CHAPTER I
THE ALARM BELL
"HARK! Bob, what can all that shouting mean?"
"I'm sure I don't know, Sandy."
"It comes from the other side of the settlement, doesn't it?"
"True enough, brother; for you see the wind carries the sounds; andthat is now in the west."
"Oh! I wonder what it can be; and if it means trouble for us, after allthese months of peace!"
The two Armstrong boys, Robert and Alexander, who usually went by theshorter names of Bob and Sandy, stood resting on their hoes whilelistening anxiously to the rapidly increasing clamor.
In the clearing close by stood the cabin of the Ohio settler, DavidArmstrong. The time was close to early fall, at a time when thestrained relations between England and her American colonies hadalmost reached the breaking-point. But away out here, far removed fromcivilization, the hardy pioneers were only concerned regarding possibleuprisings of the red men; and the widening of their fields, where cornmight be cultivated profitably, and tobacco grown.
Early in the preceding spring the Armstrong family, consisting ofDavid, his gentle wife, Mary, the two lads, now fifteen and sixteenyears of age, and a young sister named Kate, had left their Virginiahome to dare the unknown perils of the wilderness in the hope ofbettering their condition.[1]
During the long summer, now drawing to a close, the dozen or morefamilies constituting the little settlement on the bank of the Ohio hadbeen joined by a number of new arrivals, so that by degrees they formeda strong colony.
Some of the fears that had oppressed the more timid of the firstsettlers now began gradually to vanish, as they saw their numbersincreasing, with a corresponding addition to the fighting men of theborder post.
Daniel Boone had been an early friend of these Ohio settlers. He it waswho had really piloted them to this fair site for a town, on the hillwhich afforded a magnificent view up and down the beautiful river.
Taking the advice of the famous pioneer, a strong blockhouse had beenbuilt as soon as possible. This was completely surrounded by a highand stout palisade, behind which the defenders of the place might findshelter from the enemy in case of an attack.
Thus, even while peace seemed to be hovering over the section, thesecautious settlers were constantly prepared for any Indian uprising; andthere was even a code of signals arranged, whereby those most remotefrom the central station were to be warned in case of need.
Twice during the summer Daniel Boone had favored them with briefvisits, while on his way back and forth between the distant Virginiaplantations and his own settlement far down in the heart of Kentucky.
But Boone had little time for visiting that particular season. Whilethe Armstrongs and their neighbors were enjoying a comparativelypeaceful summer, the reverse was the rule around the settlementthat had been pushed far out on the frontier line and located atBoonesborough.
Enraged by the boldness of these pioneers, the Shawanees, aided by someof the Delawares, and even Cherokees, made desperate efforts to wipeout the gallant little bands that had been drawn to the outposts ofcivilization by the prospect of the rich land.
Rumors reached the Ohio settlers from time to time of the seriousdifficulties their fellow settlers were encountering. These served tokeep them on their guard, so that they did not fall into a false senseof security.
Whenever Bob and Sandy Armstrong went into the great forests to seekgame, or discover likely places where their traps might be set toadvantage in the approaching autumn, they were always warned beforeleaving home to keep constantly on the watch for Indians. If they metwith one or more red men they were never to fully trust any professionsof friendship, for the settlers of that day did not have a high opinionof an Indian's word.
These two lads were fairly well versed in the ways of woodsmen. Theyhad always been accustomed to roaming through the forest after game;and, besides, they had received many a hint concerning the secrets ofthe wilds from a genial Irish trapper, named Pat O'Mara.
This worthy was in a measure possessed of the same unrest that causedDaniel Boone to keep almost constantly on the move. In the caseof O'Mara, however, it was simply a desire to see new sights, andencounter novel perils, that caused him to wander through unknowncountries, rather than any keen longing to open up rich farming landsto civilization.
Occasionally the Irish trapper dropped in unexpectedly at the Armstrongcabin; but after a few days' rest his uneasy spirit would again causehim to disappear.
This very morning, while they worked in their little patch of ground,Bob and Sandy had been talking about their quaint Irish friend, andwondering where he might happen to be at that time, since they had notseen him for over a month.
When the new settlement was in its infancy the Armstrong boys, feelingthat conditions had changed, began to alter their dress. It was onething to be living in Virginia, not so very far from the sea coast; andquite another to be hundreds of miles inland, beyond the great chain ofmountains that served as a barrier between them and the oppressive taxcollectors of the king across the water.
The homespun woollen garments gave way to those which nearly allhunters and forest rangers of that day delighted in. Thus, while bothlads boasted of tanned buckskin tunics, and nether garments, fringedand ornamented with colored porcupine quills, besides real Indianmoccasins, after the manner of the attire worn by Daniel Boone, SimonKenton and the witty Irish trapper, Bob also owned a cap made ofcoonskin, with the tails dangling down behind; while his brother's wasfashioned from the cured skins of gray squirrels.
They had, of course, left the outer garments at the cabin when startingout, that morning, to accomplish a little hard work in the fields thathad been planted earlier in the season, for the day was quite warm.
Besides the sound of the ax, or it might be the crash of a fallingtree, there were not many loud noises heard as a rule about thesettlement. Sometimes a dog might give tongue as he chased after arabbit that had ventured too near the borders of the colony; again, aproud rooster, that had been carried so carefully over these hundredsof miles of rough country to his new home, would wake the echoes by hisclarion crow. It was a busy time for the settlers, and even the olderchildren were compelled to do their share of labor in these first fewmonths on the Ohio.
So it can be easily understood that, when the Armstrong lads heardthat constantly increasing series of loud shouts, they felt the bloodleaping through their veins both in curiosity and alarm.
Sandy, always impulsive, threw his clumsy hoe to the ground, and,jumping over to the adjacent tree, against which their flint-lockmuskets leaned, caught up his own weapon with trembling fingers. (Note1.)[A]
Bob was the more composed of the two, and it was his voice that nowrestrained his brother.
"Wait, Sandy," he said, "we are not so far off but that we can reachthe cabin quickly."
"But, listen to all that noise, Bob," returned the other, fingering hisgun eagerly. "Surely something has happened. Perhaps another tree hasfallen the wrong way, and this time done worse than what happened toour father."
The matter to which Sandy referred had been an unfortunate accidentwhereby David Armstrong had barely escaped with his life. A tree hewas chopping had by some means twisted around in falling, so that thesettler was caught under the heavy limbs. Only by what seemed a miraclehad his life been spared. As it was, he still had an arm in a sling,and was unable to keep up the work he had planned, so that a doubleduty devolved upon his sons.
"No, I don't think that can be the trouble," continued Bob, slowly."I heard no crash of a tree. Besides, I fear that there is a note ofalarm in the cries; it is as if men were answering each other. There!that time I could almost hear what was being shouted, only the breezechanged a second too soon."
"Could it be Daniel Boone who has come, or perhaps that young ranger,Simon Kenton, whom you and I liked so much when we saw him long ago?"suggested Sandy, with new eagerness; for, to tell the truth, he hadgreatly admired Kenton when the young friend of Colonel Boone v
isitedthe new settlement, and he secretly aspired to follow in his footsteps.
"No, I am afraid it cannot be that," Bob went on, soberly. "They mightshout in that case; but there would be joy, and not fear, expressed.Hark! there it rises again! You have keen hearing, Sandy; did you notmake out what our neighbor, Peleg Green, was calling then?"
Sandy turned a pale face toward his companion. These two boys hadbeen through numerous perils in common, and were possessed of a greatmeasure of courage; but, after all, they were only half-grown lads, andthe sudden coming of this unknown peril filled them with dread.
"I am not sure, Bob," he replied, with quivering lips; "but I believe Icould catch something that sounded like--_Indians_!"
His brother nodded his head at these words.
"I did not like to say so, for fear I might have been mistaken; but itsounded like that to me," he said, gravely.
Now it was Bob who dropped his hoe, and stooped to possess himself ofhis gun. Carefully he looked to see that the priming was in order,since everything always depended upon a small pinch of powder being inthe pan when the time for firing arrived. The flint never failed tostrike sparks; but, lacking powder, these would be of no avail.
"Had we not better run for the house?" suggested Sandy, glancing overacross the field toward the cabin, where the smoke arose from the claychimney, the whole forming a peaceful scene in the sunshine of thatlate summer morning.
"They have not heard the sounds yet, I think," said Bob, as he failedto note any signs of excitement around the log cabin; "and it wouldbe cruel to frighten mother, if there is no need. Let us wait a bitlonger, Sandy. We can easily cover that little distance if there isnecessity."
So the boys continued to stand there, gripping their guns, and waiting.Meanwhile it can be readily understood that both lads turned anxiouseyes in all directions.
"It seems to me the shouts are not so loud as before," said Bob,presently.
"That might be because the running men have reached their homes,"quickly remarked his brother.
"Perhaps we had better go to the cabin. We can say we came in for freshwater, if mother wonders at seeing us. After all it may amount tonothing;" but, hardly had Bob Armstrong completed this sentence, thana new sound came to their ears that sent them running like mad in thedirection of the humble home in the clearing.
High above all else came the harsh notes of the alarm bell that hadbeen hung in the blockhouse to give warning of sudden impending danger!
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See "The Pioneer Boys of the Ohio."
[A] The notes will be found at the end of the book.
The Pioneer Boys on the Great Lakes; or, On the Trail of the Iroquois Page 4