TWO ACQUAINTANCES AND FRIENDS.
The question was settled. Nothing short of positive knowledge could have
led Deerfoot to change his mind as to the right course to pursue.
Stooping over, he picked up his hunting knife, thrust it in his girdle,
and strode down the slope in the direction of the camp, which he knew
was deserted early that morning. It was a long way to travel, but it was
nothing to the lissome warrior, who would have broken into a run could
he have felt any assurance of gaining any benefit by doing so.
Climbing around the boulders and rocks, leaping over chasms, pushing
through matted undergrowth, and turning aside only when forced to do so,
Deerfoot pressed to the southwest until three-fourths of the distance
was passed. Most of that time the shadowy vapor had been beyond sight,
for he did not take the trouble to look for it when the intervening
vegetation interfered. He could not make any mistake as to the right
course, and it was therefore unnecessary for him to take his bearings;
but now, when he knew he could not be far from his destination, he came
to the surface, as it may be said of a diver in an emerald sea, and
indulged in a deliberate survey of his surroundings.
The first glance at the camp caused his eyes to sparkle, for it conveyed
an interesting fact: instead of the smoke being so thin that it was
scarcely visible, it was much denser and more plenteous. That simply
showed that the camp was no longer a deserted one. Whoever had gone away
in the morning had returned, and was at that moment on the ground. More
than likely there were several of them, and, as the day was half gone,
they were preparing their noontide meal.
At any rate the Shawanoe was sure to find some one there, and he
hastened his footsteps, though he could feel but slight hope that
whatever he saw or learned would have a bearing on the business in which
his whole soul was engaged.
Deerfoot approached the camp with his usual caution, his supposition
being that a company of Indians were resting there for a brief time. If
they were Osages, or, indeed, any other tribe, except Hurons or
Wyandots, he would not hesitate to go forward and greet them, for there
ought to be no danger incurred in doing so. The same would be the case
with the whites, though some care might be necessary to convince them no
treachery was intended.
The first glimpse showed the Indian that only a single white man was
present. He was preparing dinner, the preliminary step being a stirring
of the smoldering camp-fire, which gave forth the tell-tale smoke. He
was a striking individual, though a stranger to Deerfoot.
The fire itself was small, and was burning in an open space where the
whole neighborhood served as a chimney. Several feet off was a
half-decayed log, on which the man was sitting, his elbows on his knees,
and a long stick held loosely in his hands. This he used as a poker, and
it served his purpose well. A close approach to the fire was apt to be
unpleasant on account of the heat, so he sat a short distance off, and
managed things in a comfortable fashion. Now and then he poked the
embers until the end of the vegetable poker broke into a blaze, when he
withdrew it and whipped it on the ground till the flame was put out. His
rifle leaned against an adjoining tree within easy distance, and the
short clay pipe in his mouth, from which he sent out an occasional puff,
added to his apparently peaceful frame of mind.
The striking point about the hunter was his magnificent physical
manhood. He was more than six feet high, with immense shoulders and
chest, an enormous beard of a coal black color, which grew almost to his
keen black eyes, and descended over his chest in a silken, wavy mass. He
was attired in the ordinary hunting costume of the border, and looked as
if he might be one of those men who had spent their lives in the
Louisiana wilderness, hunting and trapping animals for their peltries,
which were sold at some of the advanced posts of civilization.
Deerfoot suspected the man was the owner of a horse which must be in the
vicinity, for it was hardly likely that he would wander aimlessly around
in the mountains and woods for the mere sake of doing so, but no animal
could be seen, and without speculating long over the matter, the young
Shawanoe walked forward to the camp.
While doing so, the stranger was giving his full attention to the fire
and his culinary duties. The wood had burned until there were enough
coals, when he arose and raked them apart, so as to afford a surface of
glowing embers. Then he turned back and took up a huge slice of meat,
which had been skewered on the prongs of a long stick. Balancing this
very cleverly, he held the meat down until it was almost against the
crimson coals. He could have done the same with the blaze, but he
preferred this method.
Almost instantly the meat began to crisp and scorch and shrink, and to
give off an odor which would have tortured a hungry man. The cook
quickly exposed the other side to the heat, reversing several times,
when the venison was cooked in as appetizing a form as could be wished.
The man gave such close attention to his task that he never turned his
head to observe the figure of an Indian warrior standing only a rod or
two away. Having finished his work, he carefully spread the meat on some
green oak leaves, arranged on the log. Its size was such that it
suggested a door mat burned somewhat out of shape.
"There," said the hunter, with a contented expression, seating himself
as if to guard the prize against disturbance; "the boys can't growl over
that--hello, where'd _you_ come from?"
He had caught sight of Deerfoot, advancing noiselessly toward him, and
the man was startled (though he strove to conceal it) by the fact that
the other was nearer to his rifle than was the owner.
The Indian saluted him in his courteous fashion, and with a view of
removing his fears, walked on until the relative position of him and the
man were changed, and the latter was nearer his gun.
Then he paused, retaining his standing position, and with a slight
smile, said:
"Deerfoot is glad that his brother is not ill."
Undoubtedly that brother was relieved to find in case of dispute he
could reach his gun before the dusky youth, but he could hardly believe
the warrior voluntarily gave up the enormous advantage thus held for a
moment or two. Throwing his shoulders back, he looked straight in the
eyes of Deerfoot, and then rising to his feet, extended his hand. As if
conscious of his superior height, he towered aloft and looked down on
the graceful youth who met his gaze with a confiding expression that
would have won the heart of any one.
The abundant beard hid the mouth of the white man, but the movement of
the cheeks, the gathering wrinkles under the eyes, and the gleam of his
white teeth through the black meshes, showed he was smiling. Instead of
saluting in the usual fashion, he brought his hand down with a flourish,
and grasping the palm of the youth pressed it with a vigor which made
him wince.
"So you're Deerfoot, are you? I mean the young Shawanoe that used to
hunt through Kentucky and Missouri."
The Indian nodded his head to signify that he was the individual whom
the other had in mind.
"I'm Burt Hawkins--you remember me?" asked he, still pumping the arm of
Deerfoot, who was compelled to admit he had never before heard the name,
nor could he remember ever having looked upon his face.
"Well, you have done so, whether you remember it or not: three years
ago, which, I reckon, was about the time you began tramping through the
woods for the benefit of the white man, I was on a scout with Kenton and
some of the boys, over in Kentucky. We got caught in a blinding snow
storm, and all came near going under with a rush. Things got so bad that
Kenton said we would have to give up, for, tough as he was, he was
weakening. The snow was driving so hard you couldn't see six feet in
front of you. Cold! Well, the wind was of that kind that it went right
through your bones as though it was a knife. Night was coming on, and we
were in the middle of the woods, twenty miles from everywhere. The only
thing we could do was to let out a yell once in a while, and fire off
our guns. I don't think there was one among the five that had the first
grain of hope. Kenton was leading and I was at his heels; all I could
see was his tall figure, covered from head to foot with snow, as he
plodded along with the grit he always showed.
"The first thing I knowed some one j'ined us--a young, likely looking
Injin, which his name was Deerfoot. He had heard our guns and dropped
down from somewhere. You're grinning, old chap, so I guess there ain't
much use of telling the rest, 'cause you know it. I'll never forget how
you led us into that cave, where you had fixed up the logs and bark so
that no snow flakes couldn't get in. There was a fire burning, and some
buffalo meat cooking, and we couldn't have been better fixed if we had
been lodged with Colonel Preston at Live Oaks or in St. Louis."
"Deerfoot has not forgotten," said the smiling Indian, seating himself
beside Hawkins on the log; "but my brother did not look then as he looks
now."
Again the head of the trapper was thrown back, his white teeth shone
through his immense whiskers, the wrinkles gathered at the corner of his
eyes, and his musical laugh rang out from the capillary depths. Burt was
proud of his beard, as he well might be. Few people in those days wore
such an ornament, and those who did so were sure to attract attention.
"You talk like a level-headed gentleman, Deerfoot, for all this (here he
stroked the glossy whiskers) has grown since then. I shouldn't wonder if
it _did_ change my looks somewhat. You're a blamed smart redskin,
Deerfoot," added Burt, who seemed to be in high spirits; "but I don't
believe you can beat it."
It was the turn of Deerfoot to laugh, and he did so with much
heartiness, though without any noise.
"No; the hair of Deerfoot grows on his head; he would be sad if it
covered his face."
"So would I, for it would make a confounded queer looking creatur' of
you. I would like to see an Injin got up in that style; just think of
Tecumseh with a big mustache and whiskers! Beavers!"
The conceit was equally enjoyed by Deerfoot, who fairly shook with
mirth. He recalled the time when he confronted the mighty chieftain,
with drawn knife and compressed lips, and the picture of that terrible
being, with his face covered by whiskers, was a drop from the sublime to
the ridiculous, which would have brought a laugh to any one.
Burt Hawkins evidently held his visitor in esteem, for, reaching out his
horny hand, he gently passed his fingers over the cheek nearest him, and
then drew it across the chin.
"No; there's no beard there. It's as smooth as the cheeks of my little
five-year old Peggy at home. It always struck me as qu'ar that Injins
don't have beards, but I s'pose it's because the old fellows, several
thousand years ago, began plucking out the hairs that came on the face,
and their children have kept it up so long that it has discouraged the
industry in them regions. See?"
To assist Deerfoot to catch the force of his illustration, Burt gave him
several digs in the ribs. This familiarity would have been annoying
under most circumstances, but it was manifest from the manner of the
warrior that he rather enjoyed the effusiveness of the magnificent
fellow.
"Why is my brother in the woods alone?" he asked, when matters calmed
down.
"I can't say I'm exactly alone, Deerfoot, for Kit Kellogg and Tom
Crumpet ain't fur off, and that meat thar is gettin' cold waiting for
them to come and gobble it; if they ain't here in a few minutes you and
me will insert our teeth. We've been trappin' all winter down to the
south'rd and have got a good pile of peltries; we've got 'em gathered,
and loaded, too, and are on our way to St. Louis with 'em; warm weather
is comin', and the furs are beginnin' to get poor, so we shall hang our
harps on the willers till cold weather begins agin."
"My brothers are coming," said Deerfoot, quietly, referring to two other
hunters who at that moment put in an appearance.