WAITING AND HOPING.
It would be hard to measure the effect of the little achievement of Jack
Carleton upon the Indians who held him captive. He had pronounced the
name of the chieftain with such clearness that every one recognized it.
After all it was no great exploit, and it may have been the red men
feigned a goodly portion of the astonishment they seemed to feel.
Jack did not make any more essays in that direction, and a few minutes
later the vagabonds gave their principal attention to their pipes. One
of them gathered an armful of brush and flung it on the fire; and
another, rising to his feet, turned his back toward the blaze with his
hands together behind him, as though the warmth was very pleasant. While
he stood thus, he held the stem of his pipe in his mouth and looked
absently at the boy, who could not see the face of the red man with much
distinctness, as it was in shadow.
The fuel just thrown on the flames increased the warmth to such a degree
that those who were the nearest shifted their position. The warrior who
was on his feet stepped forward a single pace, and was still standing in
his idle fashion with his hands half folded behind him, when a spark
flew outward with a snap, and dropped down the neck of the unsuspicious
red man. When he felt the burn, like the thrust of a big needle, he
sprang several feet in the air, and began frantically clutching at the
tormenting substance. The second or third attempt secured the spark,
which clung to his hand, burning his fingers to that extent that he
emitted a rasping exclamation, bounded upward, and by a particularly
vigorous flirt of his hand freed it of the spark, which then expired of
itself.
As I have said, no man has less humor in his composition than the North
American Indian, and yet it is not by any means lacking in him. It
assumes odd forms at times, and too often seems based on the physical
suffering of some person or animal; but in the instance of which I am
speaking, every one of the spectators was filled with mirth. The
laughter shook them from head to foot, though with all its vigor it
could not have been heard fifty feet away.
Jack Carleton had been so long depressed that something like a reaction
came over him. He threw his head back and the woods rang with his hearty
mirth as they never rang before. If there was any one else within half a
mile, he must have wondered what all the uproar meant.
The cause of this amusement conducted himself very much like a civilized
being. When he had rubbed the blistered spot on the back of his neck
with the scorched hand, he glared angrily at the others, as if he saw no
adequate cause for the unusual mirth; then when it broke out afresh, he
made a weak attempt to join in, but failing to do so, he sullenly seated
himself on the ground and looked as glum as a man meditating some wicked
deed.
All at once, he turned toward Jack Carleton with such a fierce scowl
that the boy was sobered. He believed with reason that the Indian was
ready to leap upon him with his knife, punishing him in that dreadful
manner for the provocation he felt toward the rest.
"I guess I have laughed enough," was the prudent thought of the boy,
who straightway tried to look as if he sympathized with the red man for
his slight misfortune.
Jack could not tell how well he succeeded in imparting a pitying
expression to his countenance, but all disposition to laugh at the
warrior's mishap had departed, and it is not improbable that the youth
owed his life to the fact.
Although the overflowing mirth soon ended, there were a number of smiles
on the faces of the warriors for a long time afterward, doubtless caused
by the remembrance of the laughable performance earlier in the evening.
As the halt was for the night, the boy could hardly suppress his
curiosity to see what shape matters would take. His strong hope was that
he would be allowed to lie where he then sat, and that none of the
warriors would arrange it so he could not change his position without
awaking him.
It looked as if the prayer of Jack was to be granted. More wood was
thrown on the fire, and the Indians took but a brief time to dispose
themselves for slumber. The pipes were laid away, their guns examined,
and each placed his weapon alongside of him, as though it was his
intimate friend, from whose body he expected to obtain the warmth to
keep him comfortable through the night. The savage who held Jack's gun
was the only silent and reserved member of the party. The boy had heard
him utter less than half a dozen words since the journey began. He was
shorter and more squatty than the others, and his whole aim in life
appeared to be a desire to please Ogallah, their chief. During the
hilarity that reigned a short time before, he had grinned at his
companion, but his mirth was less hearty than that of the rest.
The blankets were spread out on the leaves to their fullest extent, and
then the warriors lay down, with their backs against each other and
their moccasins pointing toward the fire. Then the covering was gathered
up in front of each and flung over behind, where the folds interlapped,
all that remained visible being a part of the black hair and the
feathers in the crowns of the warriors, who seemed to find not the least
difficulty in breathing with their heads swathed and bandaged up like a
wounded limb.
Two couples were thus formed, who were separated by the space of six or
eight feet, while a rod beyond burned the camp-fire against the shaggy
trunk of the oak. The intervening area and some distance away was
lighted by the flames which had eaten into the bark, until the solid
wood beneath was charred and blackened by the heat. Ogallah, the chief,
strode to a point midway between the fire and the couples, flung his
blanket on the ground, and, pointing down to it, motioned to Jack
Carleton to come forward and use it for his couch.
This was not the most agreeable order to receive, but it might have been
much worse, and he obeyed with a readiness that looked genuine, though
it could not have been entirely so. Jack nodded to the chief, as he took
his seat and gathered the heavy folds around him, lay down on his right
side, with his face toward the fire. Ogallah looked at the lad, whose
knees almost touched his chin, and muttering to himself, walked back to
the oak and sat with his back against it, his feet close to his body and
his arms folded in front.
The chief was about one-fourth of the way around the oak from the
camp-fire, so that the light revealed his entire left side, and his not
very attractive profile, the whole being thrown against the blank
darkness beyond, which shut the rest of his body from view. This
proceeding indicated that Ogallah meant to act the part of sentinel
while his warriors slept. He did not require the blanket, as would have
been the case had he lain down to slumber, and he was magnanimous
enough, therefore, to turn it over the captive, who would have been as
well pleased never to touch it.
It cannot be supposed that the sachem and his warriors were in any fear
of disturbance during the darkness, for they were in a country with
which they were familiar, and they knew no dangerous enemies were within
many miles of them. Had they met a party belonging to another tribe,
more than likely the two, as a matter of principle, would have fallen
upon each other like so many tigers; but none of their own race was
hunting for them, and the white settlers were altogether out of the
question. But the possibility of peril--remote though it might
be--always hangs over the hunter, as indeed it does over us all, and the
red men had no thought of trusting themselves to slumber without one of
their number standing guard over the rest.
Sleep is so insidious in its approach that the sentry, as a usual thing,
can only fight it off by incessant action. So long as he paces back and
forth, his senses stay with him, but when he sits down a minute or so to
rest, unconsciousness is sure to come. But Ogallah would not have
assumed the easy position had he not felt sure of his self-control. It
will be perceived that he had so placed himself that he had a perfect
view of the camp, while he could see all that was possible of the
surrounding gloom. If required, he could use the oak as a shield, and
only a slight signal was needed on his part to rouse the sleeping
warriors to instant wakefulness.
"Now, if he keeps awake," thought Jack Carleton, peeping through the
folds of his blanket with his half-closed eyes, "it don't look as though
there will be much chance for me, but if he drops into a doze I may slip
off, and I won't need much of a start to get away from him."
The most natural query would be as to which was more likely to fall
asleep--the Indian or the boy. Ordinarily a youngster like Jack would
have been no match for the warrior, who had been trained to privation,
suffering, hardship, self-denial and watchfulness from his earliest
infancy; but it need not be said that the state of one's mind has
everything to do with his ability to slumber and secure rest therefrom.
Ogallah was mentally quiet; he had gone through a severe tramp, but no
more so than had been the case hundreds of times, and he was accustomed
to sleep at that hour. Such was the case also with Jack Carleton, but he
was in a fever of hope and nervousness, which made it hard for him to
hold his eyes partly closed in his effort to counterfeit
unconsciousness. It was accepted as a matter of course that the four
warriors who were lying down would speedily glide into the land of
dreams, since such was their wish. Slight as is the noise which is
sufficient to rouse a sleeping Indian, young Carleton would have felt no
misgiving respecting those so near him; it was Ogallah, the sentinel
chieftain, whom he feared.
"If he suspects that I mean to try something of the kind," was the
conclusion of Jack, "he will not close his eyes any longer than to wink.
But I'll watch him."
This task which the boy set himself was of the most trying nature. Had
his mind been composed he would have fallen asleep within five minutes,
but he was never more wide awake in all his life than he was two hours
after he had lain down with the Indian blanket wrapped about him, and
his face toward the camp-fire.
During that period, so far as he was able to see, the Indian had not
moved so much as a muscle, and Jack himself had done very little more.
Lying on his right side, with his arm doubled under him for a pillow,
the cumbrous blanket enclosing him from head to foot, an irregular
opening in front of his face allowed him to peer through the folds at
the camp-fire, the oak, and the chieftain. The last still sat leaning
slightly backward, with his shoulders against the trunk, his arms folded
over his knees, while he seemed to be gazing off into vacancy. The heels
of his moccasins remained close against the thighs, so that the form of
the Indian bore quite a resemblance to the letter N.
The flickering light from the camp-fire disclosed as it did at first,
the side and profile of the chieftain. Gradually the flames sank lower
and there came moments when the sentinel was scarcely visible. Then,
all at once, the fire would flare up for a few seconds and the figure
would be in brighter relief than before. Again the eyes of Jack would
rebel against the extreme tension to which they were subjected. The
Indian, instead of remaining with his back against the oak, would seem
to be hitching forward and upward in the most grotesque fashion. After
bumping about in the air for a time, he would sink, still bumping, to
the ground, where he would hitch backward to his place by the tree. Then
the latter, instead of standing as motionless as a rock, showed signs of
restlessness. It would begin by swaying back and forth until it too was
waltzing in an unearthly fashion around the camp-fire. Again the
surrounding gloom became studded with blinking stars, ogres and the most
grotesque figures, which performed in an indescribable fashion. Darkness
and light alternated, until the boy feared he was losing the power of
vision altogether; but it will be understood that this was the natural
protest of the eye against the painful and long continued strain to
which it was subjected.