Read Ebook: The Dare Boys with General Greene by Cox Stephen Angus Douglas Mencl Rudolf Illustrator

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Ebook has 1043 lines and 37697 words, and 21 pages

The redskins, finding that to attempt to break down the gate, or to scale the wall would be to lose a number of their braves, turned their attention to the houses, and began helping themselves to the contents. When they had taken everything that they cared for, they set the houses on fire, and the settlers were forced to stand there and see their homes go up in flames.

"The fiends!" growled James Holden, the leader of the colony. "Why couldn't they have let the houses stand? They got most of our goods. They might have been satisfied with that."

"They'll stay till after dark and try to get in here at us, likely," said Henry Perkins. "I know these Cherokee Injuns. They are mean when they get their mad up, and these seem to be very much in earnest."

"Yes," said Holden. "We wounded several of them when they were chasing us into the settlement. This naturally aroused their anger."

"It was bad enough to have to live in a neighborhood where there are a good many Tories, without having to be bothered with the Injuns too," said another of the settlers.

"The redcoats have put them up to going on the war-path," said Perkins. "It was a mean trick to do, to get them started."

"You're right," agreed Holden, "but look at that terribly black cloud over to the north. There is going to be a storm and that right quick or I miss my guess."

The Indians, having finished setting fire to all the houses, retired to a little distance, squatted down on the ground, and watched the structures burning.

Then, when the buildings had burned down, the redskins began dividing the plunder they had secured from the houses, and when this was finished, they advanced as close to the fort as they dared. Here they stopped and held a council, of some sort, evidently trying to decide upon some plan for getting into the fort and at the settlers.

They talked and gesticulated at a great rate, and were apparently not agreed, or at a loss to determine upon any further procedure.

"I don't think there is much danger of their making an attack during daylight," said Holden, when they had watched the redskins a while.

"No, but they'll try to get into the stockade to-night, without any doubt," said Perkins. "Unless," he added "that storm drives them away. Somehow the Indians don't seem to notice its coming at all."

"They are lower down in the gulch and perhaps do not see about as well as we do up here," said another.

The other men all thought the same, but while they did not expect an attack before nightfall, yet they did not relax their vigilance. They kept their eyes on the enemy.

"I wish that General Greene would come down this way, with his army," said another of the settlers.

"Mebby he will come down here," said another. "I heerd that he is up in North Caroliny."

"There are going to be terrible times around in the neighborhood of Ninety-Six, pretty soon, I think," said Holden. "And it would be a good thing if General Greene came here."

"He'd put a stop to the Injuns' doin's, mighty quick," said another.

The others agreed that General Greene's army would be able to put a stop to the depredations of the Indians, and then make it exceedingly hot as well for the redcoats in Ninety-Six and vicinity.

Then they ceased talking for a few minutes, while they watched the redskins, who had taken seats on the ground, with their faces toward the fort. They were about three hundred yards distant, and behind them, at about the same distance, was rough, broken country, with a deep gulch running through it, the mouth of the gulch being almost opposite the Indians' backs.

Suddenly, one of the settlers, who happened to glance toward the mouth of the gulch, exclaimed, excitedly: "Look yonder! Look at the mouth of the gulch!"

The others turned their eyes in that direction, and saw a sight that made them all give vent to exclamations of astonishment. They saw, indeed, an avalanche of water at least ten feet in height coming sweeping down the gulch, foaming and, as it neared the end of the gulch, roaring at a great rate.

The Indians heard the sound, and leaped to their feet and turned, and when they saw the wall of water rushing toward the mouth of the gulch, they gave utterance to wild yells and started to run, to get out of the path of the flood.

They could not succeed, however, for the torrent came pouring out of the mouth of the gulch and dashing on across the level, spreading as it came, and before they could get out of reach, the water was upon them, and had them in its swirling embrace.

Some of them were struck by the logs and knocked senseless, and two or three were drowned. Others were swept onward and landed against the stockade-wall around the fort, while others still were carried past and went on across the valley, with the waters.

The settlers and the women and children, had watched this strange happening with wondering eyes, and with a kind of pleasure, too, for it had put an end to a problem that had been bothering them, had put the Indians to utter rout, at least for the time being.

"There must have been a cloud-burst up the gulch," said one of the men.

"Yes, that was what happened," said Holden. "Well, it was a good thing for us, for it has put the redskins to flight."

"It has put some of them to death," said Perkins. "I see three bodies, yonder."

"They were hit by the logs, and then drowned afterwards," said another.

"Yas. Well, it saved us the trouble of shooting them."

"So it did," said Holden.

"But, our houses are burned down!" murmured one of the women. "They have burned our homes, and the flood has spoiled the ground that had been fixed for planting."

"Oh, well, we can do the work over again," said Perkins. "And we can build new houses."

"Yes, that's so," said Holden. "I'm mighty glad the flood happened along and drowned a few of the redskins and scared the others away."

Riding the Flood

When the flood of foaming, seething water swept over Dick, Tom and Ben and engulfed them, they thought at first that their time had come; but Dick shouted; "Grab hold of a log and stick to it if possible." Each managed so to do and by holding to the logs tightly, they were born along with the rushing flood. They swallowed a good deal of water but escaped being drowned. As the boys disappeared beneath the onrush of the torrent, the Indians standing on the edge of the precipice, gazed down with a look of awe on their bronzed faces.

Onward down the gulch the boys were carried, however, with great speed, and when they had gone what seemed like two or three miles from the point where they had been overtaken by the flood, they came to a point where the gulch split, becoming two gulches, one going off at right angles while the other turned slightly to the left. As the one leading to the right was wider, had lower banks and the water was not swirling at such a terrible rate, the three youths were able to guide the logs into the gulch on that side, and were soon being borne onward at a more moderate pace.

Onward they were swept, until finally they suddenly shot out from the mouth of the gulch and found themselves in a good-sized river.

They let go now their holds on the logs, swam to the shore and clambered out upon the bank, which was low and sloping, and dropping down on the sand, they lay there, panting and resting.

"Well, didn't that beat any experience that we have ever had since we joined the patriot army?" cried Tom, presently, when he had become rested and was breathing normally again.

"It wasn't a very pleasing experience," said Dick.

"I should say not," remarked Ben.

"That torrent certainly carried us away from the vicinity of the redskins very quickly," said Tom.

"Yes, it did that much good, anyhow," agreed Dick.

"I wonder where we are," said Ben, presently.

"In the land of the living," replied Tom, with a laugh. "And that is more than I expected would be the case, an hour ago, when that torrent struck us."

Till evening they tramped along, and they were beginning to think they would have to sleep out in the woods, when they caught sight of a light ahead of them. The next moment they emerged into open country, and made their way toward the light.

Presently they came to what looked like a fort, as seen in the starlight, and they made out that there was a high stockade-wall around the building.

"Well, I'm glad we've found some place to stay for the night, anyhow," suggested Tom.

"Who comes there?" cried a voice, from above their heads.

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