CHAPTER VI
In the Cabin
Dick Dare was unable to break the hold of the man who had seized him. Hestruggled fiercely, but as the man was a giant in size, and very strong,he was thrown upon the ground and was utterly helpless. The man held theyouth without seemingly having to exert himself very greatly.
"Who are you?" pantingly asked Dick. "And why have you seized me?"
"My name is Gabe Gurley," was the reply. "I'm a loyalist, an' as I knowye have been runnin' frum ther Injuns, what are helpin' the British, yemust be a rebel, an' so I've grabbed ye, an'll hold ye till I fin' outabout ye."
"You had better let me go," said Dick sternly. "You have no right tohold me."
"Wal, I'm goin' to hold ye ennyhow. I'll jest bind yer arms, an' thenye'll come with me to my cabin."
The fellow then bound Dick's wrists together, with a piece of rope thathe produced from a pocket, after which he allowed him to rise, then hetook hold of his arm and conducted him through the woods a distance ofnearly a mile, when they reached a rude cabin that stood in the depthsof a thick growth of bushes and timber.
The fellow lighted a candle, and then Dick saw that his captor was aruffian in appearance, a huge giant of a fellow, who looked capable ofmurder, if he took a notion.
"He's a regular desperado," thought Dick.
The ruffian turned and surveyed his prisoner. "Humph," he gruntedpresently. "Ye're a youngster. Who are ye, ennyhow?"
Dick decided that it would be best to give a fictitious name, so he saidthat his name was Dick Fenton, and that he lived about one hundred milesto the northward and was on his way to visit relatives who lived aboutfifty or seventy-five miles farther south.
"You have made a mistake in making a prisoner of me," he said. "I wasrunning from the Indians, awhile before you stopped me, true, butanybody would run from a gang of Indians on the warpath."
"Yas, thet's so," was the reply. "But I guess I'll hold ye a while,ennyhow, till I fin' out whether ye are tellin' the truth or not."
"How long will that be?" asked Dick, with a sinking of the heart, for hedid not like the idea of being delayed from reaching General Greene withthe news that the patriot settlers were needing his help.
"I don' know. Ye'll stay here till I tell ye ye may go, ennyhow, so yemight as well make up your mind to thet."
"I don't see any sense in such a proceeding on your part," said Dick.
"Uv course ye don'," with a grin. "I wouldn't expect ye to. But I do,and here ye stay. In the mornin' I'll take a stroll an' see if I canfind out anythin' about ye, an' then we'll see about lettin' ye go."
He put a bar across the door, and then, pointing to a bunk in one cornerof the room said: "You can sleep there. I'll lay on a blanket on thefloor."
Dick knew it would do no good to argue with the ruffian, so he got intothe bunk, and lay down, after which Gurley blew out the light and laydown on a blanket, and was soon snoring.
Dick did not get to sleep. In fact, he began trying to get his handsfree, for he was eager to make his escape and go on his way to carry thenews to General Greene.
Gurley had tied his wrists so securely he could not get them free,however, and finally the youth gave up the attempt, and eventuallyslept.
Next morning Gurley cooked some corn cakes and potatoes for breakfast,and after he had eaten, he untied Dick's wrists and gave him some of thefood. Then he bound the youth's wrists again, but not so tightly asbefore, for the reason that Dick held his wrists in such a manner thathe could move them into a different position and the rope would beloosened somewhat.
An hour or so later Gurley said he was going away, and did not know howlong he would be gone. "As I can't fasten the door," he went on, "I willtie yer feet, an' then ye won't be able to git away while I'm gone."
He got another piece of rope and bound Dick's ankles, and then took hisdeparture.
As soon as he was sure that Gurley was gone, Dick began working at therope binding his wrists. If he could get his wrists free, the rope abouthis ankles could be quickly loosened.
He worked hard at the rope binding his wrists, but was unable to makemuch headway. The knots were tight, and the rope would not stretch. Hekept at it, however, and was pulling and tugging at a great rate, whenthere was a thump against the door, and it flew open and into the roomcame a huge timber wolf.
At sight of the animal, Dick's heart sank, and a feeling akin to feartook hold upon him. It was not pleasant to be lying there, bound handand foot, and a huge, hungry wolf sniffing about within a few feet ofhim.
Dick guessed that the wolf had been attracted by the smell of the foodGurley had cooked for breakfast, and that the animal was hungry wasevident by the way it nosed around for edibles, and snapped up severalsmall scraps of food that had fallen on the floor.
Then, presently the wolf approached the bunk, in which Dick was lying,and sniffed at him. Dick lay absolutely still, till he felt the animal'snose against his leg, and then, fearing he might be bitten, he gave hisleg a jerk, and yelled at the wolf: "Get out of here! Go away!"
The wolf was startled into a snarl of surprise and fright, and leapedbackward to the middle of the floor, where it stood, glaring at Dick,its eyes looking vicious indeed, its bared teeth showing.
Again Dick yelled at the animal, and moved his legs in a threateningmanner, and the wolf shrank back somewhat, but after a few moments noharm coming to him it began moving slowly forward, growling and showingits teeth.
Dick realized that he was in great danger, for the wolf was a bigfellow, indeed, and would have given the youth a good fight, even hadhis hands and feet been free. As it was, with both hands and feet tied,Dick felt that the chances were that he would be chewed up.
Closer and closer came the wolf, and although Dick kept yelling at him,and moving his legs as threateningly as possible, the animal would notretreat. Closer and closer he came, until his nose was within six inchesof the youth's body; then, as he seemed on the point of springing uponhim, Dick pushed out his arms suddenly, in an effort to frighten thewolf away. Instead, however, the wolf made a quick snap, and seized therope in its teeth. In some manner the teeth became fastened in the rope,and as the animal leaped backward, in alarm, Dick was pulled off thebunk, and came to the floor with a thump.
This frightened the animal still more, and he went clawing backwardacross the room, trying to get his teeth loose, and presently his teeth,being sharp, cut through the rope, weakening it so that Dick was able tosnap the remaining strands, and his arms were free.
The wolf, however, angered, again sprang at Dick, and the youth, beingunable to get out of the way owing to his feet being tied, seized astool that was at hand and struck at the wolf, causing the animal tostruggle back, with a snarl of rage.
Then ensued a battle such as is seldom seen--a youth with his anklesbound, fighting against a hungry wolf, his only weapon being a clumsystool.
Snarling, snapping, springing at the youth, the now infuriated animalkept at work, and Dick rolled over and over, now and then striking atthe wolf with the stool, hitting it too occasionally, but this seeminglyonly serving to make the animal the more fierce and angry.
It was indeed a fierce battle, and there was no telling how it wouldend, for the gaunt, hungry wolf was a very dangerous antagonist. ButDick fought on with desperate energy.
The Dare Boys with General Greene Page 6