The Adventures of Pocahontas and John Rolfe: Book I

Chapter 6: Baptism by Fire

The Adventures of Pocahontas and John Rolfe: Book I

Chapter 6: Baptism by Fire

Spike-Eyes was about to beat one of the hounds for chasing after a squirrel when one of his accomplices called to him from the beach by the lake. "I've found something!"

Spike-Eyes whistled to the third crewman in their group and then walked toward Demented Jake, who was standing over and scrutinizing something in the sand. One of the dogs was busily sniffing at the ground beside him, looking very alert.

When Spike-Eyes drew close enough, he identified the discovery as a faded boot print. "You think it's one of theirs?" he inquired as Manslaughter Sol approached their location, followed by the other two hounds. His eyes widened at the sight.

"Françoise seems to think so," Demented Jake replied, patting the female canine on her side. The most talented sniffer, Françoise had rapidly become the hunting party's favorite and, therefore, received the most treats and strokes for her efforts.

"Muzzle the dogs," Spike-Eyes commanded. "If we've got tracks to follow, we don't need the hounds unless the footprints disappear. The mutts will only bark and warn them of our approach. If we can hunt them silent-like, they will slow their pace. We'll have a chance to catch up to 'em quicker," he pointed out, peering northward.

Demented Jake rose to his feet and spat in the sand. "Will that really be necessary? I thought we were just herding them north so the Injun tracker could intercept them," he returned. "Plus, they'll run out of food soon if they had any to begin with. Where could they possibly go? There's nothin' but hostile Injun territory north of here."

"Aye, but we need a backup plan in case Adahy should fail. Flame and Bleud would expect no less of us," Spike-Eyes countered, glancing over at Manslaughter. Demented Jake sneered and spat on the beach again. Like most of the crew, he preferred plundering for riches over chasing two hapless souls who posed no threat to them through the wilderness. Jake honestly could not care less about John Rolfe and his female companion. However, Bleud had promised them all the buxomest French wench of the lot if they captured the fugitives before anyone else, so he dutifully held his tongue.

"Are we going to follow these tracks now or wait for the other two parties to catch up to us?" Manslaughter Sol inquired as he spotted more prints farther down the beach. There were definitely two distinct human individuals that had been here, though the scent trail was almost cold by now. Only Françoise had succeeded in detecting it, as she appeared to have the best nose of the litter. Her brothers were pitiful by comparison.

"Leave a sign so's they'll know which direction we went, but we wait for no man. We best not let our quarry get any farther ahead of us than they already are," Spike-Eyes replied. Manslaughter nodded and used the tip of his boot to dig a big arrow in the sand pointing straight north. The trio muzzled the dogs and began to follow the tracks. The bootprints led them on for hours. The deserters had clearly been keeping to the lakeshore to avoid the dense forests and mangroves that were so difficult to navigate through.

It was not until the sun retreated behind the western forest canopy that they spotted something far down the beach. Spike-Eyes could not tell what it was from the distance, but it almost appeared to be a human form sleeping in the sand. "We've spotted 'em! Charge, men! Don't let 'em get away!" he cried, whipping out his sword.

His accomplices did the same and bolted through the soft white sand. Due to a curve in the edge of the lake, they had to run behind a large patch of cattails and aquatic grasses to get to their destination. Demented Jake ran faster than the others due to his nimble size and burst through the brush first. He dropped his sword and gaped in surprise.