Neither Friend Seeker nor the Piscataway paused to see the result of the single arrow. The Seeker's hand darted to his quiver and his own shriek of defiance matched the Piscataway's bellows. Together they strived in almost perfect unison. His eyes fixed unwaveringly on the Piscataway, the Seeker nocked his arrow and began his draw. The warrior's body reached the rim and his arm drew back to launch the iron hatchet.
From his waist Friend Seeker drew the bow and released the arrow even as his muscles felt the pull. Almost within reach, the warrior's chest was his target and the arrow snicked instantly across the short distance. The flint point of E'shan, the arrowmaker, had been chipped to perfect sharpness and the weight of the ash shaft drove it deep. Through the skin and the solid bones of the breast it cut, barely losing speed and holding its direction. Beneath the warrior's shoulder blade the point and handbreadth of arrow shaft reappeared before it bedded solidly.
The Piscataway war cry was instantly silenced. In the poor light, the warrior's features were hidden but he seemed frozen in place before his legs betrayed him and he fell face forward across the lip of the gully, his weight snapping the feathered end of the arrow and his tomahawk driving into the forest floor at the Seeker's feet. Gradually his body laxed and as suddenly as it had risen, slipped from view in a tumbling slide into the darkened gully.
The earth-loosening slide of the Piscataway ended and the night regained its silence. With a third arrow ready, Friend Seeker crouched in waiting, but no whisper of movement or hint of breathing rose from the gully.
In his mind, he saw the strike of his arrows. The first had buried its length downward into the warrior's body. Death would have come almost immediately. The second arrow had driven completely through and the Piscataway would have died even as he fell. The Seeker listened for the sound of others, not those two.
He found it hard to calm his own breathing or to hear above the pound of his heart. His hands began shaking as reaction set in and weariness of arm and leg seemed about to overcome him. The warrior's hatchet was within easy reach and he pulled it free of the soil and cleaned it with his hand. The Iron was warm from the heat of its owner's body and the Seeker touched its edge marveling at its sharpness. After a moment, he slipped it through his belt, balancing the hatchet earned earlier.
He turned away, pausing only to unstring his bow and return his arrow to its quiver. In the dark, the bow would be useless, but with two iron tomahawks he was better armed than he had ever been.
He walked swiftly, the darkness making running impractical. His stomach rolled and grumbled and for a moment he wondered if his discomfort could be from the deaths of three warriors. Death came to all however, and he quickly recognized his queasiness as a ravenous hunger. He had eaten nothing since the sun was high, and sweating in the creek thicket he had experienced little hunger and had barely tasted the food. Now his belly ached for it, but there was none to be had. In the morning he would find berries, but through the night his stomach would have to endure. It was small suffering at its worst, and he could continue many days without food if he had to.
A limb slapped his face and annoyed, he pushed it away. Until the moon rose he could make no real progress. He turned off the trail working his way uphill into an open pine forest.
The strong pine scent settled around him closing off some of the stink of his own body. He reeked of nervous sweat dried and mixed with the dirt accumulated passing through the gully. When he thought about it, his lacerated shin stung like fire and a dozen other cuts and scrapes made their presence known. Thoroughly uncomfortable he sat against a mossy boulder and listened for passage on the trail below. He doubted there would be any, and his thoughts turned wry as he realized he no longer knew how not to listen. The lessons of the year had made their mark and the careless boy was gone forever.
He would be at the point of rocks waiting for Late Star and Rain. They would return to the Buffalo Creek to great celebration and he would tell the story many times. The Seeker's skin tingled in anticipation.
He would stand tall before the fire circle and he would show the iron tomahawks to awed elders who would touch them with envy. Even Three Feathers would be impressed, and Friend Seeker thought that the teacher's pleasure in his success would prove as sweet as any of the re-enacting at the council fires could be.
What then? The thought almost staggered him. For a full turning only Late Star had filled his mind. Now Star would be busy with lodge building and become again only a friend. The Seeker stirred uncomfortably, attempting to judge a future suddenly uncertain.
He could go again among the Iroquois, for they had much to teach. He would go this time as an equal for he had been victorious on the war trail, and he had been honored by the warrior Hawk Claw of the Piscataway. To the north, the Huron were known to be great warriors and to the west the Lakota and the Chippewa could prove interesting.
The moon appeared from behind a low cloud filling the night with its shadowed glow. The Seeker rose, stretching in the familiar panther motions, feeling muscles stiffened by strain loosen and become supple and ready. He turned away from the trail choosing to lose himself within the endless forests.
In morning sun he would bathe in a clear stream, and he would find berries enough to fill his rumbling belly. Then he would hide his trail so that none could track him.
Friend Seeker, warrior of the Delaware, could do these things. He would see his charges to safety and he would sit with Three Feathers and decide what path he should next follow.
They might choose to trade an iron tomahawk for fine furs which they could again trade to E'shan for the best arrowheads. By message carriers, he could send to Hawk Claw a gift of arrow points to show his respect for the other's honor. It seemed a good thought, but honor was a tricky thing and he would discuss it with Three Feathers before acting,
Friend Seeker's spirits rose with the moon and his step was long and powerful up the forested ridge. Indeed there was much to learn and there would be other tasks worthy of a warrior. The time seemed bright with the promise of great deeds and service to his people.
The End
. . ."We go forward with the strength of ten . . .
We hear the right voice. We move onward, serene and unafraid gathering, all the time, eternal, invincible power . . ."
Warriors All
Edward Lee Holman
About Roy Chandler
Roy F. Chandler retired following a twenty year U.S. Army career. Mr. Chandler then taught secondary school for seven years before becoming a full time author of more than sixty books and countless magazine articles. Since 1969, he has written thirty-one published novels and as many nonfiction books on topics such as hunting, architecture, and antiques.
Now 87 years of age, Rocky Chandler remains active and still rides his Harley-Davidson across the continental United States.
He divides his time among Nokomis, FL, St Mary's City, MD, and Perry County, PA,
Rocky Chandler: Author, Educator, Soldier, Patriot
Books by Roy Chandler
Reading order of fiction books in the Perry County Series
Friend Seeker
The Warrior
Arrowmaker
The Black Rifle
Fort Robinson
Ironhawk
Song of Blue Moccasin
Hawk's Feather
Shatto
Chip Shatto
Ted's Story
The Boss's Boy
Tiff's Game
Cronies
The Didactor
The Perry Countian
The Sweet Taste
Old Dog
Gray's Talent
Ramsey
Shooter Galloway
Shatto's Way
By Publication Date
All About a Foot Soldier, 1965 (A colorful book for children)
History of Early Perry County Guns and Gunsmiths (With Donald L. Mitchell), 1969
A History of Perry Co
unty Railroads, 1970
Alaskan Hunter: a book about big game hunting, 1972
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes and Barrel Marks, 1972
Tales of Perry County, 1973
Arrowmaker, 1974
Hunting in Perry County, 1974
Antiques of Perry County, 1976
The Black Rifle, 1976
Homes, Barns and Outbuildings of Perry County, 1978
Shatto, 1979
The Perry County Flavor, 1980
Arms Makers of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1981
The Didactor, 1981
Fort Robinson: A novel of Perry County Pennsylvania, the years 1750-63, 1981
Friend Seeker: A novel of Perry County PA, 1982
Gunsmiths of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1982
Perry County in Pen & Ink, 1983
Shatto's Way: A novel of Perry County, Pa, 1984
Chip Shatto: A novel of Perry County Pennsylvania, the years 1863-6, 1984
Pennsylvania Gunmakers (a collection), 1984
Firefighters of Perry County, 1985
The Warrior, A novel of the frontier, 1721-1764, 1985
Perry County Sketchbook (And Katherine R. Chandler), 1986
A 30-foot, $6,000 Cruising Catamaran, 1987
The Gun of Joseph Smith (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1987
The Perry Countian, 1987
Hawk's Feather - An Adventure Story, 1988
Ted's Story, 1988
Alcatraz: The Hardest Years 1934-1938 (With Erville F. Chandler), 1989
Cronies, 1989
Song of Blue Moccasin, 1989
Chugger's Hunt, 1990
The Sweet Taste, 1990
Tiff's Game: A work of fiction, 1991
Tuck Morgan, Plainsman (Vol. 2) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1991
Death From Afar I (And Norman A. Chandler), 1992
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes All New Volume 2, 1992
Behold the Long Rifle, 1993
Death From Afar II: Marine Corps Sniping (And Norman A. Chandler), 1993
Old Dog, 1993
Tim Murphy, Rifleman: A novel of Perry County, Pa. 1754-1840, 1993
Choose the Right Gun, 1994
Death From Afar Vol. III: The Black Book (And Norman A. Chandler), 1994
The Kentucky Pistol, 1994
Ramsey: A novel of Perry County Pennsylvania, 1994
Gray's Talent, 1995
Hunting Alaska, 1995
Last Black Book, 1995
Dark Shadow (The Red book series), 1996
Death From Afar IV (And Norman A. Chandler, 1996
Morgan's Park (Vol. 3) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1997
White Feather: Carlos Hathcock USMC scout sniper (And Norman A. Chandler), 1997
Death From Afar V (And Norman A. Chandler), 1998
Ironhawk: A frontier novel of Perry County Pennsylvania 1759-1765, 1999
Sniper One, 2000
One Shot Brotherhood (And Norman A. Chandler), 2001
Shooter Galloway, 2004
The Hunter's Alaska, 2005
The Boss's Boy, 2007
Pardners, 2009
Hawk's Revenge, 2010
Antique Guns
History of Early Perry County Guns and Gunsmiths (With Donald L. Mitchell), 1969
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes and Barrel Marks, 1972
Arms Makers of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1981
Gunsmiths of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1982
Pennsylvania Gunmakers (a collection), 1984
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes All New Volume 2, 1992
Behold the Long Rifle, 1993
The Kentucky Pistol, 1994
Hunting
Alaskan Hunter: a book about big game hunting, 1972
Choose the Right Gun, 1994
Hunting Alaska, 1995
The Hunter's Alaska, 2005
Sniper Series
Death From Afar I (And Norman A. Chandler), 1992
Death From Afar II: Marine Corps Sniping (And Norman A. Chandler), 1993
Death From Afar Vol. III: The Black Book (And Norman A. Chandler), 1994
Death From Afar IV (And Norman A. Chandler), 1996
White Feather: Carlos Hathcock USMC scout sniper (And Norman A. Chandler), 1997
Death From Afar V (And Norman A. Chandler), 1998
Sniper One (Iron Brigade series), 2000
One Shot Brotherhood (And Norman A. Chandler)
Gun of Joseph Smith Trilogy (Young Adult)
Gun of Joseph Smith, The (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1987
Tuck Morgan, Plainsman (Vol. 2) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1991
Morgan's Park (Vol. 3) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1997
Children's Books
All About a Foot Soldier, 1965