“Are you hurt?” cried Ned and Bob, hurrying to Jerry’s aid.
They noticed that his face was white and drawn.
“I’m--afraid so,” he murmured, clenching his teeth to keep back a murmur of pain.
They noticed that his left leg was doubled under him. As tenderly as they could they lifted him up. As they did so Bob saw a stream of blood trickling from Jerry’s foot.
“No, it isn’t the bullet,” said Jerry. “I think I ran a sharp stone through my shoe as I fell.”
“It’s an Indian arrow head!” exclaimed Ned as he saw the long sharp piece of flint piercing the side of Jerry’s shoe. “I’ll pull it out.”
He tried, but it was imbedded in the flesh more firmly than he had thought.
“Oh!” exclaimed Jerry, and then the terrible pain, as Ned tried to withdraw the ancient weapon, made him faint.
The scientist had disappeared on the top of the mound. Hardly had the echoes of Bob’s voice died away than from the forest surrounding the mound there emerged a band of ugly-looking negroes. They started to run toward the boys just as Mr. Snodgrass, hearing the call of distress, began to descend the stone steps.
Jerry’s faintness however, was of short duration. When Ned ceased trying to extract the stone the terrible pain subsided, for the time being, and Jerry opened his eyes.
“Let the professor take it out,” he murmured. “He can do it.” Then he caught sight of the advancing negroes. “Where’s the gun?” he asked.
Bob had secured it after Jerry’s fall, and at this, he raised it in readiness, though he did not point it at the black men. At the sight of it, however, they stopped. One of them, who seemed to be a leader, raised his hand and called out:
“We came to look at this curious mound,” replied the professor, speaking in conciliatory tones. “We were looking for relics. Why? What has happened?” he exclaimed as he saw the blood on Jerry’s foot. Evidently he had not heard Bob’s cry.
“I ran an Indian arrow head into my foot,” answered Jerry. “I guess you’ll have to get it out, Professor.”
“Looks as though we were going to have trouble with these negroes,” put in Ned. “We must look out.”
“Yo’ uns had better make tracks away from heah!” went on the leader of the black men. “We don’t like strangers heah!”
“We can’t go until I attend to this lad’s injury,” spoke Mr. Snodgrass firmly. “Lie down Jerry, and I’ll get the arrow out. This confirms my suspicions that the mound was built by Indians.”