"I want to tell him of some plans Bevoir and Flat Nose have made. They wish to make trouble."
"Are they near here?"
"No, they are going away for the present. But they will be back, either in the winter or the spring."
Hector Bergerac was willing enough to go into the camp with Dave, and between them they dragged the fawn and the large deer to the spot. The fire was started up and some venison set to broiling, and of this the Frenchman partook liberally, proving that he was indeed half starved.
"You cannot be alone," he ventured, while eating. "Where are your companions?"
"They are off on a hunt, but will soon be here," answered Dave; and half an hour later Barringford and Henry put in an appearance. They were doubly astonished, first upon seeing Bergerac and then upon seeing the game. Their own luck had not been very good, and they only had a few birds and a beaver to their credit.
They listened with interest to what Bergerac had to tell, and when the Frenchman had warmed up he related the full particulars of how Bevoir, Valette, and Flat Nose had concocted the plan to loot the Morris"
pack-train, corroborating Glotte"s story in all details. He said that all the Frenchmen with Bevoir knew that it was nothing but an act of thievery, but that some of the Indians had looked upon it merely as the beginning of the new uprising against the English, an uprising which he considered had been started by Pontiac and those under the great chief.
"I am no longer for war," he concluded. "I wish only for peace, and I am sorry that I did not remain in the St. Lawrence territory. The war has cost me all that I possessed. It was not much, but it was enough. Now I must start over again."
"If you will do what is square, my father will be glad to deal with you, and he will pay you all your skins are worth," returned Dave. "But you must not play him false."
"He can trust me, take my word upon it," said Hector Bergerac. "I have thought it over, and I feel certain that French rule in this country is at an end. England is too strong for us. To fight longer would be like striking one"s head against a stone wall."
"Which shows that you have some sense," put in Barringford. "I must say I"m sick o" war too. Let us all go to huntin," I say, an" make money. If the French an" the English would unite, we"d have nothin" to fear from the redskins."
"But they will not unite, it is not in their nature. But if they will only keep the peace, it will help greatly," concluded Bergerac.
He was worn out from traveling and glad enough to remain with the others over night. He dressed his deer and said he would take the skin to the trading-post, and also such a part of the meat as he could readily carry.
"He probably means to turn over a new leaf," said Henry, after Bergerac had departed. "I hope he does."
"He seemed to be mighty anxious to see your uncle," put in Barringford.
"Well, if he can save Uncle James from serious trouble, I hope he does it."
"What a scoundrel Jean Bevoir is!" put in Dave. "Wouldn"t you think that, after all his upsettings, he would be content to rest and do what was right?"
"Some men are born that way, lad," said the old frontiersman. "It"s in their nature. He won"t stop bein" bad until he"s killed or dies a natural death; no two ways on"t."
"I think Jacques Valette must be about as bad."
"More "n likely--blackbirds generally flock together. But I don"t reckon that Valette is the schemer Bevoir is--he don"t keep sober enough."
"I"ve often wondered if it wasn"t Bevoir who robbed Valette that time."
ventured Dave. "I think he"d be equal to it."
"Like as not--or else Valette dropped his money on the trail an" never knew it."
CHAPTER XXIV
SOMETHING ABOUT SLAVES AND INDIAN CAPTIVES
Two days later found the young hunters and Barringford about forty miles further to the northwest of the trading-post, at one of the most beautiful spots it is possible to imagine.
To the westward was a small stream running silently through a wide stretch of prairie land, the banks covered with bushes and plants. To the eastward was the edge of the mighty forest, a few giant trees standing out picturesquely in the foreground. Under the trees lay the sprawling roots, covered in spots with light and dark green moss, as soft to tread upon as the richest velvet carpet. At one side of the camp was a small series of rocks, and from them gushed forth a spring of cold water, running over the rocks and into the tall gra.s.s out of sight.
The weather had remained perfect, and the last twenty-four hours had been productive of sport not to be despised. They had found a beaver dam and taken twelve beavers, and had also laid low two deer and a cougar, or panther. The last-named animal had been found asleep by Barringford, and a single bullet had dispatched it almost before the beast awakened.
"Thet"s what I call dead-easy huntin"," Barringford remarked when the panther was found to be dead. "No fight nor nuthin"."
"You won"t often surprise the game like that," replied Henry.
The two young pioneers had surveyed the panther with interest. The fur, even at this season of the year, was fairly good, and they had a.s.sisted Barringford in dressing it, and it now hung on a branch of the nearest tree.
"What a farm one could have here," declared Dave, as his eye roved over the stretch of prairie. "Not a single tree to cut down or stump to burn or drag out."
"And just look at the soil," came from Henry. "As black and rich as any I ever saw. A fellow could raise anything he wished without half trying."
"It is certainly beautiful ground," put in Barringford, who sat in the shade, smoking a red clay pipe with a reed stem. "An" some day you"ll see a plantation here true enough."
"How well the Indians could live, if they would only till this soil,"
continued Dave. "But you can"t get them to raise anything but a little maize and tobacco."
"They are natural-born hunters--just like I am," said Henry with a short laugh.
"Sam, shall we find that buffalo we"ve been talking about?"
The old frontiersman blew a long stream of smoke from his mouth ere replying. "Will it rain afore Sunday, Dave?" he drawled.
"What has that got to do with it?"
"Nuthin"; only you know as much about thet as I do about the buffalo. Ef he comes this way, we"ll git him, an" if he don"t, why, we won"t git him, thet"s all," and the old frontiersman continued his enjoyment of the pipe.
"You said buffaloes like such prairie ground as this," declared Henry.
"So they do, so they do; but most of the buffaloes thet war here air gone--either killed, or lit out to the westward. Ye see," went on the old hunter, "buffaloes air like elk--they need lots o" elbow-room. I"ve been told thet a young buffalo will travel fifty miles an" think nuthin" of it."
"I don"t think I want to try running down a young one then," answered Henry. "I"ll try an old one that can"t travel over three or four miles,"
and this caused a general laugh.
They had spent the entire morning on the edge of the prairie, keeping somewhat out of sight so as not to disturb any game that might appear. All had enjoyed an unusually hearty dinner, and were quite content to take it easy during the middle of the day. A faint breeze was blowing which was exceedingly pleasant, for the morning had been a trifle warm.
"I wonder what the folks are doing just now," mused Henry.
"I think I can tell you," answered Dave. "Your father and Rodney are getting ready to go back to the field to work, your mother is clearing off the table, and little Nell is playing with the twins. Perhaps they are wondering what we are doing at the trading-post, too."
"Them twins is what gits me," came from Barringford. "It"s mighty funny I can"t find out who they belong to, ain"t it?"