THE HOT SPRING
Bending low, they ran again swiftly forward toward the south. A great
cry rose behind them, the whoop of the warriors, a yell of rage and
disappointment. A dozen shots were fired, but the bullets either flew
over their heads or dropped short. The five did not take the trouble to
reply. Confidence had returned to them with amazing quickness, and the
most confident and joyous of all was Tom Ross.
"I had the big medicine that time," he exclaimed exultantly. "It's lucky
I found the silver sixpence in my pocket, or that hound would have had
the savages trailing us forever."
Henry was cooler now, but he did not argue with him about it. In fact,
none of them ever did. Both he and Sol were now noting the heavens which
had become more overcast. The clouds spread from the horizon to the
zenith. Not a ray of sunlight showed. The wind was dropping, but far
into the southwest the earth sighed.
"It's the rain," said Henry. "Let it come. It and all this blackness
will help our escape."
Low thunder muttered along the western horizon. There were three or four
flashes of lightning but when the rain came presently with a sweep, both
thunder and lightning ceased, and they ran on clothed in a mantle of
darkness.
"Let's stay close together," said Henry, "and after awhile we'll turn to
the east and bear back toward the village. Nobody on earth can trail us
in all this gloom, with the rain, too, washing out every trace of our
footsteps."
Henry's judgment was good. Now that the hound was gone they shook off
the savages with ease. The rain was coming down in a steady pour, and,
as the twilight also was at hand, they were invisible to anyone fifty
yards away. Hence their speed dropped to a walk, and, in accordance with
their plan, they turned to the right. They walked on through dark woods,
and came to a smoother country, troubled little by rocks and underbrush.
The night was fully come, and the rain, that was still pouring out of a
black sky, was cold. They had paid no attention to it before except for
its concealment, but, as their figures relaxed after long effort, chill
struck into the bone. They had kept their rifles dry with their hunting
shirts, but now they took their blankets from the packs and wrapped them
about their shoulders. The blankets did not bring them warmth. Their
soaked clothing chilled them more and more.
They had become inured long since to all kinds of hardships, but one
cannot stand everything. Now and then a spurt of hail came with the
rain, and it beat in their faces, slipped between the blankets and down
their necks, making them shiver. Their weariness after so much exertion
made them all susceptible to the rain and cold. Finally Henry called a
halt.
"We must find shelter somewhere," he said. "If we don't, we'll be so
stiff in the morning we can't walk, and we'll be lucky to escape chills
and pneumonia, or something of that kind."
"That's right," said Shif'less Sol. "So we'll jest go into the inn,
which ain't more'n a hundred yards further on, git dry clothing, eat a
big supper, have a steaming hot drink apiece of something strong an'
then crawl in on feather beds with warm dry blankets over us. Oh, I'll
sleep good an' long! Don't you worry about that!"
"Solomon Hyde," said Long Jim Hart indignantly, "ef you don't stop
talkin' that way I'll hit you over the head with the barrel uv my rifle.
I'm cold enough an' wet enough already without you conjurin' up happy
dreams an' things that ain't. Them contrasts make me miserabler than
ever, an' I'm likely to get wickeder too. I give you fair warning'."
"All right," replied Shif'less Sol resignedly. "I wuz jest tryin' to
cheer you up, Jim, but a good man never gits any reward in this world,
jest kicks. How I wish that rain would stop! I never knowed such a cold
rain afore at this time o' the year."
"We must certainly find some sort of shelter," Henry repeated.
They searched for a long time, hoping for an alcove among the rocks or
perhaps a thick cluster of trees, but they found nothing. Several hours
passed. The rain grew lighter, and ceased, although the clouds remained,
hiding the moon. But the whole forest was soaked. Water dripped from
every twig and leaf, and the five steadily grew colder and more
miserable. It was nearly midnight when Henry spied the gleam of water
among the tree trunks.
"Another spring," he said. "What a delightful thing to see more water.
I've been fairly longing for something wet."
"Yes, and the spring has been rained on so much that the steam is rising
from it," said Paul.
"That's so," said Jim Hart. "Shore ez you live thar's a mist like a
smoke."
But Henry looked more closely and his tone was joyous as he spoke.
"Boys," he said, "I believe we're in luck, great luck. I think that's a
hot spring."
"So do I," said Shif'less Sol in the same joyous tone, "an' ef it is a
hot spring, an' it ain't too almighty hot, why, we'll all take pleasant
hot baths in it, go to bed an' sleep same ez ef we wuz really on them
feather beds in that inn that ain't."
Sol approached and put his hand in the water which he found warm, but
not too hot.
"It's all that we hoped, boys," he exclaimed joyfully. "So I'm goin' to
enjoy these baths of Lucully right away. After my bath I'll wrap myself
in my blanket, an' ez the rain hez stopped I'll hang out my clothes to
dry."
It was really a hot spring of the kind sometimes found in the West. The
water from the base of a hill formed a large pool, with a smooth bottom
of stone, and then flowed away in a little brook under the trees.
It was, indeed, a great piece of luck that they should find this hot
bath at a time when it was so badly needed. The teeth of both Paul and
Sol were chattering, and they were the first to throw off their clothes
and spring into the pool.
"Come right in and be b'iled," exclaimed the shiftless one. "Paul has
bragged of the baths o' Caracally but this beats 'em."
There were three splashes as the other three hit the water at once. Then
they came out, rolled themselves lightly in the warm blankets, and felt
the stiffness and soreness, caused by the rain and cold, departing from
their bodies. A light wind was blowing, and their clothes, hung on
boughs, were beginning already to dry. An extraordinary sense of peace
and ease, even of luxury, stole over them all. The contrast with what
they had been suffering put them in a physical heaven.
"I didn't think I could ever be so happy, a-layin' 'roun' in the woods
wrapped up in nothin' but a blanket," said Shif'less Sol. "I guess the
baths o' Rome that Paul tells about wuz good in their day, which wuz a
mighty long time ago, but not needin' 'em ez bad ez we did, mebbe, them
Roman fellers didn't enjoy 'em ez much. What do you say to that, Paul,
you champion o' the ancient times which hev gone forever?"
The only answer was a long regular breathing. Paul had fallen asleep.
"Good boy," said Shif'less Sol, sympathetically, "I hope he'll enjoy his
nap."
"Hope the same fur me," said Long Jim, "'cause I'm goin' to foller him
in less than two minutes."
Jim Hart made good his words. Within the prescribed time a snore, not
loud nor disagreeable, but gentle and persistent, rose on the night air.
One by one the others also fell asleep, all except Henry, who forced
himself to keep awake, and who was also pondering the question of
Timmendiquas. What were the great chief's plans? What vast scheme had
been evolved from the cunning brain of that master Indian? And how were
the five--only five--to defeat it, even should they discover its nature?
The light wind blew through all the rest of the night. The foliage
became dry, but the earth had been soaked so thoroughly with water that
it remained heavy with damp. The night was bright enough for him to
observe the faces of his comrades. They were sleeping soundly and
everyone was ruddy with health.
"That was certainly a wonderful hot bath," said Henry to himself, as he
looked at the pool. He moved a little in his blanket, tested his muscles
and found them all flexible. Then he watched until the first tinge of
gray appeared in the east, keeping his eyes upon it, until it turned to
silver and then to rose and gold, as the bright sun came. The day would
be clear and warm, and, after waiting a little longer, he awakened the
others.
"I think you'd better dress for breakfast," he said.
Their clothing was now thoroughly dry, and they clothed themselves anew,
but breakfast was wholly lacking. They had eaten all the venison, and
every man had an aching void.
"The country hez lots o' deer, o' course," said Shif'less Sol, "but jest
when you want one most it's pretty shore that you can't find it."
"I'm not so certain about that," said Henry. "When you find a hot spring
you are pretty likely to find a mineral spring or two, also, especially
one of salt."
"And if it's salt," finished Paul, "we'll see the deer coming there to
drink."
"Sound reasonin'," said Tom Ross.
They began the search. About a hundred yards east of the hot spring they
found one of sulphur water, and, two hundred yards further, one of salt.
Innumerable tracks beside it showed that it was well patronized by the
wilderness people, and the five, hiding in a clump of bushes at a point
where the wind would not betray them, bided their time. Some small
animals came down to drink at the healing salt spring, but the five did
not pull a trigger. This was not the game they wanted, and they never
killed wantonly. They were waiting for a fine fat deer, and they felt
sure that he would come. A great yellow panther padded down to the
spring, frightening everything else away and lapped the water greedily,
stopping now and then for suspicious looks at the forest. They longed to
take a shot at the evil brute, and, under the circumstances, everyone of
the five would have pulled the trigger, but now none did so. The panther
took his time, but finally he slunk back into the forest, leaving the
salt spring to better wilderness people than himself.
At last the sacrifice came, a fat and splendid stag, walking proudly and
boldly down to the pool. He sniffed the morning air, but the wind was
not blowing from the fire toward him, and, with no feeling of danger,
he bent down his regal head to drink. The five felt regret that so noble
an animal must give his life for others, but hunger was hunger and in
the wilderness there was no other way. By common consent they nodded
towards Henry, who was the best shot, and he raised his rifle. It
reminded him of the time far back, when, under the tutelage of Tom Ross,
he had shot his first stag. But now, although he did not say it to
himself or even think of it, he was Tom Ross' master in all the arts of
hunting, and in mind as well.
Henry pulled the trigger. The stag leaped high into the air, ran a few
yards, fell and was still. They dressed his body quickly, and in a half
hour Long Jim Hart, with all the skill and soul of a culinary artist was
frying strips of deer meat over the coals that Shif'less Sol had
kindled. There was danger of Indians, of course, but they kept a sharp
watch, and as they ate, they neither saw nor heard any sign.
"It is pretty sure," said Henry, "that no savage was lingering about
when I fired the rifle, because we would have heard something from him
by this time."
"You are shorely right," said Shif'less Sol. "Jim, give me another
strip. My appetite hez took a fresh hold ez I'm eatin' now with a free
mind."
"Here you are, Sol," said Long Jim. "It's a pow'ful pleasure to me to
see you eat my cookin'. The health an strength uv a lazy man like you
who hez been nourished by my hand is livin' proof that I'm the best cook
in the woods."
"We all give you that credit, Jim," said Shif'less Sol contentedly.
After breakfast they took with them as large a supply of the meat as
they could carry with convenience and regretfully left the rest to the
wolves and panthers. Then they began their journey toward the Wyandot
village. Their misadventure and their long flight from the terrible
hound had not discouraged them in the least. They would return directly
to the storm center and keep watch, as well as they could, upon the
movements of Timmendiquas and his allies.
But they chose another and more easterly course now and traveled all day
through beautiful sunshine and a dry forest. Their precautions of the
night before had served them well, as the rain and cold left no trace of
ill, and their spirits rose to heights.
"But thar's one thing we've got to guard ag'in'," said Shif'less Sol. "I
don't want to be tracked by any more dogs. Besides bein' dangerous, it
gives you a creepy uncomf'table feelin'."
"We'll keep a good watch for them," said Henry.
As they saw no reason for haste, they slept in the woods another night,
and the next night thereafter they approached the Indian village. They
hung about it a long time, and, at great risk, discovered that a new
movement was on foot. Timmendiquas would soon depart for a journey
further into the North. With him would go the famous chiefs, Yellow
Panther of the Miamis, and Red Eagle of the Shawnees, and the renegades,
Simon Girty, Braxton Wyatt and Blackstaffe. They would have a retinue of
a hundred warriors, chosen from the different tribes, but with
precedence allotted to the Wyandots. These warriors, however, were
picked men of the valley nations, splendidly built, tall, lean and full
of courage and ferocity. They were all armed with improved rifles, and
every man carried a tomahawk and hunting knife. They were also amply
supplied with ammunition and provisions.
The five having watched these preparations by night when they could come
close to the village, considered them carefully as they lay in a dense
covert. So far they had not been able to discover anything that would
indicate the intention of Timmendiquas, except that he would march
northward, and there were many guesses.
"I'm thinking that he will go to Detroit," said Henry. "That's the
strongest British post in the West. The Indians get their arms and
ammunition there, and most of the raids on Kentucky have been made from
that point."
"Looks ez likely ez anything to me," said Shif'less Sol, "but I'm
guessin' that ef Timmendiquas goes to Detroit he won't stop there. He's
a big man an' he may then go westward to raise all the tribes o' the
Great Lakes."
"It may be so," said Henry.