Three Young Pioneers Part 11

"But what shall we do now?" Matthew asked. "We cannot stay here all night."

"That is true," Fred answered; "we must be going; but first let us thank the Lord for His goodness. Without Him we can do nothing. It is He who hitherto has helped us, and may He bring Agnes back to us."

After a brief pause in which both thanked the Lord, they departed, Fred carrying the musket, while Matthew held on to the knife.

Silently they crept up the high bank of the river through the deep brushwood, until they could see the Indian camp. But though they looked hard, the Indians were gone.

"What is the matter?" Matthew asked, as he looked at Fred with deep concern in his eyes. "I see no Indians."

"Lie low," Fred admonished him, "and follow me."

The boys crept on, but the Indians were gone, not a trace could be found of them.

"Perhaps it is a trap," Matthew commented; "we must be careful."

Deeper and deeper they pierced the woods. Dawn came, and day light, and the boys were still walking, but not a trace of the Indians could be seen. They had disappeared completely.

"Well, if they don't bother us," Fred remarked, "we shall not bother them. We are angels of peace, and don't want war. So if they leave us alone, we are satisfied."

"I should say so," Matthew a.s.sented. "No war for me, if I can help it."

"Suppose we lie down here," Fred said after a while; "I am dead tired, and so are you. My head is spinning, and I cannot think clearly. 'He giveth His beloved sleep,' says the holy Word."

"You are right," Matthew responded; "nothing could be more welcome to me than a good bed at this time, though I am still hungry."

"If you are," Fred said, "have some more Indian meat; it is very good, although it is rather rare. But the Indians like it that way."

Matthew ate ravenously despite of the fact that the meat was only half done. But hunger is the best cook, as the proverb says, and he was not very fastidious. Anything would have tasted good to him just then.

"But don't eat it all," Fred admonished him; "we may need of it for dinner, though I hope that by that time we may have something better."

"I will mind your admonition," Matthew said smiling, as he plunged his teeth into the juicy bear meat.

Then they lay down and slept, as if they were at home and not in the Indian infested woods.

Yet they were safe, for the good Lord to whom they commended themselves before falling asleep, watched over them, better than they knew.

CHAPTER XI

BACK AGAIN AND AGNES

"Don't bother me," said Fred half awake; "it's not time for breakfast; just let me sleep a little more."

Matthew pinched his nose so that he could not breathe, and this brought Fred to his feet.

"Oh, I clean forgot!" he said laughing. "My, but that sleep was good!

What time of the day is it anyway? We must have slept all day."

They looked to the sky, though the huge trees were much in their way, and noticed that the sun was far in the west.

"We are great heroes," Fred said laughing; "we sleep while the enemy is around us. Let us go."

The boys were in high spirits, and thanked G.o.d heartily for having preserved them so wonderfully.

"Who knows what was going on around us while we slept?" Matthew reflected. "Perhaps the Indians were in our vicinity, and we were s.h.i.+elded from their view. We have much to be grateful for."

"If only I knew where Agnes is!" Fred said; "she is a bright girl, and if they don't take better care of her than they did of me, I fear that she will escape them. She is as spry as a squirrel."

"We must find her," Matthew urged eagerly; "but where shall we go? I must confess that I am completely bewildered. Why, even that sun has turned. Before it was in the west, and now it is in the north. What's happening to me?"

"You need some more bear's meat," Fred said; "you are starved. So let us first eat and then think."

After eating a little of the meat, they found themselves wonderfully refreshed. A little brook furnished them a cool, welcome drink, and with renewed spirits they set forth on their trip. They walked all day and long after the sun had set, they were still groping in the dark.

"This will never do," Matthew finally said; "we are getting nowhere."

"You are right," Fred answered; "as long as the sun was s.h.i.+ning, I knew the way, but now I am completely lost. We better lie down and sleep until it is day. Then we can see where we are."

They prayed still more fervently than they had done before, for their strength was exhausted and they were bewildered.

"If the Lord will not help us out of this," Matthew said, "we are completely lost."

"The greater the need, the nearer is G.o.d, indeed," Fred said; and after eating a little of the bear's meat, the boys lay down on the soft gra.s.s, creeping close to each other, for the nights were cool. They slept soundly until dawn, when Fred awoke and awakened his companion.

"Brother," he said; "listen, there are Indians in the neighborhood. I hear them. And now see, they are making a fire!"

The boys crept through the woods, and when they had reached the top of a low ridge, they saw the camp before them.

"It's the same band of Indians that burned down the log house," Fred suggested; "I recognize some of them."

"Then let's go, for it is not safe to be near them," Matthew urged. "I don't care to fall into their hands just now."

"The sun is rising," Fred said cheerfully, "and now we can again find our way through the woods. Here is the direction; we go east to the river."

They walked away swiftly, but they had not gone more than a few rods, when suddenly they saw two large dogs running after them.

"Shoot them," Matthew ordered his companion, "they look wild and hungry."

"Not by any means," Fred answered; "a shot in the woods will bring the whole Indian band on our tracks."

"But what shall we do?" Matthew asked.

"Run," Fred replied.

They ran as fast as they could, looking around occasionally to see whether they were followed by Indians, but only the dogs came after them, gaining a little more on them as the boys became weaker.