"Some one a-watching us," he whispered. "Here, let's dive right in
among the trees and see."
But I held his arm, and we stood in that beautiful wild ravine,
listening to the rippling of the water, and peering in among the tall
pines, expecting to see the man who had made the sound.
"I say," whispered Esau, "I can't see or hear anything. Ain't it rather
rum?"
He said "rum," but he looked at me as if he thought it very terrible,
with the consequence that his fear was contagious, and I began to feel
uncomfortable as we kept looking at each other.
"Shall we run?" whispered Esau.
At another time such an idea would not have occurred to him. The forest
and the streams that run up the valleys were always solitary, but we
felt no particular dread when going about, unless we saw the footmarks
of bears. But now that we were in possession of the secret of the gold,
the same idea of our being watched impressed us both, and we turned cold
with fear, and all because we had heard that faint blow on the ground.
I don't know whether I looked pale as I stood by Esau, when he asked me
if we should run, but I do know that the next moment I felt utterly
ashamed of myself, and in the reaction--I suppose to conceal my shame
for my cowardice--I struck Esau heavily on the shoulder and made a false
start.
"Run--run--the Fort!" I cried. Esau bounded off, and I hung back
watching him till he turned to see me standing there laughing, when he
stopped short, looking at me curiously, and then came slowly to where I
was.
"What did you say run for?" he cried, angrily.
"You asked me if you should," I replied.
"Then there ain't no one coming?"
"No."
"What a shame!" he cried. "It's too bad."
"Yes, for us to be frightened at nothing. Do you know what that noise
was?"
"No, I don't know."
"It was a squirrel dropped a nut or a fir-cone. Why, it's just the same
noise as you hear in the country at home when they drop an acorn."
"Then why didn't you say so? I've never been in no countries where
squirrels shies nuts and acorns at people. I've always seen 'em in
cages spinning round and round."
"That's what it was, Esau. There's nobody watching. Now then, how are
you going to mark the tree?"
He looked at me rather sulkily, but began to smile directly, as he drew
his keen-edged knife across the trunk of the great tree upon which he
was going to operate before. Then, making a parallel incision close to
the first, he produced a white streak where he removed the bark.
"Well," I said, "that's as bad as anything."
"No, it ain't: wait a bit," he said; and carving away at the thick bark,
he made four deep incisions at one end so as to form an arrow-head, and
eight at the other end for the feathering of the arrow, so that when he
had ended there was a rough white arrow on the red bark pointing down
the river, and of course in the direction of the Fort.
"There!" he said, triumphantly. "No brave will think that means gold in
the stream, will he?"