CHAPTER XXIX
WITHIN THE WIGWAM
Jack Carleton walked to the flapping deerskin which closed theentrance to the wigwam, flung it aside, and, stooping slightly,stepped within. Looking into the face of Wish-o-wa-tum, he made ahalf military salute and, straightening up, called out:
"How do you do, brother?"
The etiquette of the visitor required him to advance and offer hishand, but he was afraid to do so while in doubt as to the sentimentsof the chief. The young Kentuckian recalled an instance somewhatsimilar to the present, wherein a Huron warrior, grasping the handof the white man who offered it, suddenly drew him forward andplunged his hunting-knife into his side.
The unexpected visit of Jack produced a sensation amounting, for themoment, almost to consternation. For the first time the squaw showedgenuine surprise. Snapping the pipe from her mouth, she threw up herhead with a grunt, and stared at the athletic youth. The kicking babyon the hearth appeared to understand that something unusual was goingon, and held arms and legs still, while he stared, with his roundblack eyes, toward the figure at the other end of the lodge.
Man-not-Afraid-of-Thunder turned his head, holding his pipe in hand,and looked inquiringly at the visitor. He showed no signs of fear,but, manifestly, he was astonished. His fragmentary conversationwith the other boy had given him no cause to look for such a call,though he saw at a glance that the two were friends.
Otto Relstaub beamed with delight. With an expanse of smile secondonly to that of which the sachem was capable, he rose partly to hisfeet and, looking at Jack, called out:
"Mine gracious! Jack, I didn't look for nodings of you pefore, asdot ish--"
"Hold on!" interposed the lad at the door, with a laugh and wave ofthe hand, "sit down and compose yourself till you can talkstraighter than that."
"I dinks I does--yaw," muttered the happy fellow, willing to doanything suggested by his companion; "but come in and sot down."
While addressing Otto, Jack kept his eyes on Wish-o-wa-tum, for itmay be said he was the key of the situation. If he showed hostility,trouble was sure to follow. Jack half expected to see him make aleap for his bow or rifle, or attempt to draw his tomahawk.
If he does thought the boy, "I'll raise my gun first, and he willunderstand what that means."
But the looks and manner of the host (if such he may be called) wereneither hostile nor friendly; they were indifferent, as though thewhole business possessed no interest to him. After his firstsurprised stare, he swung his head back to its former position andslowly smoked his pipe as before.
Jack Carleton made up his mind on the moment that his true coursewas to carry out his first idea that is, to act as though there wasno doubt of the friendship of the Osage.
Stepping to the left, he set his gun on the ground with the muzzleleaning against the side of the lodge. No more expressive sign ofcomity could have been given than this simple act. He then advancedto the beefy, stolid chieftain, to whom he offered his hand,repeating the words:
"How do you do, brother?"
Wish-o-wa-tum took the fingers in his own immense palm, and gavethem a moderate pressure. Though it might have been called a warmsalute, it sent a shiver through the youth, who unconsciously bracedhimself against any sudden pull of the savage, his other hand, atthe same time, vaguely seeking the handle of his knife.
But, whatever thoughts or intentions may have stirred the massivechieftain, they gave no evidence of their nature in his face. Helooked up at the boy, and, as he slightly wabbled the hand withinhis own, said:
"How do, brudder?"
Jack then turned about and greeted Otto, who could scarcely containhimself. The movement, it will be noticed, placed the back of theformer toward the chief, and he was conscious of another chillrunning up and down his spine; for no better opportunity could begiven the Indian to strike one of those treacherous, lightning-likeblows peculiar to the savage races.
"Keep your eye on him," said Jack, in an undertone, while shakingthe hand of Otto, and both were talking loud and effusively.
Otto nodded his head and winked, to signify he caught on, and didnot check, for a single moment, his rattling flow of talk. Jack, inthe most natural manner, shifted his position to one side, so he wasable to look upon every one in the wigwam without the appearance ofany special object in doing so.
The great point with the callers was to secure the good-will of thesavages. It may seem shrewd on their part, but any boy, no matterwhat his age, knows that the surest way to win the friendship of ahousehold is to magnify the importance of the baby.
The thought occurred to Otto long before, and more than once heexplored his garments in search of some present for the youngster;but he possessed nothing that would answer. His pockets were emptyof anything in the shape of coin, bright medals, buttons, orplaythings of any sort likely to attract the eye of the aboriginalAmerican infant.
He might have handed his hunting-knife to him, but more than likely,in his blind striking and kicking, he would gouge out an eye orattempt to scalp himself, and then the mother would turn upon thedonor in her wrath. Otto considered the project of borrowing thetomahawk of the chief and passing it over to the heir, but feared hewould knock out his own brains or do something desperate, by whichretribution would be visited on the head of Otto.
But Jack Carleton was more fortunate, for in the pocket of histrousers was an English shilling, worn smooth and shining with thefriction to which it had been long subjected. It was just the thingto catch the eye of any baby, no matter what its nativity, and hestepped hastily forward and handed it to the one before him.
The movement interested the parents scarcely less than the child.They watched Jack closely. The little fellow snatched the brightcoin in his snuffling, awkward fashion, and, when it was clutched inhis fingers, made a furious shove, intending to drive it into hismouth.
"Hold on," called Jack, in alarm; "I didn't give it to you to eat; Idon't believe you can digest it."
Just then the little fellow began to kick, cough, and fling himselfharder than ever. The mother sprang forward with an exclamation inher native tongue, and, catching her baby in her arms, beganmanipulating him in the most original fashion. Standing upright inthe middle of the wigwam, she inverted him, and, holding him by theheels, worked him up and down, as though he were the dasher of achum.
"If she don't do dot a leedle harder his head vill bounce off,"remarked Otto.
The shilling flew from the throat of the baby, and Jack, thinking ithad done enough harm, scooped over to pick it up; but, before hecould lay hands on it, the mother snatched it from the ground andshoved it into one of the capacious receptacles of her dress.Evidently she identified the coin and knew its value.
"All right," laughed Jack; "I'll be glad to have you keep it, if itwill help to buy your friendship for us."
During this stirring episode, and when the boys feared the heir ofthe wigwam was likely to choke himself to death, the father neverceased smoking, his pipe. His piggish eyes were turned sideways, asthough he thought the performance worth looking at; but, beyondthat, he did not disturb himself.
The infant, after his unpleasant experience, seemed to be as well asever, and being tumbled back on the bison skin resumed his kickingand, crowing, as though seeking to make up for lost time.
The occurrence produced an effect on Jack Carleton similar to thatcaused by the sight of the expansive smile of the Osage chieftain:he felt that no dangerous ill-will could exist wigwam which was thescene of the incident.
The boys resumed their seats beside each other, where the otheroccupants of the lodge were in sight all the time, and then spokewith freedom.
"I don't think they will offer any harm," Jack, alluding, ofcourse, to the squaw and the warrior. "I suspect he is an Osage."
"Yaw--dot ish vot he tolds me," said Otto carefully weighing hiswords.
"What else did he tell you? But, first of all, let me know how youcame to be his guest."
Thereupon the German related, in his own fashion, the story whichlong since became familiar to the reader. Jack Carleton listenedwith much interest, glancing from the husband to the wife and backagain, with an occasional look at the baby, that had become somotionless as to show that he was asleep.
"So you didn't get anything to eat?" remarked the young Kentuckian;"when I first saw you here I thought you were after food. I amhungry, but I think the best thing we can do is to leave the lodge."
"Vy not stays till mornings?"
"It might do; but I'm a little too nervous to sleep, for there canbe no certainty about them. I hunted around for other lodges, butfound none, and yet there may be plenty not far off. He may havevisitors, and, if they find us here, there's no telling what theywill do."
"What for you leave your gun ober dere just as I does mit mine?"
"It struck me that that was the best way to show the old fellow thatnot only was I friendly myself, but that I took him to be a friend."
"Dot ish so; but it would be as nice as nefet vos if bofe of ourguns had us."
"I will get mine."
"Mebbe he won't lets you."
"I'm almost as close to it as he; I can take a step or two before hewill see what I mean to do, and then, if he undertakes to stop me,he will be too late."
"Vot musn't I does?"
"Attend to the squaw: if she makes a dive after me, you grab andhold her."
"Yaw," was the hesitating response of Otto, who saw what unpleasantphases the situation was likely to assume.
Before Jack Carleton rose to his feet, he discovered that somethingextraordinary was going on in the lodge. Although the chief wassitting in his lazy attitude, yet his senses were on the alert andsome sort of telegraphy was passing between him and his wife. Bothcontinued smoking their pipes and did not speak nor move theirbodies. Any one unable to see their faces would not suspect theywere looking at each other.
But they were not only doing so, but, singular as it may seem, weresending messages mainly by means of the smoke issuing from theirdusky lips. It was puffed forth, in every variety of manner,sometimes with little short jets, then with longer ones, then fromone corner of the mouth and again from the other, all beingaccompanied by a contortion of the flexible lips which doubtlesssuggested some of the words in the minds of the two.
"That's very strange," said Jack, in an undertone, after he and Ottohad watched the performance several minutes.
"Yaw, dot ish vot I dinks."
"Why do they affect all that mystery? If they want to say anythingto each other, why not speak in their own tongue? Neither of us canunderstand the first word."
"But they doesn't knows dot."
"They ought to know it. However, we can't guess what they'retalking about, though I would give much to know."
Husband and wife were quick to observe they were under scrutiny, butthey continued the curious interchange of thoughts for some timelonger. By and by they ceased and seemed be doing nothing besidesmoking; Carleton was right in his belief that the sachem had heardsomething on the outside wigwam which greatly interested them.