CHAPTER X

THE CABIN THAT BRAVED THE FLOOD

THERE was nothing that mortal hand could do to ward off the impending peril that threatened to take the Armstrong cabin down the river, after those of the other settlers that had gone before.

That huge forest monarch was coming along with majestic power, borne on the swift current, and apparently headed straight for the half-submerged cabin that had made such a gallant fight against heavy odds.

"If it hits the cabin, there can be but one end!" Bob was forced to say aloud.

"But is there any chance at all that it may pass by without striking?" demanded Sandy, unconsciously gripping the sleeve of his brother's fringed hunting coat in his excitement, while his eyes were glued to the fearful object that was causing this new alarm in his heart.

"A small one; hardly enough to build on," replied Bob, soberly. "It all depends on the current right here. I noticed some time ago that it seems to make a sharp swerve away from the shore. Perhaps that may be just enough to send the tree on a new tack, and spare our cabin."

"Oh! I hope so; I hope so!" murmured Sandy.

"But we shall know the worst in another minute," declared Bob; "for it is coming along pretty fast now."

The two boys stood there, almost holding their breath in suspense, their eyes fixed on the object that held so much terror for them. Of course they would hate to see the dear old cabin go; but, after all, that was not what gave them the most concern. There was that little treasure box, that held the few valuables of their mother; and, besides, that precious belt, which meant more to the pioneer family than untold gold, as it spelled protection from Indian perils.

"There, it is at the point where the outward sweep begins; but will such a big object be influenced by so small a change in the current?" Bob was saying.

"I can begin to see a shaking of the branches that stand up, as if they felt a new hand at the helm!" declared Sandy.

"Yes, yes, that is so!" cried Bob, almost as keenly aroused as the excitable Sandy.

"It moves, Bob, it moves! I can see it begin to swerve! Oh! if the cabin were only fifty yards further down-stream, I do believe it would escape!"

"And it may yet. Wait and see!" answered Bob, watching the course of the tree with a critical eye.

"It is swinging around, so that the branches begin to turn toward the cabin. If anything strikes, it will not be the heavy butt, but the lighter end. Perhaps our home may be able to stand out against that sort of a blow."

"There! it's coming now!" cried Bob.

The scraping of the branches, as the tree swung around, was plainly heard. Sandy gave a gasp. He imagined that he saw the log structure start after the floating tree; but in this his fears magnified things, for it did not happen.

Instead, the cabin remained just where it had always stood, while the floating derelict of the flood passed on to its destiny.

"Hurrah!" exclaimed Bob, waving his cap enthusiastically.

For the moment poor Sandy was incapable of making a single sound. He trembled violently, gasping for breath, and could only give his brother a wan smile in exchange for his warm greeting; such was the nervous effect the crisis had upon the excitable lad.

But presently Sandy became himself, and was bubbling over with joy because fortune had been so kind to them.

"Oh! look!" he shouted a little later, "what can that be on the big log out yonder? It seems to me like a black bear."

"And that is just what it is," replied his brother, after a careful survey.

"Yes, as sure as anything, it must be, for I saw him move his head then," Sandy went on. "It makes me think of that panther in the tree that was floating down the river once, when we had our adventure with him. But how in the wide world do you suppose he came there; and why doesn't he swim ashore? Bears can swim, all right, Bob; isn't that so?"

"To be sure they can," replied the other; "but I imagine that bear must have been in a treetop, and changed his location to the log, as being better to his liking. He is pretty far out, you see, and perhaps the swift current scares the poor old fellow; so that he thinks he had better hug close to his craft, and let it carry him along where it will."

"Just to think how he takes that voyage into the unknown world without a single care," remarked Sandy; "and why should pioneers be afraid to accept the dangers of the wilderness boldly, when they are in force? Think of him getting ashore, hundreds of miles it may be from his starting place, which he will never see again. I suppose that is one of the ways different kinds of wild animals are given a start in new sections of the country."

"I have been told that by Daniel Boone, who has looked upon so many strange things in his day," Bob went on. "See, the bear is looking toward us now, as if he wonders what sort of creatures these two-legged things can be. But he is safe from our guns out there, and can keep on his ride in peace."

"Where is Mr. Armstrong?"

This question was asked by a neighbor, who had his small son by the arm; and Bob could not but notice that Mr. Wayne looked somewhat concerned.

"Over this way, sir, you will find him; I will show you where," Bob answered; and Sandy trailed along, too, as if he believed that the settler had some particular reason for wanting to see their father.

As Mr. Wayne was one of those who had been talking most vehemently about emigrating further west, Sandy chose to think that his mission now might have some bearing on that issue.

But it did not. On the contrary, both boys were astounded to hear what Mr. Wayne had to say, when presently he came upon their father.

"It was the boy who saw them," the settler started to say, as he glanced down at his son, about eight years of age, and rather a manly little fellow. "It was at the time we were all so excited last night that we missed him. I hunted wildly around, as perhaps you may remember; and when I began to fear he had been carried off in the river, I finally discovered him, standing there on the bank, watching the water by the light of the fires."

"Yes, I remember," remarked Mr. Armstrong, as the other paused for breath; "but you have something more to tell, because I do not see how this has any connection with my affairs, neighbor."

"Wait," the other went on, "and you will see whether it has or not. Only a little while ago my good wife called me to her, and said that Rufus had been making certain remarks about two strange men he saw, and that she thought he ought to repeat in my hearing. So I questioned the lad, and learned this. While he was standing by the water's edge last night, after you and your family had gone up to the blockhouse with all your possessions, Rufus saw two burly men, who were dressed like Kenton and Boone, he says, pass out to your cabin, Mr. Armstrong, and enter by the door!"

"Oh!" exclaimed Sandy, with his usual impulsiveness.

"Those terrible French trappers!" murmured Bob; "what could they want there?"

"They did not stay inside very long," the settler continued; "and then, after looking out in a queer way, as if they did not wish to be seen, he says they hastened to the bank, and went sneaking off, down-river way."

"But why did he not tell this before?" asked Mr. Armstrong, plainly disturbed by the news.

"Well, you see, he is only a child," the other went on; "and, in the excitement of the hour, it passed from his mind; or else he thought they might have been some of the men of the settlement whom he did not know. But it came back to him a little while ago, and he started talking about it in a way to attract the attention of his mother, who listened long enough to make sure that I should know. And so I have brought him here, that you might question him further if it so pleased you."

"I am afraid they must have been those scoundrels," said Mr. Armstrong; "but what could have induced them to take the chances they did in entering my cabin? I can only account for it in one way. They wanted that wampum belt which it is known my sons possess, and which entitles its possessor to the good-will of nearly every tribe of Indians between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi. That is why they have been hovering around here so long, waiting for a chance to search our home. And it came in a way they had perhaps never dreamed of."

"But surely the precious belt is safe with all your things in the blockhouse?" remarked Mr. Wayne.

"That is the worst of it," replied the other settler; "in our excitement we came away and forgot the little treasure box, which the good wife kept on a shelf above one of the windows. Besides a few valuables, which she would grieve to lose, it also holds that wampum belt of the great chief, Pontiac."

"In which case, the chances are that those rogues have discovered it, and carried it off with them," suggested Mr. Wayne.

"I am afraid so," answered Bob's father, disconsolately.

The two boys were chilled by the thought. After all, was the cabin to stand through the flood, and then a bitter disappointment await them when they entered the familiar room, in the hope that they would find safe the object of their solicitude?

They hurried back again to the bank, and looked out to where their half-submerged home still stood. Until they were able to reach the door, and pass within, neither of them could know peace again.

"Oh! will the old river ever go down again, so that we can reach the door and know the worst?" Sandy groaned as the afternoon wore slowly away, and the glowing sun sank toward the west that constantly lured his thoughts away from the region of the Ohio.

"But it is falling, and very fast now!" declared his brother, who had been examining the marks closely and eagerly.

"But what are a few inches, when we will have to wait until it goes down six or more feet?" grumbled Sandy; but nothing was to be gained by complaining, and finally the boys concluded to camp right there on the bank, where they could keep watch through the night, so that no one might pass out to the cabin without being seen in the light of the fire they would keep burning.

And this was what they did. One slept while the other stood sentry, always keeping an eye on the cabin.

The river went down very fast during the hours of darkness; and there came no fresh alarm to stir the tired souls from slumber. So another morning found them; and the first thing Sandy noticed was that the cabin stood free from the flood at last, though in the midst of a wrecked garden.

"We can enter now!" he exclaimed to his brother.

They took off their moccasins, and waded through the pools of mud that lay in place of the garden spot of a few days before.

It required considerable force to push open the door, because the water had swollen the wood; but by putting their shoulders to the task in unison the boys finally managed to swing it inward.

Then they entered, and looked around, holding their very breath in an agony of suspense. The cabin had several inches of mud on the floor, and its appearance would have struck dismay to the heart of the neat housewife, had she seen it just then. But Bob and Sandy were not thinking of this. They let their eyes roam all around the room, seeking a sign of the well-remembered little box in which their mother kept those small articles she prized; and which had also been the receptacle in which the wampum belt had last reposed.

But only blankness met their view.

The little box was surely gone; and if, as they suspected, those bold intruders had been the French trappers, Jacques and Henri, then it was apparent that finally the fortunes of war had placed them in possession of the article which they would prize more highly than almost anything else that could be found--the belt decorated with the little shells, and known as wampum, which was marked with the signet of the great war chief and sachem, Pontiac, and would protect its possessor against the fury of the confederated red men of the wilderness.