Part 6 (1/2)
CHAPTER VI
A WILD FLIGHT
Many a tiht what good fortune it was that the sky was clear and the ood progress and avoid walking in a circle, as otherwise he doubtless would have done
He directed his course toward the east, with the ht Many a fall he had over slippery,froh the bushes
He could not conceal his trail, hoping to do that by daylight During the night he must make every effort to travel as fast and as far as possible
His nerves were at the utht hear a yell or see soside The instant an Indian awoke and discovered his escape the chase would begin
The picture of the poor fellow murdered back at the creek was before his eyes and the horror of it spurred him to his utmost Just at dawn he arrived at a small strea it, yet he dared not stop to rest He es could easily follow
After crossing he walked a short distance alongside on the bank down strea plain iain entered the water and turned up stream
For nearly an hour he forced hi over the slippery rocks and not once leaving the water Finally he ca into the brook He stepped from the water to this, careful to leave no imprints of his feet At the farther end was a fallen tree Walking along the trunk of this as far as he could, he stooped to the ground and rejoiced to note that it was firm, so that his moccasins left no impress on it One who has never tried the experih the woods not to displace a leaf or break a thich would attract the attention of a wary savage
Rodney succeeded so well that, after he had gone nearly half a mile and came to a dense clump of underbrush, he decided it would be safe to hide there and sleep He believed the Indians would think he had fled in the direction of the Ohio River, and, seeing his footprints on the bank, would follon stream He could not remember when he had been so tired and soon was in a sound slury but found a spring of sater and some checkerberry leaves, and, thus refreshed, continued his flight
He did not rest again till nightfall He had seen no ga but one load for his rifle, hesitated to waste that on sht his only chance of escape would be to follow so in the direction of the Ohio At dusk he came to one and concluded it now safe to follow it, but soon hea convenient place he sat down to wait for a chance gliht come that way to drink, and a deer would be worth his one bullet Rodney by this time concluded his pursuers had lost his trail and he felt as though he were alone in the great forest His eyelids were heavy, but, recalling what happened to hi asleep three days before, he rose to his feet the better to keep awake As he did so he was startled by a shot, fired a little way down the streaer heavy He experienced so like a chill and he asked hia a few moments, it occurred to him that there was a possibility that the shot had been fired by white ate If they were Indians, they would gorge theht to have no trouble in getting past them Moreover, unless many were in the party, they would leave a portion of the carcass if it were a deer they had shot Why h to eat the flesh raw
Cautiously approaching he finally saw the glea the trees and then shadows of men, and his heart sank They were Indians!
Two came up to the fire from the stream and the boy noted the direction whence they came After the moon appeared he entered the brook to descend it and look about for signs of the place where the game was killed At last he found it, and the carcass of a deer from which the hind quarters had been cut Quick ith his knife secured hioodly portion of as left and with this he hurried on down the brook, on the slippery bed of which he kept his footing with difficulty His hunger urged hih away to risk a fire
He gathered a lot of dried twigs and rubbed the a srains of powder fro, he struck sparks fro meat made him ravenous and, like an Indian, he ate it half raw He then lost no ti his journey
The good food and the reflection that so far he had outwitted the savages, put hi hi snap in the dense growth beside the brook It was a moment of horror for the lad and he instantly crouched in the shadow of the bushes and cocked his rifle
The noise continued, a shuffling sound, and then his straining ears detected the snuffing of soine his relief
The aniy bulk withthe scent of the ry bear under such conditions would not be agreeable to ood and his relief at finding his pursuer not an Indian was so great that he felt like laughing; instead he hastened his pace
The chase continued,over the slippery stones it seeue
Occasionally he stepped in a hole to his waist, but he was too excited to heed the drenching or the fatigue
An hour passed, and bruin yet followed ”Reckon he's hungry as I aht, why not divide with the bear? Suiting action to word the lad quickly cut his rowl the brute savagely seized it and the boy hurried on The respite was brief, however, for not many minutes passed before he heard his pursuer, appetite whetted by what he had eaten, following the trail
Rodney was now h which he had passed seeht would indeed be unpleasant should he attempt to shoot bruin and by some cause miss fire The muskets sold to the Indians were usually of the cheapest quality, and the one he carried certainly appeared to be of that variety He looked behind The bear was gaining Seeing this, the lad resolved on extreme measures First, he would try the effect of a rock and he picked one up, about as large as his two fists