Part 15 (1/2)

”First of all, lad,” said Bounce, laying his hand impressively on the other's shoulder, ”are they all safe?--none killed?”

”Non; dey be all alive, for certain.”

”I'm thankful for that--_very_ thankful. Now go ahead, lad, and tell me what ye know, while I pull on my leggins.”

”Vell, dey be alive, as I have say. Mais dey not live long.”

Gibault said this with such a look of woebegone despair that Bounce paused in the midst of his dressing and said with much anxiety--”Wot's wrong?--why not, lad?”

”'Cause dey vill be tortured to death demain, or de day apres de morrow.

Stay, I vill tell to you all I knows. You mus' know, ven I run avay from you, I do so 'cause I know dat canoe ver' probabilie git opturned, so I come to river bank before every von. Dere is von big tree dere, so op I go like von skvirrel. You know vat come to pa.s.s apres dat. You smash de head of de Injun, aussi you smash de paddil. Den you escape, an' de Injuns howl vid pa.s.sion!

”Ver' soon after dat, dey all come to de bank of river--forty of 'em, I tink--draggin' our comerades vid dem, all tied by de wrist--Redhand, an'

Big Valler, an' March, an' Hawksving, an' poor Monsieur Bertram. Mais, dat Monsieur Bertram, be most 'straordinary man! He terriblement frightened for every leetle ting, but him not fright von bit for big ting! Hims look at de sauvage dat hold him as if him be a lion. I do tink Monsieur Bertram vould fight vell if hims obleeged.

”After good deal of consultoration an' disputerin', dey vas about for go avay; so I sit ver' still, but I move my foot von leetle morsil, an' von small leaf fall to de ground. It vas ver' small leaf, but Hawksving him see it. Ah! he be von cliver Injun. Ver' sharp in sight too! I tink him should be named Hawkseye. No von else notice it, but I see Hawksving visper to Big Valler. Dat man be sharp feller too. He turns hims back to de tree, nevair vonce looked up, but him burst into loud laugh, like von tondre-clap, an' cry out, 'Vell done, Gibault! Keep close, old feller; their village is one day off towards the sun!' An'

den he laugh again. Ah! ho! how my heart him jump ven he speak my name!

But de Injuns tink hims yell out to some von cross de river, for him looks dat vay. Vell, off dey go, and I begin to breathe more easy; but ven dey git far-off, I hear the voice of Big Valler come back like far-avay tondre, cryin', 'Dey're goin' to roast us alive to-morrow; look sharp!' Dat vas de last I hear. Den de darkness come, an' den you come, an', now, vat is to come nixt?”

Poor Gibault spoke fast, and perspired very much, and looked wild and haggard, for his nature was sensitive and sympathetic, and the idea of his comrades meeting with such a horrible fate was almost too much for him.

Bounce's honest face a.s.sumed an expression of deep anxiety, for, fertile though his resources usually were, he could not at that moment conceive how it was possible for two unarmed men, either by force or by stratagem, to rescue five comrades who were securely bound, and guarded by forty armed warriors, all of whom were trained from infancy in the midst of alarms that made caution and intense watchfulness second nature to them.

”It looks bad,” said Bounce, sitting down on a stone, clasping his hard hands together, and resting an elbow on each knee. ”Sit ye down, Gibault. We'll think a bit, an' then go to work. That's wot we'll do-- d'ye see?”

”Non, I don't see,” groaned Gibault. ”Vat can ve do? Two to forty! If it was only swords ve had to fight vid--Hah! But, alas! we have noting--dey have everyting.”

”True, lad, force won't do,” returned Bounce; ”an' yit,” he added, knitting his brows, ”if nothin' else 'll do, we'll try at least _how much_ force 'll do.”

After a short pause Bounce resumed, ”Wos they tied very tight, Gibault?”

”Oui. I see de cords deep in de wrists, an' poor Redhand seem to be ver' moch stunned; he valk as if hims be dronk.”

”Drunk!” exclaimed Bounce, suddenly springing up as if he had received an electric shock, and seizing his companion by both shoulders, while, for a moment, he gazed eagerly into his eyes; then, pus.h.i.+ng him violently away, he turned round and darted along the bank of the river, crying, as he went, ”Come along, Gibault; I'll tell ye wot's up as we go!”

The astonished Canadian followed as fast as he could, and, in an exclamatory interjectional sort of way, his friend explained the plan of rescue which he had suddenly conceived, and which was as follows:--

First, he proposed to go back to the _cache_ at the foot of the tall tree, and dig up the keg of brandy, with which he resolved to proceed to the camp of the Indians, and, by some means or other, get the whole clan to drink until they should become intoxicated. Once in this condition, he felt a.s.sured they could be easily circ.u.mvented.

Gibault grasped at this wild plan as a drowning man is said to grasp at a straw, and lent his aid right willingly to disentomb and carry the brandy keg. Neither he nor Bounce knew whether there was enough brandy to intoxicate the whole tribe, but they had no time to inquire minutely into probabilities.

Vigorously, perseveringly, without rest or halt, did these two trappers pursue their way that night, with the keg slung on a pole between them.

The stars glimmered down through the trees upon their path, as if they wished them success in their enterprise. It was all-important that they should reach the Indian camp before daybreak; so, although footsore and weary from their late exertions after a long day's march, they nevertheless ran steadily on at a long swinging trot, which brought them, to their inexpressible joy, much sooner than they had antic.i.p.ated, to their journey's end.

It was two hours before dawn when they came suddenly upon the camp--so suddenly that they had to crouch the instant they saw the watch-fires, in order to avoid being discovered.

”Now, Gibault,” whispered Bounce, ”you'll have to remain here. Get into a hiding-place as fast as you can, and keep close. You're clever enough to know what to do, and when to do it. Only, lad, come near and have your knife handy when the row is at the loudest, and see that ye don't let the squaws cut out our livers when we're tied up.”

Gibault nodded significantly.