partner, Henry Ware, +but he's another now." + +"Yes, he's changed," said the master, "but I am not surprised. I foresaw +it long ago, if the circumstances came right." + +On the second morning they were joined by the men from Marlowe who had +been traveling up one side of a triangle, while the men of Wareville had +been traveling up the other side, until they met at the point. Their +members were now raised to a hundred and fifty, and, uttering one shout +of joy, the united forces plunged forward on the trail with renewed +zeal. + +They were in dense forest, in a region scarcely known even to the +hunters, full of little valleys and narrow deep streams. The Indian +force had suddenly taken a sharp turn to the westward, and the knowledge +of it filled the minds of Ross and Sol with misgivings. + +"Maybe they know we're following 'em," said Ross; "an' for that reason +they're turnin' into this rough country, which is just full of ambushes. +If it wasn't for bein' called a coward by them hot-heads I'd say it was +time for us to wheel right about on our own tracks, an' go home." + +"You can't do nothin' with 'em," said Sol, "they wouldn't stand without +hitchin', an' we ain't got any way to hitch 'em. There's goin' to be a +scrimmage that people'll talk about for twenty years, an' the best you +an' me can do, Tom, is to be sure to keep steady an' to aim true." + +Ross nodded sadly and said no more. He looked down at the trail, which +was growing fresher and fresher. + +"They're slowin' up, Sol," he said at last, "I think they're waitin' for +us. You spread out to the right and I'll go to the left to watch ag'in +ambush. That boy, Henry Ware'll see everything in front." + +In view of the freshening trail Mr. Ware ordered the little army to stop +for a few moments and consider, and all, except the scouts on the flanks +and in front, gathered in council. Before them and all around them lay +the hills, steep and rocky but clothed from base to crest with dense +forest and undergrowth. Farther on were other and higher hills, and in +the distance the forests looked blue. Nothing about them stirred. They +had sighted no game as they passed; the deer had already fled before the +Indian army. The skies, bright and blue in the morning, were now +overcast, a dull, somber, threatening gray. + +"Men," said Mr. Ware, and there was a deep gravity in his tone, as +became a general on the eve of conflict, "I think we shall be on the +enemy soon or he will be on us. There were many among us who did not +approve of this pursuit, but here we are. It is not necessary to say +that we should bear ourselves bravely. If we fail and fall, our women +and children are back there, and nothing will stand between them and +savages who know no mercy. That is all you have to remember." + +And then a little silence fell upon everyone. Suddenly the hot-heads +realized what they had done. They had gone away from their wooden walls, +deep into the unknown wilderness, to meet an enemy four or five times +their numbers, and skilled in all the wiles and tricks of the forest. +Every face was grave, but the knowledge of danger only strengthened them +for the conflict. Hot blood became cool and cautious, and wary eyes +searched the thickets everywhere. Rash and impetuous they may have been; +but they were ready now to redeem themselves, with the valor, without +which the border could not have been won. + +Henry Ware had suddenly gone forward from the others, and the green +forest swallowed him up, but every nerve and muscle of him was now ready +and alert. He felt, rather than saw, that the enemy was at hand; and in +his green buckskin he blended so completely with the forest that only +the keenest sight could have picked him from the mass of foliage. His +general's eye told him, too, that the place before them was made for a +conflict which would favor the superior numbers. They had been coming up +a gorge, and if beaten they would be crowded back in it upon each other, +hindering the escape of one another, until they were cut to pieces. + +The wild youth smiled; he knew the bravery of the men with him, and now +their dire necessity and the thought of those left behind in the two +villages would nerve them to fight. In his daring mind the battle was +not yet lost. + +A faint, indefinable odor met his nostrils, and he knew it to be the oil +and paint of Indian braves. A deep red flushed through the brown of +either cheek. Returning now to his own kind he was its more ardent +partisan because of the revulsion, and the Indian scent offended him. He +looked down and saw a bit of feather, dropped no doubt from some defiant +scalp lock. He picked it up, held it to his nose a moment, and then, +when the offensive odor assailed him again, he cast it away. + +Another dozen steps forward, and he sank down in a clump of grass, +blending perfectly with the green, and absolutely motionless. Thirty +yards away two Shawnee warriors in all the savage glory of their war +paint, naked save for breechcloths, were passing, examining the woods +with careful eye. Yet they did not see Henry Ware, and, when they turned +and went back, he followed noiselessly after them, his figure still +hidden in the green wood. + +The two Shawnees, walking lightly, went on up the valley which broadened +out as they advanced, but which was still thickly clothed in forest and +undergrowth. Skilled as they were in the forest, they probably never +dreamed of the enemy who hung on their trail with a skill surpassing +their own. + +Henry followed them for a full two miles, and then he saw them join a +group of Indians under the trees, whom he knew by their dress and +bearing to be chiefs. They were tall, middle-aged, and they wore +blankets of green or dark blue, probably bought at the British outposts. +Behind them, almost hidden in the forest, Henry saw many other dark +faces, eager, intense, waiting to be let loose on the foe, whom they +regarded as already in the trap. + +Henry waited, while the two scouts whom he had followed so well, +delivered to the chief their message. He saw them beckon to the warriors +behind them, speak a few words to them, and then he saw two savage +forces slip off in the forest, one to the right and one to the left. On +the instant he divined their purpose. They were to flank the little +white army, while another division stood ready to attack in front. Then +the ambush would be complete, and Henry saw the skill of the savage +general whoever he might be. + +The plan must be frustrated at once, and Henry Ware never hesitated. He +must bring on the battle, before his own people were surrounded, and +raising his rifle he fired with deadly aim at one of the chiefs who fell +on the grass. Then the youth raised the wild and thrilling cry, which he +had learned from the savages themselves, and sped back toward the white +force. + +The death cry of the Shawnee and the hostile war whoop rang together +filling the forest and telling that the end of stealth and cunning, and +the beginning of open battle were at hand. + +Henry Ware was hidden in an instant by the green foliage from the sight +of the Shawnees. Keen as were their eyes, trained as they were to +noticing everything that moved in the forest, he had vanished from them +like a ghost. But they knew that the enemy whom they had sought to draw +into their snare had slipped his head out of it before the snare could +be sprung. Their long piercing yell rose again and then died away in a +frightful quaver. As the last terrible note sank the whole savage army +rushed forward to destroy its foe. + +As Henry Ware ran swiftly back to his friends he met both Ross and Sol, +drawn by the shot and the shouts. + +"It was you who fired?" asked Ross. + +"Yes," replied Henry, "they meant to lay an ambush, but they will not +have time for it now." + +The three stood for a few moments under the boughs of a tree, three +types of the daring men who guided and protected the van of the white +movement into the wilderness. They were eager, intent, listening, bent +slightly forward, their rifles lying in the hollow of their arms, ready +for instant use. + +After the second long cry the savage army gave voice no more. In all the +dense thickets a deadly silence reigned, save for the trained ear. But +to the acute hearing of the three under the tree came sounds that they +knew; sounds as light as the patter of falling nuts, no more, perhaps, +than the rustle of dead leaves driven against each other by a wind; but +they knew. + +"They are coming, and coming fast," said Henry. "We must join the main +force now." + +"They ought to be ready. That warning of yours was enough," said Ross. + +Without another word they turned again, darted among the trees, and in a +few moments reached the little white force. Mr. Ware, the nominal +leader, taking alarm from the shot and cries, was already disposing his +men in a long, scattering line behind hillocks, tree trunks, brushwood +and every protection that the ground offered. + +"Good!" exclaimed Ross, when he saw, "but we must make our line longer +and thinner, we must never let them get around us, an' it's lucky now +we've got steep hills on either side." + +To be flanked in Indian battle by superior numbers was the most terrible +thing that could happen to the pioneers, and Mr. Ware stretched out his +line longer and longer, and thinner and thinner. Paul Cotter was full of +excitement; he had been in deadly conflict once before, but his was a +most sensitive temperament, terribly stirred by a foe whom he could yet +neither see nor hear. Almost unconsciously, he placed himself by the +side of Henry Ware, his old partner, to whom he now looked up as a son +of battle and the very personification of forest skill. + +"Are they really there, Henry?" he asked. "I see nothing and hear +nothing." + +"Yes," replied Henry, "they are in front of us scarcely a rifle shot +away, five to our one." + +Paul strained his eyes, but still he could see nothing, only the green +waving forest, the patches of undergrowth, the rocks on the steep hills +to right and left, and the placid blue sky overhead. It did not seem +possible to him that they were about to enter into a struggle for life +and for those dearer than life. + +"Don't shoot wild, Paul," said Henry. "Don't pull the trigger, until you +can look down the sights at a vital spot." + +A few feet away from them, peering over a log and with his rifle ever +thrust forward was Mr. Pennypacker, a schoolmaster, a graduate of a +college, an educated and refined man, but bearing his part in the dark +and terrible wilderness conflict that often left no wounded. + +The stillness was now so deep that even the scouts could hear no sound +in front. The savage army seemed to have melted away, into the air +itself, and for full five minutes they lay, waiting, waiting, always +waiting for something that they knew would come. Then rose the fierce +quavering war cry poured from hundreds of throats, and the savage horde, +springing out of the forests and thickets, rushed upon them. + +Dark faces showed in the sunlight, brown figures, naked save for the +breechcloth, horribly painted, muscles tense, flashed through the +undergrowth. The wild yell that rose and fell without ceasing ran off in +distant echoes among the hills. The riflemen of Kentucky, lying behind +trees and hillocks, began to fire, not in volleys, not by order, but +each man according to his judgment and his aim, and many a bullet flew +true. + +A sharp crackling sound, ominous and deadly, ran back and forth in the +forest. Little spurts of fire burned for a moment against the green, and +then went out, to give place to others. Jets of white smoke rose +languidly and floated up among the trees, gathering by and by into a +cloud, shot through with blue and yellow tints from sky and sun. + +Henry Ware fired with deadly aim and reloaded with astonishing speed. +Paul Cotter, by his side, was as steady as a rock, now that the suspense +was over, and the battle upon them. The schoolmaster resting on one +elbow was firing across his log. + +But it is not Indian tactics to charge home, unless the enemy is +frightened into flight by the war whoop and the first rush. The men of +Wareville and Marlowe did not run, but stood fast, sending the bullets +straight to the mark; and suddenly the Shawnees dropped down among the +trees and undergrowth, their bodies hidden, and began to creep forward, +firing like sharpshooters. It was now a test of skill, of eyesight, of +hearing and of aim. + +The forest on either side was filled with creeping forms, white or red, +men with burning eyes seeking to slay each other, meeting in strife more +terrible than that of foes who encounter each other in open conflict. +There was something snakelike in their deadly creeping, only the moving +grass to tell where they passed and sometimes where both white and red +died, locked fast in the grip of one another. Everywhere it was a +combat, confused, dreadful, man to man, and with no shouting now, only +the crack of the rifle shot, the whiz of the tomahawk, the thud of the +knife, and choked cries. + +Like breeds like, and the white men came down to the level of the red. +Knowing that they would receive no quarter they gave none. The white +face expressed all the cunning, and all the deadly animosity of the red. +Led by Henry Ware, Ross and Sol they practiced every device of forest +warfare known to the Shawnees, and their line, which extended across the +valley from hill to hill, spurted death from tree, bush, and rock. + +To Paul Cotter it was all a nightmare, a foul dream, unreal. He obeyed +his comrade's injunctions, he lay close to the earth, and he did not +fire until he could draw a bead on a bare breast, but the work became +mechanical with him. He was a high-strung lad of delicate sensibilities. +There was in his temperament something of the poet and the artist, and +nothing of the soldier who fights for the sake of mere fighting. The +wilderness appealed to him, because of its glory, but the savage +appealed to him not at all. In Henry's bosom there was respect for his +red foes from whom he had learned so many useful lessons, and his heart +beat faster with the thrill of strenuous conflict, but Paul was anxious +for the end of it all. The sight of dead faces near him, not the lack of +courage, more than once made him faint and dizzy. + +Twice and thrice the Shawnees tried to scale the steep hillsides, and +with their superior numbers swing around behind the enemy, but the lines +of the borderers were always extended to meet them, and the bullets from +the long-barreled rifles cut down everyone who tried to pass. It was +always Henry Ware who was first to see a new movement, his eyes read +every new motion in the grass, and foliage swaying in a new direction +would always tell him what it meant. More than one of his comrades +muttered to himself that he was worth a dozen men that day. + +So fierce were the combatants, so eager were they for each other's blood +that they did not notice that the sky, gray in the morning, then blue at +the opening of battle, had now grown leaden and somber again. The leaves +above them were motionless and then began to rustle dully in a raw wet +wind out of the north. The sun was quite gone behind the clouds and +drops of cold rain began to fall, falling on the upturned faces of the +dead, red and white alike with just impartiality, the wind rose, +whistled, and drove the cold drops before it like hail. But the combat +still swayed back and forth in the leaden forest, and neither side took +notice. + +Mr. Ware remained near the center of the white line, and retained +command, although he gave but few orders, every man fighting for himself +and giving his own orders. But from time to time Ross and Sol or Henry +brought him news of the conflict, perhaps how they had been driven back +a little at one point, and perhaps how they gained a little at another +point. He, too, a man of fifty and the head of a community, shared the +emotions of those around him, and was filled with a furious zeal for the +conflict. + +The clouds thickened and darkened, and the cold drops were driven upon +them by the wind, the rifle smoke, held down by the rain, made sodden +banks of vapor among the trees; but through all the clouds of vapor +burst flashes of fire, and the occasional triumphant shout or death cry +of the white man or the savage. + +Henry Ware looked up and he became conscious that not only clouds above +were bringing the darkness, but that the day was waning. In the west a +faint tint of red and yellow, barely discernible through the grayness, +marked the sinking sun, and in the east the blackness of night was still +advancing. Yet the conflict, as important to those engaged in it, as a +great battle between civilized foes, a hundred thousand on a side, and +far more fierce, yet hung on an even chance. The white men still stood +where they had stood when the forest battle began, and the red men who +had not been able to advance would not retreat. + +Henry's heart sank a little at the signs that night was coming; it would +be harder in the darkness to keep their forces in touch, and the +superior numbers of the Shawnees would swarm all about them. It seemed +to him that it would be best to withdraw a little to more open ground; +but he waited a while, because he did not wish any of their movements to +have the color of retreat. Moreover, the activity of the Shawnees rose +just then to a higher pitch. + +Figures were now invisible in the chill, wet dusk, fifty or sixty yards +away, and the two lines came closer. The keenest eye could see nothing +save flitting forms like phantoms, but the riflemen, trained to +quickness, fired at them and more than once sent a fatal bullet. There +were two lines of fire facing each other in the dark wood. The flashes +showed red or yellow in the twilight or the falling rain, and the Indian +yell of triumph whenever it arose, echoed, weird and terrible, through +the dripping forest. + +Henry stole to the side of his father. + +"We must fall back," he said, "or in the darkness or the night, they +will be sure to surround us and crush us." + +Ross was an able second to this advice, and reluctantly Mr. Ware passed +along the word to retreat. "Be sure to bring off all the wounded," was +the order. "The dead, alas! must be abandoned to nameless indignities!" + +The little white army left thirty dead in the dripping forest, and, as +many more carried wounds, the most of which were curable, but it was as +full of fight as ever. It merely drew back to protect itself against +being flanked in the forest, and the faces of the borderers, sullen and +determined, were still turned to the enemy. + +Yet the line of fire was visibly retreating, and, when the Shawnee +forces saw it, a triumphant yell was poured from hundreds of throats. +They rushed forward, only to be driven back again by the hail of +bullets, and Ross said to Mr. Ware: "I guess we burned their faces +then." + +"Look to the wounded! look to the wounded!" repeated Mr. Ware. "See that +no man too weak is left to help himself." + +They had gone half a mile when Henry glanced around for Paul. His eyes, +trained to the darkness, ran over the dim forms about him. Many were +limping and others already had arms in slings made from their hunting +shirts, but Henry nowhere saw the figure of his old comrade. A fever of +fear assailed him. One of two things had happened. Paul was either +killed or too badly wounded to walk, and somehow in the darkness they +had missed him. The schoolmaster's face blanched at the news. Paul had +been his favorite pupil. + +"My God!" he groaned, "to think of the poor lad in the hands of those +devils!" + +Henry Ware stood beside the master, when he uttered these words, +wrenched by despair from the very bottom of his chest. Pain shot through +his own heart, as if it had been touched by a knife. Paul, the +well-beloved comrade of his youth, captured and subjected to the +torture! His blood turned to ice in his veins. How could they ever have +missed the boy? Paul now seemed to Henry at least ten years younger than +himself. It was not merely the fault of a single man, it was the fault +of them all. He stared back into the thickening darkness, where the +flashes of flame burst now and then, and, in an instant, he had taken +his resolve. + +"I do not know where Paul is," he said, "but I shall find him." + +"Henry! Henry! what are you going to do?" cried his father in alarm. + +"I'm going back after him," replied his son. + +"But you can do nothing! It is sure death! Have we just found you to +lose you again?" + +Henry touched his father's hand. It was an act of tenderness, coming +from his stoical nature, and the next instant he was gone, amid the +smoke and the vapors and the darkness, toward the Indian army. + +Mr. Ware put his face in his hands and groaned, but the hand of Ross +fell upon his shoulder. + +"The boy will come back, Mr. Ware," said the guide, "an' will bring the +other with him, too. God has given him a woods cunnin' that none of us +can match." + +Mr. Ware let his hands fall, and became the man again. The retreating +force still fell back slowly, firing steadily by the flashes at the +pursuing foe. + +Henry Ware had not gone more than fifty yards before he was completely +hidden from his friends. Then he turned to a savage, at least in +appearance. He threw off the raccoon-skin cap and hunting shirt, drew up +his hair in the scalp lock, tying it there with a piece of fringe from +his discarded hunting shirt, and then turned off at an angle into the +woods. Presently he beheld the dark figures of the Shawnees, springing +from tree to tree or bent low in the undergrowth, but all following +eagerly. When he saw them he too bent over and fired toward his own +comrades, then he whirled again to the right, and sprang about as if he +were seeking another target. To all appearances, he was, in the darkness +and driving rain, a true Shawnee, and the manner and gesture of an +Indian were second nature to him. + +But he had little fear of being discovered at such a time. His sole +thought was to find his comrade. All the old days of boyish +companionship rushed upon him, with their memories. The tenderness in +his nature was the stronger, because of its long repression. He would +find him and if he were alive, he would save him; moreover he had what +he thought was a clew. He had remembered seeing Paul crouched behind a +log, firing at the enemy, and no one had seen him afterwards. He +believed that the boy was lying there yet, slain, or, if fate were +kinder, too badly wounded to move. The line of retreat had slanted +somewhat from the spot, and the savages might well have passed, in the +dark, without noticing the boy's fallen body. + +His own sense of direction was perfect, and he edged swiftly away toward +the fallen log, behind which Paul had lain. Many dark forms passed him, +but none sought to stop him; the counterfeit was too good; all thought +him one of themselves. + +Presently Henry passed no more of the flitting warriors. The battle was +moving on toward the south and was now behind him. He looked back and +saw the flashes growing fainter and heard the scattering rifle shots, +deadened somewhat by the distance. Around him was the beat of the rain +on the leaves and the sodden earth, and he looked up at a sky, wholly +hidden by black clouds. He would need all his forest lore, and all the +primitive instincts, handed down from far-off ancestors. But never were +they more keenly alive than on this night. + +The boy did not veer from the way, but merely by the sense of direction +took a straight path toward the fallen log that he remembered. The din +of battle still rolled slowly off toward the south, and, for the moment, +he forgot it. He came to the log, bent down and touched a cold face. It +was Paul. Instinctively his hand moved toward the boy's head and when it +touched the thick brown hair and nothing else, he uttered a little +shuddering sigh of relief. Dead or alive, the hideous Indian trophy had +not been taken. Then he found the boy's wrist and his pulse, which was +still beating faintly. The deft hands moved on, and touched the wound, +made by a bullet that had passed entirely through his shoulder. Paul had +fainted from loss of blood, and without the coming of help would surely +have been dead in another hour. + +The boy lay on his side, and, in some convulsion as he lost +consciousness, he had drawn his arm about his head. Henry turned him +over until the cold reviving rain fell full upon his face, and then, +raising himself again, he listened intently. The battle was still moving +on to the southward, but very slowly, and stray warriors might yet pass +and see them. The tie of friendship is strong, and as he had come to +save Paul and as he had found him too, he did not mean to be stopped +now. + +He stooped down and chafed the wounded youth's wrists and temples, while +the rain with its vivifying touch still drove upon his face. Paul +stirred and his pulse grew stronger. He opened his eyes catching one +vague glimpse of the anxious face above him, but he was so feeble that +the lids closed down again. But Henry was cheered. Paul was not only +alive, he was growing stronger, and, bending down, he lifted him in his +powerful arms. Then he strode away in the darkness, intending to pass in +a curve around the hostile army. Despite Paul's weight he was able also +to keep his rifle ready, because none knew better than he that all the +chances favored his meeting with one warrior or more before the curve +was made. But he was instinct with strength both mental and physical, he +was the true type of the borderer, the men who faced with sturdy heart +the vast dangers of the wilderness, the known and the unknown. At that +moment he was at his highest pitch of courage and skill, alone in the +darkness and storm, surrounded by the danger of death and worse, yet +ready to risk everything for the sake of the boy with whom he had +played. + +He heard nothing but the patter of the distant firing, and all around +him was the gloom, of a night, dark to intensity. The rain poured +steadily out of a sky that did not contain a single star. Paul stirred +occasionally on his shoulder, as he advanced, swiftly, picking his way +through the forest and the undergrowth. A half mile forward and his ears +caught a light footstep. In an instant he sank down with his burden, and +as he did so he caught sight of an Indian warrior, not twenty feet away. +The Shawnee saw him at the same time, and he, too, dropped down in the +undergrowth. + +Henry did not then feel the lust of blood. He would have been willing to +pass on, and leave the Shawnee to himself; but he knew that the Shawnee +would not leave him. He laid Paul upon his back, in order that the rain +might beat upon his face, and then crouched beside him, absolutely +motionless, but missing nothing that the keenest eye or ear might +detect. It was a contest of patience, and the white youth brought to +bear upon it both the red man's training and his own. + +A half hour passed, and within that small area there was no sound but +the beat of the rain on the leaves and the sticky earth. Perhaps the +warrior thought he had been deceived; it was merely an illusion of the +night that he thought he saw; or if he had seen anyone the man was now +gone, creeping away through the undergrowth. He stirred among his own +bushes, raised up a little to see, and gave his enemy a passing glimpse +of his face. But it was enough; a rifle bullet struck him between the +eyes and the wilderness fighter lay dead in the forest. + +Henry bestowed not a thought on the slain warrior, but, lifting up Paul +once more, continued on his wide curve, as if nothing had happened. No +one interrupted him again, and after a while he was parallel with the +line of fire. Then he passed around it and came to rocky ground, where +he laid Paul down and chafed his hands and face. The wounded boy opened +his eyes again, and, with returning strength, was now able to keep them +open. + +"Henry!" he said in a vague whisper. + +"Yes, Paul, it is I," Henry replied quietly. + +Paul lay still and struggled with memory. The rain was now ceasing, and +a few shafts of moonlight, piercing through the clouds, threw silver +rays on the dripping forest. + +"The battle!" said Paul at last. "I was firing and something struck me. +That was the last I remember." + +He paused and his face suddenly brightened. He cast a look of gratitude +at his comrade. + +"You came for me?" he said. + +"Yes," replied Henry, "I came for you, and I brought you here." + +Paul closed his eyes, lay still, and then at a ghastly thought, opened +his eyes again. + +"Are only we two left?" he asked. "Are all the others killed? Is that +why we are hiding here in the forest?" + +"No," replied Henry, "we are holding them off, but we decided that it +was wiser to retreat. We shall join our own people in the morning." + +Paul said no more, and Henry sheltered him as best he could under the +trees. The wet clothing he could not replace, and that would have to be +endured. But he rubbed his body to keep him warm and to induce +circulation. The night was now far advanced, and the distant firing +became spasmodic and faint. After a while it ceased, and the weary +combatants lay on their arms in the thickets. + +The clouds began to float off to the eastward. By and by all went down +under the horizon, and the sky sprang out, a solid dome of calm, +untroubled blue, in which the stars in myriads twinkled and shone. A +moon of unusual splendor bathed the wet forest in a silver dew. + +Henry sat in the moonlight, watching beside Paul, who dozed or fell into +a stupor. The moonlight passed, the darkest hours came and then up shot +the dawn, bathing a green world in the mingled glory of red and gold. +Henry raised Paul again, and started with him toward the thickets, where +he knew the little white army lay. + + * * * * * + +John Ware had borne himself that night like a man, else he would not +have been in the place that he held. But his heart had followed his son, +when he turned back toward the savage army, and, despite the reassuring +words of Ross, he already mourned him as one dead. Yet he was faithful +to his greater duty, remembering the little force that he led and the +women and children back there, of whom they were the chief and almost +the sole defenders. But if he reached Wareville again how could he tell +the tale of his loss? There was one to whom no excuse would seem good. +Often Mr. Pennypacker was by his side, and when the darkness began to +thin away before the moonlight these two men exchanged sad glances. Each +understood what was in the heart of the other, but neither spoke. + +The hours of night and combat dragged heavily. When the waning fire of +the savages ceased they let their own cease also, and then sought ground +upon which they might resist any new attack, made in the daylight. They +found it at last in a rocky region that doubled the powers of the +defense. Ross was openly exultant. + +"We scorched 'em good yesterday an' to-night," he said, "an' if they +come again in the day we'll just burn their faces away." + +Most of the men, worn to the bone, sank down to sleep on the wet ground +in their wet clothes, while the others watched, and the few hours, left +before the morning, passed peacefully away. + +At the first sunlight the men were awakened, and all ate cold food which +they carried in their knapsacks. Mr. Ware and the schoolmaster sat +apart. Mr. Ware looked steadily at the ground and the schoolmaster, +whose heart was wrenched both with his own grief and his friend's, knew +not what to say. Neither did Ross nor Sol disturb them for the moment, +but busied themselves with preparations for the new defense. + +Mr. Pennypacker was gazing toward the southwest and suddenly on the +crest of a low ridge a black and formless object appeared between him +and the sun. At first he thought it was a mote in his eye, and he rubbed +the pupils but the mote grew larger, and then he looked with a new and +stronger interest. It was a man; no, two men, one carrying the other, +and the motion of the man who bore the other seemed familiar. The +master's heart sprang up in his throat, and the blood swelled in a new +tide in his veins. His hand fell heavily, but with joy, on the shoulder +of Mr. Ware. + +"Look up! Look up!" he cried, "and see who is coming!" + +Mr. Ware looked up and saw his son, with the wounded Paul Cotter on his +shoulder, walking into camp. Then--the borderers were a pious people--he +fell upon his knees and gave thanks. Two hours later the Shawnees in +full force made a last and desperate attack upon the little white army. +They ventured into the open, as venture they must to reach the +defenders, and they were met by the terrible fire that never missed. At +no time could they pass the deadly hail of bullets, and at last, leaving +the ground strewed with their dead, they fell back into the forest, and +then, breaking into a panic, did not cease fleeing until they had +crossed the Ohio. Throughout the morning Henry Ware was one of the +deadliest sharpshooters of them all, while Paul Cotter lay safely in the +rear, and fretted because his wound would not let him do his part. + +The great victory won, it was agreed that Henry Ware had done the best +of them all, but they spent little time in congratulations. They +preferred the sacred duty of burying the dead, even seeking those who +had fallen in the forest the night before; and then they began their +march southward, the more severely wounded carried on rude litters at +first, but as they gained strength after a while walking, though lamely. +Paul recovered fast, and when he heard the story, he looked upon Henry +as a knight, the equal of any who ever rode down the pages of chivalry. + +But all alike carried in their hearts the consciousness that they had +struck a mighty blow that would grant life to the growing settlements, +and, despite their sadly thinned ranks, they were full of a pride that +needed no words. The men of Wareville and the men of Marlowe parted at +the appointed place, and then each force went home with the news of +victory. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE TEST + + +The people of Wareville had good reason alike for pride and for sorrow, +pride for victory, and sorrow for the fallen, but they spent no time in +either, at least openly, resuming at once the task of founding a new +state. + +Henry Ware, the hero of the hour and the savior of the village, laid +aside his wild garb and took a place in his father's fields. The work +was heavy, the Indian corn was planted, but trees were to be felled, +fences were to be cut down, and as he was so strong a larger share than +usual was expected of him. His own father appreciated these hopes and +was resolved that his son should do his full duty. + +Henry entered upon his task and from the beginning he had misgivings, +but he refused to indulge them. He handled a hoe on his first day from +dawn till dark in a hot field, and all the while the mighty wilderness +about him was crying out to him in many voices. While the sun glowed +upon him, and the sweat ran down his face he could see the deep cool +shade of the forest--how restful and peaceful it looked there! He knew a +sheltered glade where the buffalo were feeding, he could find the deer +reposing in a thicket, and to the westward was a new region of hills and +clear brooks, over which he might be the first white man to roam. + +His blood tingled with his thoughts, but he never said a word, only +bending lower to his task, and hardening his resolve. The voices of the +wilderness might call, and he could not keep from hearing them, but he +need not go. The amount of work he did that day was wonderful to all who +saw, his vast strength put him far ahead of all others and back of his +strength was his will. But they said nothing and he was glad they did +not speak. + +When he went home in the dusk he overtook Lucy Upton near the palisade. +She was in the same red dress that she wore when she ran the gantlet and +in the twilight it seemed to be tinged to a deeper scarlet. She was +walking swiftly with the easy, swinging grace of a good figure and good +health, but when he joined her she went more slowly. + +He did not speak for a few moments, and she gave him a silent glance of +sympathy. In her woman's heart she guessed the cause of his trouble, and +while she had been afraid of him when he appeared suddenly as the Indian +warrior yet she liked him better in that part than as she now saw him. +Then he was majestic, now he was prosaic, and it seemed to her that his +present role was unfitting. + +"You are tired," she said at last. + +"Well, not in the body exactly, but I feel like resting." + +There was no complaint in his tone, but a slight touch of irony. + +"Do you think that you will make a good farmer?" she asked. + +"As good as the times and our situation allow," he replied. "Wandering +parties of the savages are likely to pass near here and in the course of +time they may send back an army. Besides one has to hunt now, as for a +long while we must depend on the forest for a part of our food." + +It seemed to her that these things did not cause him sorrow, that he +turned to them as a sort of relief: his eyes sparkled more brightly when +he spoke of the necessity for hunting and the possible passage of Indian +parties which must be repelled. Girl though she was, she felt again a +little glow of sympathy, guessing as she did his nature; she could +understand how he thrilled when he heard the voices of the forest +calling to him. + +They reached the gate of the palisade and passed within. It was full +dusk now, the forest blurring together into a mighty black wall, and the +outlines of the houses becoming shadowy. The Ware family sat awhile that +evening by the hearth fire, and John Ware was full of satisfaction. A +worthy man, he had neither imagination nor primitive instincts and he +valued the wilderness only as a cheap place in which to make homes. He +spoke much of clearing the ground, of the great crops that would come, +and of the profit and delight afforded by regular work year after year +on the farm. Henry Ware sat in silence, listening to his father's +oracular tones, but his mother, glancing at him, had doubts to which she +gave no utterance. + +The days passed and as the spring glided into summer they grew hotter. +The sun glowed upon the fields, and the earth parched with thirst. In +the forest the leaves were dry and they rustled when the wind blew upon +them. The streams sank away again, as they had done during the siege, +and labor became more trying. Yet Henry Ware never murmured, though his +soul was full of black bitterness. Often he would resolutely turn his +eyes from the forest where he knew the deep cool pools were, and keep +them on the sun-baked field. His rifle, which had seemed to reproach +him, inanimate object though it was, he hid in a corner of the house +where he could not see it and its temptation. In order to create a +counter-irritant he plunged into work with the most astonishing vigor. + +John Ware, in those days, was full of pride and satisfaction, he +rejoiced in the industrial prowess of his son, and he felt that his own +influence had prevailed, he had led Henry back to the ways of +civilization, the only right ways, and he enjoyed his triumph. But the +schoolmaster, in secret, often shook his head. + +The summer grew drier and hotter, it was a period of drought again and +the little children gasped through the sweating nights. Afar they saw +the blaze of forest fires and ashes and smoke came on the wind. Henry +toiled with a dogged spirit, but every day the labor grew more bitter to +him; he took no interest in it, he did not wish to calculate the result +in the years to come, when all around him, extending thousands of miles, +was an untrodden wilderness, in which he might roam and hunt until the +end, although his years should be a hundred. + +It was worst at night, when he lay awake by a window, breathing the hot +air, then the deep cool forest extended to him her kindest invitation, +and it took all his resolution to resist her welcome. The wind among the +trees was like music, but it was a music to which he must close his +ears. Then he remembered his vast wanderings with Black Cloud and his +red friends, how they had crossed great and unnamed rivers, the days in +the endless forest and the other days on the endless plains, and of the +mighty lake they had reached in their northernmost journey--how cool and +pleasant that lake seemed now! His mind ran over every detail of the +great buffalo hunts, of those trips along the streams to trap the beaver +and the events in the fight with the hostile tribe. + +All these recollections seemed very vivid and real to him now, and the +narrow life of Wareville faded into a mist out of which shone only the +faces of those whom he loved--it was they alone who had brought him back +to Wareville, but he knew that their ways were not his ways, and it was +hard to confine his spirit within the narrow limits of a settlement. + +But his long martyrdom went on, the summer was growing old, with the +work of planting and cultivating almost done and the harvest soon to +follow, and whatever his feelings may have been he had never flinched a +single time. Nourished by his great labors the Ware farm far surpassed +all others, and the pride of John Ware grew. He also grew more exacting +with his pride, and this quality brought on the crisis. + +Henry was building a fence one particularly hot afternoon, and his +father coming by, cool and fresh, found fault with his work, chiefly to +show his authority, because the work was not badly done--Mr. Ware was a +good man, but like other good men he had a rare fault-finding impulse. +The voices in the woods had been calling very loudly that day and +Henry's temper suddenly flashed into a flame. But he did not give way to +any external outburst of passion, speaking in a level, measured voice. + +"I am sorry you do not like it," he said, "because it is the last work I +am going to do here." + +"Why--what do you mean?" exclaimed his father in astonishment. + +"I am done," replied Henry in his firm tones, and dropping the fence +rail that he held he walked to the house, every nerve in him thrilling +with expectation of the pleasure that was to come. His mother was there, +and she started in fear at his face. + +"It is true, mother," he said, "I am not going to deceive you, I am +going into the forest, but I will come again and often. It is the only +life that I can lead, I was made for it I suppose; I have tried the +other out there in the fields, and I have tried hard, but I cannot stand +it." + +She knew too well to seek to stop him. He took his rifle from its +secluded corner, and the feeling of it, stock and barrel, was good to +his hands. He put on the buckskin hunting shirt, leggings and moccasins, +fringed and beaded, and with them he felt all his old zest and pride +returning. He kissed his mother and sister good-by, shook hands with his +younger brother, did the same with his astonished father at the door, +and then, rifle on shoulder, disappeared in the circling forest. + +That night Braxton Wyatt sneered and said that a savage could not keep +from being a savage, but Paul Cotter turned upon him so fiercely that he +took it back. The schoolmaster made no comment aloud, but to himself he +said, "It was bound to come and perhaps it is no loss that it has come." + +Meanwhile Henry Ware was tasting the fiercest and keenest joy of his +life. The great forest seemed to reach out its boughs like kind arms to +welcome and embrace. How cool was the shade! How the shafts of sunlight +piercing the leaves fell like golden arrows on the ground! How the +little brooks laughed and danced over the pebbles! This was his world +and he had been too long away from it. Everything was friendly, the huge +tree trunks were like old comrades, the air was fresher and keener than +any that he had breathed in a long time, and was full of new life and +zest. All his old wilderness love rushed back to him, and now after many +months he felt at home. + +Strong as he was already new strength flowed into his frame and he threw +back his head, and laughed a low happy laugh. Then rifle at the trail he +ran for miles among the trees from the pure happiness of living, but +noting as he passed with wonderfully keen eyes every trail of a wild +animal and all the forest signs that he knew so well. He ran many miles +and he felt no weariness. Then he threw himself down on Mother Earth, +and rejoiced at her embrace. He lay there a long time, staring up +through the leaves and the shifting sunlight, and he was so still that a +hare hopped through the undergrowth almost at his feet, never taking +alarm. To Henry Ware then the world seemed grand and beautiful, and of +all things in it God had made the wilderness the finest, lingering over +every detail with a loving hand. + +He watched the setting of the sun and the coming of the twilight. The +sun was a great blazing ball and the western sky flowed away from it in +circling waves of blue and pink and gold, then long shadows came over +the forest, and the distant trees began to melt together into a gigantic +dark wall. To the dweller in cities all this vast loneliness and +desolation would have been dreary and weird beyond description; he would +have shuddered with superstitious awe, starting in fear at the slightest +sound, but there was no such quality in it for Henry Ware. He saw only +comradeship and the friendly veil of the great creeping shadow. His eye +could pierce the thickest night, and fear, either of the darkness or +things physical, was not in him. + +He rose after a while, when the last sign of day was gone, and walked +on, though more slowly. He made no noise as he passed, stepping lightly, +but with sure foot like one with both genius and training for the +wilderness. He knelt at a little brook to slake his thirst, but did not +stop long there. His happiness decreased in nowise. The familiar voices +of the night were speaking to him. He heard the distant hoot of an owl, +a deer rustled in the bush, a lizard scuttled over the leaves, and he +rejoiced at the sounds. He did not think of hunger but toward midnight +he raked some of last year's fallen leaves close to the trunk of a big +tree, lay down upon them, and fell in a few moments into happy and +dreamless sleep. + +He awoke with the first rays of the dawn, shot a deer after an hour's +search, and then cooked his breakfast by the side of one of the little +brooks. It was the first food that had tasted just right to him in many +weeks, and afterwards he lay by the camp fire awhile, and luxuriated. He +had the most wonderful feeling of peace and ease; all the world was his +to go where he chose and to do what he chose, and he began to think of +an autumn camp, a tiny lodge in the deepest recess of the wilderness, +where he could store spare ammunition, furs and skins and find a +frequent refuge, when the time for storms and cold came. He would build +at his ease--there was plenty of time and he would fill in the intervals +with hunting and exploration. + +He ranged that day toward the north and the west, moving with +deliberation, and not until the third or the fourth day did he come to +the place that he had in mind. In the triangle between the junction of +two streams was a marshy area, thickly grown with bushes and slim trees, +that thrust their roots deep down through the mire into more solid soil. +The marsh was perhaps two acres in extent; right in the heart of it was +a piece of firm earth about forty feet square and here Henry meant to +build his lodge. He alone knew the path across the marsh over fallen +logs lying near enough to each other to be reached by an agile man, and +on the tiny island all his possessions would be safe. + +He worked a week at his hut, and it was done, a little lean-to of bark +and saplings, partly lined with skins, but proof against rain or snow. +On the floor he spread the skins and furs of animals that he killed, and +on the walls he hung trophies of the hunt. + +Two weeks after his house was finished he used it at its full value. +Summer was gone and autumn was coming, a great rain poured and the wind +blew cold. Dead leaves fell in showers from the trees, and the boughs +swaying before the gale creaked dismally against each other. But it all +gave to Henry a supreme sense of physical comfort. He lay in his snug +hut, and, pulling a little to one side the heavy buffalo robe that hung +over the doorway, watched the storm rage through the wilderness. He had +no sense of loneliness, his mind was in perfect tune with everything +about him, and delighted in the triumphant manifestation of nature. + +He stayed there all day, content to lie still and meditate vaguely of +anything that came of its own accord into his mind. About the twilight +hour he cooked some venison, ate it and then slept a dreamless sleep +through the night. + +The rain ceased the next day but the air became crisp and cold, and +autumn was fully come. In a week the forest was dyed into the most +glowing colors, red and yellow and brown, and the shades between. The +heavens were pure blue and gold, and it was a poignant delight to +breathe the keen air. Again he ranged far and rejoiced in the hunting. +His infallible rifle never missed, and in the little hut in the marsh +the stock of furs and skins grew so fast that scarcely room for himself +was left. He hid a fresh store at another place in the forest, and then +he returned to Wareville for a day. His father greeted him with some +constraint, not with coldness exactly, but with lack of understanding. +His mother and his sister wept with joy and Mrs. Ware said: "I was +expecting you about this time and you have not disappointed me." + +He stayed two days and his keen eyes, so observant of material matters, +noted that the colony was not doing well for the time, the drought +having almost ruined the crops and there was full promise of scanty food +and a hard winter. Now came his opportunity. He had looked upon his +month in the forest as in part a holiday, and he never intended to throw +aside all responsibility for others, roving the wilderness absolutely +free from care. He knew that he would have work to do, he felt that he +should have it, and now he saw the way to do the kind of work that he +loved to do. + +He replenished his supply of ammunition, took up his rifle again and +returned to the forest. Now he used all his surpassing knowledge and +skill in the chase, and game began to pour into the colony, bear, deer, +buffalo and the smaller animals, until he alone seemed able to feed the +entire settlement through the winter. + +He experienced a new thrill keener and more delightful than any that had +gone before; he was doing for others and the knowledge was most +pleasant. Winter came on, fierce and unyielding with almost continuous +snow and ice, and Henry Ware was the chief support of that little +village in the wilderness. The game wandering with its fancy, or perhaps +taking alarm at the new settlement had drifted far, and he alone of all +the hunters could find it. The voices that had been raised against him a +second time were stilled again, because no one dared to accuse when his +single figure stood between them and starvation. + +He took Paul Cotter with him on some of his hunts, but never even to +Paul did he tell the secret of his hut in the morass; that was to be +guarded for himself alone. He was fond of Paul, but Paul able though he +was fell far behind Henry in the forest. + +The debt of Wareville to him grew and none felt privileged to criticise +him now, as he appeared from the forest and disappeared into it again on +his self-chosen tasks. + +The winter broke up at last, but with the spring came a new and more +formidable danger. Small parties of Indians, not strong enough to attack +Wareville itself but sufficient for forest ambush, began to appear in +the country, and two or three lives that could be ill spared were lost. +Now Henry Ware showed his supreme value; he was a match and more than a +match for the savages at all their own tricks, and he became the ranger +for the settlement, its champion against a wild and treacherous foe. + +The tales of his skill and prowess spread far through the wilderness. +Single handed he would not hesitate in the depths of the forest to +attack war parties of half a dozen, and while suffering heavily +themselves they could never catch their daring tormentor. These tales +even spread across the Ohio to the Indian villages, where they told of a +blond and giant white youth in the South who was the spirit of death, +whom no runner could overtake, whom no bullet could slay and who raged +against the red man with an invincible wrath. + +As his single hand had fed them through the winter so his single hand +protected them from death in the spring. He seemed to know by instinct +when the war parties were coming and where they would appear. Always he +confronted them with some devious attack that they did not know how to +meet, and Wareville remained inviolate. + +Then, in the summer, when the war bands were all gone he came back to +Wareville to stay a while, although, everyone, himself included, knew +that he would always remain a son of the wilderness, spending but part +of his time in the houses of men. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +AN ERRAND AND A FRIEND + + +Two stalwart lads were marching steadily through the deep woods, some +months later. They were boys in years, but in size, strength, alertness +and knowledge of the forest far beyond their age. One, in particular, +would have drawn the immediate and admiring glance of every keen-eyed +frontiersman, so powerful was he, and yet so light and quick of +movement. His wary glance seemed to read every secret of tree, bush and +grass, and his head, crowned by a great mass of thick, yellow hair, rose +several inches above that of his comrade, who would have been called by +most people a tall boy. + +The two youths were dressed almost alike. Each wore a cap of raccoon +fur, with the short tail hanging from the back of it as a decoration. +Their bodies were clad in hunting shirts, made of the skin of the deer, +softly and beautifully tanned and dyed green. The fine fringe of the +shirt hung almost to the knees, and below it were leggings also of +deerskin, beaded at the seams. The feet were inclosed in deerskin +moccasins, fitting tightly, but very soft and light. A rifle, a +tomahawk, and a useful knife at the belt completed the equipment. + +They were walking, but each boy led a stout horse, and on the back of +this horse was a great brown sack that hung down, puffy, on either side. +The sacks were filled with gunpowder made from cave-dust and the two +boys, Henry Ware and Paul Cotter, were carrying it to a distant village +that had exhausted its supply, but which, hearing of the strange new way +in which Wareville obtained it, had sent begging for a loan of this +commodity, more precious to the pioneer than gold and jewels. The +response was quick and spontaneous and Henry and Paul had been chosen to +take the powder, an errand in which both rejoiced. Already they had been +two days in the great wilderness, now painted in gorgeous colors by the +hand of autumn, and they had not seen a sign of a human being, white or +red. + +They walked steadily on, and the trained horses followed, each just +behind his master, although there was no hand upon the bridle. They +stopped presently at the low rounded crest of a hill, where the forest +opened out a little, and, as if with the same impulse, each looked off +toward the vast horizon with a glowing eye. The mighty forest, vivid +with its gleaming reds and yellows and browns, rolled away for miles, +and then died to the eye where the silky blue arch of the sky came down +to meet it. Now and then there was a flash of silver, where a brook ran +between the hills, and the wind brought an air, crisp, fresh and full of +life. + +It was beautiful, this great wilderness of Kaintuckee, and each boy saw +it according to his nature. Henry, the soul of action, the boy of the +keen senses and the mighty physical nature, loved it for its own sake +and for what it was in the present. He fitted into it and was a part of +it. The towns and the old civilization in the east never called to him. +He had found the place that nature intended for him. He was here the +wilderness rover, hunter and scout, the border champion and defender, +the primitive founder of a state, without whom, and his like, our Union +could never have been built up. Henry gloried in the wilderness and +loved its life which was so easy to him. Paul, the boy of thought, was +always looking into the future, and already he foresaw what would come +to pass in a later generation. + +Neither spoke, and presently, by the same impulse, they started on +again, descending the low hill, and plunging once more into the forest. +When they had gone about half a mile, Henry stopped suddenly. His +wonderful physical organism, as sensitive as the machinery of a watch, +had sounded an alarm. A faint sound, not much more than the fall of a +dying leaf, came to his ears and he knew at once that it was not a +natural noise of the forest. He held up his hand and stopped, and Paul, +who trusted him implicitly, stopped also. Henry listened intently with +ears that heard everything, and the sound came to him again. It was a +footfall. A human being, besides themselves, was near in the forest! + +"Come, Paul," he said, and he began to creep toward the sound, the two +darting from tree to tree, and making no noise among the fallen leaves, +as they brushed past, with their soft moccasins. The trained horses +remained where they had been left, silent and motionless. + +Henry, as was natural, was in front, and he was the first to see the +object that had caused the noise. A man stepped from the shelter of a +tree's great trunk, and, although armed, he held up one hand, in the +manner of a friend. He was an Indian of middle age and dignified look, +although he was not painted like any of the tribes that came down to +make war in Kentucky. + +Henry recognized at once the friendly signal, and he too stepped from +the cover of the forest, walking slowly toward the warrior, who was +undoubtedly a chief and a man of importance. Twenty feet away, the boy +started a little, and a sudden light leaped into his eyes. Then he +strode up rapidly, and took the warrior's hand after the white custom. + +"Black Cloud! My friend!" he said. + +"You know me! You have not forgotten?" replied the chief and his eyes +gleamed ever so quickly. + +"You have come far from your people and among hostile tribes to see me?" +said Henry who instantly divined the truth. + +"It is so," replied the chief, "and to ask you to go back with me. Our +warriors miss you." + +Henry was moved to the depths of his nature. Black Cloud had come a +thousand miles to ask him this question, and he had a far, sweet vision +of a life utterly wild and free. Again he saw the great plains, and +again came to his ears, like rolling thunder, the tread of the +myriad-footed buffalo herd. He was tempted sorely tempted and he knew +it, but, with a mighty effort he put the temptation away from him and +shook his head. + +"It cannot be, Black Cloud," he said. "My people need me, as yours need +you." + +A shadow passed over the eyes of the chief, but it was gone in a moment. +He knew that the answer was final, and he said not another word on the +subject. + +Black Cloud went on with Henry and Paul half a day, then he bade them +farewell. They watched him go, but it could be only for a minute or two, +because his form quickly melted away into the forest. Then the two boys, +turning their faces steadily toward duty, marched on, and the great +wilderness, gleaming in its reds and yellows and browns curved about +them. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG TRAILERS*** + + +******* This file should be named 19477.txt or 19477.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/4/7/19477 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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