FRED LINDEN AWAKENS TO AN ALARMING FACT.
The approach of the cyclone was attended by an appalling roar, and a
mass of branches and trees flying through the air, which warned the boys
of their danger.
"Terry, it won't do to stay here," shouted Fred, casting about for some
place of refuge; "where shall we go?"
Quite close to the stream which they had just crossed was an enormous
rock. Its irregular surface, a dozen feet in extent each way, must have
reached far down in the ground, so that nothing could have been more
immovable. It was not the refuge that the boys would have taken, had
they been given time to hunt for one, but surely they could not have
found a better.
A couple of leaps took Terry to the place, and, as he threw himself on
his face, Fred was directly behind him. As they lay, the shelving rock
was less than two feet above their heads. Though they could hear, they
could not see what was coming. They could look to the right and left,
but only for a few seconds in front.
Using their eyes as best they could, they saw the air filled with
leaves, twigs, branches, huge limbs and trunks, which spun forward and
over and over, like so many feathers in a tornado.
The first shock that came to the boys crouching behind the rock was a
dead thump near their heads. An uprooted tree had been hurled from some
point above, like an enormous spear, and, striking the rock at a slant,
slid over the rough surface like the finger of a player over the face of
a tambourine and out beyond, hunting for some spot where it could
penetrate. It found it on the ground, but it was instantly wrenched
loose by the resistless power that had first thrown it forward, and went
end over end into the general wreck and ruin beyond.
The next sight which startled the boys was on their left, directly over
the stream. The air was filled apparently with snow, as if a violent
squall had suddenly sprung up. It was accompanied by a hissing noise,
which mingled with the fearful roar that had not stopped and was like
that of the stormy Atlantic beating upon the rock-bound coast.
Striking the stream, the cyclone whirled most of the water from its bed,
scattered the mist and foam among the trees, and saturated the boys
where they lay. The huge torch was quenched as suddenly as it was
lighted.
The most terrifying moment to Fred and Terry was when they felt the rock
in front of them move. It was turned several inches to one side, and for
one frightful moment, they believed that that too would be sent skimming
through the air, or whirled over upon them. But there was no other
refuge to which they could fly; had they attempted to rise to their
feet, they would have been snatched up and dashed to death. So they
flattened themselves as much as they could on their faces, and the
terrific outburst could not reach them.
Such an elemental fury can not last long. Having torn up the ponderous
trees, overturned rocks, and cleaned out the stream, the cyclone seemed
to mount upward and leave the earth entirely, probably to descend some
miles away and continue its work of destruction.
Fred lay still several minutes after it had passed, and then turned to
look at his companion. He had unrolled the package and taken therefrom
the cooked buffalo steak, which had been so roughly handled during his
ride on the bull.
"Well, well," said the astonished Fred, "I believe you are the only
person in the world who could eat his dinner in the middle of such a
storm as this."
"I was thinkin', bein' as we are in so much of a hurry, that I would
save some toime by dinin' without delay, though ye do me an injoostice
by sayin' I'm through the same; I'm jist about to begin and I'll be
plaised to have yer company."
Terry may not have had much sentiment, but he was sensible. Fred sat up,
his head just rising above the rock, and, for a few minutes, they gave
their attention to their meal. There was enough for a fair lunch, but no
more. A gentle wind blew against them, being the remnant left by the
cyclone, and while they ate, you need not be told they used their eyes.
The sight was a striking one: the trees lay across each other, many with
their prong-like roots pointing toward the sky, limbs and trunks having
been tossed about in the most bewildering confusion. The water that had
been lifted from the creek rendered not only their clothing wet, but
every thing around them was saturated. Walking to the side of the
stream, they looked down at the sloping banks, wet and muddy, but with
little water except in the bottom. The current, however, was pouring so
swiftly from above that this was rapidly filling up, and before long
would reach its former level.
Now that the cyclone had passed, the sky rapidly cleared. There was a
chilliness in the air, and the sun did not show itself.
The boys took but a short time to view the destruction, great as it was,
when they faced about in the direction of the camp which was their
destination from the first. It looked as though they were finally
separated from the trail, for since it was so covered by fallen trees
and limbs, not the slightest trace of it was seen. They were filled with
dismay, and indeed would have been at their wits' end had not the
cyclone confined its fury to exceedingly narrow limits. All its
prodigious force was spent in and directly along the stream. Twenty
yards away, the forest was undisturbed, so that the elemental scythe had
made a clean swath as it sped along.
"Hurrah!" called out Terry, "here's the path; I follyed a straight line
as I could from the water here, so I'm sure I couldn't coom out very far
from the right place."
Fred hurried over the ruins to his side, and a glance at the ground
showed that his friend was right: there was the trail at their feet.
"Now," said Terry, recovering his spirits, "if we had only knowed that
that storm was coomin', we could have fastened our guns to our backs and
swum across, without waitin' to build the raft, and saved all the time
that we lost."
"But we would have been wetted all the same, had we done so."
"And gained that much time; do ye know," added Terry, in a half
frightened voice, "what I obsarved?"
"I suppose you saw what I did,--the air full of water, trees, limbs,
stones and lightning."
"While we were peepin' over the edge of the rock, ye moind that the wind
cut our faces so we had to lower 'em to keep our heads flyin' off where
we couldn't find 'em agin. It was yersilf that stuck yer nose in the
ground, but I took a paap off beyanst the creek and I saan one of the
Winnebagos."
"Can it be possible! what was he doin'?"
"Turnin' summersets at the rate of twinty to the second and about a
dozen faat above the ground; I had only the one glimpse of him, but whin
I obsarved him it looked to me as if his head and one leg wint off in
different directions; I s'pose he's lookin' for the same."
Fred Linden could hardly believe that Terry had seen one of their
enemies, though, as you can well understand, from what cyclones have
done in recent years, it was not at all impossible. The youth insisted
so strongly on the first part of his statement, that Fred decided that
at the time the storm burst, one at least of their foes was on the bank
behind them.
All this confirmed the belief he had expressed that they had lost
invaluable time by wandering from the trail, and that they would have
hard work to keep far enough in advance to reach the camp before the
Winnebagos. The proof that they had received too of some of the
Winnebagos being in front complicated the situation and added to the
mental discomfort of both.
The sky which, as you will remember, had become overcast sometime before
the bursting of the cyclone, continued to clear, and to the surprise of
the young hunters, about the middle of the afternoon the sun showed
itself. The chilliness, however, remained, though the two walked so
briskly that they could have well stood a still lower temperature.
Fortunately for them (though it also operated in favor of their enemies)
the trail was traveled without difficulty. The ground was uneven,
sometimes up and sometimes down, but it was not hard for the feet and
they made good progress. The distance they had to go was too great for
them to hope to reach the end of the journey before the morrow, even if
they traveled most of the night. They had already proven their pluck and
resolution, and you may be sure, now that they were on the right path,
that they did not throw away any minutes.
They had eaten the extra buffalo steak sooner than was intended, but
they could afford to wait until the morrow before partaking of any more
food.
The afternoon was far along and they were pushing forward in their usual
vigor, talking in a hopeful strain now and then, when both were startled
by the report of a rifle. It did not sound in front nor to the rear, but
only a moderate distance to the left. The boys stopped and looked in
each other's face.
"Anither of the spalpeens," whispered Terry; "now there ought to be a
gun fired on tother side of us and one in front and one behind us."
"They may be there, all the same," replied Fred, staring in the
direction whence came the report, as though he expected the appearance
of the one who had caused it. They looked and listened for several
minutes, but saw and heard nothing more, and resumed their hurried pace,
frequently glancing behind, for they were in that distrustful state of
mind which comes to one who has a strong suspicion that an enemy is
trying to steal behind him unawares. The actual presence of such an
enemy is no more trying than the suspense itself.
The shot might have been innocent--that is, fired by some wandering
white man or Indian who had not the remotest thought that any other
person was within hearing. Probably such was the fact, though there was
enough uncertainty about it to prevent the theory affording the youth
the comfort it otherwise would have done.
The lads, as you may well believe, did not stop to look into the matter,
but pressed on at a gait which they were confident would prevent any of
their enemies overtaking them, unless they broke into their loping trot,
which was hardly likely.
Somehow or other, Terry seemed to be thinking more about the three
Winnebago horsemen with whom Fred Linden had had his encounter than he
did about his own experience.
"How thim spalpeens could be ridin', whin all the rist are afoot, is
somethin' that puzzles me," said he, after they had walked some distance
further; "can't ye give some explanation that will relaave me mind,
Fred?"
"I can certainly know no more about it than you do."
"Didn't ye obsarve them with particularity?"
"I can't say that I did; they were rather small, tough-looking; two were
bay in color, while one was black: I noticed the black one more than the
others, because the Indian that I hit was riding on him; I remember that
he had a star in his forehead."
"Who? The Winnebago?"
"You know well enough that I meant the horse----"
Fred Linden stopped short, and turned his white, scared face upon his
friend. He had just awakened to an astounding fact.
"What's the matter, Fred? Are ye ill?"
"My gracious! why didn't I think of that before? Those three horses
belong to father, Mr. Hardin and Mr. Bowlby."
"Are ye sure of the same?"
"Why, of course; I can't understand why I did not notice it the moment I
saw them!"