CHAPTER XVII--THE EXPLOSION
Thoughts of Simon Girty and of other renegade white men, cut-throats androbbers who had affiliated themselves with hostile Indians, and becomemore wicked, more merciless, more treacherous than the savagesthemselves, came to John's mind as he made what haste he could away fromthe haunted ravine. His reflections did not increase his mental comfort.Far from it; for now he was more anxious than ever for the coming ofdaylight, or at least a clearing of the weather which would enable himto find security while he pondered on what must be done.
Fearing to go too far lest he again lose himself in the fog, John satdown upon a little log, over which he had partially stumbled, to awaitthe morning. He had listened as best he could but had heard no sound ofthe Seneca leaving the camp. He thought he had, perhaps, made more hasteto get away than was really necessary, after all, and as his excitementcooled, he was tempted again to take a peep at the strange scene he hadwitnessed. This notion, however, the lad put steadily behind him. Hewould not be too venturesome, he told himself. Even as it was he wouldget a good-natured scolding from Kingdom for having left the old poplar.
The light in the distance, dimly visible through the mist, slowly faded.The campfire was dying out. Lone-Elk was gone now, no doubt, but whichdirection had he taken? John hoped he would not go to the clearing andby hanging about there keep Kingdom from setting forth. It would beremarkable if the Seneca could find his way. Moreover, Ree would beleaving the cabin before daylight. Maybe he had started even now.
HE WHEELED AND SENT THE REDSKIN SPRAWLING.]
The dawn came just when John bad ceased to look for and momentarilyexpect it. Indeed, he was quite surprised to notice suddenly thatobjects near were again visible. He made out nothing clearly, but hecould see a few feet in each direction and it was enough. Withouthesitation, and almost without stopping to note the way he was taking,he headed instinctively toward the old poplar and without the leasttrouble reached its shelter not many minutes later.
His nerves still at high tension after the night's experience, Jerome'sefforts to catch a wink of sleep were quite unavailing. He fell tothinking of the probable results which would have followed his shootingLone-Elk as the Indian sat beside the campfire. He thought more of thesecret lead mine and wondered if the villainous appearing white man andthe Seneca were not partners in that enterprise. Surely there was reasonto believe such to be the case. What other explanation of the whiteman's companionship with the Indian could be presented?
At last, when the daylight had fully come, John fell asleep. He wasstill dreaming when Ree Kingdom came and the latter, little guessingthat he had not been sleeping just as soundly the whole night through,roused him with:
"I declare, old chap, you seem to find this old tree as comfortable as afeather bed!"
"Guess you would, too, Ree, if you'd been watching midnight feasts, anddidn't know but they were cannibal feasts at that, and had been kept upall night."
With a grin John noticed the surprise his words caused, and adetermination he had formed earlier to break the news of his discoveriesgently was forgotten. In another minute he had related the substance ofhis night's adventure.
"Well, say! I think you did have a busy night!" Ree exclaimed. "We'vefound the mine, John! There's no two ways about that! If that lead mineis not within a mighty short distance of the camp of those fellows, thenI'm no prophet!"
Kingdom's interest and pleasure in the discovery John had made couldscarcely have been greater. But putting the subject aside for themoment, he gave his companion all the interesting information obtainedfrom Fishing Bird, and the two then set about to plan their nextmovements. Quite naturally both wished to pay another visit to thestrange camp in the gully. To do so, however, involved much risk.Lone-Elk might be, in fact, probably was, still loitering near. Again,if the occupant or occupants of the camp discovered that their presencewas known to other white men, they would be very likely to change theirlocation, and, no doubt, do all in their power to conceal every evidenceof the lead mine's existence.
"We've got to come upon them by surprise and not only capture themurderers of the men at the salt springs, but find the mine at the sametime," said John.
"If the mine is there, which we don't know, but only believe," Ree madeanswer. "Still," he went on, "there's only one other way to do it, andthat is to keep a watch on the camp all the time till we find out moreabout it. Lone-Elk,--bless him!--is in the way of that program. Andthere's another thing to think about, which is, what are we going to dowith the murderers when we capture them!"
"Well, we can hardly say,'Come along now, and be hanged, as youdeserve,'" Jerome suggested.
For some time Kingdom was silent. At last he said, very thoughtfully andslowly:
"John, you must go to Fort Pitt or to Wayne's army. You must tellwhoever is in charge just what has been found at the 'lick' and in thewoods here. Bring back four or five good men and we'll seize the campdown there and everything and everybody in it. The men you bring cantake the murderers back for trial, and I only hope we can find someevidence that will send the Seneca along with them."
"But if we do, we may as well pull up stakes and go along ourselves,Ree. The Delawares would say we had been acting as spies for Wayne,sure!"
"We can tell what to do about that when the time comes," was the answer."We know now that it won't do for us to attack the camp alone. We'd havea whole pack of warriors down on us before we could get a day's marchaway. We know that a murder has been committed and I hope we know whatour solemn duty is, even if the finding of the lead mine be left out ofconsideration altogether."
"Wouldn't you rather find the mine without letting everybody else knowabout it? I would," John argued. "Not but what I like your plan allright," he added, "but if Wayne's army gets to find out there is a leadmine, and finds out where it is, too, I don't see how the fact that weknow of it, the same as Lone-Elk, is going to do us any good with KingPipe."
This reasoning puzzled Kingdom. In one way John was right, and he wasforced to admit it. But he argued that, as law-abiding citizens, it wastheir duty to expose the murder that had been committed; that if theydid not do so, they were parties to the crime, the more particularly sosince they held in their possession evidence so positive against theslayers of the two men at the springs.
"I don't see why we need tell Wayne about the mine at all. It hasn'tanything to do with the case anyway," Jerome made answer.
"All right. For we know of the one thing, and the mine is just oursupposition, after all," was Ree's decision. "What we should orshouldn't tell we shall know when the time comes. You start forPittsburg today, and I'll manage somehow to keep yonder robbers' roostunder my eye till you are back with some reliable men. And I tell you,John, don't bring green militia men, but good fighters--men who know thewoods."
"I feel it in my bones, Ree, that this is going to be the end of the loghouse on the Cuyahoga," John remarked somewhat later. "Mind you, I'm notscared, and I'm not particularly caring if such a thing does happen, butthe time has come when we've got to be either with the Indians oragainst them. Sure as the world, the Delawares will go against us forgood, if we bring Wayne's men here."
"Maybe so; but we can only do what we think is the right thing to bedone. Then we can face Captain Pipe or anybody else with a cleanconscience. Don't be so glum, though! We've come through trouble farworse than this, and with flying colors!"
It may have been that John Jerome received for a moment a glimpse of thefuture which Kingdom did not have. The latter took a cheerful view ofthe outcome of their plans. John could not do so, though usuallyoptimistic. He did not hang back, however, nor question further thewisdom of his companion's desire to put into the hands of the law thefact that two apparently peaceable salt boilers had been most wickedlyslain.
Kingdom had brought to the hollow whitewood a generous supply ofprovisions, also fresh powder, lest John's stock had become damp anduseless from the wet weather of the day before. There was no reason,then, why Jerome
should not start at once with his message to Wayne, orto Fort Pitt, if "Mad Anthony" should be found no longer in his camplower down on the Ohio. Thus, soon after a definite decision was reachedby the boys, the younger lad set out.
It was left to John to choose his own time and course, but he told Reehe would aim to strike the direct trail to Fort Pitt about a day'sjourney eastward from the cabin. With care, he hoped to avoid allpossibly hostile Indians, and he would reach the Ohio in less than aweek. Wayne's men would wish, no doubt, to visit the salt springs to seethe bodies of the murdered men before undertaking to apprehend themurderers, and so nearly two weeks must elapse before he would seeKingdom again. The latter agreed to be waiting for him, no matter whenhe came, and was hopeful he would have good news of some kind to impartby that time. Encouraged thus, and more cheerful than he had been for atime, John began his long journey just as the shadows indicated the hourof noon.
A south breeze and the sun had scattered the mist and the weather gavepromise of being fine and warm for many days to come. John felt theinfluence of nature's brighter aspect at once when fairly under way, andwould have looked upon his journey as upon a pleasant holiday had he hadKingdom's company. But that was not to be and he could only resolve tocover as much ground as possible every day. As he thought of the objectof his journey, too, his interest in it increased and he anticipatedwith much satisfaction his pride in guiding a small company of soldiersthrough the woods on the important mission, for which, he was sure, Gen.Wayne would at once cause men to be detailed.
Anxious to avoid a possible meeting with Lone-Elk, the young woodsmantraveled with much caution, especially this first day. Later, when hehad left the cabin far behind, he made less effort to conceal his trailand ceased to watch as vigilantly as before. To an accident, as much asto any recklessness on his part, however, was due the sudden ending ofJohn's expectations.
The boy had been three days upon the well-marked trail leading to theOhio river and thence along that stream to Fort Pitt. It was the eveningof his fourth day since parting from Kingdom. He kindled a small fireclose beside a large rock, thinking to have some warm meat for supper,then go on a half mile or more and sleep wherever chance offered. Hewould thus be well away from the scene by the time his fire attractedattention, if attract attention it should.
John had placed his blanket and other surplus baggage upon the big rockand walked some distance away to gather fine, dry wood. Suddenly aterrific explosion occurred. The young traveler saw his fire go flyingin all directions, while a perfect shower of leaves, small sticks andbits of earth was dashed likewise into the air. He knew instantly whathad happened. The extra pouch of powder Ree had brought for him hadrolled from the big stone directly into the blaze.
There was only one thing to do and that must be done quickly. Thetremendous noise of the explosion would be heard for a long distance. Somuch louder than the report of a rifle was it that if Indians or otherswere within hearing they would most certainly make immediateinvestigation. Without losing a moment, therefore, John seized hisblanket and other baggage which had been jarred off the stone, but awayfrom the fire, fortunately, and rushed away through the woods at highspeed.
Now, anyone coming up to the place, drawn thither by the great noise,would be most likely to come by way of the trail, from one direction orthe other, John Jerome quite properly reasoned so, leaving the path at asharp angle, he struck through the forest to the north.
Fortune plays strange tricks with all of us. The whimsical dame playedone on John which he long remembered; for as he ran on and on among thetrees, dodging in and out among the bushes in the dim twilight, healmost collided with a party of Indians hurrying almost as fast in onedirection as he was fleeing in the other.