The citizen., 1914-05-15
CHAPTER lV-contInued.

Put her into the bank there, boys,
to the right" / commanded. Beyond
the roots Of that big oak. Well
breakfast, and then rest awhile"
This was accomplished with sweep
of the paddles, and we stepped ashore,
the Indians drawing the light canoe
well up into the mud, Brady stamping
about to restore circulation. Schultz
collapsed in his seat. and l stopped to
shake him.
"Tired, man? Move about and you'll
feel better"
"Mein Gott," he moaned, rolling his
eyes up at me imploringly. II vos mos
ded NIT der tre-ness. Mein feet Won't
move already"
THAT will be all right, Schultz" |
said kindly. It'll help you ashore, and
you can rest awhile, until you feel bet
ter. I'll do the cooking this morning"
We were still too close to the settle
ments to be in very much danger, and
felt little necessity for guarding our
presence. White hunters penetrated
as far north as the forks, and any raid
ing parties Of hostile Indians would
have been reported. Brady shook his
head when / mentioned the possibility,
smoking calmly.
There amt no redskins down In
yer" he returned confidently. "Or
some O. the boys along the river would
o. let me know"
How far have we Gomez"
He spoke to the Delawares, and one
Of them replied in his own language.
"He reckons bout fifty miles, though
1t would be less than that straight
across country. 1t takes maybe two
days an a night ter make the forks
with good padding"
AS none Of the toll of our progress
up stream had thus, far fallen upon me
/ remained on guard over the tired
sleepers, cleaning away the debris of
the meal, and packing the cooking
utensils back in the canoe. The men
slept soundly, although I noticed how
any. movement, even the slight rustic
of leaves in a sudden puff of wind,
served to rouse Brady or the Indians
to instant consciousness. They pos
sessed the instinct Of wild animals,
ever alert to danger. It must have
been fully noon when aroused them,
and we again headed the canoe up
stream, Brady willingly taking the SOL
dier's place at the after paddle, while
x lay back in the stern, my coat serv-
t,S for pillow, and finally fell asleep.
be river narrowed rapidly as we
Apced northward, until the great
y ON either bank nearly obscured
& overhead. The Delawares were
exhibiting a disinclination to
XFT, and we were compelled to
Wthem by threats to their work.
asa mile OF advance northward added
their terror. and made our task
more difficult. Once Brady struck the
chief, driving him back to his place
in the canoe. This was when we dis
covered unmistakable signs that par
ty Of Miamis had crossed the river
only shortly before we passed the spot.
However. we ran the gauntlet safe
iy, mere silent shadow slipping along
In the dark shade of the protecting
bank, and thus finally attained the
forks, and landed on the west shore.
It was dark when we got there, but the
Delawares were so eager to return,
that we Immediately put ashore all we
intended to pack with US. and parted
with them gladly. The canoe shot
swiftly away into the gloom, leaving
the three of US alone. Bearing our
loads with US, we CROPPED blind way
through the forest, back toward the
foot of the bluff, where we made camp,
as best we might, at the mouth of
ravine, we'll sheltered by underbrush,
and lay down. without venturing to
light fire. For some time. scarcely
memory of Rene D'Auvray had re-
NAMED with me. my mind being fully
occupied with the increasing peril Of
our position; yet as lay there in the
silence. looking up at the stars, her
eyes seemed suddenly to smile again
into mine, and dreamed of her as
slept. The dawn found us safe, seem
ingly alone in the wilderness.
CHAPTER v.