It should be said, however, that they were the pack-horses, which even when put to their best paces, could not make good speed. Nevertheless, they were of great value to the hunters.
The first conviction of the lad on awaking to the alarming fact, was that his father and the other two men had been killed by the Winnebagos. The thought overcame him so that he leaned against the nearest tree and was on the point of fainting.
"They are all dead, Terry—I know it—we may as well give up, and try to reach home."
"Why, my dear boy, it's not so bad as that," he said feelingly; "do ye not moind that whin the gintlemen go to trappin' and huntin' they turn the horses loose to graze? The spalpeens have coom along and run off with the same."
"Do you think so?" asked Fred, looking up yearningly4 for the grain of comfort that his companion was able to give.
"I don't think so; I know so; if the gintlemen took the bastes5 into the cabin and slipt with the same ivery night, as me rilatives do with their pigs in Ireland, why ye might think that they had suffered before the Winnebagos tuk thim away; but they have snaaked up where the animals was grazin', jumped onto their backs and rid off."
This view of the case was so reasonable, that Fred rallied and half smiled at his own faintheartedness. He stood erect6 and drew a deep breath of satisfaction.
"I believe you are right, but it strikes me that such thieves would have stolen all instead of half the horses."
"They've lift the ither three for their frinds that I make no doubt will be along to take thim, if they haven't done so now."
"You know that the loss of a horse is considered almost as bad as the loss of a man in this part of the world."
"Sometimes he amounts to a good deal more, as me mither—"
Terry paused in his remarks, for just then Fred uttered a warning—"Sh!" to signify that something was in the path in front. The next moment, he ran several paces to the right and sheltered himself behind a tree, Terry being only a few seconds behind him.
Both had discovered what it was. A brown bear of moderate size was waddling7 along toward them. He had probably struck the trail, and finding it easier walking than among the trees and undergrowth, was swinging forward in the direction of the stream that had received such a visit from the cyclone8.
The boys could not know for a minute or two whether the beast had seen them, but they felt no alarm. As I have said, he was not very large nor formidable looking, and, if he chose to turn aside to attack them, they were more than his equal. As it was, their own eagerness to get forward was all that prevented them from shooting him.
Bruin lumbered9 ahead in his awkward way, and, as the boys peeped forth10, they fancied that his big brown eyes glanced mischievously11 at them; but they were mistaken. He did not see nor scent12 them, but went by, and, in a few minutes, disappeared from sight among the trees.
Hardly waiting till he had vanished, the youths stepped back into the path and resumed the rapid pace at which they had been traveling. The sun, that had been partly shining from behind the clouds, was low in the sky, and it was not long before they were journeying in the twilight13. The moon rose early, but its light was so much obscured by the mists that it gave little if any help, and the friends were disappointed to find it difficult to make any progress at all.
At this trying juncture14, they found themselves once more on the bank of a stream that had to be crossed before they could go any further. It was fully15 double the width of the one last passed, but did not look as if it was deep.
"My clothes ain't all dry yit," said Terry, "and I'm in favor of wadin' if we can."
"I am afraid it is too deep for that, and with our guns and bundles and thick clothes it isn't an easy thing to swim. Besides it's colder than it was last night and it won't be pleasant to spend a few more hours in wet clothing: mine is about dry."
Fred added that if they should decide to push on, the only way of doing so was by the usual means of a raft. It would take considerable time to build one, and probably still longer to work their way to the other side.
"No use of waitin'," said Terry; "let's take hold; I've an idaa that we ain't far from357 the cabin and ivery mile that we can make now counts."
Fred started to give his help, when to his unbounded amazement16, he narrowly missed going headlong over a small Indian canoe that lay at their feet. They would not have been more surprised had they come upon Deerfoot himself in a sound slumber17, and not until they had stooped down and examined it closely were they certain that it was not some log fantastically shaped by nature that had floated thither18.
But an Indian canoe it was beyond all mistake, though after searching all around it, they failed to find the paddle so necessary for its propulsion. The boat had been drawn19 up the bank, underneath20 some bushes and undergrowth, where it would not have been seen by any one further off than six feet. It was so far back too from the stream that it would require an unusual overflow21 to carry it away.
It was not so dark that the lads could not see that it was of beautiful pattern and fine make—one of those delicate vessels22 which under the skillful guidance of its owner skim like358 a swallow over the water. It was a prize indeed.
Now, as you very well know, there is nothing wonderful about an Indian canoe, but the astonishment23 of the boys came from the fact that they found it in this place. Fred Linden, in listening to the accounts given by his father on his return in the spring from his trapping expeditions, had heard him say more than once that there was no Indian village between Greville and the camp at the foot of the Ozarks, and that, according to the friendly red men who occasionally visited them, he believed that the nearest lodge24 lay nearly two hundred miles to the north-west of Greville. It was this fact that gave the Hunters of the Ozark so much confidence in themselves when they went on their long hunts, though, as you have learned, danger did sometimes come from the wandering Indians, the father of Terry Clark having lost his life at their hands.
All this being known to the boys, they had cause to wonder how it was that an Indian canoe lay hidden under the bushes on the shore. None of those people would go to the trouble of making such a boat, unless he expected to use it many times. It would be the same as if you had a costly25 rowboat constructed with which to cross only once a canal or small stream of water.
But, as in many other cases, it was idle to speculate, and the boys did not allow any feeling of surprise to rob them of the valuable minutes. Finding no paddle with which to manage the boat, Fred cut a small sapling and trimmed it so that he had a pole fully twenty feet long. Then the guns were laid in the bottom, Terry took his seat, and they carefully pushed from shore, Fred managing the pole.
As they suspected, the water was quite shallow, the depth nowhere being more than three or four feet; but the current was rapid, and in some places the bottom of the canoe grated over the gravel26. Both had to move well to the stern to raise the bow, so as to allow them to reach land with dry feet.
"It's a pity to allow this to float off and be lost," said Fred; "let's draw it up the bank where the owner won't have any trouble in finding it."
"I would give a good deal if I could be introduced to that same gintleman," remarked Terry, who took off his cap and scratched his head as he added:
"I wonder whither that is one of the canoes from near home?"
"What are you talking about? How could it get here?"
"By some subterranean27 communication, the same as we boys used to sind notes to the gurls whin I was laarnin' the higher mathematics in college."
Fred made no comment upon the remark of his friend. The canoe, when relieved of their weight, was so light that the bow was pulled to the shore by means of the pole. Then Fred alone drew it up beyond the reach of the water, and it was left until the owner should come forward to claim it.
The two now set out to hunt for the trail, with a view of making eight or ten miles more before they stopped to rest; but the result was discouraging. It took more than a half hour to make sure they had found it, and then they had not gone twenty yards, when Fred361 said he could not tell whether he was in the path or not.
"It's no use," he added; "we may as well stop, for we are sure to repeat the mistake of to-day: we'll get so far wrong that it'll take many hours to find our way back again, and we shall lose far more than we gain."
"That bein' the same—and I'm willin' to agraa that ye are now strivin' to till the truth—let's turn off from the trail, go back so far that there isn't any chance for any one to saa us and slaap till mornin'."
Since there was nothing else to do, the boys did as Terry proposed. They were not so tired as they were the night before, and they did not dare to lie down on the leaves and sleep as they did then. There were wild animals prowling through the woods, and the fact that the lads escaped once could be no guaranty that they would have equally good fortune a second time.
Terry proposed that they should climb a tree and make a bed among the branches; but that was hardly feasible. It is not often that the limbs of a tree are accommodating enough to allow any one to rest with comfort. The branches may be pleasant for a time, but the limbs soon become like iron rods and the position so cramped28 as to drive away all comfort. In addition, there was the danger of a fatal fall during sleep.
So it was decided29 to hunt out the most secluded30 place possible and start a fire. That would keep off the wild animals, and the boys were not in such need of sleep that they could not afford to take turns with each other in watching through the night.
While hunting a suitable spot, they moved down the river bank for fully a hundred yards, and then entered some dense31 undergrowth which they penetrated32 until they were sure that no safer place could be found. So they began gathering33 twigs34, leaves and branches, and piling them against the shaggy bark of a tree, and soon had all they wanted. This was fired by means of the flint and steel, and a roaring, crackling blaze made every thing look cheerful.
"Let's walk off a little ways," said Fred, "and see whether the light can be noticed very far; you know that we can not be too careful."
Terry liked the proposal, and rose to act upon it. They moved in opposite directions, walking several rods, and then carefully passing entirely35 around the camp-fire. The result was satisfactory, for the undergrowth in all directions was so thick that they felt as secure from discovery as if the fire had been kindled36 within an impenetrable cave.
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1
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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yearningly
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| 怀念地，思慕地，同情地； 渴 | |
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bastes
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| v.打( baste的第三人称单数 )；粗缝；痛斥；（烤肉等时）往上抹[浇]油 | |
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6
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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7
waddling
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| v.（像鸭子一样）摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的现在分词 ) | |
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8
cyclone
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| n.旋风，龙卷风 | |
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lumbered
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| 砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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10
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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mischievously
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| adv.有害地；淘气地 | |
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12
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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13
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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14
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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15
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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overflow
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| v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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32
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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33
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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34
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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35
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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36
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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37
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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