TELCA.
Dick and Fritz, not wishing to lose any valuable time, struck out along
the shore of the bay, keeping in the shallow places and thus concealing
their tracks. They searched vainly for a boat or any craft that would
move them out of the path of the pursuing English troopers, but for
half a mile they discovered nothing at all.
"The activity of the troops in this section must have forced everybody
who owns a boat to hide it very securely," said Dick.
"Yah, and if we should get away from those fellars, and to the other
shores we would have to do it svimming, I guess," replied Fritz.
"We'll get swimming enough without going out into the bay for it," said
Dick. "Here we are at a creek and no way to get past but to swim for it
right now."
"I hear someding," whispered Fritz suddenly, and the two boys dodged
back into the marsh grasses at the mouth of the creek.
After hurriedly making themselves as inconspicuous as possible, they
peered out through the grass to see what it was had alarmed them. The
boys were by no means frightened, but neither of them wanted to fall
into the hands of a larger party of the enemy after their recent escape.
"It's something going up the creek," said Dick. "Sounds to me like
paddling!"
"Maype here is where we get our canoe yet," Fritz said, hopefully.
"Indians," whispered Dick, as a canoe rounded a bend above them. "Not
on the war path either, for the squaws are with them."
[Illustration: "INDIANS", WHISPERED DICK.]
"Can we speak mit them?" questioned Fritz, who was decidedly anxious to
get into a canoe and stop this incessant walking, riding and running
that had kept them so busy for so long.
"It will probably be the only chance we'll get to get across the bay,"
answered Dick. "I believe we may as well risk it."
The leading canoes were now abreast of the boys, and Dick and Fritz
rose to their feet and hailed them. The hail was entirely unnecessary,
however, for almost as soon as they had spoken the boys were covered by
a dozen rifles.
"Put your hands up, palms forward," said Dick, quickly setting the
example himself.
"Friends," he called to the Indians, who, despite their lack of paint,
seemed very well prepared for hostilities.
"Maybe we should schnell run for the woods already," said Fritz, rather
startled by the sudden display of firearms, and sorry now that he had
not stayed secure in the grass.
"Too late now, Fritz," said Dick. "These fellows look all right, even
if they are supplied with more arms than a regiment."
Dick and Fritz approached the edge of the creek walking waist deep in
the tall marsh grass.
"Us no like Redcoats," Dick volunteered, pointing toward Fritz. "We are
Americans. No like Redcoats."
"Dot's right," chimed in Fritz, trying hard to smile into the mouths
of a score of threatening rifles at once, and almost dislocating his
neck in the endeavor. "And what's further they don't like us, not for
something--nothing, I mean----" he ended, lamely.
One of the redmen, a short, heavily built man, with fierce, dark eyes
and a sharp nose, motioned to the boys to stand still while they
held a short parley among themselves in a dialect that Dick could
understand but little of.
"They aren't from around here," commented Dick Dare to his companion.
"That dialect of theirs is a sort of a mixture as far as I can make out
and there isn't much of it I remember."
"But I don'd see why we should be kept standing here all morgen, und my
arms are all reatty beginning to drop off from such long holdings up of
the hands."
"Better to keep them up than to have them fill us full of lead for
lowering them," replied Dick, who was trying with but slight success to
make out the Indians' conversation.
"What you boys want?" asked the chief, finally, when the boys were
about ready to drop their hands and take the consequences.
"Want to go with our friends, the red-men, and reach other side of big
water," replied Dick. "We are your friends and would like to take canoe
and paddle with the great chief and his people."
The red-man was evidently flattered by Dick's speech, and after
motioning to the boys to lower their hands, which Fritz did with a
groan, he turned to two of the canoe parties and indicated that the
boys might seat themselves in the center of the light crafts and help
paddle them.
It was a long paddle across the bay and it was fortunate that the day
was a calm one, or they would never have attempted the trip. As it was,
it required several hours of hard paddling to reach the distant shore,
and all the party gave grunts of satisfaction on arriving safely.
The Indians were aware of the proximity of the British troops when they
started out, and that was their reason for going over to the opposite
shore.
The squaws of the tribe all scuttled away into the woods to start their
cooking, it being the custom amongst the red-men to have the women do
most of the hard work. The braves drew the light birch canoes from the
water and prepared to make themselves comfortable while waiting for
their meal.
"You should a few lessons take from dot tall fellar," said Fritz,
stretching his arms.
"What sort of lessons?" asked Dick.
"You see the way he dreats his squawk?" continued Fritz, adding
syllables to his vocabulary.
"I don't see him doing anything but ordering and bossing her around."
"It you vould like, perhabs, to be the head of dot houses you and Ben's
sister is going to have----"
Here Fritz dogged a pine cone and hid safely behind a tree, while Dick
searched vainly for more missiles.
"I vill be goot," yelled Fritz, enjoying Dick's confusion immensely,
"and nefer speak of such things any more."
"If you'll promise," said Dick, "I will forgive you this time."
At that Fritz came out from behind his tree, and linking arms with
Dick they sauntered off to one of the fires. The chief was seated
beside this blaze, watching the final preparations for his meal, and he
motioned the boys to join him.
"Um white boys eat with Telca," he said, and Dick was pleased to find
that he knew so much English, for he knew that mutual explanations and
possible plans would have to be gone over by both of them, and his own
ignorance of this band's peculiar dialect prevented their carrying on
any extended conversation in the red-man's tongue.
"Not wait here long," said Dick, looking at the sun. "Redcoats after
white men and we must hurry."
"Where are the Redcoat soldiers?" asked the chief, helping himself to
some of the fish chowder and then pushing the pot toward the boys.
"We ran away from them this morning," replied Dick. "They follow us
soon, along the other shore, and there are many of them, too many for
even the brave redmen to fight."
"Red-man do not want to fight too many, but if not too many----" here
the chief drifted off into silence, and Dick could see that he was
thinking of something that boded ill for the British troops, whoever
fell into his hands. Fritz as too busy by far with the bowl of chowder
and some flat cakes of baked flour to pay much attention to the
conversation.
"My companion's name is Fritz," said Dick, rescuing the remains of the
meal from that busy party, "and my own is Dick."
The chief nodded to indicate that he understood and would remember
their names.
"We are going back to our own hunting grounds," said the Indian. "We
have been away for twelve moons now, and they should be ready for us
once more."
"What is the matter, game all gone?" queried Dick.
"No," replied Telca, shaking his head slowly. "If white boys stay with
their red friends, Telca will tell about it tonight."
"We will certainly stay as long as possible with our new friends," said
Dick, "and I hope our roads are to be together. Which way do the chief
and his people travel? You must be from far away, for your tongue is
new to me."
"We come across the high mountains," the chief answered, pointing to
the west. "We are going home, now."
"I wish we were already yet going home too," sighed Fritz.
"I thought you were glad to go on this trip," said Dick.
"Was I glad?" asked Fritz. "Of course, but I would be glad some more to
get to the end and back."
"Well, we'll get there if we keep at it," replied Dick, rising. "But if
we can, I think we had better start when you are ready, chief, and put
as much space between us and our enemies as possible."
"We start now," agreed Telca, giving some commands in his native
dialect to the other Indians. Instantly all was hurry and bustle in
the camp and after gathering up the few utensils and the food, all the
tribe filed off to the shore and slid the canoes out into the water.
They embarked as before and were soon strung out in a long, snake-like
line, keeping fairly close to the shore and paddling silently and
swiftly north and west.
They continued as long as the light lasted, and when it got too dark to
see things plainly at any great distance, the chief turned his canoe
toward the low shore and beached it again on the sands.
The proceedings of earlier in the day for camp making were repeated
and before long several little fires were twinkling in the forest and
the Indians were preparing to spend the night in this spot. Their
meal consisted of some smoked meat, boiled to make it tender, and
some potatoes which they roasted in the hot coals of the fire. After
the Indians had eaten, they all sat around one large fire, smoking
the long, root pipes, filled with fragrant tobacco. Fritz and Dick
didn't smoke, but they both took a few puffs from the large peace-pipe
which was passed around from man to man as a token of friendship and
good-will.
"Now will our friend and brother tell the Indians of his plans?" asked
the chief, addressing Dick.
"Surely," replied he. "My comrade and I wish to cross the mountains to
the west with all possible speed, descend the rivers on the other side
and go on to the post at Vincennes."
"It is well," said Telca, "for we too are going almost as far and will
travel with the white men."
"Fine!" ejaculated Dick. "Let us pledge our friendship by shaking
hands."
This formality was gravely observed and after making the round of the
circle Fritz and Dick resumed their places by the fire.
"And now may we know how it happens that the red-men are so far from
their own lands?"
"We left to give time for the Good Spirit to free our home of one who
had gone, and yet stayed in our tribe," the chief began.
"A spirit?" asked Dick, guessing that was what Telca meant.
"Yes," replied Telca, "the spirit of my daughter, who was unable to
gain entrance to our happy hunting grounds, because she died away from
us, and we could not send her on as all should go. On a night thirteen
moons passed, in an attack by the Redcoat soldiers, she was captured.
The white men lost many braves and were greatly angry over their
loss. They sought revenge and to teach a lesson to the great Indian,
they outdid him in cruelty. We are not as cruel as the white man when
he is angry. They bound our little daughter to the horns of a great
bull-moose and drove him out into the lake. Our young men were far away
and we were scattered after our defeat. But, with a few of the older
men, I was following their march, waiting to rescue my girl. And after
they had done this awful thing we caught up to them and could hear the
great animal thrashing about near the shore of the lake and could make
out the burden on its head. We shot the moose, but my daughter was
dead when we reached her. Every night from then on for many nights we
could hear the spirit of the moose crashing about in the forests and we
could hear the screams of our lost sister bound to its head. Then came
a message from the Good Spirit, and Red Wing, the son of a chief and a
man of wisdom, our own prophet, delivered to us the message. We were
to go away from our lands for twelve moons and when we returned our
sister would be in peace in the Happy Hunting Grounds beyond, and the
red-man would have his chance to revenge her death. And so we return,
after twelve moons of wandering, and we are to have our revenge."
"It seems terrible that any British officer could permit such a deed,"
said Dick, hotly, "and although the white man's God does not wish his
children to seek revenge from their enemies, I can't blame you for
feeling that you are entitled to it."
A chorus of grunts went around the circle of braves, and Dick felt that
some day the Redcoated soldiers would pay heavily for the deed that
some of their number had done.
"I vould not like to be a Red-goat, but in whatefer they get, they more
yet deserve," said Fritz.
The whole party were rather depressed at the recital of their wrongs,
and in a short time they rolled up in their long blankets and dropped
off to sleep.