THE FUGITIVES FLYING NO LONGER.
The fugitives continued moving forward until morning, when, to guard
against needless exposure, Kent again ran the canoe under the bank, and
remained at rest the entire day. All suffered so much from hunger, that
the hunter left the boat during the afternoon, and, after a few hours'
absence, obtained a sufficient quantity of meat for them all. This was
cooked after his usual cautious and expert fashion, and was thankfully
partaken of by his companions.
Roland and the maid were resting on the sheltered bank of the river;
none but Kent ventured out of sight of the spot during the day. For
aught they knew there might be hordes of savages within hearing of their
voices, scouring the woods in every direction in their search; it needed
but the slightest inadvertency upon their part to insure their own
destruction.
Leslie sat conversing with Rosalind, when Kent started up, and, glancing
behind, stepped down the river-bank and peered out upon the stream.
Leslie was beside him in an instant, and, as the two gazed out, the boat
which they had seen pursuing them during the night came into view. It
was coming up-stream, evidently returning from the chase. It now
contained but three savages. Although Leslie had but little to fear,
nevertheless he watched the boat with intense interest. Pausing a
second, he glanced around, and exclaimed, in terror:
"As sure as heaven, they are heading toward this point."
Kent commanded, in a whisper:
"Get your shootin'-iron ready, and be ready yourself. They're comin' in
below us."
The savages had landed a few hundred yards down-stream, and seemed to
suspect the presence of no one. Suddenly one of them uttered a loud
whoop. In a moment it was repeated, and an answer came, apparently from
a distance. Ere long two savages approached the canoe, and, entering,
the five again shoved out, and commenced paddling up-stream. Leslie
asked Kent the meaning of these proceedings.
"Plain enough," he answered; "they left them two fellers on the shore
last night, so that, if they passed us, they would see us when we came
along, and they've been watching there ever since. If we'd gone a half a
mile further, they'd have shot us; but as we happened to stop afore they
got eyes on us, they've missed us, that's all."
[Illustration: Two savages were left on shore.]
At night they again set out, proceeding fearlessly. When morning again
dawned, many miles were placed between Rosalind and her captors.
It is needless to dwell upon the further particulars of their homeward
journey. Every day occupied was like its predecessor: pressing boldly
forward when the shade of night favored them; proceeding more cautiously
through the day; resting sometimes in the center of the stream, and then
again approaching the shore for food; now a prey to some imaginary fear,
and then thrilling with hope, when they finally glided into the fair
Ohio. Safely they reached their destination unpursued, and fearing no
enemy.
"Wonder who's in them pile of logs up thar," remarked Kent, glancing
suspiciously at Leslie, when they were approaching the ruins of the
house.
"Why, who would be there?" returned he, with well-feigned ignorance.
"Looks as though somebody had fitted it up. Hallo, here!" demanded Kent,
battering against the structure.
At this summons George Leland stepped forth.
The meeting was such as can be easily imagined; joy complete filled the
hearts of all; friend, brother, sister and lover were reunited; nothing
was wanting to fill their cup of bliss. The old hunter, as soon as his
brief salutation was over, withdrew to the background. Leaning on his
rifle, he remarked that he was "goin' to look on and see the fun."
As soon as the emotion of all had subsided, they turned toward the
hunter. They were without shelter and home, and something must be done
at once.
Kent at once divined their thoughts and said: "Wal, sit down and I'll
tell you what's to be done."
The three did as required, and Kent unfolded his plan.
"There's too much trouble for you in these parts; you must leave. Up the
river some distance is quite a settlement, and there's the only place
you can stay, what I propose is this: we must leave here as soon as
possible, and let us do it _now_."
"More than once have I thought of the plan which Kent has given," said
Leslie, "and I hope that it will be carried out at the earliest moment.
Every hour passed here is an hour of peril."
"The matter is then settled," said George. "Let us prepare to pass our
last night here; then to seek another home."
The shelter in which Leland had spent his time during the absence of the
others was found to be commodious enough to accommodate all, and into it
they went. The old hunter kept watch during the night, while the rest
slept, and we doubt very much whether four happier, more hopeful beings
ever were congregated.
At the earliest streak of morn, the hunter aroused the others, and they
prepared to take their final departure. The canoe in which the three had
come was found to be sufficiently capacious for the entire party. With a
tear of regret for the old home, the fair Rosalind entered the canoe,
and soon it was cutting the waters on its upward course.
It is not necessary in this place to dwell upon the particulars of their
journey. They encountered nothing unusual or alarming until, in rounding
a bend in the river, they were startled by the sight of an unusual
object far up the stream. With the exception of Kent, all manifested
considerable surprise and apprehension.
"What are we to encounter now?" asked Leslie, as he earnestly
scrutinized the approaching object. "Are we never to be rid of these
brutes?"
"It is undoubtedly one of their contrivances," added Leland, "and I'm
afraid we shall have to take to the woods again to give it a go-by. How
is it, Kent?"
The face of the hunter wore a quizzical look, and his only reply was a
quiet smile. As he observed the looks of wonder his companions cast upon
him, he became more thoughtful.
"This is bad business," said he, shaking his head; "_that_ is something I
didn't expect to see."
The progress of the canoe by this time was checked, and it was drifting
with the current. The two young men had no desire for a nearer approach
to the apparently formidable contrivance.
"Can't either one of you two chaps make out what sort of ship that is
coming down-stream?"
Both Leland and Leslie were considerably puzzled, when they saw Rosalind
smile, as if enjoying their stupidity.
"If you can't tell, just ask the gal," added the hunter, bursting into a
loud laugh.
"Why, George I thought you had lived long enough in the western country
to recognize a _flat-boat_!"
"What dunces we both are. How could any one imagine that to be anything
else than a genuine flat-boat? Let us approach it and make the
acquaintance of those on board."
"Sart'in, boys," said the hunter, dipping his paddles deep into the
water and impelling the canoe rapidly forward.
"A cheer for them!" exclaimed Leslie, rising in the boat and swinging
his hat over his head.
How unspeakably thankful were the hearts of the fugitives, as their
salutation was returned by more than one voice! Friends indeed were
near, and their dangers were over.
A few moments later the canoe was beside the flat-boat.
"Thank God! thank God!" fervently uttered Leland, as he clasped his
sister in his arms and realized that they were now safe, safe! For the
first time in weeks he felt the sweet consciousness of safety.
"It is almost worth the sufferings we have undergone!" said he. "This
sweet consciousness that we are really beyond the reach of our foes is
an enjoyment that we have not experienced for a long time."
"Do not forget the all-sustaining Hand that has brought us out of the
very jaws of death."
"Forget it? May He forget me when I fail to remember Him. Great Father,"
said Leland, meekly uncovering and bowing his head, while the tears fell
like rain down his face, "Great Father, for this and all other mercies I
thank thee!"
"I join in thanksgiving with theirs," said Leslie, in the same reverent
manner, as he approached brother and sister.
The flat-boat was no other than the celebrated expedition under Major
Taylor, which established such a firm and prosperous settlement upon the
northern bank of the Ohio. He had about thirty souls on board, a dozen
of whom were men. The true cause of the astonishing success of this
company was that both the leader and his comrades fully understood the
perils they encountered in venturing into the great western wilderness.
They were not men who could be decoyed into the simplest or most
cunning contrivances that Indian ingenuity could suggest, nor were they
those who expected to spend a life of ease and enjoyment in the woods.
They simply understood and prepared for what was before them.
Major Taylor was a man rather inclined to corpulency, with a red face,
Roman nose and eagle eye that seemed to penetrate everything at which it
glanced. He was very affable and social, a great favorite among all his
acquaintances, especially the female portion, who always felt safe in
his presence. His men, nearly all of whom had served under him in the
Revolution, trusted implicitly in him.
"Friends, you are welcome, doubly welcome to this boat," said he,
raising his hat and saluting Rosalind with all the stately politeness of
a gentleman of the old school. "I trust your stay upon it will be as
prolonged as our own, who, in all probability, will be the last
passengers it will ever carry."
Leslie related in a few words the main facts concerning the burning of
Leland's home, the capture and subsequent escape of himself and sister,
and finally of their desire to reach the upper settlements. The
commiserations of all were given them. For Rosalind especially they
seemed unable to do enough. She was taken within their cabin, where
everything that was possible was done for her comfort.
"I must now insist that you remain with us," said Major Taylor. "Now
that you have no home to which to return, you must accompany us and
build a new one. If the red-skins take _our_ homes from us they are
welcome to do so; but when they undertake it, I suspect they will find
they are troubling a set of men that know a trick or two as well as
themselves. We've all seen service among the dogs."
"Do you think, Cap'n, there's likely to be a scrimmage where you drive
your stakes?" inquired Kent, with a considerable degree of curiosity.
"I am sure I cannot tell," replied Major Taylor. "It certainly seems
probable, but why do you ask?"
"'Cause if there's any likelibility of it, I'll agree to accept your
invite and go with you."
"Well, well, my good man, you will go with us anyway, and take the
chances of a brush with them. You strike me as a man who has seen
considerable of the woods."
"He has indeed," said Leslie. "Under heaven, our safety is owing to his
experience and sagacity. He has spent a lifetime in the woods, and I can
honestly say he will be a valuable acquisition to your party."
"Come, none of that now, or I'll leave you!" said the hunter, in a
warning tone to his young friend.
"I have no doubt of it--no doubt of it in the least. We need him, and if
he will only go with us, I think I can promise that he will occasionally
see the service for which his soul longs. But, you have not given us
your decision."
"We are very grateful for your offer," said Leland; "we have indeed no
other refuge to which we can go. The house which has sheltered my sister
and myself since infancy is swept away by those whom we had learned to
look upon as our friends and protectors. I think when we see men at
your age beginning life again, we can afford to do it ourselves."
"Of course you can--of course you can," replied the officer, in his
hearty manner. "We'll start a settlement on a grand scale. One of our
men once took orders, and is licensed to marry, so that if either of you
gentlemen should need his services at _any_ time, you will always find
him at hand."
"There is a servant--a negro, who was taken at the same time with my
sister. I feel as though some effort should be made to recover him,"
added Leland, a few minutes later. "We shall be in a situation to do
that by accompanying you, or, at least, we shall be more likely to find
some means of doing so, than if we followed out the idea, entertained
some time ago, of leaving the country altogether."
"I am decidedly of the opinion----"
The officer was interrupted by a man at the front of the boat, calling
out his name. He instantly hastened beside him, and demanded what he
wanted.
"Yonder is something approaching, and I cannot satisfy myself as to what
it is. What do you make of it?" he asked.
[Illustration: "Yonder is something approaching."]
Major Taylor bent his sharp gaze upon the object in question for a
moment, and then replied:
"It looks like the head of a person, and yet it is certainly an
odd-looking head. We will call this hunter that has just come on board.
Undoubtedly he can assist us."
In answer to the summons, Kent approached the bow of the boat, rifle in
hand. He peered across the water, but for a time, failed to identify the
thing.
"Stand back a little, and I'll give it a shot. I'll graze it at first,
so as to be sure of what I am going to hit when I shoot next time."
The hunter raised his rifle, and holding it a second, fired. At the same
instant the unknown object disappeared.
"I think you struck it!" remarked Leland.
"I didn't aim _at_ it, and consequently it ain't been hit," returned
Kent, with an air of assurance.
"Yonder it is this moment!"
As these words were uttered, it again appeared, and to the amazement of
all, called out to them:
"Gorra! what you wastin' your bullets on dis nigger's head for? Reckoned
Kent knowed better."
The hunter seemed on the point of falling from laughter.
"Who'd a thought it was Zeb! Where has he come from? He beats all
niggers in Kentuck for adventures and walloping lies."
A few minutes later the negro was received upon the flat-boat. It is
scarcely necessary to say that his friends all experienced unfeigned joy
at his return. He was as jubilant and reckless of the truth as ever, and
it was a long time before they got at the truth regarding his escape
from the Shawnees.
The flight of Leland, under Providence, was really the means of
liberating the negro. The confusion occasioned by the escape of the
former was so great, that the savages imagined he also had fled with
him. Understanding that it was "do or die" with him, he tugged and
struggled at his bonds with the strength of desperation. Being secured
to a tree as usual, at some distance from the center of confusion, he
escaped observation for a few moments. It is doubtful, however, whether
he would have succeeded in freeing himself, had he not been covertly
assisted by some unknown friend. Who this personage could be, was never
known; perhaps some Indian who had been befriended by the Leland family,
and who experienced some compunctions of honor (not of conscience) at
the situation of the poor negro.
Zeb had learned enough by this time to exercise a little common sense.
Accordingly, when he found himself free, he made the best use of his
feet and wits, and used every effort to reach the Ohio river. According
to his own narration, he overcame all manner of perils before
succeeding. Undoubtedly he incurred great risk in the undertaking, and
finally succeeded.
He was trudging wearily along the river margin, listening for some sound
of his relentless enemies, who, he doubted not, were upon his trail,
when he caught sight of the flat-boat. Although he did not identify it
at once, he understood from its size and formation that the hand of the
white man alone was concerned in its structure. He immediately plunged
into the river, reaching it in due time, as we have already shown.
At last the pioneers reached their destination, and began a settlement
which, at this day, is not a town merely but a flourishing city. As we
have hinted in another place, their experience of frontier life and the
sagacity and foresight of their nominal head, saved them from the
misfortunes and sufferings that often befall settlers in the new
country. It is true the red wave of the dreadful war in the West surged
to their very doors; but they saw far away in the heavens the portentous
signs, and so prepared that they passed through it unscathed.
* * * * *
The passing years touched lightly the heads of Roland and Rosalind
Leslie. As the palmy days of peace settled upon them, an old hunter
frequently spent days and weeks at their house. At such times, he took
the children upon his knees, and told them of the hardships and
suffering their parents had endured, and recounted many of his own
adventures to them. Old Kent was a universal favorite in the settlement.
As he became too old to spend his time entirely in the woods, he joined
the boys in their hunts, and there was not one who would not have braved
death in his defense. He died peacefully and happily, under the roof of
those whom he had served so well, and was given a burial, at his own
request, in the grand old woods which had ever been his delight and
enjoyment.
The wife of Leland survived all of those who have figured in these
pages; but she too has been laid in the valley. Their descendants are
now a numerous and influential family, proud of their ancestry, and
enthusiastic over the deeds of THE RANGER.
THE END.
* * * * *
BOY INVENTORS SERIES
Stories of Skill and Ingenuity
By RICHARD BONNER
THE BOY INVENTORS' WIRELESS TELEGRAPH.
Blest with natural curiosity,--sometimes called the instinct of
investigation,--favored with golden opportunity, and gifted with
creative ability, the Boy Inventors meet emergencies and contrive
mechanical wonders that interest and convince the reader because they
always "work" when put to the test.
THE BOY INVENTORS' VANISHING GUN.
A thought, a belief, an experiment; discouragement, hope, effort and
final success--this is the history of many an invention; a history in
which excitement, competition, danger, despair and persistence figure.
This merely suggests the circumstances which draw the daring Boy
Inventors into strange experiences and startling adventures, and which
demonstrate the practical use of their vanishing gun.
THE BOY INVENTORS' DIVING TORPEDO BOAT.
As in the previous stories of the Boy Inventors, new and interesting
triumphs of mechanism are produced which become immediately valuable,
and the stage for their proving and testing is again the water. On the
surface and below it, the boys have jolly, contagious fun, and the story
of their serious, purposeful inventions challenge the reader's deepest
attention.
Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price.
* * * * *
BUNGALOW BOYS SERIES
LIVE STORIES OF OUTDOOR LIFE
By DEXTER J. FORRESTER.
THE BUNGALOW BOYS.
How the Bungalow Boys received their title and how they retained the
right to it in spite of much opposition makes a lively narrative for
lively boys.
THE BUNGALOW BOYS MAROONED IN THE TROPICS.
A real treasure hunt of the most thrilling kind, with a sunken Spanish
galleon as its object, makes a subject of intense interest at any time,
but add to that a band of desperate men, a dark plot and a devil fish,
and you have the combination that brings strange adventures into the
lives of the Bungalow Boys.
THE BUNGALOW BOYS IN THE GREAT NORTH WEST.
The clever assistance of a young detective saves the boys from the
clutches of Chinese smugglers, of whose nefarious trade they know too
much. How the Professor's invention relieves a critical situation is
also an exciting incident of this book.
THE BUNGALOW BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES.
The Bungalow Boys start out for a quiet cruise on the Great Lakes and a
visit to an island. A storm and a band of wreckers interfere with the
serenity of their trip, and a submarine adds zest and adventure to it.