The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-03-26
CHAPTER v.
The Trail Of a War Party,


packs on our shoulders. Brady led the
way, tireless and watchful, his long
rife held ready in the crook Of his
arm, his alert eyes searching out the
ground ahead. Behind him numbered
Schultz, heavy-footed, and grumbling
Dutch oaths at every misstep, yet
somehow managing to keep up: while
on the surrounding ridges.
For three days we encountered moth
ing to alarm. Brady purposely kept
away from all trails, trusting implicitly
to his instinct as a woodsman to dis
cover a safe passage. He possessed
the instincts of the wild, the subtlety
Of the savage, born of constant peril
and loneliness.
Once, where we forded a consider
able stream, which think now must
have been the Vermilion, we came up
on the blackened remains Of q camp
fire, apparently deserted but a few
hours before. Brady examined 1t with
great care, trailing the party to the
river bank, and then making a wide
circuit of the woods, before he finally
returned satisfied.
LESS than three hours gone." he
said soberly. land travelling north"
do you know who they were?" l
asked. How many were in the party?"
Miamis and Ojibwas, l reckon, and
they had prisoner, bound to that
small tree out yonder; see here, Hay
ward, the fellow had boots on, and not
moccasins. From the trail they made
here on the bank there must have been
twelve or fifteen Indians; ay, and
white renegade he bent down again
to study track in the mud, "for this
is no redskins foot, with the toes
turned out" He swore, the only oath
had heard thus far from his lips, pluck
ing few long hairs from off spittle
of underbrush, and holding them up in
to the sunlight. "a war party all right,
with scalps. One fellow brushed
against this bush as he came down
the bank; from the color they must
have been raiding the German settle
ments."
l stared at the floating hairs, shud-
dering in horror, and hands gripped
hard on my rifle.
Good God! and they are going our
way?"
THAT needn't trouble US, while they
leave plain trail behind. Those devils
feel safe enough now, or they'd take
more care. We are in no danger while
they keep ahead of u.s."
We made a detour to the right,
| plunging straight forward into the un-
! broken woods. Brady led at fast
| gait, his trained iron muscles tireless,
while l urged the breathless soldier to
| new exertions, frightening him by con-
| slant reference to the raiders so close
at hand. The perspiration rolled down
| his face, yet he kept close at Brady s
| heels, falling fiat on the ground dur
| ing our brief halts, but determined not
good stuff in the fellow, although he
swore stif1y, and had a tread like an
elephant. Just before dark, the forest
about us already in gloom, we sudden
! ly emerged from out the shadow of
| great trees, and stood on the shore of
| lake gdrded with woods A few hun.
dred feet from where we stood a small
rocky island, dense with trees, rose
above the mirrored surface. After one
swift glance about the line of shore
Brady's eyes rested on this haven
as though questioning its feasibility as
a night camp. There was a yellow
tinge to the intervening water, sug-
gestive of shallowness, and l spoke
first.
ct will be dark in a few minutes
more; isn't that a cambridge leading
out yonder?"
1T looks so to me-" he replied quiet
ly. but the only sure way to tell is to
test the passage. In my judgment We
better get out there if we can, fol-
there's no KNOWN where these Injuns
may be-
He led the way, and we followed in
| single file, our packs and rifles held
high overhead. The water deepened
until it reached Schultzs armpits, but
there was no perceptible current, and
the sand underfoot was firm as rock
| Deep purple shadows seemed TO shut
US in, as we clambered up the steer
bank of the island, our clothes drip
ping. Brady with outstretched hant
helped me to climb, clinging with his
other to a sapling. Then he pointed
| across the darkened surface toward
the lower end of the lake. In the dis
lance there was the red glow Of fire
| barely visible.
The island was wider than had sup
posed, and must have contained fully
five acres, densely wooded, with NJ
sign of a trail anywhere. Apparently
we were the first explorers to pene
trate it's thickets Suddenly We came
to the edge Of a small OPENING slopins