an enemy, he mighthave great difficulty in accomplishing his object.
"Spotted Wolf will do his best, and look for his reward," answeredCaptain Norton; "we can expect no more."
The Indian gave the usual "Ugh," signifying that he fully understoodwhat was required of him.
I had been all the time on the look-out for the return of my father.The sun had just set, and darkness was rapidly coming on. I wentoutside the camp in the direction whence I thought he would appear.Nowhere was he to be seen. I resolved, therefore, to go in search ofhim. Carlos and Lejoillie agreed to go also, and several othersvolunteered to accompany us. Captain Norton said that he would be gladto go, but he could not venture to leave the camp. He told me thatalthough Spotted Wolf might be a very honest fellow, he would have astrict watch kept upon him; and, in case any other Indians shouldappear, he would not allow them to enter the camp.
On this occasion we took two of the dogs, which had been kept tied upuntil now, lest they should disturb the game in the hummock. They ranon before us with their noses to the ground, clearly understanding whatwas required of them. They were well acquainted with my father, and theman who had accompanied him, so that we had no fear of their attackingthem. On they went towards the western end of the hummock. Instead ofrushing into it, as we expected, they kept along the edge. Presently weheard them give tongue, and hurrying forward, we saw a person issuingfrom the thick brushwood, accompanied by the two dogs. On gettingnearer to him, I discovered, to my joy, that he was my father. Heseemed more than usually agitated, and when I inquired the cause, hetold me that he had been separated from his companion, whom, after sometime, he had found dead on the ground, stabbed apparently, but notscalped, so that he was in doubt whether an Indian had done the deed.Anxious, however, about his own safety, he was endeavouring to make hisway out of the hummock, when he caught sight, in the distance, ofseveral figures moving among the trees, which, though indistinctly seen,he was convinced were those of Indians. He concealed himself at once,and had reason to believe that he was not detected, but had been unableto make his way out, until the hounds had found him, not being aware howclose he was to the edge of the hummock. How he had escaped from theRedskins it was difficult to say. Some of the party proposed at once togo in search of the body of the murdered man; but though we mightpossibly have found it, with the assistance of the dogs, in daylight, itwould have been almost impossible to do so in the dark. We thereforeagreed to return to the camp, and made the best of our way back, wherethe news we brought created no little sensation. Some suspected thatSpotted Wolf was not altogether unacquainted with the circumstance.Carlos declared that he should not be surprised had the Indian himselfkilled the man; but on comparing the time we had met him with that whenmy father believed the murder to have been committed, we decided thatSpotted Wolf must be acquitted of the charge.
In consequence of what had occurred, a double watch was set, and allsentinels were charged to keep wide awake, so that during the night wemight not be taken by surprise.
CHAPTER TWELVE.
DESERTERS--CARLOS'S OPINION OF SPOTTED WOLF--THE MARCH CONTINUED--HALT--THE HUNTING PARTY--DECOYING DEER--RUNAWAY HORSES--A CAPTURE--PROOFS OFAN INDIAN BATTLE--SCENE OF A MASSACRE--OUR PLANS ALTERED--SCOUTING--THESURVIVORS--DETAILS OF THE TRAGEDY--FORWARD--THE ABANDONED FORT--WEGARRISON THE BLOCK-HOUSE--STRENGTHENING OUR POSITION--REPORTS OF THESCOUTS--SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS--AN EXPEDITION TO OBTAIN RELIEF--ADISAPPOINTMENT--THE STRANGE HUNTER--A SURPRISE--AN ANGRY MEETING--THEEXPLANATION--IN THE WRONG--PREPARING FOR THE ATTACK.
The night passed quietly away, notwithstanding the very naturalapprehension we had entertained that the Indians my father had seenwould attack us. One circumstance, however, caused us considerableastonishment and anxiety. In spite of the vigilant watch supposed tohave been kept, two of our black companions had disappeared; and wecould find no trail to indicate in what direction they had gone, nor howthey could have managed to get out of the camp without being observed.No one, however, recollected exactly when they were last seen; and itwas generally believed they had gone off in the evening, when the partyhad set out to search for my father. Could they have had anycommunication with the Redskins hovering about our camp? This was notconsidered probable. It occurred to me, however, that they might haveknown of the blacks who had treated us so hospitably, and that they hadgone off under the idea that they could reach them, or some other partyof negro runaways, several of whom had long been living among theimpenetrable jungles of the south. It was generally supposed, however,that the Indians, knowing the strength of our party, would not dare tointerfere with us, and that we might be able to recover the body of thepoor fellow who had been murdered. Captain Norton, however, would notallow search to be made for it, as the risk, he considered, would be fargreater than any advantage to be gained. We therefore marched forward,as on the previous day.
"There's one of our number gone," observed Carlos gloomily; "how manymore will be lost before we return home?"
We had grave suspicions of Spotted Wolf. When asked whether he knewanything of the Indians who had been seen by my father in the hummock,he declared that they must have been some who had followed him when hewas making his escape, but that he was not aware that they had reachedthe hummock.
"That may or may not be the case," observed Carlos; "but I would adviseCaptain Norton to keep a look-out on the fellow's movements. I suspecthis object is rather to betray us than to render us assistance."
The Indian, however, seemed perfectly at ease, and as far as hisknowledge of English would allow, conversed freely with every one. Hewas asked if he knew whereabouts Oceola was to be found. He repliedthat he was ignorant of that chief's movements, but he acknowledged thathe might possibly not be far off. Though our scouts ranged on everyside, as well as ahead, and sometimes dropped behind, they failed tocatch sight of the Indians, who, however, we knew, would, in allprobability, keep near us, waiting for an opportunity to attack us,should they find us off our guard. It was not altogether a pleasantfeeling to know that at any moment we might be assailed by a band ofsavages eager to take our scalps; but by degrees we got accustomed tothe feeling, and there was nothing we so much desired as to catch sightof our supposed enemies, being certain that we should beat them off,however numerous they might be.
I have already so fully described the country, that I need not draw anyfurther pictures of it. Our course led us sometimes over the prairie,covered with low saw-palmetto and grass; sometimes over the pine-lands,by the side of ponds; occasionally along the edges of the belts offorest, chiefly composed of pines and cabbage-palms; and then nearhummocks, which, as they were mostly impenetrable jungles, we carefullyavoided, except when it became necessary to halt to obtain food for ourparty. We then sent in the dogs, to ascertain if an enemy wereconcealed in the jungle. Spotted Wolf, who invariably marched aheadwith the captain, kept his eyes ranging over the ground in search of anytrail which might serve to point out in what direction parties of hiscountrymen had gone. But though he did this, I saw how easily he mightdeceive us; for though he might see trails, he might not communicate hisdiscovery.
We again halted for the night among a clump of pine-trees, with a streamnear us, a pond on one side, and a hummock at a little distance. Thehummock might conceal a foe; but as the Indians could not possibly knowthat we should halt in this neighbourhood, it was not likely that theywould have laid an ambush there.
We had run short of provisions, and were anxious to shoot some deer;indeed, it was absolutely necessary to obtain food at all risks. Wewaited therefore until dark, when, the main body being encamped, withsentries on the watch, my father, Tim, and I, with four of our bestshots, proceeded to the edge of the hummock. We were, each of us,supplied with pine-torches secured to sticks which could be run into theground. We advanced cautiously to the spots we had selected, somehundred feet apart, when, having stuck our torches in the ground, andlit them, we lay down just in front, concealed either by a low bush orby some grass. Thus we remain
ed perfectly invisible, while the lightpassed over our heads. Tim and I were near enough to see each other'storches. While I lay crouched down, the thought occurred to me thatshould by chance any Indians be hidden in the hummock, they would knowexactly where to find each of us, and creeping cautiously up, would tryto kill and scalp us separately. I therefore kept my ears well open andmy senses fully awake, to be ready for any emergency. I had not long,however, to endure these unpleasant apprehensions, when I heard a slightrustling, and presently caught sight of two faint lights just before me.They were large and round, and I knew that they were the eyes of adeer, in which the blaze from the pine-torch was reflected. The animalstood quite still, and I had time to raise my rifle, and to aim betweenthe lights. I fired, and a large deer bounded into the air, and fellclose to me with scarcely a struggle. Almost at the same time I heardTim fire. I at once reloaded, and jumping