“That’s true enough,” said Crockett. “In the natural course of things he might get better mounts than you boys, and so cross the Injun country ahead of you. But,” with a quizzical look in his eye, “why let things take their natural course? That’s what the fellow does who picks out a shady place under a tree—he lets things take care of themselves. But that kind of proceeding never got any wood split. Interfering with the natural course of things is what we call work; and work is the thing that gets results.”
“But,” said Ned Chandler, “just how shall we go to work to win, in this matter, do you think?”
“Why not take a leaf from Huntley’s book?” suggested Crockett. “He had the right kind of a notion. He wanted to stop you from getting into Texas. So why not do the same thing for him—only in another way?”
“Good!” Walter Jordan slapped Ned upon the back with a force that made that young gentleman cough. “That’s it. We’ll carry the war into Africa, and give Davidge, Huntley and Co. a dose of their own medicine.”
CHAPTER VI
BEAR HUNTING
Gradually it became known throughout the “Mediterranean” that the celebrated Davy Crockett was on board, and it was seldom, from then on, that the genial backwoodsman was not at the center of a knot of laughing friends, old and new, who listened to his stories and jokes, and encouraged him to give them more of the same kind.
But, one evening, as he sat out upon the deck with Walter Jordan and Ned Chandler near by, the planter, Mr. Burr, induced him to tell of one of his hunting exploits.
“Give us a bear hunting story, colonel,” suggested the planter. “It’s been a long time since I heard you tell one.”
Crockett shook his head.
“There’ll come a time, and it’s mighty near at hand,” said he, “when bear stories in this part of the world will be few enough. The bear is going fast, and I reckon he’ll sing his death song, in Tennessee anyhow, in the next ten years.”