CHAPTER XVIII
SMOKING OUT THE INDIAN
Pat and Alec returned to their captive. Alec acted as spokesman,speaking the patois of the Canuck or French Canadian fluently, while theFrenchman spoke English but little, and that very brokenly. Alecrepeated his previously made charges of theft from the traps, and alsoof illegal poaching in the deer yard, to all of which Pierre shruggedhis shoulders indifferently. Then speaking slowly, that every word mightsink in, Alec charged him with being an accomplice to attempted murderand the theft of the black fox.
This roused the Frenchman to vehement denial. He swore by the name ofhis patron saint that he knew nothing of the black fox and had had nopart in the theft. He declared that he didn't even know that a black foxhad been seen in the Hollow, and as for the assault on Sparrer, he wasas innocent as a new-born babe. Then Alec told him the story of thekilling of the fox and the murderous attack by the Indian, concluding bystating his belief that the latter had hidden the skin and intended todesert his companion at the first opportunity and thus avoid having toshare his ill-gotten gains.
Pierre's face grew black with ill suppressed rage, not, as his captorswell knew, at the dastardly crime, but at the evident intention of hispartner to "double-cross" him. Alec artfully pointed out the serioussituation in which he, Pierre, was; if turned over to the officers ofthe law he would undoubtedly have to face the charge of being accessoryto the Indian's crime. He wound up with the suggestion that if Pierrewould endeavor to help them recover the skin they would in return becontent to allow him to get out of the country. If he refused they wouldhold him and turn him over to the authorities.
It did not take Pierre long to make up his mind. He saw clearly that hehad nothing to gain by refusing, and everything to lose. Moreover thespirit of revenge was strong within him. After a few minutes ofhesitation he sullenly agreed to do whatever was required of him.
"Tell him," said Pat, "that he is to go out there and demand of thatskulking redskin that he come out and surrender. Tell him to make itclear that the camp is surrounded and the jig is up; that we're going toget him anyway, dead or alive, and we don't much care which. Tell himthat he is not to go nearer than ten yards to the cabin, that we've gothim covered, and if he makes any break it will be his last one."
Alec translated this and Pierre nodded. Then he walked forward throughthe thicket into the open, at Alec's command coming to a halt somethirty feet from the cabin door, where he hailed the Indian in thelatter's own tongue. There was a muffled reply and after some delay thecabin door was opened a crack and a rifle barrel thrust through. Thenfollowed a heated parley in the Indian tongue, of which Alec understoodenough to gather the substance.
"He's laying it on thick," he chuckled. "Says that the sheriff anddeputies are here and have got the camp surrounded, and that unless hecomes out they'll shoot him on sight. The Injun has passed him the lie.He's mockin' Pierre for being caught by a couple of make-believetrappers--ye ken that's you and me, Pat--and a lot of infants. He sayshe hasn't got the black fox and disna know anything about it. Pierre isgiving him a beautiful tongue-lashing and calling him everything badthis side of purgatory. 'Tis a shame ye dinna understand a little of thelingo, Pat. Ha! The red says he'll shoot on sight and is warning Pierreto get back before he takes a pot shot at him, and by the saints Ibelieve he means it!"
As a matter of fact at this point they saw the rifle barrel raised.Pierre abruptly turned and without once looking back rejoined the twomen in the thicket. He was in a towering rage and spat out Frenchinvectives at a rate to defy description. He reported the result of hismission, stating his opinion that the Indian could hold outindefinitely, as there was a plentiful supply of grub in the cabin andenough fire-wood to keep him from freezing for longer than hisbesiegers would care to stay.
"Will he shoot, do you think, if we rush the cabin?" asked Patmeditatively.
As if in reply the rifle at the cabin door spat fire and a bulletwhistled through the thicket so close to Pat that instinctively heducked. He had carelessly exposed himself to the view of the outlaw.Almost instantly Alec's rifle replied and a splinter flew from thedoor-frame.
"That will teach him that 'tis no make-believe shooter out here!" hegrowled.
The door still remained open a crack, evidently to allow the inmate toobserve what was going on in front, the only vulnerable point of attack,there being no windows in the cabin. Pat worked around to a point wherehe could put a bullet through this crack by way of warning and his shotwas followed by the closing of the door.
"Ut remoinds me," said he with a comical grimace as he slipped into thebrogue, "av the first skunk I iver caught. 'Twas in a box trap, andhaving got the little baste in the trap I didn't know how in themischief to get him out."
Meanwhile the three boys had obediently remained at their posts. Theyhad witnessed the parley and the shooting, but just what it all meantand what the results were they could only guess. They were a-shake withexcitement, and fairly ached with curiosity. Shortly after the last shotPat joined them and briefly explained what had happened, and the presentsituation.
"There's only one thing we can do now," said he, "and that is to smokethe old fox out. This is where you fellows, or one of you, anyway, willhave a chance to take a hand. The snow is banked clear to the roof hereat the back and it will be no trick at all for one of you to steal downthere to the chimney. He's got a fire there now, but the minute hesuspects what is up he'll put that out. We've got to give him somethinghe can't put out. I've got on an old sweater that's about worn out. Acouple of you can slip around down where we passed those cedars andstrip off enough bark and that hanging moss to stuff it out so that youcan make a ball of it, and stuff it down the chimney with a pole so thatit will stick half-way. On top of that you can drop some rolls oflighted birch bark and have ready the thickest fir boughs you can findto clap on top of the chimney. Walt, you better tend to putting thestuff down the chimney, and mind you work fast. And don't lean over it.When he finds what is up he's likely to try a pot shot up the chimney inthe hope of blowing the stuff out. If you have good heavy boughs on tophe can't do it. Alec and I will watch the front to get him when he comesout. Have plenty of bark and get it going well before you toss the rollsin. As long as you don't get over the chimney and keep off the roofthere will be no danger. The roof is of bark, and he may take a chanceshot up through it, so work from the drift on this end."
Hal and Sparrer went after the moss, while Upton made a trip over to aclump of birches and stripped off the bark. Then with his belt axe hecut a number of fir boughs. By the time the others returned he had thebark and boughs ready and had prepared a stick with which to push downthe moss-filled sweater. If he should push this too far it would dropdown into the fireplace. On the other hand he wanted to get it farenough down so that the flames from the bark would not immediately firethe fir boughs on top. Breaking through the snow-crust he mixed snowwith the moss and also rolled the sweater in snow. The boys had broughtmore moss than was needed for stuffing the sweater and this Upton alsomixed with snow and placed in a loose mass at the foot of the chimney.
When all was ready he had Hal and Sparrer each light a couple of thebirch rolls ready to hand to him. As soon as these were going he stuffedthe sweater down the chimney, pushing it down with the stick as far ashe dared. Then seizing the burning bark rolls he tossed them down ontop, crammed the loose moss in, and clapped the fir boughs over all. Ontop of the latter he tossed some snow. Meanwhile Pat had created adiversion in front of the cabin by shouting threats of what they woulddo to the redskin if he didn't come out and surrender.
Upton had worked quickly and was through before the outlaw fully sensedwhat was up. At first he evidently thought that they had merely coveredthe top of the chimney to smoke him out with his own fire, and ahissing sound which came up to them through the chimney proclaimed thequenching of this with water. Then discovering that the smoke wasincreasing instead of decreasing he did exactly what Pat hadforeseen--attempted to blow the chimney c
lear by firing his rifle up it.However he only succeeded in setting fire to the sweater from underneathand this, because of its nature, merely smouldered. It was now merely aquestion of whether the sweater and moss would burn and drop before thesmoke in the cabin became too dense for a human being to live in it.
Birch bark, as every Boy Scout knows, is one of the most inflammable ofmaterials. It burns like fat, and also like fat it throws off a thicksmoke. This was working up now in little puffs through the fir boughs,but the great bulk of it must be pouring into the cabin, for Upton hadtaken care in stuffing the sweater down not to wholly block the passage.Now and then a little tongue of flame licked up through the fir boughsand was promptly extinguished with a handful of snow. The snow-damp mossshoved down on top of the bark was adding to the smoke, and from thesounds in the cabin it was clear that the occupant was in difficulties.
Presently Sparrer called attention to smoke pouring up at the front endof the cabin. The door had been set ajar to let out the smoke. Almostimmediately there was a shot from the thicket where Pat was hiding,followed by a second shot, and then the bang of the door as it was oncemore shut. But it did not remain closed long. No human being could longsurvive in such an atmosphere as now prevailed in the little cabin. Thistime the door was flung wide open and in the midst of the cloud of smokethat poured out the Indian staggered forth, gasping and choking.
Pat at once stepped from hiding, covering the outlaw with his rifle. Butfor this there was no real need. Until he should get some pure air intohis lungs he was quite helpless. He threw himself down in the snow andgasped weakly. A sorrier looking spectacle could hardly be imagined. Hiseyes were inflamed, blood-red. His face and clothing were smeared withsoot and ashes. One cheek was bleeding from a wound, made, as itafterward appeared, by a splinter torn off from the door-frame by one ofPat's bullets. Alec wasted no time in securing the prisoner's handsbehind him and then deftly searched him for hidden weapons, findingnothing but a knife. That reminded him of the knife Pierre had tossed athis feet when he was captured at the spring, and he sent Sparrer to getit.
As soon as the capture was made the three boys had rushed forward,forgetting that they were under orders to remain at their posts untilsignaled. Somewhat sternly but with a twinkle in his eyes that beliedthe severity of his voice Pat now reminded them of this and orderedUpton back to clear the boughs from the top of the chimney. By this timethe sweater had burned through and the whole mass had dropped into thefireplace, where it continued to burn, the smoke rolling out of the opendoor in a dense cloud. With the removal of the boughs from the top ofthe chimney a draft was reestablished and the smoke sought its naturaloutlet. It was some time, however, before the interior of the cabincould be examined with any comfort, and Pat took advantage of this toquiz the Indian.
So far as results were obtained he might as well have talked to a woodenpost. The redskin stolidly refused to answer questions. When confrontedwith Sparrer he denied ever having seen him before, much to that youngman's disgust. He steadfastly denied all knowledge of the black fox andrefused to admit that he ever had been in Smugglers' Hollow.
At last Pat gave up in disgust. The cabin had sufficiently cleared ofsmoke by this time to permit of a search being made. Leaving Alec tostand guard over the prisoners Pat and the three boys entered and begantheir investigations. Two rifles stood inside the door, and these Patemptied of cartridges and stood them outside against the end of thecabin. Then without ceremony he pulled the bedding from the two lowbunks and tossed it out on the snow. This was followed by everythingelse the cabin contained until it was stripped bare. Under the two bunksthey found part of the object of their search, many cased furs. Therewere marten, mink, fisher, a couple of otter, three red fox, two lynxand a number of muskrat, a pile that altogether represented a tidy sumfrom a trapper's point of view. But the black fox was not among them.
Pat glowered at the prisoners savagely as he noted that some of theskins had been carelessly handled and therefore would not bring whatthey would had they been properly treated. Then he resumed his search ofthe cabin. The only thing further in the way of skins were two tightlyrolled deer-hides freshly taken from the animals, one being that of afawn.
"Do you mind what I told you had happened at the deer yard?" growled Patas he tossed the skins out of the door.
Convinced at last that the skin of the black fox was not in the campthey regretfully gave up the search there and emerged from the cabin.Alec read the disappointment and chagrin in their faces. So, too, didBig Pierre, who had been awaiting the result of their search withill-concealed impatience. He had scarcely looked at his partner sincethe latter had been captured. Now he turned and spoke rapidly in Frenchto Alec.
"He says," explained the latter, "that if the Injun really has got theskin he has hidden it outside somewhere, and that if we'll agree to lethim go he'll help us hunt for it. He says that it is probably in ahollow tree somewhere near, but swears that he doesn't know where. Hethinks that the Injun meant to wait until he, Pierre, was away from campand then get it and light out."
"I shouldn't wonder if he's right, at that," exclaimed Hal. "What do youthink of the proposition, Pat?"
"He may be right enough about the Injun, but I wouldn't trust him thelength av me nose," Pat growled. "Let me talk a bit more to the Injun."
He strode up in front of the captive and shook a brawny fist beneath hisnose. "We've got you, and we're going to turn you over to the sheriffunless you come across mighty quick with that skin," he thundered. Thendropping into simple speech that the Indian could not misunderstand hecontinued, "You kill deer out of season; skins prove it." He pointed tothe bundle of fresh hides. "You steal much fur; Big Pierre say so if welet him go." Alec translated and Pierre nodded. The Indian glanced athis late partner and saw the nod. A vindictive look swept across hisface and left it as expressionless as before.
"You try to kill white boy. He go to court and swear. Injun go to prisonfor long time, years and years. Black fox only thing can save Injun."
The Indian appeared to consider the triple indictment, but no hint ofwhat was passing in his mind appeared in his face. It was as stolid andexpressionless as ever. At length he spoke.
"You give Injun gun and all his things and let go if he tell something?"he inquired.
"We'll see about it," Pat growled.
"No promise, Injun no tell," was the prompt response.
It was Pat's turn to consider. Finally he made up his mind. "Listen,Alec," said he. "You tell Pierre that we'll give them their guns, but nocartridges; that we'll let them take their personal belongings and asmuch grub as they can carry and let them go on condition that they willadmit having stolen those skins from our traps, that they will agree toget out of these parts and never come back, and that the Indian shows uswhere the fox is. Otherwise we'll take them to camp and hold themprisoners while one of us goes out for the sheriff. Tell him to tell theInjun."
Alec turned to Pierre and spoke rapidly. The latter interjected aquestion now and then and when Alec had finished made a brief reply. "Hesays," Alec explained, "that he agrees, though he thinks we ought to letthem have some cartridges. He admits the stealing of the furs, but stillprotests that he wasn't in on the fox affair and wants to know if we'lllet him go in case the Injun refuses to come across."
"Tell him yes," replied Pat.
This Alec did, and Pierre at once turned to the Indian and addressed himin his own tongue. Alec picked up enough to know that Pierre was puttingthe case in its strongest light and dwelling on the length of time inprison likely to follow conviction. When he finished the Indian turnedto Pat.
"You come," he said simply, and turned toward the woods.