CHAPTER V.
"SHUT OUT."
Deerfoot informed his friends that they were now within seven miles ofthe block-house. Although the night was far advanced, he expected toreach their destination long before morning. At that season the dayswere short, and as the Shawanoe was familiar with the woods, and couldtravel with as much certainty in the darkness as the light, there wasno delay counted upon, unless they should approach the vicinity ofsome of the Wyandots.
The order of march was taken up precisely as before, Deerfoot warningthe others to walk with the least noise possible, he setting theexample by advancing absolutely without any sound that could betrayhis footsteps.
Ned Preston felt the touch of a few wandering snowflakes against hischeek, but there were not enough to show themselves on the leaves. Theexercise of walking and their thick garments kept them sufficientlywarm, though it would have been different had they been in camp. Inthe latter case, as they had no encumbering blankets, it would havegone ill without a roaring camp-fire.
The journey now became monotonous, even to young Preston, who found ittiresome to walk so continuously without the least noise or occurrenceto awaken alarm. They must have gone at least four miles in thismanner, Blossom plodding along with a certain dogged resolution whichkept him close on the heels of his young master.
The latter often felt like protesting, but nothing could havepersuaded him to do so. It would have offended Deerfoot, who was theguide of the party, and who was directing affairs in accordance withhis own theory of strategy. He knew that that scout is sure to meetdisaster, sooner or later, who allows his impatience to influence hisjudgment, and who fails to use the most extreme caution whenever andwherever there is the shadow of danger.
When Preston began to believe they were in the vicinity of theLicking, Deerfoot came to an abrupt and noiseless halt. This time hespoke the single word--
"_Listen!_"
The two did as requested, but were unable to detect anything besidethe hollow moaning of the wind through the trees, and the faint,almost inaudible murmur of the distant Licking. Several minutespassed, and then the guide asked--
"Do my brothers hear anything?"
They answered that they could distinguish nothing more than was alwaysto be heard at such times.
"We are close to the camp of the Wyandots," was the alarminginformation.
"How do you know that?" inquired his friend.
"Deerfoot heard them," was the explanation, in such a guardedundertone that his companions barely caught his words.
No one thought of doubting the assertion of the Indian, incredible asit sounded, and the truth of his declaration was soon manifest.Certain as he was that they were close to a party of his own race, theadvance was made with greater care than before.
He picked his way with such patience and slowness that Blossom foundplenty of time in which to lift his feet as high as he knew how,setting them down as though afraid of waking a slumbering baby nearat hand.
Within two rods of the spot where they halted they suddenly caught thestarlike twinkle of a point of fire directly ahead. Instantly allstopped, and no one spoke; they knew that it was the camp-fire of theparty whose presence the Shawanoe learned a few minutes before.
Nothing more than the glimmer of the light could be seen, becausethere were so many trees and so much vegetation intervening.
"Let my brothers wait till I return," said Deerfoot, turning his headso as not to speak too loud.
"It shall be done," replied Ned Preston, who was on the point ofasking a question, when he became aware that he and Blossom werealone: Deerfoot had vanished with the silence of a shadow.
"If we've to wait yar a long time," said Blossom in a husky whisper,"we might as well sot down."
Preston made no objection to this on the part of his servant, but heremained standing himself, leaning against a tree, while Blossomsupported his head in the same way.
"I don't care if Deerfoot doesn't come back for a week," remarked thenegro lad, with a sigh of contentment that at last he was permitted torest his limbs.
"He will not stay long," said Ned; "and the best thing we can do whilehe is away is to do nothing."
"Dat's just what I'm doin' as hard as I can."
"I wouldn't even speak, Blossom, for some of the Indians may be nearus."
"Dat suits me jes' as well," assented the other, who thereafter heldhis peace.
Meanwhile, Deerfoot the Shawanoe approached the camp-fire of theIndians with all the care and skill he could command. Possibly hewould have incurred no great risk by stalking boldly forward, for hewas already known among the tribe, which was an ally of the Shawanoes.
But the incident of the afternoon had taught him a lesson, and he knewsuch a course would deepen the suspicion which some of the Wyandotsalready held against him.
They had given him to understand they were on their way to reconnoiterWild Oaks and some of the settlements along the Ohio. If they shouldfind he was dogging them, what other proof could they ask that he wasplaying the part of spy and enemy?
For this reason the Shawanoe determined to avoid observation, and tomake his reconnoissance precisely as though he were an avowed foe ofthose of his own race.
He had not gone far when he gained a full view of the camp. That whichimmediately caught his attention and increased his misgiving was thefact that this was a new party altogether. Waughtauk did not leadthese warriors, none of whom was with the company whom the young scoutencountered during the afternoon.
But several other important facts were significant: these were alsoWyandots; they numbered thirteen, and they were in their war-paint.They had probably left their towns north of the Ohio at the same timewith Waughtauk, and they had separated, the better to carry out someproject the chief had in view.
Shrewd and sagacious beyond his years as was the Shawanoe, he was in asituation in which he was compelled to do no little guessing. He wassatisfied that the chief and his warriors intended to compass thedestruction of the block-house, sometimes known as Fort Bridgman, andto massacre every one within it.
The Wyandots, like the Shawanoes, were brave fighters, and why theyhad not assailed the post was hard to tell, when it would seem theynumbered enough to overwhelm the garrison. It looked as if ColonelPreston had discovered his danger, though it was not an uncommon thingfor a war party to delay their attack on a station a long time afterit seemed doomed beyond all hope.
The Wyandots had disposed themselves in a fashion that looked asthough they meant to stay where they were through the night. They hadevidently finished a meal on something, and were now smoking theirpipes, lolling on their blankets, sharpening their knives withpeculiar whetstones, cleaning their guns, now and then exchanging afew guttural words, the meaning of which not even the sharp-earedShawanoe could catch.
"They mean to attack the block-house," was the conclusion of Deerfoot,who tarried only a few minutes, when he began a cautious return to histwo friends, who were found as he had left them, except that BlossomBrown was on the verge of slumber.
Deerfoot quickly explained what he had learned, and added that thedifficulty of entering the block-house was increased; but he believed,by acting promptly, it could be done with safety. Ned Preston wasinclined to ask wherein the use lay of all three going thither, whenone would do as well, and the obstacles were much greater than in thecase of a single person.
But the course of the guide convinced Preston that he had some planwhich he had not yet revealed, and which necessitated the entrance ofthe young pioneer at least into the block-house.
"Have you any knowledge when the Wyandots will attack ColonelPreston?"
"The break of day is a favorite hour with Deerfoot's people, but theyoften take other seasons."
"Why are they not closer to the station?"
"They are already close; we are within three hundred yards of thefort; Deerfoot will lead the way, and if the warriors' eyes are notlike those of the owl, we may pass through the gate before the firstsign o
f light in the east."
There was no necessity of telling Ned and Blossom that their cautionmust not be relaxed a single moment: no one could know better thanthey that the briefest forgetfulness was likely to prove fatal, forthe Wyandots were all around them. The detection of either lad wouldseal his fate.
The purpose of Deerfoot was to steal nigh enough to the block-house toapprise the inmates that they were on the outside, and awaiting anopportunity to enter. Could they succeed in letting Colonel Prestonknow the truth, all three could be admitted in the darkness, withlittle danger to themselves or to the garrison.
What the Shawanoe feared was that the Wyandots had established acordon, as it might be termed, around the block-house. It was morethan probable that Colonel Preston had discovered the approach of thehostiles in time to make quite thorough preparations.
While this might not avert the attack of the red men, it was certainto delay it. The next most natural proceeding for the commandant wouldbe to dispatch a messenger to Wild Oaks, to inform the settlers of hisperil, and to bring back help. The assailing Indians would anticipatesuch a movement by surrounding the block-house so closely that themost skillful ranger would find it impossible to make his way throughthe lines.
If such were the case, it followed as a corollary that no friend ofthe garrison would be able to steal through the cordon and secureentrance into the building: the gauntlet, in the latter case, would bemore difficult than in the former, inasmuch as it would be necessaryfirst to open communication with Colonel Preston, and to establish aperfect understanding before the task could be attempted.
Deerfoot turned to the right, so as to pass around the camp-fire, buthis advance was with a caution which can hardly be pictured. NedPreston could not hear the slightest sound, and where the darkness wasso deep it was hard work to keep informed of his movements.
When the Shawanoe stopped, he merely reached his hand back and touchedNed, who did the same to Blossom; when the start was made again, aslight sibilant sound, which a listening Indian twenty feet distantwould not have noticed, told the fact. No one ventured to speak, evenin the most guarded whisper.
Had Deerfoot been alone, he would have advanced much faster; but hegave his companions time to raise their feet and put them down againwith such slowness and care that not a leaf was overturned.
Blossom Brown did much better than Preston anticipated. The ladunderstood the need of this elaborate caution, and as he had the twoin front of him, there was no excuse for his making a false step. Oncehe began a sentence in a husky whisper, but before it was halffinished his young master gripped him by the shoulder, as if with aniron vise, and the attempt was not repeated.
After a time, which seemed almost interminable, the camp-fire wasflanked, though still in sight. The situation of the three, as aconsequence, became more delicate and perilous than before; for, toeffect a safe withdrawal from the neighborhood, they would have topass through the lines again, while there could be no doubt "the woodswere full" of other warriors.
Suddenly the serpent-like hiss of the Shawanoe sounded, and all threecame to a stand-still. This was scarcely done when Deerfoot, for thefirst time since the reconnoissance proper began, broke silence byexclaiming, in a voice just audible,
"_Stoop down!_"
His order was obeyed (for his companions knew the danger was imminent)without a word or a second's hesitation.
Their senses were on the alert, but for a minute or two they neitherheard nor saw anything to explain the cause of the alarm of theirguide. At the end of the brief spell, a faint rustling was noticednear them, and the listeners held their very breath.
This disturbance of the leaves must have been caused by the feet ofWyandot warriors, who were altogether closer than was comfortable forthe lads crouching on the ground. In the gloom, deepened by the shadowof the wood, it was impossible to see a half dozen feet; but while NedPreston was peering through the darkness in the direction whence camethe noise, a figure suddenly passed across the field of vision betweenhim and the camp-fire.
Looking in the latter direction, he could see something moving beforethe light. That which arrested the attention of Ned was the head andshoulders of an Indian warrior, who was gliding with a silence whichled the spectator to suspect at first he was deceived. But the contourof the scalp-lock, shoulders and chest was unmistakable.
The first had scarcely vanished, when a second and a third followed inprecisely the same fashion; but though the eye strained itself tocatch sight of more, none appeared. The three were all who came sonear detecting the boys.
Ned Preston and Blossom Brown felt that the perfect caution displayedby the Shawanoe was more than repaid; for had it been less, thehostiles would have learned their presence before they themselves weredetected.
All at once young Preston became aware that Deerfoot was gone; he hadquietly departed, as was his custom, and would return when he saw fit.Ned crept far enough backward to allow him to whisper the fact toBlossom, without any risk of being heard by other ears no matter hownear them.
A full half hour passed, when the Shawanoe returned as silently as hehad departed.
As Preston suspected, he had been off on a reconnoissance, where hewanted no companions. He announced the result in the alarming words--
"Wyandots are everywhere; we cannot enter the fort."