The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-03-26

moved and surely drawing nearer. I picked
a time and place, measured my distance
and, darting suddenly aside, sent home
thrust which should have pinned the phan-
Ugh! What for Captain Long Knife
want kill the tree?''
The voice came from behind, and when I
wheeled again my shadow was become in
carnated in flesh and blood, a stalwart In
dian, naked TO the belt, standing so near
he could have pricked me with his scalp
1t was Gods mercy that by some swift
intuition l knew him for the friendly Ca
tawba- 1t is an III thing to take a frighted
"Uncanoola az said I.
He nodded; Where bouts Captain Long
told him briefly whereat he shook his
head.
mo find Captain Jennif' this way: find
MIN that way pointing back along the
path.
How does the chief know that? Has he
seen him?" Though my long exile had well
nigh cost me the trick of il, i made shift
to drop into the stately Indian hyperbole.
Wah! Uncanoola has seen the great
water; that make him have long eyes-see
heap things"
life he saved what he has seen?''
.. .uncanoola see heap things. he repeated:
See Captain Jennif so''-he threw himself
fiat upon the ground and pictured me a
fugitive srawling snakelike through the un-
derwood. "Bime-by come to river and find
gain, stop padding and laugh and shake
fist this way and say God damn"
by this l knew that Jennifer had es.
my escape and was seeking me-
is that all the chief SAW" asked.
"Ugh! See heap more things;
thing white squaw not let him tell Captain
Long. Knife. Maybe some time tell, any
how"
THE white squaw?" said l. "who is
The Catawba langbed an Ina;,, ,.r.h
silent and suppressed, mere shaking of
the ribs.
mo can tell that neither. too" he said.
Then with a swift dart aside from the sub
Ject: Captain Long Knife care much
bout black dogs yonder?
1 knew he meant the negroes at the hunt
ing lodge.
1.-The white man cares for the black as
kind master should" 1 returned.
The Indian spat upon the ground In token
of his hatred and contempt for all the black
skins in his fatherland. / never understood
this bitter race antipathy between the red
and black, but it's tale well written out
in many bloody massacre of that earlier
1.-THE wolves will kill all the black dogs
and drink their blood before the moon is
awake. Uncanoola has spoken. :"
1 sheathed my sword and turned to take
the backward trace.
Captain Long Knife will go and fight for
his black dogs with wool on their heads?"
he queried
IF need be- asserted.
"Wahr' he calculated and al the word
was gone as if the earth had swallowed
him.
L lost no time in indecision. Since Jenni-
fer was abroad / had business at the
plantations, and If Tomas and the other
refugees were like to come to harm / could
do no less than hasten back to warn or
help them.
So l retraced my steps hurriedly. as the
business urged, and saw no more shadows
in the ancient wood-in truth, had much
ado to see the single step ahead so thickly
did the darkness gather in those skyless
depths.
/ was breasting the last low hill, was
come so near that could hear the murmur
| of the river when in the farthest hazy vista
| of the treetops softened glow appeared
| changing the black to green and then to
| red. Twas like the childish Africans, 1
said to draw secret sentry line for safe
! tvs sake and then to build fire to adver-
| tise it far and wide. Truly the Catawba's
| wolves might find an easy
A chattering scream of agony sent shrill
| and sharp upon the stiffness of the night
| halted me and broke the gibing comment
| in the midst. stood and listened. The cry
| rang out again; then / loosed the Andrea
| in its scabbard and fell a-running though
| the half healed wound scanted me sorely
| of the breath / wanted.
The cabin clearing, or rather the thinned-
| out grove which stood in lieu thereof, was
but niggard hemmed in on every
| side, save that toward the river, by the
| virgin forest For cover there were holly
| thickets here and there, and into one of
| these / plunged creeping on hands and
| knees to gain hidden view point.
The scene in the little clearing was one
memory. A brush heap newly kindled gave
! out dusky glow fiaring in waves of smoky
/ red against the overarching foliage. The
open space around the cabin was alive with
| half naked savages running to and fro, and
| in the gloom beyond the fire l saw a shad-
/ owy horseman backed by others still more
phantom-like.
There was no mystery about it, MY
| enemy had come with seuth- hound Indians
/ at his back to run me down. The savages
were no doubt that band of overmountain
| Cherokees pledged by their chief to pilot
| the powder convoy, and by their help the
| baronet had tracked me.
| This was the first thought caught at in
| passing. but when / came to look again
| saw what had been done. Sprawled on the
| ground before the burning brush pile, his
wrinkled face hideous mask of suffering,
| with the eyeballs starting from their sock
| cts in the death wrench, lay my faithful
| Darius
! BY what inhuman torture they had made
him point the way how why they
! slew him at the last l know not, but made
| sure it was his death scream that had
halted me and set the stiffness of the for
est alive with CHASTITY echoes.
At sight of the stiffening body of the
| faithful slave you may suppose my blood
ran cold and hot by turns and that his
| blood cried out for vengeance from the sod
| that soaked ii up. With ten years more of
youth and less of age might have tried to
! hew my way TO Falconnet's stirrup, and
been a-mind to rush upon the stage with
| out my cue another climax in the CHASTITY
| tragedy forbade it.
/ This climax turned upon the capture of
my horse boy Tomas. The other blacks it
| seemed, had made good their escape, but
| Tomas, tagging behind through fear or
| foolishness, had given these copper colored
devils leave to run him down and drag him
back into the fire light with yells of savage
| triumph.
They flung him down upon his knees be-
| side the captains horse, and though l
| caught but here and there word above the
[ frenzied yipping of the Indians, it was plain
the baronet was asking him of me.
/ could not hear the black boys gibber-
| them what they wished to know-could not,
| indeed, since l had left no word behind to
track me by-was quickly evident. A cord
was found, and while crouched behind the
holly screen. aghast and hopeless as one
| against twoscore or more, they looped him
| by the thumbs and swung him up to dan
| gle from maple bough musket's length
or such a matter before the cabin door,
| He bore the torture patiently as some
| poor dumb beast suffering at the hand of
/ man and would not part his lips for all the
| captains curses But this was only the
| merciful beginning. With yells of savage
| fury the Indians carried brands to make a
not be enough brace of them climbed to
| the roof. tore off the splits for kindling and
/ set the cabin wall alight behind him.
You may thank God, my dears, that you
! are living I'm kindlier age Mayhap the
| savage, now a-march toward the setting
| sun, is still ptiless he was, but not
| in any corner OF the world, think. would
| any other uniform be witnesses unmoyed
| of such a DEVILS carnival of torment as this