Then he turned and strode away, never giving any of the others so much as a single look, for they were nothing to the young Shawanee warrior, and, if ever he met any of them again, it would probably be with weapons in his hands, and hatred for the mortal enemies of his race in his Indian heart.
Neither of the boys ever saw Blue Jacket again, since their life trails parted there on the flowery bank of the beautiful Ohio. Destiny led them into the wilderness, to help clear a path for advancing civilization; while the same power took Blue Jacket back into the villages of his people, to carry out the scheme in life to which he was appointed.
For a full hour after he had gone Sandy sat there, looking out upon the river as the heavy craft glided steadily on its way, saying not a word to any one.
Then all at once he called aloud:
“Oh! there’s a man down on that point below, and a white man, too! He seems to be in trouble, for he beckons to us all the while, and yet seems afraid to shout out. Perhaps he’s escaped from the Indians who tried to catch us napping last night. It looks to me as if he wanted us to push in, and take him aboard.”
Instantly every one rushed to that side of the boat to look. And, sure enough, there stood a white man, waving his hands to them in a most beseeching manner. His whole appearance would indicate that he had suffered all sorts of recent privations and was both hungry and desperate.
“Shall we push in closer?” asked Mr. Wayne, who knew less about Indian trickery than any one of the other men of the party.
“Not a foot!” declared Mr. Armstrong; “and every one keep low behind the shelter of the sides; for, by my faith, I fancy, even now, that I can see dusky figures gliding along back there among those trees.”
The man, as they came opposite, commenced to run along the edge of the shore, and make more urgent gestures than before.