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Page 51
So Cat-sha passed on, and bent his steps in the direction of the
sentinel who kept watch at the end of the trail. At first he was not
to be discovered, nor did he answer when challenged, and Cat-sha was
rapidly becoming both angry and surprised, when all at once he
stumbled, and almost fell over the prostrate form of him whom he
sought. The warrior was still unconscious, for the terrible blow that
felled him had been delivered but a few minutes before Cat-sha's
discovery of his condition.
At this state of affairs, the wily Seminole at once took an alarm. To
be sure, he reflected that the sentinel might have been struck by a
lightning-flash or seized with a sudden illness. Still he might have
also received a blow from the hand of an enemy, and the mere thought
that such might have gained access to the island, and even now be
lurking within its limits, made the chief hot with anger.
His first thought was for the safety of the prisoner; and leaving the
unconscious warrior where he lay, he hurried back to the hut he had
just left, determined to trust only the evidence of his own eyes as to
the condition of its occupant. Having after considerable delay
procured a torch, he entered the hut, where a single glance revealed
the startling truth. It was empty, and the severed bonds lying on the
ground, and the hole cut in the rear wall, at once told the whole
story. The prisoner of whom he had been so proud, the young white
chief for whose torture such elaborate preparations had been made, and
whom he had thought to be so safely secured, had escaped. He could not
have done so unaided; and who had thus boldly penetrated the very heart
of the village to save him? Such a thing was unheard of, and the
knowledge that it had been successfully accomplished so angered the
black-browed chief that he rushed from the hut in a terrible passion.
As he passed the warrior who stood guard at the entrance, and who was
still unconscious that anything had gone amiss, the angry chief struck
him a staggering blow in the face as a punishment for his negligence,
and then aroused the village.
While most of the angry and excited Seminoles searched the island and
the village itself, in hopes that the escaped captive would be found
somewhere in the vicinity of his late prison-house, Cat-sha followed
another plan. Hastily gathering together a small band of his best
warriors, he placed himself at their head, and they left the island by
the trail. This they followed at the top of their speed, hoping that,
had the fugitive and those who aided him taken it, they might be caught
before they reached the canoes at the head of the little lagoon. With
these went Chitta (the Snake), whose every instinct had by this time
become that of the outlaws whose fortunes he had joined, and who was
rapidly gaining the reputation of being the most cruel and vindictive
member of their band.
Although these pursuers exerted themselves to speed, they would have
made still greater efforts could they have known that those whom they
sought had passed that way but a quarter of an hour before, and were
even then delayed in their progress by the necessity of supporting, and
nearly carrying, him whom they had rescued.
As soon as the first excitement of escape had passed, R�n�'s swollen
ankles began to pain him so keenly that he found it almost impossible
to walk, and, when he and his three rescuers reached the place where
the rest of the party had remained, he sank to the ground with a groan.
They found the braves who had been left behind so impatient of their
long delay, and alarmed for their safety, that they had been about to
advance upon the village to learn, and if possible to avenge, the fate
that they feared had befallen them. These were overjoyed to see their
leader and his companions once more, and to learn of the successful
issue of their hazardous undertaking.
There was no time for the exchange of congratulations, and
Yah-chi-la-ne ordered the flight to be resumed with all haste, at the
same time directing two of the strongest warriors to support the almost
helpless R�n�. He himself, with E-chee, occupied the post of danger in
the rear; while Has-se kept as close as possible to his newly recovered
friend at the head of the little column.
The storm had by this time passed away, and their path was made easier
by the light of the full moon, that shone with the wonderful brightness
peculiar to southern latitudes from an unclouded sky. Although this
aided them, they knew that it also favored the pursuers, whom they felt
certain must ere this have started after them, and many an anxious
backward glance did Yah-chi-la-ne and E-chee cast over their shoulders
as they hastened onward.
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