CHAPTER XXIV
THE ABODE OF INDIAN JOHN
THE pursuit of Little Peter and Indian John was not long continued, norwas a single gun discharged; a fact for which the frightened lad wasunable to account at the time, although on the following morning thecause for it was made clear.
Wearied though the lad was by his long journey, the shout of Benzeor hadprovided an impulse sufficiently strong to compel him to keep up withhis companion, who was running swiftly toward the shelter of the woodswhich were not far away.
In a brief time the breathless fugitives gained its shelter, and thenfor the first time turned and glanced behind them. The men had turnedback and now could be seen still standing by the roadside, near theplace where Peter and the Indian had started across the lot. What theywere doing could not be discovered; but, without waiting for furtherinvestigations, the flight was at once resumed, and, keeping welltogether, the lad and his companion ran swiftly forward, and soon thedistance between them and the pine robbers had been still furtherincreased.
The sunlight had now departed from the forest, and the dusk had settledover all. The air was close and oppressive, and Peter's dripping facebetrayed the force of his recent exertions and the excitement underwhich he was laboring. Already the night birds had made theirappearance, and here and there among the branches of the lofty trees thebats could be seen darting about in quest of their evening meal. Thevery silence served to increase the feeling of utter loneliness whichswept over the weary, heartbroken lad, and for a moment it almost seemedto him as if any further efforts on his part were as useless as theywere difficult. Benzeor's anger promised little good for the childrenwho had been left in his home, and fears for his little brothers andsisters were mingled in Little Peter's mind with the consciousness ofhis own weariness and the thought of his own forlorn condition.
Difficult as the problem doubtless was, he knew he must not give way toit, and when Indian John indicated in a few moments that the time hadcome when they must go on, the lad resolutely again turned to followhim, although he had not the slightest conception of the plan which wasin his companion's mind.
Carefully they walked on through the increasing gloom, and within a halfhour Little Peter heard the sounds of a running brook in the distance.He instantly recognized the locality, for many a time had he and Tom inthe springtime followed the course of the "run," as the people of OldMonmouth called the stream, and the strings of fish which they hadbrought home with them had borne ample witness to the success which hadcrowned their efforts.
But none of these things were in Little Peter's mind as he followedIndian John, who had now turned and was proceeding along the bank andmaking his way up the stream. As they walked on, the sound of awaterfall began to be more and more distinctly heard, and soon they cameout into a place from which, in the deepening gloom, the falling waterscould be seen. Into the basin which had been formed by the sharp fall ofthe stream, a tall, large tree had fallen years before this time. Itsbroken roots had torn up the earth, and now stood like a barrier on thebank, and Indian John led the way directly toward this spot.
As they approached, Peter discovered a hole in the rocks, but he was notprepared for the action of his companion; for, without a word, theIndian dropped upon his hands and knees and crawled into the entranceand speedily disappeared from sight.
Hesitating only a moment, Little Peter soon followed his companion, andafter crawling along on his hands and knees for a number of yards,suddenly beheld a large, open space directly before him. Indian John hadprovided a light by this time, for he had been willing to follow thecustoms of his more civilized neighbors to the extent of making use ofcandles, and as Peter arose and glanced about him, he knew at once thathe was in the cave which it was reported was the abode of the red man.
Frequently as the lad had passed the very place into which he hadcrawled that night, it had never occurred to him that it was anythingmore than a hole in the rocks that formed the bank of the "run," and hissurprise was therefore the greater at the sight before him. The spot wasconsiderably above the bed of the stream, and consequently wascomparatively dry. Straw and dry leaves lay scattered about over thefloor, and the sheltered place apparently was safe from all approach ordanger.
Indian John at once indicated to his companion that he was to pass thenight there, and the weary lad was glad to accept the invitation, andsoon stretched himself upon the bed of straw. The light of the candlewas extinguished, and the Indian then speedily followed the example ofPeter. The sounds of the running brook came faintly to the ears of thetroubled lad, but that was all he could hear. The darkness was intense,and for a time the fear of other occupants of various kinds preventedPeter from sleeping, but at last even that was forgotten in thedreamless sleep that followed.
When he awoke, Little Peter at first could not determine where he was,but as the outlines of the cave were seen in the dim light whichpenetrated it, the experiences of the preceding day were recalled, andhe quickly arose. Indian John was not in the cave, however, and as thelad now was aware that the morning had come, he hastily crawled throughthe passageway that led to the bank.
As he regained the bank, he saw that his companion was busily engaged inroasting some birds he had shot. The sight was a welcome one, for Peterwas now aware of the fact that he was decidedly hungry, and, followinghis companion's advice, he departed in search of some berries to add tothe morning meal. In the course of a half hour he returned with his hatwell filled, and, after bathing his hands and face in the cool waters ofthe brook, prepared at once to join his companion.
For a few minutes neither spoke, but the rapid manner in which theroasted birds disappeared showed that conversation was not uppermost intheir minds.
At last, when several of the birds had been eaten, and many of theberries had disappeared, Indian John turned to his companion and said,"Boy want 'hop-hop' now? Plenty 'hop-hop.' Make um good."
"No, no," replied Peter quickly. "The birds are enough. Where did youget them, John?"
"Shoot um. Plenty birds; plenty 'hop-hop.'"
"You must have been up early this morning, John. I didn't hear you."
The Indian made no reply and remained silent for several minutes. Then,turning abruptly and looking keenly at Peter, he said, "What boy donow?"
"I don't know," replied Little Peter disconsolately.
The words brought him face to face again with the problem that must besolved. The fresh cool air of the morning, the silence of the forest,and, above all, the enjoyment of the breakfast which John had provided,made him at first wish that he might remain there and forget all thetroubles that were so near. But Peter was not a selfish lad, and knewthat the motherless children must be provided for.
"I was going to Benzeor's," he said after a time, "but I don't know whatto do now. I can't understand what he meant by coming back here in broaddaylight after what has happened. He knows that I know all about it, andthat was the reason why he wanted to catch me last night. I can't go upto his house now, and yet I don't dare leave the children there,either."
"Boy go," said Indian John quietly.
"But I can't go, John. How can I? There were four men with Benzeor, andyou heard what he said. It wouldn't be safe for me to go there now. Idon't know what to do."
"Boy go; Benzeor no there."
"Benzeor not there? How do you know? What makes you think that, John?"
"John been there."
"When? This morning?"
The Indian nodded his head, and then said, "Man no there. Girl there.Two, t'ree little Peters there. Boy go. All safe."
"You don't mean it?" said Peter eagerly, and standing erect as he spoke."Come on, then, John; we'll start this minute."
"Boy go; Indian no go."
"Why not? I thought you were going with me."
"John no go. John no home, no papoose, no notin'. All white man now. Allgone. Indian no stay. Boy go."
"All right, John; I won't urge you. But if you're right, and Benzeorisn't at home, you needn
't be afraid."
The Indian's eyes snapped at the words, but he made no reply, and LittlePeter was too eager to start now to realize the force of his own words.As he departed, he saw his recent companion standing on the bank of thebrook in an attitude as if he were listening to sounds far off in theforest. Perhaps if the lad had realized that it was the last time hewould ever behold the face of Indian John, he would have lingeredlonger; but, as it was, his desire to go to Benzeor's house and learn ofthe present condition of the children banished all other thoughts fromhis mind, and in a few moments he had started toward the road.
He retraced his way across the open lot, and as he came within sight ofthe road he suddenly stopped, as he saw a mounted man there. Apparentlythe man was alone, and what was strange was the fact that he apparentlywas not moving.
Little Peter waited several minutes, but as the man still retained hisposition, and no one joined him, he resolved to proceed. Approachingcautiously, and ready to run at the first appearance of danger, hissurprise was increased as he beheld the strange manner in which thehorseman was seated on his beast. Instead of sitting with his facetoward the head of his steed, his position was exactly reversed, and toall appearances he either was going in a direction opposite to that ofhis horse or else was riding backward.
Puzzled to account for the strange attitude, Peter also noticed as heapproached that the beast on which the man was mounted was a mule andhad stopped in the middle of the road. In a moment he recognized the manas Ted Wilson, and with a shout he ran forward.
"Why, my lad, what are you doing here?" exclaimed Ted, as he beheld theapproaching boy.
"It's more to the point to ask what you are doing here. What are yousitting on that mule that way for? What have you stopped for? Why don'tyou go ahead?"
"There are several good reasons," replied Ted blandly. "In the firstplace, if the mule won't go, I can't go. Then, if he stops, I have tostop, too. As to the reason for my being here, why, I'm looking forBenzeor."
"I don't know where you expect to find him," laughed Peter--forgettinghis own anxiety for the moment in the ludicrous sight before him.
"Well, I got to thinking of it yesterday after you left me; and when I'dtaken Sallie and the babies up to the captain's,--Sallie's my wife, yeknow,--I jest made up my mind as how I'd got to look after Benzeor aforehe did any more damage. Goin' around the country hangin' Sallies! Therascal! Old Monmouth never'll be safe till Benzeor Osburn has been'tended to. And if I'm not the man to do it, I don't know who is. SoJeshurun and I decided to start out last night, and we've been travelin'ever since."
"Jeshurun? I don't see anybody with you," said Peter, glancing quicklyabout him as he spoke.
"Ha! ha!" laughed Ted. "Ye're lookin' too far afield, young man. Thishere fellow's Jeshurun. Whoa, Jesh! Whoa!" he suddenly added, as themule darted to one side and turned several circles in the road beforehis rider could stop him.
"Yes, sir; this is Jeshurun, and a more onery little beast never lived.I told ye about him yesterday, and how he'd suddenly take it into hishead to go backwards for a bit. That's the reason I ride him this waypart of the time. He thinks I want to go the other way, ye see, andthat's how I come it over him by jest sittin' the wrong way, too.Besides, a good twist of his tail is worth more than a bridle sometimes.Instead of controllin' him with a bridle, as any decent beast would beglad to have me do, I just have to steer him by twistin' his tail,same's I use the rudder in my boat, ye see. Whoa there, Jesh! Whoathere! What's the matter with ye, anyhow? Whoa! Whoa!"
These last remarks of Ted were caused by a sudden movement on the partof Jeshurun, whose heels were thrown into the air, while with his teethhe almost literally bit the dust. The mule was small and the feet of hisrider almost touched the ground, and the antics of the pair caused Peterto laugh aloud.
"Where did you get that name for him?" he inquired when quiet wasrestored.
"Oh, it came to him jest natural like. Two years ago when I bought him,and was a-leadin' him home, I got him into the yard and then he justbegan to make his heels fly like a pair o' drumsticks. It's likely therewas some noise made by him or me, I don't jest know which, and the firstthing I knew, Sallie--she's my wife, ye know--and a whole lot o' folkscame a-runnin' out o' the house to see what all the rumpus was about.They was havin' meetin' in the house, though I didn't know anythingabout that, or I wouldn't have argued with the mule as I was doin', o'course. Well, sir, if you'd believe it, the parson had been a-preachin'about somebody in the Old Testament. His text was: 'But Jeshurun waxedfat and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou artcovered with fatness.' Yes, sir; those were his very words. Well, whenSallie--she's my wife, ye know--set eyes on this here beast, she saidJeshurun should be his name, and Jeshurun it's been ever since. Whoathere! Whoa, I say! What ye up to now?"
Perhaps Jeshurun objected to the story, for he suddenly whirled aboutand started swiftly up the road. In vain Ted tried to restrain him, butafter his attempts failed, he turned and shouted, "I'll see you fartheron! Jesh'll get tired o' this."
As Jeshurun and his rider disappeared in a cloud of dust, Little Peterquickly recovered from his surprise and started briskly after them.