WOLVES IN THE TIMBER
"LET me light the pile, Dick," Roger pleaded, after they had made
sufficient preparation.
They had selected only dry wood for various reasons. In the first
place, this would burn more readily, and thus throw off the heat they
wanted in order to dry their clothes. At the same time it was likely to
make little smoke that could be seen by the eyes of any hostile Indians
who might be within a mile or so of the spot.
Boys who lived in those pioneer days always carried flint and steel
along with them, in order to kindle a blaze when necessary. Had these
been lacking, Roger, no doubt, would have been equal to the occasion,
for he could have flashed some powder in the pan of his gun, and thus
accomplished his purpose. (Note 2.)
In a short time Roger, being expert in these lines, succeeded, by the
use of flint and steel, as well as some fine tinder, which he always
carried along with him in his ditty bag, in starting a fire.
The wood blazed up and sent out a most gratifying heat, so that both
boys, by standing as close as they could bear it, began to steam, very
much after the manner of some of the warm geysers, during the stated
periods when they were not spouting, that the lads had looked upon in
the Land of Wonders.
"What shall we do about the boat?" asked Roger, when they found that
they were by degrees getting dry, though it took a long time to
accomplish this desired end.
"I was thinking about that," his cousin told him. "It is not worth
while for us to try to patch the hole, because we expect to abandon it
very soon. Captain Lewis asked us to be with him in his boat. We had
better leave it here, and perhaps they may send a couple of Indians
down to fetch it to camp."
"You mean, Dick, if the captain wishes to see for himself the mark of
the treacherous knife blade?"
"Which I think he will want to do, so as to settle it in his own mind,"
returned the other. "This is, after all, the most terrifying thing that
has as yet happened to us on our long journey up here into the heart of
the wilderness."
"That is just it, Dick. Open foes I can stand, because you know what
to expect; but it gives me a creep to think of some unknown person
standing ready to stab us in the dark, or when our backs are turned.
Perhaps, after all, we did wrong to decide on staying with Captain
Lewis and Captain Clark, when we might have gone on home with Mayhew,
carrying that precious paper."
"Oh! I wouldn't look at it that way, Roger," said the other, striving
to cheer him up, for Roger was subject to sudden fits of depression.
"Just think of all the wonderful things we have seen while here; and
then remember that there are still other strange sights awaiting us in
the Land of the Setting Sun."
"Yes, that's so, Dick, and both of us decided that the chance to look
upon the great ocean was one not to be lightly cast aside."
"We've been lucky so far," Dick told his chum, "and succeeded in
everything we have undertaken; so even this new trouble mustn't upset
us. By keeping a sharp lookout we can expect to learn who the traitor
is, and after that he will be forced to leave the party. And if that
Lascelles is around here again he will have to look out for himself.
Anyhow," he added after a pause, "we have gone too far now to turn
back, no matter whether we made a mistake or not."
"Yes, and as my father used to say," continued Roger, "'what can't
be cured must be endured.' We have made our bed, and must lie in it,
no matter how hard it may seem. I'm going to believe just as you do,
Dick--that the same kind fate that has always watched over us in times
past is still on duty."
He glanced upward toward the blue sky as he said this, and Dick knew
what he intended to imply; for boys in those days were reared in a
religious atmosphere in their humble homes, and early learned to "trust
in the Lord; but keep their powder dry," as the Puritan Fathers used to
do.
"Our fathers often had to meet situations just as dangerous as any that
can come to us," continued Dick, "and they grappled them boldly and
came off victorious. So, from now on, we'll devote ourselves to finding
out whose was the unseen hand that held the knife with which our hide
boat was slashed so cleverly."
"How far are we from camp, do you think, Dick?"
"As the crow flies it may be five miles, though we came further than
that on the river," the other boy replied without any hesitation,
showing how completely he kept all these things in his mind, to be
utilized on short notice.
"We came down with a swift current," Roger admitted, "and it hardly
seemed as if we could have been an hour on the way. It will take us
some time to tramp back to camp, even if we take a short-cut to avoid
the bends in the river."
"What of that," asked Dick, "since we expected to spend a good part of
the day in paddling up the stream, after shooting the rapids? But, if
you are dry enough now, I think we had better make a start."
"Suppose we drag the boat into these bushes first, Dick," suggested
Roger.
"Not a bad idea either, for some passing Indian might think it worth
while to mend the hole and carry the boat off. We would like to have
Captain Lewis take a look at that knife mark, so as to prove our story.
He trusts all his men, and it is going to make him feel badly to know
that one among them has sold himself to an enemy."
Between them they carried the hide canoe in among the bushes, where it
was easily hidden away. Of course any one seeking it would readily
find its hiding-place; but at least it could not be seen by the
ordinary passer-by.
Having accomplished this, the two lads set forth to cover the ground
lying between their landing place on the shore of the river, below the
rapids, and the camp of the explorers.
They anticipated no trouble in finding their goal, because of their
familiarity with woods life. Besides, in their numerous hunting trips
during the past winter they had covered nearly all the territory around
that region, so that the chances of their getting lost were small
indeed.
"We may run across game on the way back, don't you think, Dick?"
suggested Roger, just after they had left the ashes of their late fire,
which had been dashed with water before they quitted the scene.
"You never can tell," came the reply; "there is always a chance to
sight a deer in this country. We got a number, you remember, within
three miles of camp while the snow was deep on the ground. And already
I have noticed signs telling that they use this section for feeding on
the early shoots of grass."
"Yes," added Roger, "tracks there have been in plenty. And as I live!
see here, where this tuft of reddish hair has caught on a pointed
piece of bark. I warrant you some buck rubbed himself against this tree
good and hard. I would like to have been within gunshot of the rascal
just then, for the marks are fresh, and I think they were made this
very morning."
This gave the two boys hope that they might at any minute run across
the deer and bring him down with a lucky shot. As fresh venison was
always welcome in the camp, such a possibility as this always spurred
them on to do their best. They liked to hear the cheery voice of
Captain Lewis telling them frankly that it had been a fortunate thing
for the whole expedition when he tempted Dick and Roger to remain and
see the enterprise through.
"Listen! what is all that noise ahead of us?" asked Roger, as a sudden
burst of snarling and half-suppressed howling was borne to their ears.
"Wolves, as sure as you live!" exclaimed Dick, frowning, for if there
was one animal upon which he disliked to waste any of his precious
ammunition, that beast was a wolf.
Ordinarily these animals are not to be feared when met singly, or even
in pairs; but, during the winter and early spring, they gather in
packs, in order to hunt the better for food, and at such times even
the boldest hunter dislikes running across them.
"They are certainly on the track of something," suggested Roger, as he
listened, and then, shrugging his broad shoulders, he continued. "Like
as not, it is that buck we were hoping to run across. A plague on the
pests! If I had my way, and could spare the ammunition, I'd shoot every
one of the lot!"
"Little good that would do," Dick told him; "because they run to
thousands upon thousands out on the plains and in the mountains where
we are heading. A dozen or two would be no more than a grain of sand on
that seashore we hope to set eyes on before snow flies again."
"But listen to them carrying on, Dick," continued the other, with
growing excitement. "Come to think of it, I never heard wolves make
those queer sounds when chasing a deer. You know they yap like dogs,
and almost bark. These beasts are acting like those creatures did when
they had me caught up in a tree, with my gun on the ground."
"Yes, I remember the time well enough," chuckled Dick. "You were
mighty glad to see a fellow of my heft, too, when I came along. Twenty
hours up a tree is no joke, when you've got a healthy appetite in the
bargain. But, just as you say, Roger, there is something queer about
the way they are carrying on."
"They're not chasing anything now, that's certain," asserted the other
positively; "because the sounds keep coming from the same place all the
time. Dick, perhaps the beasts may have some one treed for all we know.
They are savage with hunger, and would just as soon make a meal off a
hunter, red or white, as off a deer or a wounded buffalo."
"It happens to be right on our way to camp," remarked Dick, tightening
his grip on his long-barreled rifle, "so we can find out what's up
without going far out of our path."
This, of course, pleased Headstrong Roger, always in readiness for
adventure, it mattered little of what nature. He always maintained that
he had a long-standing debt against the tribe of _lupus_ on account of
that terrible fast mentioned by his cousin, and, although powder and
ball were not too plentiful, he seldom failed to take a shot at his
four-footed enemies when the chance came to him.
So now he fancied that he would end the prowling of at least one
red-tongued woods rover. Certainly he could spare a single charge, and
it would give him more satisfaction than almost anything else. You see,
Roger had rubbed the old sore when he spoke of that bitter experience
in the past, and it smarted again venomously.
As they pushed steadily on, the sounds increased in volume. They could
even hear the thud of heavy bodies falling back to the ground after
frantic leaps aloft, as though endeavoring to reach some tempting
object among the branches of a tree.
Then Roger, who had the keenest eyesight of the pair, muttered:
"There, I can just begin to see them through the trees and brush
yonder, Dick; and, as we believed, they have some human being treed, or
else are trying to force conclusions with a panther, which would be a
strange thing, to be sure."
"We'll soon know," the other whispered, "for it's only a little way.
Yes, I can see them jumping up, just as you say. Roger, fasten your
eyes on the tree above, and tell me what that dark object is."
A minute later, as they still kept pushing forward, Roger uttered a low
cry.
"Well, after all, it's an Indian brave up there. And he's already
shot a number of the brutes with his arrows; but I reckon his stock
has given out. He tries to strike them as they jump at him, using his
knife. And, Dick, I can see now that he isn't a Mandan Indian at all,
but more likely one of those Sioux who, under their sub-chief, Beaver
Tail, did us such a good turn last fall, when we saved Jasper Williams
from the French traders. But what can a Sioux warrior be doing here, in
the land of his foes, the Mandans?"
[Illustration: "'HE TRIES TO STRIKE THEM AS THEY JUMP AT HIM'"]