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Page 21
This, to R�n�'s surprise, flowed, though with an almost imperceptible
current, in the direction they were taking, or exactly opposite to that
of the river they had ascended from the salt-marshes of the east. As
Has-se had requested him to keep absolute silence, and on no account to
speak, he restrained his curiosity for the present, but determined to
seek an explanation of this phenomenon when an opportunity should offer.
He afterwards discovered that the river they had ascended, and that
they were now descending, both rose in the great swamp, and that their
headwaters were connected by navigable streams, but that while one
flowed east into the Atlantic, the other flowed west into the Gulf of
Mexico.
In thus deeming themselves undiscovered by those in advance of them,
the boys made an almost fatal mistake. The wily Cat-sha, accustomed to
look for danger behind every tree, and almost expecting to hear the
war-cry of his enemies in every breath of wind, knew better than to
leave open waters without looking behind as he did so. On this
occasion the quick glance thrown backward at the instant his canoe
entered the shadows of the cypresses detected the gleam of a paddle,
and he knew at once that he and Chitta were being followed, even as
they were following Micco and his people.
He said nothing until they were safely within the shadows, when he told
Chitta of his discovery. The latter advised going into hiding at once,
and awaiting the approach of their unknown pursuers; but the more
experienced Cat-sha said no, for if they had also been discovered, that
was exactly what they would be expected to do, and their pursuers would
exercise more than a usual amount of caution in approaching that point.
Once safely past it they would advance more boldly, thinking that their
own presence had been undetected. He therefore continued on down the
little stream for nearly a mile, until they reached a point where the
channel was so seriously obstructed by overhanging vines and stranded
driftwood that only a passage barely wide enough for a single canoe was
left open.
Here they drew their canoe from the water and carefully concealed it.
Then they took positions one on each side of the stream; and, hidden
behind screens of tangled vines, with arrows held ready to be fitted to
their bowstrings, they patiently awaited the coming of their unknown
pursuers.
Towards this well-planned trap, that seemed to insure their
destruction, R�n� and Has-se advanced, cautiously, to be sure, but
without a warning of what awaited them. At length they had approached
within a quarter of a mile of the ambush, and one would have said that
nothing could prevent their falling into it.
At this point Has-se whispered, "Keep wide open thy ears as well as thy
eyes, Ta-lah-lo-ko"; and R�n� answered also in a whisper,
"They are already so wide open that not the faintest hum of a gnat
escapes them. What's that?"
The sudden snapping of a twig by some bird or small animal caused them
to start, and listen for a moment with uplifted paddles. The canoe
thus left to itself, unguided, drifted aside, and hung for an instant
upon the upraised end of a sunken log. R�n� reached his hand down into
the water to push it clear of the obstruction, but suddenly withdrew it
with a suppressed cry of pain and fright. At the same moment a large
water-snake, of the kind known as a moccasin, glided away, and
disappeared beneath the slimy bank.
CHAPTER IX
A TRAP AVOIDED AND FRIENDS DISCOVERED
At R�n�'s cry, suppressed though it was Has-se turned quickly, and in
time to see the moccasin glide away through the water. He also noted
the spot of blood on his companion's finger, at which the latter was
gazing with a look of horror.
Without a word the young Indian sprang to R�n�'s side, drew the little
sharp-pointed dagger from its sheath, and firmly but deliberately
enlarged with it the minute wound made by the fangs of the snake, until
the blood flowed freely from it; then raising the hand to his own
mouth, he sucked all that was possible of the poisoned blood from the
wound, stopping several times during the operation to rinse his mouth
with water.
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