Chapter I. The Call

by Joseph A. Altsheler

　　The wilderness rolled away to north and to south, and also itrolled away to east and to west, an unbroken sweep of dark,glossy green. Straight up stood the mighty trunks, but theleaves rippled and sang low when a gentle south wind breathedupon them. It was the forest as God made it, the magnificentvalley of North America, upon whose edges the white man had justbegun to nibble.

　　A young man, stepping lightly, came into a little glade. He waswhite, but he brought with him no alien air. He was in fullharmony with the primeval Woods, a part of them, one in whoseears the soft song of the leaves was a familiar and loved tune.He was lean, but tall, and he walked with a wonderful swinginggait that betokened a frame wrought to the strength of steel byexercise, and, weather, and life always in the open. Though hisface was browned by sun and storm his hair was yellow and hiseyes blue. He was dressed wholly in deerskin and he carried overhis shoulder the long slender rifle of the border. At his beltswung hatchet and knife.

　　There was a touch to the young man that separated him from theordinary woods rover. He held himself erect with a certain prideof manner. The stock of his rifle, an unusually fine piece, wascarved in an ornate and beautiful way. The deerskin of hisattire had been tanned with uncommon care, and his moccasins weresewn thickly with little beads of yellow and blue and red andgreen. Every piece of clothing was scrupulously clean, and hisarms were polished and bright.

　　The shiftless one-who so little deserved his name-paused a momentin the glade and, dropping the stock of his rifle to the ground,leaned upon the muzzle. He listened, although he expected tohear nothing save the song of the leaves, and that alone heheard. A faint smile passed over the face of Shif'less Sol. Hewas satisfied. All was happening as he had planned. Then heswung the rifle back to his shoulder, and walked to the crest ofa hill near by.

　　The summit was bare and the shiftless one saw far. It was asplendid rolling country, covered with forests of oak and elm,beech, hickory and maple. Here and there faint threads of silvershowed where rivers or brooks flowed, and he drew a long deepbreath. The measure of line and verse he knew not, but deep inhis being Nature had kindled the true fire of poetry, and now hispleasure was so keen and sharp that a throb of emotion stirred inhis throat. It was a grand country and, if reserved for any one,it must be reserved for his race and his people. Shif'less Solwas resolved upon that purpose and to it he was ready to devotebody and life.

　　Yet the wilderness seemed to tell only of peace. The low song ofthe leaves was soothing and all innocence. The shiftless one wasfar beyond the farthest outpost of his kind, beyond the broadyellow current of the Mississippi, deep in the heart of theprimeval forest. He might travel full three hundred miles to theeastward and find no white cabin, while to westward his own kindwere almost a world away. On all sides stretched the vast mazeof forest and river, through which roamed only wild animals andwilder man.

　　Shif'less Sol, from his post on the hill, examined the wholecircle of the forest long and carefully. He seemed intent uponsome unusual object. It was shown in the concentration of hislook and the thoughtful pucker of his forehead. It was not game,because in a glade to windward at the foot of the hill, fivebuffaloes grazed undisturbed and now and then uttered short,panting grunts to show their satisfaction. Presently a splendidstag, walking through the woods as if he were sole proprietor,scented the strange human odor, and threw up his head in alarm.But the figure on the hill, the like of which the deer had neverseen before, did not stir or take notice, and His Lordship theStag raised his head higher to see. The figure still did notstir, and, his alarm dying, the stag walked disdainfully awayamong the trees.

　　Birds, the scarlet tanager, the blue bird, the cat bird, the jayand others of their kin settled on the trees near the young manwith the yellow hair, and gazed at him with curiosity and withoutfear. A rabbit peeped up now and then, but beyond the newpresence the wilderness was undisturbed, and it became obvious tothe animal tribe that the stranger meant no harm. Nor did theshiftless one himself discern any alien note. The sky, a solidcurve of blue, bore nowhere a trace of smoke. It was undarkenedand unstained, the same lonely brightness that had dawned everymorning for untold thousands of years.

　　Shif'less Sol showed no disappointment. Again all seemed to behappening as he wished. Presently he left the hill and, facetoward the south, began to walk swiftly and silently down therows of trees. There was but little undergrowth, nothing tocheck his speed, and he strode on and on. After a while he cameto a brook running through low soft soil and then he did astrange thing, the very act that a white man travelling throughthe dangerous forest would have avoided. He planted one foot inthe yielding soil near the water's edge, and then steppingacross, planted the other in exactly the same way on the farside.

　　When another yard brought him to hard ground he stopped andlooked back with satisfaction. On either side of the brookremained the firm deep impression of a human foot, of a whitefoot, the toes being turned outward. No wilderness rover couldmistake it, and yet it was hundreds of miles to the nearestsettlement of Shif'less Sol's kind.

　　He took another look at the footsteps, smiled again and resumedhis journey. The character of the country did not change. Stillthe low rolling hills, still the splendid forests of oak and elm,beech, maple and hickory, and of all their noble kin, still thelittle brooks of clear water, still the deer and the buffalo,grazing in the glades, and taking but little notice of thestrange human figure as it passed. Presently, the shiftless onestopped again and he did another thing, yet stranger than thepressing-in of the foot-prints beside the little stream. He drewthe hatchet from his belt and cut a chip out of the bark of ahickory. A hundred yards further on he did the same thing, and,at three hundred yards or so, he cut the chip for the third time.He looked well at the marks, saw that they were clear, distinctand unmistakable, and then the peculiar little smile ofsatisfaction would pass again over his face.

　　But these stops were only momentary. Save for them he neverceased his rapid course, and always it led straight toward thesouth. When the sun was squarely overhead, pouring down a floodof golden beams, he paused in the shade of a mighty oak, and tookfood from his belt. He might have eaten there in silence andobscurity, but once more the shiftless one showed a singular lackof caution and woodcraft. He drew together dry sticks, ignited afire with flint and steel, and cooked deer meat over it. He letthe fire burn high, and a thin column of dark smoke rose - far upinto the blue. Any savage, roaming the wilderness, might see it,but the shiftless one was reckless. He let the fire burn on,after his food was cooked, while the column of smoke grew thickerand mounted higher, and ate the savory steaks, lying comfortablybetween two upthrust roots. Now and then he uttered a littlesigh of satisfaction, because he had travelled far and hard, andhe was hungry. Food meant new strength.

　　But he was not as reckless as he seemed. Nothing that passed inthe forest within the range of eyesight escaped his notice. Heheard the leaf, when it fell close by, and the light tread of adeer passing. He remained a full hour between the roots, a longtime for one who might have a purpose, and, after he rose, he didnot scatter the fire and trample upon the brands after thewilderness custom when one was ready to depart. The flames haddied down, but he let the coals smoulder on, and, hundreds ofyards away, he could still see their smoke. Now, he sought thesoftest parts of the earth and trod there deliberately, leavingmany footprints. Again he cut little chips from the trees as hepassed, but never ceased his swift and silent journey to thesouth. The hours fled by, and a dark shade appeared in the east.It deepened into dusk, and spread steadily toward the zenith.The sun, a golden ball, sank behind a hill in the west, and thenthe shiftless one stopped.

　　He ascended a low hill again, and took a long scrutinizing lookaround the whole horizon. But his gaze was not apprehensive. Onthe contrary, it was expectant, and his face seemed to show aslight disappointment when the wilderness merely presented itswonted aspect. Then he built another fire, not choosing asecluded glade, but the top of the hill, the most exposed spotthat he could find, and, after he had eaten his supper, he satbeside it, the expectant air still on his face.

　　Nothing came. But the shiftless one sat long. He raked up deadleaves of last year's winter and made a pillow, against which hereclined luxuriously. Shif'less Sol was one who drew mental andphysical comfort from every favoring circumstance, and the leavesfelt very soft to his head and shoulders. He was not in theleast lonesome, although the night had fully come, and heavydarkness lay like a black robe over the forest. He stretched outhis moccasined toes to the fire, closed his eyes for a moment ortwo, and a dreamy look of satisfaction rested on his face. Itseemed to the shiftless one that he lay in the very lap ofluxury, in the very best of worlds.

　　But when he opened his eyes again he continued to watch theforest, or rather he watched with his ears now, as he lay closeto the earth, and his hearing, at all times, was so acute that itseemed to border on instinct or divination. But no sound savethe usual ones of the forest and the night came to him, and heremained quite still, thinking.

　　Shif'less Sol Hyde was in an exalted mood, and the flickeringfirelight showed a face refined and ennobled by a great purpose.Leading a life that made him think little of hardship and dangerhe thought nothing at all of them now, but he felt instead agreat buoyancy, and a hope equally great.

　　He lay awake a full three hours after the dark had come, and herose only twice from his reclining position, each time merely toreplenish the fire which remained a red core in the circlingblackness. Always he was listening and always he heard nothingbut the usual sounds of the forest and the night. The darknessgrew denser and heavier, but after a while it began to thin andlighten. The sky became clear, and the great stars swam in thedusky blue. Then Shif'less Sol fell asleep, head on the leaves,feet to the fire, and slept soundly all through the night.

　　He was up at dawn, cooked his breakfast, and then, after anotherlong and searching examination of the surrounding forest,departed, leaving the coals of the fire to smoulder, and tell asthey might that some one had passed. Shif'less Sol throughoutthat morning repeated the tactics of the preceding day, leavingfootprints that would last, and cutting pieces of bark from thetrees with his sharp hatchet. At the noon hour he stopped,according to custom, and, just when he had lighted his fire, heuttered a low cry of pleasure.

　　The shiftless one was gazing back upon his own trail, and thesingular look of exaltation upon his face deepened. He rose tohis feet and stood, very erect, in the attitude of one whowelcomes. No undergrowth was here, and he could see far down theaisles of trunks.

　　A figure, so distant that only a keen eye would notice it, wasapproaching. It came on swiftly and silently, much after themanner of the shiftless one himself, elastic, and instinct withstrength.

　　The figure was that of a boy in years, but of a man in size,surpassing Shif'less Sol himself in height, yellow haired,blue-eyed, and dressed, too, in the neatest of forest garb. Hiswhole appearance was uncommon, likely anywhere to attractattention and admiration. The shiftless one drew a long breathof mingled welcome and approval.

　　"I knew that he would be first," he murmured.

　　Then he sat down and began to broil a juicy deer steak on the endof a sharpened stick.

　　Henry Ware came into the little glade. He had seen the fire afarand he knew who waited. All was plain to him like the print of abook, and, without a word, he dropped down on the other side ofthe fire facing Shif'less Sol. The two nodded, but their eyesspoke far more. Sol held out the steak, now crisp and brown andfull of savor, and Henry began to eat. Sol quickly broiledanother for himself, and joined him in the pleasant task, overwhich they were silent for a little while.

　　"I was on the Ohio," said Henry at last, "when the trapperbrought me your message, but I started at once."

　　"O' course," said Shif'less Sol, "I never doubted it for aminute. I reckon that you've come about seven hundred miles."

　　"Nearer eight," said Henry, "but I'm fresh and strong, and weneed all our strength, Sol, because it's a great task that liesbefore us."

　　"It shorely is," said Sol, "an' that's why I sent the message. Idon't want to brag, Henry, but we've done a big thing or twobefore, an' maybe we kin do a bigger now."

　　He spoke the dialect of the border, he was not a man of books,but that great look of exaltation came into his face again, andthe boy on the other side of the fire shared it.

　　"It seems to me, Sol," said Henry presently, that we've beenselected for work of a certain kind. We finish one job, and thenanother on the same line begins."

　　"Mebbe it's because we like to do it, an' are fit fur it," saidSol philosophically. "I've noticed that a river genially runs ina bed that suits it. I don't know whether the bed is tharbecause the river is, or the river is thar 'cause the bed is, butit's shore that they're both thar together, an' you can't gitaround that."

　　"There's something in what you say," said Henry.

　　Then they relapsed into silence, and, in a half hour, as if bymutual consent, they rose, left the fire burning, and departed,still walking steadily toward the south.

　　The country grew rougher. The hills were higher and closertogether, and the undergrowth became thick. Neither took anyprecautions as they passed among the slender bushes, frequentlytrampling them down and leaving signs that the blindest could notfail to see. Now and then the two looked back I but they beheldonly the forest and the forest people.

　　"I don't think I ever saw the game so tame before," said Henry."Which means," said Sol, "that the warriors ain't hunted here fura long time. I ain't seen a single sign o' them."

　　"Nor I."

　　They fell silent and scarcely spoke until the sun was settingagain, when they stopped for the night, choosing a conspicuousplace, as Sol had done the evening before. After supper, theysought soft places on the turf, and lay in peace, gazing up atthe great stars. Henry was the first to break the silence.

　　"One is coming," he said. "I can hear the footstep. Listen!"

　　His ear was to the earth, and the shiftless one imitated him. AtThe end of a minute he spoke.

　　"Yes," he said, "I hear him, too. We'll make him welcome."

　　He rose, put a fresh piece of wood on the fire, and smiled, as hesaw the flame leap up and crackle merrily.

　　"Here he is," said Henry.

　　The figure that emerged from the bushes was thick-set andpowerful, the strong face seamed and tanned by the wind, rain andsun of years. The man stepped into the circle of the firelight,and held out his hand. Each shook it with a firm and heartyclasp, and Tom Ross took his seat with them beside the fire.They handed him food first, and then he said:

　　"I was away up in the Miami country, huntin' buffalo, when theword came to me, Sol, but I quit on the minute an' started."

　　"I was shore you would," said the shiftless one quietly."Buffaloes are big game, but we're huntin' bigger now."

　　"I was never in this part of the country before," said Tom Ross,looking around curiously at the ghostly tree trunks.

　　"I've been through here," said Henry, "and it runs on in the sameway for hundreds of miles in every direction."

　　"Bigger an' finer than any o' them old empires that Paul used totell us about," said Shif'less Sol.

　　" Yes," said Henry.

　　The three looked at one another significantly. They wrappedthemselves in their blankets by and by, and went to sleep on thesoft turf. Henry was the first to awake, just when the dawn wasturning from pink to red, and a single glance revealed to him anobject on the horizon that had riot been there the night before.A man stood on the crest of a low hill, and even at the distance,Henry recognized him. His comrades were awaking and he turned tothem.

　　"See!" he said, pointing with a long forefinger.

　　Their eyes followed, and they too recognized the man.

　　"He'll be here in a minute," said Shif'less Sol. "He jest eatsup space."

　　He spoke the truth, as it seemed scarcely a minute before LongJim Hart entered the camp, showing no sign of fatigue. The threewelcomed him and gave him a place at their breakfast fire.

　　"I wuz at Marlowe," he said, "when the word reached me, but Istarted just an hour later. I struck your trail, Sol, two daysback, an' I traveled nearly all last night. I saw Henry join youan' then Tom."

　　Shif'less Sol laughed. He had a soft, mellow laugh that crinkledup the corners of his mouth, and made his eyes shine. There wasno doubt that a man who laughed such a laugh was enjoyinghimself.

　　"I reckon you didn't have much trouble follerin' that trail o'ourn," he said.

　　Jim Hart answered the laugh with a grin.

　　"Not much," he replied. "It was like a wagon road through thewilderness. The ashes uv your last camp fire weren't sca'celycold when I passed by."

　　"We're all here 'cept the fifth feller," said Tom Ross.

　　"The fifth will come," said Henry emphatically.

　　"Uv course," said Tom Ross with equal emphasis.

　　"And when he comes," said Shif'less Sol, "we take right hold o'the big job."

　　They lingered awhile over their breakfast, but saw no oneapproaching. Then they took up the march again, going steadilysouthward in single file, talking little, but leaving a distincttrail. They were only four, but they were a formidable party,all strong of arm, keen of eye and ear, skilled in the lore ofthe forest, and every one bore the best weapons that the timecould furnish.

　　Toward noon the day grew very warm and clouds gathered in thesky. The wind became damp.

　　"Rain," said Henry. "I'm sorry of that. I wish it wouldn'tbreak before he overtook us."

　　"S'pose we stop an make ready," said Shif'less Sol. "You know weain't bound to be in a big hurry, an' it won't help any o' us toget a soakin'."

　　"You're shorely right, Sol," said Jim Hart. "We're bound to takethe best uv care uv ourselves."

　　They looked around with expert eyes, and quickly chose a stonyoutcrop or hollow in the side of a hill, just above which grewtwo gigantic beeches very close together. Then it was wonderfulto see them work, so swift and skillful were they. They cutsmall saplings with their hatchets, and, with the little polesand fallen bark of last year, made a rude thatch which helped outthe thick branches of the beeches overhead. They also built upthe sides of the hollow with the same materials, and the wholewas done in less than ten minutes. Then they raked in heaps ofdead leaves and sat down upon them comfortably.

　　Many drops of water would come through the leaves and thatch, butsuch as they, hardened to the wilderness, would not notice them.Meanwhile the storm was gathering with the rapidity so frequentin the great valley. All the little clouds swung together andmade a big one that covered nearly the whole sky. The airdarkened rapidly. Thunder began to growl and mutter and now andthen emitted a sharp crash. Lightning cut the heavens fromzenith to horizon, and the forest would leap into the light,standing there a moment, vivid, like tracery.

　　A blaze more brilliant than all the rest cleft wide the sky and,as they looked toward the North, they saw directly in the middleof the flame a black dot that had not been there before.

　　"He's coming," said Henry in the quiet tone that indicatednothing more than a certainty, fulfilled.

　　"Just in time to take a seat in our house," said the shiftlessone.

　　Sol ran out and gave utterance to a long echoing cry that soundedlike a call. It was answered at once by the new black dot underthe Northern horizon, which was now growing fast in size, as itcame on rapidly. It took a human shape, and, thirty yards away,a fine, delicately-chiselled face, the face of a scholar anddreamer, remarkable in the wildernesses, was revealed. The facebelonged to a youth, tall and strong, but not so tall and largeas Henry.

　　"Here we are, Paul," said Shif'less Sol. "We've fixed fur you."

　　"And mighty glad I am to overtake you fellows, said Paul Cotter,"particularly at this time."

　　He ran for the shelter just as the forest began to moan, andgreat drops of rain rushed down upon them. He was inside in amoment, and each gave his hand a firm grasp.

　　"We're all here now," said Henry.

　　"All here and ready for the great work," said Shif'less Sol, histranquil face illumined again with that look of supremeexaltation.

　　Then the storm burst. The skies opened and dropped down floodsof water. They heard it beating on the leaves and thatchoverhead, and some came through, falling upon them but they paidno heed. They sat placidly until the rush and roar passed, andthen Henry said to the others:

　　"We're to stick to the task that we've set ourselves throughthick and through thin, through everything?"

　　"Yes! Yes!"

　　"If one falls, the four that are left keep on?"

　　"Yes! Yes!"

　　"If three fail and only two are left, these must not flinch."

　　"Yes! Yes!"

　　"If four go down and only one is left, then he whoever he may be,must go on and win alone?"

　　"Yes! Yes!" came forth with deep emphasis.