THE CANOE.
It certainly was remarkable that when Fred Linden was watching the three
Winnebagos so closely, and when, as I have said, he noticed more than
one trifling matter, that he failed to recognize the animals they were
riding. All three were familiar to him, and the one he had spoken of as
being darker in color than the others, and as having a star in his
forehead, was the identical animal owned by his father. Fred, himself,
had ridden him more than once.
It should be said, however, that they were the pack-horses, which even
when put to their best paces, could not make good speed. Nevertheless,
they were of great value to the hunters.
The first conviction of the lad on awaking to the alarming fact, was
that his father and the other two men had been killed by the
Winnebagos. The thought overcame him so that he leaned against the
nearest tree and was on the point of fainting.
"They are all dead, Terry--I know it--we may as well give up, and try to
reach home."
Terry was agitated, but not so much so as his friend.
"Why, my dear boy, it's not so bad as _that_," he said feelingly; "do ye
not moind that whin the gintlemen go to trappin' and huntin' they turn
the horses loose to graze? The spalpeens have coom along and run off
with the same."
"Do you think so?" asked Fred, looking up yearningly for the grain of
comfort that his companion was able to give.
"I don't _think_ so; I know so; if the gintlemen took the bastes into
the cabin and slipt with the same ivery night, as me rilatives do with
their pigs in Ireland, why ye might think that they had suffered before
the Winnebagos tuk thim away; but they have snaaked up where the animals
was grazin', jumped onto their backs and rid off."
This view of the case was so reasonable, that Fred rallied and half
smiled at his own faintheartedness. He stood erect and drew a deep
breath of satisfaction.
"I believe you are right, but it strikes me that such thieves would have
stolen all instead of half the horses."
"They've lift the ither three for their frinds that I make no doubt will
be along to take thim, if they haven't done so now."
"You know that the loss of a horse is considered almost as bad as the
loss of a man in this part of the world."
"Sometimes he amounts to a good deal more, as me mither--"
Terry paused in his remarks, for just then Fred uttered a
warning--"_Sh!_" to signify that something was in the path in front. The
next moment, he ran several paces to the right and sheltered himself
behind a tree, Terry being only a few seconds behind him.
Both had discovered what it was. A brown bear of moderate size was
waddling along toward them. He had probably struck the trail, and
finding it easier walking than among the trees and undergrowth, was
swinging forward in the direction of the stream that had received such a
visit from the cyclone.
The boys could not know for a minute or two whether the beast had seen
them, but they felt no alarm. As I have said, he was not very large nor
formidable looking, and, if he chose to turn aside to attack them, they
were more than his equal. As it was, their own eagerness to get forward
was all that prevented them from shooting him.
Bruin lumbered ahead in his awkward way, and, as the boys peeped forth,
they fancied that his big brown eyes glanced mischievously at them; but
they were mistaken. He did not see nor scent them, but went by, and, in
a few minutes, disappeared from sight among the trees.
Hardly waiting till he had vanished, the youths stepped back into the
path and resumed the rapid pace at which they had been traveling. The
sun, that had been partly shining from behind the clouds, was low in the
sky, and it was not long before they were journeying in the twilight.
The moon rose early, but its light was so much obscured by the mists
that it gave little if any help, and the friends were disappointed to
find it difficult to make any progress at all.
At this trying juncture, they found themselves once more on the bank of
a stream that had to be crossed before they could go any further. It was
fully double the width of the one last passed, but did not look as if it
was deep.
"My clothes ain't all dry yit," said Terry, "and I'm in favor of wadin'
if we can."
"I am afraid it is too deep for that, and with our guns and bundles and
thick clothes it isn't an easy thing to swim. Besides it's colder than
it was last night and it won't be pleasant to spend a few more hours in
wet clothing: mine is about dry."
Fred added that if they should decide to push on, the only way of doing
so was by the usual means of a raft. It would take considerable time to
build one, and probably still longer to work their way to the other
side.
"No use of waitin'," said Terry; "let's take hold; I've an idaa that we
ain't far from the cabin and ivery mile that we can make now counts."
Fred started to give his help, when to his unbounded amazement, he
narrowly missed going headlong over a small Indian canoe that lay at
their feet. They would not have been more surprised had they come upon
Deerfoot himself in a sound slumber, and not until they had stooped down
and examined it closely were they certain that it was not some log
fantastically shaped by nature that had floated thither.
But an Indian canoe it was beyond all mistake, though after searching
all around it, they failed to find the paddle so necessary for its
propulsion. The boat had been drawn up the bank, underneath some bushes
and undergrowth, where it would not have been seen by any one further
off than six feet. It was so far back too from the stream that it would
require an unusual overflow to carry it away.
It was not so dark that the lads could not see that it was of beautiful
pattern and fine make--one of those delicate vessels which under the
skillful guidance of its owner skim like a swallow over the water. It
was a prize indeed.
Now, as you very well know, there is nothing wonderful about an Indian
canoe, but the astonishment of the boys came from the fact that they
found it in this place. Fred Linden, in listening to the accounts given
by his father on his return in the spring from his trapping expeditions,
had heard him say more than once that there was no Indian village
between Greville and the camp at the foot of the Ozarks, and that,
according to the friendly red men who occasionally visited them, he
believed that the nearest lodge lay nearly two hundred miles to the
north-west of Greville. It was this fact that gave the Hunters of the
Ozark so much confidence in themselves when they went on their long
hunts, though, as you have learned, danger did sometimes come from the
wandering Indians, the father of Terry Clark having lost his life at
their hands.
All this being known to the boys, they had cause to wonder how it was
that an Indian canoe lay hidden under the bushes on the shore. None of
those people would go to the trouble of making such a boat, unless he
expected to use it many times. It would be the same as if you had a
costly rowboat constructed with which to cross only once a canal or
small stream of water.
But, as in many other cases, it was idle to speculate, and the boys did
not allow any feeling of surprise to rob them of the valuable minutes.
Finding no paddle with which to manage the boat, Fred cut a small
sapling and trimmed it so that he had a pole fully twenty feet long.
Then the guns were laid in the bottom, Terry took his seat, and they
carefully pushed from shore, Fred managing the pole.
As they suspected, the water was quite shallow, the depth nowhere being
more than three or four feet; but the current was rapid, and in some
places the bottom of the canoe grated over the gravel. Both had to move
well to the stern to raise the bow, so as to allow them to reach land
with dry feet.
"It's a pity to allow this to float off and be lost," said Fred; "let's
draw it up the bank where the owner won't have any trouble in finding
it."
"I would give a good deal if I could be introduced to that same
gintleman," remarked Terry, who took off his cap and scratched his head
as he added:
"I wonder whither that is one of the canoes from near home?"
"What are you talking about? How could it get _here_?"
"By some subterranean communication, the same as we boys used to sind
notes to the gurls whin I was laarnin' the higher mathematics in
college."
Fred made no comment upon the remark of his friend. The canoe, when
relieved of their weight, was so light that the bow was pulled to the
shore by means of the pole. Then Fred alone drew it up beyond the reach
of the water, and it was left until the owner should come forward to
claim it.
The two now set out to hunt for the trail, with a view of making eight
or ten miles more before they stopped to rest; but the result was
discouraging. It took more than a half hour to make sure they had found
it, and then they had not gone twenty yards, when Fred said he could
not tell whether he was in the path or not.
"It's no use," he added; "we may as well stop, for we are sure to repeat
the mistake of to-day: we'll get so far wrong that it'll take many hours
to find our way back again, and we shall lose far more than we gain."
"That bein' the same--and I'm willin' to agraa that ye are now strivin'
to till the truth--let's turn off from the trail, go back so far that
there isn't any chance for any one to saa us and slaap till mornin'."
Since there was nothing else to do, the boys did as Terry proposed. They
were not so tired as they were the night before, and they did not dare
to lie down on the leaves and sleep as they did then. There were wild
animals prowling through the woods, and the fact that the lads escaped
once could be no guaranty that they would have equally good fortune a
second time.
Terry proposed that they should climb a tree and make a bed among the
branches; but that was hardly feasible. It is not often that the limbs
of a tree are accommodating enough to allow any one to rest with
comfort. The branches may be pleasant for a time, but the limbs soon
become like iron rods and the position so cramped as to drive away all
comfort. In addition, there was the danger of a fatal fall during sleep.
So it was decided to hunt out the most secluded place possible and start
a fire. That would keep off the wild animals, and the boys were not in
such need of sleep that they could not afford to take turns with each
other in watching through the night.
While hunting a suitable spot, they moved down the river bank for fully
a hundred yards, and then entered some dense undergrowth which they
penetrated until they were sure that no safer place could be found. So
they began gathering twigs, leaves and branches, and piling them against
the shaggy bark of a tree, and soon had all they wanted. This was fired
by means of the flint and steel, and a roaring, crackling blaze made
every thing look cheerful.
"Let's walk off a little ways," said Fred, "and see whether the light
can be noticed very far; you know that we can not be too careful."
Terry liked the proposal, and rose to act upon it. They moved in
opposite directions, walking several rods, and then carefully passing
entirely around the camp-fire. The result was satisfactory, for the
undergrowth in all directions was so thick that they felt as secure from
discovery as if the fire had been kindled within an impenetrable cave.
And yet they were woefully mistaken, as they were destined to learn in a
brief while.