| Show A candle in the wilderness Wil demei CHAPTER IX continued 19 its curious how things come to pass said cald robert 1 I met this delightful girl the kind of girl I 1 could tie to she was wag brilliant amiable and beautiful I 1 know now that she liked me I 1 know now that probably she would have married me suddenly bell opened in my face hell Is all right la in its place said amos leave it there dont try to tote it around in yer memory its all feo fool lation atlon bull buil din a fire in yer brain and gettin burnt by it ye must keep hold 0 peggys peggye hand that gal and line Is doln doin our best to lift ye out 5 b trouble dont hang bang on to it while they were asleep the wind rose and a big wave washed them off the rock they were soon jumping and splashing in a heavy sea and water was coming in at the portholes port holes so eo that amos had to plug them on the windward side for a time robert did not awake but was restless with troubled dreams amos had irown grown fond of his young comrade who was what he called fa a fair player unselfish brave taking the hardships and perils without corn com j plaint long before then the shrewd man had decided that robert had best keep away from boston its the road to egypt but well keep a goin he be said to himself amos was long awake tending ship stopping leaks and worrying for fear the hatch would go over he could hear the hiss of snow against the side by and by the whales belly began to bump bottom suddenly a wave drove her bow through the bushes and grounded her securely to the stern branches on a sloping shore then amos lay back and slept until daylight the wind had gone down amos took off the hatch and looked about there was a scatter of snowflakes on the laurel and the small tamaracks tama racks among which the ship was hidden A thick mist covered land and water ile he left robert sleeping and went ashore at last the ship was grounded hopelessly A yoke of oxen could not have moved her she had found her last port near them was a burned slope of charred stumps and briars and low bushes ile he looked about in the cold misty air to get his bearings ile he awoke his young friend were still on the earth and another day has come he whispered we must leave the ship and take to our nags while eating dried meat and some biscuits from gebec amos said were on the west shore and I 1 reckon its only a few miles to the end ol 01 0 the lake its a good time to travel well take a last lookyat look at the whales belly and be off do you think the west shore Is better than the east robert asked its a choice between rotten apples said amos but here we are well have to take to our shanks and try to find that trading post they packed their things and set out dut by the compass each browsing on a piece of dried meat there was a wet swamp along the shore southward they had to seek higher ground to get around it it only a light flurry of snow had fallen scarcely enough to penetrate the roof of the forests forest 1 I dont exactly like the looks 0 things the shrewd pioneer whispered theres indians near us how do you know moccasin tracks track sl 1 amos answered they came to great banks of robins hedgerow they stuffed their hats in their packs and each covered the other with vines head bead pack and till all amos had given his musket to the alg algonquin on chief so the problem was not difficult amos whispered now if we hear bear anyone near us well lean agin a tree and go on stump duty fog and vines are a help lu in our business soon they heard a sound and both took a stand among bushes still as a pair of rocks the shrewd woodsman woodsmen woods men knew that an iroquois camp was probably within a falcon shot of them within two minutes a warrior passed them so BO close that the white men held their breaths when he had gone out of hearing they went on its an unhealthy sit for us amos whispered theres always a lot 0 wounded beasts around an indian camp their hunters scour the bush to find em cm well stump along slow and careful ile he drew his compass from beneath his bis collar and took a look at it they resumed their journey and had traveled scarcely a bowshot bow shot when a young brave who lind had been sitting against a tree scrambled to his feet within an arms reach of the two and ran as if the devil were at his heels the sight of moving stumps was more than the superstitious savage could endure with no loss of time he sought a safer place the two men hurried onward in the mist amos laughing under his breath they tramped on with no other alarms for or an hour or so but did not come to the lake amos led the way moss into a thicket of young pines the air was clear were in hells dooryard he whispered the air Is full othe stink of brim brimston stun were a walkin on tile the ageo the world an if we aint care full ull well fall off ill set myself I 1 a tree outside nod find look around and listen a while you stay here for a few minutes the vine covered pioneer stood on a stump search searching ing k the burned lanis lands with ills his keen heen eye adeep A deep silence filled the mountain slopes end the only wr stir lie he could see was that thai of at bushes shaking to ta t the he f A tale of the beginning of new england by IRVING BACHELLER service copyright by irving bacheller breeze ile he returned to his young friend in the thicket cant see or hear a sign 0 life he said but I 1 dont like the lay 0 the land here its bad for us A savage upon the slope above could see us a mile off well belll stretch out under this cover and steep sleep a while at dusk well go on till the darkness begins to rub hard they tore off their vine cover now in streaming rags covered themselves and slept when the sun was low a cow moose and her calf going down tor for water passed so near that amos awoke he arose and peered out at the beasts slowly going down dowa the slope it was to him an sign that no nd indians were near ile he awoke his friend again they set out following the tracks ol of the animals to a pond where they camped for the night there the roaring and splashing of moose disturbed their rest its the rutting time and when they get to together glether at night the bulls raise hell said amos they ivere were up and oft off at daybreak with no mist to favor them after an hour of tramping amos stopped my godl god I 1 weve hit another ketch owl he whispered have ye got yer acorn yes slip it under yer tongue when ye get a chance not now they stood side by side motionless suddenly the trap sprang upon its victims two warriors until then hidden behind trees rushed upon them with raised javelins one of them struck at robert lie ile dodged receiving a slight wound in the thigh there was no time for taking thought the motions of the two were as swift as those to in the closing of a pair of hostile eats cats robert seized the I 1 weapon aimed at him the savage stepped in a hole lost his footing and fell the young white man stood over him with stripped sword amos had wisely made the peace sign throwing down his sword sord and pistol he shouted to the young man dont draw mood tor for gods sakel many warriors had come out ot of hiding they now sat on their heels motionless and silent watching robert who immediately threw down don his weapons again the white men were captured and at the mercy of a band bvm CP 1 I dont exactly like the looks 01 0 things the shrewd pioneer whispered of iroquois braves going north to join their friends and sweep the country south of the great river clear of their enemies before the winter hunting began the party was in command of an old one eyed chief with a rugged ragged moth eaten pelt screening about half his body on which were many scars lie ile was dried up like an old tree without leaves and ill III favored yet lie he bore himself like a king hing haughty and erect ills his stern wrinkled face was like that of an ancient roman 1 I sin am graveled for lack of words said amo ns as he presented to him tile the otter skins his hatchet and a banda handful ul of shelled corn by signs he be made th the e chief to understand that he and his friend were going to the dutch who would give many skins and hatchets and sacks of corn and much strong water to have them sent to the tort fort on the big river beyond the eastern gate of the long house the old chief opened his medicine bag and took put of it a bone decorated with feathers in deep chest tones and with a look of affection he be addressed the bone he lighted hla pipe and blew into the feathers a few whiff s of tobacco smoke the two white men knowing that their fate depended on the result of this interview with a bone sat watching the process IA in a moment the chief returned the sacred treasure to its resting place and solemnly arose with great dl dignity he be blew the smoke from lils mouth in a current it moved coved northward I 1 its his wrinkled weathered face did not change he went to amos amo s touched the compass on his breast and pointed in the direction whence the smoke had gone ile he made the gesture of drawing the bow ills his right hand swept from east to west lie ile scattered dust on a sheet of and with a stick drew a rude map in the dust marking different points dy by like signs he be made amos to comprehend ills his decision and his plans the pioneer turned to robert saying the tide has set aganus agan us they are going to join other warriors massed near the upper waters 0 the lake 0 the iroquois they will move westward and sweep their enemies from the country we are to go with em cm I 1 am to help em with tile atie compass and their guns they think that the great spirit Is in the compass and that a little thunderbird thunder bird lives in every gun there are two guns in the party I 1 reckon that they got em from the dutch dont know much about guns A little seared scared 0 the thunderbird thunder bird ye to worry were a godsend to this band 0 ragamuffins raga muffins keep a face take us down to the fort by and by and trade us oft off like a pair 0 beaver skins amos Is happy robert however was far from happy safety and happiness had been near him and yet utterly beyond his grasp his was a dejected figure as he yielded to this vile durance they headed northward with the fighting red rea men of whom there were nearly two score and came that night to an indian camp the haughty wrinkled chief was regarded with awo aw and veneration by his brothers and the captives were well treated in the camp were fourteen warriors who sat around a fire drinking bears fat out of cups of birch bark held together by thorns on a fire the flesh of the bear was boiling in a pot by and by the white men helped themselves at the source of supply with their hands and ate heartily if not as greedily as the others tepees had been built for the newcomers who were apparently expected the captives would have had to step on the bodies of at least half a dozen warriors to escape CHAPTER X r they conie come to adventures sterner than any they have known next day the haughty old chief was unable to control his men the camp became a scene of the wildest devil tries fortunately for amos and robert the old man kept his head A savage would sit down with a bottle of rum or gin bite the cover cover oft off its top ram down its cork and drink as if 1 tt it were water stopping only when he strangled getting his breath he would utter a fey feny hoarse grunts of satisfaction and continue to fill his stomach going crazy with wald excite ment before the bottle was finished it was a lay day in hell for tue the captives the campground and the tepee bottoms were soon flIt filthier than a pigpen pig pen the old chief destroyed many bottles and a meanwhile shaking his head and muttering by nightfall a grateful silence had come the fountains of liquid fire had bad gone dry the braves were lying in a drunken stupor one was dead from a hatchet blow ile he had made no outcry of pain protest or resentment ile he had sat quietly drenched with blood un until III lie he fell over dead no one paid trie tile slightest attention to him save sae the white men who saw that he was beyond help two or three were vere groaning with sickness the old ch chief lefand lef and three warriors who had kept their lips from the kill devil sat around and robert by the dying fire think what the greed of the white man Is doing to these poor children of the wilderness said robert here Is the great injustice yes it will make the savages hate us amos answered but bout we stop it the country Is big and wild ohp greedy hell bell makers sneak away with boatloads 0 this devil water to some god lonesome place where theres no more law than find in the heart 0 a lynx A million constables stop it 1 I like this this old chief said robert theres something great about him he loola looks now as if all the sorrows of the world wold including my own were resting restine on his back ile he seems not to hear us they had heard his name it was amos answered oh he be is a wise old man of many wars I 1 reckon hes been figh fightlin tin Algon quIns and durons since he were a boy lie ile knows aern cm and every path in the north and secret ways 0 retreat the follies 0 youth are behind him ills pride arld Is no longer in cover and gewgaws but in his history and the things he knows they sat a long time looking at the old clef and his faithful warriors who sat motionless gazing at the fire sleep had silenced the sick men there Is an entry in roberts diary for that day which cannot be omitted he writes a brief account of the debauch and describes the camp at night adding one satisfaction fills my wretchedness I 1 am probably as unhappy as my dear friend in boston if lie still lives I 1 find a degree 0 of f comfort in this thought TO BE BB CONTINUED |
