CHAPTER XXV.
A SINGULAR MEETING.
The paint on the face of the Shawanoe could not hide the astonishmentcaused by the words of Wharton Edwards. Despite the askew brain, theIndian was wonderfully shrewd in some respects.
"Go after dem--den be killed."
"Why will we be killed?"
"Shaw'noe wait for dem--bimeby dey shoot--both fall off horse--Shaw'noetake scalp--you go dere--take your scalp."
"Arqu-wao," said the distressed youth, stepping in front of the red man,"those horses are ridden by my father and mother; they are on their wayto the settlement; we started out to come home with them; we must savethem; we will do so or die with them."
These words, uttered with a depth of feeling hard to describe, wereunderstood by the Shawanoe. He comprehended on the instant that thecouple on horseback were so far along the trail that it was impossiblefor the two boys on foot to overtake them. Such was the fact concerningthe elder of the two, but he probably would have changed his mind had hebeen aware of the fleetness of the younger one.
"Me catch dem," he hastened to say; "horse walk--Arqu-wao run faster denhorse--he hurry--tell dem--me do that?"
The rising inflection showed that he only awaited the word to start offlike the wind, but young Edwards was in a distressing quandary. Therevelations of the last few minutes pointed to the loyalty of thisstrange being. He had certainly started them along the trail toward theblock-house, as he had promised, and there was every reason to believethat he would have soon landed them there but for this unexpected check.Nevertheless the youths could not free themselves from the suspicionthat the whole proceeding was a part of a deep laid scheme for their ownoverthrow.
If he should be told to hurry back over the path and do his best to warnthe parents of their peril, he would pass beyond reach of the boys, andconsequently beyond any punishment they could visit upon him for histreachery.
But what should be done?
True, Wharton could have run, too, and there was little doubt that hewas fully the equal of the guide, since he had vanquished the championrunner of his tribe.
He turned his head and asked Larry in a low voice for his advice,stating the project that had come into his mind. Larry urged him tocarry it out.
"Ye can travel as fast as him, and ye can shoot him if he tries histricks."
"But it will separate you and me."
"I'll follow as fast as I can go; I can't run like ye, but I'm sure thatif there's any fighting to be done I'll be on hand in time to give somehelp."
"Go 'mong trees--hide quick--Shawanoe coming."
It was Arqu-wao who uttered these words, with every evidence ofagitation. He made quick gestures, and was so urgent that he compelledinstant obedience.
Wharton and Larry sprang out of the path, and each darting behind thetrunk of a large tree, peered cautiously out to learn the cause of thesudden alarm of their guide.
They saw nothing, but his actions were singular. Instead of remainingwhere he was, he took a number of short, quick steps, which carried himseveral rods farther toward the block-house. Then he halted as suddenlyas a soldier in obedience to the command of his officer.
"Sh! look out! there they are!" whispered Wharton to his friend, but afew paces away.
Several flickering objects, seen through the trees, revealed themselvesto be three Shawanoes in their war paint, striding along the trail asthough they were runners from the block-house to the settlement. In facttheir gait was a loping trot until they slowed down on seeing Arqu-wao.
There could be no mistaking them for runners, for not only did theirwar paint forbid this, but with feelings that can be imagined the youthrecognized the leader as Blazing Arrow, the savage who hated the whitepeople with an intensity beyond imagination.
"This will settle the question about Arqu-wao," thought Wharton, "for henow has our lives in his hands; if he tells the truth to Blazing Arrow,and joins him and the rest, they will separate and shoot us down inspite of all we can do."
This was the situation, and a few brief minutes must determine the fateof the boys, who, in the event of betrayal, were doomed. Hardly daringto look around the bark of the trees, they could only wait and preparethemselves for the issue of the conference.
They saw Blazing Arrow stride forward, and, halting in front ofArqu-wao, address him in tones so loud that they were plainly heard bythe listeners, who, however, could form no idea of their meaning.
Not only that, but the fierce warrior gesticulated as if angry. If so,the one to whom he spoke showed no fear of him. He answered in a voiceas loud, and with more gestures, the other two warriors remaining in thebackground and leaving all to their leader.
Blazing Arrow made a threatening gesture, placing his right hand on theknife at his girdle. Arqu-wao withdrew a couple of steps and whipped anarrow from his quiver. Possessing no other weapon than the bow, he madeready to use that. Not once, so far as the boys could see, did he show asign of quailing.
It was evident that, desperate as might be the resistance he offered, hewas helpless, inasmuch as each of the three warriors possessed a loadedrifle, and he could have been shot down in a twinkling; but he was readyto fight for his life.
Blazing Arrow moderated his manner. His hand slipped from the weapon athis waist, and he talked in a lower voice. Arqu-wao stepped a littlecloser and responded in kind. Neither one of the others so much asopened his mouth.
Blazing Arrow pointed down to the ground several times, and it lookedas if he were discussing the hoofprints which showed so plainly at theirvery feet.
A thrill of admiration shot through Wharton Edwards, for at that momenthe read the meaning of Arqu-wao's strategy on discovering the approachof the Shawanoes. He had hurried forward a short way, so that when themeeting took place nothing would be visible of the footprints made bythe boys. They would reveal themselves, as a matter of course, fartheralong the trail, but Blazing Arrow was not likely to make as diligentsearch there as at the spot where the interview took place.
"I believe he is honest after all," was the conclusion of Wharton, whenthis thought came to him. "I wonder whether, if we have a fight, he willhelp us or Blazing Arrow? I don't see why he should be such a friend tous, when he tried to kill us a short time ago."
There was plenty to occupy the minds of the boys during the few minutesthey shrank behind the trees in such suspense, not knowing the instantwhen they would be called upon to fight for their lives.
They asked themselves that, if the hoofprints in the trail had been madeby the horses of Mr. Edwards and his wife, how was it that they had gotby Blazing Arrow and his companions without detection? It was not to besupposed that they had been permitted to do so for the purpose ofdrawing them into a trap, for there was no call for such a course. ThreeIndians, crouching in ambush, could shoot a man and his wife from theirhorses without the slightest danger to themselves, or, if they chose,they could have slain the man and made the woman captive.
It looked as if, by some strange turn of events, the couple had slippedby undiscovered.
The conference continued but a few minutes. After the outburst ofBlazing Arrow, he did not show any more excitement. He exchanged somewords with Arqu-wao, and then waved him aside. The fellow obeyed rathersullenly, and the three Shawanoes resumed their walk in the direction ofthe falls.
It was a dangerous proceeding for the boys to watch them as they drewnear their hiding-place. Larry did not do so, but shrank as close as hecould against the trunk of a tree, fearful of betraying himself, andtrying to shift his position, as they moved along, so as to prevent anypart of his body being seen by any of the roving glances of the party.
Fully aware of the danger, Wharton could not help yielding to hiscuriosity to that extent that he had kept an eye on Blazing Arrow, evenwhen he was at the nearest point of the trail. He studied the uglycountenance, smeared with paint, and the irregular profile of eachwarrior in turn as he filed past. Not one of them looked down at theground, but their eyes seemed to be fixe
d on the farthest point of thetrail which was in their field of vision, as though they were expectingsome one to reveal himself.
Had they looked down at the ground they must have discovered thefootprints of the boys, and what then?
Arqu-wao, rather curiously, held the same position which has alreadybeen described; his left side was toward the boys, and also toward thevanishing group of his people. It was the attitude he would have takenhad he intended to use his bow and arrow, and, after what had occurred,the boys could not believe he thought of injury to them. Beyond allquestion he had allowed the best opportunity to overcome them pass.Having done that, it seemed idle to suspect him any longer.
The only "fly in the ointment" was the explanation of the suddenfriendship on the part of the strange being. He had been caught in thevery act of an attempt to slay the boys, as he would have been glad todo, when they paddled away with his canoe. They, in turn, after sparinghis life, had partially disarmed him, and then compelled him by threatsto act the part of a guide.
The motive of gratitude which sometimes influences the American Indian(and just as frequently does not) could hardly be expected tocrystallize at such brief notice into a sentiment strong enough to leadthe red man to risk his life so soon for them; and yet, admitting thathe was true to his pledge, no other explanation of Arqu-wao's course waspossible.