CHAPTER XVIII
THE BIG WATER AT LAST
"WILL we ever get there, do you think, Bob?"
Sandy Armstrong asked this question for the tenth time one day, as thetrio of young adventurers rested at noon, after tramping since earlydawn.
They had persisted in heading into the north ever since the day of thestorm. Weary days and nights they had been. Sandy, being less resolutethan his older brother, had fretted under the strain, and kept askingwhether they must not be near the end of their pilgrimage.
They had met many trials on the way. Rivers they had swam, holdingtheir guns and ammunition, as well as their garments, on a log so as tokeep them dry, which trick was in frequent use among the pioneers ofthe day.
It was the duty of Bob to constantly strengthen his brother; and thushe even smiled, a bit sadly it may be true, as he turned upon Sandy.
"Blue Jacket knows; and he tells me that he can smell the big water inthe air right now," he observed.
"You mean the Great Lake, on the shore of which, somewhere, theIroquois have their village--is that it?" demanded Sandy, brighteningup wonderfully.
"Yes, and he also tells me that we are apt to come out upon it beforethe sun goes down to-night," Bob continued, encouragingly.
"Well," said Sandy, heaving a big sigh, "I shall be glad if it turnsout to be so. I am so tired of waiting, day after day, and plunginginto constant forests. If it wasn't for Kate's peril I could enjoy thisjourney, for you know I always said I meant to follow in the footstepsof Kenton, and look on new sights; but, as it is, I can think ofnothing but these three things that trouble us."
"Three?" remarked Bob, as if surprised.
"Why, yes. There is Kate, to begin with," Sandy started to say.
"And you are also thinking of our mother, should the dreaded Indianattack come when we are away?" Bob pursued.
"Surely. There were many ugly signs of it. But, when I remember howour neighbor, Mr. Brewster, gave us his word that he would take herinto his own family while we were gone, and look after her as if shebelonged under his cabin roof, somehow I do not feel quite so bad."
"But you said three, and that is only two causes," Bob went on. "Areyou still thinking about father, Sandy?"
"Surely," the younger brother answered back. "The more we plunge intothis unbroken wilderness the greater become my fears for him. Therewere only four in the party. If the Indians ever discovered theirtrail, they would follow them like hungry wolves. Day and night theymight hang about, seeking opportunities to ambush them. Oh! why didnot Colonel Boone, or Simon Kenton, happen along at the time they werestarting?"
"Cheer up!" cried Bob, slapping his brother on the shoulderencouragingly. "We shall be happy yet, and all together again,separated as we may be now. Our first duty is to find Kate, and stealher away from our enemies. Then, when we get home, we will only have towait for our father to return, after the snow flies. I only hope he isable to cross those terrible mountains before the ravines are filled,neck high, with the drifts."
"But," said Sandy, suddenly, as if he suspected that these signs ofdespondency might be wrongly interpreted by his companion, "I hope youdo not think I am weakening, Bob?"
"Not I," returned the older one, instantly. "By this time I ought toknow your obstinate nature better than that, Sandy. You may complain,and seem downhearted at times; but there is no give up about you."
"That is true," nodded Sandy, as he set his teeth hard together. "Westarted out to rescue our sister from the hands of the Indians; andthat we will do, if we live. But, Bob, have we not rested enough? Iam just wild to set eyes on that wonderful inland sea about which PatO'Mara and Simon Kenton have told us so much."
"Yes, we will go on," said Bob, quickly rising to his feet; and then,as Blue Jacket drew near, he asked further: "About how many hours'journey before we come upon the big water, Blue Jacket?"
Whereupon the young Shawanee brave deliberated a minute, after which hegravely held up two fingers of his right hand.
"Soon get there, Bob, Sandy," he said, quietly. "No can smell big waterfurther two hours' walk. You wait, see Blue Jacket speak with straighttongue."
"And he ought to know, Sandy," continued Bob; "because, you see, BlueJacket has once before looked on the big water which some men callErie. Only a short two hours; that will soon pass. Come, let us put outour best foot now."
Once again they plunged into the thickets ahead, always with the Indianguide in the van. Blue Jacket had indeed proven a friend. Not only hadhe led them in almost direct line to the north, and managed to avoidcontact with any roving band of Indians; but at the same time he hadhelped supply the little rescue party with fresh meat.
It happened that at the time he met the two young pioneers the bravecarried his customary bow and arrows. Few of his race equalled BlueJacket in the use of this old-time Indian weapon. He could send afeathered shaft with wonderful accuracy, whether aimed at a human foeor a wild animal of the forest.
Debarred from using their noisy guns on account of the dangers that anexplosion might bring upon them, the boys would have suffered from lackof fresh food but for the dexterity with which their dusky ally usedhis hickory bow, with its flint-tipped arrows, feathered with quillsfrom the wild goose.
Once he brought down a bounding deer that seemed in a fair way toescape, much to the admiration of both white lads, who had never beforewitnessed such an exhibition of fine shooting.
On another occasion he had discovered several wild turkeys roostingon the branch of a big pine tree on a knoll, and, after considerablecreeping, managed to get close enough, on the leeward side of the warybirds, to bring a haughty gobbler to the ground, pierced through andthrough with an arrow, so that they feasted that night right royally.
Then Blue Jacket also knew just how to build a fire with very dry woodthat might not give forth any smoke, such as keen and suspicious eyeswould discover. It was always started in a cleft, or a hole in theground, nor did they ever keep it going after night set in.
All these precautions were absolutely necessary, for they were in ahostile country, where every human being must be considered an enemy,whether he might be a red man or a French Canadian trapper.
The summer was now gone. Touches of frost appeared each morning, nowthat the pilgrims of the great forest ascended continually furthernorth. But they were young, hardy and vigorous, so that little theycared for this. The thought of the mission that drew them thus faraway from their Ohio River home proved sufficient to make their pulsesthrob, and all minor troubles be ignored.
An hour passed. Blue Jacket plodded on, showing not the faintest signof weariness. Indeed, it seemed to Sandy that the young Shawanee bravemust be made of iron to be able to stand up under all they had passedthrough without exhibiting the least symptom of fatigue.
Even the brothers by now seemed to feel a peculiar dampness to the air,that in a way betrayed the near presence of a large body of water.
"At any time, Sandy, you can expect to set eyes on the Great Lake,"remarked Bob, while they were pushing through an unusually dense patchof woods, where the close growing trees ahead shut out all sign of whatlay beyond.
Blue Jacket heard, and gave him a nod that seemed to tell Bob theymight have their first view of that wonderful inland sea before manyminutes passed.
A short time later they came upon the verge of the forest. All at oncea vacancy appeared beyond, a vast open expanse, and Bob had himselfcaught a musical ripple that he knew must proceed from waves gentlyrolling up the beach.
The Great Lake was before them, and, standing thus among the borderingtrees, the three gazed wonderingly out upon that mighty expanse.
Although they had lived for a number of years in Richmond, both Bob andSandy had only a hazy recollection of ever having seen the vast oceanso close by; so that this, their first introduction to what seemed aboundless expanse of water, was startling.
As far as their eyes could reach nothing but a level horizon seemedto exist, where the water met the lowe
ring sky line. To the east andwest the same monotonous view was presented. To-day, where dark smokefrom the funnels of countless busy steamers may greet the eye of theonlooker, there was at that time absolutely nothing, not even a canoe,at first appearing to the sight of the three youths.
"Oh!" exclaimed Sandy, his breast heaving with the sensation of arover who delights in new and novel sights, "it is glorious, Bob! If Icould only forget about Kate for a minute, I'd say it was well worthall our trials and suffering. One of my dreams has come true, and someday I am determined that the other will, too."
"Yes," replied his brother, soberly; "I know that you are fairly wildto set eyes on that wonderful river De Soto discovered, and which theycall the Mississippi. Perhaps some day you may have your wish, Sandy;but pray Heaven that no such mission takes you to its shores as hasfetched us hither."
"That could never be," replied Sandy. "If we are blessed with therecovery of our dear sister this time, she will never again be allowedto leave the sight of those who can and will protect her. But, see,Blue Jacket has noticed something. He moves back into the woods, andbeckons to us to do the same. What can it be, do you suppose, Bob?"
"He seems to be watching the point of land that stands out into thewater," said Bob. "It has trees on it; but there are open spaces, too.Blue Jacket must have discovered something moving there."
"Perhaps it is a deer, and he means to get a shot with his bow andarrows?" suggested the younger brother.
"Not so, for he is not handling his bow," remarked Bob; and immediatelyadded: "There! I saw it move myself; and, Sandy, unless I was mistaken,it must have been a canoe gliding along the other side of the tongue ofland, heading outward."
Both lads immediately stepped further back among the trees. Theyunderstood that the chances were ten to one, at least, that, if theycame upon any human being along the shore of the Great Lake, it must bean Indian, and therefore one to be distrusted on sight.
Though the Iroquois, or Six Nations, had always been friendly withthe English, and opposed to the French Canadian trappers and traders,still, the new conditions that were beginning to arise, where theColonies had begun to defy the king, made them separate the sheep fromthe goats. They favored the Tories, who remained in league with theking's policies; but were ready to take up arms against the insurgents,already beginning to call themselves Americans.
Three minutes later a canoe darted out from behind the point of land,and started along the lake, about a quarter of a mile from the shore.
"Oh! look!" said Sandy, who had the keener eyesight; "there are justfive in it, Bob, and one of them is a girl!"
"Yes," replied the other, whose lips were colorless as he gazed eagerlyat the moving craft, where several flashing paddles were workingindustriously; "just the same number as Black Beaver's band. But,Sandy, we do not know. To me it looks as if the girl might be a squaw.She is surely dressed like one, and, as well as I can see, her faceseems to be that of an Indian."
"Oh! but you forget, Bob," declared the other lad, earnestly, "that webelieve Black Beaver means to make our sister into a Seneca girl. Fourbraves and a girl--it must be those we seek!"
"Even Blue Jacket is puzzled, if I read his face rightly," said Bob."And so all we can do is to try and keep up with the canoe until itcomes ashore. Then we will soon learn the truth. I only pray that whatyou think may turn out to be so, for it would make our mission theeasier."