Chapter XVI: Some Shrewd and Plucky Work

Sure-dart waited till the retiring gang had reached the hill-slopes, and some had gone among the trees, and then he started. He took four young fellows and five of the more active women with him. These could carry all the water that the skins they had with them would hold. Big-axe would have had the party wait till dark, but for two things: one was the chief feared that then a guard would be put at the foot of the rock, as the first step toward a siege; the other was that there might be some prowlers out, and the darkness would help these, if they happened that way, to surprise the water-party.

They all rushed at full speed to the spring and plunged in their clumsy vessels. In their haste, notwithstanding the nervous strain, they did not once stop to look toward the dangerous quarter. Sure-dart himself, knowing that he could run faster than any one else in the company, and noting that all could not get at the water at once, held back a little, and finally dipped in his water-sack over the shoulders of one of the slowest of the boys.

As the boy tried to get out of the way, and did pull his loaded skin out of the water, a high, long cry came from overhead, sending a little shock through the party, and causing every head to come up, and every face to be turned about.

All understood the cry, which was a warning, and so they were not surprised at what they saw. Seven or eight men were coming at a run down the slope of the opposite hill! Then were cries and mutterings, and scramblings with the bags, and a rush of the first ones loaded out of the hollow where the spring was.

The others followed as fast as they could; but some were clumsy with nervousness, and a woman who was the last of all spilled her whole precious load, her eyes being toward the coming men, instead of about her, so that she made a bad stumble.

“Never mind,” said Sure-dart, who was near her, as the woman, with an exclamation of dismay, stopped and hesitated. “Push along,” he added, “and help Short-legs.”

Short-legs was a wiry, short-legged boy, who was active and a fast runner, but who, with more ambition than judgment, had taken with him one of the large skins, instead of one of the smaller. He was now trying hard to go fast, but his great load reduced his pace to a mere scrambling walk that was almost a stagger. Still, he was pluckily doing his best, not asking help from any of the others, though some, bigger and stronger than he, carried lighter sacks. The woman rushed to this boy’s help, and lifted the heavy end of the skin. In a moment, seeing a better way, they swung the skin down between them, and were thus able to handle it to advantage.

But the best they could do the runners from the forest came along several feet to their one. Evidently the two chiefs had been taken by surprise, and had not expected such a bold and prompt little dash; but when they had discovered it they had been swift to act, seeing how important the matter was. These men, all fast runners, were now only a few spear-casts away, and matters for the little company began to look dubious.

Sure-dart glanced toward the barricade, and saw a stir among the guard there. He felt certain that Big-axe would not leave him in the crisis, and that the stir doubtless meant a relief party, but it did seem as if it were slow in coming.

Nearer still came the swift-footed fellows from the forest, and still nobody from the wall had shown signs of leaving it. Even the coming runners themselves appeared a little surprised at this, and Sure-dart saw them look more than once toward the barricade. They seemed to think it strange that they were to have such an easy job of it.

Yet a little nearer, but now the runners wavered and slackened their pace. It had apparently come into their minds that they must, if they reached the water-party, come pretty close to the enemy’s lines. Sure-dart saw the hesitation, and shouted to the toiling little company to make one good spurt.

But though the coming runners saw that they had somewhat miscalculated the distance, or else their own speed, or that the chiefs had done it for them, they could not bear to turn back now and lose the tempting prize. With a little clicking and jabbering back and forth, they shot on again at their former speed.

Sure-dart halted.

“Diver,” he called to the largest and strongest of the young fellows, who was noted for his skill as a swimmer, and also for his courage, “stay here with me, and help me to check these fellows. The rest of you push on.”

Diver unhesitatingly dropped his water-bag, and rushed to where Sure-dart stood. At another word he moved a few feet away, so that both had plenty of room, yet where each could, so far as the circumstances would allow, support the other. It looked desperate enough, but of course there was still a chance that help would come, and in any case the two brave boys--Diver was only two years older than Sure-dart--were doggedly resolute to check the runners, and save the precious water. Possibly their very boldness, with friends so near, would bring the pursuers for a moment to a stand, and who could say what that might do? Besides, they thought they could not reach the fort unless they dropped their loads and left the slower ones of the party to their fate.

It is said that fortune favors the brave. It proved so, surely, in this case. The runners, when the gallant boys stopped and faced about, their deadly little darts coming out of the quivers, slackened up, and began to jabber again to one another. In so small a fighting force as the Rock-people had the deeds of every prominent fighter were likely to be noticed, and the Fishers and their allies had already noted the quiet deadliness of Sure-dart’s work. From the looks of him now, to say nothing of what his companion might be equal to, there was an excellent chance for somebody to test the pain of death by a strong poison.

Sure-dart and Diver, with lips set, poised their darts. They had no shields, but neither had the runners any, and the runners had no poisoned weapons at all, but merely the safer arms for a runner,--light spears, axes, and stone knives. The fellows came a bit nearer, still clicking away to one another, and then began to spread out, as if to turn the flank, so to speak, of the defenders.

But at this most critical instant Sure-dart saw another look come into the face of the man nearest him, and the man came to a sudden stop. It was doubt, if not fear, the man was showing. Almost at the same moment the next runner, looking past Sure-dart, yelped out something, and like a flash whirled in his tracks. Sure-dart understood a little of the Fisher dialect, and thought the man said, “We are in a trap.”

Explanations did not need to follow. There was a shout from behind the two boys, and Sure-dart instantly read in the faces of the runners what had happened. It was the rescue party at last!

The runners turned, and the rescuers, plunging by Sure-dart and Diver, tore after them. The runners were a bit out of breath, and the pursuers were substantially fresh. Moreover, Big-axe himself, Wing-foot, and the four other warriors with them, were as fleet if not fleeter than the fastest of the cutting-out party.

Away flew the once-pursuers, and fiercely rushing after them Big-axe and his fleet fighters. Then Sure-dart and Diver got the sense of it all, and, with a yell on their own account, sprang away after.

It was clear that whatever was done must be done quickly, or the tide would again set the other way. In fact, the nest by the trees was already buzzing, and men were catching up their weapons and starting down the hill. Therefore Big-axe and the others did their best, and this best quickly brought them up with the slowest of the runners. One was struck down by Wing-foot, who was in the lead; but at that all the others stopped, and before the chief and the rest of the company could get nigh there was a spread-out line of ready and desperate men. Wing-foot halted, whirled about, and duckingly ran back on his support. He just missed an angry javelin in so doing.

The two forces, as to numbers, were about equal, but otherwise there was a great difference. Big-axe alone was more than a match for three ordinary Fishers, or Islanders, and there was not a man among them that could cast a missile weapon like Sure-dart. Besides, the other men with Big-axe were strong, and handy with their weapons. Bull-head and Stone-arm not being fleet runners, had not come along. In a twinkling battle was joined.

A minute saw the beginning of the end of it. Big-axe crushed the man before him, Sure-dart planted one of his little deadly stings in another, and a powerful Rock-man got his spear into the vitals of the fellow opposed to him. On the other hand, a tall Fisher turned the thrust of the Rock-man assailing him, and jabbed his own spear into a fatal spot.

The result was too one-sided. The defending line wavered, two fiercely tried to keep up the fight, but the next instant the others threw down their spears and started in fresh flight. Of those who would have stayed, one was instantly knocked down, and the other sprang away after his mates.

“Stop!” roared Big-axe. “We have done enough. Back, while we can.”

They almost spun around on their heels, for to be sure there was no time to lose. Already more men were running down the hill. But the daring little party could afford to stop, as the chief had said, for they had lost but one man, and had left behind them three dead enemies, and one at least desperately hurt. Their own loss of one killed did not appear to be equal relatively to the loss of the enemy. Besides, they had saved the precious water.