In the Wilds of Florida Part 5

"I guess though we'll soon put them to the right about," answered mine host. "Won't you step in and liquor?"

The officer excused himself, and having mentioned the spot where the volunteers were to rendezvous, he turned his horse and rode towards us.

We asked him what success he had had in obtaining recruits.

"Those living on the outskirts are willing enough," he said; "but some of those whose houses are near the river, and who believe that the Indians will not molest them, are less inclined to turn out."

As our new friend had to hurry on, we parted with him; but he promised to call at the judge's in the evening.

Wherever we went, we found people talking about the supposed approach of the Indians, though no one seemed to think there was much chance of their attacking the settlement. We hoped, on getting back, to find Rochford and Lejoillie; but they had not returned. Soon afterwards, Captain Norton came in, and the judge and Mrs. Shurtleff, by their kind reception, at once made him feel at home. He appeared to be much struck with my cousins, and I heard him observe to the judge's wife that he was not aware such charming young ladies were to be found in that part of the country. Rita was, at all events, well pleased to listen to his conversation, which was lively and sensible.

Late in the evening Lejoillie arrived, guided by a black whom he had engaged for the purpose. He had lost sight, he said, of Rochford, and though he had hunted about in every direction, he could not rejoin him.

He hoped, however, that he would before long find his way home.

Latterly we became somewhat uneasy at the non-appearance of our countryman. Could he possibly have fallen into the hands of Indians?

If so, anxious as he was to serve them, they, ignorant of this, would kill and scalp him as certainly as they would any other white man.

The night pa.s.sed on. The judge sent us to our sleeping-rooms, saying that he would have a watch kept to let our friend in, should he appear.

The captain had, I found, also sent out scouts, to prevent the risk of the settlement being surprised; and before he turned in, he rode round, to ascertain that they were on the alert.

CHAPTER FOUR.

ROCHFORD'S DISAPPEARANCE--ORGANISING A SEARCHING PARTY--MUSTER OF THE ROSEVILLE VOLUNTEERS--THE START--A PINE-BARREN--THROUGH HUMMOCKS, SWAMPS, AND FORESTS--A MID-DAY HALT--THE ALARM--STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF OUR PARTY--RECOVERY FROM THE PANIC--SCOUTS--ROCHFORD AND THE NATIVE CHIEF-- THE RETURN TO ROSEVILLE--AN INTRODUCTION TO THE JUDGE--OUR NATIVE GUEST--HIS STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE--WHAT CAPTAIN NORTON KNEW ABOUT HIM--A PLEASANT DISCOVERY--RUMOURS OF INDIAN OUTRAGES--HUNTING EXPEDITION-- ROCHFORD AND JUANITA--GOOD EXCUSES--AN INCIDENT IN THE ORANGERY--CUBAN BLOOD-HOUND--AN OCELOT--A SUCCESSFUL DAY--ROCHFORD AGAIN GOES OFF-- SEARCH FOR HIM--A NOTE OF EXPLANATION RECEIVED--RETURN HOME.

When I awoke in the morning, I sincerely hoped to find that Rochford had returned; but on inquiry I was told that he had not made his appearance, nor had any news been received of him. Lejoillie, who had taken a great liking to him, became more and more anxious, especially when he heard that Indians were in the neighbourhood.

"I have no wish to lose my scalp, even for the sake of science; and it will be a great disappointment to me if I am unable to continue my travels through the country," he remarked.

"You need not be anxious," said the judge; "these Indian troubles will soon be put a stop to. If Rochford doesn't return during the morning, we must organise an expedition to search for him. I fear that I cannot undergo the fatigue myself, but I will use my influence with others; and with the a.s.sistance of Captain Norton, we may send out a strong body, who will defy the Redskins, should any be met with. In my opinion, however, the appearance of a few hunters, or a single family or so, probably gave rise to the report."

The judge's idea was entertained by the greater part of the inhabitants, and, I suspect, contributed not a little to the readiness with which they volunteered to form a party to go in search of our missing friend.

Captain Norton, who was met by an orderly and four troopers, had to leave us and push on to carry out his instructions. Before he left, he warned the people not to venture far from the settlement. He especially counselled Carlos not to allow his sisters to return by land, but advised that, as soon as possible, they should go back by the river, as he considered that Castle Kearney was the safest place in the neighbourhood. The remainder of the day was spent in preparations; and it was agreed that the party should set off the next morning, should Rochford in the meantime not have made his appearance.

Carlos at first declared that as he had nothing to do with the stranger, he should remain to look after his sisters; but he afterwards consented to join the party, Tim and I, with Lejoillie, felt ourselves bound to go.

As Rochford did not return, the Roseville volunteers a.s.sembled in front of the judge's house at daybreak, the time agreed on. They formed a motley group, in every variety of costume: some were whites, others brown men and blacks, with two or three half-caste Indians. The question was, who should take the command. The judge would have been the proper person; but as he could not possibly go--and had he done so, he would have greatly impeded the progress of more active men-- Lejoillie, though a stranger, was requested to lead the party.

"For one object I will go," he said. "I am not fond of fighting; but I wish to find my friend, and will endeavour to conduct you to the best of my ability."

We mustered between thirty and forty men and boys, with all sorts of arms and, as I have said, in every variety of costume. Each man had been directed to carry provisions for his own consumption, as we should certainly be out the whole of one day, and perhaps for a night and a second day. I don't know what Captain Norton would have said had he seen us as we marched along in a straggling fashion, many of the men with pipes in their mouths, and all either talking or laughing loudly.

Having left the settlement behind, we crossed a wide extent of prairie land, where the sun beat down on our heads, and we had to force our way among the sharp teeth of the saw-palmetto, which scratched our legs and tore our trousers, and sometimes inflicted disagreeable wounds. Then we came to what is called a "pine-barren;" the ground being flat and the soil of a sandy nature, out of which rose enormous tall pines, having beneath them a growth of rank gra.s.s, and here and there clumps of low bushes, well calculated to conceal an enemy, while our course was often impeded by fallen trunks and half-burned stumps. Several times we had to turn aside to avoid the swampy ponds, fringed with tall saw-gra.s.s; from amid which rose snipes, plovers, and wild-ducks, and occasionally flocks of the beautiful white egret and snowy heron. The water was brackish, and covered with lilies of varied colours; from amid which, every now and then, alligators popped out their heads to look at us.

Other birds, among them the great sand-hill crane, stalked about, until, uttering loud whoops, they took to flight, frightened by our shouts.

When we came to spots where the forest was too thick to see far ahead, we sent out scouts; but I observed that few of the men were willing to get out of hearing of the main body. At last we found ourselves in another hummock: a dense jungle of tall cabbage-palms, oaks, hickory and cotton-trees, with an undergrowth of shrubs such as are to be found only in carefully-cultivated gardens in England--hydrangeas, azaleas, lobelias, and shrubs and creepers of varied colours and gorgeous hues; while overhead the green leaves of the wild-vine and other climbers formed a delicious roof to shelter us from the sun's rays. Out of the wood burst forth a concert of song-birds, amid which the notes of the sweet-toned mocking-bird could be especially distinguished. To Carlos it was no novelty, nor was it to most of our companions; but Lejoillie and I were delighted.

We had as yet discovered no trace of our friend. The few woodmen we met had seen nothing of him. We had pa.s.sed the spot where Lejoillie and he had separated; and we felt convinced that unless we took a much wider range, we should have little chance of finding him.

Several of the party now called out that they were getting hungry; and as we had reached a shady spot, we agreed to halt and dine.

"Before we do so, gentlemen, we must ascertain that no enemies are lurking in the neighbourhood," said Lejoillie.

Accordingly, he directed three of the men, who had proved to be the best scouts, to push forward and examine the ground around us. Many of the party had unstrapped their wallets; some had thrown themselves on the ground; and others had gone to a green and unattractive pool to obtain water.

Two of the scouts had come in, and a.s.sured us that they could discover no trace of the red men. "We may then venture to recruit our strength, my friends," said Lejoillie.

Carlos and I seated ourselves before a fire kindled by Tim, at which he was cooking some slices of bacon. Our motley party lay about in all directions: some had thrown aside their coats, as well as their shoes and hats; and others had even taken off their shirts, that they might the more completely enjoy the cool air. We had begun our meal, and Lejoillie was offering Carlos a _pet.i.t verre_ from a bottle he carried at his side, when suddenly a shout was raised--"The Redskins! the Redskins are upon us!"

"Stand to your arms, men!" cried Lejoillie, leaping up.

Carlos and I, following his example, seized our rifles; Tim did the same. But the words produced a terrifying effect on the rest of our companions, who, without waiting to ascertain the number of our enemies or how far off they were, took to their heels, and scampered away, leaving their hats, coats, and shoes behind them, many even forgetting their rifles. In vain Carlos, Lejoillie, and I shouted to them to stop.

"Halt, ye villains! halt!" cried Tim, "or I'll be afther sendin' a shot among ye that'll make a hole in one of your backs."

Tim's threat produced no effect, and away went our brave party, tumbling over each other; and certainly, had the Redskins been close at hand, every one of us would have been scalped.

The scout who had given the alarm, and who was a brave fellow, now joined us, and explained that he had seen a large party of Indians in the distance, making, as he supposed, towards the hummock; and that he had shouted out, not supposing that his warning would have produced so terrifying an effect.

Lejoillie directed him to hurry on, and try to induce the men to come back for their clothes and arms; and to point out to them that should their flight be discovered by the Indians, they would certainly follow, believing they would obtain an easy victory; whereas, if we were to halt and show a bold front, they would probably not attempt to molest us.

Tim accompanied the scout, and fortunately overtaking the fugitives, gave them Lejoillie's message. Having pointed out that we had remained behind, and that the Indians were still at a distance, they induced them at length to come back and collect their scattered garments. We then retreated at a rapid rate, in somewhat better order than before, as we were anxious to get out of the hummock, where the Indians, had they discovered us, would have taken us at a great disadvantage. In the open prairie, or even in the pinewood, we should have no fear of the Indians, though more numerous than ourselves, as our rifles would tell with more deadly effect than their inferior arms or bows and arrows. I cannot say that I felt very confident that, should an enemy appear, the Roseville volunteers would not again cut and run. I must say, however, that most of the heroes looked very much ashamed of themselves. The truth was, they had been seized with a panic, such as occurs sometimes even among regular troops. Lejoillie, who was acting as their leader, was a stranger to them, and they probably also had very little confidence in each other. Having got to a sufficient distance from the hummock to prevent it affording shelter to an enemy firing at us, a halt was called, and Lejoillie advised that scouts should be sent back to ascertain the whereabouts of the Indians.

Carlos and I volunteered to undertake the duty. On hearing this, Tim stepped forward.

"Sure, Mr. Maurice dear, it'll be better for me, an old soldier, accustomed to the ways of the savages, to go out and scout than you," he said. "What could I say to the capt'n if the varmints were to shoot you down and take your scalp?"

"I am not afraid of that," I said. "If my cousin and I hang back, we cannot expect the rest of the people to show any courage; though I shall be very glad if you will accompany us."

"Then, Mr. Maurice dear, I'll go with you," said Tim; "and if I say, 'Run,' just promise me that you will run; and I won't say it unless I see it is the best thing to be done."

To this I agreed, knowing that Tim was a stanch old soldier, who would not beat a retreat unless we were likely to be overpowered.

On seeing us prepared to set out, two other men stepped forward who had before acted as scouts. We made our way as rapidly as we could towards the hummock. Advancing quickly through the forest, keeping ourselves concealed from any one in front by stooping down behind bushes, or running from one trunk to another, we reached the spot where our party had so ignominiously taken to flight, without having seen an enemy.

After this, we expected every instant to discover the Indians who had caused the alarm, as, unless they had halted, they could not be far off.

We had thus worked our way to the farther side of the hummock, when looking out from behind a tree I had just reached, I saw two persons advancing across the open, neither of whom had much the look of an Indian.

"Sure that's not the band of Redskins that set our fellows running so hard!" exclaimed Tim, who had at the same time caught sight of the two men.

As they drew nearer, to my infinite satisfaction I discovered that one was Rochford. It was difficult to determine whether the other, a tall, fine-looking man in hunter's costume, was an Indian or a white.

There being no further need for concealment, I hurried forward, followed by Tim, when Rochford and his companion rapidly advanced to meet us.

"Where have you been?" I exclaimed. "We feared that you had met with some accident, and we have been hunting for you all the morning."

"I am sorry to have caused you and my other friends any anxiety, but I could not help myself," he answered. "While chasing a deer which I had wounded, I was made prisoner by a band of natives, who dragged me off, and were about, I feared, to put me to death, supposing that I was a settler, when my companion here, who is a chief of importance among them, made his appearance. On my explaining who I was, and my object in coming to Florida, he at once set me at liberty, and treated me with the greatest kindness. As he appeared anxious to see the settlement, I induced him to accompany me to Roseville, having pledged myself for his safety."

"No one would wish to interfere with him," I observed. "I feel very sure he will meet with a friendly reception."

To my surprise, the Indian chief, turning to me, said, in perfectly good English--