CHAPTER XX
THE COUNTER-STROKE
Colonel Benjamin Logan was standing in a small opening near the banks ofthe Licking about five miles south of its junction with the Ohio. Dawnhad just come but it had been a troubled night. The country around himwas beautiful, a primeval wilderness with deep fertile soil and splendidforest. His company, too, was good--several hundred stalwart men fromLexington, Boonesborough, Harrod's Station and several other settlementsin the country, destined to become so famous as the Bluegrass region ofKentucky. Yet, as has been said, the night was uneasy and he saw nodecrease of worry.
Colonel Logan was a man of stout nerves, seldom troubled by insomnia,but he had not slept. His scouts had told him that there were Indians inthe forest ahead. One or two incautious explorers had been wounded bybullets fired from hidden places. He and the best men with him had feltthat they were surrounded by an invisible enemy, and just at the timethat he needed knowledge, it was hardest to achieve it. It was importantfor him to move on, highly important because he wanted to effect ajunction for a great purpose with George Rogers Clark, a very famousborder leader. Yet he could learn nothing of Clark. He did not receiveany news from him, nor could he send any to him. Every scout who triedit was driven back, and after suffering agonies of doubt through thatlong and ominous night, the brave leader and skillful borderer hadconcluded that the most powerful Indian force ever sent to Kentucky wasin front of him. His men had brought rumors that it was led by therenowned Wyandot chief, Timmendiquas, with Red Eagle, Black Panther,Moluntha, Captain Pipe and the renegade Girty as his lieutenants.
Colonel Logan, brave man that he was, was justified when he felt manyfears. His force was not great, and, surrounded, it might be overwhelmedand cut off. For the border to lose three or four hundred of its bestmen would be fatal. Either he must retreat or he must effect a junctionwith Clark of whose location he knew nothing. A more terrible choice hasseldom been presented to a man. Harrod, Kenton and other famous scoutsstood with him and shared his perplexity.
"What shall we do, gentlemen?" he asked.
There was no answer save the sound of a rifle shot from the woods infront of them.
"I don't blame you for not answering," said the Colonel moodily,"because I don't know of anything you can say. Listen to those shots! Wemay be fighting for our lives before noon, but, by all the powers, Iwon't go back. We can't do it! Now in the name of all that's wonderfulwhat is that?"
Every pair of eyes was turned toward the muddy surface of the Licking,where a white body floated easily. As they looked the body came to thebank, raised itself up in the shape of a human being and stepped ashore,leaving a trail of water on the turf. It was the figure of a youth, talland powerful beyond his kind and bare to the waist. He came straighttoward Logan.
"Now, who under the sun are you and what do you want!" exclaimed thestartled Colonel.
"My name is Henry Ware," replied the youth in a pleasant voice, "andwhat I want is first a blanket and after that some clothes, butmeanwhile I tell you that I am a messenger from Colonel Clark whom youwish to join."
"A messenger from Colonel Clark?" exclaimed Logan. "How do we knowthis?"
"Simon Kenton there knows me well and he can vouch for me; can't youSimon?" continued the youth in the same pleasant voice.
"And so I can!" exclaimed Kenton, springing forward and warmly graspingthe outstretched hand. "I didn't know you at first, Henry, which isnatural, because it ain't your habit to wander around in the daytimewith nothing on but a waist band."
"But how is it that you came up the Licking," persisted Colonel Logan,still suspicious. "Is Colonel Clark in the habit of sending unclothedmessengers up rivers?"
"I came that way," replied Henry, "because all the others are closed.I've been swimming nearly all night or rather floating, because I had alittle raft to help me. I came up the Ohio and then up the Licking. Iran the Indian gauntlet on both rivers. At the gauntlet on the Licking Ilost my raft which carried my rifle, clothes and ammunition. Howeverhere I am pretty wet and somewhat tired, but as far as I know, sound."
"You can rely on every word he says, Colonel," exclaimed Simon Kenton.
"I do believe him absolutely," said Colonel Logan, "and here, Mr. Ware,is my blanket. Wear it until we get your clothes. And now what ofClark?"
"He is only about six miles away with seven hundred veterans. He wasattacked night before last by Timmendiquas, Girty and all the power ofthe allied tribes, but we drove them off. Colonel Clark and his men arein an impregnable position, and they await only your coming to beat thewhole Indian force. He has sent me to tell you so."
Colonel Logan fairly sprang up in his joy.
"Only six miles away!" he exclaimed. "Then we'll soon be with him.Young sir, you shall have the best clothes and the best rifle the campcan furnish, for yours has been a daring mission and a successful one.How on earth did you ever do it?"
"I think luck helped me," replied Henry modestly.
"Luck? Nonsense! Luck can't carry a man through such an ordeal as that.No, sir; it was skill and courage and strength. Now here is breakfast,and while you eat, your new clothes and your new rifle shall be broughtto you."
Colonel Logan was as good as his word. When Henry finished his breakfastand discarded the blanket he arrayed himself in a beautifully tanned andfringed suit of deerskin, and ran his hand lovingly along the longslender barrel of a silver-mounted rifle, the handsomest weapon he hadever seen.
"It is yours," said Colonel Logan, "in place of the one that you havelost, and you shall have also double-barreled pistols. And now as we areabout to advance, we shall have to call upon you to be our guide."
Henry responded willingly. He was fully rested, and at such a moment hehad not thought of sleep. Preceded by scouts, Logan's force advancedcautiously through the woods near the Licking. About a score of shotswere fired at them, but, after the shots, the Indian skirmishers fellback on their main force. When they had gone about two miles Loganstopped his men, and ordered a twelve-pound cannon of which they werevery proud to be brought forward.
It was rolled into a little open space, loaded only with blankcartridges and fired. Doubtless many of the men wondered why it wasdischarged seemingly at random into the forest, because Colonel Loganhad talked only with Henry Ware, Simon Kenton and a few others. But thesound of the shot rolled in a deep boom through the woods.
"Will he hear?" asked Colonel Logan.
"He'll hear," replied Simon Kenton with confidence. "The sound willtravel far through this still air. It will reach him."
They waited with the most intense anxiety one minute, two minutes, andout of the woods in the north came the rolling report in reply. A halfminute more and then came the second sound just like the first.
"The signal! They answer! They answer!" exclaimed Colonel Loganjoyously. "Now to make it complete."
When the last echo of the second shot in the north had died, thetwelve-pounder was fired again. Then it was reloaded, but not with blankcartridges, and the word to advance was given. Now the men pressedforward with increased eagerness, but they still took wildernessprecaution. Trees and hillocks were used for shelter, and from the treesand hillocks in front of them the Indian skirmishers poured a heavyfire. Logan's men replied and the forest was alive with the sounds ofbattle. Bullets cut twigs and bushes, and the white man's shout repliedto the red man's war whoop. The cannon was brought up, and firedcartridges and then grape shot at the point where the enemy's forceseemed to be thickest. The Indians gave way before this terrifying fire,and Logan's men followed them. But the Colonel always kept a heavy forceon either flank to guard against ambush, and Henry was continually byhis side to guide. They went a full mile and then Henry, who waslistening, exclaimed joyfully:
"They're coming to meet us! Don't you hear their fire?"
Above the crash of his own combat Colonel Logan heard the distantthudding of cannon, and, as he listened, that thudding came nearer.These were certainly the guns of Clark, and he was as joyous as
Henry.Their cooeperation was now complete, and the courage and daring of oneyouth had made it possible. His own force pushed forward faster, andsoon they could hear the rifles of the heavier battle in the north.
"We've got 'em! We've got 'em!" shouted Simon Kenton. "They are caughtbetween the two jaws of a vice, and the bravest Indians that ever livedcan never stand that."
Logan ordered his men to spread out in a longer and thinner line,although he kept at least fifty of his best about the cannon to preventany attempt at capture. The twelve-pounder may not have done muchexecution upon an enemy who fought chiefly from shelter, but he knewthat its effect was terrifying, and he did not mean to lose the gun. Hisprecaution was taken well, as a picked band of Wyandots, Shawnees andMiamis, springing suddenly from the undergrowth, made a determinedcharge to the very muzzle of the cannon. There was close fighting, handto hand, the shock of white bodies against red, the flash of explodingpowder and the glitter of steel, but the red band was at last drivenback, although not without loss to the defenders. The struggle had beenso desperate that Colonel Logan drew more men about the cannon, and thenpressed on again. The firing to the north was growing louder, indicatingthat Clark, too, was pushing his way through the forest. The two forceswere now not much more than a mile apart, and Simon Kenton shouted thatthe battle would cease inside of five minutes.
Kenton was a prophet. Almost at the very moment predicted by him theIndian fire stopped with a suddenness that seemed miraculous. Everydusky flitting form vanished. No more jets of flame arose, the smokefloated idly about as if it had been made by bush fires, and Logan's menfound that nobody was before them. There was something weird and uncannyabout it. The sudden disappearance of so strong and numerous an enemyseemed to partake of magic. But Henry understood well. Always a shrewdgeneral, Timmendiquas, seeing that the battle was lost, and that hemight soon be caught in an unescapable trap, had ordered the warriors togive up the fight, and slip away through the woods.
Pressing forward with fiery zeal and energy, Clark and Logan met in theforest and grasped hands. The two forces fused at the same time andraised a tremendous cheer. They had beaten the allied tribes once more,and had formed the union which they believed would make them invincible.A thousand foresters, skilled in every wile and strategy of Indian warwere indeed a formidable force, and they had a thorough right torejoice, as they stood there in the wilderness greeting one anotherafter a signal triumph. Save for the fallen, there was no longer a signof the warriors. All their wounded had been taken away with them.
"I heard your cannon shot, just when I was beginning to give up hope,"said Colonel Clark to Colonel Logan.
"And you don't know how welcome your reply was," replied Logan, "but itwas all due to a great boy named Henry Ware."
"So he got through?"
"Yes, he did. He arrived clothed only in a waist band, and the first wesaw of him was his head emerging from the muddy waters of the Licking.He swam, floated and dived all night long until he got to us. He waschased by canoes, and shot at by warriors, but nothing could stop him,and without him we couldn't have done anything, because there was noother way for us to hear a word from you."
"Ah, there he is now. But I see that he is clothed and armed."
Henry had appeared just then with his comrades, looking among thebushes to see if any savage yet lay there in ambush, and the twoColonels seized upon him. They could not call him by complimentary namesenough, and they told him that he alone had made the victory possible.Henry, blushing, got away from them as quickly as he could, and rejoinedhis friends.
"That shorely was a great swim of yours, Henry," said Shif'less Sol,"an' you're pow'ful lucky that the water was warm."
"My little raft helped me a lot," rejoined Henry, "and I'm mighty sorryI lost it, although Colonel Logan has given me the best rifle I eversaw. I wonder what will be our next movement."
Colonel Clark, who was now in command of the whole force, the otherofficers cooperating with him and obeying him loyally, deemed it wise tospend the day in rest. The men had gone through long hours of waiting,watching and fighting and their strength must be restored. Scoutsreported that the Indians had crossed the Licking and then the Ohio, andwere retreating apparently toward Chillicothe, their greatest town. Somewanted Colonel Clark to follow them at once and strike another blow, buthe was too wise. The Indian facility for retreat was always great. Theycould scatter in the forest in such a way that it was impossible to findthem, but if rashly followed they could unite as readily and draw theirfoe into a deadly ambush. Clark, a master of border warfare, who wasnever tricked by them, let them go and bided his time. He ordered manyfires to be lighted and food in abundance to be served. The spirits ofthe men rose to the highest pitch. Even the wounded rejoiced.
After eating, Henry found that he needed sleep. He did not feel thestrain and anxiety of the long night and of the morning battle, until itwas all over. Then his whole system relaxed, and, throwing himself downon the turf, he went sound asleep. When he awoke the twilight wascoming and Paul and Shif'less Sol sat near him.
"We had to guard you most of the time, Henry," said Shif'less Sol,"'cause you're a sort of curiosity. Fellers hev kep' comin' here to seethe lad what swam the hull len'th o' the Ohio an' then the hull len'tho' the Lickin', most o' the time with his head under water, an' we hadto keep 'em from wakin' you. We'd let 'em look at you, but we wouldn'tlet 'em speak or breathe loud. You wuz sleepin' so purty that we couldnot bear to hev you waked up."
Henry laughed.
"Quit making fun of me, Sol," he said, "and tell me what's happenedsince I've been asleep."
"Nothin' much. The Indians are still retreatin' through the woods acrossthe Ohio an' Colonel Clark shows his good hoss sense by not follerin''em, ez some o' our hot heads want him to do. Wouldn't Timmendiquas liketo draw us into an ambush,--say in some valley in the thick o' theforest with a couple o' thousand warriors behind the trees an' on theridges all aroun' us. Oh, wouldn't he? An' what would be left of usafter it wuz all over? I ask you that, Henry."
"Mighty little, I'm afraid."
"Next to nothin', I know. I tell you Henry our Colonel Clark is a realgin'ral. He's the kind I like to foller, an' we ain't goin' to see nosich sight ez the one we saw at Wyomin'."
"I'm sure we won't," said Henry. "Now have any of you slept to-day?"
"All o' us hev took naps, not long but mighty deep an' comfortin'. Sowe're ready fur anythin' from a fight to a foot race, whichever 'pearsto be the better fur us."
"Where are Paul and Tom and Jim?"
"Cruisin' about in their restless, foolish way. I told 'em to sit rightdown on the groun' and keep still an' enjoy theirselves while theycould, but my wise words wuz wasted. Henry, sometimes I think that onlylazy men like me hev good sense."
The missing three appeared a minute or two later and were received bythe shiftless one with the objurgations due to what he consideredmisspent energy.
"I'm for a scout to-night," said Henry. "Are all of you with me?"
Three answered at once:
"Of course."
But Shif'less Sol groaned.
"Think o' going out after dark when you might lay here an' snoozecomf'ably," he said; "but sence you fellers are so foolish an'headstrong you'll need some good sens'ble man to take keer o' you."
"Thank you, Sol," said Henry, with much gravity. "Now that we have yourreluctant consent we need only to ask Colonel Clark."
Colonel Clark had no objection. In fact, he would not question any actof the five, whom he knew to be free lances of incomparable skill andknowledge in the wilderness.
"You know better than I what to do," he said, smiling, "and as for you,Mr. Ware, you have already done more than your share in this campaign."
They left shortly after dark. The united camp was pitched at thejunction of the Ohio and Licking, but along the bank of the largerriver. Most of the boats were tied to the shore, and they had a heavyguard. There was also a strong patrol across the mouth of the Licking,and all the way to
the northern bank of the Ohio.
The five embarked in a large boat with four oarsmen and they lay at easewhile they were pulled across the broad stream. Behind them they saw thenumerous lights of the camp, twinkling in the woods. Clark meant thathis men should be cheerful, and light ministers to good spirits. Aheadof him there was no break in the dark line of forest, but theyapproached it without apprehension, assured by other scouts that theIndian retreat had not ceased.
They were landed on the northern bank and stating to the boatmen thatthey would be back in the morning, they plunged into the woods. Therewas some moonlight, and in a short time they picked up the trail of themain Indian force. They followed it until midnight and found that itmaintained a steady course toward Chillicothe. Henry was satisfied thatTimmendiquas meant to fall back on the town, and make a stand therewhere he could hope for victory, but he was not sure that smaller bandswould not lurk in Clark's path, and try to cut up and weaken his forceas it advanced. Hence, he left the great trail and turned to the right.In a mile or so they heard sounds and peering through the woods sawBraxton Wyatt, Blackstaffe and about a dozen Shawnee warriors sittingabout a small fire. Paul incautiously stepped upon a dead bough whichcracked beneath his weight, and the Indians at once leaped up, rifle inhand. They fired several shots into the bushes whence the sound hadcome, but the five had already taken shelter, and they sent bullets inreturn. Rifles cracked sharply and jets of smoke arose.
A combat did not enter into Henry's calculation. It was one thing thathe wished especially to avoid, but neither he nor any other of the fivecould bear to make a hasty retreat before Braxton Wyatt. They held theirground, and sent in a fire so rapid and accurate that Wyatt andBlackstaffe thought they were attacked by a force larger than their own,and, fearing to be trapped, finally retreated. The result appealedirresistibly to Shif'less Sol's sense of humor.
"Ef they hadn't run, we would," he said. "Jest think how often that'sthe case. Many a feller gits beat 'cause he don't wait for the other tobeat hisself."
They were all buoyant over the affair, and they followed some distance,until they saw that Wyatt and Blackstaffe had changed their course inorder to join the main band, when they started back to Clark, havingseen all they wished. They arrived at the river about daylight, and wereordered to the southern shore where they made a report that was greatlysatisfactory to the commander. Clark passed his whole force over theOhio the next day and then built a small fort on the site of Cincinnati,placing in it all the surplus stores and ammunition.
Several days were spent here, and, throughout that time, Henry and hiscomrades scouted far and wide, going as far as thirty miles beyond thefort. But the woods were bare of Indians, and Henry was confirmed in hisbelief that Timmendiquas, after the failure at the mouth of the Licking,was concentrating everything on Chillicothe, expecting to resist to theutmost.
"Thar's bound to be a pow'ful big battle at that town," said Shif'lessSol.
"I think so, too," said Henry, "and we've got to guard against walkinginto any trap. I wish I knew what thought is lying just now in the backof the head of Timmendiquas."
"We'll soon know, 'cause it won't take us many days to git toChillicothe," said Tom Ross.
The army took up its march the next day, going straight towardChillicothe. It was the most formidable white force that had yetappeared in the western woods, and every man in it was full ofconfidence. It was not only an army, but it marched in the shape andfashion of one. The borderers, used to their own way, yielded readily tothe tact and great name of Clark. The first division under Clark's owncommand, with the artillery, military stores and baggage in the center,led; Logan, who ranked next to Clark, commanded the rear.
The men walked in four lines, with a space of forty yards between everytwo lines. On each flank was a band of veteran scouts and skirmishers.In front of the white army, but never out of sight, marched a strongdetachment of skilled woodsmen and marksmen. In the rear and at asimilar distance, came another such band.
Clark also took further precautions against surprise and confusion. Heissued an order that in case of attack in front the vanguard was tostand fast while the two lines on the right of the artillery were towheel to the right, and the two on the left were to wheel to the left.Then the cannon and the whole line were to advance at the double quickto the support of the vanguard. If they were attacked from behind, thevanguard was to stand fast, and the whole proceeding was to be reversed.If they were attacked on either flank, the two lines on that flank andthe artillery were to stand where they were, while the other two lineswheeled and formed, one on the van and the other on the rear. The menhad been drilled repeatedly in their movements, and they executed themwith skill. It now remained to be seen whether they would do as muchunder the influence of surprise and a heavy fire. Everyone believed theywould stand against any form of attack.
The commanders seemed to think of all things, and the training of thearmy excited the admiration of Henry and his comrades. They felt that itwould be very hard to catch such a force in a trap, or, if it should becaught, there was nothing in the wilderness to hold it there. The fivewere not in the line. In fact, they kept ahead of the vanguard itself,but they often came back to make their reports to Clark. It was now thebeginning of August, and the heat was great in the woods. The men werecompelled to rest in the middle of the day and they drank thirstilyfrom every brook they passed.
Clark expected that they would be annoyed by the Indian skirmishers, butthe first day passed, and then the second and not a shot was fired. Thefive and the other scouts assured him that no warriors were near, but hedid not like the silence. Bowman and a strong force had attackedChillicothe the year before, but had been repulsed. Undoubtedly it wouldnow have a still stronger defense and he wondered what could be the planof Timmendiquas. A border leader, in a land covered with great forestswas compelled to guard every moment against the cunning and stratagem ofa foe who lived by cunning and stratagem.
The second night a council was held, and Henry and all his comrades weresummoned to it. Would or would not the Indians fight before the whiteforce reached Chillicothe? The country was rough and presented many goodplaces for defense. Colonel Clark asked the question, and he lookedanxiously around at the little group. Daniel Boone spoke first. Hebelieved that no resistance would be offered until they reachedChillicothe. Simon Kenton and Abe Thomas shared his opinion. Henry stoodmodestly in the background and waited until Colonel Clark put thequestion. Then he replied with a proposition:
"I think that Colonel Boone is right," he said, "but I and four othershave been associated a long time in work of this kind. We are used tothe forest, and we can move faster in it. Let us go ahead. We will seewhat is being prepared at Chillicothe, and we will report to you."
"But the risk to you five?"
"We're ready to take it. Everybody in the army is taking it."
Henry's plan was so promising that he soon had his way. He and theothers were to start immediately.
"Go, my boy, and God bless you," said Colonel Clark. "We want all theinformation you can bring, but don't take excessive risks."
Henry gave his promise, left the council, and in five minutes he and hiscomrades were deep in the forest, and beyond the sight of their own campfires. The weather was now clear and there was a good moon and manystars. Far to the right of them rose the hoot of an owl, but it was areal owl and they paid no attention to it.
"Jest what are you figurin' on, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol.
"I think that if we travel hard all of to-night," replied Henry, "andthen take it easy to-morrow that we can reach Chillicothe earlyto-morrow night. We ought to learn there in a few hours all that we wantto know, and we can be back with the army on the following day."
None of the five had ever been at Chillicothe, but all of them knew verywell its location. It was the largest Indian village in the Ohio RiverValley, and many a foray had gone from it. They knew that the forest rancontinuously from where they were almost to its edge, and they believedt
hat they could approach without great difficulty. After a consultationthey settled upon the exact point toward which they would go, and then,Henry leading the way, they sped onward in a silent file. Hour afterhour they traveled without speaking. The moon was out, but they kept tothe deepest parts of the forest and its rays rarely reached them. Theyused the long running walk of the frontiersman and their toughenedmuscles seemed never to tire. Every one of them breathed regularly andeasily, but the miles dropped fast behind them. They leaped littlebrooks, and twice they waded creeks, in one of which the water went farpast their knees, but their buckskin trousers dried upon them as theyran on. The moon went behind floating clouds, and then came back againbut it made no difference to them. They went on at the same swift, evenpace, and it was nearly morning when Henry gave the signal to stop.
He saw a place that he thought would suit them for their informal camp,a dense thicket of bushes and vines on a hill, a thicket that even inthe daylight would be impervious to the keenest eyes.
"Suppose we crawl in here and rest awhile," he said. "We mustn't breakourselves down."
"Looks all right," said Tom Ross.
They crept into the dense covert, and all went to sleep except Henry andRoss who lay down without closing their eyes, theirs being the turn towatch. Henry saw the sun rise and gild the forest that seemed to bewithout human being save themselves. Beyond the thicket in which theylay there was not much underbrush and as Henry watched on all sides fora long time he was sure that no Indian had come near. He was confirmedin this opinion by two deer that appeared amid the oak openings andnibbled at the turf. They were a fine sight, a stag and doe each ofsplendid size, and they moved fearlessly about among the trees. Henryadmired them and he had no desire whatever to harm them. Instead, theywere now friends of his, telling him by their presence that the savageswere absent.
Henry judged that they were now about two-thirds of the way toChillicothe, and, shortly before noon, he and Tom awakened the othersand resumed their journey, but in the brilliant light of the afternoonthey advanced much more slowly. Theirs was a mission of great importanceand discovery alone would ruin it. They kept to the thicket, and thestony places where they would leave no trail, and once, when a brookflowed in their direction, they waded in its watery bed for two or threemiles. But the intensity of their purpose and the concentration of theirfaculties upon it did not keep them from noticing the magnificence ofthe country. Everywhere the soil was deep and dark, and, springing fromit, was the noblest of forests. It was well watered, too, with anabundance of creeks and brooks, and now and then a little lake. Furtheron were large rivers. Henry did not wonder that the Indians fought sobitterly against trespassers upon their ancient hunting grounds.
The twilight of the second night came, and, lying in the thicket, thefive ate and drank a little, while the twilight turned into dark. Thenthey prepared their plans. They did not believe that Chillicothe wasmore than three miles ahead, and the Indians, knowing that the armycould not come up for two days yet, were not likely to be keeping a verystrict watch. They meant to penetrate to the town in the night. But theywaited a long time, until they believed most of the children and squawswould be asleep, and then they advanced again.
Their surmise was correct. In a half hour they were on the outskirts ofChillicothe, the great Indian town. It was surrounded by fields of maizeand pumpkin, but it seemed to the five to consist of several hundredlodges and modern houses. As they made this reckoning they stood at theedge of a large corn field that stretched between them and the town. Thestalks of corn were higher than a man's head, and the leaves had begunto turn brown under the August sun.
"We must go nearer," said Henry, "and it seems to me that this cornfield offers a way of approach. The corn will hide us until we come tothe very edge of the town."
The others agreed, and they set off across the field. After they enteredit they could see nothing but the corn itself. The dying stalks rustledmournfully above their heads, as they advanced between the rows, but nosounds came from the town. It was about three hundred yards across thefield, and when they reached its far edge they saw several lights whichcame from Chillicothe itself. They paused, while still in the corn, and,lying upon the ground, they got a good view of the big village.
Chillicothe seemed to run a long distance from north to south, but Henryat once noticed among the buildings, obviously of a permanent character,many tepees such as the Indians erect only for a night or two. Hislogical mind immediately drew the inference. Chillicothe was full ofstrange warriors. The Wyandots, Shawnees, Miamis, Delawares, Ottawas,Illinois, all were there and the circumstance indicated that they wouldnot try to lay an ambush for Clark, but would await him at Chillicothe.He whispered to his comrades and they agreed with him.
"Can you see how far this corn field runs down to the right?" he askedTom Ross.
"'Bout two hundred yards, I reckon."
"Then let's drop down its edge and see if the new tepees are scatteredeverywhere through the town."
The trip revealed an abundance of the temporary lodges and farther downthey saw signs of an embankment freshly made. But this breastwork ofearth did not extend far. Evidently it had been left incomplete.
"What do you make of that, Henry?" asked Ross.
"That the Indians are in a state of indecision," replied Henry promptly."They intended to fortify and fight us here, and now they are thinkingthat maybe they won't. If they had made up their minds thoroughly theywould have gone on with the earthwork."
"That certainly sounds reasonable," said Paul, "but if they don't fighthere where will they fight? I can't believe that Timmendiquas willabandon the Indian towns without resistance and flee to the woods."
"They have another big town farther on--Piqua they call it. It may bemore defensible than Chillicothe, and, if so, they might decide toconcentrate there. But we can be sure of one thing. They have not yetleft Chillicothe. It is for us to discover within the next few hoursjust what they mean to do."
At the lower end of the corn field they found a garden of tall pea andbean vines which they entered. This field projected into the village andwhen they reached its end they saw a great increase of lights and heardthe hum of voices. Peeping from their precarious covert they beheld thedusky figures of warriors in large numbers, and they surmised that somesort of a council was in progress.
Henry was eager to know what was being said at this council, but for along time he could think of no way. At last he noticed a small woodenbuilding adjoining the garden, the door of which stood half open,revealing ears of corn from the preceding season lying in a heap uponthe floor. He resolved to enter this rude corncrib knowing it wouldcontain many apertures, and see and hear what was being done. He toldthe others his plan. They tried to dissuade him from it but hepersisted, being sure that he would succeed.
"I'm bound to take the risk," he said. "We must find out what theIndians intend to do."
"Then if you're bent on throwin' away your life," said Shif'less Sol,"I'm goin' in with you."
"No," said Henry firmly. "One is enough, and it is enough to risk one.But if you fellows wish, lie here behind the vines, and, if I have tomake a run for it, you can cover me with your fire."
The four at last agreed to this compromise, although they were loth tosee Henry go. Every one of them made up his mind to stand by theirleader to the last. Henry left the shelter of the vines, but he lay downalmost flat, and crept across the narrow open space to the corncrib.When he saw that no one was looking he darted inside, and cautiouslypushed the door shut.
As he expected, there were plenty of cracks between the timbers and alsoa small open window at one end. The ears of corn were heaped high at thewindow, and, pushing himself down among them until he was hidden to theshoulders, he looked out.