CHAPTER XXI
PRISONERS
"STEADY, Sandy!"
"But, Bob, must we just stand here, and let them take us prisoners?"asked the younger brother, in an agonized voice.
"We can do nothing to help ourselves just now," Bob went on, in asingularly calm tone, "because, you see, there are four of them; andeach man has a gun pointed at us. We must try to kill time, hoping thatBlue Jacket may bring us help in some way."
"Blue Jacket--where is he?" asked Sandy, wonderingly.
"I do not know," replied Bob. "He disappeared like a shadow. I thinkhe must have heard the breathing of these men as they came along, and,knowing that it was too late to cry out a warning to us, he just meltedaway, as is his habit."
"Will he desert us, then?" asked Sandy, with a trace of bitterness inhis voice.
"Impossible," answered his brother. "We ought to know Blue Jacketbetter than to think that of him. Forget all about him just now, andperhaps, if things come to the worst, he may show his hand."
"What for you say zat, young monsieur?" demanded the leering Lacroix."Haf you zen a compadre near by? Zen it vill not be good for him tocome back. Ve vill engage to make a prisoner of heem just as ve haf ofyou. Drop ze guns, both of you!"
Bob instantly obeyed. He would have resisted to the last gasp if therehad been any chance, however slight; but, when four guns were bearingon them, with the owners not more than ten feet away, it would havebeen foolhardy to refuse to carry out the order of the lawless Frenchtrapper.
Besides, he somehow fancied that the others would have preferred adefiant attitude on their part, since it would give them a reasonableexcuse to shoot.
Sandy, seeing that his brother had in this way acknowledged their caseto be apparently hopeless, also cast his faithful old musket from him.Seldom had it ever missed fire, and he was accustomed to depending onit when in sore need; but just then it could only invite the coming ofquick death, if he so much as tried to draw the hammer back.
The stalwart woodranger of course noted this unhappy manner of Sandy.It seemed to rather please him, since the shoe was now on the otherfoot, and he had the whip-hand of the young pioneers.
"Ze leetle cub, he not like eet ver' much," he chuckled. "But it is zefortunes of war, monsieur, and you must bend ze neck to ze sword. Vehaf you in ze hole and zis game eet ees in our hands. Now, tell me ifyou please, vat brings you up to zis country, so far avay from ze happycabin on ze Ohio, la belle river?"
Neither of the boys replied, Sandy because he was too angry to speak,and Bob on account of wanting to gather his wits first, beforecommitting himself. To tell these enemies about Kate would be weakeningtheir case. Should they escape from the clutches of the four Frenchmen,the chances were that Lacroix would warn Black Beaver that the brothersof his captive had come to rescue her and a trap might be laid intowhich they would fall.
"Ze astonishment of ze matter almost strike me dumb," continued theother, who seldom knew when to stop talking, once he started. "To zinkzat zese leetle boys of ze Eenglish should hide zemselves in zat sacredoak, and hear all zat was said at ze grand council! It ees marvel!It is superb! I am not agree in my mind whether ve ought to visit zepunishment on zere heads ourselves, Monsieur Larue, or take zem to zeIndians for to run ze gauntlet, and burn at ze stake!"
Sandy shook his head. It was as much as to tell the speaker that ifhe were carrying on this style of talk simply to frighten the twoundaunted lads, he might as well save his breath.
At this moment the other leader among the trappers took a turn in theconversation, which up to now had been monopolized by Lacroix.
"I haf von idea, Armand, my friend," he observed, looking very wise.
"Zat is ver' well; but suppose you share ze same wif us all!" Lacroixcried, as he pressed his cheek against the butt of his heavy gun, afterthe manner of a man who longed to pull trigger and do fell execution.
"You seem to think," Larue continued, "ze young cubs zey come avay upto zis far country just to climb in zat tree, and listen to ze greatPontiac talk. Parbleau! zat is all wrong, I assure you on my honor.Look back, my friend, and perhaps you vill remember zat when ve lodgedin ze great town of ze Senecas zere came into the same a young chiefwho bring wif heem a prisoner!"
Bob started, and bit his lips until the blood came. Without meaning todo the brothers a good turn Larue was about to make a disclosure thatwould do away with uncertainty concerning the whereabouts of the stolenKate.
"Oui, I remember ze same, ver' well," said Armand; "but what may zathaf to do wif our young friends here? Haf zey lost some one from zerefamily? Was zat girl belong to zem, I would like to know?"
Jacques Larue nodded his head violently.
"At ze time somezings seem to say to me zat somewhere haf I seen zepretty face of ze leetle one. Now I know. She is ze seester of zeArmstrong boys. From her home haf she been carry by ze young chief,who fancy her face, because he lose heem own seester not so long ago.And so, behold, do zese brave boys come all zis way to rescue ze Kate.Is it not grant? Alas! to zink zey fall themselves into ze power of zesavages, and be made to burn at ze stake. Zat is sad!"
He pretended to look mournful as he said this; but there was an oldscore to be settled between Jacques and the young pioneers, and Bob wasnot deceived in the least by this mockery of sympathy.
Back in those sparkling orbs he could see the wicked delight thatfilled the soul of Larue at this unexpected pleasure. For the momenteven the insult, put upon him by the great Pontiac in the presence ofscores of chiefs and warriors, was almost forgotten.
Nor was Armand Lacroix more to be depended on. He might, down in hisheart, feel something like admiration for the grit shown by the ladsin thus venturing into a hostile country in order to serve their lovedsister. That feeling, however, would be utterly superceded by his joyat having a chance to vent his evil spite upon the boy who had held himup at the muzzle of his gun, and made him a laughing stock for SimonKenton and his fellow borderers.
"Sacre! vat shall be done wiz zem?" demanded Lacroix, half lowering hislevelled rifle; for, since the boys had cast away their weapons, theycould hardly be deemed dangerous, especially since there were two mento each lad.
"It was a clever idea you haf, Armand, to come back to ze sacred oak,where ze Indians, you say, would nevaire interrupt us, for a talk. Onlyfor zat we would not haf ze pleasure of meeting our young friends. Youask what sall we do wif zem? Eef I haf my way, I say, turn zem looseand zen give each twenty paces to run, after wich we would fire. I hafdrive ze head of a nail at more zan zat."
"Ze idea heem not haf bad, Jacques; but, after all, what could equal zepleasure of turning zese two bold trailers over to ze Pottawottomieswif Pontiac. Zey know how to torture ze foe. Zey haf long experience.Eet is no business of ours how zey put ze prisoner to death; zey areour allies, and we cannot let escape zose who carry ze great secret ofze council."
Bob knew the character of these half-savage French trappers. Hebelieved they were on a par with the renegade white man whom he hadheard utter such bitter words at the council fire, and whom he fanciedmust be the notorious Simon Girty, himself. Had it been his own lifethat was in peril, Bob would have refused to make any sort of appeal tothe lawless trappers; but, for the sake of little Kate, he felt that hemust lower his pride to plead with them.
"Lacroix and Larue," he said, slowly, and with an earnestness in hismanner that chained their attention; "for myself I would scorn toplead; but, because of the poor child who is at this hour a prisoner inthe Iroquois village, I ask you to let us go free. Her poor mother'sheart is nearly broken, and if Kate never comes back, it will surelygive way. If you would only let us go, so that we might try to set herfree, we give you our solemn promise that we will deliver ourselves upto you again, if we survive, so that you can do what you will."
The two Frenchmen exchanged glances. They could not but be influencedby the brave words of the half-grown lad. At the same time, they hadtoo long led utterly wicked lives to allow themselves to be tempted to
do the right thing now.
"Listen to zat, would you, Larue?" said Armand, with a sneer. "Ze cubwants us to let him go free zis time. He even promises zat he will callheemself our prisoner at any time in ze future, eef he lives. It is tolaugh. I haf always believe ze bird in ze hand is much better zan twoin ze bush. How ees it, Jacques, shall we bow ze young monsieur andhees brother off ze premises, or turn zem over to ze savages, to runze gantlet, and afford much sport?"
"Our duty eet is plain, Armand," the second Frenchman remarked, with achuckle; "we dare not play double wif our allies. Zey would turn on usand poof! zat would be ze end of everyzing. No, it must be zat we makeze prisoner, and march ze cubs in to ze Iroquois town to be punished asspies."
"Oh!" said Sandy, unable to entirely keep quiet, with his pulsesbeating like a furious trip-hammer.
"Stand still, Sandy!" said Bob in a low tone, fearing that hisimpulsive brother was about to take desperate chances in leaping atthe four French trappers; "all may not yet be lost. Hold hard for justanother minute, I beg of you!"
Something in Bob's tone gave Sandy a new lease of life. It was asthough he had made a discovery that meant hope. And this was, indeed,what had happened, for, just five seconds before, Bob had seen a headsuddenly raised above the surrounding bushes; and even in the dulllight of the dying fire he believed that he had recognized the wellknown features of Pat O'Mara!
The Pioneer Boys on the Great Lakes; or, On the Trail of the Iroquois Page 24