AN INVOLUNTARY BATH.
It was not to be supposed that a party of Indians could be checked by a
stream of water. If necessary they could swim across, but, inasmuch as
the party separated, and while several went up, the rest walked down the
stream, it was evident they were searching for a more suitable spot in
which to make the passage.
Jack Carleton followed the larger party, which had gone only a few rods
when a whoop from the others made known they had found what was wanted.
The rest immediately turned around and joined them.
Jack saw at once that the means were provided for passing over dry shod.
A tree, some six or eight inches in diameter, lay with the butt on one
shore and the upper portion on the opposite bank. A glance showed that
it had been felled by the axe of some pioneer, who probably thus formed
a bridge for himself and friends. The limbs had been trimmed away, and
the abraded bark proved that it had served a similar purpose for many
wild beasts in passing to and fro. The faded color of the gashes in the
trunk showed that a long time had passed since the bridge was made by
the woodman's axe.
Nothing better could be required, and several grunts of satisfaction
escaped the warriors during the minute they stood together viewing the
support that awaited the pressing of their feet.
Jack Carleton stepped forward, but one of the Indians grasped his arm
and drew him back so violently as almost to throw him to the ground. The
boy looked wonderingly in his face, and saw that it was aglow with
passion. He shook his head rapidly and spoke fast and furious.
"I think I can guess what you mean," said Jack, stepping back, so as to
allow the others to precede him, "and I will now await your commands."
He stood still until three had gone over, when they beckoned him to
follow. Jack had noticed that when the Indians were walking on the log,
they were obliged to move carefully, for their foothold was narrow and
the swift running current was apt to make one dizzy. The lad, however,
stepped forward without hesitation and advanced slowly but with
certainty.
The three warriors, who stood facing him on the shore, showed that like
Deerfoot the Shawanoe, they possessed a certain vein of waggery, for at
the moment Jack was over the middle of the stream, one of them stooped,
and, grasping the head of the trunk, moved it quickly fully a couple of
feet to the right, all three bursting into an audible snicker at the
same moment. The lad was looking downward, meanwhile stepping carefully,
when he glanced across to learn the meaning of the action, the stooping
Indian being in his field of vision.
Jack understood the trick, but he was without the means of defeating it.
He stooped quickly with the intention of grasping the support with both
hands, but before he could do so, he lost his balance, flung his arms
aloft, and down he went with a loud splash that sent the spray flying in
all directions.
No audience of countrymen ever laughed more heartily at the ancient
jokes of a clown than did the five Indians when the boy disappeared
under the water, his eyes staring with the shock of affright which came
with his sudden contact with the current.
Jack was a capital swimmer, and he was satisfied there was no wish to
drown him; but he had scarcely passed below the surface, when it
occurred to him that there was a possibility of turning the jest upon
his captors. The water was very deep, and he kept sinking until his feet
softly touched the bottom. As he gave himself the slight impulse which
sent him upward again, he not only swam swiftly with the rapid current,
but moved as close to shore as possible, and began creeping up the side
of the bank.
In doing this, he over-estimated his own strength. It took him a longer
time to reach the surface than he calculated upon, and he narrowly
escaped strangling; but he resolutely held out to the last second.
At the moment the rushing waters seemed to roar through his brain, his
crown cleft the surface, and he drew a deep inspiration of the blessed
air; but, even in that trying moment, he kept his self-possession, and
the breath was taken so softly that no ear beside his own knew it.
He had emerged close to shore and directly under some overhanging brush,
which was not so dense as he could wish, since he was able to see the
warriors standing on the land and looking for him. It followed,
therefore, that if they should scrutinize the bank very closely they
would discover him; but the boy's hope lay in their lack of suspicion
that such an artifice was in his mind.
Several circumstances united to help the youth; the water was roiled, as
has already been said, while the friction of the swift current against
the shore made a noise which overcame the slight ripple caused by his
own movements. Only his nose and eyes were kept above the surface, and
the shrubbery which inclosed them made a tolerable screen, though less
effective than he desired.
Jack had landed, as may be said, a dozen yards below the log from which
he had been thrown and on the side from which he set out, consequently
he was opposite the five Indians who stood on the shore. He was led to
do this from a natural desire to get as far away as he could from his
captors, but it was a mistake on his part, for had he crawled under the
other bank he would have been hidden altogether from the sight of the
Indians.
Holding to a wire-like root with his left hand, he swung around so as to
face up stream, and, through the slight spaces in the shrubbery kept his
eyes fixed intently on the brawny red men.
[Illustration: A NARROW ESCAPE.]
Very soon the warriors looked at each other, and talked rapidly and with
growing excitement. There could be no doubt they were discussing the
unexpected shape matters had taken; the joke played on their captive had
proven a very serious matter to him. It must have been that the
pale-faced youth was unable to swim and was drowned. The white warrior
was a pappoose.
"By and by they will make search for me," was the thought of Jack
Carleton, still retaining his hold, "and then will come the tug of war.
It won't be the live boy they'll expect to find, but his dead body,
bobbing up and down and back and forth, and yet I don't see why they
will care to hunt me up."
Whatever might be the issue, Jack was warranted in feeling hopeful, for
he was sure the incident had taken a turn entirely unexpected to the
warriors.
"If I had only floated a little further down stream," he thought more
than once, noticing a sharp bend made by the current, "I would have been
in a good deal better situation than this, for I would have been out of
their sight altogether."
Several times he was on the point of letting go and dropping further
down, but he dreaded some mistake which would draw attention to the
spot. If he should try to swim under the surface, he might be forced to
come up too soon, or might strike some obstruction in the stream that
would fling him over as though he was a porpoise. It was the fear of a
catastrophe of this nature which held him where he was, while he peered
through the shrubbery like some wild animal glaring out from his covert
upon his enemies.
The face of every Indian was in sight, and he studied the expression of
each broad, coppery countenance. He knew they were talking by the
movements of the thin lips, and, despite the noise of the rushing
stream, he heard one of them grunt several times. This particular
warrior was shorter and more solidly built than the rest, and appeared
to be some kind of a leader, for he had the most to say, and the boy
noticed, while on the march, that he directed the actions of the rest.
This Indian, as he stood, held his rifle in his right hand, while the
thumb of his left was hooked over the belt at his waist, which supported
his knife and tomahawk. His stomach protruded somewhat, and, when he
spoke in his sententious manner, the belt would rise and sink in a
spasmodic fashion which kept time with his words.
Jack kept close watch of the black eyes, which, like those of
professional hunters and scouts, were never at rest. They flitted hither
and thither, up and down stream and even to the rear, as though danger
were apprehended from that direction.
What the boy was expecting and dreading was a search on the part of the
Indians. None could know better than they how brief a time is required
for a person to drown, and they were not long in arriving at the
conclusion that the boy either was dead, or had left the stream at a
point below. Three savages walked hastily over the creek on the log and
began moving along shore, their serpent-like eyes scanning every foot of
land and water that came in their field of vision. At the same time, the
other two did the same from the opposite shore, and Jack Carleton knew
that the crisis had come.
He felt quite secure against being seen by the two who were traveling
together, for he was able to dispose of the undergrowth so as to
increase its usefulness. While one hand held fast to the tough root, he
softly drew down the bush with the other, so that it interposed between
him and the couple who were held in such dread. If the others should
step to the edge of the stream and part the bushes, it would be all up
with the frightened lad.
The necessities of the case forced Jack to raise his head until both
ears were above the surface, and thus, while he employed his eyes to
follow the movements of the couple, he sought to use his ears to
discover the approach of the trio, though the rushing torrent forbade
full success in that respect.
The two warriors were in plain sight as they slowly picked their way
downward. Jack saw the upper parts of their bodies, and his heart
throbbed faster when they faced about and came down to the edge of the
water. However, they were still several yards above him, so that he was
quite certain they did not suspect his hiding-place. When they halted
and leaned over the stream, the fugitive gave no thought to those who
were undoubtedly much closer, but sank until only forehead, eyes and
nose were in the air, while the scanty bush was drawn still closer to
his face.
All at once, Jack's heart seemed to stand still; he saw that one of the
Indians was looking straight at the spot where he was in hiding. The
black orbs were centered upon him with such an inquiring expression,
that he was sure he had been discovered. All hope was gone, until a
moment after he observed that the savage was peering at the undergrowth
below him, as though suspicious of everything which could afford any
sort of a hiding-place.
"He didn't see me after all," was the conclusion of the delighted boy,
"and now if the others let me alone, I shall have a chance to give them
the slip."
Again the waists and shoulders of the two were observed moving slowly
among the trees and undergrowth, until they passed out of sight, a
considerable distance below the crouching fugitive. The relief of the
latter was unspeakable, though he could not forget that other foes were
also to be avoided.
But minute after minute passed, and still Jack saw and heard nothing of
the red men. With each passing minute his hopes rose, until at the end
of half an hour, he felt that his safety was well nigh secured.
"They have concluded I was drowned and my body is not likely to come to
the surface for some time--anyway not until it is a long way from this
spot. If they don't return, I'm safe."
But a thrill of alarm passed through him more than once, when he
recalled that the strategy he had employed was of such a simple nature
that it ought to suggest itself to the red men. If such was the case
they would be certain to return to the fallen tree, renew their search,
and prosecute it with greater care.
It was the dread of the latter which led Jack to creep carefully out of
the stream, after he had been in hiding perhaps half an hour. Of course
his clothing was saturated, and he had become chilled from his long
submersion, so that his teeth rattled, and he trembled in every limb.
Extended flat on the ground, he crawled with the utmost care until a
couple of rods from the water. Then he stopped and listened. He was so
far from the stream that its noise did not prevent him detecting any
slight noise which might have been made by some other cause, but he
heard nothing at all.
There was still considerable undergrowth around him, so that he felt
screened from the observation of any other Indians wandering in the
vicinity.
"They thought they were very cunning," muttered Jack, with a chuckle,
"when they tumbled me into the water, but I played a trick on them worth
two of their kind. I only wish there was some way of letting them know
how completely I have outwitted them----"
A cold shiver passed down the spine of Jack Carleton, when he distinctly
heard a guttural, grunting laugh behind him. Turning like a flash, he
saw the five Indian warriors from whom, up to that moment, he had
believed he was free, standing within a rod, and all grinning to an
extent that seemed to take the corners of their mouths around to their
ears.
The truth broke upon Jack: the red men had never lost sight of him,
except for the moment he was under the water. They knew where he was
when he supposed himself invisible, and they had been amusing themselves
at his expense.