THE ABODE OF INDIAN JOHN
The pursuit of Little Peter and Indian John was not long continued, nor was a single gun discharged; a fact for which the frightened lad was unable to account at the time, although on the following morning the cause for it was made clear.
Wearied though the lad was by his long journey, the shout of Benzeor had provided an impulse sufficiently strong to compel him to keep up with his companion, who was running swiftly toward the shelter of the woods which were not far away.
In a brief time the breathless fugitives gained its shelter, and then for the first time turned and glanced behind them. The men had turned back and now could be seen still standing by the roadside, near the place where Peter and the Indian had started across the lot. What they were doing could not be discovered; but, without waiting for further investigations, the flight was at once resumed, and, keeping well together, the lad and his companion ran swiftly forward, and soon the distance between them and the pine robbers had been still further increased.
The sunlight had now departed from the forest, and the dusk had settled over all. The air was close and oppressive, and Peter's dripping face betrayed the force of his recent exertions and the excitement under which he was laboring. Already the night birds had made their appearance, and here and there among the branches of the lofty trees the bats could be seen darting about in quest of their evening meal. The very silence served to increase the feeling of utter loneliness which swept over the weary, heartbroken lad, and for a moment it almost seemed to him as if any further efforts on his part were as useless as they were difficult. Benzeor's anger promised little good for the children who had been left in his home, and fears for his little brothers and sisters were mingled in Little Peter's mind with the consciousness of his own weariness and the thought of his own forlorn condition.
Difficult as the problem doubtless was, he knew he must not give way to it, and when Indian John indicated in a few moments that the time had come when they must go on, the lad resolutely again turned to follow him, although he had not the slightest conception of the plan which was in his companion's mind.
Carefully they walked on through the increasing gloom, and within a half hour Little Peter heard the sounds of a running brook in the distance. He instantly recognized the locality, for many a time had he and Tom in the springtime followed the course of the "run," as the people of Old Monmouth called the stream, and the strings of fish which they had brought home with them had borne ample witness to the success which had crowned their efforts.
But none of these things were in Little Peter's mind as he followed Indian John, who had now turned and was proceeding along the bank and making his way up the stream. As they walked on, the sound of a waterfall began to be more and more distinctly heard, and soon they came out into a place from which, in the deepening gloom, the falling waters could be seen. Into the basin which had been formed by the sharp fall of the stream, a tall, large tree had fallen years before this time. Its broken roots had torn up the earth, and now stood like a barrier on the bank, and Indian John led the way directly toward this spot.
As they approached, Peter discovered a hole in the rocks, but he was not prepared for the action of his companion; for, without a word, the Indian dropped upon his hands and knees and crawled into the entrance and speedily disappeared from sight.
Hesitating only a moment, Little Peter soon followed his companion, and after crawling along on his hands and knees for a number of yards, suddenly beheld a large, open space directly before him. Indian John had provided a light by this time, for he had been willing to follow the customs of his more civilized neighbors to the extent of making use of candles, and as Peter arose and glanced about him, he knew at once that he was in the cave which it was reported was the abode of the red man.