Joe Farley and Bright Wing moved among the survivors, and eagerly scanned
each face. But the man they sought was not there. Suddenly the Wyandot
uttered a grunt of surprise and exclaimed:
“Dog Duke!”
“Where?” Farley demanded sharply.
Ere the redman could make reply, the hound saw them and bounded toward
them. Dropping upon the ground at their feet, he tragically rolled his
blood-rimmed eyes and whined beseechingly. His coat was soiled and
roughened, and his muzzle was smeared with blood.
“He’s been in the scrimmage, as sure’s you live!” was Joe’s muttered
comment. “You can see that, Injin. Look at his nose—all stained with
blood. He’s give some ’tarnal Shawnee ’r other red devil his final
sickness—he has, by Caroline! But if he’s here, his master _must_ be
here. I never knowed ’em to be far apart, if they could help it. Le’s
look ag’in.”
They renewed their search, the dog following them, panting and whining.
But they did not find their friend. Joe made numerous inquiries. All the
answer he received from anyone was a sad shake of the head. Discouraged
at last, he murmured sadly:
“’Tain’t no use, Injin. Ross Douglas is among the missin’. An’ in this
case, that means he’s dead; ’cause the whole thing’s been a reg’lar
butcher’s job. I wish the dang Winnebagoes had killed me when they had
the notion—I do, by Kizzier! I’m sorry I ever lived to see this day. Jest
found him to lose him ag’in—an’ ferever. We made an awful mistake, Injin;
we ort to ’ave stayed with him, ’stid o’ comin’ back here with Cap’n
Oliver.”
Bright Wing nodded sadly.
“Duke, you’re a pow’rful smart animal, in more ways ’n one. I wish to
glory I could make you understand what I want to know. Wher’s y’r master,
purp? Wher’s Ross Douglas?”
The hound lifted his nose and howled dolefully.
“Jest as I thought—jest as I ’xpected!” Farley said chokingly. “He’s
dead. That’s what you mean, ain’t it, purp?”
Duke, as if in reply to the question, started toward the gate he had
entered, casting backward glances over his shoulder as he went.
“Le’s foller him an’ see what he wants,” Joe whispered. “The poor brute’s
’bout as near crazy as we are.”
On reaching the gate, the dog scratched upon it, telling as well as he
could that he desired them to follow him without the walls.
“Poor critter!” Farley said feelingly. “You want us to go with you an’
hunt y’r master, don’t you, purp?”
Duke bayed loudly, and scratched the earth in a frenzy of delight at
being understood.
“Ugh! Duke him want find master,” Bright Wing observed sagely.
Again the dumb brute manifested his joy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account