JACK AND HAY-UTA.
Deerfoot's survey of the opposite shore was ended; but whether it was
satisfactory to himself or not, could be learned only by questioning
him. Jack Carleton took good care not to do that. He had never seen the
young Shawanoe so reserved, and having once been denied the knowledge he
sought, he left his friend to work in his own way.
It looked to Jack as if the Shawanoe was seeking to wrap more mystery
than usual around himself, for when he came back to his friends, he took
off his quiver of arrows and placed it and his bow in their charge, thus
showing his purpose to leave them behind in the business in which he was
about to engage. It certainly was inconvenient to swim the river with
them, and, in spite of the care and skill of the owner, it was
impossible to reach land with bow and arrows in the best condition.
Furthermore, they rendered him too conspicuous. No doubt some of the
Pawnees were near at hand, even though no signs were discovered, and if
the Shawanoe carried his weapons, his venture was likely to be defeated
at the beginning.
"Let my brother open his eyes," said he, after a few words with the
Sauk, which, of course, were not intelligible to Jack Carleton, "the
Pawnees are not far."
"I will do my best to guard against surprise," replied the young
Kentuckian, "and with Hay-uta as my friend, I am sure we shall take care
of ourselves."
"Deerfoot cannot say when he will come back," added the warrior, looking
toward the river, as though expecting to catch sight of some clew among
the leaves and branches, "but he hopes to be with his friend before the
sun is overhead."
This was the only farewell uttered by the Shawanoe, who walked to the
undergrowth which lined the shore and overhung the water. He entered the
latter like a diving-bell, whose enormous weight causes it to sink
silently and swiftly to the bottom.
"Hay-uta, let's watch him," said Jack, moving carefully to the margin of
the river, from which they could peer out without detection. The Sauk
could comprehend the action of the boy, though not his words, and I am
warranted in saying that his curiosity was equal to that of his
companion, when he gazed through the leafy interstices upon the river.
The Shawanoe now gave an example of his amazing skill in the water, such
as Jack Carleton had never seen before. He remembered the dexterity
which he displayed in towing the canoe across the Mississippi, with Jack
and Otto in it, and with the Indians along shore blazing away with their
rifles; he had seen the youth disport himself in a way that no one else
could equal, but on none of these occasions were his achievements so
extraordinary as when he let himself into the river, passed under the
surface, and vanished from sight.
Jack Carleton had heard of his exploit in sinking to the bottom of the
Ohio in a large iron kettle let over the side of the flatboat, and of
his swimming to shore behind the canoe in which sat Tecumseh, but it now
looked to him as if he were passing the entire distance--more than a
hundred yards--beneath the surface.
"That can not be," said the lad to himself, when he reflected on the
time it must take to proceed that far; "no human being can hold his
breath long enough to go more than half the distance, and I don't
believe he can go even that far."
There was scarcely a zephyr stirring, so that the rapidly flowing river
was without wavelet or disturbance. As none of us is amphibious, the
most skillful swimmer must seek the air at brief intervals, and, knowing
where the Shawanoe had entered, Jack fixed on the point in the river
where he would be likely to rise. He knew that, of course, when he did
so it would be only his nose which would appear. Anyone on the shore
would not suspect the meaning of such appearance unless previous
knowledge had awakened expectation, but the closest scrutiny of Jack
failed to see the slightest ripple, such, as would have been made by the
dropping of a pebble into the river. The lad was right, beyond all
question, when he concluded that, wherever Deerfoot came up for air, it
was a long ways from the spot on which he had fixed his attention.
Glancing at Hay-uta bending forward at his side, he observed that his
scrutiny of the stream was as close as his own. He had, in fact, made
the same guess as the pale-face youth, but with a more profound belief
in the prodigious capacity of the Shawanoe, he fixed upon a point
further down stream and closer to the other bank for his reappearance;
but the seconds lengthened into minutes and nothing was seen. The wing
of the flitting insect, had it glanced against the surface, would have
caused a crinkle or two which the watchful eyes of the Sauk would have
detected, but as it was, his vision, roaming back and forth, and here
and there over the calm surface, saw no sign that any thing of the kind
had taken place.
At the moment of greatest wonderment, both watchers were startled by the
leap of a small fish, which sprang a foot or two into the air, flashing
like silver in the sunlight, and then fell back. The first belief of the
spectators was that this was their friend, but the truth was immediately
apparent.
Jack Carleton was on the point of giving up, when the Sauk touched his
arm and uttered an exclamation. He was pointing to the other shore, his
extended finger indicating a tree which grew out almost horizontally
over the river, for a distance of eight or ten feet and then curved
upward like the runner of a sleigh.
As he looked he saw Deerfoot in the act of drawing himself out of the
water. With one hand he raised himself upon the twisted trunk, along
which he crept into the wood beyond, never making the least salutation
to his friends, who he might have known were watching for him.
"By gracious!" exclaimed Jack. "He swam the whole distance under water!
he can beat a fish!"
It is not to be supposed that Deerfoot accomplished this feat, for it
was beyond the range of human attainment; but he did swim the distance
with only a single rise if such it may be termed when the tip of his
nose gently came up long enough to empty his lungs of their hot air, and
take in another draught of the life-giving element. That he should do
this under the eyes, as may be said, of two watchers, without their
detection, was not the least remarkable part of his performance.
Jack would have given much had he and Hay-uta possessed the power of
talking to each other. The Indian was one of the best warriors of his
tribe, and had formed a peculiar affection for the young Shawanoe. More
than likely he held some well-founded suspicions of the real reason
which led Deerfoot to make his curious trip across the river, and
between the two the truth might be brought out.
Deerfoot having disappeared, it was idle to watch the river any longer,
and the two withdrew a step or two and sat on the ground, there to await
the Shawanoe.
"I don't suppose I shall have time to teach him the English language,"
thought Jack, surveying his companion, who lolled on the ground as
though he meant to put in an hour or two of sleep; "and I'm sure he
won't be able to make much headway with me. I spent some weeks visiting
the Sauks (that is on their invitation), and never was able to get hold
of more than a dozen or so of their outlandish words, but there isn't
one of them that can be turned to account just now. So I'll wait till
Deerfoot tells the story for himself."
Probably twenty minutes had gone by, when the stillness was broken by
the report of a gun. It was from the other shore, and sounded so faint
that it must have been fully half a mile inland. Hay-uta started up, and
looking sharply at Jack, raised his hand for him to keep silent. No need
of that, for the youth was listening as well as he. In the course of a
few minutes Hay-uta rose and went to the river shore, where he stayed
some time, peering out over the surface, but he came back without having
seen any thing unusual, nor did the two hear another sound of a gun.
"It would be strange," thought Jack Carleton, "if that rifle killed
Deerfoot; the tiniest bullet, if rightly aimed, will do it, and great as
is his skill it can not protect him against treachery. As mother says,
his time will come sooner or later, but none of us can tell when,
anymore than we can name the hour appointed for us to die."
Except for the slight disturbance named, the Sauk would have fallen into
slumber, but all such disposition was now gone. Seating himself on the
ground, he began examining the bow and arrows which had been left in
their charge. Finding it somewhat awkward to do so while in the sitting
position, he rose to his feet, and Jack placed himself at his side as if
to give help, should it be needed.
Perhaps it should be said that Jack Carleton knew one or two interesting
facts regarding Deerfoot not yet known to the reader. In the first
place, the Shawanoe was the owner of at least two bows, nearly as long
as himself and possessing tremendous power. That which the Sauk held in
charge was of mountain ash, made in the usual fashion, the cord being
composed of deer sinew, woven as fine and almost as strong as steel
wire. The center-piece was round and had been polished hard and smooth
by the friction of the Shawanoe's right hand, which had grasped it so
many times. The entire bow had been stained a dark cherry color, its
proportions being so symmetrical that it would have been admired by any
one.
When picked from the ground the bow was unstrung. Hay-uta carefully bent
it over and slipped the noose in place on the notched end. Then, after
examining one of the feather-tipped arrows, he fitted it in place and
looked around for some target at which to discharge it.
Jack motioned to him to wait a moment while he furnished the mark
desired. Running toward the most open part of the wood, he broke a
branch and hung his cap on the stump, the distance being perhaps twenty
yards. Jack would have made it greater, but for the interference of the
vegetation.
The Sauk looked at the target a minute or two, then at the bow, and
fitting the end of the arrow against the string, he slowly raised the
weapon and took aim. Jack stepped back eight or ten feet, so as to be
out of danger, and watched the result.
"I don't believe he can hit it, but like enough he will skewer my cap,
which I ain't anxious to have done."
The Sauk held the bow slanting in front of him, just as he had seen the
owner do, and he took long and careful aim. He formed a striking figure,
his pose being graceful and correct. Unlike the Shawanoe, he was
right-handed, as was Jack. His left foot was a little in advance of the
right, the toe of the moccasin pointed in the same direction as the
arrow, while the right foot was turned slightly outward. The left hand
grasped the bow in the middle, while (as most beginners do) he clasped
the end of the arrow against the string, between the thumb and
forefinger. His body was erect and well-balanced, the head thrust a
little forward, the left eye closed, and the right ranging along the
line of the arrow as though it were the barrel of his rifle.
Slowly he drew back the string until his right hand was beside his
cheek. He had seen Deerfoot many a time hold his right arm rigid, while
the other pulled the string back of his head, but Hay-uta was surprised
to find the tension so great that he could not draw it another inch.
Holding it thus a second or two, he let fly.