CHAPTER VIII.
A MOTION WHICH WAS NOT IN ORDER.
The next day the march was resumed, and continued with some haltingsfor rest until about three o'clock, when Sam chose a camp for thenight, saying that they had already made a better march than he hadplanned for that day, and that there was no occasion to breakthemselves down by going further.
The work was at once resumed upon guns and arrows, Sam beginning byfinishing the arrows already made. He cut strips from a hare's skinwhich Tommy had brought with him at Sam's request, making each stripabout four or five inches long, and just wide enough to meet aroundthe end of an arrow. Binding these strips firmly, the arrows werecomplete. Each was a slender, light stick of cedar, shod at one endwith a slender iron point, and bound around at the other, for adistance of several inches, with the fur of the hare. Pushing one ofthese into the mouth end of his blow gun, Sam showed his companionsthat the fur completely filled the tube, so that when he should blowin the end the arrow would be driven through and out with considerableforce.
Pointing the gun toward a tree a little way off, Sam blew, and in amoment the arrow was seen sticking in the tree, its head being almostwholly buried in the solid wood.
The boys all wanted to try the new guns, of course, and Sam permittedthem to do so, greatly to their delight, as long as the daylightlasted. Then the manufacture of new arrows began, the boys workingearnestly now, because they were interested.
After awhile Sam took out his map and began pricking the course uponit.
"I say, Sam," said Bob Sharp, "how do you do that?"
"How do I do what? Prick the map?"
"No, I mean how do you know where we are and which way we go?"
"That's just what I want to know," said Sid Russell.
"And me, too," chimed in Billy Bunker and Jake Elliott.
"Well, come here, all of you," replied Sam, "and I'll show you. Westarted there, at camp Jackson,--you see, don't you, where the Coosaand the Tallapoosa rivers come together and we are going down there,"pointing to a spot on the map, "to the sea, or rather to the Bay nearPensacola."
"Are we! Good! I never saw the sea," said Sid Russell, speaking fasterthan any of the boys had ever heard him speak before.
"Yes, that is the place we're going to, and presently I'll tell youwhat we're going for; but one thing at a time. You see the course is alittle west of south, nearly but not quite southwest. The distance, inan air line is about a hundred and twenty-five miles: that is to sayPensacola is about a hundred and ten miles further south than campJackson, and about fifty miles further west."
"That would be a hundred and sixty miles then," said Billy Bowlegs.
"Yes," replied Sam, "it would if we went due south and then due west,taking the base and perpendicular of a right angled triangle, insteadof its hypothenuse."
"Whew, what's all them words I wonder," exclaimed Billy.
"Well, I'll try to show you what I mean," said Sam, taking a stick anddrawing in the sand a figure like this:
"There," said Sam, "that's a right angled triangle, but you may callit a thingimajig if you like; it doesn't matter about the name.Suppose we start at the top to go to the left hand lower corner; don'tyou see that it would be further to go straight down to the right handlower corner and then across to the left hand lower corner, than to gostraight from the top to the left hand lower corner."
"Certainly," replied Billy, "it's just like going cat a corneredacross a field."
"Well," said Sam, pointing with his finger, "if I were to draw atriangle here on the map beginning at camp Jackson and running duesouth to the line of Pensacola, and then due west to Pensacola itself,with a third line running 'cat a cornered' as you say, from campJackson straight to Pensacola, the line due south would be about ahundred and ten miles long and the one due west about fifty mileslong, while the 'cat a cornered' line would be about a hundred andtwenty five miles long."
"How do you find out that last,--the cat a cornered line's length?"asked Tom.
"I can't explain that to you," said Sam, "because you haven't studiedgeometry."
"Oh well, tell us anyhow, if we don't understand it," said SidRussell, who sat with his mouth open.
"Sid wants to find out how to tell how far it is from his head to hisheels, without having to make the trip when he's tired," said BobSharp, who was always poking fun at Sid's long legs.
"Well," said Sam smiling, "I know the length of that line because Iknow that the square described on the hypothenuse of a right angledtriangle is equal to the sum of the squares described on the other twosides."
"Whew! it fairly takes the breath out of a fellow to hear you rattlethat off," replied Sid.
"Come," resumed Sam, "we aren't getting on with what we undertook. Nowlook and listen. Here is the line we would follow if we could gostraight from Camp Jackson to Pensacola. If we could follow it, Iwould only have to guess how many miles we march each day, and mark itdown on the map. But we can't go straight, because of swamps andcreeks and canebrakes, so I must keep looking at my compass to findout what direction we do go; then I mark on the map the route we havefollowed each day, and the distance, and each night's camp gives me anew starting point."
"Yes, but Sam," said Tom, suddenly thinking of something.
"Well, what is it, Tom?"
"Suppose you guess wrong as to the distance travelled each day?"
"Well, suppose I do; I can't miss it very far."
"No, but it gives you a wrong starting-point for the next day, and twoor three mistakes would throw you clear out."
"Yes, but I make corrections constantly. You see, I have changed theplace of last night's camp a little on the map."
"How do you make corrections?"
"By the creeks and rivers. Here, for instance, is a creek that weought to cross about ten miles ahead. If we come to it short of that,or if it proves to be further off, I shall know that I have gotto-night's camp placed wrong on the map. I shall then correct myestimate. When we come to the next creek I shall be able to make myguess still more certain, and by the time we get to Pensacola I shallhave the whole march marked pretty nearly right on the map."
"I'd give a purty price for that there head o' your'n, Sam," said SidRussell.
"It isn't for sale, Sid, and besides it will be a good deal cheaper touse the one you have, taking care to make it as good as anybody's. Nowlet me explain to all of you why we are going to Pensacola," and withthat Sam entered into the plans which we know all about already, andwhich need not be repeated here. When he had finished the boys pliedhim with questions, which he answered as well as he could. JakeElliott said nothing for a time, but after a while he ventured toask:--
"Don't they hang fellows they ketch in that sort o' business?"
"They hang spies," replied Sam, "but they can scarcely hold us to bespies, especially as we shall be in the territory of a friendlyneutral nation, where there cannot properly be a British camp at all."
"Well, but mayn't they do it anyhow, just as they are a campin' there,anyhow?"
"Of course they may, but I do not think it likely. In the first placewe mustn't let them suspect us, and in the second, we must make use ofwhat law there is if we should be arrested."
"Well, but if it all failed, what then?" asked Jake.
"Oh, shut up Jake," cried Billy Bowlegs. "You're afeard, that's what'sthe matter with you."
"Well," replied Sam "that is simply a risk that we have to run, likeany other risk in war. I told you all in advance that the expeditionwas a hazardous one."
"Of course you did, an' what's more you didn't want Jake Elliott tocome either," said Billy Bowlegs.
"Go into your hole, Jake, if you're scared," said Bob Sharp.
"Jake ain't scared, he's only bashful," drawled Sid Russell.
"I ain't afraid no more'n the rest of you," said Jake, "but you're allfools enough to run your heads into a noose."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Sam, looking up quickly from the mapover which he had been po
ring.
"I mean just this," replied Jake, "that this here business 'll end ingettin' us into trouble that we wont git out of soon, an' I move wedraw out'n it right now, afore its too late."
Sam was on his feet in an instant.
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, SIR?"]
"Do you know what you're saying sir?" he cried. "Do you understand whois master here? Do you know that no motions are in order? Let metell you once for all that I will tolerate no further mutinous wordsfrom you. If I hear another word of the kind from you, or see a signof misconduct on your part, I shall take measures for your punishment.Stop! I want no answer. I have warned you and that is enough."
Sam's sudden assertion of his authority, in terms so peremptory, tookJake completely by surprise. Sam was a good tempered fellow, and notat all disposed to "put on airs" as boys say, and hence he had been aseasy and familiar with his companions as if they had been merely a lotof school boys out for a holiday; but when Jake Elliott suggested arevolt, Sam, the good natured companion, became Captain Sam, the sterncommander, at once.
The other boys saw at once the necessity and propriety of the rebukehe had administered. They believed Jake Elliott to be a coward and abully, and they were glad to see him properly and promptly checked inhis effort to give trouble.
It was growing late and the boys presently threw themselves down ontheir beds of soft gray moss and were soon sound asleep.