CHAPTER VI--A PROWLER IN THE DARK
The night passed without further attack, and at dawn the lads scoutedcarefully about the scene of the battle and found the bodies of twelvelarge timber wolves. They found another wounded wolf hiding under thetop of a fallen tree, and they rushed upon it and killed it with theirwar-clubs. Well pleased with their victory, the young Delawares spentsome time chanting war-songs and dancing about the bodies of theirvictims. Then they broke off the tusks of the largest wolves as trophiesto be proudly exhibited when they finally returned to the Delawarevillage.
On the way back to the river Running Fox saw a small dark animalbounding along ahead of him. He immediately ran in pursuit of it, and asit flashed up the trunk of a tree he saw that it was, as he had guessed,a black squirrel. The squirrel hid on one side of the tree, and asRunning Fox moved cautiously about the tree-trunk the crafty littlecreature moved with him, so that he was unable to surprise it. At last,however, Running Fox took his bow and stirred the leaves on the oppositeside of the tree. It was an old hunting trick which he had learned fromhis father, and it proved entirely successful. Thinking that its pursuerwas coming around on that side the bewildered squirrel edged around infull view of Running Fox. A moment afterward it fell at his feet with anarrow through its body.
"Well, Wisawanik knows how to hide, but I fooled him," laughed RunningFox, as he held up the prize. "See, Spotted Deer, I have killed a chiefwho wears the black robe. Yes, I have done what the medicine creaturestold me to do."
Running Fox removed the black pelt with great care, and fastened it tohis belt. Then they continued toward the river. As they neared the waterthey climbed to the top of a hardwood ridge to reconnoiter. They knewthat they were almost at the end of the Delaware hunting grounds, andthe thought made them cautious.
"Pretty soon we will enter the country of our enemies," said RunningFox. "Many of our people have been killed in that country. We must bevery watchful."
"We will be as sharp as Woakus, the fox," replied Spotted Deer.
They were able to see a long way up and down the river from the top ofthe ridge, and they studied the water with great care. However, as theyfailed to discover anything to arouse their suspicions, they soonresumed their way into the north. The day was more than half gone whenRunning Fox suddenly stopped, and pointed to a high rocky cliff on theopposite side of the river, and then to a massive dead pine directlyahead of them.
"Do you see that high rocky place over there?" he inquired, turning toSpotted Deer.
"Yes, I see it," replied Spotted Deer.
"Do you see that big tree ahead of us?"
"Yes, I see it."
"Well, we have reached the beginning of the great Iroquois huntinggrounds," declared Running Fox. "It begins over there on that side whereyou see those rocks, and it begins on this side where you see that bigtree ahead of us. Do you know anything about those rocks?"
"No, I do not know about them," replied Spotted Deer.
"Well, I will tell you about something that happened there," saidRunning Fox. "I will tell it just as my father told it to me. Our peoplecall that place Laktschellan, which means the-jumping-over-place. Now Iwill tell you how it got that name. A long time ago a Delaware hunterwas chased up on those rocks by some Mohawks. Well, when they saw him upthere they began to laugh because they thought he could not get away.Pretty soon they heard him calling down to them. He told them that hewas going to jump down into the water. Well, when they heard that theybegan to laugh some more, because they thought he would surely bekilled. Then some of the Mohawks began to climb up the rocks. When theDelaware saw them coming he gave a loud shout and jumped away from therocks. He made a great noise when he fell into the water, and a whitecloud flew high up into the air. Well, the Mohawks began to watch thewater. They watched a long time, but he never appeared. Then theythought he was dead. Some of them began to jump into the water to findhis body. Well, while they were doing that the Delaware was hiding inthe bushes a little way off. He was laughing about how he had fooled theMohawks. He waited there until the Mohawks got tired and went away. Thenhe ran to the Delaware camp, and told what he had done. The name of thatbrave man was Striking Hawk, and he lived a very long time ago."
"That is a good thing to know about," declared Spotted Deer. "Whenever Ipass that place I will always think about that brave hunter."
A few moments afterwards the lads entered the hunting grounds of theirfoes. The real war-journey had actually begun. The thought thrilledthem. Still they were serious and thoughtful. They knew that many foeslurked in the vast wilderness which they were about to explore, and theyrealized the difficulty of avoiding them. Besides the Mohawks there wereseveral other tribes of the great Iroquois nation who wandered into thatcountry to hunt and fish with their tribesmen. These visitors weremostly Oneidas and Onondagas, whose villages were comparatively near theMohawks, but the fierce Cayugas and the still fiercer Senecasoccasionally came from the lakes and mountains far away toward thesetting sun. Then there were also the Shawnees, who frequently venturedinto the Iroquois country in large numbers. Such an array of enemiesmight have made the most courageous warrior hesitate about entering thatperilous region, and the young Delawares knew that they must keepconstantly alert to their danger if they hoped to escape.
The lads continued along the river until near the end of the day, andthen they turned deeper into the forest to find a safe hiding place inwhich to spend the night. They were making their way carefully over arocky piece of ground covered with blueberry bushes, when they heard aloud buzzing sound close beside them.
"Hi, that is Wischalowe, the Frightener," cried Running Fox.
They recognized the sound as the angry buzzing of a rattlesnake. Itseemed to be in a dense thicket of blueberry bushes, The lads realizedthat they must approach it with caution, for they knew that its bite wasvery deadly. Running Fox picked up several stones, and advancedcarefully into the thicket. When he came near the sound he stopped andlooked for the snake. At last he saw it several bow-lengths ahead ofhim. It was coiled to strike.
"Hi, Wischalowe, I have found you," cried Running Fox. "You look veryugly. Yes, you are called 'The Frightener.' Well, I am not afraid ofyou. Your war-cry does not frighten me. I have killed some of yourpeople. Now I am going to kill you. But I am going to give you a chanceto fight. Come, let me see how brave you are."
Running Fox advanced directly toward the angry snake. He parted thebushes carefully with his bow, and walked almost within bow-length. Thenhe stopped, and continued to taunt Wischalowe. However, the rattlesnakemade no attempt to strike, and Running Fox tossed one of the stoneswithin a hand-breadth of it. The snake instantly lowered its head andflattened its body against the ground--it was evidently about to strike.Running Fox advanced a step nearer, and the snake uncoiled two-thirds ofits body and struck at him. He saw the ugly open mouth and the deadlyfangs as he sprang aside.
"Well, Wischalowe, you are very slow, like an old man," laughed RunningFox. "Yes, I see that you are very mad about it. You are making a greatnoise. Perhaps it would frighten the women and children. Is that how yougot your name? Well, Wischalowe, this will be your last song. Now I amgoing to kill you."
However, as Running Fox threw the rock the snake struck, and he missedit. Then to his surprise the snake partially coiled and struck again. Itwas an unexpected maneuver, and the reckless young Delaware barelyescaped. He struck savagely with his bow, and hit the reptile a stunningblow behind the head. Before it recovered he stooped and crushed it withhis war-club. Then he cut the string of bony scales, or rattles, from,the end of its tail.
"Well, that was an easy fight," laughed Running Fox, as he rejoinedSpotted Deer. "Wischalowe tried to frighten us, and now I have killedhim."
"Wisehalowe was foolish," replied Spotted Deer.
At the end of the day they stopped for the night beside a splendidlittle woodland spring, in the midst of a wonderful forest of toweringhemlocks. The trees were so large and stood so close tog
ether thatperpetual twilight reigned beneath them. Night came swiftly after sunsetin that dense stand of timber, and the lads missed the cheery glow ofthe little camp-fire, for they believed that it would be foolhardy torun the risk of lighting it. They sat close together in the darkness,therefore, conversing in low, guarded tones and listening anxiously atthe slightest sound. However, the great wilderness was unusually still,and they heard only the night wind whispering softly in the tree-tops.
"Schawanachen, the warm wind, is singing the sleep song," said RunningFox.
"It is a pretty song," replied Spotted Deer. "Come, we will pile up someof this long grass, and let Schawanachen sing us to sleep."
They gathered several armfuls of the long feathery ferns that grew ingreat abundance at that spot, and made couches of them. Then theywrapped themselves in their robes and lay down to sleep.
"Perhaps it would be a good thing for one of us to watch," suggestedRunning Fox.
"No, I do not believe we are in any danger here," said Spotted Deer. "Wehave not seen or heard anything to trouble us."
"That is true," agreed Running Fox. "Well, we will not do anything aboutit."
They had not been long asleep when Running Fox awakened with a feelingthat all was not well. He raised himself cautiously upon his elbow, andspent many moments looking and listening for signs of danger. SpottedDeer was slumbering soundly, and Running Fox determined not to awakenhim unless he discovered something to verify his uneasiness.
"This is a strange thing," Running Fox whispered to himself. "I do notsee anything, and I do not hear anything, but I feel something wrong. Ibelieve we are in some kind of danger. Well, I will watch."
For a long time, however, he found no reason for his suspicions. Stillthe peculiar premonition of danger persisted. It troubled him. Hebelieved it was a warning from Getanittowit, and yet he did not know howto interpret it. Then he thought he heard something moving through theferns. He held his breath to listen, but the silence was unbroken. Atlast, convinced that his fears were groundless, Running Fox again laydown to sleep. He had barely closed his eyes, however, when he wasroused by the same stealthy sound in the ferns.
"Now I know that something is wrong," Running Fox told himself.
As he sat up and stared anxiously into the night he again heard thegentle rustling of the ferns. For a moment he wondered if it might notbe the wind. All was still, however, and even the murmurs in thetree-tops had died away. Running Fox felt that he was being watched. Afew moments later his suspicions were verified, as a pair of glowingeyes shone from the darkness. Aware that they were threatened by somesavage prowler of the wilderness, Running Fox leaned over and touchedSpotted Deer.
"Do not make any noise," cautioned Running Fox, as Spotted Deerawakened.
"What has happened?" Spotted Deer inquired, anxiously.
"I do not know what it is, but something is watching us," declaredRunning Fox. "Yes, I heard it, and I saw its eyes."
"Perhaps the wolves have followed us," whispered Spotted Deer.
"No, it is something different," replied Running Fox. "Listen."
They heard something circling softly about them through the ferns. Thenthey caught the momentary flash of a pair of eyes. The next instant theyvanished, and a twig snapped somewhere within bow-shot.
"I believe it is Timmeu, the wolf," declared Spotted Deer. "Perhaps hehas come back to fight us."
"No, it is not Timmeu," replied Running Fox. "The eyes are different,and this thing moves slower."
They heard a low growl, like that of an angry dog. Then they again sawthe weird shining eyes watching them.
"Perhaps some Evil Spirit lives in this place," Spotted Deer suggested,uneasily.
"No, I do not believe it," Running Fox assured him. "I believe it isQuenischquney, the panther. Yes, it is the sound I heard in my dream.Now I will tell you what to do. I will shoot my arrow. Then ifQuenisehquney jumps in to fight you must send your arrow into him. Bythat time I will be ready with another arrow."
"I am ready," said Spotted Deer. "See, there are his eyes. He soundsmad."
Running Fox discharged his arrow. They heard it strike, and then aterrifying scream rang through the night. A moment later a long darkform crouched before them. They heard the tail swishing rapidly amongthe ferns, and read a warning in the flashing eyes.
"Do something!" cried Running Fox, as he prepared another arrow.
Spotted Deer had hesitated an instant too long, and as he released hisbow-string the panther sprang. It missed him by less than a bow-length,and disappeared into the night. They heard it coughing and snarling, andthrashing about in the ferns. Then it suddenly became quiet.
"It is dead," said Spotted Deer.
"Perhaps," replied Running Fox. "Quenischquney is very cute, we must becareful."
They watched anxiously, but the eyes failed to appear. Then, as thesilence continued, Running Fox began to grow uneasy. He feared that thepanther might have sneaked away, and the possibility made him reckless.
"I do not like this," he told Spotted Deer. "Perhaps, as you say,Quenischquney is dead. But perhaps he has sneaked away. That would bevery bad. I must follow him and kill him. Yes, I must take his claws,and wear them as the mysterious Medicine Creatures told me to do. If Ido not obey them something bad may happen to us. Now I am going overthere to find out if Quenischquney is dead."
"That is a very dangerous thing to do," protested Spotted Deer.
"Well, I cannot help it," replied Running Fox. "I must not letQuenischquney get away."
"I will go with you," proposed Spotted Deer.
They waited some moments, watching and listening for a clue to thewhereabouts of the wounded panther. Then, as the baffling silencecontinued, they advanced cautiously toward the place where they had lastseen the glare of its eyes. They went forward very slowly, about abow-length apart. It was very dark, and they realized that they mustdepend more upon their ears than their eyes to warn them of danger.After every third or fourth stride, therefore, they stopped to listen,while they peered anxiously on all sides of them for a tell-tale flashof those ugly green eyes. However, they neither heard or saw anything ofthe animal they sought.
"I believe that fierce Quenischquney is dead," declared Spotted Deer.
"We must not be too sure," Running Fox warned him.
He had barely finished speaking when they heard a warning growl directlyahead of them. They stopped and watched for a chance to shoot theirarrows. The growling continued, and they heard the ferns rustling, butthey were unable to locate the panther. They knew it was close to them,but for some reason they were unable to discover its eyes. For a momentthey were puzzled. Then Running Fox guessed the truth.
"I know how it is," he whispered, excitedly. "Quenischquney is crouchingdown in the high grass. I believe he is getting ready to jump."
"Shall I send an arrow over there where we hear him?" asked SpottedDeer.
Quenischquney himself answered the question, for at that very instant hemade his spring, and bore Spotted Deer to the ground. Running Fox saw along black shadow pass before him, heard a short angry snarl, and thenthe quick startled voice of Spotted Deer. For an instant the suddennessof the attack bewildered him. He hesitated a moment to recover his wits,and then as Spotted Deer called to him he sprang to his assistance.
"O Running Fox! Running Fox!" screamed Spotted Deer.
"Use your knife!" cried Running Fox.
The next instant he was upon the panther. He plunged his flint knifedeep behind the shoulder.
Then, as the infuriated beast turned upon him, he drove an arrow intoits body. Quenischquney leaped, but crashed to the ground within abow-length. For some moments he thrashed wildly about in the ferns,coughing and snarling furiously. Then he became still. The ladsapproached cautiously, and saw him lying quietly upon his side. RunningFox drove another arrow into him, but he failed to move. Then they wentup to him, and saw that he was dead.
"Did Quenischquney do much harm to you?" Running Fox asked Spotted D
eer."Come over here and let me look at you."
"No, Quenischquney did not harm me," Spotted Deer replied, bravely. "Ifelt his claws, but I stuck my knife into his throat, and he could notbite me. Yes, I am bloody, but most of it came from Quenischquney. It isa good thing you were with me. If I had been alone I might have beenkilled."
Running Fox saw that Spotted Deer had escaped without serious injury. Hehad a number of painful gashes on his arms and the upper part of hisbody, but Running Fox hurried him to the spring and soon stopped thebleeding by soaking small pieces of sphagnum moss in the cold water andinserting it in the wounds.
"Well, you will have some marks on your body to tell about when we getback to our people," laughed Running Fox.
"I will tell them how you killed Quenischquney," replied Spotted Deer.
As Spotted Deer declared that he felt little pain from his injuries,they returned to the dead panther and cut off the claws. Then they sangmedicine-songs, and danced about the body of Quenischquney until wellalong toward the middle of the night.
"Now we will stop," Running Fox said, finally, "It will soon be light.Come, we will go back and lie down again."
"Yes, we can sleep easy, fierce Quenischquney will not trouble us now,"replied Spotted Deer.