KIDNAPPED
Being by this time, as they fondly imagined, thoroughly acquainted
with the white man's thunder-stick and with all details of the process
necessary to render it effective, our young Indians were determined
to leave undone nothing that might contribute to the complete success
of their proposed salute. To begin with, the musket must be pointed
away from the village, and they themselves must keep at a respectful
distance while it was accumulating its fiery energy. Also, to produce
an extraordinary volume of sound, the flame by which the thunder-stick
was fed must be big and hot. They knew this, because on the occasion of
their previous experiment they had, with the aid of a flame, produced
a much louder noise than that made by the white man's slow-matches.
Consequently they argued that the greater the flame the louder the
report.
At the same time they were willing to acknowledge that slow-matches
were excellent things to have under certain conditions, when, for
instance, one was so closely beset that he wished to fire with great
rapidity, even as many as two or three shots in the course of an hour.
So they were determined to obtain one at the very first opportunity,
and imagined that thus provided their shooting equipment would be
complete.
But a blaze would be much better for their present purpose, and they
would take care that it was big enough to produce an astonishing
result. So carefully did they make their preparations that while
Tasquanto collected dry wood for the fire, Nahma cut a couple of forked
sticks on which to rest the musket and drove them solidly into the
ground. To these he lashed the gun until it resembled a victim about
to be burned at the stake. He did not, of course, forget to place it
upside down, so that its firing-pan might receive full benefit of the
upleaping flames. Then wood was piled beneath it until it really looked
as though they were intent upon burning the gun instead of being merely
desirous of discharging it.
While they were making these preparations several of the villagers,
noticing the presence of strangers, came out to discover their
business. To these Tasquanto made the peace sign, and at the same time
warned them not to come too close. So they halted and watched with
curiosity the mysterious proceedings of the strangers.
At length all was in readiness, and Tasquanto, as principal owner
of the thunder-stick, claimed the privilege of setting fire to the
inflammable structure he had reared beneath it. As the brisk blaze shot
upward he ran back and joined Nahma at a safe distance. On the opposite
side were the village Indians, filled with uneasy expectancy mingled
with awe; for they imagined they were witnessing some impressive
religious ceremony.
The flames mounted higher and higher until they completely enveloped
the devoted musket, and Tasquanto, so excited as to be unconscious
of the act, clapped his hands to his ears to deaden the sound of the
thunderous report that he momentarily expected. But it did not come.
The wooden stock of the gun began to smoke, and then burst into a
blaze. Being very dry and also saturated with oil, it was speedily
consumed. At the same time the lashings burned through, and the red-hot
barrel, already bent out of shape, fell into the glowing coals.
As though drawn by an irresistible fascination, Tasquanto, with hands
still held to his ears, had moved nearer step by step, gazing with
incredulous eyes at this destruction of the thing he had regarded as a
god, loud-voiced and invincible. The puzzled spectators on the other
side also cautiously approached closer.
Suddenly Tasquanto, seeming to awake as from a dream, started down the
hill-side towards the canoe, and Nahma followed him. Both knew why they
fled. For some unexplained reason their expected triumph had resulted
in a dismal failure. This had laid them open to the ridicule that
an Indian finds especially hard to bear, and they had no wish to be
questioned concerning what had just taken place.
The spectators of their recent remarkable performance, curious to
see what they would do next, followed them so closely that, in order
to escape, our lads were forced to run. Gaining their canoe, they
shoved it off and leaped in as the foremost of their pursuers reached
the water's edge. Without heeding the many invitations to return that
quickly became threatening commands, Nahma and Tasquanto plied their
paddles with such diligence that they were quickly beyond arrow range;
and, speeding past the village without a pause, they were soon lost
to sight of its puzzled inhabitants. Not until they were some miles
farther down the river was a word exchanged between the young men.
Then, as Nahma drew in his paddle and paused for breath, he remarked,--
"The thunder-stick of the white man is bad medicine for bow-and-arrow
people."
"Yes," replied Tasquanto, mournfully, "it seems that we have much to
learn."
While in camp that night discussing the humiliating events of the day
they were joined by a solitary hunter who was on his way up the river.
After a guarded interchange of questions and answers, during which
neither party learned anything definite concerning the other, the
stranger told them of certain white men who were trading at the mouth
of the Penobscot, and advised them to carry their furs to that market.
"Are they Française?" asked Nahma, who was determined never again to
fall within the power of those who had so cruelly imprisoned him.
"No," was the reply, "they are of a people who call themselves
'Yengeese' and who make war on the white-coats."
"Have they thunder-sticks?" asked Tasquanto.
"In plenty."
"Then let us go to them. If we accomplish nothing else we may learn the
white man's secret, and so shall our shame be wiped out."
On the following day, therefore, a few hours carried our lads to where
the river broadened into a bay dotted with islands. As their little
craft was lifted on the first great swells that came rolling in from
the open sea, Nahma uttered an exclamation and pointed eagerly.
"Look!" he cried. "What is it? Was ever such a thing seen in the world
before?"
Tasquanto glanced in the direction indicated and laughed. Truly, the
sight was remarkable, and one still rare to those waters; but he had
already seen one so similar in the St. Lawrence that he could now speak
with the authority of superior knowledge.
"It is the winged canoe of the white man," he said. "In it he comes up
out of the great salt waters and after a little flies back again to his
own place. Knew you not that his whiteness is caused by the washing of
the waters in which he lives?"
"No," replied Nahma, doubtfully. "Nor did I know that any canoe could
be so vast. It even has trees growing from it."
"Yes," admitted the other, to whom this phenomenon was also a puzzle.
"But they be not trees that bear fruit, nor even leaves, though they
have branches and vines. On them the canoe spreads its wings, which are
white like the pinions of wembezee" (the swan).
"Let us go closer that we may see these things," said Nahma, to whom
the appearance of that little English trading-ship was as wonderful as
had been his first view of Quebec.
So they approached slowly and cautiously, feasting their eyes on the
marvel as they went, and directing each other's attention to a myriad
of details. Finally they were within hailing distance, and a man
standing on the ship's towering poop-deck beckoned for them to come on
board.
Tasquanto, who knew the etiquette of such occasions, held up a
beaver-skin, as much as to say "Will you trade?"
For reply the white man displayed some trinkets that glittered in the
sunlight, thereby intimating his willingness to transact business. At
the same time he turned to one who stood close at hand and said,--
"They be two young bucks, without old men, women, or children. Nor is
there another native in sight. It is therefore the best chance by far
that has offered for filling Sir Ferdinando's order. 'Twenty pounds
will I give thee, Dermer, for a native youth of intelligence delivered
here at Plymouth in good condition.' Those were his very words, and it
will be well to have two; for if one dies on the passage, as the cattle
are so apt to do, then will the other make good the loss. If both
survive, so much the better, since we can readily dispose of the extra
one. We must entice them on board, therefore, and the instant they
set foot on deck do thou see to it that they are secured. Be careful,
however, that they suffer no injury, for I would get them across in
good condition if possible."
"Aye, aye, sir," answered the other, who was mate of the ship. "If you
can toll 'em on board I'll handle them as they were unweaned lambs.
I'll warrant you they won't escape if once I get a grip on them,
slippery devils though they be."
When the canoe ran alongside the ship a few trinkets were tossed into
it as presents and in token of good-will. Then a ladder of rope was
lowered, and by signs our lads were invited to come on board.
They looked at each other doubtfully. "Is it safe to trust these white
men?" asked Nahma.
"To discover the secret of the thunder-sticks, and perhaps to obtain
one in exchange for our furs, is worth a risk," replied Tasquanto. As
he spoke he glanced longingly up to where the ship's captain, with a
leer on his face that passed for a reassuring smile, tempted them by a
lavish display of trade goods.
"Truly, it would be worth much," hesitated Nahma. "At the same time,
having once escaped from a prison, I have no desire to see the inside
of another."
"Then stay thou here while I go," said Tasquanto, whose desire to wipe
out his recent humiliation was so great as to overcome his prudence.
"The secret of the thunder-stick I must have even though it cost me my
life."
"Does my brother think so meanly of me as to believe that I would let
him face a danger alone while I remained in safety?" inquired Nahma,
reproachfully. "Let him go and I will follow close at his heels; for
whatever happens to one of us must happen to both."
So the canoe was made fast, the bundle of furs was attached to a line
let down for it, and Tasquanto began to climb the swaying ladder while
Nahma steadied it from below. As the former disappeared over the ship's
side the son of Longfeather followed swiftly after him. Topping the
high bulwarks, he glanced anxiously down in search of his comrade, but
Tasquanto was not to be seen. A suspicion of foul play darted into his
mind, but too late for him to act upon it, for at the same instant he
was seized by two pair of brawny hands and dragged inboard.
Half an hour later the ship under full canvas was speeding merrily
down the bay with her jubilant crew bawling out the chorus of a
homeward-bound chantey.