"Magic is magic," returned the old chief simply.
"Does it mean digging up the war hatchet?"
"White Buffalo cannot tell, for he is not in their secrets. But if the hatchet should be dug up--ha!"
White Buffalo stopped short, for the flap of one of the wigwams had opened and a tall Indian had stepped outside. The red man was naked to the waist and painted with rings and blotches of several colors. On his head he carried something of a crown of black feathers with bra.s.s ornaments dangling over each ear. As he came out, those around the fire set up a yell of welcome.
"Who is it?" questioned Dave, in a whisper.
"Pontiac, the great chief of the Ottawas," answered White Buffalo. And then he added hastily, as Pontiac threw up his arms and swept them around in a circle: "Let us go, let us not stay! It is not safe! Pontiac will make great magic! Let us go ere it is too late!"
CHAPTER XXVII
THE TRAIL OF PONTIAC
The fright of such a brave chief as White Buffalo may seem strange to my young readers, but it must be remembered that among the Indians the art of magic was considered the blackest art of all, and a magician was looked upon as something far out of the ordinary. The art was somewhat similar to that of the voodoos of the South, and the fakirs of India, and a real magician was looked up to and obeyed where a common medicine man would be ignored.
It is said, upon fairly good authority, that Pontiac belonged to the magicians of the Great Lakes. This has already been mentioned, but nothing has been said of how he practiced the black art. Much that was recorded has been lost, so some things can only be surmised. But his doings had a strong hold on all who came in contact with him, making his friends stick to him closer than ever, and causing many of his enemies to drop their antagonism and sue for peace.
"Don"t you get afraid of him, White Buffalo," whispered Barringford. "His magic is all humbug."
"No! no! it is true!" insisted the Indian chief. He caught Dave by the hand. "Come! If Dave is caught watching, he will surely lose his life!"
"I shall stay, if Sam stays," said the youth. "We"ll take good care that we are not discovered."
"You can go back to the others," went on Barringford. But at this White Buffalo demurred, and in the end remained to see the weird performance.
The dance of the magicians lasted fully a quarter of an hour. Then came a low chant, and a conference followed. Strange strings of beads were exchanged, and finally Pontiac made an address, in an Indian dialect of which neither Barringford nor Dave could understand a word.
White Buffalo listened to the address with keen interest. His first fright over, he was now fairly calm, and when Pontiac stopped and prepared to leave the village he pulled the others back to a place of safety.
"Pontiac will go away alone," he said. "White Buffalo follow on the trail.
Want his brothers Dave and Sam to come, too."
"Why?" asked the others, in a breath.
"Learn much. Maybe do the English great good. Pontiac is like a fox in wisdom. If the spell of magic is broken, Pontiac may fall as falls the mighty tree of the forest before the hurricane."
"I must say I don"t quite follow ye, Buffalo," came from Barringford.
"Where is Pontiac going?"
"To the woods, where the waters fall in the sunshine. White Buffalo thinks he knows the spot, but he is not sure."
"Why should we follow him?"
"White Buffalo cannot explain. There is much magic. Perhaps the coming of night will clear the mystery."
Both Dave and Barringford were much perplexed. Never before had White Buffalo acted in this manner, and it was easy to see that he was laboring under great excitement.
"We may as well do what White Buffalo says," came from Dave, after he had talked to the old frontiersman in private. "We"ll only lose a day or two by the operation and we are in no particular hurry to reach Will"s Creek."
"Very well, lad, I"ll go ye on"t," was the answer. "We may learn something of great importance to the English authorities."
White Buffalo had by this time joined those of his tribe who were with him.
His speech to his followers was as peculiar in its effects as had been the mysterious incantations of the magicians upon himself. Two voted to follow Pontiac, while the others said they would not do so under any circ.u.mstances. "The squaws can return to the trading-post," said the chief.
And thus were the others dismissed. A short while after this all were on the trail of Pontiac, who, contrary to expectations, had taken with him a young brave known by the extraordinary name of Foot-in-His-Mouth, a Wyandot famous for his accuracy at shooting. Foot-in-His-Mouth had often won prizes at target shooting, both among the Indians and the French, and he was called one of the best hunters in the Ohio valley. Both Pontiac and his escort were on horseback, and they rode so swiftly along the forest trail that the others had all they could do to keep close to them. White Buffalo led, and never once did he allow those he was following to suspect his presence. Whenever they slowed up so did he, and instead of pa.s.sing over an open s.p.a.ce he invariably rode around it, keeping his steed in the shelter of the trees and brushwood. "If he is simply going to his home on the Detroit River, we"ll have our ride for nothing," observed Dave, after six or eight miles had been covered.
"Oh, something is in the wind, you may be sure of that," returned Barringford. "The question is, what is it?"
It was growing dark when Pontiac and his companion came to the side of a fair-sized brook, rushing swiftly over some rough rocks. They pa.s.sed up this brook for a distance of several hundred feet and then took to the other side. Here there was a burnt spot covering half an acre, and Dave and the others noted the remains of a cabin.
"Somebuddy lived here once an" was wiped out," remarked the old frontiersman laconically. "Can"t tell who did it."
The falling of waters could now be plainly heard, and before long Pontiac and Foot-in-His-Mouth reached a beautiful waterfall, fifteen or eighteen feet in height. The fall was narrow and was lined upon either side with rugged rocks, overgrown with mosses and trailing vines. At the foot of the waterfall was a circular pool of great depth.
Pontiac and his companion came to a halt and, dismounting, tied their horses to trees near by. At once those who were following did the same, and all crawled forward with extreme caution to learn what would next take place.
For several minutes Pontiac stood talking earnestly to Foot-in-His-Mouth, and pointing to the waterfall. Then both climbed the rocks at the side of the fall until they could touch the water with their hands.
"Something is up now, that"s certain!" whispered Dave.
The words had just been uttered when a curious thing happened. With a quick movement Pontiac stepped through the waterfall and disappeared from sight!
"Well, I never!" murmured Dave. "Where did he go to?"
"Hush!" murmured Barringford. "Look!"
Foot-in-His-Mouth was gazing fixedly at the waterfall. He hesitated for fully a minute. Then, watching his chance, he dove into the waterfall as Pontiac had done and also disappeared.
White Buffalo looked at his white companions gravely. "Do my white brothers know what that means?" he asked.
"I think I do," answered Barringford. "There must be a cave back there, and the opening to it is through the waterfall."
"But how would they be able to find such a cave?" questioned Dave.
"In two ways, lad. There may be some other opening, and they may have discovered this opening when the waterfall had run dry."
"It must be a cave," came from White Buffalo. "And if it is, it is the cave Pontiac told about at the village of Ninalicmic."
"What did he say about it?"
"Pontiac told of planting guns in the ground. He said they would grow, and the Indians could one day pluck them and use them."
"Planting guns? I don"t understand."