Chapter IX. The Escape

by Joseph A. Altsheler

　　Henry and Paul, with their eyes at the crevices, stared andstared, but they saw only those dark, horrible forms lying closeto the earth, and heard again the peaceful wind blowing among thepeaceful trees. The savage army had melted away as if it hadnever been, and the dark objects might have been taken for stonesor pieces of wood.

　　"We beat 'em off, an' nobody on our side has morein a scratch,"exclaimed Shif'less Sol jubilantly.

　　"That's so," said Ross, casting a critical eye down the line,"it's because we had a good position an' made ready. There'snothin' like takin' a thing in time. How're you, boys?"

　　"All right, but I've been pretty badly scared I can tell you,"replied Paul frankly. "But we are not hurt, are we, Henry?"

　　"Thank God," murmured the schoolmaster under his breath, and thenhe said aloud to Ross: "I suppose they'll leave us alone now."

　　Ross shook his head.

　　"I wish I could say it," he replied, "but I can't. We've laidout four of 'em, good and cold, an' the Shawnees, like all theother redskins, haven't much stomach for a straightaway attack onpeople behind breastworks; I don't think they'll try that again,but they'll be up to new mischief soon. We must watch out nowfor tricks. Them's sly devils."

　　Ross was a wise leader and he gave food to his men, but hecautioned them to lie close at all times. Two or three bulletswere fired from the forest but they whistled over their heads anddid no damage. They seemed safe for the present, but Ross wastroubled about the future, and particularly the coming of night,when they could not protect themselves so well, and the invaders,under cover of darkness, might slip forward at many points.Henry himself was man enough and experienced enough to understandthe danger, and for the moment, he wondered with a kind ofimpersonal curiosity how Ross was going to meet it. Ross himselfwas staring at the heavens, and Henry, following his intent eyes,noticed a change in color and also that the atmosphere began tohave a different feeling to his lungs. So much had he beenengrossed by the battle, and so great had been his excitement,that such things as sky and air had no part then in his life, butnow in the long dead silence, they obtruded themselves upon him.

　　The last wisp of smoke drifted away among the trees, and thesunlight, although it was mid-afternoon, was fading. Presentlythe skies were a vast dome of dull, lowering gray, and the breezehad a chill edge. Then the wind died and not a leaf or blade ofgrass in the forest stirred. Somber clouds came over the brinkof the horizon in the southwest, and crept threateningly up thegreat curve of the sky. The air steadily darkened, and suddenlythe dim horizon in the far southwest was cut by a vivid flash oflightning. Low thunder grumbled over the distant hills.

　　"It's a storm, an' it's to be a whopper," said Shif'less Sol.

　　"Ay," returned Ross, who had been back among the horses, "an' itmay save us. All you fellows be sure to keep your powder dry."

　　There would be little danger of that fatal catastrophe, thewetting of the powder, as it was carried in polished horns,stopped securely, nor would there be any danger either of thesalt being melted, as it was inclosed in bags made of deerskin,which would shed water.

　　"One of the men," continued Ross, "has found a big gully runningdown the back end of the hill, an' I think if we're keerful wecan lead the horses to the valley that way. But just now, we'llwait."

　　Henry and Paul were watching, as if fascinated. They had seenbefore the great storms that sometimes sweep the MississippiValley, but the one preparing now seemed to be charged with adeadly power, far surpassing anything in their experience. Itcame on, too, with terrible swiftness. The thunder, at first amere rumble, rose rapidly to crash after crash that stunned theirears. The livid flash of lightning that split the southwest likea flaming sword appeared and reappeared with such intensity thatit seemed never to have gone. The wind rose and the forestgroaned. From afar came a sullen roar, and then the greathurricane rushed down upon them.

　　"Lie flat!" shouted Ross.

　　All except four or five who held the struggling and frightenedhorses threw themselves upon the ground, and, although Henry andPaul hugged the earth, their ears were filled with the roar andscream of the wind, and the crackle of boughs and whole treetrunks snapped through, like the rattle of rifle fire. Theforest in front of them was quickly filled with fallen trees, andfragments whistled over their heads, but fortunately they wereuntouched.

　　The great volley of wind was gone in a few moments, as if it werea single huge cannon shot. It whistled off to the eastward, butleft in its path a trail of torn and fallen trees. Then in itspath came the sweep of the great rain; the air grew darker, thethunder ceased to crash, the lightning died away, and the waterpoured down in sheets over the black and mangled forest.

　　"Now boys, we'll start," said Ross. "Them Shawnees had to huntcover, an' they can't see us nohow. Up with them bags of salt!"

　　In an incredibly short time the salt was loaded on the packhorses and then they were picking their way down the steep anddangerous gully in the side of the hill. Henry, Paul and themaster locked hands in the dark and the driving rain, and savedeach other from falls. Ross and Sol seemed to have the eyes ofcats in the dark and showed the way.

　　"My God!" murmured Mr. Pennypacker, "I could not have dreamed tenyears ago that I should ever take part in such a scene as this!"

　　Low as he spoke, Henry heard him and he detected, too, a certainnote of pride in the master's tone, as if he were satisfied withthe manner in which he had borne himself. Henry felt the samesatisfaction, although he could not deny that he had felt manyterrors.

　　After much difficulty and some danger they reached the bottom ofthe hill unhurt, and then they sped across a fairly levelcountry, not much troubled by undergrowth or fallen timber,keeping close together so that no one might be lost in thedarkness and the rain, Ross, as usual, leading the line, andShif'less Sol bringing up the rear. Now and then the two mencalled the names of the others to see that all were present, butbeyond this precaution no word was spoken, save in whispers.

　　Henry and Paul felt a deep and devout thankfulness for the chancethat had saved them from a long siege and possible death; indeedit seemed to them that the hand of God had turned the enemyaside, and in their thankfulness they forgot that, soaked to thebone, cold and tired, they were still tramping through the lonewilderness, far from Wareville.

　　The darkness and the pouring rain endured for about an hour, thenboth began to lighten, streaks of pale sky appeared in the east,and the trees like cones emerged from the mist and gloom. All ofthe saltworkers felt their spirits rise. They knew that they hadescaped from the conflict wonderfully well; two slight wounds,not more than the breaking of skin, and that was all. Freshstrength came to them, and as they continued their journey thebars of pale light broadened and deepened, and then fused into asolid blue dawn, as the last cloud disappeared and the lastshower of rain whisked away to the northward. A wet road laybefore them, the drops of water yet sparkling here and there,like myriads of beads. Ross drew a deep breath of relief andordered a halt.

　　"The Shawnees could follow us again," he said, but they know nowthat they bit off somethin' a heap too tough for them to chaw,an' I don't think they'll risk breaking a few more teeth on it,specially after havin' been whipped aroun' by the storm as theymust 'a been."

　　"And to think we got away and brought our salt with us, too!"said Mr. Pennypacker.

　　Dark came soon, and Ross and Sol felt so confident they were safefrom another attack that they allowed a fire to be lighted,although they were careful to choose the center of a littleprairie, where the rifle shots of an ambushed foe in the forestcould not reach them.

　　It was no easy matter to light a fire, but Ross and Sol at lastaccomplished it with flint, steel and dry splinters cut from theunder side of fallen logs. Then when the blaze had taken goodhold they, heaped more brushwood upon it and never were heat andwarmth more grateful to tired travelers.

　　Henry and Paul did not realize until then how weary and how verywet they were. They basked in the glow, and, with delightwatched the great beds of coals form. They took off part oftheir clothing, hanging it before the fire, and when it was dryand warm put it on again. Then they served the rest the sameway, and by and by they wore nothing but warm garments.

　　"I guess two such terrible fighters as you," said Ross to Henryand Paul, "wouldn't mind a bite to eat. I've allers heard tellas how the Romans after they had fought a good fight with themCarthaginians or Macedonians or somebody else would sit down an'take some good grub into their insides, an' then be ready for thenext spat."

　　"Will we eat? will we eat? Oh, try us, try us," chanted Henryand Paul in chorus, their mouths stretching simultaneously intowide grins, and Ross grinned back in sympathy.

　　The revulsion had come for the two boys. After so much dangerand suffering, the sense of safety and the warmth penetratingtheir bones made them feel like little children, and they seizedeach other in a friendly scuffle, which terminated only when theywere about to roll into the fire. Then they ate venison as ifthey had been famished. Afterwards, when they were asleep ontheir blankets before the fire, Ross said to Mr. Pennypacker:

　　"They did well, for youngsters."

　　"They certainly did, Mr. Ross," said the master. "I confess toyou that there were times to-day when learning seemed to offer noconsolation."

　　Ross smiled a little, and then his face quickly became grave.

　　"It's what we've got to go through out here," he said. "Everysettlement will have to stand the storm."

　　A vigilant watch was kept all the long night but there was nosign of a second Shawnee attack. Ross had reckoned truly when hethought the Shawnees would not care to risk further pursuit, andthe next day they resumed their journey, under a drying sun.

　　They were not troubled any more by Indian attacks, but the restof the way was not without other dangers. The rivers wereswollen by the spring rains, and they had great trouble incarrying the salt across on the swimming horses. Once Paul wasswept down by a swift and powerful current, but Henry managed toseize and hold him until others came to the rescue. Men and boysalike laughed over their trials, because they felt now all thejoy of victory, and their rapid march south amid the glories ofspring, unfolding before them, appealed to the instincts ofeveryone in the band, the same instincts that had brought themfrom the East into the wilderness.

　　They were passing through the region that came to be known inlater days as the Garden of Kentucky. Then it was covered withmagnificent forest and now they threaded their way through thedense canebrake. Squirrels chattered in every tree top, deerswarmed in the woods, and the buffalo was to be found in almostevery glen.

　　"I do not wonder," said the thoughtful schoolmaster, "that theIndian should be loath to five up such choice hunting grounds,but, fight as cunningly and bravely as he will, his fate willcome."

　　But Henry, with only the thoughts of youth, could not conceive ofthe time when the vast wilderness should be cut down and the gameshould go. He was concerned only with the present and the wordsof Mr. Pennypacker made upon him but a faint and fleetingimpression.

　　At last on a sunny morning, whole, well fed, with their treasurepreserved, and all fresh and courageous, they approachedWareville. The hearts of Henry and Paul thrilled at the signs ofwhite habitation. They saw where the ax had bitten through atree, and they came upon broad trails that could be made only bywhite men, going to their work, or hunting their cattle.

　　But it was Paul who showed the most eagerness. He waswhole-hearted in his joy. Wareville then was the only spot onearth for him. But Henry turned his back on the wilderness witha certain reluctance. A primitive strain in him had beenawakened. He was not frightened now. The danger of the battlehad aroused in him a certain wild emotion which repeated itselfand refused to die, though days had passed. It seemed to him attimes that it would be a great thing to live in the forest, andto have knowledge and wilderness power surpassing those even ofShif'less Sol or Ross. He had tasted again the life of theprimitive man and he liked it.

　　Mr. Pennypacker was visibly joyful. The wilderness appealed tohim in a way, but he considered himself essentially a man ofpeace, and Wareville was becoming a comfortable abode.

　　"I have had my great adventure," he said, "I have helped to fightthe wild men, and in the days to come I can speak boastfully ofit, even as the great Greeks in Homer spoke boastfully of theirachievements, but once is enough. I am a man of peace and years,and I would fain wage the battles of learning rather than thoseof arms."

　　"But you did fight like a good 'un when you had to do it,schoolmaster," said Ross.

　　Mr. Pennypacker shook his head and replied gravely:

　　"Tom, you do right to say' when I had to do it,' but I mean thatI shall not have to do it any more."

　　Ross smiled. He knew that the schoolmaster was one of thebravest of men.

　　Now they came close to Wareville. From a hill they saw a thin,blue column of smoke rising and then hanging like a streameracross the clear blue sky.

　　"That comes from the chimneys of Wareville," said Ross, "an' Iguess she's all right. That smoke looks kinder quiet, as ifnothin' out of the way had happened."

　　They pressed forward with renewed speed, and presently a shoutcame from the forest. Two men ran to meet them, and rejoiced atthe sight of the men unharmed, and every horse heavily loadedwith salt. Then it was a triumphal procession into Wareville,with the crowd about them thickening as they neared the gates.Henry's mother threw her arms about his neck, and his fathergrasped him by the hand. Paul was in the center of his ownfamily, completely submerged, and all the space within thepalisade resounded with joyous laugh and welcome, which becameall the more heartfelt, when the schoolmaster told of the greatdanger through which they had passed.

　　That evening, when they sat around the low fire in his father'shome-the spring nights were yet cool-Henry had to repeat thestory of the salt-making and the great adventure with theShawnees. He grew excited as he told of the battle and thestorm, his face flushed, his eyes shot sparks, and, as Mrs. Warelooked at him, she realized, half in pride, half in terror, thatshe was the mother of a hunter and warrior.