Blazing Arrow: A Tale of the Frontier — John Shaqi
Blazing Arrow: A Tale of the FrontierEllis, Edward Sylvester
General
Blazing Arrow: A Tale of the Frontier
Ellis, Edward Sylvester
Frontier and pioneer life -- Juvenile fiction; West (U.S.) -- Juvenile fiction
He held his rifle in one hand and was in war paint. He seemed to be
looking at the water and the other bluff, as though measuring the
distance preparatory to leaping the chasm. This indicated that the red
man knew, or suspected, that another was near at hand, and on the other
side of the stream.
The leap was a good one, even for a trained warrior, and when this one
made up his mind to attempt it, he stepped back several paces in order
to gain the necessary momentum. When he paused, only the top of his head
was visible to the watchful Larry, who knew very well what he intended
to do.
The Shawanoe suddenly ran the short distance, and made the leap with the
ease shown by Wharton Edwards a short time before.
At the moment the crouching form was in mid-air, with limbs drawn
together and muscles set, the rifle dropped from his grasp, his arms
went upward with a wild cry that rose above the waters, and his body,
landing on the edge of the bluff, rolled back in the torrent and
instantly sank out of sight.
"I can jump the stream myself. I don't maan that such spalpeens as ye
shall have the chance of doing the same," muttered Larry, stepping back
several paces and reloading his gun with the utmost haste.
None knew better than he that the occurrence would stir up matters among
the Indians on the other side, and he would have been a zany to invite a
return shot by remaining a fair view to those who would investigate the
matter offhand.
Had he possessed one of the modern breech-loaders and repeating rifles,
he might have secured a good position and held half a hundred Indians at
bay; but with his clumsy though excellent weapon he could not hope to
maintain his ground for any length of time.
The moment his gun was ready he cautiously advanced to the edge of the
stream and peered around the rocks. There was no warrior in sight, but
he was shrewd enough to allow his vision to roam along the bluff on the
other side down to the falls themselves.
So far as he could judge, no one was near. A dark body, however, caught
his eye in the water itself. It was going over the falls, a limp and
inert mass, which he was quick to recognize, and at which he cast but a
single glance.
But the youth was not left long in suspense. His keen eyes were roving
along the edge of the other bluff, which was sharply outlined against
the blue sky, when a small protuberance suddenly appeared at the very
point on which his eyes happened to rest.
"It's anither of 'em," was his thought, as he screened himself so far as
he could behind the ledge of rocks and brought his rifle to a level;
"when his head rises high enough I'll plug him in the eye. Whisht now!"
The Indian was cunning. Instead of bringing his crown into sight, it
sank out of sight again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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