The Washington herald., 1912-04-28

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how in the world did you ever find me,
for thought that you were miles away
in the forest"
The trapper laughed good-naturedly.
why, finding you, boy, was like roll
ing off log. ! was on hunt when |
struck that niger boy of the colonel 5
runnin' for home as If he'd been
shot. o lawzy massy, o lawzy massy,'
/ he says; the Indians done got poh
! Massa Jack, an then | simply got on
/ their trail and followed it. That's tn
easiest thing in tn world to do. son,
but when | found such a tarnal bunch
Nv EN-, | was kinder skeered TO nab
you. When you were gunnin' them
buffalo, | was just behind TIL edge of
til forest, an that mean varmint known
as Waw-be-wawa nearly rode right
into me when he was snelkin' round to
capture you after you'd run them buff
falo into tn woods. There was too
many of EN-, also, at that time, but
hung onto tn trail an when | nabbed
you | was undecided whether to kill
them yellin' three or not would
have done so ef / hadn't seen tn tracks
of big party just before | hit your
camp. So I thought it best to go sort
of easy-like an tew take you quiet an
resPectsble.'s
And thanks be to merciful Provi-
dence that you did," whispered Jack
with tears in his eyes. For | was in
bad way and never expected to again
see Tommy Wallace CT AIRY of my
friends. But, tell me, MIR. Flint Lock,
whereabouts are We now 2nd where are
We going in order to reach the Court
in safety?"
You walk along with me, quick, an
I'll tell you" said the trapper, starting
to his feet and beginning to tramp off
in the darkness. I'm goin' to take
you home by route as is known to me
alone, | reckon, onless some Nv these
here Indian hyenas hev discovered tn
back passage NV old Flint Locks. Even
ef they hev done so, an even ef they
do, I'm goin' to take you by a secret
passage that | bet no one knows. At
any rate, we'll travel right along until
we hit it, an then | reckon as how old
Logan himSelf-who they say is mon
strous fine scout-can't find us. We're
about in tn neighborhood Nv a place
called Capon Springs by some, an
FryeS Springs by others, because fel-
ler by tn name Nv Frye killed large
bear this side ov tn mountain, some
years back, an comm to find water,
found a spring covered with moss an
rubbage. He drank from it and findin'
il warm, decided that it was ez good
ez medicine fer people So he brought
his wife down here, who was sufferin'
from rheumatics, an, by thunder, ef
tn waters didn't cure her. But-he
wuz run out by III Indians, an his
wife-wall, she lost some weight,
plumb over tn mountain side"
The swapping of branch caused old
Flint Lock to jump suddenly behind
log, and Jack, seeing this motion, did
likewise. There they crowded in
silence for a second or two, and then,
rising to his feet, the trapper said:
Pm surprised at myself fer jumpin'
at only 'er. blasted rabbit, but this is a
kind O dangerous place and its best to
take no chances. Come, my boy, let's
be on our way, and by morning we'll
be hid in tn cave which | know of in
tn hills"
Again STOPPING, the trapper began
his march through the forest, and, al
though the woods were dense upon all
sides, he worked his way along as If
thoroughly accustomed to every twig
which grew there So they proceeded
onward until. just at daybreak, they
found themselves near the side of 4
high mountain which Flint Lock began
TO climb. When about half way up,
he turned about and spoke for the FIRST
time IN an hour or more.
"Thar's tn place | was tellin' you
about, boy and here's where we rest
ourselves to-day, for tn woods are full
Of tn varmints and it's best to travel
in tn dusk like tn coon and fox, than
to dust abroad in daylight You plant
yourself here while | do a little sur
veyin', for If I'm not much mistaken
Mr.. Wawbe-wawa has been on our
trail for some time and he'll be around
this vicinity with his friends in about
three hours. Then we'll do a little
lyin' quiet an let 'em hunt good an
plenty. It'll give 'em an appetite fer
dinner"
Following the direction of his hand.
Jack found a good sized cave, well COW
cred by tangled underbrush. and not
at all visible to the naked eye; so,
plunging into it, he ate some of the
jerked beltong Cor dried buffalo meat)
which old Flint L0ck threw him, and
then fell into a peaceful doze. He did
not know how long he had thus lain,
when a shake of the shoulder made him
start to his feet in fright, but it was
only the trapper, who, with finger to
his lips, said softly:
Don't make sound, son, fer your
three friends of yesterday are just be- |
low us in tn valley with about fifteen |
more young bucks, with their faces all |
daubed up with red paint, an their
black hair full of eagle feathers. They |
lost our trail, all right, where we
waded fer a half mile in tn brook, |
an now they are calculatin' that we
must be in tn vicinity. Come, peep !
through this screen of underground an |
you'll see tn pleasant countenances of
your pals of yesterday" And, pulling |
him gently by the arm to the mouth of
the cavern, he pointed to a spot below
them where the calico-colored pony of |
the savage Waw-be-wawa was grazing |
on his hobble.
Il don't see any Indians" whispered
Jack.
The trapper smiled. "Oh, you'll see
EN- in a moment, for they're puzzling
out our trail down thar by tn creek
bottom. Hist! There they bel"
As he spoke, Jack saw eight young
Shawnees come out of the brush, and, |
like a pack of hounds after a red fox,
Il. Al. 4.