CHAPTER XXIV
I would it were bed-time, Hal, and all well. --Shakspeare.
A second glance sufficed to convince the whole of the startled party,that the young Pawnee, whom they had already encountered, again stoodbefore them. Surprise kept both sides mute, and more than a minute waspassed in surveying each other, with eyes of astonishment, if notof distrust. The wonder of the young warrior was, however, much moretempered and dignified than that of his Christian acquaintances. WhileMiddleton and Paul felt the tremor, which shook the persons of theirdependant companions, thrilling through their own quickened blood, theglowing eye of the Indian rolled from one to another, as if it couldnever quail before the rudest assaults. His gaze, after making thecircuit of every wondering countenance, finally settled in a steady lookon the equally immovable features of the trapper. The silence was firstbroken by Dr. Battius, in the ejaculation of--"Order, primates; genus,homo; species, prairie!"
"Ay--ay--the secret is out," said the old trapper, shaking his head,like one who congratulated himself on having mastered the mystery ofsome knotty difficulty. "The lad has been in the grass for a cover; thefire has come upon him in his sleep, and having lost his horse, he hasbeen driven to save himself under that fresh hide of a buffaloe. Nobad invention, when powder and flint were wanting to kindle a ring. Iwarrant me, now, this is a clever youth, and one that it would be safeto journey with! I will speak to him kindly, for anger can at leastserve no turn of ours. My brother is welcome again," using the language,which the other understood; "the Tetons have been smoking him, as theywould a racoon."
The young Pawnee rolled his eye over the place, as if he were examiningthe terrific danger from which he had just escaped, but he disdained tobetray the smallest emotion, at its imminency. His brow contracted, ashe answered to the remark of the trapper by saying--
"A Teton is a dog. When the Pawnee war-whoop is in their ears, the wholenation howls."
"It is true. The imps are on our trail, and I am glad to meet a warrior,with the tomahawk in his hand, who does not love them. Will my brotherlead my children to his village? If the Siouxes follow on our path, myyoung men shall help him to strike them."
The young Pawnee turned his eyes from one to another of the strangers,in a keen scrutiny, before he saw fit to answer so important aninterrogatory. His examination of the males was short, and apparentlysatisfactory. But his gaze was fastened long and admiringly, as in theirformer interview, on the surpassing and unwonted beauty of a being sofair and so unknown as Inez. Though his glance wandered, for moments,from her countenance to the more intelligible and yet extraordinarycharms of Ellen, it did not fail to return promptly to the study ofa creature who, in the view of his unpractised eye and untutoredimagination, was formed with all that perfection, with which theyouthful poet is apt to endow the glowing images of his brain. Nothingso fair, so ideal, so every way worthy to reward the courage andself-devotion of a warrior, had ever before been encountered on theprairies, and the young brave appeared to be deeply and intuitivelysensible to the influence of so rare a model of the loveliness of thesex. Perceiving, however, that his gaze gave uneasiness to thesubject of his admiration, he withdrew his eyes, and laying his handimpressively on his chest, he, modestly, answered--
"My father shall be welcome. The young men of my nation shall hunt withhis sons; the chiefs shall smoke with the grey-head. The Pawnee girlswill sing in the ears of his daughters."
"And if we meet the Tetons?" demanded the trapper, who wished tounderstand, thoroughly, the more important conditions of this newalliance.
"The enemy of the Big-knives shall feel the blow of the Pawnee."
"It is well. Now let my brother and I meet in council, that we may notgo on a crooked path, but that our road to his village may be like theflight of the pigeons."
The young Pawnee made a significant gesture of assent and followedthe other a little apart, in order to be removed from all danger ofinterruption from the reckless Paul, or the abstracted naturalist. Theirconference was short, but, as it was conducted in the sententious mannerof the natives, it served to make each of the parties acquainted withall the necessary information of the other. When they rejoined theirassociates, the old man saw fit to explain a portion of what had passedbetween them, as follows--
"Ay, I was not mistaken," he said; "this good-looking young warrior--forgood-looking and noble-looking he is, though a little horrified perhapswith paint--this good-looking youth, then, tells me he is out on thescout for these very Tetons. His party was not strong enough to strikethe devils, who are down from their towns in great numbers to hunt thebuffaloe, and runners have gone to the Pawnee villages for aid. It wouldseem that this lad is a fearless boy, for he has been hanging on theirskirts alone, until, like ourselves, he was driven to the grass for acover. But he tells me more, my men, and what I am mainly sorry to hear,which is, that the cunning Mahtoree instead of going to blows with thesquatter, has become his friend, and that both broods, red and white,are on our heels, and outlying around this very burning plain tocircumvent us to our destruction."
"How knows he all this to be true?" demanded Middleton.
"Anan?"
"In what manner does he know, that these things are so?"
"In what manner! Do you think newspapers and town criers are needed totell a scout what is doing on the prairies, as they are in the bosomof the States? No gossiping woman, who hurries from house to house tospread evil of her neighbour, can carry tidings with her tongue, so fastas these people will spread their meaning, by signs and warnings, thatthey alone understand. 'Tis their l'arning, and what is better, it isgot in the open air, and not within the walls of a school. I tell you,captain, that what he says is true."
"For that matter," said Paul, "I'm ready to swear to it. It isreasonable, and therefore it must be true."
"And well you might, lad; well you might. He furthermore declares, thatmy old eyes for once were true to me, and that the river lies, hereaway,at about the distance of half a league. You see the fire has done mostof its work in that quarter, and our path is clouded in smoke. He alsoagrees that it is needful to wash our trail in water. Yes, we must putthat river atween us and the Sioux eyes, and then, by the favour of theLord, not forgetting our own industry, we may gain the village of theLoups."
"Words will not forward us a foot," said Middleton; "let us move."
The old man assented, and the party once more prepared to renew itsroute. The Pawnee threw the skin of the buffaloe over his shoulderand led the advance, casting many a stolen glance behind him as heproceeded, in order to fix his gaze on the extraordinary and, to him,unaccountable loveliness of the unconscious Inez.
An hour sufficed to bring the fugitives to the bank of the stream, whichwas one of the hundred rivers that serve to conduct, through the mightyarteries of the Missouri and Mississippi, the waters of that vast andstill uninhabited region to the Ocean. The river was not deep, but itscurrent was troubled and rapid. The flames had scorched the earth to itsvery margin, and as the warm streams of the fluid mingled, in the coolerair of the morning, with the smoke of the raging conflagration, mostof its surface was wrapped in a mantle of moving vapour. The trapperpointed out the circumstance with pleasure, saying, as he assisted Inezto dismount on the margin of the watercourse--
"The knaves have outwitted themselves! I am far from certain that Ishould not have fired the prairie, to have got the benefit of this verysmoke to hide our movements, had not the heartless imps saved us thetrouble. I've known such things done in my day, and done with success.Come, lady, put your tender foot upon the ground--for a fearful time hasit been to one of your breeding and skeary qualities. Ah's me! whathave I not known the young, and the delicate, and the virtuous, andthe modest, to undergo, in my time, among the horrifications andcircumventions of Indian warfare! Come, it is a short quarter of a mileto the other bank, and then our trail, at least, will be broken."
Paul had by this time assi
sted Ellen to dismount, and he now stoodlooking, with rueful eyes, at the naked banks of the river. Neither treenor shrub grew along its borders, with the exception of here and there asolitary thicket of low bushes, from among which it would not have beenan easy matter to have found a dozen stems of a size sufficient to makean ordinary walking-stick.
"Harkee, old trapper," the moody-looking bee-hunter exclaimed; "it isvery well to talk of the other side of this ripple of a river, or brook,or whatever you may call it, but in my judgment it would be a smartrifle that would throw its lead across it--that is, to any detriment toIndian, or deer."
"That it would--that it would; though I carry a piece, here, that hasdone its work in time of need, at as great a distance."
"And do you mean to shoot Ellen and the captain's lady across; or do youintend them to go, trout fashion, with their mouths under water?"
"Is this river too deep to be forded?" asked Middleton, who, like Paul,began to consider the impossibility of transporting her, whose safety hevalued more than his own, to the opposite shore.
"When the mountains above feed it with their torrents, it is, as yousee, a swift and powerful stream. Yet have I crossed its sandy bed, inmy time, without wetting a knee. But we have the Sioux horses; I warrantme, that the kicking imps will swim like so many deer."
"Old trapper," said Paul, thrusting his fingers into his mop of a head,as was usual with him, when any difficulty confounded his philosophy,"I have swam like a fish in my day, and I can do it again, when there isneed; nor do I much regard the weather; but I question if you get Nellyto sit a horse, with this water whirling like a mill-race before hereyes; besides, it is manifest the thing is not to be done dry shod."
"Ah, the lad is right. We must to our inventions, therefore, or theriver cannot be crossed." Then, cutting the discourse short, he turnedto the Pawnee, and explained to him the difficulty which existed inrelation to the women. The young warrior listened gravely, and throwingthe buffaloe-skin from his shoulder he immediately commenced, assistedby the occasional aid of the understanding old man, the preparationsnecessary to effect this desirable object.
The hide was soon drawn into the shape of an umbrella top, or aninverted parachute, by thongs of deer-skin, with which both thelabourers were well provided. A few light sticks served to keep theparts from collapsing, or falling in. When this simple and naturalexpedient was arranged, it was placed on the water, the Indian makinga sign that it was ready to receive its freight. Both Inez and Ellenhesitated to trust themselves in a bark of so frail a construction, norwould Middleton or Paul consent that they should do so, until each hadassured himself, by actual experiment, that the vessel was capable ofsustaining a load much heavier than it was destined to receive. Then,indeed, their scruples were reluctantly overcome, and the skin was madeto receive its precious burden.
"Now leave the Pawnee to be the pilot," said the trapper; "my hand isnot so steady as it used to be; but he has limbs like toughened hickory.Leave all to the wisdom of the Pawnee."
The husband and lover could not well do otherwise, and they were fainto become deeply interested, it is true, but passive spectators ofthis primitive species of ferrying. The Pawnee selected the beast ofMahtoree, from among the three horses, with a readiness that proved hewas far from being ignorant of the properties of that noble animal, andthrowing himself upon its back, he rode into the margin of the river.Thrusting an end of his lance into the hide, he bore the light vesselup against the stream, and giving his steed the rein, they pushed boldlyinto the current. Middleton and Paul followed, pressing as nigh the barkas prudence would at all warrant. In this manner the young warrior borehis precious cargo to the opposite bank in perfect safety, without theslightest inconvenience to the passengers, and with a steadiness andcelerity which proved that both horse and rider were not unused to theoperation. When the shore was gained, the young Indian undid his work,threw the skin over his shoulder, placed the sticks under his arm, andreturned, without speaking, to transfer the remainder of the party, in asimilar manner, to what was very justly considered the safer side of theriver.
"Now, friend Doctor," said the old man, when he saw the Indian plunginginto the river a second time, "do I know there is faith in yonderRed-skin. He is a good-looking, ay, and an honest-looking youth, butthe winds of Heaven are not more deceitful than these savages, when thedevil has fairly beset them. Had the Pawnee been a Teton, or one of themheartless Mingoes, that used to be prowling through the woods of York, atime back, that is, some sixty years agone, we should have seen his backand not his face turned towards us. My heart had its misgivings when Isaw the lad choose the better horse, for it would be as easy to leave uswith that beast, as it would for a nimble pigeon to part company from aflock of noisy and heavy winged crows. But you see that truth is in theboy, and make a Red-skin once your friend, he is yours so long as youdeal honestly by him."
"What may be the distance to the sources of this stream?" demandedDoctor Battius, whose eyes were rolling over the whirling eddies of thecurrent, with a very portentous expression of doubt. "At what distancemay its secret springs be found?"
"That may be as the weather proves. I warrant me your legs would bea-weary before you had followed its bed into the Rocky Mountains; butthen there are seasons when it might be done without wetting a foot."
"And in what particular divisions of the year do these periodicalseasons occur?"
"He that passes this spot a few months from this time, will find thatfoaming water-course a desert of drifting sand."
The naturalist pondered deeply. Like most others, who are not endowedwith a superfluity of physical fortitude, the worthy man had found thedanger of passing the river, in so simple a manner, magnifying itselfin his eyes so rapidly, as the moment of adventure approached, that heactually contemplated the desperate effort of going round the river, inorder to escape the hazard of crossing it. It may not be necessary todwell on the incredible ingenuity, with which terror will at any timeprop a tottering argument. The worthy Obed had gone over the wholesubject, with commendable diligence, and had just arrived at theconsoling conclusion, that there was nearly as much glory in discerningthe hidden sources of so considerable a stream, as in adding a plant,or an insect, to the lists of the learned, when the Pawnee reached theshore for the second time. The old man took his seat, with the utmostdeliberation, in the vessel of skin (so soon as it had been dulyarranged for his reception), and having carefully disposed of Hectorbetween his legs, he beckoned to his companion to occupy the thirdplace.
The naturalist placed a foot in the frail vessel, as an elephant willtry a bridge, or a horse is often seen to make a similar experiment,before he will trust the whole of his corporeal treasure on the dreadedflat, and then withdrew, just as the old man believed he was about toseat himself.
"Venerable venator," he said, mournfully, "this is a most unscientificbark. There is an inward monitor which bids me distrust its security!"
"Anan?" said the old man, who was pinching the ears of the hound, as afather would play with the same member in a favourite child.
"I incline not to this irregular mode of experimenting on fluids. Thevessel has neither form, nor proportions."
"It is not as handsomely turned as I have seen a canoe in birchen bark,but comfort may be taken in a wigwam as well as in a palace."
"It is impossible that any vessel constructed on principles so repugnantto science can be safe. This tub, venerable hunter, will never reach theopposite shore in safety."
"You are a witness of what it has done."
"Ay; but it was an anomaly in prosperity. If exceptions were to be takenas rules, in the government of things, the human race would speedily beplunged in the abysses of ignorance. Venerable trapper, this expedient,in which you would repose your safety, is, in the annals of regularinventions, what a lusus naturae may be termed in the lists of naturalhistory--a monster!"
How much longer Doctor Battius might have felt disposed to prolongthe discourse, it is difficult to say, for in addi
tion to the powerfulpersonal considerations, which induced him to procrastinate anexperiment which was certainly not without its dangers, the pride ofreason was beginning to sustain him in the discussion. But, fortunatelyfor the credit of the old man's forbearance, when the naturalist reachedthe word, with which he terminated his last speech, a sound arose inthe air that seemed a sort of supernatural echo to the idea itself. Theyoung Pawnee, who had awaited the termination of the incomprehensiblediscussion, with grave and characteristic patience, raised his head, andlistened to the unknown cry, like a stag, whose mysterious faculties haddetected the footsteps of the distant hounds in the gale. The trapperand the Doctor were not, however, entirely so uninstructed as to thenature of the extraordinary sounds. The latter recognised in them thewell-known voice of his own beast, and he was about to rush up thelittle bank, which confined the current, with all the longings of strongaffection, when Asinus himself galloped into view, at no great distance,urged to the unnatural gait by the impatient and brutal Weucha, whobestrode him.
The eyes of the Teton, and those of the fugitives met. The former raiseda long, loud, and piercing yell, in which the notes of exultationwere fearfully blended with those of warning. The signal served for afinishing blow to the discussion on the merits of the bark, the Doctorstepping as promptly to the side of the old man, as if a mental mist hadbeen miraculously removed from his eyes. In another instant the steed ofthe young Pawnee was struggling with the torrent.
The utmost strength of the horse was needed to urge the fugitives,beyond the flight of arrows that came sailing through the air, at thenext moment. The cry of Weucha had brought fifty of his comrades tothe shore, but fortunately among them all, there was not one of a ranksufficient to entitle him to the privilege of bearing a fusee. One halfthe stream, however, was not passed, before the form of Mahtoree himselfwas seen on its bank, and an ineffectual discharge of firearms announcedthe rage and disappointment of the chief. More than once the trapper hadraised his rifle, as if about to try its power on his enemies, but he asoften lowered it, without firing. The eyes of the Pawnee warrior glaredlike those of the cougar, at the sight of so many of the hostile tribe,and he answered the impotent effort of their chief, by tossing a handinto the air in contempt, and raising the war-cry of his nation. Thechallenge was too taunting to be endured. The Tetons dashed into thestream in a body, and the river became dotted with the dark forms ofbeasts and riders.
There was now a fearful struggle for the friendly bank. As the Dahcotahsadvanced with beasts, which had not, like that of the Pawnee, expendedtheir strength in former efforts, and as they moved unincumbered by anything but their riders, the speed of the pursuers greatly outstrippedthat of the fugitives. The trapper, who clearly comprehended the wholedanger of their situation, calmly turned his eyes from the Tetons to hisyoung Indian associate, in order to examine whether the resolution ofthe latter began to falter, as the former lessened the distance betweenthem. Instead of betraying fear, however, or any of that concern whichmight so readily have been excited by the peculiarity of his risk, thebrow of the young warrior contracted to a look which indicated high anddeadly hostility.
"Do you greatly value life, friend Doctor?" demanded the old man, with asort of philosophical calmness, which made the question doubly appallingto his companion.
"Not for itself," returned the naturalist, sipping some of the waterof the river from the hollow of his hand, in order to clear his huskythroat. "Not for itself, but exceedingly, inasmuch as natural historyhas so deep a stake in my existence. Therefore--"
"Ay!" resumed the other, who mused too deeply to dissect the ideasof the Doctor with his usual sagacity, "'tis in truth the history ofnatur', and a base and craven feeling it is! Now is life as precious tothis young Pawnee, as to any governor in the States, and he might saveit, or at least stand some chance of saving it, by letting us go downthe stream; and yet you see he keeps his faith manfully, and like anIndian warrior. For myself, I am old, and willing to take the fortunethat the Lord may see fit to give, nor do I conceit that you are of muchbenefit to mankind; and it is a crying shame, if not a sin, that so finea youth as this should lose his scalp for two beings so worthlessas ourselves. I am therefore disposed, provided that it shall proveagreeable to you, to tell the lad to make the best of his way, and toleave us to the mercy of the Tetons."
"I repel the proposition, as repugnant to nature, and as treason toscience!" exclaimed the alarmed naturalist. "Our progress is miraculous;and as this admirable invention moves with so wonderful a facility, afew more minutes will serve to bring us to land."
The old man regarded him intently for an instant, and shaking his headhe said--
"Lord, what a thing is fear! it transforms the creatur's of the worldand the craft of man, making that which is ugly, seemly in our eyes, andthat which is beautiful, unsightly! Lord, Lord, what a thing is fear!"
A termination was, however, put to the discussion, by the increasinginterest of the chase. The horses of the Dahcotahs had, by this time,gained the middle of the current, and their riders were already fillingthe air with yells of triumph. At this moment Middleton and Paul who hadled the females to a little thicket, appeared again on the margin of thestream, menacing their enemies with the rifle.
"Mount, mount," shouted the trapper, the instant he beheld them; "mountand fly, if you value those who lean on you for help. Mount, and leaveus in the hands of the Lord."
"Stoop your head, old trapper," returned the voice of Paul, "down withye both into your nest. The Teton devil is in your line; down with yourheads and make way for a Kentucky bullet."
The old man turned his head, and saw that the eager Mahtoree, whopreceded his party some distance, had brought himself nearly in a linewith the bark and the bee-hunter, who stood perfectly ready to executehis hostile threat. Bending his body low, the rifle was discharged, andthe swift lead whizzed harmlessly past him, on its more distant errand.But the eye of the Teton chief was not less quick and certain than thatof his enemy. He threw himself from his horse the moment precedingthe report, and sunk into the water. The beast snorted with terror andanguish, throwing half his form out of the river in a desperate plunge.Then he was seen drifting away in the torrent, and dyeing the turbidwaters with his blood.
The Teton chief soon re-appeared on the surface, and understanding thenature of his loss, he swam with vigorous strokes to the nearest ofthe young men, who relinquished his steed, as a matter of course, to sorenowned a warrior. The incident, however, created a confusion in thewhole of the Dahcotah band, who appeared to await the intention of theirleader, before they renewed their efforts to reach the shore. In themean time the vessel of skin had reached the land, and the fugitiveswere once more united on the margin of the river.
The savages were now swimming about in indecision, as a flock of pigeonsis often seen to hover in confusion after receiving a heavy dischargeinto its leading column, apparently hesitating on the risk of storming abank so formidably defended. The well-known precaution of Indian warfareprevailed, and Mahtoree, admonished by his recent adventure, led hiswarriors back to the shore from which they had come, in order to relievetheir beasts, which were already becoming unruly.
"Now mount you, with the tender ones, and ride for yonder hillock," saidthe trapper; "beyond it, you will find another stream, into which youmust enter, and turning to the sun, follow its bed for a mile, untilyou reach a high and sandy plain; there will I meet you. Go; mount;this Pawnee youth and I, and my stout friend the physician, who is adesperate warrior, are men enough to keep the bank, seeing that show andnot use is all that is needed."
Middleton and Paul saw no use in wasting their breath in remonstrancesagainst this proposal. Glad to know that their rear was to be covered,even in this imperfect manner, they hastily got their horses in motion,and soon disappeared on the required route. Some twenty or thirtyminutes succeeded this movement before the Tetons on the opposite shoreseemed inclined to enter on any new enterprise. Mahtoree was distinctlyvisible, in the midst of his
warriors, issuing his mandates andbetraying his desire for vengeance, by occasionally shaking an arm inthe direction of the fugitives; but no step was taken, which appeared tothreaten any further act of immediate hostility. At length a yell aroseamong the savages, which announced the occurrence of some fresh event.Then Ishmael and his sluggish sons were seen in the distance, and soonthe whole of the united force moved down to the very limits of thestream. The squatter proceeded to examine the position of his enemies,with his usual coolness, and, as if to try the power of his rifle, hesent a bullet among them, with a force sufficient to do execution, evenat the distance at which he stood.
"Now let us depart!" exclaimed Obed, endeavouring to catch a furtiveglimpse of the lead, which he fancied was whizzing at his very ear; "wehave maintained the bank in a gallant manner, for a sufficient length oftime; quite as much military skill is to be displayed in a retreat, asin an advance."
The old man cast a look behind him, and seeing that the equestrians hadreached the cover of the hill, he made no objections to the proposal.The remaining horse was given to the Doctor, with instructions to pursuethe course just taken by Middleton and Paul. When the naturalist wasmounted and in full retreat, the trapper and the young Pawnee stole fromthe spot in such a manner as to leave their enemies some time in doubtas to their movements. Instead, however, of proceeding across the plaintowards the hill, a route on which they must have been in open view,they took a shorter path, covered by the formation of the ground, andintersected the little water-course at the point where Middleton hadbeen directed to leave it, and just in season to join his party. TheDoctor had used so much diligence in the retreat, as to have alreadyovertaken his friends, and of course all the fugitives were againassembled.
The trapper now looked about him for some convenient spot, where thewhole party might halt, as he expressed it, for some five or six hours.
"Halt!" exclaimed the Doctor, when the alarming proposal reached hisears; "venerable hunter, it would seem, that on the contrary, many daysshould be passed in industrious flight."
Middleton and Paul were both of this opinion, and each in his particularmanner expressed as much.
The old man heard them with patience, but shook his head like one whowas unconvinced, and then answered all their arguments, in one generaland positive reply.
"Why should we fly?" he asked. "Can the legs of mortal men outstrip thespeed of horses? Do you think the Tetons will lie down and sleep; orwill they cross the water and nose for our trail? Thanks be to the Lord,we have washed it well in this stream, and if we leave the place withdiscretion and wisdom, we may yet throw them off its track. But aprairie is not a wood. There a man may journey long, caring for nothingbut the prints his moccasin leaves, whereas in these open plains arunner, placed on yonder hill, for instance, could see far on every sideof him, like a hovering hawk looking down on his prey. No, no; nightmust come, and darkness be upon us, afore we leave this spot. But listento the words of the Pawnee; he is a lad of spirit, and I warrant me manyis the hard race that he has run with the Sioux bands. Does my brotherthink our trail is long enough?" he demanded in the Indian tongue.
"Is a Teton a fish, that he can see it in the river?"
"But my young men think we should stretch it, until it reaches acrossthe prairie."
"Mahtoree has eyes; he will see it."
"What does my brother counsel?"
The young warrior studied the heavens a moment, and appeared tohesitate. He mused some time with himself, and then he replied, like onewhose opinion was fixed--
"The Dahcotahs are not asleep," he said; "we must lie in the grass."
"Ah! the lad is of my mind," said the old man, briefly explaining theopinion of his companion to his white friends. Middleton was obligedto acquiesce, and, as it was confessedly dangerous to remain upon theirfeet, each one set about assisting in the means to be adopted for theirsecurity. Inez and Ellen were quickly bestowed beneath the warm andnot uncomfortable shelter of the buffaloe skins, which formed a thickcovering, and tall grass was drawn over the place, in such a manner asto evade any examination from a common eye. Paul and the Pawnee fetteredthe beasts and cast them to the earth, where, after supplying them withfood, they were also left concealed in the fog of the prairie. No timewas lost when these several arrangements were completed, before each ofthe others sought a place of rest and concealment, and then the plainappeared again deserted to its solitude.
The old man had advised his companions of the absolute necessity oftheir continuing for hours in this concealment. All their hopes ofescape depended on the success of the artifice. If they might elude thecunning of their pursuers, by this simple and therefore less suspectedexpedient, they could renew their flight as the evening approached, and,by changing their course, the chance of final success would be greatlyincreased. Influenced by these momentous considerations the whole partylay, musing on their situation, until thoughts grew weary, and sleepfinally settled on them all, one after another.
The deepest silence had prevailed for hours, when the quick ears of thetrapper and the Pawnee were startled by a faint cry of surprise fromInez. Springing to their feet, like men, who were about to struggle fortheir lives, they found the vast plain, the rolling swells, the littlehillock, and the scattered thickets, covered alike in one, white,dazzling sheet of snow.
"The Lord have mercy on ye all!" exclaimed the old man, regarding theprospect with a rueful eye; "now, Pawnee, do I know the reason why youstudied the clouds so closely; but it is too late; it is too late! Asquirrel would leave his trail on this light coating of the 'arth. Ha!there come the imps to a certainty. Down with ye all, down with ye; yourchance is but small, and yet it must not be wilfully cast away."
The whole party was instantly concealed again, though many an anxiousand stolen glance was directed through the tops of the grass, on themovements of their enemies. At the distance of half a mile, the Tetonband was seen riding in a circuit, which was gradually contractingitself, and evidently closing upon the very spot where the fugitiveslay. There was but little difficulty in solving the mystery of thismovement. The snow had fallen in time to assure them that thosethey sought were in their rear, and they were now employed, with theunwearied perseverance and patience of Indian warriors, in circling thecertain boundaries of their place of concealment.
Each minute added to the jeopardy of the fugitives. Paul and Middletondeliberately prepared their rifles, and as the occupied Mahtoree came,at length, within fifty feet of them, keeping his eyes riveted on thegrass through which he rode, they levelled them together and pulled thetriggers. The effort was answered by the mere snapping of the locks.
"Enough," said the old man, rising with dignity; "I have cast away thepriming; for certain death would follow your rashness. Now let us meetour fates like men. Cringing and complaining find no favour in Indianeyes."
His appearance was greeted by a yell, that spread far and wide over theplain, and in a moment a hundred savages were seen riding madly to thespot. Mahtoree received his prisoners with great self-restraint, thougha single gleam of fierce joy broke through his clouded brow, and theheart of Middleton grew cold as he caught the expression of that eye,which the chief turned on the nearly insensible but still lovely Inez.
The exultation of receiving the white captives was so great, as fora time to throw the dark and immovable form of their young Indiancompanion entirely out of view. He stood apart, disdaining to turn aneye on his enemies, as motionless as if he were frozen in that attitudeof dignity and composure. But when a little time had passed, even thissecondary object attracted the attention of the Tetons. Then it was thatthe trapper first learned, by the shout of triumph and the long drawnyell of delight, which burst at once from a hundred throats, as well asby the terrible name, which filled the air, that his youthful friendwas no other than that redoubtable and hitherto invincible warrior,Hard-Heart.