"DEERFOOT WILL BE SENTINEL TO-NIGHT."
"We are on our way to the camp in the Ozarks," said Fred Linden; "and am
I mistaken in believing that you will go with us all the way?"
"Such is the wish of Deerfoot," replied the Shawanoe, whereat Terry
Clark gave signs of breaking out again; but at a warning look from Fred
he restrained himself.
"Deerfoot loves the Hunters of the Ozark; he has promised to make them a
visit; he will do so with his friends that he has found in the woods,
and who forget to keep their guns loaded."
"No use!" exclaimed Terry, bounding in the air, striking his heels
together, and flinging his hat aloft with a loud whoop; "I must give
gintle exprission to me emotions, even though it makes a war with
England."
The others showed no objection to this harmless ebullition, and he
speedily became quiet again.
Had Fred Linden been intimately acquainted with Deerfoot, he would have
noticed that he was not entirely at ease. Now and then he darted glances
about him, as though he half expected the appearance of some unwelcome
person. The glances were so quick and furtive that neither Fred nor
Terry noticed them.
"Deerfoot," said Fred, the three still standing; "we have concluded that
there isn't a better place along the trail for a camp."
To the surprise of the boys, he shook his head in dissent.
"Why, this is where father and the rest spent the night when they last
went this way."
He nodded to signify that he agreed with them.
"There were three of them, and they had their horses, that could not be
well hid; when my brothers go into camp for the night, they should take
a place where all who went by would not see them."
It struck the others as curious that the Shawanoe should talk in that
fashion, when they could not see any cause for alarm; but they had
enough faith in him to accept his judgment on such an important matter.
He added:
"Come with Deerfoot and he will show his brothers where they may slumber
in peace."
Without any more explanation the Shawanoe moved down the bank of the
brook, following a course parallel to the flow of the water, the other
two keeping at his heels. He did not look around until he had gone more
than a hundred yards. Then it was that the little party found itself in
a rocky section, with a rough cavern on their right--that is, the
bowlders and rocks were jumbled together in such a fashion that there
was some resemblance to a cave. The chief merit of the place, however,
was the privacy that it afforded, rather than the strength as a means of
defense against an enemy.
"This suits very well," said Fred, taking in all the points at a glance;
"here is a rocky bed on which we can start a fire, and the other rocks
and bowlders will keep off the wind, if there happens to be any; the
water is handy, if we should need it, and it is certain that we are not
as likely to be seen here as where we first selected."
"Deerfut," said Terry, who was nosing about, "I obsarve ashes here, as
though somebody had been ahead of us."
"Deerfoot built a fire but a few moons ago, and staid over night."
"If it was good enough for ye, I can stand it," said Terry, "which is
the remark me uncle made when the Duke of Argyle asked him to stay to
dinner."
The boys unfastened the bundles from their backs and prepared to spend
the night where they were. The blankets were spread on the flinty floor,
and Deerfoot, setting down his gun beside theirs, helped to gather the
wood with which to keep a fire burning. The three were so active that it
took but a short time to collect all that was needed. This was thrown
into one pile, from which it could be withdrawn as wanted.
I must give you a better idea of the spot where the three decided to
spend their first night in the woods together. They had walked northward
from the trail, and, so far as they could see, the country was of the
most broken nature, though the abundance of trees and undergrowth did
not permit an extended view. Two masses of stone rose to the height of a
dozen feet, and were separated by about the same distance. These rough
walls extended back to a distance of three or four yards, where they
came against a similar formation. Thus, as may be said, there were three
sides to an inclosure, that part facing the brook being entirely open.
On top of these supports were tumbled an irregular mass of bowlders and
rocks which formed the roof. The latter had so many openings that it was
as well ventilated as the roof of the house about which the Arkansas
Traveler tells us.
The rear part of the cavern, if it may be allowed that name, was stone,
while the front was earth. Near the center, Deerfoot had kindled his
fire when he staid there, the smoke finding ready escape through the
openings above. Such a fire might give some warmth were it needed, but
the blaze was so well hidden by the surrounding walls that it was not
likely to be seen by any one passing no nigher than fifty feet: therein
lay the reason why it was selected by Deerfoot.
After piling up the fuel for the night, the youths threw some branches
on the ground, near the rear of the cavern, and then spread their
blankets over them. The Shawanoe carried no blanket with him, so it was
expected that he would share the couch of his friends.
While the three were busying themselves in this manner, Fred Linden was
disturbed by a suspicion that had been growing from the moment Deerfoot
expressed dissatisfaction with the spot selected for their camp. This
suspicion was that the young Indian had a fear of something to which, as
yet, he had made no reference.
I have already shown that it was not generally considered a dangerous
business in which the hunters of Ozark engaged. The rough, outdoor life
sometimes brought with it hardships, and occasionally sufferings, but
chief among the dangers was not that from Indians. It was known that
now and then the red men fired spiteful shots at the invaders of their
hunting grounds (as was the case with Michael Clark, the father of
Terence), but in this section of the west that particular peril was
deemed less than that which threatened from wild beasts. There was no
instance of the hunters having been molested on their way to and from
the trapping regions: why then this special caution of Deerfoot?
Fred Linden, while turning these thoughts over in his mind, gave but the
one answer--_the Winnebago_. He was an intruder in that part of
Louisiana, and he had shown by his acts how ready he was to shed the
blood of innocent white persons. It was not a supposition merely that
this fierce warrior had companions. The keen eyes of Deerfoot had
discovered the proofs that there were a half dozen, at least, with him,
and from whom he separated for a short time while he entered into the
"side speculation" with Brindle and her bell; so it will be seen that
Fred Linden was not only right in his suspicion that the Wolf had to do
with the unrest of Deerfoot, but that the latter possessed good cause
for his misgiving.
The Winnebagos, having drifted so far away from their own hunting
grounds into this part of the world, were either going further from
home, or were on their way back. Had the Wolf behaved himself, the band
would have gone and come without the knowledge of any of the pioneers,
unless there was a chance meeting in the wood, when it is not likely
that any harm would have resulted.
But one of the Winnebagos was struck in the face by a white boy, while a
young Indian, a friend of the latter, having "got the drop" on the Wolf,
had taken his gun from him. In other words, the crime of assault and
robbery had been committed.
Would the rest of the Winnebagos pocket the outrage and meekly withdraw
from the country?
That, it would be seen, was the all important question, upon which great
events, as affecting the friends in whom we are interested, hinged.
It was in violation of the nature of the American race that any member
thereof should refuse to resent an indignity, when there was a chance
of doing so. The Winnebagos had the best of reasons for believing that,
by prowling around the settlement, or along the trail leading thereto,
they would soon gain an opportunity to wipe out the disgrace put upon
the Wolf, and, if not able to get back the gun that had been taken from
him, would be able to procure another.
The fact that this valuable weapon was carried in the hands of a boy,
who had started to tramp through the woods to a point a hundred miles
off, and that it was not at all impossible that the Winnebagos found, or
would find it out, gave emphasis to the cause of Deerfoot's uneasiness.
It is worthy of note that, while Terry Clark never once took this view
of the situation, it occurred to his friend Fred, who waited for the
Shawanoe to make some reference to it.
"He knows best, and if he doesn't choose to say any thing about it,
there is no call for me to do so."
The shadows of night were creeping through the wood when the fire was
started, and the smoke began stealing upward through the openings in
the rocky roof.
"Deerfoot," said Fred, when the fire crackled brightly, "the rule is,
that a party in camp like this, must have some one on guard while the
others sleep. I don't know as there is any need now, but if you think
so, let Terry and me do it, for we are not in need of sleep."
The Shawanoe looked at him intently for a moment as though he would read
his thoughts, and then quietly said:
"Deerfoot will be sentinel to-night!"