CHAPTER XXXIII.
A HALT.
It was just growing light as the two canoes shoved out in the river andresumed their journey. The rapacious wolverines, enraged at the loss oftheir expected prey, followed them to the very edge of the stream, wheretheir ear-splitting clamor grew more furious than ever. At one time,indeed, it looked us though they were about to jump into the water andswim out to them; and both the boys looked inquiringly at the face ofthe Pah Utah. The stolid, indifferent expression that they there sawrelieved them, and they withdrew all further thought regarding thetroublesome animals.
Shasta had loosened the connection between the two boats--not, perhaps,that he was unwilling to carry them also along, but because he judged itwas time that the party learned to navigate for themselves.
Tim O'Rooney grasped the paddle, and his handling of it showed noordinary skill. He had greatly improved upon his performance ofyesterday, and kept his position slightly in the rear of the othercanoe, whose owner, as a matter of course, timed his speed to that ofhis pupil.
When the Irishman was tired he passed the paddle to Howard, who had beencarefully studying the "style" of Shasta, and whose efforts were modeledafter his. Practice alone can make perfect, no matter if the theory inabsolutely so. The mind may hold the exact idea, and may send theprecise message through the nerves to the muscles, but the latter mustmake a good many trials before they can carry out orders with exactness.
And so the boy, although, as he believed, he imitated exactly the mannerof their dusky friend, was not long in finding that the paddle was by nomeans as obedient. The reason was that the delicate play of the ironmuscles of the Pah Utah could not be seen. They had done this thing sooften that it became a matter of course with them.
But having started upon right principles, by the time the boy was soexhausted that he could not move his arms, he could see that he hadimproved, or as the sovereign people say, "he was getting the knack ofit." It was now Elwood's turn, and he caught the paddle with all theenthusiasm which might be expected in a youngster who had beenimpatiently waiting to take part in some game.
By the time Elwood needed rest, Tim O'Rooney was ready, and so thepaddle did unceasing work, each member having all the time necessary forrest, until after they had been to work some hours, the boys found theirarms remained tired, and a longer cessation needed.
Shasta seemed to look upon these essays of his friends with no littlepleasure. He watched their movements all the time, and a horriblesuspicion once entered the head of Tim O'Rooney that he saw him comevery near smiling. Whether there were any grounds for this suspicionprobably will never be known, unless the Pah Utah takes it into his headto write and tell us.
Shasta remained a few feet in advance, his back being placed toward theprow of his own boat. This relative position--and our "pale faced"friends, it may be said, labored savagely--was kept by him without anyeffort. Now and then he touched the point of his paddle, but there wasscarcely a ripple. It was as a fish is sometimes seen to move throughthe water with the slightest quiver of its fins.
When all three of our friends were used up, red in the face, panting andsighing for a chance to take a good long rest, a tiny island came inview round a bend in the river, and to their joy they saw Shasta fix hiseye upon it and then head his canoe toward the point. Cheered by theprospect, they renewed their work with greater ardor, and in a fewmoments the boats buried their points in the luxuriant undergrowth alongthe shore.
The island was quite small, and offered no inducements in the way ofgame, unless some animal in crossing the river had paused to rest itselfand make an exploration of the place. This was scarcely to be expected,and none of the party based any hopes upon it.
After the inmates of the large canoe had stepped upon shore, Shasta senthis backward into the river again by a sweep of his paddle, and headedfor the eastern bank, shooting over the surface with amazing speed. Hismovements were watched with interest and some surprise.
"What can it mean?" asked Elwood.
"Perhaps he is going to leave us."
"I don't think he would do it in that manner. He will make an elaborategood-by for us, for we are getting to understand each other quite wellby means of signs."
"Arrah now!" exclaimed Tim O'Rooney, "didn't ye saa that he wasdisgusted wid our paddling and kaaping him back, and has gone out jistthat he may enj'y the pleasure of shtretching his arms in theowld-fashioned manner, as Father O'Shaughnessy said when he tipped overhis brother?"
This may have satisfied the Irishman, but hardly the boys. It did notlook reasonable to them that the Indian, having just finished threetimes the amount of work performed by each, was in so great need ofadditional exercise that he must abandon his friends and paddle off overthe river.
"I think he is going to hunt for fish," said Elwood.
"But he could have caught them without going to land."
"Perhaps not. I noticed yesterday that he went where there was a sort ofeddy, and you see he can't find that very well unless it is close byland."
Howard pointed to the lower end of the island:
"What better place could he find than that? It is just the spot to catchfish."
By this time Shasta's canoe had reached the bank, but instead of landinghe turned the prow down stream, and slowly glided along as if in questof something. This to Tim O'Rooney was proof of the truth of hisdeclaration.
"What did I tell yees? The thrip to shore was not enough, and he'staking a wee turn further."
"He is looking for a good fishing ground," affirmed Howard. "If it wereanything else he would not go so slowly."
"But, see! he has stopped?"
As Elwood spoke the Pah Utah rose in his canoe and stepped ashore. Hestooped and employed himself a moment with the canoe and thendisappeared.
"It cannot be that he has left us," said Elwood, in considerable alarm.
"No; I think he is hunting for game."
This seemed very reasonable, and the party waited patiently for hisreturn. No personal danger to himself could be expected, as he could notbe approached undiscovered by any hostile white man, and being an Indianhe could have no cause to fear anything from his own race.
Still there was a vague misgiving that everything was not right--thatsomething unusual would be the result of this separation--and eachmember of the little party awaited, with more anxiety than he would haveconfessed, some evidence of the intention of the Pah Utah.