Campfire Girls' Lake Camp; or, Searching for New Adventures

by Irene Elliott Benson; Stella M. Francis

All stood silent and motionless for several minutes. The Sarah Constant had three such pieces on board, fitted for good service, and Smith repeated that if it was necessary to discharge one of them, the urgency was equally great for the firing of the remainder. Be that as it may, the straining ears heard no second report, though the listening was long, and was repeated at intervals for a couple of hours later.

Naturally, the certainty that there was grave trouble at Jamestown intensified the impatience of Smith and his friends to reach the place as soon as they could. If their help was not needed, he knew his was, and he could not get there too quickly; but the fates were against him for the time. The wind, which had been dying out ever since sunset, now wholly ceased, and the rising tide began to carry them back towards the Indian capital. The anchor was dropped, and thus the craft lay at rest, as it must remain for several hours, awaiting the turn of the tide or perchance a rising of the wind. Two men were placed on guard, and Smith and the others lay down to get such sleep as might come to them.

The calm lasted throughout the night, and when daylight came the surface of the James was as smooth as a summer millpond. The tide had turned, but moved so sluggishly that Captain Smith told his skipper to let the anchor remain for a few hours, all agreeing that the weather signs foretold a change at or before that time. They partook sparingly of the coarse bread which they had brought with them, adding several mouthfuls of cold fowl that the Captain had shot a few miles below the spot on their upward voyage.

His next words caused surprise. He intended to go to the southern shore with two of the men, to inquire into the signal fire that had first caught his eye the night before. He hoped to learn something of the trouble at Jamestown, though his chief hope was that he might find the way to obtain a quantity of corn, of which his countrymen stood in sore need. From what Smith had been told, he knew that a small Indian village was not far inland. There was reason to hope that through barter, or possibly, as a last resort, the display of force, the owners could be made to part with a goodly supply of food.

A number of gaudy trinkets, beads, ribbons, fanciful little knives and gewgaws were bundled up and put in the small boat, the three men took their places, with the Captain at the stern, while each of the others began to swing the oars in the fashion that has been common since time immemorial. They were old hands, and rowed in unison, while the craft headed toward the point which the Captain had pointed out before starting. In the hope that some of the warriors would show themselves, he keenly studied the shore, both above and below; but if there were any red men in the neighborhood, they took care that none should see them.

When the boat touched land the three stepped out, the two who had used the oars drawing the boat up the bank, and then awaited the orders of Captain Smith.

Each man had a knife, a musket, and ammunition. The guns were of what is known as the snaphaunce pattern, which took the place of the clumsy firelock during the previous century. The weapons were the old style flintlocks, heavy and cumbersome, but useful in the hands of those familiar with them.

It was but natural on the part of Captain John Smith to feel certain of his superiority in every respect over any and all of his associates. This included even marksmanship and skill in the use of fire arms. It was a common practice with him when engaging in a hunt to go away from his companions. If asked for his reason, he replied that their presence prevented his success; he could do much better when alone. As for them, it did not matter, since they could never hope to be his equal.

So it was that at the present time he told his friends to move off together, following the course of the stream, and never wandering so far in the woods that they could not easily make their way back to the water. If they met any Indians or made any important discovery they were to halloo at the top of their voices, and he would make haste to them and take charge of things. As for him, he would decide every question as it came up. It becomes necessary for us to give our attention to the two men, while we leave the doughty Captain for a time to himself.

The only sign of the recent presence of others on the spot was the heap of ashes left by the signal fire. This had been kindled within a few feet of the stream, where there was no vegetation to hide the rays. The trinkets which all hoped could be used for barter were left in the boat. Thus it will be seen that Smith did not mean that either he or his friends should go far from the spot.