“Yonder it lies this minute. Strange that they did not steal that also. I will go and recover it.”
He paused ere he had passed out from among the trees, for the very fact that the rifle lay there undisturbed, sent a suspicious pang through him. It seemed probable that such an occurrence could be a mere accident. A true Indian, rarely, if ever, committed such an oversight. The rifle was magnificently mounted and would have been a prize to any one.
There was another matter, which in Smith’s state of mind excited suspicion and apprehension. He believed the gun did not lie on the precise spot where he had thrown it. He recollected that he had flung it with such force that it must have gone very nearly to the edge of the beach, whereas it now lay either on the very spot that he had passed over, or a few feet on the opposite side.
This circumstance, which at any other time, would have attracted no attention at all, caused our hero much uneasiness. He felt that it was by no means certain that every thing was right upon the island, although it had just been proven, that their enemies had left it. It looked to him as though a trap had been laid to ensnare him, and this rifle of his, lying but a few yards distant was the bait.
Feeling very well convinced that there was some design in the presence of the rifle, he set himself to work to discover the precise means by which it was intended to entrap him. There being no Indians on the island, of course he ran no risk of being taken prisoner, in case he ventured out to secure the weapon. The distance from this point to either shore was so slight, that it would have been the easiest matter in the world for a concealed savage to pick him off.
Ah! the flat-boat! Smith’s heart leaped at the thought. Strange that it had not occurred to him before. There it lay just as it had during the night, save, perhaps, that it had sunk a few inches lower. It was upon that he had seen the heads of several Indians, and there, in all probability, they still lay in wait, watching for his reappearance.
What reason had the Indians to suppose that Smith would again return to the island. The best of reasons. He had shown to them a desire to do so, and as long as he believed that his friends were there, the savages well knew he would linger in the vicinity. Once upon the island he would not fail to recover his gun, provided he believed he incurred no additional danger in doing so.
That, then, was the solution of the question. Taking all matters into consideration, Smith came to the conclusion that it was their desire to take him prisoner, instead of shooting him, deeming most probably, the latter death far too comfortable a mode for him to use of getting out of the world. He knew enough of the bloodthirsty savages to understand what a terrible fate would be his, in case he fell into their hands. They would take a fearful vengeance, for the Indian he had killed in self-defence. Well, indeed had it been for the elder Smith, that he was so speedily slain. It brought him a quick death, instead of a lingering torture.
These reflections, which we recorded at some length occupied but a few seconds. He saw everything with a hunter’s eye and with a shake of the head, stepped back a pace or two, and resumed his position beside the Irishman and hunter.
“What’s the matter?” asked the latter.