The Benson signal., 1917-03-17
CHAPTER xI-continued.


eyes were closed. Frantically he
scooped up handful after handful Of
water from the nearest pool, dashed
it in his face, then fell to rubbing his
wrists and temples. And at last Ike
moved feebly, lifted himself on his ell
bow and looked about with unseeing
eyes. He tried to rise farther, and
toppled over again, moaning.
David's heart sank at the situation.
He found a sheltered spot in which to
build fire, and labored with flint and
steel till he succeeded in cOaxing
blaze to live in the dry chips and tin
der he found in a hollow tree. He
lifted Ike in his arms, exerting all
his strength, and bore him to the spot.
Blackford was now unconscious,
breathing with stertorous grunts that
seemed to leave him weaker and weak
er. But there was nothing that David
could do, and having eaten his bit s.
venison, he sat through the night with
his eyes fixed on the face of the sick
man, lying in the faint and wavering
light of the little campfire, while the
black shadows of the forest closed
them in relentlessly.
At dawn Ike seemed to be sleeping
within few miles to the west; there
was the barest possibility that he
might cone on some adventurous
trapper there, floating down the
stream with his load of pelts, who
would lend succor. David took off his
hunting shirt, hid it, together with his
rifle and powder horn, within the hol-'
low tree, fIghtened his belt and hiss
moccasins and set off unhampered. A
hundred yards and he was lost to sight
in the forest.
An hour passed. The sick man
stirred in his feverish sleep, raised
himself up, and stared wildly about
him. He rose to his knees weakly,
caught sight of leafy bough nodding
in the breeze and waved his hand at
1t in answer.
"Hello, jack" he called feebly.
Flows New York? Glad to see you
come down on the coach?"
He staggered to his feet and tot
tered about the grass, shaking hands
with imaginary friends. Another train
Of memory stirred in his delirious
brain and he began pleading cause
argued, clustered, entreated, stormed;
and only the multitudinous jury of the
trees heard and mocked him with their
silence.
A naked, copper-Aolored figure glid-
ed noiselessly through the under
growth and crawled like a serpent
toward the gesticulating madman.
. From behind fallen log it's glittering,
evil eyes watched the drunken stag
gerings of the sick man and glanced
murderously along the barrel of Brit
ish musket. The gun came to rest
over Ike's heart; the red finger on
the trigger was about to tighten, when
suddenly Ike drew himself to his full
height and began singing in his clear
tenor:
Cheer cheer, you shall not grieve,
A soldier true you'll find me!
All, non, non, non, pauVre MadelOn
Would go with you
The ambushed weapon sank again
uncertainl2 ; into the glittering eyes
came a puzzled look; and then the
hidden savage rose with grunt Of
understanding and strobe fearlessly
with lowered gun up to the singers
side.
''How!'' came the cultural saluta-
ton.
The eyes of the white man looked
full at him without a ray of cOmpre-
hension in their wild stare. A mo-
ment only Blackford paused, and then,
turning his shoulder carelessly on the
warrior, resumed his song.
The Indian nodded understandingly.
"Ugh!" he grunted. "White man big
Nauitou! Make big medicine"'
He glided off again into the forest
as noiselessly as he came; and for a
while only the chattering of the squir-
rels and sthe notes of birds broke the
stiffness overhead. Ike had sunk
to the ground. And then, one by one,
there stole into the glade six naked
savages, their cheeks hideously daubed
with red and yellow Ocher, their war
bonnets nodding over their heads.
The one who had first discovered Ike
pointed to the figure on the grass.
'Big medicine" he grunted; mo
hurt"
They passed on to the north, in
single file. Behind them came the
other two of the party, leading be-
tween them a girl whose face was
stained with weeping, whose dress
was torn and muddy with the march,
whose knees faltered beneath her. But
relentlessly the march kept on; and
the sick man, raising his head weak