“When you have lived as long as I,” said Mr. Gray quietly, “you will understand that there isn’t any such thing as ‘luck’ or ‘chance’ or ‘coincidence.’ It is all a part of a Great Purpose, that is deeper than most of us can see; but it is there, and we do not have to depend on ‘chance’ to get out of difficulties. If we believed in ourselves, and do our honest best for ourselves, help will come as we need it. Toosa, perhaps, was worried about you and so his intuition was keen and he felt that he should follow you.”
“I guess you are right,” Tom admitted. “Anyway, Toosa got there in time to stop the Indians from running away, after they divided our packs and while they were hoping we would die so they could get our gun and pistols and cartridges.”
“What did Toosa do?” asked Cliff.
“He threatened he would revenge himself if they hurt you, Bill has told us,” Nicky added.
“He had his vengeance, but in a curious way,” Tom said, glancing at Bill, as if for his backing-up of the story. Bill nodded encouragement and Tom continued:
“Toosa called the Indians back and they came, slinking and cowering, like whipped dogs. I don’t know yet what there was about him that scared them so, but he certainly ruled them by fear. He called them to him and then he made them stand there while he looked them steadily in the eye. Bill, the Indian he had with him was close to you, what did he tell you Toosa said in their own language?”
“Toosa said, ‘Which you like best, to eat rest of “fruit of earth” with roast wild pig, or have mountain spirits follow you and drive you into chasm?’” Bill related it with a reminiscent grin.
“They picked the wild pig and the poison mushrooms,” Nicky guessed. “I know that much about these Central American Indians.”
“We urged Toosa to be easy on them,” Tom said. “But he said it must be a lesson, and he made them go through with it.”
“What happened?” asked Cliff.