SURPRISED.
The baked corn and mussels made a savory dish, or one which would have
been savory enough but for the absence of salt. The boys knew well
enough that salt was not to be had, however, and so they made a joke of
its absence, and even pretended that they did not like their food salted
at any time. Little Judie was so hungry that she cared very little
whether food tasted well or not, provided it satisfied her appetite.
The rest and the more wholesome food seemed to restore Sam to something
like his customary strength during the first ten days of his stay in the
"root fortress," as he had named their singular dwelling. His wounded
foot got better, though it was still far from well, and, better than
all, his fever left him. As he regained strength he began to lay plans
again. To stay where they were was well enough as a temporary device for
escaping the savages, but Sam's main purpose now was to get the little
people under his charge back to civilization somewhere, and then to do
his part in the war between the Indians and whites. He must first find a
way to get Tom and Judie and Joe into one of the forts or into some safe
town, and how to do this was the problem. He was unwilling to take them
away from their present pretty secure hiding-place until he could decide
upon some definite plan offering a reasonable prospect of escape. If he
could have known as much as we now know of the movements of the savages,
he would have had little difficulty. The larger part of the Indians had
left the peninsula now forming Clarke County, and crossed to the
south-eastern shore of the Alabama river,--the side on which Sam's root
fortress stood, and if he could have known this, he would have made an
effort to cross the river again and reach Fort Glass. The chief
difficulty in the way of this undertaking would have been that of
crossing the river, which was now swollen by recent rains. He knew
nothing about the matter, however, and as Fort Mims, the first point
attacked by the savages, was on the south-east side of the river, he
reasoned that having afterwards crossed to Clarke County the Indians
would not again cross to the south-east side in any considerable force.
In this, as we know, he was mistaken, and the error led him into some
danger, as we shall see. Thinking the matter over, he decided that his
first plan of a march down through the Tensaw Country to the
neighborhood of Mobile would be the safest and best thing to undertake.
He was unwilling, however, to begin it with his companions without
making a preliminary reconnoissance. Accordingly he explained the plan
to Tom and Joe, and said:
"I'm going to-night down towards old Fort Mims, to see if the country is
pretty free from Indians, and to find out what I can about the chance of
getting away from here. I'll leave you here with Judie, and you must be
extra careful about exposing yourselves. You've corn and mussels and
sweet potatoes enough already cooked, to last you a week, and I'll
probably be back before that; if not you must eat them raw till I do
come: it won't do to build a fire while I'm away." After giving minute
directions for their guidance during his absence, Sam put a sweet potato
in one pocket and an ear of corn in the other, and set out on his
journey, walking with a stout stick, having discarded his crutch as no
longer necessary. How far he walked that night, I am unable to say, his
course being a very circuitous one. The moon rose full, soon after dark,
and shone so brightly that Sam dared not cross the fields, but skirted
around them keeping constantly in the woods and the edges of canebrakes.
The next night and the next he continued his journey, though he found
the country full of Indians. He saw their "sign" everywhere, and now and
then saw some of the Indians themselves. The fourth evening found him so
lame (his foot having swelled and become painful again) that he could
not possibly go on. He had already gone far enough to discover that the
country on that side of the river was too full of Indians for him to
carry his little party safely through it, and so he determined to work
his way back to the root fortress, and try the other side. Seeing a
house in a field near by the place in which he had spent the day, he
resolved to visit it for the purpose of bringing away any article he
could find which might be useful to him in his effort to provide for his
little band. In a grove near the house he found a horse,--a young and
powerful animal, and as he feared his lameness would not permit him to
reach his root fortress again on foot, he determined to ride the animal
in spite of the fact that on horseback he would be in much greater
danger of discovery by the Indians than on foot. The horse had a bridle
on, and had evidently escaped, probably during a skirmish, from its
white or red master.
Sam tied him in the grove, and went on to the house, which had been
sacked and partially burned. Looking around in the moonlight, Sam
discovered a hatchet, and, in the corner of what had once been a
store-house, the remains of a barrel of salt. These were two valuable
discoveries. The hatchet would be of great service to him not only in
the root fortress but even more in forcing a pathway through the
canebrakes when he should again cross the river and try to reach one of
the forts. The salt he must have at any cost, and as he had no bag he
made one by ripping off the sleeve of his coat and tying its ends with
strips of bark. He had just filled it, and tied up the ends when,
hearing a noise, he turned, and saw two Indians within six feet of him.