THE FLIGHT OF DEERFOOT.
None could know better the length of time it is possible for a person to
live under water than did the Pawnees who lined the shore of the stream
from which they awaited the young Shawanoe to rise and surrender
himself.
At such times the seconds seem long, but in due time they grew into
minutes, until one, two, three, four, and fully five had gone by, and
still nothing was seen of the Shawanoe, who, they were assured, had
leaped into the river. Before this, the warriors looked wonderingly at
each other, unable to guess what it could all mean.
Had he bounded across the creek? Wide as it was, the possibility had
been considered from the first, and, when the seconds were well along,
the leader called to those on the other side to examine the margin for
the imprints of the Indian's moccasins. Striking with such force, the
dents would be in sight from across the stream. As it was easy to
identify the spot where he made the leap, it was equally easy to
determine the precise point where the telltale footprints should appear.
But the minute scrutiny of the edge of the creek proved that no moccasin
had touched it. And that being the case, the question came back as to
what had become of the fugitive.
"The dog of a Shawanoe is at the bottom," was the natural remark of the
leader. "He has gone down, and the Great Spirit is so angry with him
that he will not permit him to rise."
That was a curious explanation of the occurrence, but it appeared to be
about the only one left to the pursuers, who were not fully satisfied
even with that. We are aware that a person who springs into the water,
even if he can not swim a stroke, is pretty sure to come up once or
twice. The Pawnees knew of a verity that the Shawanoe must be an
excellent swimmer, and it certainly was inexplainable if he did not
reappear.
"Did he leave the shore?" asked one of those who had approached from the
side toward which Deerfoot had sped.
"We saw him run for it as runs the deer," was the reply.
"But the Shawanoe is like the weasel; he may have turned aside and sped
up or down the stream, with his head bent so low that he could not be
seen."
"The eyes of Wimmoroo were open," said the leader, who, in spite of his
assurance, began to feel suspicious that some trick had been played upon
them, though, as yet, he could not define its nature.
"What did the eyes of Wimmoroo tell him?" asked the other, showing a
Yankee-like persistency in his questions.
"They showed him the dog of a Shawanoe, as he bounded high in air and
strove to reach the other shore."
"Can Wimmoroo make sure the Shawanoe did not leap in the air and then
place his feet on the ground where they were before?"
Could it be possible that such a strategy had been used? He began an
examination, two of his warriors helping him. There were the footprints
of the delicate moccasins in plain sight, showing where he had leaped
clear from the ground, but not the faintest impression was visible
either to the right or left of the spot. Inasmuch as the fugitive could
not have fled in either direction without leaving a trail, and the
closest search failed to show any thing of the kind, the conclusion was
inevitable that no such flight had taken place.
Besides--how came Wimmoroo to forget it?--all caught the splash of the
body as it dropped in the water. As might be expected witnesses were not
wanting to declare they had seen the spray fly upward, and had caught
sight of the eagle feathers in the crown of Deerfoot as he swam for the
other side.
All which being so, the question came back again where could Deerfoot
be?
It is not often that a group of red men are so at their wit's end as
were the Pawnees. They stood looking about them, silent and bewildered.
Wimmoroo took a sly glance at the tree tops as though he half expected
to see the missing Shawanoe perched in the branches.
But among those red men was one at least with quick intelligence. He was
the last to approach the stream from the side toward which Deerfoot
leaped. He had not yet spoken, but when told the facts, he glanced here
and there, so as to take in all the points, and it was not long before a
suspicion of the truth dawned upon him.
Several facts, which were patent to the others, took connection in his
mind. Let me name one or two--Deerfoot possessed a fleetness which no
Pawnee could equal; he was seen to run toward the stream with the utmost
speed of which he was capable; he was observed to make the jump, and the
creek itself was a little more than twenty feet in width. The
conclusion, therefore, was certain--he had bounded across.
The leap, while a great one, was not beyond the attainment of the Pawnee
himself, who was studying the question. He was sure that with a running
start he could clear the water, though he could do no more. Still there
were no footprints on the margin that could have been made by the
fugitive; but, recalling the prodigious activity of the fugitive, the
Pawnee scrutinized the ground further back. He had done so only a half
minute when he discovered the truth. Making it known to the others, they
refused for a minute or two to believe him, but the proof was before
their eyes and they disputed no longer.
The young Shawanoe, finding that his only escape from the Pawnees, who
seemed to spring from the ground all around him, was by placing himself
on the other side the creek, turned and made for it, as I have already
told, with all the speed he possessed. The stream was of a width varying
from twenty to forty feet or more. Where he had crossed it before, it
was too wide for him to think of leaping. In fact, his hasty search
along shore failed to show a spot across which he could jump, and he did
not expect to do so in the present instance.
But the extremity of good fortune attended the fleet-footed Deerfoot,
who struck one of the narrowest portions. He anticipated falling into
the water, quite close to the other side, whence he meant to crawl
hastily out and continue his flight. Gathering his muscles, he made one
of the most terrific efforts of his life, and, rising in air, described
a parabola, which carried him fully six feet past the water, striking
the ground beyond a clump of bushes. There, as I have said, when the
search was made, his footprints were seen too plainly to leave any doubt
as to the exploit he had performed.
At the instant of alighting, he whirled around, stepped close to the
water, and struck it a sharp blow with his long bow. It was his
quickness of resource which led him to do this without a second's delay.
Well aware of the great leap he had made, he caused the splash, so as to
lead his pursuers to think he had dropped into the current. It has been
shown how he succeeded.
Crouching low, so as to keep his body hidden so far as it was possible
to do so, he ran along the stream, sometimes almost on his hands and
knees, until a point was reached where he was able to straighten up
without detection. His keen vision showed him the Pawnees advancing from
the side on which he had taken refuge, but he easily avoided discovery,
and had not far to go, when he felt that all danger was over.
It will be admitted that, from the moment when he entered the Pawnee
camp and fell into a dispute with Lone Bear, he had been given little
time to rest. It may be said that the sweep of incident kept him on the
jump, from the opening to the close. He was given no time to think of
Hay-uta nor of Jack Carleton, from whom he was separated by still
another stream of water, across which he was forced to swim, in order to
reach the war party. He had done his utmost to gather some information
respecting Otto Relstaub, for whom the three were searching, but had not
picked up the first grain of knowledge. Lone Bear, who could have told
him one or two surprising facts respecting the young German lad, sought
to mislead him. What his reason was for such a course was beyond the
power of Deerfoot to guess.
It can not be said that the Shawanoe felt any misgivings as to the
situation of the two who had come with him. The Sauk was skillful, and
would be quick to learn the peril in which the young warrior had become
involved. Such knowledge would enable him to guard against similar slips
himself.
Convinced that at last he had shaken off his enemies, Deerfoot resumed
his moderate pace, while he debated with himself the best course to
pursue.
He was back again on the side of the stream where he had first seen the
Pawnees encamped, and doubtless a number of them were scattered at
different points through the wood. There must have been twenty of them
in the neighborhood, for, when summoned by signal, they appeared to come
from all points of the compass. But none now was in sight, and who of
them all was able to outwit the Shawanoe in woodcraft and cunning?
The clothing which had been saturated by his plunge into the larger
stream was nearly dry, and an examination showed he had suffered no
damage in person or property. More than one bullet had been fired at
him, but not a hair of his head was harmed. The stained eagle feathers
still projected from his crown; the quiver of arrows rested behind his
right shoulder; the string of his bow was free from moisture; the red
sash around his waist, the fringes of his hunting shirt, his leggings,
his moccasins and even the double string of beads around his neck and
the golden bracelet which clasped one wrist, showed no evidence of the
ordeal through which their owner had so recently passed. Knife, tomahawk
and bow were as ready as ever for any emergency which might call for
them.
Deerfoot reflected that, so far as he was concerned, the result of his
enterprise was a failure--in truth, it was worse than a failure, for,
having learned nothing of the fate of Otto, he had put the Pawnees on
their guard against giving such information. Lone Bear showed an
unwillingness to tell any thing, and now it was to be expected that he
and his companions would take care to thwart the wishes of the Shawanoe
and what friends he might have.
The young warrior asked himself whether he must recross the stream and
join Jack Carleton with the confession that he had not been able to
learn any thing about Otto, and that he saw no chance of doing so. He
was loth to make such acknowledgment, and he determined not to do so,
until after making at least one more attempt to force the truth from
some member of the war party.
The afternoon was well advanced when he appeared in the camp of the
hostiles, and it would seem that the incidents which took place ought to
have carried him close to nightfall. But I must repeat that on account
of their hurricane-like rush, they took a small amount of time, and now,
when he found himself free of his pursuers, the sun was yet a couple of
hours above the horizon. Enough daylight remained for him to do a large
amount of work, always provided the work presented itself to be done.
He decided to take another survey of the camp before returning, in the
hope that possibly some "material" for labor awaited him. A quick survey
of his surroundings caused him to locate himself. The camp was not far
off, and he began making his way toward it.
In doing so he did not steal forward with the slow caution which his
race generally show when approaching an enemy, but he advanced briskly
among the trees, though his motion was as noiseless as that of the
shadow of the cloud overhead.