Chapter 42

IN WHICH PHIL CONDUCTS THE RAFT TO THE LANDING, AND MORGAN FIRES THE BIG GUN.

"Let him alone, Plunkett," said Morgan.

"He will throw his tomahawk at you," I added.

"I can shoot him," replied the coward, retreating backwards with more haste than dignity.

"If you do, I'll report you to Lieutenant Jackson," continued Morgan.

"I don't believe in leaving your work to be done over again," growled Plunkett. "What's to prevent this Indian from killing some of us, when he gets a chance?"

"We are not Indians, and we don't kill the wounded," replied Morgan. "Come along; we are fooling away our time."

We went up to Mr. Gracewood's house, and entered it. The Indians had been there before us. In the middle of the floor was a pile of goods, which they had intended to carry down to the boat. They had done no injury to the building, though they would doubtless have burned it if we had not disturbed them. The gun for which we had come was in the rear chamber, limbered up and ready for use. The recluse of the island had brought it as a weapon of defence. It could be discharged from any door or window; and, loaded with canister and fired into an invading horde of savages, it would produce fearful havoc among them.

I attached a rope to the carriage, and we rolled it out of the house. When I realized how heavy it was, my confidence in my ability to convey it to the main shore was a little shaken. However, it was down hill all the way to the point where we had landed, and we had no difficulty in moving it so far; but we had to return a second time for the ammunition.

"Here we are," said Plunkett, "and here we are likely to be, unless we go over without the gun. It won't swim over there."

"Of course it won't," I replied, impatiently; "but we are going to take it over there. Now we must make a raft."

"A raft!" exclaimed the croaker. "The lieutenant ought to have sent a whole section over here."

"That's the idea! We can make a raft in less than an hour. There is no end of logs here," added Morgan, glancing along the shore, where there were plenty of sticks of timber, of all sorts and sizes.

Plunkett growled; but he assisted Morgan, who went to work in earnest. While they were rolling the logs to a convenient position in the water, I went back to the house. Mr. Gracewood had a wheelbarrow. I broke up some large boxes, and wheeled the boards, with a supply of nails, down to the river. By this time the soldiers had placed half a dozen logs, from fifteen to twenty feet long, in the water, side by side. They had been obliged to use the axes a little, but generally the sticks had been deprived of their branches by being tossed about on the shore. The boards I had brought were nailed across them, so as to hold them together.

Above this foundation shorter and dryer sticks, from the woods, were placed crosswise, and while my companions were laying them down I returned to the house with the wheelbarrow. I could take only a small portion of the ammunition at a load, and I repeated the journey several times before the raft was finished. I did not bring the whole of it, but I thought I had enough to kill all the Indians within twenty miles of the Castle.

The raft was built up a foot above the water, so as to furnish the necessary floating power, and the parts were securely bound together with board battens. We rolled the gun upon the structure, and were delighted to find that everything was a perfect success. We placed logs on each side of the wheels, and lashed the carriage down to the raft. Loading the ammunition, which I had put into several boxes in order to trim the raft, we pushed it off from the shore.

"Now we are all ready," said Morgan, as he leaped into the boat, with the rope attached to the raft in his hand.

"What is to be done with that Indian up by the house?" asked Plunkett.

"Nothing," replied Morgan.

"Don't you think it is more humane to kill him than to let him starve to death?"

"He won't starve to death," I added. "He will crawl up to Mr. Gracewood's house, where there is enough to feed an army for a short time."

"Don't you suppose the two Indians that escaped are watching us now?" asked Morgan.

"Very likely they are."

"And as soon as we are gone, they will come back."

"We can't help it," I answered.

"They will burn the house, and destroy that Chickering's grand piano."

"It would break Mr. Gracewood's heart to have that destroyed, for it was his best friend for years; but I don't see that we can do anything to preserve it. We might save some of his property."

"I think we ought to do so," added Morgan. "It will not delay us fifteen minutes."

We decided to do so; and, fastening the rope attached to the raft to a tree, we hastened up to the house. Loading the wheelbarrow with the most valuable articles, and carrying as many as we could in our hands, we returned to the raft. Putting the goods into the boat, we were again ready for a start. The barge was so crowded with Mr. Gracewood's effects that the two soldiers decided to go on the raft, leaving me to row the boat, which was not a difficult task, down the river. The two men were provided with poles to assist in steering it, and getting it off from the shore.

"Push her off!" I shouted, when all was ready.

I pulled at the oars, and my companions on the raft tugged at the poles. We cleared the shore, and in a few minutes the action of the current gave us a good headway.

"We are all right. We could go down to St. Louis on this craft," said Morgan.

"We could, but I think we won't," I replied. "We must be sure and not let the current carry us beyond Fish River. If we do, we can never get back again."

Fortunately the current set towards the landing-place, which was our destination, and I pulled well towards the north shore.

"Indians!" shouted Plunkett, after we had gone a short distance.

"Where are they?" I asked, unable to see them.

"Just coming out from the north shore, above the island," replied Morgan.

Standing up in the barge, so that I could see over the gun on the raft, I discovered the dugout. It contained the two Indians who had escaped from the island. They were paddling towards us with all their might; and the soldiers picked up their muskets. I could not believe that the savages intended to attack us upon the open river, after the repeated defeats they had sustained; but I was convinced of my error when they opened fire upon us. However, they did not come near enough to render their own or our fire effectual.

"Phil, didn't I see some round shot among the ammunition you brought down?" called Morgan to me.

"Yes; I brought down a few cannon balls. I didn't know there were any there before," I replied.

"Do you happen to know where they are now?"

"I put them on the raft."

He and Plunkett overhauled the boxes, and found the shot. Morgan intended to use the gun, which would make short work of the enemy. The dugout had followed us at a safe distance till we were half way to the landing. The Indians had evidently come to the conclusion that they were wasting their powder, and were now paddling down nearer to the raft. It was a long time before the soldiers had the gun in condition for use, for they were obliged to alter the lashings, so that they could elevate or depress it, and we were within a quarter of a mile of our destination before it was ready. Although the Indians quickened their speed, they did not fire again, and I soon discovered that they were headed to the north shore.

"Hurry up, Morgan!" I shouted. "I see what they are going to do."

"What?"

"They are headed to the shore."

"I see they are," replied he, as he rammed home the shot.

"They are going into the woods to fire at us from behind the trees when we land," I answered.

"I'll soon block that game. Stand by the lock-string, Plunkett."

The dugout was now going at a right angle with the course of the raft, and was about sixty yards from the shore.

"Pull as hard as you can, Phil, so as to keep the raft steady!" called Morgan, as he sighted along the gun.

I applied all my strength to the oars.

"Out from the shore a little more, Phil," added the gunner, as he depressed the muzzle of the piece. "Fire!" shouted he.

I stood up in the barge to note the effect of the shot. A yell of dismay rose from the Indians, and I saw that the dugout was splintered in pieces. One side of it was broken in, and the savages, leaping into the water, swam for the shore.

"I have made one good shot to-day, any how," said Morgan.

"Didn't I fire that gun?" cried Plunkett.

"Yes, sir! You are the organ-blower that played the tune," replied Morgan, taking no pains to conceal his disgust.

"Mind the raft," I interposed, finding that it was swinging off from the shore.

I used the oars vigorously to counteract this tendency; but the soldiers could not reach bottom with their poles, and were unable to help me much. The raft was heavy and the current very strong. We were within a few rods of the Fish River.

"We shall be carried down the river, if we don't look out!" I called, anxiously.

"What shall we do? We can't reach bottom with the poles," replied Morgan.

"Clear away a long rope," I added. "When the current of Fish River strikes us, we shall be carried down in spite of all we can do, if we don't get a check on her."

"Here's your rope."

"Cast off the drag-line, and make fast to it."

Morgan did as I directed, and taking the line into the boat, I carried it to the point on the Fish opposite the landing. I succeeded in catching a turn around a tree. The rope strained, and I was obliged to ease it off to prevent it from snapping; but the raft was checked.

"We are all right now," said Morgan.

"Not quite," I replied. "If we let her go again, the current will carry it down the river."

I jumped into the barge, and pulled across the river, where I had plenty of rope in the shanty. I carried a line to the raft, and having made it fast, I conveyed the two soldiers to the shore. Crossing the river, I eased off the line which was secured to the tree, while the men on the other side pulled the raft up to the landing.

"That's very well done, Phil," said Morgan, after my return.

"Any fool could have done it," added Plunkett.

"Of course they could--you could have done it," retorted Morgan.

"It is just the plan I was going to propose----"

"But didn't."

I backed the wagon into the two trenches I had dug to load the flour, and rolling the gun upon the platform, where we also placed the ammunition, we started for the line of defence.