“Fellers we potted,” murmured Cousin. “They’ve hitched cords to ’em an’ are draggin’ ’em to the woods so’s no one’ll git their hair.”
From the Granville cabin a gun roared loudly; and an Indian, clawing at his bloody breast, shot up in the heart of a clump of bushes and pitched forward on his face.
“Lawdy! But the Englisher must ’a’ used ’bout a pint o’ buckshot!” exclaimed Cousin admiringly. “Pretty smart, too! He traced the cord back to where th’ Injun was haulin’ on it, an’ trusted to his medicine to make the spreadin’ buckshot fetch somethin’. Wish he had smoothbores an’ a few pounds o’ shot!”
Yells of rage and a furious volley against the two cabins evidenced how the enemy viewed the Englishman’s success. Again the smoothbore roared and a handful of balls scoured another thicket. A warrior leaped from cover and started to run to the woods. Cousin shot him off his feet before he could make a rod.
Our admiration for the smoothbore and its wholesale tactics was beyond expression. The Indians, also, thoroughly appreciated its efficacy, and there was a general backward movement toward the woods. No savage showed himself except for a flash of bronze leg, or the flutter of a hand, too transient for even Cousin to take advantage of. The Englishman fired again, but flushed no game.
“We oughter be goin’,” Cousin mused. “But the ridge behind us is still alive with ’em. Reckon we must wait till it gits dark.”
“Wait till night? Oh, I can’t do that!” I cried.
“Your gal may be skeered to death, but she ain’t been hurt any yet,” he encouraged. “She’s safe till they git her back to the towns. Black Hoof is too smart to hurt her now. If he gits into a tight corner afore he reaches the Ohio he’ll need her to buy an open path with. She ain’t in no danger s’long as he wants her on hand to swap if the settlers git him penned.”
“No danger? And in the hands of that damned renegade!”
“Catahecassa is boss o’ that band. Ward was only a spy. They may burn your gal when they git back on the Scioto where every one can enjoy it. But she won’t be hurt any this side o’ the Ohio. Our first job is to git clear o’ this cabin an’ valley. Then we must head those dogs off an’ do the next job right.”