THE MEDICINE-MAN.
"You keerless feller! You're here arter all, haint you?"
Archie looked up, and for the first time discovered that he had a
companion in trouble. It was Dick Lewis, who was standing bound to a
post by a band of hickory bark, which was drawn tight about his breast
and arms. It is hard to tell which was the more astonished, the trapper
or Archie. Numerous questions were asked and answered on both sides, and
when Archie told of the mistake the outlaws had made, and how he came to
be taken prisoner, Dick drew a long breath of relief.
"I'll allow that it makes me feel a heap easier to know that you aint in
no danger of bein' massacreed," said he. "This is a leetle the wust
scrape I ever seed you in yet; but as long as me an' old Bob are alive,
you won't want fur friends to help you. Do you see that feller standin'
over thar?"
Archie looked in the direction in which the trapper nodded his head, and
was almost ready to drop with astonishment when he saw his cousin
standing beside the chief's wigwam, bound and helpless like himself. He
knew now why Frank had not returned to the valley.
"How came he here?" asked Archie.
"Go over thar an' talk to him, an' he'll tell you all about it," replied
the trapper. "I want plenty of elbow room around here, 'cause when I get
ready I'm goin' to leave, an' any thing that stands in my way will most
likely get hurt. You'll hear something break purty soon, an' when I get
started, jest keep your eye on me if you want to see runnin' as is
runnin'."
Archie, judging from this that Dick did not want him there, walked
slowly toward the place where his cousin was standing. As he passed the
post he took a hasty glance at his friend's bonds, and wondered how he
intended to escape from them. If he could break that piece of bark, he
must be possessed of the power of a dozen men, for it was strong enough
to hold an ox-team. But then Dick's strength was something wonderful,
and there was no knowing what he might do in an emergency like this.
The cousins did not spend much time in talking over their adventures,
for they were too deeply interested in what was going on around them.
The commotion occasioned by the arrival of the outlaws had subsided, and
the chiefs were ready to proceed with their business. The aged warrior
again lighted the pipe of peace, which was passed around the circle,
each chief taking two or three puffs and handing it to his neighbor. The
most profound silence was maintained in the village during this
ceremony, which occupied several minutes; and while it was going on, the
attention of the boys was attracted by a curious-looking object which
suddenly made its appearance before them. They could not tell what it
was, either by its size, shape, or movements. Sometimes it went on all
fours, and then it looked like a bear with a crane's head; then it threw
itself flat on the ground, and waddled along like an alligator, turning
its queer looking head and sharp bill about as if seeking something to
devour; and when it reached the edge of the council-ground, it took the
form of a ball, and rolled along, as swiftly as if it had been sent from
a boy's bat, until it reached the fire, when it stopped, and with a loud
yell jumped to its feet and straightened out. Then the boys saw that it
was an Indian, dressed in a most fantastic costume, and that he carried
a tomahawk in one hand and a knife in the other.
"Oh, it's the medicine-man," said Frank.
"Well, he's a delightful looking fellow," observed Archie. "How would
you like to have him prowling about your bed if you were sick? What is
he going to do, I wonder?"
[Illustration: THE MEDICINE MAN AND DICK LEWIS.]
The boys were not kept long in doubt on this point, for the medicine-man
had evidently come there on business of his own, and was not disposed to
waste any time. He first began tramping in a circle about the place
where the chiefs were sitting, and then the cousins saw that he carried
the burden of many years on his shoulders, for he walked with tottering
steps, and form half bent. But he seemed to have plenty of energy
left in his old body, for he stamped the ground furiously as he moved
along, causing the rattles which he wore around his legs to ring out
musically, and expended a good deal of strength in flourishing his knife
and tomahawk. Wondering eyes followed all his movements,
broad-shouldered warriors stepped respectfully aside to let him pass,
but he did not appear to notice any thing or any body. He moved with his
eyes fastened upon the ground, and all the while singing a low,
monotonous song. He made the circuit of the council-ground at least
twenty times, without once looking up or changing his attitude, and the
boys began to wonder what object he could have in view in tramping about
that way; when suddenly, as he was passing the trapper, he raised his
hatchet, and with one swift blow buried its bright blade in the post,
almost to the handle and within an inch of Dick's head, and left it
there, while he continued on his walk around the council-ground.
An exclamation of horror burst from both the boys as they witnessed this
act of the medicine-man. They thought, when they saw the tomahawk
descending, that they had seen the trapper alive for the last time; but
he was still erect and unharmed, although the tomahawk had passed so
close to his head that a lock of his hair was buried with it in the
post. A less practiced hand than the medicine-man's would have driven
the weapon into Dick's brain.
"Oh, don't I wish I was free, and had my breech-loader in my hands!"
exclaimed Archie, who was so nearly beside himself with rage and alarm
that he could scarcely speak plainly. "There would be one doctor less in
this tribe. I'd up-end that old rascal so quick that he wouldn't know
what hurt him."
Frank did not say any thing, but his compressed lips and flashing eyes
spoke volumes.
This little by-play on the part of the medicine-man caused infinite
delight among the Indians on the other side of the council-ground, who
now began to watch his movements more closely than ever. And it was but
a beginning. The next time he came around he thrust his knife into the
post, just above the trapper's shoulder, pulled out the tomahawk, and
went on. The third time he struck the tomahawk into the post again, if
possible a little closer to the prisoner's head than before, and pulled
out the knife. And so he kept on, threatening the trapper first with one
weapon, and then with the other, to the great amusement of the Indians,
and the intense horror and indignation of the boys, who, unable to
endure the sight, turned away their heads, and wished for their rifles.
During all this time Dick never once flinched so much as a hair's
breadth. He did not appear to notice the medicine-man at all; but kept
his eyes fastened upon the chiefs. If the Indians had never seen a brave
trapper before, they saw one now.
While this was going on on the outer edge of the council-ground, the
chiefs were busy deciding upon the fate of the prisoner. First one made
a speech, and then another, and another, until all had spoken, and half
an hour had been taken up with the deliberations. Then a war-club was
produced, and after that the Indians did not pay the least attention to
the medicine-man. They were waiting to hear the decision of the council.
The principal chief took the war-club, and after striking it upon the
ground in front of him, handed it to the next warrior; and so the club
went around the circle, some striking the ground with it, and others
passing it along in silence. The boys knew that a vote was being taken
upon some question, but what it was, or how the votes counted, they had
not the least idea. They soon found out, however, for when the war-club
had come around to the principal chief again, he jumped to his feet, and
began shouting some orders in a loud voice; and in an instant the camp
was in great commotion. The warriors ran about in all directions, and
deafening whoops and yells arose on every side. Some hurried into the
woods, and presently returned with their arms filled with dry wood and
branches, which they deposited in piles at intervals along the ravine,
below the camp, others lighted them with brands from the fire, which was
burning on the council-ground, and in a few minutes every object in the
lower end of the village was as plainly visible as if it had been broad
daylight. This done, the warriors seized knives, tomahawks, switches,
clubs, or whatever else came first to their hands, and arranged
themselves in two parallel lines about six or eight feet apart, and
extending up and down the ravine. Then the boys began to understand the
matter. The trapper was to run the gauntlet.
"Oh, why doesn't he wake up and do something?" cried Archie, in great
excitement. "He told me that I would hear something break pretty soon,
and if he is going to escape at all, he had better be about it. In a few
minutes it will be too late."
"Look at the club that first Indian carries on his shoulder," said
Frank. "One blow with that would kill an iron man. If Dick once gets
between those lines, he will never come out alive."
"And even if he does he can't get away, for there are a dozen warriors
standing at the lower end of the ravine waiting to catch him. I wish we
had stayed in California."
The boys turned to look at the trapper. Was he destitute of nerves
entirely, that he could stand there and view all these preparations so
calmly? An ordinary man would have been overcome with fear; but Dick
was as indifferent as ever.
"If he could only contrive some way to break that bark now, he would be
all right," said Frank. "Those two guards couldn't stop him, and the
other warriors are all at the lower end of the village. That old
medicine-man is getting ready to begin his operations again."
"He's going to throw his hatchet at Dick," gasped Archie.
The medicine-man was standing about twenty feet in front of the trapper,
swinging his tomahawk around his head, and yelling at the top of his
lungs. Even as Archie spoke, the weapon left his hand, and flew through
the air with the speed of a bullet. Both boys turned away their heads
and held their breath in suspense. They heard the tomahawk strike the
post, and, when they turned to look at the trapper again, they were not
a little astonished at the scene presented to their gaze. The
medicine-man was rolling about on the ground in violent contortions,
like some huge reptile which had just received its death-blow; the two
warriors who had been guarding Dick lay motionless beside him; the
piece of bark with which the trapper had been confined hung down beside
the post, having been cut by the keen edge of the tomahawk; and
something, which moved so rapidly that it looked like a flash of light,
dodged in and out among the lodges for an instant, and then disappeared
from view. The medicine-man had thrown his tomahawk a little too close
to the mark that time, for the weapon had cut the trapper's bonds and
set him at liberty.
For a few seconds the village was as silent as though it had been
deserted. The warriors stood transfixed, holding their weapons in their
hands, and gazing at the empty post where their captive had stood but a
moment before; then yells of rage arose on the air, and the warriors
swept through the village in a body in hot pursuit of the trapper. The
cousins could not speak. Dick's escape had been accomplished so suddenly
and unexpectedly that it bewildered them. They looked at one another in
silence, gazed after the yelling Indians, who were flying through the
valley in all directions, and, when at last they recovered the use of
their tongues, the shouts of delight that broke from them would have
done credit to any two savages in the band.
"Wasn't that well done?" cried Archie, dancing about like one demented.
"The minute that bark was cut, he was off like a flash of lightning.
Wouldn't I give something if I could run like that? They'll never catch
him, for they are all behind him, and Dick says he never saw the Indian,
or white man either, that could overtake him, if he has two feet the
start. He had at least twenty yards the start, this time; so, of course,
he'll escape easily enough."
"I feel better," said Frank--"not only on Dick's account, but also on
our own; we stand a chance of being rescued now. Well, what do you
want?"
This question was addressed to a couple of warriors who at that moment
approached them. The savages did not take the trouble to reply, but
grasped the boys by the shoulders, and conducting them around the
chief's wigwam, beside which they had been standing all this while,
raised the door and pushed them under it.
"Here we are," said Frank, "and here we are likely to remain for
awhile."
"But I don't propose to pass the night with my hands bound behind me, if
I can help it," said Archie. "Don't you believe you can untie them with
your teeth, Frank? You know that was the way Johnny Harris untied the
lasso with which I was bound, on the night we made our escape from
Pierre and his band."
Frank proceeded at once to act upon his cousin's suggestion, and,
although he found that a thong of buckskin was rather a difficult thing
to manage with his teeth, he finally succeeded in freeing Archie's
hands. Then, after the latter had liberated him, the cousins threw
themselves upon the buffalo robes to talk over their adventures; but
they were not allowed to remain long to themselves, for, while Frank was
describing the manner in which he had effected his escape from the
village, the door of the lodge was raised, and Black Bill's villainous
face appeared at the opening.
"Adam, are you thar?" he inquired.
"No, Adam isn't here," replied Archie. "The last time I saw him, he was
at the fort. Winters is here, if you have any thing of importance to say
to him."
"Wal, I have. Come out here."
"What do you want with me?"
"I am goin' to take you to my lodge, where I know you will be safe."
"Black Bill," said Frank, "you have certainly made a mistake; this
fellow isn't Adam Brent."
"Who axed you fur any advice?" was the gruff rejoinder. "Jest mind your
own business, an' speak when you're spoke to."
The tone of the man's voice indicated that he was in very bad humor, and
Frank, knowing that it would not be safe to irritate him, held his
peace; and so did Archie, who offered no resistance when the outlaw
seized him by the collar and pushed him roughly out of the lodge.
Frank's first care, on being left alone, was to examine into his chances
for escape. That was quickly done, and the conclusion he came to was
that it would be quite useless to attempt any thing of the kind. He was
guarded by two sentries now--one standing at the back of the lodge, and
the other at the door. He could not elude them both, and, with his usual
happy faculty for accommodating himself to circumstances, Frank decided
that there was no use in keeping awake all night if he was a prisoner;
and, stretching himself out on the buffalo robes, he prepared to go to
sleep. And he did sleep, in spite of all the dangers and excitements of
the day, but not long. He was awakened by a rustling in the lodge, and
started up in alarm when he saw a frightful-looking object, which he
recognized as the medicine-man, crouching at his side. Frank's first
thought was that he had come in there to torment him as he had tormented
the trapper; and his second, that he should not do it. He was not bound,
and he would not submit to any such treatment.
"Look here, old fellow," said he, shaking his fist at the medicine-man:
"I don't know whether or not you can understand English; but, if you
can, you had better pay attention to what I say: If you go to
flourishing that tomahawk and knife about me, I'll break your head."
"Hist!" whispered the intruder, holding up his finger, warningly.
Frank was astonished. He gazed earnestly at the medicine-man, who began
singing his low, monotonous song, at the same time fumbling with his
odd-looking mask, which he soon removed, revealing to Frank's view the
honest countenance of old Bob Kelly. Checking the boy's exclamation of
astonishment by an emphatic motion of his hand, the trapper, still
humming his song, proceeded to divest himself of the other articles of
his disguise; and, as fast as he removed them from his own person, he
put them upon Frank, who submitted wonderingly to the operation. In a
few minutes he was rigged out in the medicine-man's dress; and, if he
had only known it, he looked hideous enough to frighten any body.
"Now, then," said old Bob, in a scarcely-audible whisper, "be off with
you. Creep under them skins, an' make yourself skeerce about here,
sudden. Thar aint no danger, if you'll only think so. You're a
medicine-man now, an' you can go all over the village an' into every
lodge, an' nobody won't say a word to you. I'll take care of myself."
The old trapper spoke these words hurriedly, and, pulling Frank off the
buffalo robes, stretched himself upon them. Frank would have lingered to
ask some instructions concerning the manner in which he ought to conduct
himself, and what he ought to do if the guard allowed him to pass out of
the lodge, but Bob motioned him impatiently to be off. Calling all his
courage to his aid, he lifted the skins at the back of the lodge and
crawled out. The guard looked down at him, and then turned away his head
as if he did not care to see him; and Frank, throwing himself upon his
hands and knees, and imitating as nearly as possible the actions of the
medicine-man, hurried off into the darkness.