the night was still, and the regular tramp of the indians sounded like the march of a file of soldiers, as they passed over the grass-covered earth. elwood listened, hardly daring to breathe, as the tread grew fainter, fainter, fainter still, then died out; then was revived by a sigh of the night air, and all was still.
the boy raised his eyes and looked upward. through the dark clouds drifting tumultuously across the sky he detected the glimmer of a star or two, and in that moment of deep solemnity a passage of the holy bible came to him.
"they wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in."
"hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted in them."
"when they cried unto the lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distress."
it came from his heart, and he repeated it over again.
how beautiful! how appropriate to the situation! the tears welled to his eyes, and his heart overflowed at the repeated remembrance of the all-merciful father, whose eye alone saw him and whose ear alone heard the thankfulness that would find expression.
he fell into a sweet reverie, from which he was awakened by a slight noise below. he leaned his head over the ledge and listened. all at once he heard a soft rush, and the next moment an indian was holding on to the edge of the tabular-like projection with one hand, while his other was outstretched and placed upon his body.
"is that you, shasta?"
"oogh! sh-e-asta!"
"all right! i am waiting for you."
the hand closed upon his right arm; he was lifted bodily as if he were an infant, and held in mid-air; and the next instant the pah utah dropped lightly to the earth, and the two stood upon their feet. the indian uttered an exclamation which seemed to be one of inquiry, and the boy made answer in this manner:
"i am ready for anything, shasta; lead the way."
instead of allowing him to walk, as elwood confidently expected, the pah utah flung him over his shoulder and then started on a long, loping trot up the path. his extraordinary agility and muscular power made the weight he carried of the same effect as if it were his rifle he was thus transporting.
this rapid progress continued but a few minutes, when he sunk into a walk—one of long strides, such as would have compelled the boy to a moderate run to equal. he could tell that he was going up quite an ascent, but toward what point it was impossible to tell. occasionally his hand or his foot struck the projecting rocks, and the rush of the wind now and then against his face told when they were passing through the more open space.
wonderful indeed was the skill of the pah utah, that in the dense darkness showed him, just where and just the outlay of strength that would land his young white friend upon the shelf of safety. equally extraordinary was the woodcraft that brought him back to the precise spot, and enabled him to thread his way through the impenetrable gloom with the surety of the mountain chamois, which bounds over the fastnesses of the alps at midday.
elwood was quiescent, for he know whose hand held him upon those brawny shoulders, and he felt that the moccasined foot which touched the earth so lightly was too sure to miss its hold, and the heart throbbing within that dusky bosom pulsated too powerfully with the common humanity of our nature ever to falter or hesitate in its work of love.
this singular means of progress was continued for the better part of an hour, when the indian paused and placed him gently on his feet. the sky, which had partially cleared, enabled him to see that they had emerged from the ridge of hills whose entrance had been so eventful to him, and they now stood in the open woods.
elwood brandon admitted to himself that the work of shasta was now finished, and he fully expected to be left alone in the forest to seek his way back to his friends; but if he thought so the pah utah certainly did not.
even in that moment the boy could not fail to notice that the indian's breathing could not be heard. not the slightest panting nor exhaustion from the tremendous exertion undergone!
shasta waited but a moment, and then gripping elwood by the wrist he began threading his way through the forest. as he did so, instead of allowing the youngster to walk by his side, he held his arm backward, so that to all intents and purposes the boy was following behind him, and yet at such an angle that their feet did not interfere with each other.
not once did either the pah utah or his dependent strike a tree. often did they graze the back, and brush through the limbs and undergrowth, but the uplifted arm of the indian parted asunder the obstructions, and opened the way, as does the snow plow of the locomotive to the engine that drives it forward and the train coming behind.
whether the marvelous vision of the pah utah penetrated the egyptian darkness or not, cannot be said. the veteran backwoodsman, as he strides through the midnight forest, seems to feel the presence of each tree-trunk as he approaches it, just as the fingers of pianists strike the piano keys with such bewildering certainty, without their once looking at them.
onward they pressed, elwood only now and then able to catch a glimpse of his faithful guide, who never vouchsafed a word or exclamation for his benefit. there was no need of it. both fully understood each other, and the boy did not attempt to divert the attention which was so needed, at the present time, for the work before him.
finally shasta seemed to hesitate—not the hesitation of doubt and uncertainty, but as if he had neared if not reached his destination, and had slackened his pace that he might not pass the exact point.
he was not long in finding the proper spot, and elwood could see that he was stooping down and busy at something. while he was closely scrutinizing him, he suddenly became aware that they stood beside the river, and the pah utah was engaged with his canoe. it occupied him but a moment, when he turned around, lifted the boy over and laid him down upon the blanket which was spread over the bottom of the boat, the remainder was folded carefully around his body, and then the indian stood back, as if to command his young friend to go to sleep without any delay or questioning.
the boy had lain but a short time when he found the blanket so intolerably warm that he threw a portion from him. it was instantly and rather roughly replaced—evidence that shasta meant that his wishes should be obeyed. at any rate the boy thought so, and dared not repeat the act.
the great warmth of the blanket caused elwood to break out into a copious perspiration from head to foot, and caused him almost to gasp for breath; but when he seemed only to meditate on relieving himself of the superabundant clothing, the dusky watcher leaned forward to see whether he dared violate his implied commands. it looked very much as though the pah utah was acting as a physician to his youthful friend.
