THE EAVESDROPPER
Naturally the first impression of Jack Carleton, on seeing the
light, was that it proceeded from the fire kindled by Otto. It
struck him as curious that he should do so before he could be
certain the horse was captured; but, in accordance with his
training, Jack took nothing for granted. A few guarded steps, and
he discovered the truth; the light was much closer than he
suspected, and came through a slight rent in the side of an Indian
wigwam.
The young Kentuckian was astounded, for he had never dreamed of
anything of the kind. He concluded he must be on the confines of an
Indian village, and made a further investigation; but it did not
take long to learn that the lodge stood alone in the great forest.
"I suppose some chieftain or warrior has quarreled with his people
and lives by himself," was the remarkably accurate guess of the boy;
"I don't know how he feels toward white folks, but I'll take a
little further look and then hunt up Otto."
He could not fail to note that the lodge stood close to the clearing
where he had agreed to meet his friend, and he was unable to free
himself of a dread, while stealing forward for the purpose of
peeping through the rent in the side of the aboriginal structure.
Otto must have seen the wigwam before reaching it, though the
proprietor might have been quicker in detecting the approach of a
stranger.
Fully sensible of the care required, Jack advanced slowly, without
noise, feeling every inch of the way. At last he was able to bend
forward and peep through the slight opening, which first told him of
the location of the wigwam. It required some delicate maneuvering
to gain a good view of the interior, and it need not be said that
the result was of the most interesting nature.
His eyes, or rather eye (inasmuch as he used only one), first rested
on the dusky baby, that had managed to kick off the blanket, and was
fiercely tugging at the piece of cooked venison which his dusky
mother bad tossed him. He held it between his scant teeth, grasping
it with his chubby hands, while his feet beat the air, occasionally
catching under his chin, as though he was using hands and feet to
force the meat apart. He worked his legs with such a vigor that at
times he seemed in danger of making a back somersault and bumping
through the side of the lodge.
Under other circumstances Jack Carleton would have laughed outright
at the comical figure of the bright-eyed infant; but the sight of
Otto Relstaub checked all such feeling, and deepened the alarm which
came with the first sight of the wigwam.
It so happened that Jack was much closer to his friend than he was
to any of the other three figures. No more than two feet separated
the boys, and in peering into the lodge, the eavesdropper looked
directly over the head and shoulders of Otto. The familiar peaked
hat, which had not been removed, the rather long, curling hair, the
round, rosy check, broad shoulders, the tip of the pug nose, the
plump chin, the feet, and the arms resting idly on the drawn-up
knees--all these made the young German look like an exaggerated
fairy, that had dropped in on some superstitious mortals and was
regaling them with tales of wonderland. But Otto was not
discoursing to listeners; he was looking from one to the other,
sometimes smiling at the snuffing, kicking, clawing infant, and then
assuming an anxious expression, when his eyes rested on the face of
the others who shared the lodge with him.
The squaw was slowly drawing in and exhaling the vapor from her
pipe, with the deliberate enjoyment of an old smoker. With her
elbows on her knees, she stared fixedly at Otto, who must have been
annoyed by her persistency.
Wish-o-wa-tum, the Man-not-Afraid-of-Thunder, occupied his throne of
bison skin on the other side of the wigwam, and, having tired of
sitting erect as became a monarch, was lounging on his right elbow,
leaving his left hand free to manipulate his pipe, which was
occasionally taken from his lips, after the cheeks were filled to
overflowing with pungent vapor. Then, forming his immense mouth
into a contracted circle, be ejected the smoke with his doubled
tongue, sending forth ring after ring, in any direction he chose.
Looking up at the opening in the top of the lodge, he started a
regular procession of blue circles, twisting inward and slowly
expanding as they climbed toward the fresh air, where they were
suddenly caught and whirled into nothingness.
Jack had the best view of the chieftain he could wish, and fearful
of being detected, drew his head back a few inches so as to be in
entire darkness, and studied the ugly countenance. He observed the
small, piggish eyes far apart, the big cheek bones, the disfigured
nose, the enormous mouth, the slouchy, untidy dress, and even the
half dozen straggling hairs that sprouted here and there over his
massive chin.
He noticed the flitting glances of the black eyes, and knew that the
unattractive Indian had, in some way or other, made a prisoner of
Otto Relstaub, whose rifle was missing. Standing on the outside
with his loaded gun in hand, the young Kentuckian could have done as
he pleased with the red man, who had no suspicions of danger; but
the thought of shooting him was unspeakably shocking to Jack, who
could not have been persuaded to the step unless forced to do so, in
order to save the life of Otto or himself.
Cruel indeed must any one be who could look on the picture of
domestic happiness, the stolid father, the contented mother, and the
lusty youngster, without feeling his heart stirred by that deep,
inborn sympathy which makes the whole world akin.
"He isn't a Shawanoe or Miami," was the conclusion of Jack, after a
careful study of the warrior's face and general appearance; "I have
never seen an Osage, but have heard much of them, and I'm quite sure
he is one. If that is so, he isn't as fierce as his race on the
other side the Mississippi, and I think we can get Otto out of there
without harm to any one. If we are going to live in this part of
the world, we must keep on good terms with the Indians. Helloa!
what is the old fellow going to do?"
Jack noticed that the head of the family had stopped glancing from
one part of the lodge to another, and was looking steadily at Otto,
as if he meditated some design against him.
And so he did. Drawing in an enormous quantity of smoke, he removed
the stem from his leathern lips, contracted them into another O, and
suddenly shot out a vapory ring, followed instantly by a second,
third and fourth, and then by so many that they stumbled over each
other's heels, as may be said. Indeed, the mouth of Wish-a-wa-tum
seemed to have become a mitrailleue for the moment, that sent a
continuous volley across the wigwam.
When the bombardment opened, Otto was looking thoughtfully at the
ground in the middle of the lodge, so that his face was turned
toward the chieftain. The latter aimed with such skill that, as he
intended, the first ring passed directly over the end of Otto's pug
nose, which for the instant looked as though some painter had
enclosed the organ in a delicately tinted circle.
The latter was no more than in place, when it was followed by
several others. The series, however, was blown into nothingness by
a resounding sneeze from Otto, which started the vapor toward the
opening above, that seemed to exert a greater power as the distance
from the ground increased. When within a few inches of the outlet,
the smoke flew apart, spun around and whisked out of sight, with the
current that was borne upward from every part of the lodge.
"Donderation!" exclaimed Otto as best he could, through the
strangling vapor; "what for you don't do dot? Don't you vants to
kill somepodys mit your smoke--don't it? Yaw I oogh!"
Man-not-Afraid-of-Thunder did not stir. Still holding his pipe
suspended in his left hand, he looked at the discomfited youth and
smiled.
The smile was the most prodigious on which Jack Carleton had ever
looked. He saw the corners of the mouth move back on the cheeks
until it seemed they must touch the ears. Perhaps the chief smiled
so seldom that the few served to bring up the "general average" of
those that were lacking.
Wish-o-wa-tum could have added to the distress of Otto by continuing
his vapory cannonade, but he refrained, and amused himself by
sending the rings once more toward the chimney.
While this little episode was going on, the squaw, with her chin on
her hands and her elbows on her knees, continued to stare at Otto;
but she showed no disposition to smile even in the slightest degree.
In her the element of mirth appeared to be totally lacking.
It is more than probable that she had not acquired the art of
ejecting the circles of smoke, or she would have followed up the
exhibition of her husband with a similar one, inspired thereto by
the innate ugliness of her nature.
The incident described did much to dissipate the alarm of Jack
Carleton for his friend. The overwhelming smile on the countenance
of the chieftain made it attractive, for it was free from the
disfigurement of hate.
"Yes, he is an Osage, with his wife and little one. He may not be a
pleasant neighbor, but he would not dare to live away from his
tribe, if he was as cruel as the Shawanoes or Hurons. Some of the
settlers would shoot him and his squaw and papoose."
This theory was reasonable, but from the nature of the case it could
not be complete in the assurance it brought to the mind of the young
Kentuckian, inasmuch as it failed to explain several alarming facts.
In the first place, Otto, manifestly, was a prisoner in the lodge.
He had no gun with which to defend himself, nor could the guarded
peeping of the eavesdropper discover the weapon within the wigwam.
In what manner the German had fallen into the power of the Osage was
beyond conjecture, nor could Jack guess the ultimate intentions of
the captor.
"I have my loaded gun," was the thought of the youth, "and I ought
to be able to get Otto out of this scrape. I shall be sorry, indeed,
to harm any one in the wigwam, and so long as it is possible to avoid
it, I will. If the warrior receives injury it will be his own fault."
At such times, the most curious fancies often take possession of a
person. Jack Carleton had convinced himself that the Indian, wigwam
was the only one in the neighborhood; but he had scarcely decided
what his course should be, when he began to fear he had made a
mistake. It seemed unlikely that a single Osage should dwell apart
from his tribe in that fashion.
"There must be other lodges near me," he thought, stepping softly
back and peering around in the gloom.
It mattered not that he saw no lights from any of them, for he
reasoned that they might be hidden by the intervening trees. So
strong was the feeling, that he moved further off and repeated the
very reconnaissance made a short time previous.
He would not have done so, had he not known that Otto was in no
immediate danger from his captor. Had the latter offered him harm,
the struggle would have been heard in the stillness of the night,
and Jack would have rushed to the relief of his friend.
Finally, the eavesdropper became satisfied that whatever the issue
of the strange situation, he had but the single family to face.
Then he was distressed by the doubt as to what the squaw would do,
it he carried out his scheme. It is well known that the Indian
women are as brave, and frequently more cruel, toward their captives
than are the warriors themselves. If the one before him became
violent, Jack would be likely to find he had undertaken a task
beyond his power.
His determination was to walk directly into the lodge and act as if
he believed the occupants were his friends. He therefore strode
forward toward the entrance, purposely kicking the leaves with his
feet; and it was that noise which apprised those within of his
approach.