Jim and Paul, who, as usual, filled the role of housekeepers, took great delight in fitting up this forest home, which the fittingly called "The Alcove." The floor of solid stone was almost smooth, and with the aid of other heavy stones they broke off all projections, until one could walk over it in the dark in perfect comfort. They hung the walls with skins of deer which they killed in the adjacent woods, and these walls furnished many nooks and crannies for the storing of necessities. They also, with much hard effort, brought many loads of firewood, which Long Jim was to use for his cooking. He built his little fireplace of stones so near the mouth of "The Alcove" that the smoke would pa.s.s out and be lost in the thick forest all about. If the wind happened to be blowing toward the inside of the cave, the smoke, of course, would come in on them all, but Jim would not be cooking then.

Nor did their operations cease until they had supplied "The Alcove"

plentifully with food, chiefly jerked deer meat, although there was no way in which they could store water, and for that they had to take their chances. But their success, the product of skill and everlasting caution, was really remarkable. Three times they were trapped within a few miles of "The Alcove," but the pursuers invariably went astray on the hard, rocky ground, and the pursued would also take the precaution to swim down the creek before climbing up to "The Alcove." n.o.body could follow a trail in the face of such difficulties.

It was Henry and Shif'less Sol who were followed the second time, but they easily shook off their pursuers as the twilight was coming, half waded, half swam down the creek, and climbed up to "The Alcove," where the others were waiting for them with cooked food and clear cold water.

When they had eaten and were refreshed, Shif'less Sol sat at the mouth of "The Alcove," where a pleasant breeze entered, despite the foliage that hid the entrance. The shiftless one was in an especially happy mood.

"It's a pow'ful comf'table feelin'," he said, "to set up in a nice safe place like this, an' feel that the woods is full o' ragin' heathen, seekin' to devour you, and wonderin' whar you've gone to. Thar's a heap in knowin' how to pick your home. I've thought more than once 'bout that old town, Troy, that Paul tells us 'bout, an' I've 'bout made up my mind that it wuzn't destroyed 'cause Helen eat too many golden apples, but 'cause old King Prime, or whoever built the place, put it down in a plain. That wuz sh.o.r.e a pow'ful foolish thing. Now, ef he'd built it on a mountain, with a steep fall-off on every side, thar wouldn't hev been enough Greeks in all the earth to take it, considerin' the miserable weepins they used in them times. Why, Hector could hev set tight on the walls, laughin' at 'em, 'stead o' goin' out in the plain an' gittin'

killed by A-killus, fur which I've always been sorry."

"It's 'cause people nowadays have more sense than they did in them ancient times that Paul tells about," said Long Jim. "Now, thar wuz 'Lyssus, ten or twelve years gittin' home from Troy. Allus runnin'

his ship on the rocks, hoppin' into trouble with four-legged giants, one-eyed women, an' sech like. Why didn't he walk home through the woods, killin' game on the way, an' hevin' the best time he ever knowed?

Then thar wuz the keerlessness of A-killus' ma, dippin' him in that river so no arrow could enter him, but holdin' him by the heel an'

keepin' it out o' the water, which caused his death the very first time Paris shot it off with his little bow an' arrer. Why didn't she hev sense enough to let the heel go under, too. She could hev dragged it out in two seconds an' no harm done 'ceptin', perhaps, a little more yellin'

on the part of A-killus."

"I've always thought Paul hez got mixed 'bout that Paris story," said Tom Ross. "I used to think Paris was the name uv a town, not a man, an'

I'm beginnin' to think so ag'in, sence I've been in the East, 'cause I know now that's whar the French come from."

"But Paris was the name of a man," persisted Paul. "Maybe the French named their capital after the Paris of the Trojan wars."

"Then they showed mighty poor jedgment," said Shif'less Sol. "Ef I'd named my capital after any them old fellers, I'd have called it Hector."

"You can have danger enough when you're on the tops of hills," said Henry, who was sitting near the mouth of the cave. "Come here, you fellows, and see what's pa.s.sing down the lake."

They looked out, and in the moonlight saw six large war canoes being rowed slowly down the lake, which, though narrow, was quite long. Each canoe held about a dozen warriors, and Henry believed that one of them contained two white faces, evidently those of Braxton Wyatt and Walter Butler.

"Like ez not they've been lookin' fur us," said Tom Ross.

"Quite likely," said Henry, "and at the same time they may be engaged in some general movement. See, they will pa.s.s within fifty feet of the base of the cliff."

The five lay on the cave floor, looking through the vines and foliage, and they felt quite sure that they were in absolute security. The six long war canoes moved slowly. The moonlight came out more brightly, and flooded all the bronze faces of the Iroquois. Henry now saw that he was not mistaken, and that Braxton Wyatt and Walter Butler were really in the first boat. From the cover of the cliff he could have picked off either with a rifle bullet, and the temptation was powerful. But he knew that it would lead to an immediate siege, from which they might not escape, and which at least would check their activities and plans for a long time. Similar impulses flitted through the minds of the other four, but all kept still, although fingers flitted noiselessly along rifle stocks until they touched triggers.

The Iroquois war fleet moved slowly on, the two renegades never dreaming of the danger that had threatened them. An unusually bright ray of moonshine fell full upon Braxton Wyatt's face as he paused, and Henry's finger played with the trigger of his rifle. It was hard, very hard, to let such an opportunity go by, but it must be done.

The fleet moved steadily down the lake, the canoes keeping close together. They turned into mere dots upon the water, became smaller and smaller still, until they vanished in the darkness.

"I'm thinkin'," said Shif'less Sol, "that thar's some kind uv a movement on foot. While they may hev been lookin' fur us, it ain't likely that they'd send sixty warriors or so fur sech a purpose. I heard something three or four days ago from a hunter about an attack upon the Iroquois town of Oghwaga."

"It's most likely true," said Henry, "and it seems to me that it's our business to join that expedition. What do you fellows think?"

"Just as you do," they replied with unanimity.

"Then we leave this place and start in the morning," said Henry.

CHAPTER XVI. THE FIRST BLOW

Summer was now waning, the foliage was taking on its autumn hues, and Indian war parties still surged over the hills and mountains, but the five avoided them all. On one or two occasions they would have been willing to stop and fight, but they had bigger work on hand. They had received from others confirmation of the report that Long Jim had heard from the hunters, and they were quite sure that a strong force was advancing to strike the first blow in revenge for Wyoming. Curiously enough, this body was commanded by a fourth Butler, Colonel William Butler, and according to report it was large and its leaders capable.

When the avenging force lay at the Johnstown settlement on the Delaware, it was joined by the five. They were introduced to the colonel by the celebrated scout and hunter, Tini Murphy, whom they had met several times in the woods, and they were received warmly.

"I've heard of you," said Colonel Butler with much warmth, "both from hunters and scouts, and also from Adam Colfax. Two of you were to have been tomahawked by Queen Esther at Wyoming."

Henry indicated the two.

"What you saw at Wyoming is not likely to decrease your zeal against the Indians and their white allies," continued Colonel Butler.

"Anyone who was there," said Henry, "would feel all his life, the desire to punish those who did it."

"I think so, too, from all that I have heard," continued Colonel Butler.

"It is the business of you young men to keep ahead of our column and warn us of what lies before us. I believe you have volunteered for that duty."

The five looked over Colonel Butler's little army, which numbered only two hundred and fifty men, but they were all strong and brave, and it was the best force that could yet be sent to the hara.s.sed border.

It might, after all, strike a blow for Wyoming if it marched into no ambush, and Henry and his comrades were resolved to guard it from that greatest of all dangers.

When the little column moved from the Johnstown settlement, the five were far ahead, pa.s.sing through the woods, up the Susquehanna, toward the Indian villages that lay on its banks, though a great distance above Wyoming. The chief of these was Oghwaga, and, knowing that it was the destination of the little army, they were resolved to visit it, or at least come so near it that they could see what manner of place it was.

"If it's a big village," said Colonel Butler, "it will be too strong to attack, but it may be that most of the warriors are absent on expeditions."

They had obtained before starting very careful descriptions of the approaches to the village, and toward the close of an October evening they knew that they were near Oghwaga, the great base of the Iroquois supplies. They considered it very risky and unwise to approach in the daytime, and accordingly they lay in the woods until the dark should come.

The appearance of the wilderness had changed greatly in the three months since Wyoming. All the green was now gone, and it was tinted red and yellow and brown. The skies were a mellow blue, and there was a slight haze over the forest, but the air had the wonderful crispness and freshness of the American autumn. It inspired every one of the five with fresh zeal and energy, because they believed the first blow was about to be struck.

About ten o'clock at night they approached Oghwaga, and the reports of its importance were confirmed. They had not before seen an Indian village with so many signs of permanence. They pa.s.sed two or three orchards of apple and peach trees, and they saw other indications of cultivation like that of the white farmer.

"It ain't a bad-lookin' town," said Long Jim Hart. "But it'll look wuss," said Shif'less Sol, "onless they've laid an ambush somewhar.

I don't like to see houses an' sech like go up in fire an' smoke, but after what wuz done at Wyomin' an' all through that valley, burnin' is a light thing."

"We're bound to strike back with all our might," said Paul, who had the softest heart of them all.

"Now, I wonder who's in this here town," said Tom Ross. "Mebbe Timmendiquas an' Brant an' all them renegades."

"It may be so," said Henry. "This is their base and store of supplies.

Oh, if Colonel Butler were only here with all his men, what a rush we could make!"

So great was their eagerness that they crept closer to the village, pa.s.sing among some thick cl.u.s.ters of grapevines. Henry was in the lead, and he heard a sudden snarl. A large cur of the kind that infest Indian villages leaped straight at him.

The very suddenness of the attack saved Henry and his comrades from the consequences of an alarm. He dropped his rifle instinctively, and seized the dog by the throat with both hands. A bark following the snarl had risen to the animal's throat, but it was cut short there. The hands of the great youth pressed tighter and tighter, and the dog was lifted from the earth. The four stood quietly beside their comrade, knowing that no alarm would be made now.

The dog kicked convulsively, then hung without motion or noise. Henry cast the dead body aside, picked up his rifle, and then all five of them sank softly down in the shelter of the grapevines. About fifteen yards away an Indian warrior was walking cautiously along and looking among the vines. Evidently he had heard the snarl of the dog, and was seeking the cause. But it had been only a single sound, and he would not look far. Yet the hearts of the five beat a little faster as he prowled among the vines, and their nerves were tense for action should the need for it come.

The Indian, a Mohawk, came within ten yards of them, but he did not see the five figures among the vines, blending darkly with the dark growth, and presently, satisfied that the sound he had heard was of no importance, he walked in another direction, and pa.s.sed out of sight.

The five, not daunted at all by this living proof of risk, crept to the very edge of the cl.u.s.ters of grapevines, and looked upon an open s.p.a.ce, beyond which stood some houses made of wood; but their attention was centered upon a figure that stood in the open.