The Washington herald., 1912-04-21
CHAPTER v.
The Journey Into the wilderness.

VA THEN the morning sun shed its
" luster over the smiling valley,
w the Indians vanished toward
the blue outlines of the mountains, with
cries of, I'VE good indians, now. We
keep to our own hunting grounds Only
one remained behind, and that was
Logan-the silent chief of the Shawnees
who squatted peacefully outside the
little hut where Col Washington, Lord
Fairfax, and Jack took breakfast,
Tommy Wallace had found a friend
among the villagers and spent most
comfortable and peaceful night at his
low house of rough-hewn logs.
when will we starr upon our expedi-
ton. Mr. Washington" asked Jack,
shortly latter the close of breakfast
find that l twisted the trigger to my
rife, and / wish to mend it before our
departure
The large and powerful-looking Vir-
ginia gentleman laid firm hand upon
the boys head well, we must let
these savages have two days start, at
least" he replied, for you never know
what an Indian is going to do. / have
found, in my experience, that they only
keep treaties as suits their fancy, and
that, when stirred by pngovernable an
ger, they will never respect their word
and honor. True. we will be three
whites together, and my negro boy, who
is a smart shot with the rife. There is
also the Indian chief, who poses as our
friend. Still. we must be wary and be
continually on our guard for treachery,
as l never trust the best of Indians, and
put neither faith nor confidence in what
they tell me This Shawnee seems to be
man of noble soul and quite above
the average, and yet l put no faith in
him, OF any like him. We will utilize
his cunning and knowledge of the coun-
try until we reach the place where lies
the treasure, and If he finds IT for us
we will give him, of course, his pro-
portionate part If we find no treasure
It will be a glorious trip, and no doubt
there will be many an opportunity to
shoot an elk or bison, as ] know that
they still roam the lower portions of the
valley. Besides, ] have reason to go
there because of land which has been
granted me. and | wish to see the char
acter of the country
Satisfied with this answer to his ques-
ton, Jack went in quest of Tommy Wal
lace, and after finding him they spent
the rest of the day in oiling their rifles,
sewing their torn clothes, and straighten-
ing out the accouterment which they
would carry with them. Lord Fairfax
had graciously given them two horses
for the journey, and, as another pack
animal had been secured by Col. Wash
fNaf he
would be made with much speed and
comfort The Indian had no horse, but,
after being told that he would need an
animal if he wished to keep up with the
others, he traded off some valuable
skins which he had with him for a
rather ill-used cayuse, which was so thin
that its -ibs protruded through its leanly
covered hide.
Two days later they-were at Green
way Court, and, after gathering enough
provisions to keep body and soul to-
gether for the trip, were soon jogging
toward the south in the direction of the
higher mountains The day was clear /;
moclting birds sang from the tree tops !;
chipmunks chartered at them from fallen
timber; and wrenS rippled their cas-
cades of melody from leafy thickets. So,
out into the wilderness, rode the little
band, bent upon the finding OF either
treasure or experience.
Scarcely had they emerged from the
first clump of woodland and crossed a
stream of no particular size, when the
Indian caught Jack by the sleeve
'Look!" he said, pointing to the
muddy ground. He went by this morn
ing He one big fellow and not far off
now"
As Jack followed the direction of his
finger, he saw deep IN the soil the i'm
print of two round hoofs with pointed
toes.
"A COW has gone by from the settlers
clearing" he said.
No, no" answered Logan. Zone big
bull elk has gone past. / know what
tell you. See, here is where he nibbled
from the leaves"
True enough, there were broken
leaves lying directly in front of the i'm
prints in the soil, and also bits of chewed
stems from an alder tree.
eYes; tiiat's big fellow, sure" put in
Col. Washington, who just then rode
back to see why The party had stopped,
and II makes my nnger quite itch for
the trigger of my rife. Now, Logan.
how far do you think that the elk is
distant, for / would like these boys to
get a crack at him before the day is
out?"
He is about FIVE miles from, here"
replied the Indian "This sign isSsbout
two hours old, and they travel slow in
summer time Wait, let me look closer
at the trail"
He jumped from his horses back. as
he spoke. and closely examined the
marks left by the elk, feeling the soil
carefully with his fingers and placing
them very slowly upon the inside of the
track Then he looked up, smiling.
He is one big bull, yes. and il l aEn
not wrong, you viii find him ahead iln
the woodland upon the side of that valk
ley. Come, let US scatter and surround
him, and the one who gets the shot must
aim behind the shoulder and pull care
fully. Let no one waste his powder
That is good advice said Col
WASHINGTON. and we shall do as you
?.