Part 2 (1/2)
Conrad made no complaint but quietly ith his captors He recalled that Vuysen had said there was peace with the Indians but had added, in the words of an old chief, ”The rogues on both sides alwaysexpedition and they ht which strangely enough brought comfort to the boy's heart He loved the woods and did not love the Vuysens The savages could not know this and so, though he had no thought of trying to escape, they bound hih his bonds were uncoinia in his coht; all of which helps to prove that it does not always depend so much on what one has, as on what one thinks about it
When Rodney cae his father to make a pioneer home in the wonderful West he had heard so a
Not until he had nearly finished his breakfast did he screw up his courage to the point of carrying out his resolve Then he said: ”Father, I've heard you say there is land out on the Ohio River which you can have because of your service in the last war Why don't we settle on it? This place has nothing for us with the squire for an enemy, and not much at best”
”You little know of the perils, my lad Surely ye wouldna' ha' the es? But I'm minded to say that a venture into the western part o' this colony isFroed aboot as here”
Neither father nor son thought of the generally observed fact that when a poor an to seek a home where land was cheap he usually becareat longing for a better ho him toward the richer lands said to lie beyond the mountains
CHAPTER III
HOW RODNEY AND ANGUS BECAME FRIENDS
”Say, Sioin' to tell, the one yer cousin told ye?”
”Yes, tell us about it, Si recess A feeeks before David Allison had moved his family up to Charlottesville from the ”tide-water country,” and had opened this school
”Well, ye see--” began Siht, but thar ain't ittin'
ready to tell a story You sure are slower'n our ol' nigger, Absaloor spoke as one with authority and his stockily built body looked capable of enforcing the order Sim proceeded
”As I was sayin', Bill, that's my cousin, he lives over in the Shenandoah valley two looks and a yell from the Jumpin'-off Place, was out fishi+n' with another feller When they was goin' home an' come out inter the clearin' roun' Fin Anderson's cabin, they see an ol' Injun, Bowlegs they call him, snoopin' roun' They hid an' watched perceedin's When ol' Bowlegs found no one was ter ho o' corn liquor an' set right thar an' fill his gullet Then the ol' varhter tarred an' feathered the ol' cuss,” said Angus
”That's jes' what Bill thought, but they didn't have no tar, let alone feathers But Fin Anderson's a curis feller, an' Bill reme a feather bed; 'lowed he wanted somethin' different to sleep on ter hoht o' that feather bed he jes' sithed fer tar, when he'd in' roun' ther cabin they found soht in, so they took that an' daubed ther ol' feller from head ter heel and then rolled hih on Fin's feather bed”
”Oh, he'd sure enough lay it to the Injun After they got back home an' told the story sos a lickin' ter boot Well, when they got in sight o'
the ol' rascal, he was jes' soberin' up, sittin' thar rubbin' his eyes 'Bout that time he seen ther feathers stickin' out all over hih the brush, sheddin' feathers at every jump like an ol' settin' hen scared off'n her nest”
”They oughter licked the ol' redskin; they're all thieves,” said Angus with an important air
”He stole the liquor but it looks like some one else stole the honey and feathers”
All eyes turned toward the speaker who had joined the group unobserved He was Rodney Allison
The face of Angus turned red as a beet Here was this upstart new boy with an air of questioning his authority By hbourhood a sound drubbing if necessary he had beconized leader Evidently this new boy needed to be shown his proper place
”Huh! Bill an' his friends ain't thieves, I can tell An Injun is a born thief, so are land used to send her thieves to Virginny, some of 'em turned schoolmasters after they landed”