“Everything?”
“Everything.”
“Even horses and guns?”
He turned on me angrily, saying: “Everything; I have said it. A crow flew beside an eagle in contest of speed, and asked what it should receive if it conquered the king of birds. If you swim as stupidly as you ask questions, I am sorry I did not give you an old squaw for an adversary.”
We passed through the half-circle, which opened to make way for us. As I passed Nscho-Tschi she gave me a glance in which she bade me farewell forever. The Indians followed us, and settled down to watch the interesting spectacle which was about to begin.
CHAPTER XV.
A SWIM FOR FREEDOM.
I fully realized the extreme danger that I was in. No matter how fast I swam, or what curves I made, the chief’s tomahawk was sure to overtake me. There was but one hope, and that was in swimming under water, and fortunately I was not the bungler I had made Intschu-Tschuna think me. But I could not trust only to swimming under water, for I should have to come up to breathe, and when I did that the tomahawk would crash into my skull. No, I should not dare come to the surface, at least where the Indians could see me. How should I manage? It was with profound gratitude to God, on whom in my heart I was calling, that I saw that the surroundings were favorable to me. We stood on an open, sandy beach; the end where the woods began again was only a little over a hundred feet away from me, and just beyond that the river made a bend which promised well, and the other end of the strip of sand was a good four hundred feet down-stream. If I sprang into the water and did not come up again, they would naturally think I was drowned, and look for my body down the stream, while my plan was to swim under water in the opposite direction. There was one spot, not far up, where the river had cut under the bank, which hung over and made an excellent refuge for a short breathing-spell. Further on the bank was wooded to the edge, and an alluvial growth seemed to meet it, which would serve perfectly for the same purpose. But before the attempt was made cunning deception was necessary. Intschu-Tschuna took off all his clothes except his light Indian breeches, stuck the tomahawk into his belt, and said: “We are ready; jump in.”
“Will you let me first try how deep it is?” I asked.
A contemptuous smile passed over his face as he called for a spear. It was brought to me, and I stuck it down in the water. To my unspeakable delight it did not touch bottom; but I acted more woe-begone and scared than before, cowering down over the water, and dabbling my foot in it like one who fears a shock if the water should touch him suddenly. I heard a contemptuous murmur behind me, and Sam’s voice cried out: “For the love of Heaven, come back! I can’t look on at this. Let them torture us; it’s better than seeing such a figure of wretchedness before a man’s eyes.”