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diff --git a/old/old/sctvl10.txt b/old/old/sctvl10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0c1e071 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/sctvl10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12548 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Etext of Scouts of the Valley, by Altsheler + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. We need your donations. + + +The Scouts of the Valley + +by Joseph A. 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The +water, clear and deep, coming through rocky soil, babbled gently +at the edges, where it lapped the land, but in the center the +full current flowed steadily and without noise. + +The thin shadows of early dusk were falling, casting a pallid +tint over the world, a tint touched here and there with living +fire from the sun, which was gone, though leaving burning embers +behind. One glowing shaft, piercing straight through the heavy +forest that clothed either bank, fell directly upon the figure in +the boat, as a hidden light illuminates a great picture, while +the rest is left in shadow. It was no common forest runner who +sat in the middle of the red beam. Yet a boy, in nothing but +years, he swung the great paddle with an ease and vigor that the +strongest man in the West might have envied. His rifle, with the +stock carved beautifully, and the long, slender blue barrel of +the border, lay by his side. He could bring the paddle into the +boat, grasp the rifle, and carry it to his shoulder with a +single, continuous movement. + +His most remarkable aspect, one that the casual observer even +would have noticed, was an extraordinary vitality. He created in +the minds of those who saw him a feeling that he lived intensely +every moment of his life. Born and-bred in the forest, he was +essentially its child, a perfect physical being, trained by the +utmost hardship and danger, and with every faculty, mental and +physical, in complete coordination. It is only by a singular +combination of time and place, and only once in millions of +chances, that Nature produces such a being. + +The canoe remained a few moments in the center of the red light, +and its occupant, with a slight swaying motion of the paddle, +held it steady in the current, while he listened. Every feature +stood out in the glow, the firm chin, the straight strong nose, +the blue eyes, and the thick yellow hair. The red blue, and +yellow beads on his dress of beautifully tanned deerskin flashed +in the brilliant rays. He was the great picture of fact, not of +fancy, a human being animated by a living, dauntless soul. + +He gave the paddle a single sweep and shot from the light into +the shadow. His canoe did not stop until it grazed the northern +shore, where bushes and overhanging boughs made a deep shadow. +It would have taken a keen eye now to have seen either the canoe +or its occupant, and Henry Ware paddled slowly and without noise +in the darkest heart of the shadow. + +The sunlight lingered a little longer in the center of the +stream. Then the red changed to pink. The pink, in its turn, +faded, and the whole surface of the river was somber gray, +flowing between two lines of black forest. + +The coming of the darkness did not stop the boy. He swung a +little farther out into the stream, where the bushes and hanging +boughs would not get in his way, and continued his course with +some increase of speed. + +The great paddle swung swiftly through the water, and the length +of stroke was amazing, but the boy's breath did not come faster, +and the muscles on his arms and shoulders rippled as if it were +the play of a child. Henry was in waters unknown to him. He had +nothing more than hearsay upon which to rely, and he used all the +wilderness caution that he had acquired through nature and +training. He called into use every faculty of his perfect +physical being. His trained eyes continually pierced the +darkness. At times, he stopped and listened with ears that could +hear the footfall of the rabbit, but neither eye nor ear brought +report of anything unusual. The river flowed with a soft, +sighing sound. Now and then a wild creature stirred in the +forest, and once a deer came down to the margin to drink, but +this was the ordinary life of the woods, and he passed it by. + +He went on, hour after hour. The river narrowed. The banks grew +higher and rockier, and the water, deep and silvery under the +moon, flowed in a somewhat swifter current. Henry gave a little +stronger sweep to the paddle, and the speed of the canoe was +maintained. He still kept within the shadow of the northern +bank. + +He noticed after a while that fleecy vapor was floating before +the moon. The night seemed to be darkening, and a rising wind +came out of the southwest. The touch of the air on, his face +was damp. It was the token of rain, and he felt that it would +not be delayed long. + +It was no part of his plan to be caught in a storm on the +Monongahela. Besides the discomfort, heavy rain and wind might +sink his frail canoe, and he looked for a refuge. The river was +widening again, and the banks sank down until they were but +little above the water. Presently he saw a place that he knew +would be suitable, a stretch of thick bushes and weeds growing +into the very edge of the water, and extending a hundred yards or +more along the shore. + +He pushed his canoe far into the undergrowth, and then stopped it +in shelter so close that, keen as his own eyes were, he could +scarcely see the main stream of the river. The water where he +came to rest was not more than a foot deep, but he remained in +the canoe, half reclining and wrapping closely around himself and +his rifle a beautiful blanket woven of the tightest fiber. + +His position, with his head resting on the edge of the canoe and +his shoulder pressed against the side, was full of comfort to +him, and he awaited calmly whatever might come. Here and there +were little spaces among the leaves overhead, and through them he +saw a moon, now almost hidden by thick and rolling vapors, and a +sky that had grown dark and somber. The last timid star had +ceased to twinkle, and the rising wind was wet and cold. He was +glad of the blanket, and, skilled forest runner that he was, he +never traveled without it. Henry remained perfectly still. The +light canoe did not move beneath his weight the fraction of an +inch. His upturned eyes saw the little cubes of sky that showed +through the leaves grow darker and darker. The bushes about him +were now bending before the wind, which blew steadily from the +south, and presently drops of rain began to fall lightly on the +water. + +The boy, alone in the midst of all that vast wilderness, +surrounded by danger in its most cruel forms, and with a black +midnight sky above him, felt neither fear nor awe. Being what +nature and circumstance had made him, he was conscious, instead, +of a deep sense of peace and comfort. He was at ease, in a nest +for the night, and there was only the remotest possibility that +the prying eye of an enemy would see him. The leaves directly +over his head were so thick that they formed a canopy, and, as he +heard the drops fall upon them, it was like the rain on a roof, +that soothes the one beneath its shelter. + +Distant lightning flared once or twice, and low thunder rolled +along the southern horizon, but both soon ceased, and then a +rain, not hard, but cold and persistent, began to fall, coming +straight down. Henry saw that it might last all night, but he +merely eased himself a little in the canoe, drew the edges of the +blanket around his chin, and let his eyelids droop. + +The rain was now seeping through the leafy canopy of green, but +he did not care. It could not penetrate the close fiber of the +blanket, and the fur cap drawn far down on his head met the +blanket. Only his face was uncovered, and when a cold drop fell +upon it, it was to him, hardened by forest life, cool and +pleasant to the touch. + +Although the eyelids still drooped, he did not yet feel the +tendency to sleep. It was merely a deep, luxurious rest, with +the body completely relaxed, but with the senses alert. The wind +ceased to blow, and the rain came down straight with an even beat +that was not unmusical. No other sound was heard in the forest, +as the ripple of the river at the edges was merged into it. +Henry began to feel the desire for sleep by and by, and, laying +the paddle across the boat in such a way that it sheltered his +face, he closed his eyes. In five minutes he would have been +sleeping as soundly as a man in a warm bed under a roof, but with +a quick motion he suddenly put the paddle aside and raised +himself a little in the canoe, while one hand slipped down under +the folds of the blanket to the hammer of his rifle. + +His ear had told him in time that there was a new sound on the +river. He heard it faintly above the even beat of the rain, a +soft sound, long and sighing, but regular. He listened, and then +he knew it. It was made by oars, many of them swung in unison, +keeping admirable time. + +Henry did not yet feel fear, although it must be a long boat full +of Indian warriors, as it was not likely, that anybody else would +be abroad upon these waters at such a time. He made no attempt +to move. Where he lay it was black as the darkest cave, and his +cool judgment told him that there was no need of flight. + +The regular rhythmic beat of the oars came nearer, and presently +as he looked through the covert of leaves the dusky outline of a +great war canoe came into view. It contained at least twenty +warriors, of what tribe he could not tell, but they were wet, and +they looked cold and miserable. Soon they were opposite him, and +he saw the outline of every figure. Scalp locks drooped in the +rain, and he knew that the warriors, hardy as they might be, were +suffering. + +Henry expected to see the long boat pass on, but it was turned +toward a shelving bank fifty or sixty yards below, and they +beached it there. Then all sprang out, drew it up on the land, +and, after turning it over, propped it up at an angle. When this +was done they sat under it in a close group, sheltered from the +rain. They were using their great canoe as a roof, after the +habit of Shawnees and Wyandots. + +The boy watched them for a long time through one of the little +openings in the bushes, and he believed that they would remain as +they were all night, but presently he saw a movement among them, +and a little flash of light. He understood it. They were trying +to kindle a fire-with flint and steel, under the shelter of the +boat. He continued to watch them 'lazily and without alarm. + +Their fire, if they succeeded in making it, would cast no light +upon him in the dense covert, but they would be outlined against +the flame, and he could see them better, well enough, perhaps, to +tell to what tribe they belonged. + +He watched under his lowered eyelids while the warriors, gathered +in a close group to make a shelter from stray puffs of wind, +strove with flint and steel. Sparks sprang up and went out, but +Henry at last saw a little blaze rise and cling to life. Then, +fed with tinder and bark, it grew under the roof made by the boat +until it was ruddy and strong. The boat was tilted farther back, +and the fire, continuing to grow, crackled cheerfully, while the +flames leaped higher. + +By a curious transfer of the senses, Henry, as he lay in the +thick blackness felt the influence of the fire, also. Its warmth +was upon his face, and it was pleasing to see the red and yellow +light victorious against the sodden background of the rain and +dripping forest. The figures of the warriors passed and repassed +before the fire, and the boy in the boat moved suddenly. His +body was not shifted more than an inch, but his surprise was +great. + +A warrior stood between him and the fire, outlined perfectly +against the red light. It was a splendid figure, young, much +beyond the average height, the erect and noble head crowned with +the defiant scalplock, the strong, slightly curved nose and the +massive chin cut as clearly as if they had been carved in copper. +The man who had laid aside a wet blanket was bare now to the +waist, and Henry could see the powerful muscles play on chest and +shoulders as he moved. + +The boy knew him. It was Timmendiquas, the great White Lightning +of the Wyandots, the youngest, but the boldest and ablest of all +the Western chiefs. Henry's pulses leaped a little at the sight +of his old foe and almost friend. As always, he felt admiration +at the sight of the young chief. It was not likely that he would +ever behold such another magnificent specimen of savage manhood. + +The presence of Timmendiquas so far east was also full of +significance. The great fleet under Adam Colfax, and with Henry +and his comrades in the van, had reached Pittsburgh at last. +Thence the arms, ammunition, and other supplies were started on +the overland journey for the American army, but the five lingered +before beginning the return to Kentucky. A rumor came that the +Indian alliance was spreading along the entire frontier, both +west and north. It was said that Timmendiquas, stung to fiery +energy by his defeats, was coming east to form a league with the +Iroquois, the famous Six Nations. These warlike tribes were +friendly with the Wyandots, and the league would be a formidable +danger to the Colonies, the full strength of which was absorbed +already in the great war. + +But the report was a new call of battle to Henry, Shif'less Sol, +and the others. The return to Kentucky was postponed. They +could be of greater service here, and they plunged into the great +woods to the north and, east to see what might be stirring among +the warriors. + +Now Henry, as be looked at Timmendiquas, knew that report had +told the truth. The great chief would not be on the fringe of +the Iroquois country, if be did not have such a plan, and he had +the energy and ability to carry it through. Henry shuddered at +the thought of the tomahawk flashing along every mile of a +frontier so vast, and defended so thinly. He was glad in every +fiber that he and his comrades had remained to hang upon the +Indian hordes, and be heralds of their marches. In the forest a +warning usually meant the saving of life. + +The rain ceased after a while, although water dripped from the +trees everywhere. But the big fire made an area of dry earth +about it, and the warriors replaced the long boat in the water. +Then all but four or five of them lay beside the coals and went +to sleep. Timmendiquas was one of those who remained awake, and +Henry saw that he was in deep thought. He walked back and forth +much like a white man, and now and then he folded his hands +behind his back, looking toward the earth, but not seeing it. +Henry could guess what was in his mind. He would draw forth the +full power of the Six Nations, league them with the Indians of +the great valley, and hurl them all in one mass upon the +frontier. He was planning now the means to the end. + +The chief, in his little walks back and forth, came close to the +edge of the bushes in which Henry lay, It was not at all probable +that he would conclude to search among them, but some accident, a +chance, might happen, and Henry began to feel a little alarm. +Certainly, the coming of the day would make his refuge insecure, +and he resolved to slip away while it was yet light. + +The boy rose a little in the boat, slowly and with the utmost +caution, because the slightest sound out of the common might +arouse Timmendiquas to the knowledge of a hostile presence. The +canoe must make no plash in the water. Gradually he unwrapped +the blanket and tied it in a folded square at his back. Then he +took thought a few moments. The forest was so silent now that he +did not believe he could push the canoe through the bushes +without being heard. He would leave it there for use another day +and go on foot through the woods to his comrades. + +Slowly he put one foot down the side until it rested on the +bottom, and then he remained still. The chief had paused in his +restless walk back and forth. Could it be possible that he had +heard so slight a sound as that of a human foot sinking softly +into the water? Henry waited with his rifle ready. If necessary +he would fire, and then dart away among the bushes. + +Five or six intense moments passed, and the chief resumed his +restless pacing. If he had heard, he had passed it by as +nothing, and Henry raised the other foot out of the canoe. He +was as delicate in his movement as a surgeon mending the human +eye, and he had full cause, as not eye alone, but life as well, +depended upon his success. Both feet now rested upon the muddy +bottom, and he stood there clear of the boat. + +The chief did not stop again, and as the fire had burned higher, +his features were disclosed more plainly in his restless walk +back and forth before the flames. Henry took a final look at the +lofty features, contracted now into a frown, then began to wade +among the bushes, pushing his way softly. This was the most +delicate and difficult task of all. The water must not be +allowed to plash around him nor the bushes to rustle as he +passed. Forward he went a yard, then two, five, ten, and his +feet were about to rest upon solid earth, when a stick submerged +in the mud broke under his moccasin with a snap singularly loud +in the silence of the night. + +Henry sprang at once upon dry land, whence he cast back a single +swift glance. He saw the chief standing rigid and gazing in the +direction from which the sound had come. Other warriors were +just behind him, following his look, aware that there was an +unexpected presence in the forest, and resolved to know its +nature. + +Henry ran northward. So confident was he in his powers and the +protecting darkness of the night that he sent back a sharp cry, +piercing and defiant, a cry of a quality that could come only +from a white throat. The warriors would know it, and he intended +for them to know it. Then, holding his rifle almost parallel +with his body, he darted swiftly away through the black spaces of +the forest. But an answering cry came to his, the Indian yell +taking up his challenge, and saying that the night would not +check pursuit. + +Henry maintained his swift pace for a long time, choosing the +more open places that he might make no noise among the bushes and +leaves. Now and then water dripped in his face, and his +moccasins were wet from the long grass, but his body was warm and +dry, and he felt little weariness. The clouds were now all gone, +and the stars sprang out, dancing in a sky of dusky blue. +Trained eyes could see far in the forest despite the night, and +Henry felt that he must be wary. He recalled the skill and +tenacity of Timmendiquas. A fugitive could scarcely be trailed +in the darkness, but the great chief would spread out his forces +like a fan and follow. + +He had been running perhaps three hours when he concluded to stop +in a thicket, where he lay down on the damp grass, and rested +with his head under his arm. + +His breath had been coming a little faster, but his heart now +resumed its regular beat. Then he heard a soft sound, that of +footsteps. He thought at first that some wild animal was +prowling near, but second thought convinced him that human beings +had come. Gazing through the thicket, he saw an Indian warrior +walking among the trees, looking searchingly about him as if he +were a scout. Another, coming from a different direction, +approached him, and Henry felt sure that they were of the party +of Timmendiquas. They had followed him in some manner, perhaps +by chance, and it behooved Mm now to lie close. + +A third warrior joined them and they began to examine the ground. +Henry realized that it was much lighter. Keen eyes under such a +starry sky could see much, and they might strike his trail. The +fear quickly became fact. One of the warriors, uttering a short +cry, raised his head and beckoned to the others. He had seen +broken twigs or trampled grass, and Henry, knowing that it was no +time to hesitate, sprang from his covert. Two of the warriors +caught a glimpse of his dusky figure and fired, the bullets +cutting the leaves close to his head, but Henry ran so fast that +he was lost to view in an instant. + +The boy was conscious that his position contained many elements +of danger. He was about to have another example of the tenacity +and resource of the great young chief of the Wyandots, and he +felt a certain anger. He, did not wish to be disturbed in his +plans, he wished to rejoin his comrades and move farther east +toward the chosen lands of the Six Nations; instead, he must +spend precious moments running for his life. + +Henry did not now flee toward the camp of his friends. He was +too wise, too unselfish, to bring a horde down upon them, and he +curved away in a course that would take him to the south of them. +He glanced up and saw that the heavens were lightening yet more. +A thin gray color like a mist was appearing in the east. It was +the herald of day, and now the Indians would be able to find his +trail. But Henry was not afraid. His anger over the loss of +time quickly passed, and he ran swiftly on, the fall of his +moccasins making scarcely any noise as be passed. + +It was no unusual incident. Thousands of such pursuits occurred +in the border life of our country, and were lost to the +chronicler. For generations they were almost a part of the daily +life of the frontier, but the present, while not out of the +common in itself, had, uncommon phases. It was the most splendid +type of white life in all the wilderness that fled, and the +finest type of red life that followed. + +It was impossible for Henry to feel anger or hate toward +Timmendiquas. In his place he would have done what he was doing. +It was hard to give up these great woods and beautiful lakes and +rivers, and the wild life that wild men lived and loved. There +was so much chivalry in the boy's nature that he could think of +all these things while he fled to escape the tomahawk or the +stake. + +Up came the sun. The gray light turned to silver, and then to +red and blazing gold. A long, swelling note, the triumphant cry +of the pursuing warriors, rose behind him. Henry turned his head +for one look. He saw a group of them poised for a moment on the +crest of a low hill and outlined against the broad flame in the +east. He saw their scalp locks, the rifles in their hands, and +their bare chests shining bronze in the glow. Once more he sent +back his defiant cry, now in answer to theirs, and then, calling +upon his reserves of strength and endurance, fled with a speed +that none of the warriors had ever seen surpassed. + +Henry's flight lasted all that day, and he used every device to +evade the pursuit, swinging by vines, walking along fallen logs, +and wading in brooks. He did not see the warriors again, but +instinct warned him that they were yet following. At long +intervals he would rest for a quarter of an hour or so among the +bushes, and at noon he ate a little of the venison that he always +carried. Three hours later he came to the river again, and +swimming it he turned on his course, but kept to the southern +side. When the twilight was falling once more he sat still in +dense covert for a long time. He neither saw nor heard a sign of +human presence, and he was sure now that the pursuit had failed. +Without an effort he dismissed it from his mind, ate a little +more of the venison, and made his bed for the night. + +The whole day had been bright, with a light wind blowing, and the +forest was dry once more. As far as Henry could see it circled +away on every side, a solid dark green, the leaves of oak and +beech, maple and elm making a soft, sighing sound as they waved +gently in the wind. It told Henry of nothing but peace. He had +eluded the pursuit, hence it was no more. This was a great, +friendly forest, ready to shelter him, to soothe him, and to +receive him into its arms for peaceful sleep. + +He found a place among thick trees where the leaves of last year +lay deep upon the ground. He drew up enough of them for a soft +bed, because now and for the moment he was a forest sybarite. He +was wise enough to take his ease when he found it, knowing that +it would pay his body to relax. + +He lay down upon the leaves, placed the rifle by his side, and +spread the blanket over himself and the weapon. The twilight was +gone, and the night, dark and without stars, as he wished to see +it, rolled up, fold after fold, covering and hiding everything. +He looked a little while at a breadth of inky sky showing through +the leaves, and then, free from trouble or fear, he fell asleep. + + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE MYSTERIOUS HAND + + +Henry slept until a rosy light, filtering through the leaves, +fell upon his face. Then he sprang up, folded the blanket once +more upon his back, and looked about him. Nothing had come in +the night to disturb him, no enemy was near, and the morning sun +was bright and beautiful. The venison was exhausted, but he +bathed his face in the brook and resumed his journey, traveling +with a long, swift stride that carried him at great speed. + +The boy was making for a definite point, one that he knew well, +although nearly all the rest of this wilderness was strange to +him. The country here was rougher than it usually is in the +great valley to the west, and as he advanced it became yet more +broken, range after range of steep, stony hills, with fertile but +narrow little valleys between. He went on without hesitation for +at least two hours, and then stopping under a great oak he +uttered a long, whining cry, much like the howl of a wolf. + +It was not a loud note, but it was singularly penetrating, +carrying far through the forest. A sound like an echo came back, +but Henry knew that instead of an echo it was a reply to his own +signal. Then he advanced boldly and swiftly and came to the edge +of a snug little valley set deep among rocks and trees like a +bowl. He stopped behind the great trunk of a beech, and looked +into the valley with a smile of approval. + +Four human figures were seated around a fire of smoldering coals +that gave forth no smoke. They appeared to be absorbed in some +very pleasant task, and a faint odor that came to Henry's +nostrils filled him with agreeable anticipations. He stepped +forward boldly and called: + +"Jim, save that piece for me!" + +Long Jim Hart halted in mid-air the large slice of venison that +he had toasted on a stick. Paul Cotter sprang joyfully to his +feet, Silent Tom Ross merely looked up, but Shif'less Sol said: + +"Thought Henry would be here in time for breakfast." + +Henry walked down in the valley, and the shiftless one regarded +him keenly. + +"I should judge, Henry Ware, that you've been hevin' a foot +race," he drawled. + +"And why do you think that?" asked Henry. + +"I kin see where the briars hev been rakin' across your leggins. +Reckon that wouldn't happen, 'less you was in a pow'ful hurry." + +"You're right," said Henry. "Now, Jim, you've been holding that +venison in the air long enough. Give it to me, and after I've +eaten it I'll tell you all that I've been doing, and all that's +been done to me." + +Long Jim handed him the slice. Henry took a comfortable seat in +the circle before the coals, and ate with all the appetite of a +powerful human creature whose food had been more than scanty for +at least two days. + +"Take another piece," said Long Jim, observing him with approval. +"Take two pieces, take three, take the whole deer. I always like +to see a hungry man eat. It gives him sech satisfaction that I +git a kind uv taste uv it myself." + +Henry did not offer a word 'of explanation until his breakfast +was over. Then lie leaned back, sighing twice with deep content, +and said: + +"Boys, I've got a lot to tell." + +Shif'less Sol moved into an easier position on the leaves. + +"I guess it has somethin' to do with them scratches on your +leggins." + +"It has," continued Henry with emphasis," and I want to say to +you boys that I've seen Timmendiquas, the great White Lightning +of the Wyandots." + +"Timmendiquas!" exclaimed the others together. + +"No less a man than he," resumed Henry. " I've looked upon his +very face, I've seen him in camp with warriors, and I've had the +honor of being pursued by him and his men more hours than I can +tell. That's why you see those briar scratches on my leggins, +Sol." + +"Then we cannot doubt that he is here to stir the Six Nations to +continued war," said Paul Cotter, "and he will succeed. He is a +mighty chief, and his fire and eloquence will make them take up +the hatchet. I'm glad that we've come. We delayed a league once +between the Shawnees and the Miamis; I don't think we can stop +this one, but we may get some people out of the way before the +blow falls." + +"Who are these Six Nations, whose name sounds so pow'ful big up +here?" asked Long Jim. + +"Their name is as big as it sounds," replied Henry. They are the +Onondagas, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Senecas, Cayugas, and +Tuscaroras. They used to be the Five Nations, but the Tuscaroras +came up from the south and fought against them so bravely that +they were adopted into the league, as a new and friendly tribe. +The Onondagas, so I've heard, formed the league a long, long time +ago, and their head chief is the grand sachem or high priest of +them all, but the head chief of the Mohawks is the leading war +chief." + +"I've heard," said Paul, "that the Wyandots are kinsmen of all +these tribes, and on that account they will listen with all the +more friendliness to Timmendiquas." + +"Seems to me," said Tom Ross, "that we've got a most +tre-men-je-ous big job ahead." + +"Then," said Henry, "we must make a most tremendous big effort." + +"That's so," agreed all. + +After that they spoke little. The last coals were covered up, +and the remainder of the food was put in their pouches. Then +they sat on the leaves, and every one meditated until such time +as he might have something worth saying. Henry's thoughts +traveled on a wide course, but they always came back to one +point. They had heard much at Pittsburgh of a famous Mohawk +chief called Thayendanegea, but most often known to the Americans +as Brant. He was young, able, and filled with intense animosity +against the white people, who encroached, every year, more and +more upon the Indian hunting grounds. His was a soul full kin to +that of Timmendiquas, ;and if the two met it meant a great +council and a greater endeavor for the undoing of the white man. +What more likely than that they intended to meet? + +"All of you have heard of Thayendanegea, the Mohawk?" said Henry. + +They nodded. + +"It's my opinion that Timmendiquas is on the way to meet him. I +remember hearing a hunter say at Pittsburgh that about a hundred +miles to the east of this point was a Long House or Council House +of the Six Nations. Timmendiquas is sure to go there, and we +must go, too. We must find out where they intend to strike. +What do you say?" + +"We go there!" exclaimed four voices together. + +Seldom has a council of war been followed by action so promptly. + +As Henry spoke the last word he rose, and tile others rose with +him. Saying no more, he led toward the east, and the others +followed him, also saying no more. Separately every one of them +was strong, brave, and resourceful, but when the five were +together they felt that they had the skill and strength of +twenty. The long rest at Pittsburgh had restored them after the +dangers and hardship of their great voyage from New Orleans. + +They carried in horn and pouch ample supplies of powder and +bullet, and they did not fear any task. + +Their journey continued through hilly country, clothed in heavy +forest, but often without undergrowth. They avoided the open +spaces, preferring to be seen of men, who were sure to be red +men, as little as possible. Their caution was well taken. They +saw Indian signs, once a feather that had fallen from a scalp +lock, once footprints, and once the bone of a deer recently +thrown away by him who had eaten the meat from it. The country +seemed to be as wild as that of Kentucky. Small settlements, so +they had heard, were scattered at great distances through the +forest, but they saw none. There was no cabin smoke, no trail of +the plow, just the woods and the hills and the clear streams. +Buffalo had never reached this region, but deer were abundant, +and they risked a shot to replenish their supplies. + +They camped the second night of their march on a little peninsula +at the confluence of two creeks, with the deep woods everywhere. +Henry judged that they were well within the western range of the +Six Nations, and they cooked their deer meat over a smothered +fire, nothing more than a few coals among the leaves. When +supper was over they arranged soft places for themselves and +their blankets, all except Long Jim, whose turn it was to scout +among the woods for a possible foe. + +"Don't be gone long, Jim," said Henry as he composed himself in a +comfortable position. "A circle of a half mile about us will +do." + +"I'll not be gone more'n an hour," said Long Jim, picking up his +rifle confidently, and flitting away among the woods. + +" Not likely he'll see anything," said Shif'less Sol, but I'd +shorely like to know what White Lightning is about. He must be +terrible stirred up by them beatin's he got down on the Ohio, an' +they say that Mohawk, Thayendanegea is a whoppin' big chief, too. +They'll shorely make a heap of trouble." + +"But both of them are far from here just now," said Henry, "and +we won't bother about either." + +He was lying on some leaves at the foot of a tree with his arm +under his head and his blanket over his body. He had a +remarkable capacity for dismissing trouble or apprehension, and +just then he was enjoying great physical and mental peace. He +looked through half closed eyes at his comrades, who also were +enjoying repose, and his fancy could reproduce Long Jim in the +forest, slipping from tree to tree and bush to bush, and finding +no menace. + +"Feels good, doesn't it, Henry?" said the shiftless one. " I like +a clean, bold country like this. No more plowin' around in +swamps for me." + +Yes," said Henry sleepily, " it's a good country." + +The hour slipped smoothly by, and Paul said: + +" Time for Long Jim to be back." + +"Jim don't do things by halves," said the shiftless one. "Guess +he's beatin' up every squar' inch o' the bushes. He'll be here +soon." + +A quarter of an hour passed, and Long Jim did not return; a half +hour, and no sign of him. Henry cast off the blanket and stood +up. The night was not very dark and he could see some distance, +but he did not see their comrade. + +"I wonder why he's so slow," he said with a faint trace of +anxiety. + +"He'll be 'long directly," said Tom Ross with confidence. + +Another quarter of an hour, and no Long Jim. Henry sent forth +the low penetrating cry of the wolf that they used so often as a +signal. + +"He cannot fail to hear that," he said, "and he'll answer." + +No answer came. The four looked at one another in alarm. Long +Jim had been gone nearly two hours, and he was long overdue. His +failure to reply to the signal indicated either that something +ominous had happened or that- he had gone much farther than they +meant for him to go. + +The others had risen to their feet, also, and they stood a little +while in silence. + +"What do you think it means?" asked Paul. + +"It must be all right," said Shif'less Sol. "Mebbe Jim has lost +the camp." + +Henry shook his head. + +"It isn't that," he said. "Jim is too good a woodsman for such a +mistake. I don't want to look on the black side, boys, but I +think something has happened to Jim." + +"Suppose you an' me go an' look for him," said Shif'less Sol, +"while Paul and Tom stay here an' keep house." + +"We'd better do it," said Henry. "Come, Sol." + +The two, rifles in the hollows of their arms, disappeared in the +darkness, while Tom and Paul withdrew into the deepest shadow of +the trees and waited. + +Henry and the shiftless one pursued an anxious quest, going about +the camp in a great circle and then in another yet greater. They +did not find Jim, and the dusk was so great that they saw no +evidences of his trail. Long Jim had disappeared as completely +as if he had left the earth for another planet. When they felt +that they must abandon the search for the time, Henry and +Shif'less Sol looked at each other in a dismay that the dusk +could not hide. + +"Mebbe be saw some kind uv a sign, an' has followed it," said the +shiftless one hopefully. "If anything looked mysterious an' +troublesome, Jim would want to hunt it down." + +"I hope so," said Henry, "but we've got to go back to the camp +now and report failure. Perhaps he'll show up to-morrow, but I +don't like it, Sol, I don't like it!" + +"No more do I," said Shif'less Sol. "'Tain't like Jim not to +come back, ef he could. Mebbe he'll drop in afore day, anyhow." + +They returned to the camp, and two inquiring figures rose up out +of the darkness. + +"You ain't seen him?" said Tom, noting that but two figures had +returned. + +"Not a trace," replied Henry. "It's a singular thing." + +The four talked together a little while, and they were far from +cheerful. Then three sought sleep, while Henry stayed on watch, +sitting with his back against a tree and his rifle on his knees. +All the peace and content that be had felt earlier in the evening +were gone. He was oppressed by a sense of danger, mysterious and +powerful. It did not seem possible that Long Jim could have gone +away in such a noiseless manner, leaving no trace behind. But it +was true. + +He watched with both ear and eye as much for Long Jim as for an +enemy. He was still hopeful that he would see the long, thin +figure coming among the bushes, and then hear the old pleasant +drawl. But he did not see the figure, nor did he hear the drawl. + +Time passed with the usual slow step when one watches. Paul, +Sol, and Tom were asleep, but Henry was never wider awake in his +life. He tried to put away the feeling of mystery and danger. +He assured himself that Long Jim would soon come, delayed by some +trail that he had sought to solve. Nothing could have happened +to a man so brave and skillful. His nerves must be growing weak +when he allowed himself to be troubled so much by a delayed +return. + +But the new hours came, one by one, and Long Jim came with none +of them. The night remained fairly light, with a good moon, but +the light that it threw over the forest was gray and uncanny. +Henry's feeling of mystery and danger deepened. Once he thought +he heard a rustling in the thicket and, finger on the trigger of +his rifle, he stole among the bushes to discover what caused it. +He found nothing and, returning to his lonely watch, saw that +Paul, Sol, and Tom were still sleeping soundly. But Henry was +annoyed greatly by the noise, and yet more by his failure to +trace its origin. After an hour's watching he looked a second +time. The result was once more in vain, and he resumed his seat +upon the leaves, with his back reclining against an oak. Here, +despite the fact that the night was growing darker, nothing +within range of a rifle shot could escape his eyes. + +Nothing stirred. The noise did not come a second time from the +thicket. The very silence was oppressive. There was no wind, +not even a stray puff, and the bushes never rustled. Henry +longed for a noise of some kind to break that terrible, +oppressive silence. What he really wished to hear was the soft +crunch of Long Jim's moccasins on the grass and leaves. + +The night passed, the day came, and Henry awakened his comrades. +Long Jim was still missing and their alarm was justified. +Whatever trail lie might have struck, he would have returned in +the night unless something had happened to him. Henry had vague +theories, but nothing definite, and he kept them to himself. Yet +they must make a change in their plans. To go on and leave Long +Jim to whatever fate might be his was unthinkable. No task could +interfere with the duty of the five to one another. + +"We are in one of the most dangerous of all the Indian +countries," said Henry. "We are on the fringe of the region over +which the Six Nations roam, and we know that Timmendiquas and a +band of the Wyandots are here also. Perhaps Miamis and Shawnees +have come, too." + +"We've got to find Long Jim," said Silent Tom briefly. + +They went about their task in five minutes. Breakfast consisted +of cold venison and a drink from a brook. Then they began to +search the forest. They felt sure that such woodsmen as they, +with the daylight to help them, would find some trace of Long +Jim, but they saw none at all, although they constantly widened +their circle, and again tried all their signals. Half the +forenoon passed in the vain search, and then they held a council. + +I think we'd better scatter," said Shif'less Sol, "an' meet here +again when the sun marks noon." + +It was agreed, and they took careful note of the place, a little +hill crowned with a thick cluster of black oaks, a landmark easy +to remember. Henry turned toward the south, and the forest was +so dense that in two minutes all his comrades were lost to sight. +He went several miles, and his search was most rigid. He was +amazed to find that the sense of mystery and danger that he +attributed to the darkness of the night did not disappear wholly +in the bright daylight. His spirit, usually so optimistic, was +oppressed by it, and he had no belief that they would find Long +Jim. + +At the set time he returned to the little hill crowned with the +black oaks, and as he approached it from one side he saw +Shif'less Sol coming from another. The shiftless one walked +despondently. His gait was loose and shambling-a rare thing with +him, and Henry knew that he, too, had failed. He realized now +that he had not expected anything else. Shif'less Sol shook +his head, sat down on a root and said nothing. Henry sat down, +also, and tile two exchanged a look of discouragement. + +"The others will be here directly," said Henry, "and perhaps Long +Jim will be with one of them." + +But in his heart he knew that it would not be so, and the +shiftless one knew that he had no confidence in his own words. + +" If not," said Henry, resolved to see the better side, we'll +stay anyhow until we find him. We can't spare good old Long +Jim." + +Shif'less Sol did not reply, nor did Henry speak again, until lie +saw the bushes moving slightly three or four hundred yards away. + +"There comes Tom," he said, after a single comprehensive glance, +"and he's alone." + +Tom Ross was also a dejected figure. He looked at the two on the +hill, and, seeing that the man for whom they were searching was +not with them, became more dejected than before. + +"Paul's our last chance," he said, as he joined them. He's +gen'rally a lucky boy, an' mebbe it will be so with him to-day." + +I hope so," said Henry fervently. " He ought to be along in a +few minutes." + +They waited patiently, although they really had no belief that +Paul would bring in the missing man, but Paul was late. The noon +hour was well past. Henry took a glance at the sun. Noon was +gone at least a half hour, and he stirred uneasily. + +"Paul couldn't get lost in broad daylight," he said. + +"No," said Shif'less Sol, "he couldn't get lost!" + +Henry noticed his emphasis on the word "lost," and a sudden fear +sprang up in his heart. Some power had taken away Long Jim; +could the same power have seized Paul? It was a premonition, and +he paled under his brown, turning away lest the others see his +face. All three now examined the whole circle of the horizon for +a sight of moving bushes that would tell of the boy's coming. + +The forest told nothing. The sun blazed brightly over +everything, and Paul, like Long Jim, did not come. He was an +hour past due, and the three, oppressed already by Long jim's +disappearance, were convinced that he would not return. But they +gave him a half hour longer. Then Henry said: + +"We must hunt for him, but we must not separate. Whatever +happens we three must stay together." + +I'm not hankerin' to roam 'roun jest now all by myself," said the +shiftless one, with an uneasy laugh. + +The three hunted all that afternoon for Paul. Once they saw +trace of footsteps, apparently his, in some soft earth, but they +were quickly, lost on hard ground, and after that there was +nothing. They stopped shortly before sunset at the edge of a +narrow but deep creek. + +"What do you think of it, Henry?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"I don't know what to think," replied the youth, "but it seems to +me that whatever took away Jim has taken away Paul, also." + +"Looks like it," said Sol, "an' I guess it follers that we're in +the same kind o' danger." + +"We three of us could put up a good fight," said Henry, " and I +propose that we don't go back to that camp, but spend the night +here." + +"Yes, an' watch good," said Tom Ross. + +Their new camp was made quickly in silence, merely the grass +under the low boughs of a tree. Their supper was a little +venison, and then they watched the coming of the. darkness. It +was a heavy hour for the three. Long Jim was gone, and then +Paul-Paul, the youngest, and, in a way, the pet of the little +band. + +"Ef we could only know how it happened," whispered Shif'less Sol, +"then we might rise up an' fight the danger an' git Paul an' Jim +back. But you can't shoot at somethin' you don't see or hear. +In all them fights o' ours, on the Ohio an' Mississippi we knowed +what wuz ag'inst us, but here we don't know nothin'." + +" It is true, Sol," sighed Henry. "We were making such big +plans, too, and before we can even start our force is cut nearly +in half. To-morrow we'll begin the hunt again. We'll never +desert Paul and Jim, so long as we don't know they're dead." + +"It's my watch," said Tom. "You two sleep. We've got to keep +our strength." + +Henry and the shiftless one acquiesced, and seeking the softest +spots under the tree sat down. Tom Ross took his place about ten +feet in front of them, sitting on the ground, with his hands +clasped around his knees, and his rifle resting on his arm. +Henry watched him idly for a little while, thinking all the time +of his lost comrades. The night promised to be dark, a good +thing for them, as the need of hiding was too evident. + +Shif'less Sol soon fell asleep, as Henry, only three feet away, +knew by his soft and regular breathing, but the boy himself was +still wide-eyed. + +The darkness seemed to sink down like a great blanket dropping +slowly, and the area of Henry's vision narrowed to a small +circle. Within this area the distinctive object was the figure +of Tom Ross, sitting with his rifle across his knees. Tom had an +infinite capacity for immobility. Henry had never seen another +man, not even an Indian, who could remain so long in one position +contented and happy. He believed that the silent one could sit +as he was all night. + +His surmise about Tom began to have a kind of fascination for +him. Would he remain absolutely still? He would certainly shift +an arm or a leg. Henry's interest in the question kept him +awake. He turned silently on the other side, but, no matter how +intently he studied the sitting figure of his comrade, he could +not see it stir. He did not know how long he had been awake, +trying thus to decide a question that should be of no importance +at such a time. Although unable to sleep, be fell into a dreamy +condition, and continued vaguely to watch the rigid and silent +sentinel. + +He suddenly saw Tom stir, and he came from his state of languor. +The exciting question was solved at last. The man would not sit +all night absolutely immovable. There could be no doubt of the +fact that he had raised an arm, and that his figure had +straightened. Then he stood up, full height, remained motionless +for perhaps ten seconds, and then suddenly glided away among the +bushes. + +Henry knew what this meant. Tom had heard something moving in +the thickets, and, like a good sentinel, be had gone to +investigate. A rabbit, doubtless, or perhaps a sneaking raccoon. +Henry rose to a sitting position, and drew his own rifle across +his knees. He would watch while Tom was gone, and then lie would +sink quietly back, not letting his comrade know that lie had +taken his place. + +The faintest of winds began to stir among the thickets. Light +clouds drifted before the moon. Henry, sitting with his rifle +across his knees, and Shif'less Sol, asleep in the shadows, were +invisible, but Henry saw beyond the circle of darkness that +enveloped them into the grayish light that fell over the bushes. +He marked the particular point at which he expected Tom Ross to +appear, a slight opening that held out invitation for the passage +of a man. + +He waited a long time, ten minutes, twenty, a half hour, and the +sentinel did not return. Henry came abruptly out of his dreamy +state. He felt with all the terrible thrill of certainty that +what happened to Long Jim and Paul had happened also to Silent +Tom Ross. He stood erect, a tense, tall figure, alarmed, but not +afraid. His eyes searched the thickets, but saw nothing. The +slight movement of the bushes was made by the wind, and no other +sound reached his ears. + +But he might be mistaken after all! The most convincing +premonitions were sometimes wrong! He would give Tom ten minutes +more, and he sank down in a crouching position, where he would +offer the least target for the eye. + +The appointed time passed, and neither sight nor sound revealed +any sign of Tom Ross. Then Henry awakened Shif'less Sol, and +whispered to him all that he had seen. + +"Whatever took Jim and Paul has took him," whispered the +shiftless one at once. + +Henry nodded. + +"An' we're bound to look for him right now," continued Shif'less +Sol. + +" Yes," said Henry, " but we must stay together. If we follow +the others, Sol, we must follow 'em together." + +It would be safer," said Sol. " I've an idee that we won't find +Tom, an' I want to tell you, Henry, this thing is gittin' on my +nerves." + +It was certainly on Henry's, also, but without reply he led the +way into the bushes, and they sought long and well for Silent +Tom, keeping at the same time a thorough watch for any danger +that might molest themselves. But no danger showed, nor did they +find Tom or his trail. He, too, had vanished into nothingness, +and Henry and Sol, despite their mental strength, felt cold +shivers. They came back at last, far toward morning, to the bank +of the creek. It was here as elsewhere a narrow but deep stream +flowing between banks so densely wooded that they were almost +like walls. + +"It will be daylight soon," said Shif'less Sol, "an' I think we'd +better lay low in thicket an' watch. It looks ez ef we couldn't +find anything, so we'd better wait an' see what will find us." + +"It looks like the best plan to me," said Henry, " but I think we +might first hunt a while on the other side of the creek. We +haven't looked any over there." + +"That's so," replied Shif'less Sol, "but the water is at least +seven feet deep here, an' we don't want to make any splash +swimmin'. Suppose you go up stream, an' I go down, an' the one +that finds a ford first kin give a signal. One uv us ought to +strike shallow water in three or four hundred yards." + +Henry followed the current toward the south, while Sol moved up +the stream. The boy went cautiously through the dense foliage, +and the creek soon grew wider and shallower. At a distance of +about three hundred yards lie came to a point where it could be +waded easily. Then he uttered the low cry that was their signal, +and went back to meet Shif'less Sol. He reached the exact point +at which they had parted, and waited. The shiftless one did not +come. The last of his comrades was gone, and he was alone in the +forest. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE HUT ON THE ISLET + + +Henry Ware waited at least a quarter of an hour by the creek on +the exact spot at which he and Solomon Hyde, called the shiftless +one, had parted, but he knew all the while that his last comrade +was not coming. The same powerful and mysterious hand that swept +the others away had taken him, the wary and cunning Shif'less +Sol, master of forest lore and with all the five senses developed +to the highest pitch. Yet his powers had availed him nothing, +and the boy again felt that cold chill running down his spine. + +Henry expected the omnipotent force to come against him, also, +but his instinctive caution made him turn and creep into the +thickest of the forest, continuing until he found a place in the +bushes so thoroughly hidden that no one could see him ten feet +away. There he lay down and rapidly ran over in his mind the +events connected with the four disappearances. They were few, +and he had little on which to go, but his duty to seek his four +comrades, since he alone must do it, was all the greater. Such a +thought as deserting them and fleeing for his own life never +entered his mind. He would not only seek them, but he would +penetrate the mystery of the power that had taken them. + +It was like him now to go about his work with calmness and +method. To approach an arduous task right one must possess +freshness and vigor, and one could have neither without sleep. +His present place of hiding seemed to be as secure as any that +could be found. So composing himself he took all chances and +sought slumber. Yet it needed a great effort of the will to calm +his nerves, and it was a half hour before he began to feel any of +the soothing effect that precedes sleep. But fall asleep he did +at last, and, despite everything, he slept soundly until the +morning. + +Henry did not awake to a bright day. The sun had risen, but it +was obscured by gray clouds, and the whole heavens were somber. +A cold wind began to blow, and with it came drops of rain. He +shivered despite the enfolding blanket. The coming of the +morning had invariably brought cheerfulness and increase of +spirits, but now he felt depression. He foresaw heavy rain +again, and it would destroy any but the deepest trail. Moreover, +his supplies of food were exhausted and he must replenish them in +some manner before proceeding further. + +A spirit even as bold and strong as Henry's might well have +despaired. He had found his comrades, only to lose them again, +and the danger that had threatened them, and the elements as +well, now threatened him, too. An acute judge of sky and air, he +knew that the rain, cold, insistent, penetrating, would fall all +day, and that he must seek shelter if he would keep his strength. +The Indians themselves always took to cover at such times. + +He wrapped the blanket around himself, covering his body well +from neck to ankle, putting his rifle just inside the fold, but +with his hand upon it, ready for instant use if it should be +needed. Then he started, walking straight ahead until he came to +the crown of a little hill. The clouds meanwhile thickened, and +the rain, of the kind that he had foreseen and as cold as ice, +was blown against him. The grass and bushes were reeking, and +his moccasins became sodden. Despite the vigorous walking, lie +felt the wet cold entering his system. There come times when the +hardiest must yield, and be saw the increasing need of refuge. + +He surveyed the country attentively from the low hill. All +around was a dull gray horizon from which the icy rain dripped +everywhere. There was no open country. All was forest, and the +heavy rolling masses of foliage dripped with icy water, too. + +Toward the south the land seemed to dip down, and Henry surmised +that in a valley he would be more likely to find the shelter that +he craved. He needed it badly. As he stood there he shivered +again and again from head to foot, despite the folds of the +blanket. So he started at once, walking fast, and feeling little +fear of a foe. It was not likely that any would be seeking him +at such a time. The rain struck him squarely in the face now. +Water came from his moccasins every time his foot was pressed +against the earth, and, no matter how closely he drew the folds +of the blanket, little streams of it, like ice to the touch, +flowed down his neck and made their way under his clothing. He +could not remember a time when he had felt more miserable. + +He came in about an hour to the dip which, as he had surmised, +was the edge of a considerable valley. He ran down the slope, +and looked all about for some place of shelter, a thick windbreak +in the lee of a hill, or an outcropping of stone, but he saw +neither, and, as he continued the search, he came to marshy +ground. He saw ahead among the weeds and bushes the gleam of +standing pools, and he was about to turn back, when he noticed +three or four stones, in a row and about a yard from one another, +projecting slightly above the black muck. It struck him that the +stones would not naturally be in the soft mud, and, his curiosity +aroused, he stepped lightly from one stone to another. When he +came to the last stone that he had seen from the hard ground he +beheld several more that had been hidden from him by the bushes. +Sure now that he had happened upon something not created by +nature alone, he followed these stones, leading like steps into +the very depths of the swamp, which was now deep and dark with +ooze all about him. He no longer doubted that the stones, the +artificial presence of which might have escaped the keenest eye +and most logical mind, were placed there for a purpose, and he +was resolved to know its nature. + +The stepping stones led him about sixty yards into the swamp, and +the last thirty yards were at an angle from the first thirty. +Then he came to a bit of hard ground, a tiny islet in the mire, +upon which he could stand without sinking at all. He looked back +from there, and he could not see his point of departure. Bushes, +weeds, and saplings grew out of the swamp to a height of a dozen +or fifteen feet, and he was inclosed completely. All the +vegetation dripped with cold water, and the place was one of the +most dismal that he had ever seen. But he had no thought of +turning back. + +Henry made a shrewd guess as to whither the path led, but he +inferred from the appearance of the stepping stones-chiefly from +the fact that an odd one here and there had sunk completely out +of sight-that they had not been used in a long time, perhaps for +years. He found on the other side of the islet a second line of +stones, and they led across a marsh, that was almost like a black +liquid, to another and larger island. + +Here the ground was quite firm, supporting a thick growth of +large trees. It seemed to Henry that this island might be +seventy or eighty yards across, and he began at once to explore +it. In the center, surrounded so closely by swamp oaks that they +almost formed a living wall, he found what he had hoped to find, +and his relief was so great that, despite his natural and trained +stoicism, he gave a little cry of pleasure when he saw it. + +A small lodge, made chiefly of poles and bark after the Iroquois +fashion, stood within the circle of the trees, occupying almost +the whole of the space. It was apparently abandoned long ago, +and time and weather had done it much damage. But the bark +walls, although they leaned in places at dangerous angles, still +stood. The bark roof was pierced by holes on one side, but on +the other it was still solid, and shed all the rain from its +slope. + +The door was open, but a shutter made of heavy pieces of bark +cunningly joined together leaned against the wall, and Henry saw +that he could make use of it. He stepped inside. The hut had a +bark floor which was dry on one side, where the roof was solid, +but dripping on the other. Several old articles of Indian use +lay about. In one corner was a basket woven of split willow and +still fit for service. There were pieces of thread made of +Indian hemp and the inner bark of the elm. There were also a +piece of pottery and a large, beautifully carved wooden spoon +such as every Iroquois carried. In the corner farthest from the +door was a rude fireplace made of large flat stones, although +there was no opening for the smoke. + +Henry surveyed it all thoughtfully, and he came to the conclusion +that it was a hut for hunting, built by some warrior of an +inquiring mind who had found this secret place, and who had +recognized its possibilities. Here after an expedition for game +he could lie hidden from enemies and take his comfort without +fear. Doubtless he had sat in this hut on rainy days like the +present one and smoked his pipe in the long, patient calm of +which the Indian is capable. + +Yes, there was the pipe, unnoticed before, trumpet shaped and +carved beautifully, lying on a small bark shelf. Henry picked it +tip and examined the bowl. It was as dry as a bone, and not a +particle of tobacco was left there. He believed that it had not +been used for at least a year. Doubtless the Indian who had +built this hunting lodge had fallen in some foray, and the secret +of it had been lost until Henry Ware, seeking through the cold +and rain, had stumbled upon it. + +It was nothing but a dilapidated little lodge of poles and bark, +all a-leak, but the materials of a house were there, and Henry +was strong and skillful. He covered the holes in tile roof with +fallen pieces of bark, laying heavy pieces of wood across them to +hold them in place. Then he lifted the bark shutter into +position and closed the door. Some drops of rain still came in +through the roof, but they were not many, and he would not mind +them for the present. Then he opened the door and began his +hardest task. + +He intended to build a fire on the flat stones, and, securing +fallen wood, he stripped off the bark and cut splinters from the +inside. It was slow work and he was very cold, his wet feet +sending chills through him, but be persevered, and the little +heap of dry splinters grew to a respectable size. Then he cut +larger pieces, laying them on one side while he worked with his +flint and steel on the splinters. + +Flint and steel are not easily handled even by the most skillful, +and Henry saw the spark leap up and die out many times before it +finally took hold of the end of the tiniest splinter and grew. +He watched it as it ran along the little piece of wood and +ignited another and then another, the beautiful little red and +yellow flames leaping up half a foot in height. Already he felt +the grateful warmth and glow, but he would not let himself +indulge in premature joy. He fed it with larger and larger +pieces until the flames, a deeper and more beautiful red and +yellow, rose at least two feet, and big coals began to form. He +left the door open a while in order that the smoke might go out, +but when the fire had become mostly coals he closed it again, all +except a crack of about six inches, which would serve at once to +let any stray smoke out, and to let plenty of fresh air in. + +Now Henry, all his preparations made, no detail neglected, +proceeded to luxuriate. He spread the soaked blanket out on the +bark floor, took off the sodden moccasins and placed them at one +angle of the fire, while he sat with his bare feet in front. +What a glorious warmth it was! It seemed to enter at his toes +and proceed upward through his body, seeking out every little +nook and cranny, to dry and warm it, and fill it full of new glow +and life. + +He sat there a long time, his being radiating with physical +comfort. The moccasins dried on one side, and he turned the +other. Finally they dried all over and all through, and he put +them on again. Then he hung the blanket on the bark wall near +the fire, and it, too, would be dry in another hour or so. He +foresaw a warm and dry place for the night, and sleep. Now if +one only had food! But he must do without that for the present. + +He rose and tested all his bones and muscles. No stiffness or +soreness had come from the rain and cold, and he was satisfied. +He was fit for any physical emergency. He looked out through the +crevice. Night was coming, and on the little island in the swamp +it looked inexpressibly black and gloomy. His stomach +complained, but he shrugged his shoulders, acknowledging +primitive necessity, and resumed his seat by the fire. There he +sat until the blanket had dried, and deep night had fully come. + +In the last hour or two Henry did not move. He remained before +the fire, crouched slightly forward, while the generous heat fed +the flame of life in him. A glowing bar, penetrating the crevice +at the door, fell on the earth outside, but it did not pass +beyond the close group of circling trees. The rain still fell +with uncommon steadiness and persistence, but at times hail was +mingled with it. Henry could not remember in his experience a +more desolate night. It seemed that the whole world dwelt in +perpetual darkness, and that he was the only living being on it. + Yet within the four or five feet square of the hut it was warm +and bright, and he was not unhappy. + +He would forget the pangs of hunger, and, wrapping himself in the +dry blanket, he lay down before the bed of coals, having first +raked ashes over them, and he slept one of the soundest sleeps of +his life. All night long, the dull cold rain fell, and with it, +at intervals, came gusts of hail that rattled like bird shot on +the bark walls of the hut. Some of the white pellets blew in at +the door, and lay for a moment or two on the floor, then melted +in the glow of the fire, and were gone. + +But neither wind, rain nor hail awoke Henry. He was as safe, for +the time, in the hut on the islet, as if he were in the fort at +Pittsburgh or behind the palisades at Wareville. Dawn came, the +sky still heavy and dark with clouds, and the rain still falling. + +Henry, after his first sense of refreshment and pleasure, became +conscious of a fierce hunger that no amount of the will could now +keep quiet. His was a powerful system, needing much nourishment, +and he must eat. That hunger became so great that it was acute +physical pain. He was assailed by it at all points, and it could +be repelled by only one thing, food. He must go forth, taking +all risks, and seek it. + +He put on fresh wood, covering it with ashes in order that it +might not blaze too high, and left the islet. The stepping +stones were slippery with water, and his moccasins soon became +soaked again, but he forgot the cold and wet in that ferocious +hunger, the attacks of which became more violent every minute. +He was hopeful that he might see a deer, or even a squirrel, but +the animals themselves were likely to keep under cover in such a +rain. He expected a hard hunt, and it would be attended also by +much danger - these woods must be full of Indians - but be +thought little of the risk. His hunger was taking complete +possession of his mind. He was realizing now that one might want +a thing so much that it would drive away all other thoughts. + +Rifle in hand, ready for any quick shot, he searched hour after +hour through the woods and thickets. He was wet, bedraggled, and +as fierce as a famishing panther, but neither skill nor instinct +guided him to anything. The rabbit hid in his burrow, the +squirrel remained in his hollow tree, and the deer did not leave +his covert. + +Henry could not well calculate the passage of time, it seemed so +fearfully long, and there was no one to tell him, but he judged +that it must be about noon, and his temper was becoming that of +the famished panther to which he likened himself. He paused and +looked around the circle of the dripping woods. He had retained +his idea of direction and he knew that he could go straight back +to the hut in the swamp. But he had no idea of returning now. A +power that neither he nor anyone else could resist was pushing +him on his search. + +Searching the gloomy horizon again, he saw against the dark sky a +thin and darker line that he knew to be smoke. He inferred, +also, with certainty, that it came from an Indian camp, and, +without hesitation, turned his course toward it. Indian camp +though it might be, and containing the deadliest of foes, he was +glad to know something lived beside himself in this wilderness. + +He approached with great caution, and found his surmise to be +correct. Lying full length in a wet thicket he saw a party of +about twenty warriors-Mohawks he took them to be-in an oak +opening. They had erected bark shelters, they had good fires, +and they were cooking. He saw them roasting the strips over the +coals-bear meat, venison, squirrel, rabbit, bird-and the odor, so +pleasant at other times, assailed his nostrils. But it was now +only a taunt and a torment. It aroused every possible pang of +hunger, and every one of them stabbed like a knife. + +The warriors, so secure in their forest isolation, kept no +sentinels, and they were enjoying themselves like men who had +everything they wanted. Henry could hear them laughing and +talking, and he watched them as they ate strip after strip of the +delicate, tender meat with the wonderful appetite that the Indian +has after long fasting. A fierce, unreasoning anger and jealousy +laid hold of him. He was starving, and they rejoiced in plenty +only fifty yards away. He began to form plans for a piratical +incursion upon them. Half the body of a deer lay near the edge +of the opening, he would rush upon it, seize it, and dart away. +It might be possible to escape with such spoil. + +Then he recalled his prudence. Such a thing was impossible. The +whole band of warriors would be upon him in an instant. The best +thing that he could do was to shut out the sight of so much +luxury in which he could not share, and he crept away among the +bushes wondering what he could do to drive away those terrible +pains. His vigorous system was crying louder than ever for the +food that would sustain it. His eyes were burning a little too +brightly, and his face was touched with fever. + +Henry stopped once to catch a last glimpse of the fires and the +feasting Indians under the bark shelters. He saw a warrior raise +a bone, grasping it in both hands, and bite deep into the tender +flesh that clothed it. The sight inflamed him into an anger +almost uncontrollable. He clenched his fist and shook it at the +warrior, who little suspected the proximity of a hatred so +intense. Then he bent his head down and rushed away among the +wet bushes which in rebuke at his lack of caution raked him +across the face. + +Henry walked despondently back toward the islet in the swamp. +The aspect of air and sky had not changed. The heavens still +dripped icy water, and there was no ray of cheerfulness anywhere. +The game remained well hidden. + +It was a long journey back, and as he felt that he was growing +weak he made no haste. He came to dense clumps of bushes, and +plowing his way through them, he saw a dark opening under some +trees thrown down by an old hurricane. Having some vague idea +that it might be the lair of a wild animal, he thrust the muzzle +of his rifle into the darkness. It touched a soft substance. +There was a growl, and a black form shot out almost into his +face. Henry sprang aside, and in an instant all his powers and +faculties returned. He had stirred up a black bear, and before +the animal, frightened as much as he was enraged, could run far +the boy, careless how many Indians might hear, threw up his rifle +and fired. + +His aim was good. The bear, shot through the head, fell, and was +dead. Henry, transformed, ran up to him. Bear life had been +given up to sustain man's. Here was food for many days, and he +rejoiced with a great joy. He did not now envy those warriors +back there. + +The bear, although small, was very fat. Evidently he had fed +well on acorns and wild honey, and he would yield up steaks +which, to one with Henry's appetite, would be beyond compare. He +calculated that it was more than a mile to the swamp, and, after +a few preliminaries, he flung the body of the bear over his +shoulder. Through some power of the mind over the body his full +strength had returned to him miraculously, and when he reached +the stepping stones he crossed from one to another lightly and +firmly, despite the weight that he carried. + +He came to the little bark hut which he now considered his own. +The night had fallen again, but some coals still glowed under the +ashes, and there was plenty of dry wood. He did everything +decently and in order. He took the pelt from the bear, carved +the body properly, and then, just as the Indians had done, he +broiled strips over the coals. He ate them one after another, +slowly, and tasting all the savor, and, intense as was the mere +physical pleasure, it was mingled with a deep thankfulness. Not +only was the life nourished anew in him, but he would now regain +the strength to seek his comrades. + +When he had eaten enough he fastened the body of the bear, now in +several portions, on hooks high upon the walls, hooks which +evidently had been placed there by the former owner of the hut +for this very purpose. Then, sure that the savor of the food +would draw other wild animals, he brought one of the stepping +stones and placed it on the inside of the door. The door could +not be pushed aside without arousing him, and, secure in the +knowledge, he went to sleep before the coals. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE RED CHIEFS + + +Henry awoke only once, and that was about half way between +midnight and morning, when his senses, never still entirely, even +in sleep, warned him that something was at the door. He rose +cautiously upon his arm, saw a dark muzzle at the crevice, and +behind it a pair of yellow, gleaming eyes. He knew at once that +it was a panther, probably living in the swamp and drawn by the +food. It must be very hungry to dare thus the smell of man. +Henry's hand moved slowly to the end of a stick, the other end of +which was a glowing coal. Then he seized it and hurled it +directly at the inquisitive head. + +The hot end of the stick struck squarely between the yellow eyes. +There was a yelp of pain, and the boy heard the rapid pad of the +big cat's feet as it fled into the swamp. Then he turned over on +his side, and laughed in genuine pleasure at what was to him a +true forest joke. He knew the panther would not come, at least +not while he was in the hut, and he calmly closed his eyes once +more. The old Henry was himself again. + +He awoke in the morning to find that the cold rain was still +falling. It seemed to him that it had prepared to rain forever, +but he was resolved, nevertheless, now that he had food and the +strength that food brings, to begin the search for his comrades. +The islet in the swamp would serve as his base-nothing could be +better-and he would never cease until he found them or discovered +what had become of them. + +A little spring of cold water flowed from the edge of the islet +to lose itself quickly in the swamp. Henry drank there after his +breakfast, and then felt as strong and active as ever. As he +knew, the mind may triumph over the body, but the mind cannot +save the body without food. Then he made his precious bear meat +secure against the prowling panther or others of his kind, tying +it on hanging boughs too high for a jump and too slender to +support the weight of a large animal. This task finished +quickly, he left the swamp and returned toward the spot where lie +had seen the Mohawks. + +The falling rain and the somber clouds helped Henry, in a way, as +the whole forest was enveloped in a sort of gloom, and he was +less likely to be seen. But when he had gone about half the +distance he heard Indians signaling to one another, and, burying +himself as usual in the wet bushes, he saw two small groups of +warriors meet and talk. Presently they separated, one party +going toward the east and the other toward the west. Henry +thought they were out hunting, as the Indians usually took little +care of the morrow, eating all their food in a few days, no +matter how great the supply might be. + +When he drew near the place he saw three more Indians, and these +were traveling directly south. He was quite sure now that his +theory was correct. They were sending out hunters in every +direction, in order that they might beat up the woods thoroughly +for game, and his own position anywhere except on the islet was +becoming exceedingly precarious. Nevertheless, using all his +wonderful skill, he continued the hunt. He had an abiding faith +that his four comrades were yet alive, and he meant to prove it. + +In the afternoon the clouds moved away a little, and the rain +decreased, though it did not cease. The Indian signs multiplied, +and Henry felt sure that the forest within a radius of twenty +miles of his islet contained more than one camp. Some great +gathering must be in progress and the hunters were out to supply +it with food. Four times he heard the sound of shots, and thrice +more he saw warriors passing through the forest. Once a wounded +deer darted past him, and, lying down in the bushes, he saw the +Indians following the fleeing animal. As the day grew older the +trails multiplied. Certainly a formidable gathering of bands was +in progress, and, feeling that he might at any time be caught in +a net, he returned to the islet, which had now become a veritable +fort for him. + +It was not quite dark when he arrived, and he found all as it had +been except the tracks of two panthers under the boughs to which +he had fastened the big pieces of bear meat. Henry felt a +malicious satisfaction at the disappointment of the panthers. + +"Come again, and have the same bad luck," he murmured." + +At dusk the rain ceased entirely, and he prepared for a journey +in the night. He examined his powder carefully to see that no +particle of it was wet, counted the bullets in his pouch, and +then examined the skies. There was a little moon, not too much, +enough to show him the way, but not enough to disclose him to an +enemy unless very near. Then he left the islet and went swiftly +through the forest, laying his course a third time toward the +Indian camp. He was sure now that all the hunters had returned, +and he did not expect the necessity of making any stops for the +purpose of hiding. His hopes were justified, and as he drew near +the camp he became aware that its population had increased +greatly. It was proved by many signs. New trails converged upon +it, and some of them were very broad, indicating that many +warriors had passed. They had passed, too, in perfect +confidence, as there was no effort at concealment, and Henry +surmised that no white force of any size could be within many +days' march of this place. But the very security of the Indians +helped his own design. They would not dream that any one of the +hated race was daring to come almost within the light of their +fires. + +Henry had but one fear just now, and that was dogs. If the +Indians had any of their mongrel curs with them, they would +quickly scent him out and give the alarm with their barking. But +he believed that the probabilities were against it. This, so he +thought then, was a war or hunting camp, and it was likely that +the Indians would leave the dogs at their permanent villages. At +any rate he would take the risk, and he drew slowly toward the +oak opening, where some Indians stood about. Beyond them, in +another dip of the valley, was a wider opening which he had not +seen on his first trip, and this contained not only bark +shelters, but buildings that indicated a permanent village. The +second and larger opening was filled with a great concourse of +warriors. + +Fortunately the foliage around the opening was very dense, many +trees and thickets everywhere. Henry crept to the very rim, +where, lying in the blackest of the shadows, and well hidden +himself, he could yet see nearly everything in the camp. The men +were not eating now, although it was obvious that the hunters had +done well. The dressed bodies of deer and bear hung in the bark +shelters. Most of the Indians sat about the fires, and it seemed +to Henry that they had an air of expectancy. At least two +hundred were present, and all of them were in war paint, although +there were several styles of paint. There was a difference in +appearance, too, in the warriors, and Henry surmised that +representatives of all the tribes of the Iroquois were there, +coming to the extreme western boundary or fringe of their +country. + +While Henry watched them a half dozen who seemed by their bearing +and manner to be chiefs drew together at a point not far from him +and talked together earnestly. Now and then they looked toward +the forest, and he was quite sure that they were expecting +somebody, a person of importance. He became deeply interested. +He was lying in a dense clump of hazel bushes, flat upon his +stomach, his face raised but little above the ground. He would +have been hidden from the keenest eye only ten feet away, but the +faces of the chiefs outlined against the blazing firelight were +so clearly visible to him that he could see every change of +expression. They were fine-looking men, all of middle age, tall, +lean, their noses hooked, features cut clean and strong, and +their heads shaved, all except the defiant scalp lock, into which +the feather of an eagle was twisted. Their bodies were draped in +fine red or blue blankets, and they wore leggins and moccasins of +beautifully tanned deerskin. + +They ceased talking presently, and Henry heard a distant wailing +note from the west. Some one in the camp replied with a cry in +kind, and then a silence fell upon them all. The chiefs stood +erect, looking toward the west. Henry knew that he whom they +expected was at hand. + +The cry was repeated, but much nearer, and a warrior leaped into +the opening, in the full blaze of the firelight. He was entirely +naked save for a breech cloth and moccasins, and he was a wild +and savage figure. He stood for a moment or two, then faced the +chiefs, and, bowing before them, spoke a few words in the Wyandot +tongue-Henry knew already by his paint that he was a Wyandot. + +The chiefs inclined their heads gravely, and the herald, turning, +leaped back into the forest. In two or three minutes six men, +including the herald, emerged from the woods, and Henry moved a +little when he saw the first of the six, all of whom were +Wyandots. It was Timmendiquas, head chief of the Wyandots, and +Henry had never seen him more splendid in manner and bearing than +he was as he thus met the representatives of the famous Six +Nations. Small though the Wyandot tribe might be, mighty was its +valor and fame, and White Lightning met the great Iroquois only +as an equal, in his heart a superior. + +It was an extraordinary thing, but Henry, at this very moment, +burrowing in the earth that be might not lose his life at the +hands of either, was an ardent partisan of Timmendiquas. It was +the young Wyandot chief whom he wished to be first, to make the +greatest impression, and he was pleased when he heard the low hum +of admiration go round the circle of two hundred savage warriors. +It was seldom, indeed, perhaps never, that the Iroquois had +looked upon such a man as Timmendiquas. + +Timmendiquas and his companions advanced slowly toward the +chiefs, and the Wyandot overtopped all the Iroquois. Henry could +tell by the manner of the chiefs that the reputation of the +famous White Lightning had preceded him, and that they had +already found fact equal to report. + +The chiefs, Timmendiquas among them, sat down on logs before the +fire, and all the warriors withdrew to a respectful distance, +where they stood and watched in silence. The oldest chief took +his long pipe, beautifully carved and shaped like a trumpet, and +filled it with tobacco which he lighted with a coal from the +fire. Then he took two or three whiffs and passed the pipe to +Timmendiquas, who did the same. Every chief smoked the pipe, and +then they sat still, waiting in silence. + +Henry was so much absorbed in this scene, which was at once a +spectacle and a drama, that he almost forgot where he was, and +that he was an enemy. He wondered now at their silence. If this +was a council surely they would discuss whatever question had +brought them there! But he was soon enlightened. That low far +cry came again, but from the east. It was answered, as before, +from the camp, and in three or four minutes a warrior sprang from +the forest into the opening. Like the first, he was naked except +for the breech cloth and moccasins. The chiefs rose at his +coming, received his salute gravely, and returned it as gravely. +Then he returned to the forest, and all waited in the splendid +calm of the Indian. + +Curiosity pricked Henry like a nettle. Who was coming now? It +must be some man of great importance, or they would not wait so +silently. There was the same air of expectancy that had preceded +the arrival of Timmendiquas. All the warriors looked toward the +eastern wall of the forest, and Henry looked the same way. +Presently the black foliage parted, and a man stepped forth, +followed at a little distance by seven or eight others. The +stranger, although tall, was not equal in height to Timmendiquas, +but he, too, had a lofty and splendid presence, and it was +evident to anyone versed at all in forest lore that here was a +great chief. He was lean but sinewy, and he moved with great +ease and grace. He reminded Henry of a powerful panther. He was +dressed, after the manner of famous chiefs, with the utmost care. +His short military coat of fine blue cloth bore a silver epaulet +on either shoulder. His head was not bare, disclosing the scalp +lock, like those of the other Indians; it was covered instead +with a small hat of felt, round and laced. Hanging carelessly +over one shoulder was a blanket of blue cloth with a red border. +At his side, from a belt of blue leather swung a silver-mounted +small sword. His leggins were of superfine blue cloth and his +moccasins of deerskin. Both were trimmed with small beads of +many colors. + +The new chief advanced into the opening amid the dead silence +that still held all, and Timmendiquas stepped forward to meet +him. These two held the gaze of everyone, and what they and they +alone did had become of surpassing interest. Each was haughty, +fully aware of his own dignity and importance, but they met half +way, looked intently for a moment or two into the eyes of each +other, and then saluted gravely. + +All at once Henry knew the stranger. He had never seen him +before, but his impressive reception, and the mixture of military +and savage attire revealed him. This could be none other than +the great Mohawk war chief, Thayendanegea, the Brant of the white +men, terrible name on the border. Henry gazed at him eagerly +from his covert, etching his features forever on his memory. His +face, lean and strong, was molded much like that of Timmendiquas, +and like the Wyandot he was young, under thirty. + +Timmendiquas and Thayendanegea-it was truly he-returned to the +fire, and once again the trumpet-shaped pipe was smoked by all. +The two young chiefs received the seats of favor, and others sat +about them. But they were not the only great chiefs present, +though all yielded first place to them because of their character +and exploits. + +Henry was not mistaken in his guess that this was an important +council, although its extent exceeded even his surmise. +Delegates and head chiefs of all the Six Nations were present to +confer with the warlike Wyandots of the west who had come so far +east to meet them. Thayendanegea was the great war chief of the +Mohawks, but not their titular chief. The latter was an older +man, Te-kie-ho-ke (Two Voices), who sat beside the younger. The +other chiefs were the Onondaga, Tahtoo-ta-hoo (The Entangled) ; +the Oneida, 0-tat-sheh-te (Bearing a Quiver) ; the Cayuga, +Te-ka-ha-hoonk (He Who Looks Both Ways) ; the Seneca, +Kan-ya-tai-jo (Beautiful Lake) ; and the Tuscarora, +Ta-ha-en-te-yahwak-hon (Encircling and Holding Up a Tree). The +names were hereditary, and because in a dim past they had formed +the great confederacy, the Onondagas were first in the council, +and were also the high priests and titular head of the Six +Nations. But the Mohawks were first on-the war path. + +All the Six Nations were divided into clans, and every clan, +camping in its proper place, was represented at this meeting. + +Henry had heard much at Pittsburgh of the Six Nations, their +wonderful league, and their wonderful history. He knew that +according to the legend the league had been formed by Hiawatha, +an Onondaga. He was opposed in this plan by Tododaho, then head +chief of the Onondagas, but he went to the Mohawks and gained the +support of their great chief, Dekanawidah. With his aid the +league was formed, and the solemn agreement, never broken, was +made at the Onondaga Lake. Now they were a perfect little state, +with fifty chiefs, or, including the head chiefs, fifty-six. + +Some of these details Henry was to learn later. He was also to +learn many of the words that the chiefs said through a source of +which he little dreamed at the present. Yet he divined much of +it from the meeting of the fiery Wyandots with the highly +developed and warlike power of the Six Nations. + +Thayendanegea was talking now, and Timmendiquas, silent and +grave, was listening. The Mohawk approached his subject +indirectly through the trope, allegory, and simile that the +Indian loved. He talked of the unseen deities that ruled the +life of the Iroquois through mystic dreams. He spoke of the +trees, the rocks, and the animals, all of which to the Iroquois +had souls. He called on the name of the Great Spirit, which was +Aieroski before it became Manitou, the Great Spirit who, in the +Iroquois belief, had only the size of a dwarf because his soul +was so mighty that he did not need body. + +This land is ours, the land of your people and mine, oh, chief of +the brave Wyandots," he said to Timmendiquas. "Once there was no +land, only the waters, but Aieroski raised the land of Konspioni +above the foam. Then he sowed five handfuls of red seed in it, +and from those handfuls grew the Five Nations. Later grew up the +Tuscaroras, who have joined us and other tribes of our race, like +yours, great chief of the brave Wyandots." + +Timmendiquas still said nothing. He did not allow an eyelid to +flicker at this assumption of superiority for the Six Nations +over all other tribes. A great warrior he was, a great +politician also, and he wished to unite the Iroquois in a firm +league with the tribes of the Ohio valley. The coals from the +great fire glowed and threw out an intense heat. Thayendanegea +unbuttoned his military coat and threw it back, revealing a bare +bronze chest, upon which was painted the device of the Mohawks, a +flint and steel. The chests of the Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca +head chiefs were also bared to the glow. The device on the chest +of the Onondaga was a cabin on top of a hill, the Caytiga's was a +great pipe, and the figure of a mountain adorned the Seneca +bronze. + +"We have had the messages that you have sent to us, +Timmendiquas," said Thayendanegea, "and they are good in the eyes +of our people, the Rotinonsionni (the Mohawks). They please, +too, the ancient tribe, the Kannoseone (the Onondagas), the +valiant Hotinonsionni (the Senecas), and all our brethren of the +Six Nations. All the land from the salt water to the setting sun +was given to the red men by Aieroski, but if we do not defend it +we cannot keep it." + +"It is so," said Timmendiquas, speaking for the first time. "We +have fought them on the Ohio and in Kaintuck-ee, where they come +with their rifles and axes. The whole might of the Wyandots, the +Shawnees, the Miamis, the Illinois, the Delawares, and the +Ottawas has gone forth against them. We have slain many of them, +but we have failed to drive them back. Now we have come to ask +the Six Nations to press down upon them in the east with all your +power, while we do the same in the west. Surely then your +Aieroski and our Manitou, who are the same, will not refuse us +success." + +The eyes of Thayendanegea glistened. + +"You speak well, Timmendiquas," he said. " All the red men must +unite to fight for the land of Konspioni which Aieroski raised +above the sea, and we be two, you and I, Timmendiquas, fit to +lead them to battle." + +"It is so," said Timmendiquas gravely. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE IROQUOIS TOWN + + +Henry lay fully an hour in the bushes. He had forgotten about +the dogs that he dreaded, but evidently he was right in his +surmise that the camp contained none. Nothing disturbed him +while he stared at what was passing by the firelight. There +could be no doubt that the meeting of Timmendiquas and +Thayendanegea portended great things, but he would not be stirred +from his task of rescuing his comrades or discovering their fate. + +They two, great chiefs, sat long in close converse. Others-older +men, chiefs, also-came at times and talked with them. But these +two, proud, dominating, both singularly handsome men of the +Indian type, were always there. Henry was almost ready to steal +away when he saw a new figure approaching the two chiefs. The +walk and bearing of the stranger were familiar, and HENRY knew +him even before his face was lighted tip by the fire. It was +Braxton Wyatt, the renegade, who had escaped the great battles on +both the Ohio and the Mississippi, and who was here with the +Iroquois, ready to do to his own race all the evil that he could. +Henry felt a shudder of repulsion, deeper than any Indian could +inspire in him. They fought for their own land and their own +people, but Braxton Wyatt had violated everything that an honest +man should hold sacred. + +Henry, on the whole, was not surprised to see him. Such a chance +was sure to draw Braxton Wyatt. Moreover, the war, so far as it +pertained to the border, seemed to be sweeping toward the +northeast, and it bore many stormy petrels upon its crest. + +He watched Wyatt as he walked toward one of the fires. There the +renegade sat down and talked with the warriors, apparently on the +best of terms. He was presently joined by two more renegades, +whom Henry recognized as Blackstaffe and Quarles. Timmendiquas +and Thayendanegea rose after a while, and walked toward the +center of the camp, where several of the bark shelters had been +enclosed entirely. Henry judged that one had been set apart for +each, but they were lost from his view when they passed within +the circling ring of warriors. + +Henry believed that the Iroquois and Wyandots would form a +fortified camp here, a place from which they would make sudden +and terrible forays upon the settlements. He based his opinion +upon the good location and the great number of saplings that had +been cut down already. They would build strong lodges and then a +palisade around them with the saplings. He was speedily +confirmed in this opinion when he saw warriors come to the forest +with hatchets and begin to cut down more saplings. He knew then +that it was time to go, as a wood chopper might blunder upon him +at any time. + +He slipped from his covert and was quickly gone in the forest. +His limbs were somewhat stiff from lying so long in one position, +but that soon wore away, and he was comparatively fresh when he +came once more to the islet in the swamp. A good moon was now +shining, tipping the forest with a fine silvery gray, and Henry +purveyed with the greatest satisfaction the simple little shelter +that he had found so opportunely. It was a good house, too, good +to such a son of the deepest forest as was Henry. It was made of +nothing but bark and poles, but it had kept out all that long, +penetrating rain of the last three or four days, and when he +lifted the big stone aside and opened the door it seemed as snug +a place as he could have wished. + +He left the door open a little, lighted a small fire on the flat +stones, having no fear that it would be seen through the dense +curtain that shut him in, and broiled big bear steaks on the +coals. When he had eaten and the fire had died he went out and +sat beside the hut. He was well satisfied with the day's work, +and he wished now to think with all the concentration that one +must put upon a great task if he expects to achieve it. He +intended to invade the Indian camp, and he knew full well that it +was the most perilous enterprise that he had ever attempted. Yet +scouts and hunters had done such things and had escaped with +their lives. He must not shrink from the path that others had +trodden. + +He made up his mind firmly, and partly thought out his plan of +operations. Then he rested, and so sanguine was his temperament +that he began to regard the deed itself as almost achieved. +Decision is always soothing after doubt, and he fell into a +pleasant dreamy state. A gentle wind was blowing, the forest was +dry and the leaves rustled with the low note that is like the +softest chord of a violin. It became penetrating, thrillingly +sweet, and hark! it spoke to him in a voice that he knew. It was +the same voice that he had heard on the Ohio, mystic, but telling +him to be of heart and courage. He would triumph over hardships +and dangers, and he would see his friends again. + +Henry started up from his vision. The song was gone, and he +heard only the wind softly moving the leaves. It had been vague +and shadowy as gossamer, light as the substance of a dream, but +it was real to him, nevertheless, and the deep glow of certain +triumph permeated his being, body and mind. It was not strange +that he had in his nature something of the Indian mysticism that +personified the winds and the trees and everything about him. +The Manitou of the red man and the ancient Aieroski of the +Iroquois were the same as his own God. He could not doubt that +he had a message. Down on the Ohio he had had the same message +more than once, and it had always come true. + +He heard a slight rustling among the bushes, and, sitting +perfectly still, he saw a black bear emerge into the open. It +had gained the islet in some manner, probably floundering through +the black mire, and the thought occurred to him that it was the +mate of the one he had slain, drawn perhaps by instinct on the +trail of a lost comrade. He could have shot the bear as he +sat-and he would need fresh supplies of food soon-but he did not +have the heart to do it. + +The bear sniffed a little at the wind, which was blowing the +human odor away from him, and sat back on his haunches. Henry +did not believe that the animal had seen him or was yet aware of +his presence, although he might suspect. There was something +humorous and also pathetic in the visitor, who cocked his head on +one side and looked about him. He made a distinct appeal to +Henry, who sat absolutely still, so still that the little bear +could not be sure at first that he was a human being. A minute +passed, and the red eye of the bear rested upon the boy. Henry +felt pleasant and sociable, but he knew that he could retain +friendly relations only by remaining quiet. + +If I have eaten your comrade, my friend," he said to himself, "it +is only because of hard necessity." The bear, little, comic, and +yet with that touch of pathos about him, cocked his head a little +further over on one side, and as a silver shaft of moonlight fell +upon him Henry could see one red eye gleaming. It was a singular +fact, but the boy, alone in the wilderness, and the loser of his +comrades, felt for the moment a sense of comradeship with the +bear, which was also alone, and doubtless the loser of a comrade, +also. He uttered a soft growling sound like the satisfied purr +of a bear eating its food. + +The comical bear rose a little higher on his hind paws, and +looked in astonishment at the motionless figure that uttered +sounds so familiar. Yet the figure was not familiar. He had +never seen a human being before, and the shape and outline were +very strange to him. It might be some new kind of animal, and he +was disposed to be inquiring, because there was nothing in these +forests which the black bear was afraid of until man came. + +He advanced a step or two and growled gently. Then he reared up +again on his hind paws, and cocked his held to one side in his +amusing manner. Henry, still motionless, smiled at him. Here, +for an instant at least, was a cheery visitor and companionship. +He at least would not break the spell. + +"You look almost as if you could talk, old fellow," he said to +himself, "and if I knew your language I'd ask you a lot of +questions." + +The bear, too, was motionless now, torn by doubt and curiosity. +It certainly was a singular figure that sat there, fifteen or +twenty yards before him, and he had the most intense curiosity to +solve the mystery of this creature. But caution held him back. + +There was a sudden flaw in the light breeze. It shifted about +and brought the dreadful man odor to the nostrils of the honest +black bear. It was something entirely new to him, but it +contained the quality of fear. That still strange figure was his +deadliest foe. Dropping down upon his four paws, he fled among +the trees, and then scrambled somehow through the swamp to the +mainland. + +Henry sighed. Despite his own friendly feeling, the bear, warned +by instinct, was afraid of him, and, as he was bound to +acknowledge to himself, the bear's instinct was doubtless right. +He rose, went into the hut, and slept heavily through the night. +In the morning he left the islet once more to scout in the +direction of the Indian camp, but he found it a most dangerous +task. The woods were full of warriors hunting. As he had +judged, the game was abundant, and he heard rifles cracking in +several directions. He loitered, therefore, in the thickest of +the thickets, willing to wait until night came for his +enterprise. It was advisable, moreover, to wait, because be did +not see yet just how he was going to succeed. He spent nearly +the whole day shifting here and there through the forest, but +late in the afternoon, as the Indians yet seemed so numerous in +the woods, he concluded to go back toward the islet. + +He was about two miles from the swamp when he heard a cry, sharp +but distant. It was that of the savages, and Henry instinctively +divined the cause. A party of the warriors had come somehow upon +his trail, and they would surely follow it. It was a mischance +that he had not expected. He waited a minute or two, and then +heard the cry again, but nearer. He knew that it would come no +more, but it confirmed him in his first opinion. + +Henry had little fear of being caught, as the islet was so +securely hidden, but he did not wish to take even a remote chance +of its discovery. Hence he ran to the eastward of it, intending +as the darkness came, hiding his trail, to double back and regain +the hut. + +He proceeded at a long, easy gait, his mind not troubled by the +pursuit. It was to him merely an incident that should be ended +as soon as possible, annoying perhaps, but easily cured. So he +swung lightly along, stopping at intervals among the bushes to +see if any of the warriors had drawn near, but he detected +nothing. Now and then he looked up to the sky, willing that +night should end this matter quickly and peacefully. + +His wish seemed near fulfillment. An uncommonly brilliant sun +was setting. The whole west was a sea of red and yellow fire, +but in the east the forest was already sinking into the dark. He +turned now, and went back toward the west on a line parallel with +the pursuit, but much closer to the swamp. The dusk thickened +rapidly. The sun dropped over the curve of the world, and the +vast complex maze of trunks and boughs melted into a solid black +wall. The incident of the pursuit was over and with it its petty +annoyances. He directed his course boldly now for the stepping +stones, and traveled fast. Soon the first of them would be less +than a hundred yards away. + +But the incident was not over. Wary and skillful though the +young forest runner might be, he had made one miscalculation, and +it led to great consequences. As he skirted the edge of the +swamp in the darkness, now fully come, a dusky figure suddenly +appeared. It was a stray warrior from some small band, wandering +about at will. The meeting was probably as little expected by +him as it was by Henry, and they were so close together when they +saw each other that neither had time to raise his rifle. The +warrior, a tall, powerful man, dropping his gun and snatching out +a knife, sprang at once upon his enemy. + +Henry was borne back by the weight and impact, but, making an +immense effort, he recovered himself and, seizing the wrist of +the Indian's knife hand, exerted all his great strength. The +warrior wished to change the weapon from his right band, but he +dared not let go with the other lest he be thrown down at once, +and with great violence. His first rush having failed, he was +now at a disadvantage, as the Indian is not generally a wrestler. +Henry pushed him back, and his hand closed tighter and tighter +around the red wrist. He wished to tear the knife from it, but +he, too, was afraid to let go with the other hand, and so the two +remained locked fast. Neither uttered a cry after the first +contact, and the only sounds in the dark were their hard +breathing, which turned to a gasp now and then, and the shuffle +of their feet over the earth. + +Henry felt that it must end soon. One or the other must give +way. Their sinews were already strained to the cracking point, +and making a supreme effort he bore all his weight upon the +warrior, who, unable to sustain himself, went down with the youth +upon him. The Indian uttered a groan, and Henry, leaping +instantly to his feet, looked down upon his fallen antagonist, +who did not stir. He knew the cause. As they fell the point of +the knife bad been turned upward, and it had entered the Indian's +heart. + +Although he had been in peril at his hands, Henry looked at the +slain man in a sort of pity. He had not wished to take anyone's +life, and, in reality, he had not been the direct cause of it. +But it was a stern time and the feeling soon passed. The +Wyandot, for such he was by his paint, would never have felt a +particle of remorse had the victory been his. + +The moon was now coming out, and Henry looked down thoughtfully +at the still face. Then the idea came to him, in fact leaped up +in his brain, with such an impulse that it carried conviction. +He would take this warrior's place and go to the Indian camp. So +eager was he, and so full of his plan, that he did not feel any +repulsion as he opened the warrior's deerskin shirt and took his +totem from a place near his heart. It was a little deerskin bag +containing a bunch of red feathers. This was his charm, his +magic spell, his bringer of good luck, which had failed him so +woefully this time. Henry, not without a touch of the forest +belief, put it inside his own hunting shirt, wishing, although he +laughed at himself, that if the red man's medicine had any +potency it should be on his own side. + +Then he found also the little bag in which the Indian carried his +war paint and the feather brush with which he put it on. The +next hour witnessed a singular transformation. A white youth was +turned into a red warrior. He cut his own hair closely, all +except a tuft in the center, with his sharp hunting knife. The +tuft and the close crop he stained black with the Indian's paint. +It was a poor black, but he hoped that it would pass in the +night. He drew the tuft into a scalplock, and intertwined it +with a feather from the Indian's own tuft. Then he stained his +face, neck, hands, and arms with the red paint, and stood forth a +powerful young warrior of a western nation. + +He hid the Indian's weapons and his own raccoon-skin cap in the +brush. Then he took the body of the fallen warrior to the edge +of the swamp and dropped it in. His object was not alone +concealment, but burial as well. He still felt sorry for the +unfortunate Wyandot, and he watched him until he sank completely +from sight in the mire. Then he turned away and traveled a +straight course toward the great Indian camp. + +He stopped once on the way at a clear pool irradiated by the +bright moonlight, and looked attentively at his reflection. By +night, at least, it was certainly that of an Indian, and, +summoning all his confidence, he continued upon his chosen and +desperate task. + +Henry knew that the chances were against him, even with his +disguise, but he was bound to enter the Indian camp, and he was +prepared to incur all risks and to endure all penalties. He even +felt a certain lightness of heart as he hurried on his way, and +at length saw through the forest the flare of light from the +Indian camp. + +He approached cautiously at first in order that he might take a +good look into the camp, and he was surprised at what he saw. In +a single day the village had been enlarged much more. It seemed +to him that it contained at least twice as many warriors. Women +and children, too, had come, and he heard a stray dog barking +here and there. Many more fires than usual were burning, and +there was a great murmur of voices. + +Henry was much taken aback at first. It seemed that he was about +to plunge into the midst of the whole Iroquois nation, and at a +time, too, when something of extreme importance was going on, but +a little reflection showed that he was fortunate. Amid so many +people, and so much ferment it was not at all likely that he +would be noticed closely. It was his intention, if the necessity +came, to pass himself off as a warrior of the Shawnee tribe who +had wandered far eastward, but he meant to avoid sedulously the +eye of Timmendiquas, who might, through his size and stature, +divine his identity. + +As Henry lingered at the edge of the camp, in indecision whether +to wait a little or plunge boldly into the light of the fires, he +became aware that all sounds in the village-for such it was +instead of a camp-had ceased suddenly, except the light tread of +feet and the sound of many people talking low. He saw through +the bushes that all the Iroquois, and with them the detachment of +Wyandots under White Lightning, were going toward a large +structure in the center, which he surmised to be the Council +House. He knew from his experience with the Indians farther west +that the Iroquois built such structures. + +He could no longer doubt that some ceremony of the greatest +importance was about to begin, and, dismissing indecision, he +left the bushes and entered the village, going with the crowd +toward the great pole building, which was, indeed, the Council +House. + +But little attention was paid to Henry. He would have drawn none +at all, had it not been for his height, and when a warrior or two +glanced at him he uttered some words in Shawnee, saying that he +had wandered far, and was glad to come to the hospitable +Iroquois. One who could speak a little Shawnee bade him welcome, +and they went on, satisfied, their minds more intent upon the +ceremony than upon a visitor. + +The Council House, built of light poles and covered with poles +and thatch, was at least sixty feet long and about thirty feet +wide, with a large door on the eastern side, and one or two +smaller ones on the other sides. As Henry arrived, the great +chiefs and sub-chiefs of the Iroquois were entering the building, +and about it were grouped many warriors and women, and even +children. But all preserved a decorous solemnity, and, knowing +the customs of the forest people so well, he was sure that the +ceremony, whatever it might be, must be of a highly sacred +nature. He himself drew to one side, keeping as much as possible +in the shadow, but he was using to its utmost power every faculty +of observation that Nature had given him. + +Many of the fires were still burning, but the moon had come out +with great brightness, throwing a silver light over the whole +village, and investing with attributes that savored of the mystic +and impressive this ceremony, held by a savage but great race +here in the depths of the primeval forest. Henry was about to +witness a Condoling Council, which was at once a mourning for +chiefs who had fallen in battle farther east with his own people +and the election and welcome of their successors. + +The chiefs presently came forth from the Council House or, as it +was more generally called, the Long House, and, despite the +greatness of Thayendanegea, those of the Onondaga tribe, in +virtue of their ancient and undisputed place as the political +leaders and high priests of the Six Nations, led the way. Among +the stately Onondaga chiefs were: Atotarho (The Entangled), +Skanawati (Beyond the River), Tehatkahtons (Looking Both Ways), +Tehayatkwarayen (Red Wings), and Hahiron (The Scattered). They +were men of stature and fine countenance, proud of the titular +primacy that belonged to them because it was the Onondaga, +Hiawatha, who had formed the great confederacy more than four +hundred years before our day, or just about the time Columbus was +landing on the shores of the New World. + +Next to the Onondagas came the fierce and warlike Mohawks, who +lived nearest to Albany, who were called Keepers of the Eastern +Gate, and who were fully worthy of their trust. They were +content that the Onondagas should lead in council, so long as +they were first in battle, and there was no jealousy between +them. Among their chiefs were Koswensiroutha (Broad Shoulders) +and Satekariwate (Two Things Equal). + +Third in rank were the Senecas, and among their chiefs were +Kanokarih (The Threatened) and Kanyadariyo (Beautiful Lake). + +These three, the Onondagas, Mohawks, and Senecas, were esteemed +the three senior nations. After them, in order of precedence, +came the chiefs of the three junior nations, the Oneidas, +Cayugas, and Tuscaroras. All of the great chiefs had assistant +chiefs, usually relatives, who, in case of death, often succeeded +to their places. But these assistants now remained in the crowd +with other minor chiefs and the mass of the warriors. A little +apart stood Timmendiquas and his Wyandots. He, too, was absorbed +in the ceremony so sacred to him, an Indian, and he did not +notice the tall figure of the strange Shawnee lingering in the +deepest of the shadows. + +The head chiefs, walking solemnly and never speaking, marched +across the clearing, and then through the woods to a glen, where +two young warriors had kindled a little fire of sticks as a +signal of welcome. The chiefs gathered around the fire and spoke +together in low tones. This was Deyuhnyon Kwarakda, which means +"The Reception at the Edge of the Wood." + +Henry and some others followed, as it was not forbidden to see, +and his interest increased. He shared the spiritual feeling +which was impressed upon the red faces about him. The bright +moonlight, too, added to the effect, giving it the tinge of an +old Druidical ceremony. + +The chiefs relapsed into silence and sat thus about ten minutes. +Then rose the sound of a chant, distant and measured, and a +procession of young and inferior chiefs, led by Oneidas, +appeared, slowly approaching the fire. Behind them were +warriors, and behind the warriors were many women and children. +All the women were in their brightest attire, gay with feather +headdresses and red, blue, or green blankets from the British +posts. + +The procession stopped at a distance of about a dozen yards from +the chiefs about the council fire, and the Oneida, Kathlahon, +formed the men in a line facing the head chiefs, with the women +and children grouped in an irregular mass behind them. The +singing meanwhile had stopped. The two groups stood facing each +other, attentive and listening. + +Then Hahiron, the oldest of the Onondagas, walked back and forth +in the space between the two groups, chanting a welcome. Like +all Indian songs it was monotonous. Every line he uttered with +emphasis and a rising inflection, the phrase "Haih-haih" which +may be translated "Hail to thee!" or better, "All hail!" +Nevertheless, under the moonlight in the wilderness and with rapt +faces about him, it was deeply impressive. Henry found it so. + +Hahiron finished his round and went back to his place by the +fire. Atotarho, head chief of the Onondagas, holding in his +hands beautifully beaded strings of Iroquois wampum, came forward +and made a speech of condolence, to which Kathlahon responded. +Then the head chiefs and the minor chiefs smoked pipes together, +after which the head chiefs, followed by the minor chiefs, and +these in turn by the crowd, led the way back to the village. + +Many hundreds of persons were in this procession, which was still +very grave and solemn, every one in it impressed by tile sacred +nature of this ancient rite. The chief entered the great door of +the Long House, and all who could find places not reserved +followed. Henry went in with the others, and sat in a corner, +making himself as small as possible. Many women, the place of +whom was high among the Iroquois, were also in the Long House. + +The head chiefs sat on raised seats at the north end of the great +room. In front of them, on lower seats, were the minor chiefs of +the three older nations on the left, and of the three younger +nations on the right. In front of these, but sitting on the bark +floor, was a group of warriors. At the east end, on both high +and low seats, were warriors, and facing them on the western side +were women, also on both high and low seats. The southern side +facing the chiefs was divided into sections, each with high and +low seats. The one on the left was occupied by men, and the one +on the right by women. Two small fires burned in the center of +the Long House about fifteen feet apart. + +It was the most singular and one of the most impressive scenes +that Henry had ever beheld. When all had found their seats there +was a deep silence. Henry could hear the slight crackling made +by the two fires as they burned, and the light fell faintly +across the multitude of dark, eager faces. Not less than five +hundred people were in the Long House, and here was the red man +at his best, the first of the wild, not the second or third of +the civilized, a drop of whose blood in his veins brings to the +white man now a sense of pride, and not of shame, as it does when +that blood belongs to some other races. + +The effect upon Henry was singular. He almost forgot that he was +a foe among them on a mission. For the moment he shared in their +feelings, and he waited with eagerness for whatever might come. + +Thayendanegea, the Mohawk, stood up in his place among the great +chiefs. The role he was about to assume belonged to Atotarho, +the Onondaga, but the old Onondaga assigned it for the occasion +to Thayendanegea, and there was no objection. Thayendanegea was +an educated man, be had been in England, he was a member of a +Christian church, and be had translated a part of the Bible from +English into his own tongue, but now he was all a Mohawk, a son +of the forest. + +He spoke to the listening crowd of the glories of the Six +Nations, how Hah-gweh-di-yu (The Spirit of Good) had inspired +Hiawatha to form the Great Confederacy of the Five Nations, +afterwards the Six; how they had held their hunting grounds for +nearly two centuries against both English and French; and how +they would hold them against the Americans. He stopped at +moments, and deep murmurs of approval went through the Long +House. The eyes of both men and women flashed as the orator +spoke of their glory and greatness. Timmendiquas, in a place of +honor, nodded approval. If he could he would form such another +league in the west. + +The air in the Long House, breathed by so many, became heated. +It seemed to have in it a touch of fire. The orator's words +burned. Swift and deep impressions were left upon the excited +brain. The tall figure of the Mohawk towered, gigantic, in the +half light, and the spell that he threw over all was complete. + +He spoke about half an hour, but when he stopped he did not sit +down. Henry knew by the deep breath that ran through the Long +House that something more was coming from Thayendanegea. +Suddenly the red chief began to sing in a deep, vibrant voice, +and this was the song that he sung: + + + This was the roll of you, + All hail! All hail! All hail! + + You that joined in the work, + All hail! All hail! All hail! + + You that finished the task, + All hail! All hail! All hail! + + The Great League, + All hail! All hail! All hail! + + +There was the same incessant repetition of "Haih haih!" that +Henry had noticed in the chant at the edge of the woods, but it +seemed to give a cumulative effect, like the roll of thunder, and +at every slight pause that deep breath of approval ran through +the crowd in the Long House. The effect of the song was +indescribable. Fire ran in the veins of all, men, women, and +children. The great pulses in their throats leaped up. They +were the mighty nation, the ever-victorious, the League of the +Ho-de-no-sau-nee, that had held at bay both the French and the +English since first a white man was seen in the land, and that +would keep back the Americans now. + +Henry glanced at Timmendiquas. The nostrils of the great White +Lightning were twitching. The song reached to the very roots of +his being, and aroused all his powers. Like Thayendanegea, he +was a statesman, and he saw that the Americans were far more +formidable to his race than English or French had ever been. The +Americans were upon the ground, and incessantly pressed upon the +red man, eye to eye. Only powerful leagues like those of the +Iroquois could withstand them. + +Thayendanegea sat down, and then there was another silence, a +period lasting about two minutes. These silences seemed to be a +necessary part of all Iroquois rites. When it closed two young +warriors stretched an elm bark rope across the room from east to +west and near the ceiling, but between the high chiefs and the +minor chiefs. Then they hung dressed skins all along it, until +the two grades of chiefs were hidden from the view of each other. +This was the sign of mourning, and was followed by a silence. +The fires in the Long House had died down somewhat, and little +was to be seen but the eyes and general outline of the people. +Then a slender man of middle years, the best singer in all the +Iroquois nation, arose and sang: + + + To the great chiefs bring we greeting, + All hail! All hail! All hail! + + To the dead chiefs, kindred greeting, + All hail! All hail! All hail! + + To the strong men 'round him greeting, + All hail! All hail! All hail! + + To the mourning women greeting, + All hail! All hail! All hail! + + There our grandsires' words repeating, + All hail! All hail! All hail! + + Graciously, Oh, grandsires, hear, + All hail! All hail! All hail! + + +The singing voice was sweet, penetrating, and thrilling, and the +song was sad. At the pauses deep murmurs of sorrow ran through +the crowd in the Long House. Grief for the dead held them all. +When he finished, Satekariwate, the Mohawk, holding in his hands +three belts of wampum, uttered a long historical chant telling of +their glorious deeds, to which they listened patiently. The +chant over, he handed the belts to an attendant, who took them to +Thayendanegea, who held them for a few moments and looked at them +gravely. + +One of the wampum belts was black, the sign of mourning; another +was purple, the sign of war; and the third was white, the sign of +peace. They were beautiful pieces of workmanship, very old. + +When Hiawatha left the Onondagas and fled to the Mohawks he +crossed a lake supposed to be the Oneida. While paddling along +he noticed that man tiny black, purple, and white shells clung to +his paddle. Reaching the shore he found such shells in long rows +upon the beach, and it occurred to him to use them for the +depiction of thought according to color. He strung them on +threads of elm bark, and afterward, when the great league was +formed, the shells were made to represent five clasped hands. +For four hundred years the wampum belts have been sacred among +the Iroquois. + +Now Thayendanegea gave the wampum belts back to the attendant, +who returned them to Satekariwate, the Mohawk. There was a +silence once more, and then the chosen singer began the Consoling +Song again, but now he did not sing it alone. Two hundred male +voices joined him, and the time became faster. Its tone changed +from mourning and sorrow to exultation and menace. Everyone +thought of war, the tomahawk, and victory. The song sung as it +was now became a genuine battle song, rousing and thrilling. The +Long House trembled with the mighty chorus, and its volume poured +forth into the encircling dark woods. + +All the time the song was going on, Satekariwate, the Mohawk, +stood holding the belts in his hand, but when it was over he gave +them to an attendant, who carried them to another head chief. +Thayendanegea now went to the center of the room and, standing +between the two fires, asked who were the candidates for the +places of the dead chiefs. + +The dead chiefs were three, and three tall men, already chosen +among their own tribes, came forward to succeed them. Then a +fourth came, and Henry was startled. It was Timmendiquas, who, +as the bravest chief of the brave Wyandots, was about to become, +as a signal tribute, and as a great sign of friendship, an +adopted son and honorary chief of the Mohawks, Keepers of the +Western Gate, and most warlike of all the Iroquois tribes. + +As Timmendiquas stood before Thayendanegea, a murmur of approval +deeper than any that had gone before ran through all the crowd in +the Long House, and it was deepest on the women's benches, where +sat many matrons of the Iroquois, some of whom were chiefs-a +woman could be a chief among the Iroquois. + +The candidates were adjudged acceptable by the other chiefs, and +Thayendanegea addressed them on their duties, while they listened +in grave silence. With his address the sacred part of the rite +was concluded. Nothing remained now but the great banquet +outside - although that was much - and they poured forth to it +joyously, Thayendanegea, the Mohawk, and Timmendiquas, the +Wyandot, walking side by side, the finest two red chiefs on all +the American continent. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE EVIL SPIRIT'S WORK + + +Henry slipped forth with the crowd from the Long House, stooping +somewhat and shrinking into the smallest possible dimensions. +But there was little danger now that any one would notice him, as +long as he behaved with prudence, because all grief and solemnity +were thrown aside, and a thousand red souls intended to rejoice. +A vast banquet was arranged. Great fires leaped up all through +the village. At every fire the Indian women, both young and old, +were already far forward with the cooking. Deer, bear, squirrel, +rabbit, fish, and every other variety of game with which the +woods and rivers of western New York and Pennsylvania swarmed +were frying or roasting over the coals, and the air was permeated +with savory odors. There was a great hum of voices and an +incessant chattering. Here in the forest, among themselves, and +in complete security, the Indian stoicism was relaxed. According +to their customs everybody fell to eating at a prodigious rate, +as if they had not tasted anything for a month, and as if they +intended to eat enough now to last another month. + +It was far into the night, because the ceremonies had lasted a +long time, but a brilliant moon shone down upon the feasting +crowd, and the flames of the great fires, yellow and blue, leaped +and danced. This was an oasis of light and life. Timmendiquas +and Thayendanegea sat together before the largest fire, and they +ate with more restraint than the others. Even at the banquet +they would not relax their dignity as great chiefs. Old +Skanawati, the Onondaga, old Atotarho, Onondaga, too, +Satekariwate, the Mohawk, Kanokarih, the Seneca, and others, head +chiefs though they were of the three senior tribes, did not +hesitate to eat as the rich Romans of the Empire ate, swallowing +immense quantities of all kinds of meat, and drinking a sort of +cider that the women made. Several warriors ate and drank until +they fell down in a stupor by the fires. The same warriors on +the hunt or the war path would go for days without food, enduring +every manner of hardship. Now and then a warrior would leap up +and begin a chant telling of some glorious deed of his. Those at +his own fire would listen, but elsewhere they took no notice. + +In the largest open space a middle-aged Onondaga with a fine face +suddenly uttered a sharp cry: " Hehmio!" which he rapidly +repeated twice. Two score voices instantly replied, "Heh!" and a +rush was made for him. At least a hundred gathered around him, +but they stood in a respectful circle, no one nearer than ten +feet. He waved his hand, and all sat down on the ground. Then, +he, too, sat down, all gazing at him intently and with +expectancy. + +He was a professional story-teller, an institution great and +honored among the tribes of the Iroquois farther back even than +Hiawatha. He began at once the story of the warrior who learned +to talk with the deer and the bear, carrying it on through many +chapters. Now and then a delighted listener would cry " Hah!" +but if anyone became bored and fell asleep it was considered an +omen of misfortune to the sleeper, and he was chased +ignominiously to his tepee. The Iroquois romancer was better +protected than the white one is. He could finish some of his +stories in one evening, but others were serials. When he arrived +at the end of the night's installment he would cry, "Si-ga!" +which was equivalent to our "To be continued in our next." Then +all would rise, and if tired would seek sleep, but if not they +would catch the closing part of some other story-teller's +romance. + +At three fires Senecas were playing a peculiar little wooden +flute of their own invention, that emitted wailing sounds not +without a certain sweetness. In a corner a half dozen warriors +hurt in battle were bathing their wounds with a soothing lotion +made from the sap of the bass wood. + +Henry lingered a while in the darkest corners, witnessing the +feasting, hearing the flutes and the chants, listening for a +space to the story-tellers and the enthusiastic "Hahs!" They +were so full of feasting and merrymaking now that one could +almost do as he pleased, and he stole toward the southern end of +the village, where he had noticed several huts, much more +strongly built than the others. Despite all his natural skill +and experience his heart beat very fast when he came to the +first. He was about to achieve the great exploration upon which +he had ventured so much. Whether he would find anything at the +end of the risk he ran, he was soon to see. + +The hut, about seven feet square and as many feet in height, was +built strongly of poles, with a small entrance closed by a +clapboard door fastened stoutly on the outside with withes. The +hut was well in the shadow of tepees, and all were still at the +feasting and merrymaking. He cut the withes with two sweeps of +his sharp hunting knife, opened the door, bent his head, stepped +in and then closed the door behind him, in order that no Iroquois +might see what had happened. + +It was not wholly dark in the hut, as there were cracks between +the poles, and bars of moonlight entered, falling upon a floor of +bark. They revealed also a figure lying full length on one side +of the but. A great pulse of joy leaped up in Henry's throat, +and with it was a deep pity, also. The figure was that of +Shif'less Sol, but be was pale and thin, and his arms and legs +were securely bound with thongs of deerskin. + +Leaning over, Henry cut the thongs of the shiftless one, but he +did not stir. Great forester that Shif'less Sol was, and usually +so sensitive to the lightest movement, be perceived nothing now, +and, had he not found him bound, Henry would have been afraid +that he was looking upon his dead comrade. The hands of the +shiftless one, when the hands were cut, had fallen limply by his +side, and his face looked all the more pallid by contrast with +the yellow hair which fell in length about it. But it was his +old-time friend, the dauntless Shif'less Sol, the last of the +five to vanish so mysteriously. + +Henry bent down and pulled him by the shoulder. The captive +yawned, stretched himself a little, and lay still again with +closed eyes. Henry shook him a second time and more violently. +Shif'less Sol sat up quickly, and Henry knew that indignation +prompted the movement. Sol held his arms and legs stiffly and +seemed to be totally unconscious that they were unbound. He cast +one glance upward, and in the dim light saw the tall warrior +bending over him. + +"I'll never do it, Timmendiquas or White Lightning, whichever +name you like better!" he exclaimed. "I won't show you how to +surprise the white settlements. You can burn me at the stake or +tear me in pieces first. Now go away and let me sleep." + +He sank back on the bark, and started to close his eyes again. +It was then that he noticed for the first time that his hands +were unbound. He held them up before his face, as if they were +strange objects wholly unattached to himself, and gazed at them +in amazement. He moved his legs and saw that they, too, were +unbound. Then he turned his startled gaze upward at the face of +the tall warrior who was looking down at him. Shif'less Sol was +wholly awake now. Every faculty in him was alive, and he pierced +through the Shawnee disguise. He knew who it was. He knew who +had come to save him, and he sprang to his feet, exclaiming the +one word: + +"Henry!" + +The hands of the comrades met in the clasp of friendship which +only many dangers endured together can give. + +"How did you get here?" asked the shiftless one in a whisper. + +"I met an Indian in the forest," replied Henry, "and well I am +now he." + +Shif'less Sol laughed under his breath. + +"I see," said he, "but how did you get through the camp? It's a +big one, and the Iroquois are watchful. Timmendiquas is here, +too, with his Wyandots." + +"They are having a great feast," replied Henry, "and I could go +about almost unnoticed. Where are the others, Sol?" + +"In the cabins close by." + +"Then we'll get out of this place. Quick! Tie up your hair! In +the darkness you can easily pass for an Indian." + +The shiftless one drew his hair into a scalp lock, and the two +slipped from the cabin, closing the door behind them and deftly +retying the thongs, in order that the discovery of the escape +might occur as late as possible. Then they stood a few moments +in the shadow of the hut and listened to the sounds of revelry, +the monotone of the story-tellers, and the chant of the singers. + +"You don't know which huts they are in, do you?" asked Henry, +anxiously. + +"No, I don't," replied tile shiftless one. + +"Get back!" exclaimed Henry softly. "Don't you see who's passing +out there?" + +"Braxton Wyatt," said Sol. "I'd like to get my hands on that +scoundrel. I've had to stand a lot from him." + +"The score must wait. But first we'll provide you with weapons. +See, the Iroquois have stacked some of their rifles here while +they're at the feast." + +A dozen good rifles had been left leaning against a hut near by, +and Henry, still watching lest he be observed, chose the best, +with its ammunition, for his comrade, who, owing to his +semi-civilized attire, still remained in the shadow of the other +hut. + +"Why not take four?" whispered the shiftless one. "We'll need +them for the other boys." + +Henry took four, giving two to his comrade, and then they hastily +slipped back to the other side of the hut. A Wyandot and a +Mohawk were passing, and they had eyes of hawks. Henry and Sol +waited until the formidable pair were gone, and then began to +examine the huts, trying to surmise in which their comrades lay. + +"I haven't seen 'em a-tall, a-tall," said Sol, "but I reckon from +the talk that they are here. I was s'prised in the woods, Henry. +A half dozen reds jumped on me so quick I didn't have time to +draw a weepin. Timmendiquas was at the head uv 'em an' he just +grinned. Well, he is a great chief, if he did truss me up like a +fowl. I reckon the same thing happened to the others." + +"Come closer, Sol! Come closer!" whispered Henry. More warriors +are walking this way. The feast is breaking up, and they'll +spread all through the camp." + +A terrible problem was presented to the two. They could no +longer search among the strong huts, for their comrades. The +opportunity to save had lasted long enough for one only. But +border training is stern, and these two had uncommon courage and +decision. + +"We must go now, Sol," said Henry, "but we'll come back." + +"Yes," said the shiftless one, "we'll come back." + +Darting between the huts, they gained the southern edge of the +forest before the satiated banqueters could suspect the presence +of an enemy. Here they felt themselves safe, but they did not +pause. Henry led the way, and Shif'less Sol followed at a fair +degree of speed. + +"You'll have to be patient with me for a little while, Henry," +said Sol in a tone of humility. "When I wuz layin' thar in the +lodge with my hands an' feet tied I wuz about eighty years old, +jest ez stiff ez could be from the long tyin'. When I reached +the edge o' the woods the blood wuz flowin' lively enough to make +me 'bout sixty. Now I reckon I'm fifty, an' ef things go well +I'll be back to my own nateral age in two or three hours." + +"You shall have rest before morning," said Henry, "and it will be +in a good place, too. I can promise that." + +Shif'less Sol looked at him inquiringly, but he did not say +anything. Like the rest of the five, Sol had acquired the most +implicit confidence in their bold young leader. He had every +reason to feel good. That painful soreness was disappearing from +his ankles. As they advanced through the woods, weeks dropped +from him one by one. Then the months began to roll away, and at +last time fell year by year. As they approached the deeps of the +forest where the swamp lay, Solomon Hyde, the so called shiftless +one, and wholly undeserving of the name, was young again. + +"I've got a fine little home for us, Sol," said Henry. "Best +we've had since that time we spent a winter on the island in the +lake. This is littler, but it's harder to find. It'll be a fine +thing to know you're sleeping safe and sound with five hundred +Iroquois warriors only a few miles away." + +"Then it'll suit me mighty well," said Shif'less Sol, grinning +broadly. "That's jest the place fur a lazy man like your humble +servant, which is me." + +They reached the stepping stones, and Henry paused a moment. + +"Do you feel steady enough, Sol, to jump from stone to stone?" he +asked. + +"I'm feelin' so good I could fly ef I had to," he replied. "Jest +you jump on, Henry, an' fur every jump you take you'll find me +only one jump behind you!" + +Henry, without further ado, sprang from one stone to another, and +behind him, stone for stone, came the shiftless one. It was now +past midnight, and the moon was obscured. The keenest eyes +twenty yards away could not have seen the two dusky figures as +they went by leaps into the very heart of the great, black swamp. +They reached the solid ground, and then the hut. + +"Here, Sol," said Henry, "is my house, and yours, also, and soon, +I hope, to be that of Paul, Tom, and Jim, too." + +"Henry," said Shif'less Sol, " I'm shorely glad to come." + +They went inside, stacked their captured rifles against the wall, +and soon were sound asleep. + +Meanwhile sleep was laying hold of the Iroquois village, also. +They had eaten mightily and they had drunk mightily. Many times +had they told the glories of Hode-no-sau-nee, the Great League, +and many times had they gladly acknowledged the valor and worth +of Timmendiquas and the brave little Wyandot nation. +Timmendiquas and Thayendanegea had sat side by side throughout +the feast, but often other great chiefs were with them-Skanawati, +Atotarho, and Hahiron, the Onondagas; Satekariwate, the Mohawk; +Kanokarih and Kanyadoriyo, the Senecas; and many others. + +Toward midnight the women and the children left for the lodges, +and soon the warriors began to go also, or fell asleep on tile +ground, wrapped in their blankets. The fires were allowed to +sink low, and at last the older chiefs withdrew, leaving only +Timmendiquas and Thayendanegea. + +"You have seen the power and spirit of the Iroquois," said +Thayendanegea. "We can bring many more warriors than are here +into the field, and we will strike the white settlements with +you." + +"The Wyandots are not so many as the warriors of the Great +League," said Timmendiquas proudly, "but no one has ever been +before them in battle." + +"You speak truth, as I have often heard it," said Thayendanegea +thoughtfully. Then be showed Timmendiquas to a lodge of honor, +the finest in the village, and retired to his own. + +The great feast was over, but the chiefs had come to a momentous +decision. Still chafing over their defeat at Oriskany, they +would make a new and formidable attack upon the white +settlements, and Timmendiquas and his fierce Wyandots would help +them. All of them, from the oldest to the youngest, rejoiced in +the decision, and, not least, the famous Thayendanegea. He hated +the Americans most because they were upon the soil, and were +always pressing forward against the Indian. The Englishmen were +far away, and if they prevailed in the great war, the march of +the American would be less rapid. He would strike once more with +the Englishmen, and the Iroquois could deliver mighty blows on +the American rearguard. He and his Mohawks, proud Keepers of the +Western Gate, would lead in the onset. Thayendanegea considered +it a good night's work, and he slept peacefully. + +The great camp relapsed into silence. The warriors on the ground +breathed perhaps a little heavily after so much feasting, and the +fires were permitted to smolder down to coals. Wolves and +panthers drawn by the scent of food crept through the thickets +toward the faint firelight, but they were afraid to draw near. +Morning came, and food and drink were taken to the lodges in +which four prisoners were held, prisoners of great value, taken +by Timmendiquas and the Wyandots, and held at his urgent +insistence as hostages. + +Three were found as they had been left, and when their bonds were +loosened they ate and drank, but the fourth hut was empty. The +one who spoke in a slow, drawling way, and the one who seemed to +be the most dangerous of them all, was gone. Henry and Sol had +taken the severed thongs with them, and there was nothing to show +how the prisoner had disappeared, except that the withes +fastening the door had been cut. + +The news spread through the village, and there was much +excitement. Thayendanegea and Timmendiquas came and looked at +the empty hut. Timmendiquas may have suspected how Shif'less Sol +had gone, but he said nothing. Others believed that it was the +work of Hahgweh-da-et-gah (The Spirit of Evil), or perhaps Ga-oh +(The Spirit of the Winds) had taken him away. + +"It is well to keep a good watch on the others," said +Timmendiquas, and Thayendanegea nodded. + +That day the chiefs entered the Long House again, and held a +great war council. A string of white wampum about a foot in +length was passed to every chief, who held it a moment or two +before handing it to his neighbors. It was then laid on a table +in the center of the room, the ends touching. This signified +harmony among the Six Nations. All the chiefs had been summoned +to this place by belts of wampum sent to the different tribes by +runners appointed by the Onondagas, to whom this honor belonged. +All treaties had to be ratified by the exchange of belts, and now +this was done by the assembled chiefs. + +Timmendiquas, as an honorary chief of the Mohawks, and as the +real head of a brave and allied nation, was present throughout +the council. His advice was asked often, and when he gave it the +others listened with gravity and deference. The next day the +village played a great game of lacrosse, which was invented by +the Indians, and which had been played by them for centuries +before the arrival of the white man. In this case the match was +on a grand scale, Mohawks and Cayugas against Onondagas and +Senecas. + +The game began about nine o'clock in the morning in a great +natural meadow surrounded by forest. The rival sides assembled +opposite each other and bet heavily. All the stakes, under the +law of the game, were laid upon the ground in heaps here, and +they consisted of the articles most precious to the Iroquois. In +these heaps were rifles, tomahawks, scalping knives, wampum, +strips of colored beads, blankets, swords, belts, moccasins, +leggins, and a great many things taken as spoil in forays on the +white settlements, such is small mirrors, brushes of various +kinds, boots, shoes, and other things, the whole making a vast +assortment. + +These heaps represented great wealth to the Iroquois, and the +older chiefs sat beside them in the capacity of stakeholders and +judges. + +The combatants, ranged in two long rows, numbered at least five +hundred on each side, and already they began to show an +excitement approaching that which animated them when they would +go into battle. Their eyes glowed, and the muscles on their +naked backs and chests were tense for the spring. In order to +leave their limbs perfectly free for effort they wore no clothing +at all, except a little apron reaching from the waist to the +knee. + +The extent of the playground was marked off by two pair of "byes" +like those used in cricket, planted about thirty rods apart. But +the goals of each side were only about thirty feet apart. + +At a signal from the oldest of the chiefs the contestants +arranged themselves in two parallel lines facing each other, +inside the area and about ten rods apart. Every man was armed +with a strong stick three and a half to four feet in length, and +curving toward the end. Upon this curved end was tightly +fastened a network of thongs of untanned deerskin, drawn until +they were rigid and taut. The ball with which they were to play +was made of closely wrapped elastic skins, and was about the size +of an ordinary apple. + +At the end of the lines, but about midway between them, sat the +chiefs, who, besides being judges and stakeholders, were also +score keepers. They kept tally of the game by cutting notches +upon sticks. Every time one side put the ball through the +other's goal it counted one, but there was an unusual power +exercised by the chiefs, practically unknown to the games of +white men. If one side got too far ahead, its score was cut down +at the discretion of the chiefs in order to keep the game more +even, and also to protract it sometimes over three or four days. +The warriors of the leading side might grumble among one another +at the amount of cutting the chiefs did, but they would not dare +to make any protest. However, the chiefs would never cut the +leading side down to an absolute parity with the other. It was +always allowed to retain a margin of the superiority it had won. + +The game was now about to begin, and the excitement became +intense. Even the old judges leaned forward in their eagerness, +while the brown bodies of the warriors shone in the sun, and the +taut muscles leaped up under the skin. Fifty players on each +side, sticks in hand, advanced to the center of the ground, and +arranged themselves somewhat after the fashion of football +players, to intercept the passage of the ball toward their goals. +Now they awaited the coming of the ball. + +There were several young girls, the daughters of chiefs. The most +beautiful of these appeared. She was not more than sixteen or +seventeen years of age, as slender and graceful as a young deer, +and she was dressed in the finest and most richly embroidered +deerskin. Her head was crowned with a red coronet, crested with +plumes, made of the feathers of the eagle and heron. She wore +silver bracelets and a silver necklace. + +The girl, bearing in her hand the ball, sprang into the very +center of the arena, where, amid shouts from all the warriors, +she placed it upon the ground. Then she sprang back and joined +the throng of spectators. Two of the players, one from each +side, chosen for strength and dexterity, advanced. They hooked +the ball together in their united bats and thus raised it aloft, +until the bats were absolutely perpendicular. Then with a quick, +jerking motion they shot it upward. Much might be gained by this +first shot or stroke, but on this occasion the two players were +equal, and it shot almost absolutely straight into the air. The +nearest groups made a rush for it, and the fray began. + +Not all played at once, as the crowd was so great, but usually +twenty or thirty on each side struck for tile ball, and when they +became exhausted or disabled were relieved by similar groups. +All eventually came into action. + +The game was played with the greatest fire and intensity, +assuming sometimes the aspect of a battle. Blows with the +formidable sticks were given and received. Brown skins were +streaked with blood, heads were cracked, and a Cayuga was killed. +Such killings were not unusual in these games, and it was always +considered the fault of the man who fell, due to his own +awkwardness or unwariness. The body of the dead Cayuga was taken +away in disgrace. + +All day long the contest was waged with undiminished courage and +zeal, party relieving party. The meadow and the surrounding +forest resounded with the shouts and yells of combatants and +spectators. The old squaws were in a perfect frenzy of +excitement, and their shrill screams of applause or condemnation +rose above every other sound. + +On this occasion, as the contest did not last longer than one +day, the chiefs never cut down the score of the leading side. +The game closed at sunset, with the Senecas and Onondagas +triumphant, and richer by far than they were in the morning. The +Mohawks and Cayugas retired, stripped of their goods and +crestfallen. + +Timmendiquas and Thayendanegea, acting as umpires watched the +game closely to its finish, but not so the renegades Braxton +Wyatt and Blackstaffe. They and Quarles had wandered eastward +with some Delawares, and had afterward joined the band of +Wyandots, though Timmendiquas gave them no very warm welcome. +Quarles had left on some errand a few days before. They had +rejoiced greatly at the trapping of the four, one by one, in the +deep bush. But they had felt anger and disappointment when the +fifth was not taken, also. Now both were concerned and alarmed +over the escape of Shif'less Sol in the night, and they drew +apart from the Indians to discuss it. + +"I think," said Wyatt, "that Hyde did not manage it himself, all +alone. How could he? He was bound both hand and foot; and I've +learned, too, Blackstaffe, that four of the best Iroquois rifles +have been taken. That means one apiece for Hyde and the three +prisoners that are left." + +The two exchanged looks of meaning and understanding. + +"It must have been the boy Ware who helped Hyde to get away," +said Blackstaffe, "and their taking of the rifles means that he +and Hyde expect to rescue the other three in the same way. You +think so, too?" + +"Of course," replied Wyatt. "What makes the Indians, who are so +wonderfully alert and watchful most of the time, become so +careless when they have a great feast?" + +Blackstaffe shrugged his shoulders. + +"It is their way," he replied. "You cannot change it. Ware +must have noticed what they were about, and he took advantage of +it. But I don't think any of the others will go that way." + +"The boy Cotter is in here," said Braxton Wyatt, tapping the +side of a small hut. "Let's go in and see him." + + +"Good enough," said Blackstaffe. "But we mustn't let him know +that Hyde has escaped." + +Paul, also bound hand and foot, was lying on an old wolfskin. +He, too, was pale and thin-the strict confinement had told upon +him heavily-but Paul's spirit could never be daunted. He looked +at the two renegades with hatred and contempt. + +"Well, you're in a fine fix," said Wyatt sneeringly. "We just +came in to tell you that we took Henry Ware last night." + +Paul looked him straight and long in the eye, and he knew that +the renegade was lying. + +"I know better," he said. + +"Then we will get him," said Wyatt, abandoning the lie, "and all +of you will die at the stake." + +"You, will not get him," said Paul defiantly, "and as for the +rest of us dying at the stake, that's to be seen. I know this: +Timmendiquas considers us of value, to be traded or exchanged, +and he's too smart a man to destroy what be regards as his own +property. Besides, we may escape. I don't want to boast, +Braxton Wyatt, but you know that we're hard to hold." + +Then Paul managed to turn over with his face to the wall, as if +he were through with them. They went out, and Braxton Wyatt said +sulkily: + +"Nothing to be got out of him." + +"No," said Blackstaffe, "but we must urge that the strictest +kind of guard be kept over the others." + +The Iroquois were to remain some time at the village, because all +their forces were not yet gathered for the great foray they had +in mind. The Onondaga runners were still carrying the wampum +belts of purple shells, sign of war, to distant villages of the +tribes, and parties of warriors were still coming in. A band of +Cayugas arrived that night, and with them they brought a half +starved and sick, Lenni-Lenape, whom they had picked up near the +camp. The Lenni-Lenape, who looked as if he might have been when +in health a strong and agile warrior, said that news had reached +him through the Wyandots of the great war to be waged by the +Iroquois on the white settlements, and the spirits would not let +him rest unless he bore his part in it. He prayed therefore to +be accepted among them. + +Much food was given to the brave Lenni-Lenape, and he was sent to +a lodge to rest. To-morrow he would be well, and he would be +welcomed to the ranks of the Cayugas, a Younger nation. But when +the morning came, the lodge was empty. The sick Lenni-Lenape was +gone, and with him the boy, Paul, the youngest of the prisoners. +Guards bad been posted all around the camp, but evidently the two +had slipped between. Brave and advanced as were the Iroquois, +superstition seized upon them. Hah-gweli-da-et-gah was at work +among them, coming in the form of the famished Lenni-Lenape. He +had steeped them in a deep sleep, and then he had vanished with +the prisoner in Se-oh (The Night). Perhaps lie had taken away +the boy, who was one of a hated race, for some sacrifice or +mystery of his own. The fears of the Iroquois rose. If the +Spirit of Evil was among them, greater harm could be expected. + +But the two renegades, Blackstaffe and Wyatt, raged. They did +not believe in the interference of either good spirits or bad +spirits, and just now their special hatred was a famished +Lenni-Lenape warrior. + +"Why on earth didn't I think of it?" exclaimed Wyatt. "I'm sure +now by his size that it was the fellow Hyde. Of Course he +slipped to the lodge, let Cotter out, and they dodged about in +the darkness until they escaped in the forest. I'll complain to +Timmendiquas." + +He was as good as his word, speaking of the laxness of both +Iroquois and Wyandots. The great White Lightning regarded him +with an icy stare. + +"You say that the boy, Cotter, escaped through carelessness?" he +asked. + +"I do," exclaimed Wyatt. + +"Then why did you not prevent it?" + +Wyatt trembled a little before the stern gaze of the chief. + +Since when," continued Timmendiquas, "have you, a deserter front +your own people, had the right to hold to account the head chief +of the Wyandots?" Braxton Wyatt, brave though he undoubtedly +was, trembled yet more. He knew that Timmendiquas did not like +him, and that the Wyandot chieftain could make his position among +the Indians precarious. + +"I did not mean to say that it was the fault of anybody in +particular," he exclaimed hastily, "but I've been hearing so much +talk about the Spirit of Evil having a hand in this that I +couldn't keep front saying something. Of course, it was Henry +Ware and Hyde who did it!" + +"It may be," said Timmendiquas icily, "but neither the Manitou of +the Wyandots, nor the Aieroski of the Iroquois has given to me +the eyes to see everything that happens in the dark." + +Wyatt withdrew still in a rage, but afraid to say more. He and +Blackstaffe held many conferences through the day, and they +longed for the presence of Simon Girty, who was farther west. + +That night an Onondaga runner arrived from one of the farthest +villages of the Mohawks, far east toward Albany. He had been +sent from a farther village, and was not known personally to the +warriors in the great camp, but he bore a wampum belt of purple +shells, the sign of war, and he reported directly to +Thayendanegea, to whom he brought stirring and satisfactory +words. After ample feasting, as became one who had come so far, +he lay upon soft deerskins in one of the bark huts and sought +sleep. + +But Braxton Wyatt, the renegade, could not sleep. His evil +spirit warned him to rise and go to the huts, where the two +remaining prisoners were kept. It was then about one o'clock in +the morning, and as he passed he saw the Onondaga runner at the +door of one of the prison lodges. He was about to cry out, but +the Onondaga turned and struck him such a violent blow with the +butt of a pistol, snatched from under his deerskin tunic, that he +fell senseless. When a Mohawk sentinel found and revived him an +hour later, the door of the hut was open, and the oldest of the +prisoners, the one called Ross, was gone. + +Now, indeed, were the Iroquois certain that the Spirit of Evil +was among them. When great chiefs like Timmendiquas and +Thayendanegea were deceived, how could a common warrior hope to +escape its wicked influence! + +But Braxton Wyatt, with a sore and aching head, lay all day on a +bed of skins, and his friend, Moses Blackstaffe, could give him +no comfort. + +The following night the camp was swept by a sudden and tremendous +storm of thunder and lightning, wind and rain. Many of the +lodges were thrown down, and when the storm finally whirled +itself away, it was found that the last of the prisoners, he of +the long arms and long legs, had gone on the edge of the blast. + +Truly the Evil Spirit had been hovering over the Iroquois +village. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +CATHARINE MONTOUR + + +The five lay deep in the swamp, reunited once more, and full of +content. The great storm in which Long Jim, with the aid of his +comrades, had disappeared, was whirling off to the eastward. The +lightning was flaring its last on the distant horizon, but the +rain still pattered in the great woods. + +It was a small hut, but the five could squeeze in it. They were +dry, warm, and well armed, and they had no fear of the storm and +the wilderness. The four after their imprisonment and privations +were recovering their weight and color. Paul, who had suffered +the most, had, on the other hand, made the quickest recovery, and +their present situation, so fortunate in contrast with their +threatened fate a few days before, made a great appeal to his +imagination. The door was allowed to stand open six inches , and +through the crevice he watched the rain pattering on the dark +earth. He felt an immense sense of security and comfort. Paul +was hopeful by nature and full of courage, but when he lay bound +and alone in a hut in the Iroquois camp it seemed to him that no +chance was left. The comrades had been kept separate, and he had +supposed the others to be dead. But here he was snatched from +the very pit of death, and all the others had been saved from a +like fate. + +"If I'd known that you were alive and uncaptured, Henry," he +said, " I'd never have given up hope. It was a wonderful thing +you did to start the chain that drew us all away." + +"It's no more than Sol or Tom or any of you would have done," +said Henry. + +"We might have tried it," said Long Jim Hart, "but I ain't sure +that we'd have done it. Likely ez not, ef it had been left to me +my scalp would be dryin' somewhat in the breeze that fans a +Mohawk village. Say, Sol, how wuz it that you talked Onondaga +when you played the part uv that Onondaga runner. Didn't know +you knowed that kind uv Injun lingo." + +Shif'less Sol drew himself up proudly, and then passed a +thoughtful hand once or twice across his forehead. + +"Jim," he said, "I've told you often that Paul an' me hez the +instincts uv the eddicated. Learnin' always takes a mighty +strong hold on me. Ef I'd had the chance, I might be a +purfessor, or mebbe I'd be writin' poetry. I ain't told you +about it, but when I wuz a young boy, afore I moved with the +settlers, I wuz up in these parts an' I learned to talk Iroquois +a heap. I never thought it would be the use to me it hez been +now. Ain't it funny that sometimes when you put a thing away an' +it gits all covered with rust and mold, the time comes when that +same forgot little thing is the most vallyble article in the +world to you." + +"Weren't you scared, Sol," persisted Paul, "to face a man like +Brant, an' pass yourself off as an Onondaga?" + +"No, I wuzn't," replied the shiftless one thoughtfully, "I've +been wuss scared over little things. I guess that when your life +depends on jest a motion o' your hand or the turnin' o' a word, +Natur' somehow comes to your help an' holds you up. I didn't get +good an' skeered till it wuz all over, an' then I had one fit +right after another." + +"I've been skeered fur a week without stoppin'," said Tom Ross; +"jest beginnin' to git over it. I tell you, Henry, it wuz +pow'ful lucky fur us you found them steppin' stones, an' this +solid little place in the middle uv all that black mud." + +"Makes me think uv the time we spent the winter on that island +in the lake," said Long Jim. "That waz shorely a nice place an' +pow'ful comf'table we wuz thar. But we're a long way from it +now. That island uv ours must be seven or eight hundred miles +from here, an' I reckon it's nigh to fifteen hundred to New +Orleans, whar we wuz once." + +"Shet up," said Tom Ross suddenly. "Time fur all uv you to go to +sleep, an' I'm goin' to watch." + +"I'll watch," said Henry. + +"I'm the oldest, an' I'm goin' to have my way this time," said +Tom. + +"Needn't quarrel with me about it," said Shif'less Sol. "A lazy +man like me is always willin' to go to sleep. You kin hev my +watch, Tom, every night fur the next five years." + +He ranged himself against the wall, and in three minutes was +sound asleep. Henry and Paul found room in the line, and they, +too, soon slept. Tom sat at the door, one of the captured rifles +across his knees, and watched the forest and the swamp. He saw +the last flare of the distant lightning, and he listened to the +falling of the rain drops until they vanished with the vanishing +wind, leaving the forest still and without noise. + +Tom was several years older than any of the others, and, although +powerful in action, be was singularly chary of speech. Henry was +the leader, but somehow Tom looked upon himself as a watcher over +the other four, a sort of elder brother. As the moon came out a +little in the wake of the retreating clouds, he regarded them +affectionately. + +"One, two, three, four, five," he murmured to himself. "We're +all here, an' Henry come fur us. That is shorely the greatest +boy the world hez ever seed. Them fellers Alexander an' Hannibal +that Paul talks about couldn't hev been knee high to Henry. +Besides, ef them old Greeks an' Romans hed hed to fight Wyandots +an' Shawnees an' Iroquois ez we've done, whar'd they hev been?" + +Tom Ross uttered a contemptuous little sniff, and on the edge of +that sniff Alexander and Hannibal were wafted into oblivion. +Then he went outside and walked about the islet, appreciating for +the tenth time what a wonderful little refuge it was. He was +about to return to the hut when he saw a dozen dark blots along +the high bough of a tree. He knew them. They were welcome +blots. They were wild turkeys that had found what had seemed to +be a secure roosting place in the swamp. + +Tom knew that the meat of the little bear was nearly exhausted, +and here was more food come to their hand. "We're five pow'ful +feeders, an' we'll need you," he murmured, looking up at the +turkeys, " but you kin rest thar till nearly mornin'." + +He knew that the turkeys would not stir, and he went back to the +hut to resume his watch. just before the first dawn he awoke +Henry. + +"Henry," he said, "a lot uv foolish wild turkeys hev gone to rest +on the limb of a tree not twenty yards from this grand manshun uv +ourn. 'Pears to me that wild turkeys wuz made fur hungry fellers +like us to eat. Kin we risk a shot or two at 'em, or is it too +dangerous?" + +"I think we can risk the shots," said Henry, rising and taking +his rifle. " We're bound to risk something, and it's not likely +that Indians are anywhere near." + +They slipped from the cabin, leaving the other three still sound +asleep, and stepped noiselessly among the trees. The first pale +gray bar that heralded the dawn was just showing in the cast. + +"Thar they are," said Tom Ross, pointing at the dozen dark blots +on the high bough. + +"We'll take good aim, and when I say 'fire!' we'll both pull +trigger," said Henry. + +He picked out a huge bird near the end of the line, but be +noticed when be drew the bead that a second turkey just behind +the first was directly in his line of fire. The fact aroused his +ambition to kill both with one bullet. It was not a mere desire +to slaughter or to display marksmanship, but they needed the +extra turkey for food. + +"Are you ready, Tom?" he asked. " Then fire." + +They pulled triggers, there were two sharp reports terribly loud +to both under the circumstances, and three of the biggest and +fattest of the turkeys fell heavily to the ground, while the rest +flapped their wings, and with frightened gobbles flew away. + +Henry was about to rush forward, but Silent Tom held him back. + +"Don't show yourself, Henry! Don't show yourself!" he cried +in tense tones. + +"Why, what's the matter?" asked the boy in surprise. + +"Don't you see that three turkeys fell, and we are only two to +shoot? An Injun is layin' 'roun' here some whar, an' he drawed a +bead on one uv them turkeys at the same time we did." + +Henry laughed and put away Tom's detaining hand. + +"There's no Indian about," he said. "I killed two turkeys with +one shot, and I'm mighty proud of it, too. I saw that they were +directly in the line of the bullet, and it went through both." + +Silent Tom heaved a mighty sigh of relief, drawn up from great +depths. + +"I'm tre-men-jeous-ly glad uv that, Henry," he said. "Now when I +saw that third turkey come tumblin' down I wuz shore that one +Injun or mebbe more had got on this snug little place uv ourn in +the swamp, an' that we'd hev to go to fightin' ag'in. Thar come +times, Henry, when my mind just natchally rises up an' rebels +ag'in fightin', 'specially when I want to eat or sleep. Ain't +thar anythin' else but fight, fight, fight, 'though I 'low a +feller hez got to expect a lot uv it out here in the woods?" + +They picked up the three turkeys, two gobblers and a hen, and +found them large and fat as butter. More than once the wild +turkey had come to their relief, and, in fact, this bird played a +great part in the life of the frontier, wherever that frontier +might be, as it shifted steadily westward. As they walked back +toward the hut they faced three figures, all three with leveled +rifles. + +"All right, boys," sang out Henry. "It's nobody but Tom and +myself, bringing in our breakfast." + +The three dropped their rifles. + +"That's good," said Shif'less Sol. "When them shots roused us +out o' our beauty sleep we thought the whole Iroquois nation, +horse, foot, artillery an' baggage wagons, wuz comin' down upon +us. So we reckoned we'd better go out an' lick 'em afore it wuz +too late. + +"But it's you, an' you've got turkeys, nothin' but turkeys. Sho' +I reckoned from the peart way Long Jim spoke up that you wuz +loaded down with hummin' birds' tongues, ortylans, an' all them +other Roman and Rooshian delicacies Paul talks about in a way to +make your mouth water. But turkeys! jest turkeys! Nothin' but +turkeys!" + +"You jest wait till you see me cookin' 'em, Sol Hyde," said Long +Jim. "Then your mouth'll water, an' it'll take Henry and Tom both +to hold you back." + +But Shif'less Sol's mouth was watering already, and his eyes were +glued on the turkeys. + +"I'm a pow'ful lazy man, ez you know, Saplin'," he said, "but I'm +goin' to help you pick them turkeys an' get 'em ready for the +coals. The quicker they are cooked the better it'll suit me." + +While they were cooking the turkeys, Henry, a little anxious lest +the sound of the shots had been heard, crossed on the stepping +stones and scouted a bit in the woods. But there was no sign of +Indian presence, and, relieved, he returned to the islet just as +breakfast was ready. + +Long Jim had exerted all his surpassing skill, and it was a +contented five that worked on one of the turkeys - the other two +being saved for further needs. + +"What's goin' to be the next thing in the line of our duty, +Henry?" asked Long Jim as they ate. + +"We'll have plenty to do, from all that Sol tells us," replied +the boy. "It seems that they felt so sure of you, while you were +prisoners, that they often talked about their plans where you +could hear them. Sol has told me of two or three talks between +Timmendiquas and Thayendanegea, and from the last one he gathered +that they're intending a raid with a big army against a place +called Wyoming, in the valley of a river named the Susquehanna. +It's a big settlement, scattered all along the river, and they +expect to take a lot of scalps. They're going to be helped by +British from Canada and Tories. Boys, we're a long way from +home, but shall we go and tell them in Wyoming what's coming?" + +"Of course," said the four together. + +"Our bein' a long way from home don't make any difference " said +Shif'less Sol. "We're generally a long way from home, an' you +know we sent word back from Pittsburgh to Wareville that we wuz +stayin' a while here in the east on mighty important business." + +"Then we go to the Wyoming Valley as straight and as fast as we +can," said Henry. "That's settled. What else did you bear about +their plans, Sol?" + +"They're to break up the village here soon and then they'll march +to a place called Tioga. The white men an' I hear that's to be a +lot uv 'em-will join 'em thar or sooner. They've sent chiefs all +the way to our Congress at Philydelphy, pretendin' peace, an' +then, when they git our people to thinkin' peace, they'll jump on +our settlements, the whole ragin' army uv 'em, with tomahawk an' +knife. A white man named John Butler is to command 'em." + +Paul shuddered. + +"I've heard of him," he said. "They called him 'Indian' Butler +at Pittsburgh. He helped lead the Indians in that terrible +battle of the Oriskany last year. And they say he's got a son, +Walter Butler, who is as bad as he is, and there are other white +leaders of the Indians, the Johnsons and Claus." + +"'Pears ez ef we would be needed," said Tom Ross. + +"I don't think we ought to hurry," said Henry. The more we know +about the Indian plans the better it will be for the Wyoming +people. We've a safe and comfortable hiding place here, and we +can stay and watch the Indian movements." + +"Suits me," drawled Shif'less Sol. "My legs an' arms are still +stiff from them deerskin thongs an' ez Long Jim is here now to +wait on me I guess I'll take a rest from travelin." + +"You'll do all your own waitin' on yourself," rejoined Long Jim; +'an I'm afraid you won't be waited on so Pow'ful well, either, +but a good deal better than you deserve." + +They lay on the islet several days, meanwhile keeping a close +watch on the Indian camp. They really had little to fear except +from hunting parties, as the region was far from any settled +portion of the country, and the Indians were not likely to +suspect their continued presence. But the hunters were numerous, +and all the squaws in the camp were busy jerking meat. It was +obvious that the Indians were preparing for a great campaign, but +that they would take their own time. Most of the scouting was +done by Henry and Sol, and several times they lay in the thick +brushwood and watched, by the light of the fires, what was +passing in the Indian camp. + +On the fifth night after the rescue of Long Jim, Henry and +Shif'less Sol lay in the covert. It was nearly midnight, but the +fires still burned in the Indian camp, warriors were polishing +their weapons, and the women were cutting up or jerking meat. +While they were watching they heard from a point to the north the +sound of a voice rising and failing in a kind of chant. + +"Another war party comin'," whispered Shif'less Sol, "an' singin' +about the victories that they're goin' to win." + +"But did you notice that voice?" Henry whispered back. " It's +not a man's, it's a woman's." + +"Now that you speak of it, you're right," said Shif'less Sol. +"It's funny to hear an Injun woman chantin' about battles as she +comes into camp. That's the business o' warriors." + +"Then this is no ordinary woman," said Henry. + +"They'll pass along that trail there within twenty yards of us, +Sol, and we want to see her." + +"So we do," said Sol, "but I ain't breathin' while they pass." + +They flattened themselves against the earth until the keenest eye +could not see them in the darkness. All the time the singing was +growing louder, and both remained, quite sure that it was the +voice of a woman. The trail was but a short distance away, and +the moon was bright. The fierce Indian chant swelled, and +presently the most .singular figure that either had ever seen +came into view. + +The figure was that of an Indian woman, but lighter in color than +most of her kind. She was middle-aged, tall, heavily built, and +arrayed in a strange mixture of civilized and barbaric finery, +deerskin leggins and moccasins gorgeously ornamented with heads, +a red dress of European cloth with a red shawl over it, and her +head bare except for bright feathers, thrust in her long black +hair, which hung loosely down her back. She held in one hand a +large sharp tomahawk, which she swung fiercely in time to her +song. Her face had the rapt, terrible expression of one who had +taken some fiery and powerful drug, and she looked neither to +right nor to left as she strode on, chanting a song of blood, and +swinging the keen blade. + +Henry and Shif'less Sol shuddered. They had looked upon terrible +human figures, but nothing so frightful as this, a woman with the +strength of a man and twice his rage and cruelty. There was +something weird and awful in the look of that set, savage face, +and the tone of that Indian chant. Brave as they were, Henry and +the shiftless one felt fear, as perhaps they had never felt it +before in their lives. Well they might! They were destined to +behold this woman again, under conditions the most awful of which +the human mind can conceive, and to witness savagery almost +unbelievable in either man or woman. The two did not yet know +it, but they were looking upon Catharine Montour, daughter of a +French Governor General of Canada and an Indian woman, a +chieftainess of the Iroquois, and of a memory infamous forever on +the border, where she was known as "Queen Esther." + +Shif'less Sol shuddered again, and whispered to Henry: + +"I didn't think such women ever lived, even among the Indians." + +A dozen warriors followed Queen Esther, stepping in single file, +and their manner showed that they acknowledged her their leader +in every sense. She was truly an extraordinary woman. Not even +the great Thayendanegea himself wielded a stronger influence +among the Iroquois. In her youth she had been treated as a white +woman, educated and dressed as a white woman, and she had played +a part in colonial society at Albany, New York, and Philadelphia. +But of her own accord she had turned toward the savage half of +herself, had become wholly a savage, had married a savage chief, +bad been the mother of savage children, and here she was, at +midnight, striding into an Iroquois camp in the wilderness, her +head aflame with visions of blood, death, and scalps. + +The procession passed with the terrifying female figure still +leading, still singing her chant, and the curiosity of Henry and +Shif'less Sol was so intense that, taking all risks, they slipped +along in the rear to see her entry. + +Queen Esther strode into the lighted area of the camp, ceased her +chant, and looked around, as if a queen had truly come and was +waiting to be welcomed by her subjects. Thayendanegea, who +evidently expected her, stepped forward and gave her the Indian +salute. It may be that he received her with mild enthusiasm. +Timmendiquas, a Wyandot and a guest, though an ally, would not +dispute with him his place as real head of the Six Nations, but +this terrible woman was his match ' and could inflame the +Iroquois to almost anything that she wished. + +After the arrival of Queen Esther the lights in the Iroquois +village died down. It was evident to both Henry and the +shiftless one that they had been kept burning solely in the +expectation of the coming of this formidable woman and her +escort. It was obvious that nothing more was to be seen that +night, and they withdrew swiftly through the forest toward their +islet. They stopped once in an oak opening, and Shif'less Sol +shivered slightly. + +"Henry," he said, "I feel all through me that somethin' terrible +is comin'. That woman back thar has clean give me the shivers. +I'm more afraid of her than I am of Timmendiquas or +Thayendanegea. Do you think she is a witch?" + +"There are no such things as witches, but she was uncanny. I'm +afraid, Sol, that your feeling about something terrible going to +happen is right." + +It was about two o'clock in the morning when they reached the +islet. Tom Ross was awake, but the other two slumbered +peacefully on. They told Tom what they had seen, and he told +them the identity of the terrible woman. + +"I heard about her at Pittsburgh, an' I've heard tell, too, about +her afore I went to Kentucky to live. She's got a tre-men-jeous +power over the Iroquois. They think she ken throw spells, an' +all that sort of thing-an' mebbe she kin." + +Two nights later it was Henry and Tom who lay in the thickets, +and then they saw other formidable arrivals in the Indian camp. +Now they were white men, an entire company in green uniforms, Sir +John Johnson's Royal Greens, as Henry afterward learned; and with +them was the infamous John Butler, or " Indian" Butler, as he was +generally known on the New York and Pennsylvania frontier, +middle-aged, short and fat, and insignificant of appearance, but +energetic, savage and cruel in nature. He was a descendant of +the Duke of Ormond, and had commanded the Indians at the terrible +battle of the Oriskany, preceding Burgoyne's capture the year +before. + +Henry and Tom were distant spectators at an extraordinary council +around one of the fires. In this group were Timmendiquas, +Thayendanegea, Queen Esther, high chiefs of the distant nations, +and the white men, John Butler, Moses Blackstaffe, and the boy, +Braxton Wyatt. It seemed to Henry that Timmendiquas, King of the +Wyandots, was superior to all the other chiefs present, even to +Thayendanegea. His expression was nobler than that of the great +Mohawk, and it had less of the Indian cruelty. + +Henry and Tom could not hear 'anything that was said, but they +felt sure the Iroquois were about to break up their village and +march on the great campaign they had planned. The two and their +comrades could render no greater service than to watch their +march, and then warn those upon whom the blow was to fall. + +The five left their hut on the islet early the next morning, well +equipped with provisions, and that day they saw the Iroquois +dismantle their village, all except the Long House and two or +three other of the more solid structures, and begin the march. +Henry and his comrades went parallel with them, watching their +movements as closely as possible. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +A CHANGE OF TENANTS + + +The five were engaged upon one of their most dangerous tasks, to +keep with the Indian army, and yet to keep out of its hands, to +observe what was going on, and to divine what was intended from +what they observed. Fortunately it, was early summer, and the +weather being very beautiful they could sleep without shelter. +Hence they found it convenient to sleep sometimes by daylight, +posting a watch always, and to spy upon the Indian camp at night. +They saw other reinforcements come for the Indian army, +particularly a strong division of Senecas, under two great war +chiefs of theirs, Sangerachte and Hiokatoo, and also a body of +Tories. + +Then they saw them go into their last great camp at Tioga, +preparatory to their swift descent upon the Wyoming Valley. +About four hundred white men, English Canadians and Tories, were +present, and eight hundred picked warriors of the Six Nations +under Thayendanegea, besides the little band of Wyandots led by +the resolute Timmendiquas. "Indian" Butler was in general +command of the whole, and Queen Esther was the high priestess of +the Indians, continually making fiery speeches and chanting songs +that made the warriors see red. Upon the rear of this +extraordinary army hung a band of fierce old squaws, from whom +every remnant of mercy and Gentleness had departed. + +From a high rock overlooking a valley the five saw "Indian" +Butler's force start for its final march upon Wyoming. It was +composed of many diverse elements, and perhaps none more +bloodthirsty ever trod the soil of America. In some preliminary +skirmish a son of Queen Esther had been slain, and now her fury +knew no limits. She took her place at the very head of the army, +whirling her great tomahawk about her head, and neither "Indian" +Butler nor Thayendanegea dared to interfere with her in anything +great or small. + +Henry and his comrades, as they left their rock and hastened +toward the valley of Wyoming, felt that now they were coming into +contact with the great war itself. They had looked upon a +uniformed enemy for the first time, and they might soon see the +colonial buff and blue of the eastern army. Their hearts +thrilled high at new scenes and new dangers. + +They had gathered at Pittsburgh, and, through the captivity of +the four in the Iroquois camp, they had some general idea of the +Wyoming Valley and the direction in which it lay, and, taking one +last look at the savage army, they sped toward it. The time was +the close, of June, and the foliage was still dark green. It was +a land of low mountain, hill, rich valley, and clear stream, and +it was beautiful to every one of the five. Much of their course +lay along the Susquehanna, and soon they saw signs of a more +extended cultivation than any that was yet to be witnessed in +Kentucky. From the brow of a little hill they beheld a field of +green, and in another field a man plowing. + +"That's wheat," said Tom Ross. + +"But we can't leave the man to plow," said Henry, "or he'll +never harvest that wheat. We'll warn him." + +The man uttered a cry of alarm as five wild figures burst into +his field. He stopped abruptly, and snatched up a rifle that lay +across the plow handles. Neither Henry nor his companions +realized that their forest garb and long life in the wilderness +made them look more like Indians than white men. But Henry threw +up a hand as a sign of peace. + +"We're white like yourselves," he cried, "and we've come to warn +you! The Iroquois and the Tories are marching into the valley!" + +The man's face blanched, and he cast a hasty look toward a little +wood, where stood a cabin from which smoke was rising. He could +not doubt on a near view that these were white like himself, and +the words rang true. + +"My house is strong," he said, "and I can beat them off. Maybe +you will help me." + +"We'd help you willingly enough," said Henry, "if this were any +ordinary raiding band, but 'Indian' Butler, Brant, and Queen +Esther are coming at the head of twelve or fifteen hundred men. +How could we hold a house, no matter how thick its walls, against +such an army as that? Don't hesitate a moment! Get up what you +can and gallop." + +The man, a Connecticut settler-Jennings was his name-left his +plow in the furrow, galloped on his horse to his house, mounted +his wife and children on other horses, and, taking only food and +clothing, fled to Stroudsburg, where there was a strong fort. At +a later day he gave Henry heartfelt thanks for his warning, as +six hours afterward the vanguard of the horde burned his home +and raged because its owner and his family were gone with their +scalps on their own heads. + +The five were now well into the Wyoming Valley, where the +Lenni-Lenape, until they were pushed westward by other tribes, +had had their village Wy-wa-mieh, which means in their language +Wyoming. It was a beautiful valley running twenty miles or more +along the Susquehanna, and about three miles broad. On either +side rose mountain walls a thousand feet in height, and further +away were peaks with mists and vapors around their crests. The +valley itself blazed in the summer sunshine, and the river +sparkled, now in gold, now in silver, as the light changed and +fell. + +More cultivated fields, more houses, generally of stout logs, +appeared, and to all that they saw the five bore the fiery +beacon. Simon Jennings was not the only man who lived to thank +them for the warning. Others were incredulous, and soon paid the +terrible price of unbelief. + +The five hastened on, and as they went they looked about them +with wondering eyes-there were so many houses, so many cultivated +fields, and so many signs of a numerous population. They had +emerged almost for the first time from the wilderness, excepting +their memorable visit to New Orleans, although this was a very +different region. Long Jim spoke of it. + +"I think I like it better here than at New Or-leeyuns," he said. +"We found some nice Frenchmen an' Spaniards down thar, but the +ground feels firmer under my feet here." + +"The ground feels firmer," said Paul, who had some of the +prescience of the seer, "but the skies are no brighter. They +look red to me sometimes, Jim." + +Tom Ross glanced at Paul and shook his head ominously. A +woodsman, he had his superstitions, and Paul's words weighed upon +his mind. He began to fear a great disaster, and his experienced +eye perceived at once the defenseless state of the valley. He +remembered the council of the great Indian force in the deep +woods, and the terrible face of Queen Esther was again before +him. + +"These people ought to be in blockhouses, every one uv 'em," he +said. "It ain't no time to be plowin' land." + +Yet peace seemed to brood still over the valley. It was a fine +river, beautiful with changing colors. The soil on either side +was as deep and fertile as that of Kentucky, and the line of the +mountains cut the sky sharp and clear. Hills and slopes were +dark green with foliage. + +It must have been a gran' huntin' ground once," said Shif'less +Sol. + +The alarm that the five gave spread fast, and other hunters and +scouts came in, confirming it. Panic seized the settlers, and +they began to crowd toward Forty Fort on the west side of the +river. Henry and his comrades themselves arrived there toward +the close of evening, just as the sun had set, blood red, behind +the mountains. Some report of them had preceded their coming, +and as soon as they had eaten they were summoned to the presence +of Colonel Zebulon Butler, who commanded the military force in +the valley. Singularly enough, he was a cousin of "Indian" +Butler, who led the invading army. + +The five, dressed in deerskin hunting shirts, leggins, and +moccasins, and everyone carrying a rifle, hatchet, and knife, +entered a large low room, dimly lighted by some wicks burning in +tallow. A man of middle years, with a keen New England face, sat +at a little table, and several others of varying ages stood near. + +The five knew instinctively that the man at the table was +Colonel Butler, and they bowed, but they did not show the +faintest trace of subservience. They had caught suspicious +glances from some of the officers who stood about the commander, +and they stiffened at once. Colonel Butler looked involuntarily +at Henry-everybody always took him, without the telling, for +leader of the group. + +"We have had report of you," he said in cool noncommittal tones," +and you have been telling of great Indian councils that you have +seen in the woods. May I ask your name and where you belong?" + +"My name," replied Henry with dignity, "is Henry Ware, and I come +from Kentucky. My friends here are Paul Cotter, Solomon Hyde, +Tom Ross, and Jim Hart. They, too, come from Kentucky." + +Several of the men gave the five suspicious glances. Certainly +they were wild enough in appearance, and Kentucky was far away. +It would seem strange that new settlers in that far land should +be here in Pennsylvania. Henry saw clearly that his story was +doubted. + +"Kentucky, you tell me?" said Colonel Butler. "Do you mean to +say you have come all that tremendous distance to warn us of an +attack by Indians and Tories?" + +Several of the others murmured approval, and Henry flushed a +little, but he saw that the commander was not unreasonable. It +was a time when men might well question the words of strangers. +Remembering this, he replied: + +"No, we did not come from Kentucky just to warn you. In fact, we +came from a point much farther than that. We came from New +Orleans to Pittsburgh with a fleet loaded with supplies for the +Continental armies, and commanded by Adam Colfax of New +Hampshire." + +The face of Colonel Butler brightened. + +"What!" he exclaimed, "you were on that expedition? It seems to +me that I recall hearing of great services rendered to it by some +independent scouts." + +"When we reached Pittsburgh," continued Henry, ""it was our first +intention to go back to Kentucky, but we heard that a great war +movement was in progress to the eastward, and we thought that we +would see what was going on. Four of us have been captives among +the Iroquois. We know much of their plans, and we know, too, +that Timmendiquas, the great chief of the Wyandots, whom we +fought along the Ohio, has joined them with a hand of his best +warriors. We have also seen Thayendanegea, every one of us." + +"You have seen Brant?" exclaimed Colonel Butler, calling the +great Mohawk by his white name. + +"Yes," replied Henry. "We have seen him, and we have also seen +the woman they call Queen Esther. She is continually urging the +Indians on." + +Colonel Butler seemed convinced, and invited them to sit down. +He also introduced the officers who were with him, Colonel John +Durkee, Colonel Nathan Dennison, Lieutenant Colonel George +Dorrance, Major John Garrett, Captain Samuel Ransom, Captain +Dethrie Hewitt, and some others. + +"Now, gentlemen, tell us all that you saw," continued Colonel +Butler courteously." You will pardon so many questions, but we +must be careful. You will see that yourselves. But I am a New +England man myself, from Connecticut, and I have met Adam Colfax. +I recall now that we have heard of you, also, and we are grateful +for your coming. Will you and your comrades tell us all that you +have seen and heard?" + +The five felt a decided change in the atmosphere. They were no +longer possible Tories or renegades, bringing an alarm at one +point when it should be dreaded at another. The men drew closely +around them, and listened as the tallow wicks sputtered in the +dim room. Henry spoke first, and the others in their turn. +Every one of them spoke tersely but vividly in the language of +the forest. They felt deeply what they had seen, and they drew +the same picture for their listeners. Gradually the faces of the +Wyoming men became shadowed. This was a formidable tale that +they were hearing, and they could not doubt its truth. + +"It is worse than I thought it could be," said Colonel Butler at +last." How many men do you say they have, Mr. Ware?" + +"Close to fifteen hundred." + +"All trained warriors and soldiers. And at the best we cannot +raise more than three hundreds including old men and boys, and +our men, too, are farmers." + +"But we can beat them. Only give us a chance, Colonel!" +exclaimed Captain Ransom. + +"I'm afraid the chance will come too soon," said Colonel Butler, +and then turning to the five: "Help us all you can. We need +scouts and riflemen. Come to the fort for any food and +ammunition you may need." + +The five gave their most earnest assurances that they would stay, +and do all in their power. In fact, they had come for that very +purpose. Satisfied now that Colonel Butler and his officers had +implicit faith in them they went forth to find that, despite the +night and the darkness, fugitives were already crossing the river +to seek refuge in Forty Fort, bringing with them tales of death +and devastation, some of which were exaggerated, but too many +true in all their hideous details. Men had been shot and scalped +in the fields, houses were burning, women and children were +captives for a fate that no one could foretell. Red ruin was +already stalking down the valley. + +The farmers were bringing their wives and children in canoes and +dugouts across the river. Here and there a torch light flickered +on the surface of the stream, showing the pale faces of the women +and children, too frightened to cry. They had fled in haste, +bringing with them only the clothes they wore and maybe a blanket +or two. The borderers knew too well what Indian war was, with +all its accompaniments of fire and the stake. + +Henry and his comrades helped nearly all that night. They +secured a large boat and crossed the river again and again, +guarding the fugitives with their rifles, and bringing comfort to +many a timid heart. Indian bands had penetrated far into the +Wyoming Valley, but they felt sure that none were yet in the +neighborhood of Forty Fort. + +It was about three o'clock in the morning when the last of the +fugitives who had yet come was inside Forty Fort, and the labors +of the five, had they so chosen, were over for the time. But +their nerves were tuned to so high a pitch, and they felt so +powerfully the presence of danger, that they could not rest, nor +did they have any desire for sleep. + + +The boat in which they sat was a good one, with two pairs of +oars. It had been detailed for their service, and they decided +to pull up the river. They thought it possible that they might +see the advance of the enemy and bring news worth the telling. +Long Jim and Tom Ross took the oars, and their powerful arms sent +the boat swiftly along in the shadow of the western bank. Henry +and Paul looked back and saw dim lights at the fort and a few on +either shore. The valley, the high mountain wall, and everything +else were merged in obscurity. + +Both the youths were oppressed heavily by the sense of danger, +not for themselves, but for others. In that Kentucky of theirs, +yet so new, few people lived beyond the palisades, but here were +rich and scattered settlements; and men, even in the face of +great peril, are always loth to abandon the homes that they have +built with so much toil. + +Tom Ross and Long Jim continued to pull steadily with the long +strokes that did not tire them, and the lights of the fort and +houses sank out of sight. Before them lay the somber surface of +the rippling river, the shadowy hills, and silence. The world +seemed given over to the night save for themselves, but they knew +too well to trust to such apparent desertion. At such hours the +Indian scouts come, and Henry did not doubt that they were +already near, gathering news of their victims for the Indian and +Tory horde. Therefore, it was the part of his comrades and +himself to use the utmost caution as they passed up the river. + +They bugged the western shore, where they were shadowed by banks +and bushes, and now they went slowly, Long Jim and Tom Ross +drawing their oars so carefully through the water that there was +never a plash to tell of their passing. Henry was in the prow of +the boat, bent forward a little, eyes searching the surface of +the river, and ears intent upon any sound that might pass on the +bank. Suddenly he gave a little signal to the rowers and they +let their oars rest. + +"Bring the boat in closer to the bank," he whispered. Push it +gently among those bushes where we cannot be seen from above." + +Tom and Jim obeyed. The boat slid softly among tall bushes that +shadowed the water, and was hidden completely. Then Henry +stepped out, crept cautiously nearly up the bank, which was here +very low, and lay pressed closely against the earth, but +supported by the exposed root of a tree. He had heard voices, +those of Indians, he believed, and he wished to see. Peering +through a fringe of bushes that lined the bank he saw seven +warriors and one white face sitting under the boughs of a great +oak. The face was that of Braxton Wyatt, who was now in his +element, with a better prospect of success than any that he had +ever known before. Henry shuddered, and for a moment he +regretted that he had spared Wyatt's life when he might have +taken it. + + +But Henry was lying against the bank to hear what these men might +be saying, not to slay. Two of the warriors, as he saw by their +paint, were Wyandots, and he understood the Wyandot tongue. +Moreover, his slight knowledge of Iroquois came into service, and +gradually he gathered the drift of their talk. Two miles nearer +Forty Fort was a farmhouse one of the Wyandots had seen it-not +yet abandoned by its owner, who believed that his proximity to +Forty Fort assured his safety. He lived there with his wife and +five children, and Wyatt and the Indians planned to raid the +place before daylight and kill them all. Henry had heard enough. +He slid back from the bank to the water and crept into the boat. + +"Pull back down the river as gently as you can," he whispered, +"and then I'll tell you." + +The skilled oarsmen carried the boat without a splash several +hundred yards down the stream, and then Henry told the others of +the fiendish plan that he had heard. + +"I know that man," said Shif'less Sol. "His name is Standish. I +was there nine or ten hours ago, an' I told him it wuz time to +take his family an' run. But he knowed more'n I did. Said he'd +stay, he wuzn't afraid, an' now he's got to pay the price." + +"No, he mustn't do that," said Henry. "It's too much to pay for +just being foolish, when everybody is foolish sometimes. Boys, +we can yet save that man an' his wife and children. Aren't you +willing to do it?" + +"Why, course," said Long Jim. "Like ez not Standish will shoot +at us when we knock on his door, but let's try it." + +The others nodded assent. + +"How far back from the river is the Standish house, Sol?" asked +Henry. + +"'Bout three hundred yards, I reckon, and' it ain't more'n a mile +down." + +"Then if we pull with all our might, we won't be too late. Tom, +you and Jim give Sol and me the oars now." + +Henry and the shiftless one were fresh, and they sent the boat +shooting down stream, until they stopped at a point indicated by +Sol. They leaped ashore, drew the boat down the bank, and +hastened toward a log house that they saw standing in a clump of +trees. The enemy had not yet come, but as they swiftly +approached the house a dog ran barking at them. The shiftless +one swung his rifle butt, and the dog fell unconscious. + +"I hated to do it, but I had to," he murmured. The next moment +Henry was knocking at the door. + +"Up! Up!" he cried, "the Indians are at hand, and you must run +for your lives!" + +How many a time has that terrible cry been heard on the American +border! + +The sound of a man's voice, startled and angry, came to their +ears, and then they heard him at the door. + +"Who are you?" he cried. "Why are you beating on my door at such +a time?" + +"We are friends, Mr. Standish," cried Henry, "and if you would +save your wife and children you must go at once! Open the door! +Open, I say!" + +The man inside was in a terrible quandary. It was thus that +renegades or Indians, speaking the white man's tongue, sometimes +bade a door to be opened, in order that they might find an easy +path to slaughter. But the voice outside was powerfully +insistent, it had the note of truth; his wife and children, +roused, too, were crying out, in alarm. Henry knocked again on +the door and shouted to him in a voice, always increasing in +earnestness, to open and flee. Standish could resist no longer. +He took down the bar and flung open the door, springing back, +startled at the five figures that stood before him. In the dusk +he did not remember Shif'less Sol. + +"Mr. Standish," Henry said, speaking rapidly, "we are, as you can +see, white. You will be attacked here by Indians and renegades +within half an hour. We know that, because we heard them talking +from the bushes. We have a boat in the river; you can reach it +in five minutes. Take your wife and children, and pull for Forty +Fort." + +Standish was bewildered. + +"How do I know that you are not enemies, renegades, yourselves?" +he asked. + +"If we had been that you'd be a dead man already," said Shif'less +Sol. + +It was a grim reply, but it was unanswerable, and Standish +recognized the fact. His wife had felt the truth in the tones of +the strangers, and was begging him to go. Their children were +crying at visions of the tomahawk and scalping knife now so near. + +"We'll go," said Standish. "At any rate, it can't do any harm. +We'll get a few things together." + +"Do not wait for anything! "exclaimed Henry. "You haven't a +minute to spare! Here are more blankets! Take them and run for +the boat! Sol and Jim, see them on board, and then come back!" + +Carried away by such fire and earnestness, Standish and his +family ran for the boat. Jim and the shiftless one almost threw +them on board, thrust a pair of oars into the bands of Standish, +another into the hands of his wife, and then told them to pull +with all their might for the fort. + +"And you," cried Standish, "what becomes of you?" + +Then a singular expression passed over his face-he had guessed +Henry's plan. + +"Don't you trouble about us," said the shiftless one. "We will +come later. Now pull! pull!" + +Standish and his wife swung on the oars, and in two minutes the +boat and its occupants were lost in the darkness. Tom Ross and +Sol did not pause to watch them, but ran swiftly back to the +house. Henry was at the door. + +"Come in," he said briefly, and they entered. Then he closed the +door and dropped the bar into place. Shif'less Sol and Paul were +already inside, one sitting on the chair and the other on the +edge of the bed. Some coals, almost hidden under ashes, +smoldered and cast a faint light in the room, the only one that +the house had, although it was divided into two parts by a rough +homespun curtain. Henry opened one of the window shutters a +little and looked out. The dawn had not yet come, but it was not +a dark night, and he looked over across the little clearing to +the trees beyond. On that side was a tiny garden, and near the +wall of the house some roses were blooming. He could see the +glow of pink and red. But no enemy bad yet approached. +Searching the clearing carefully with those eyes of his, almost +preternaturally keen, he was confident that the Indians were +still in the woods. He felt an intense thrill of satisfaction at +the success of his plan so far. + +He was not cruel, he never rejoiced in bloodshed, but the +borderer alone knew what the border suffered, and only those who +never saw or felt the torture could turn the other cheek to be +smitten. The Standish house had made a sudden and ominous change +of tenants. + +"It will soon be day," said Henry, "and farmers are early risers. +Kindle up that fire a little, will you, Sol? I want some smoke +to come out of the chimney." + +The shiftless one raked away the ashes, and put on two or three +pieces of wood that lay on the hearth. Little flames and smoke +arose. Henry looked curiously about the house. It was the usual +cabin of the frontier, although somewhat larger. The bed on +which Shif'less Sol sat was evidently that of the father and +mother, while two large ones behind the curtain were used by the +children. On the shelf stood a pail half full of drinking water, +and by the side of it a tin cup. Dried herbs hung over the +fireplace, and two or three chests stood in the corners. The +clothing of the children was scattered about. Unprepared food +for breakfast stood on a table. Everything told of a hasty +flight and its terrible need. Henry was already resolved, but +his heart hardened within him as he saw. + +He took the hatchet from his belt and cut one of the hooks for +the door bar nearly in two. The others said not a word. They +had no need to speak. They understood everything that he did. +He opened the window again and looked out. Nothing yet appeared. +"The dawn will come in three quarters of an hour," he said, "and +we shall not have to wait long for what we want to do." + +He sat down facing the door. All the others were sitting, and +they, too, faced the door. Everyone had his rifle across his +knees, with one hand upon the hammer. The wood on the hearth +sputtered as the fire spread, and the flames grew. Beyond a +doubt a thin spire of smoke was rising from the chimney, and a +watching eye would see this sign of a peaceful and unsuspecting +mind. + +"I hope Braxton Wyatt will be the first to knock at our door," +said Shif'less Sol. + +"I wouldn't be sorry," said Henry. + +Paul was sitting in a chair near the fire, and he said nothing. +He hoped the waiting would be very short. The light was +sufficient for him to see the faces of his comrades, and he +noticed that they were all very tense. This was no common watch +that they kept. Shif'less Sol remained on the bed, Henry sat on +another of the chairs, Tom Ross was on one of the chests with his +back to the wall. Long Jim was near the curtain. Close by Paul +was a home-made cradle. He put down his hand and touched it. He +was glad that it was empty now, but the sight of it steeled his +heart anew for the task that lay before them. + +Ten silent minutes passed, and Henry went to the window again. +He did not open it, but there was a crack through which he could +see. The others said nothing, but watched his face. When he +turned away they knew that the moment was at hand. + +"They've just come from the woods," he said, "and in a minute +they'll be at the door. Now, boys, take one last look at your +rifles." + +A minute later there was a sudden sharp knock at the door, but no +answer came from within. The knock was repeated, sharper and +louder, and Henry, altering his voice as much as possible, +exclaimed like one suddenly awakened from sleep: + +"Who is it? What do you want?" + +Back came a voice which Henry knew to be that of Braxton Wyatt: + +"We've come from farther up the valley. We're scouts, we've been +up to the Indian country. We're half starved. Open and give us +food!" + +"I don't believe you," replied Henry. "Honest people don't +come to my door at this time in the morning." + +Then ensued a few moments of silence, although Paul, with his +vivid fancy, thought he heard whispering on the other side of the +door. + +"Open!" cried Wyatt, "or we'll break your door down!" Henry said +nothing, nor did any of the others. They did not stir. The fire +crackled a little, but there was no other sound in the Standish +house. Presently they heard a slight noise outside, that of +light feet. + +"They are going for a log with which to break the door in," +whispered Henry. "They won't have to look far. The wood pile +isn't fifty feet away." + +"An' then," said Shif'less Sol, "they won't have much left to do +but to take the scalps of women an' little children." + +Every figure in the Standish house stiffened at the shiftless +one's significant words, and the light in the eyes grew sterner. +Henry went to the door, put his ear to the line where it joined +the wall, and listened. + +"They've got their log," he said, "and in half a minute they'll +rush it against the door." + +He came back to his old position. Paul's heart began to thump, +and his thumb fitted itself over the trigger of his cocked rifle. +Then they heard rapid feet, a smash, a crash, and the door flew +open. A half dozen Iroquois and a log that they held between +them were hurled into the middle of the room. The door had given +away so easily and unexpectedly that the warriors could not check +themselves, and two or three fell with the log. But they sprang +like cats to their feet, and with their comrades uttered a cry +that filled the whole cabin with its terrible sound and import. + +The Iroquois, keen of eyes and quick of mind, saw the trap at +once. The five grim figures, rifle in hand and finger on +trigger, all waiting silent and motionless were far different +from what they expected. Here could be no scalps, with the long, +silky hair of women and children. + +There was a moment's pause, and then the Indians rushed at their +foes. Five fingers pulled triggers, flame leaped from five +muzzles, and in an instant the cabin was filled with smoke and +war shouts, but the warriors never had a chance. They could only +strike blindly with their tomahawks, and in a half minute three +of them, two wounded, rushed through the door and fled to the +woods. They had been preceded already by Braxton Wyatt, who had +hung back craftily while the Iroquois broke down the door. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +WYOMING + + +The five made no attempt to pursue. In fact, they did not leave +the cabin, but stood there a while, looking down at the fallen, +hideous with war paint, but now at the end of their last trail. +Their tomahawks lay upon the floor, and glittered when the light +from the fire fell upon them. Smoke, heavy with the odor of +burned gunpowder, drifted about the room. + +Henry threw open the two shuttered windows, and fresh currents of +air poured into the room. Over the mountains in the east came +the first shaft of day. The surface of the river was lightening. + +"What shall we do with them?" asked Paul, pointing to the silent +forms on the floor. + +"Leave them," said Henry. "Butler's army is burning everything +before it, and this house and all in it is bound to go. You +notice, however, that Braxton Wyatt is not here." + +"Trust him to escape every time," said Shif'less Sol. "Of course +he stood back while the Indians rushed the house. But ez shore +ez we live somebody will get him some day. People like that +can't escape always." + +They slipped from the house, turning toward the river bank, and +not long after it was full daylight they were at Forty Fort +again, where they found Standish and his family. Henry replied +briefly to the man's questions, but two hours later a scout came +in and reported the grim sight that he had seen in the Standish +home. No one could ask for further proof of the fealty of the +five, who sought a little sleep, but before noon were off again. + +They met more fugitives, and it was now too dangerous to go +farther up the valley. But not willing to turn back, they +ascended the mountains that hem it in, and from the loftiest +point that they could find sought a sight of the enemy. + +It was an absolutely brilliant day in summer. The blue of the +heavens showed no break but the shifting bits of white cloud, and +the hills and mountains rolled away, solid masses of rich, dark +green. The river, a beautiful river at any time, seemed from +this height a great current of quicksilver. Henry pointed to a +place far up the stream where black dots appeared on its surface. +These dots were moving, and they came on in four lines. + +"Boys," he said, "you know what those lines of black dots are?" + +"Yes," replied Shif'less Sol, "it's Butler's army of Indians, +Tories, Canadians, an' English. They've come from Tioga Point on +the river, an' our Colonel Butler kin expect 'em soon." + +The sunlight became dazzling, and showed the boats, despite the +distance, with startling clearness. The five, watching from +their peak, saw them turn in toward the land, where they poured +forth a motley stream of red men and white, a stream that was +quickly swallowed up in the forest. + +"They are coming down through the woods on the fort, said Tom +Ross. + +"And they're coming fast," said Henry. "It's for us to carry the +warning." + +They sped back to the Wyoming fort, spreading the alarm as they +passed, and once more they were in the council room with Colonel +Zebulon Butler and his officers around him. + +"So they are at hand, and you have seen them?" said the colonel. + +"Yes," replied Henry, the spokesman, "they came down from Tioga +Point in boats, but have disembarked and are advancing through +the woods. They will be here today." + +There was a little silence in the room. The older men understood +the danger perhaps better than the younger, who were eager for +battle. + +"Why should we stay here and wait for them?" exclaimed one of the +younger captains at length-some of these captains were mere boys. +"Why not go out, meet them, and beat them ?" + +"They outnumber us about five to one," said Henry. "Brant, if he +is still with them, though be may have gone to some other place +from Tioga Point, is a great captain. So is Timmendiquas, the +Wyandot, and they say that the Tory leader is energetic and +capable." + +"It is all true!" exclaimed Colonel Butler. "We must stay in the +fort! We must not go out to meet them! We are not strong +enough!" + +A murmur of protest and indignation came from the younger +officers. + +"And leave the valley to be ravaged! Women and children to be +scalped, while we stay behind log walls!" said one of them +boldly. + +The men in the Wyoming fort were not regular troops, merely +militia, farmers gathered hastily for their own defense. + +Colonel Butler flushed. + +"We have induced as many as we could to seek refuge," he said. +"It hurts me as much as you to have the valley ravaged while we +sit quiet here. But I know that we have no chance against so +large a force, and if we fall what is to become of the hundreds +whom we now protect?" + +But the murmur of protest grew. All the younger men were +indignant. They would not seek shelter for themselves while +others were suffering. A young lieutenant saw from a window two +fires spring up and burn like torch lights against the sky. They +were houses blazing before the Indian brand. + +"Look at that!," he cried, pointing with an accusing finger, "and +we are here, under cover, doing nothing!" + +A deep angry mutter went about the room, but Colonel Butler, +although the flush remained on his face, still shook his head. +He glanced at Tom Ross, the oldest of the five. + +"You know about the Indian force," he exclaimed. What should we +do?" + +The face of Tom Ross was very grave, and he spoke slowly, as was +his wont. + +"It's a hard thing to set here," he exclaimed, "but it will be +harder to go out an' meet 'em on their own ground, an' them four +or five to one." + +"We must not go out," repeated the Colonel, glad of such backing. + +The door was thrust open, and an officer entered. + +"A rumor has just arrived, saying that the entire Davidson family +has been killed and scalped," he said. + +A deep, angry cry went up. Colonel Butler and the few who stood +with him were overborne. Such things as these could not be +endured, and reluctantly the commander gave his consent. They +would go out and fight. The fort and its enclosures were soon +filled with the sounds of preparation, and the little army was +formed rapidly. + +"We will fight by your side, of course," said Henry, "but we +wish to serve on the flank as an independent band. We can be of +more service in that manner." + +The colonel thanked them gratefully. + +"Act as you think best," he said. + +The five stood near one of the gates, while the little force +formed in ranks. Almost for the first time they were gloomy upon +going into battle. They had seen the strength of that army of +Indians, renegades, Tories, Canadians, and English advancing +under the banner of England, and they knew the power and +fanaticism of the Indian leaders. They believed that the +terrible Queen Esther, tomahawk in hand, had continually chanted +to them her songs of blood as they came down the river. It was +now the third of July, and valley and river were beautiful in the +golden sunlight. The foliage showed vivid and deep green on +either line of high hills. The summer sun had never shown more +kindly over the lovely valley. + +The time was now three o'clock. The gates of the fort were +thrown open, and the little army marched out, only three hundred, +of whom seventy were old men, or boys so young that in our day +they would be called children. Yet they marched bravely against +the picked warriors of the Iroquois, trained from infancy to the +forest and war, and a formidable body of white rovers who wished +to destroy the little colony of "rebels," as they called them. + +Small though it might be, it was a gallant army. Young and old +held their heads high. A banner was flying, and a boy beat a +steady insistent roll upon a drum. Henry and his comrades were +on the left flank, the river was on the right. The great gates +had closed behind them, shutting in the women and the children. +The sun blazed down, throwing everything into relief with its +intense, vivid light playing upon the brown faces of the +borderers, their rifles and their homespun clothes. Colonel +Butler and two or three of his officers were on horseback, +leading the van. Now that the decision was to fight, the older +officers, who had opposed it, were in the very front. Forward +they went, and spread out a little, but with the right flank +still resting on the river, and the left extended on the plain. + +The five were on the edge of the plain, a little detached from +the others, searching the forest for a sign of the enemy, who was +already so near. Their gloom did not decrease. Neither the +rolling of the drum nor the flaunting of the banner had any +effect. Brave though the men might be, this was not the way in +which they should meet an Indian foe who outnumbered them four or +five to one. + +"I don't like it," muttered Tom Ross. + +"Nor ' do I," said Henry, "but remember that whatever happens we +all stand together." + +"We remember!" said the others. + +On-they went, and the five moving faster were now ahead of the +main force some hundred yards. They swung in a little toward the +river. The banks here were highland off to the left was a large +swamp. The five now checked speed and moved with great wariness. +They saw nothing, and they heard nothing, either, until they went +forty or fifty yards farther. Then a low droning sound came to +their ears. It was the voice of one yet far away, but they knew +it. It was the terrible chant of Queen Esther, in this moment +the most ruthless of all the savages, and inflaming them +continuously for the combat. + +The five threw themselves flat on their faces, and waited a +little. The chant grew louder, and then through the foliage they +saw the ominous figure approaching. She was much as she had been +on that night when they first beheld her. She wore the same +dress of barbaric colors, she swung the same great tomahawk about +her head, and sang all the time of fire and blood and death. + +They saw behind her the figures of chiefs, naked to the breech +cloth for battle, their bronze bodies glistening with the war +paint, and bright feathers gleaming in their hair. Henry +recognized the tall form of Timmendiquas, notable by his height, +and around him his little band of Wyandots, ready to prove +themselves mighty warriors to their eastern friends the Iroquois. +Back of these was a long line of Indians and their white allies, +Sir John Johnson's Royal Greens and Butler's Rangers in the +center, bearing the flag of England. The warriors, of whom the +Senecas were most numerous, were gathered in greatest numbers on +their right flank, facing the left flank of the Americans. +Sangerachte and Hiokatoo, who had taken two English prisoners at +Braddock's defeat, and who had afterwards burned them both alive +with his own hand, were the principal leaders of the Senecas. +Henry caught a glimpse of "Indian" Butler in the center, with a +great blood-red handkerchief tied around his head, and, despite +the forest, he noticed with a great sinking of the heart how far +the hostile line extended. It could wrap itself like a python +around the defense. + +"It's a tale that will soon be told," said Paul. + +They went back swiftly, and warned Colonel Butler that the enemy +was at band. Even as they spoke they heard the loud wailing +chant of Queen Esther, and then came the war whoop, pouring from +a thousand throats, swelling defiant and fierce like the cry of a +wounded beast. The farmers, the boys, and the old men, most of +whom had never been in battle, might well tremble at this ominous +sound, so great in volume and extending so far into the forest. +But they stood firm, drawing themselves into a somewhat more +compact body, and still advancing with their banners flying, and +the boy beating out that steady roll on the drum. + +The enemy now came into full sight, and Colonel Butler deployed +his force in line of battle, his right resting on the high bank +of the river and his left against the swamp. Forward pressed the +motley army of the other Butler, he of sanguinary and cruel fame, +and the bulk of his force came into view, the sun shining down on +the green uniforms of the English and the naked brown bodies of +the Iroquois. + +The American commander gave the order to fire. Eager fingers +were already on the trigger, and a blaze of light ran along the +entire rank. The Royal Greens and Rangers, although replying +with their own fire, gave back before the storm of bullets, and +the Wyoming men, with a shout of triumph, sprang forward. It was +always a characteristic of the border settler, despite many +disasters and a knowledge of Indian craft and cunning, to rush +straight at his foe whenever he saw him. His, unless a trained +forest warrior himself, was a headlong bravery, and now this +gallant little force asked for nothing but to come to close grips +with the enemy. + +The men in the center with "Indian" Butler gave back still more. +With cries of victory the Wyoming men pressed forward, firing +rapidly, and continuing to drive the mongrel white force. The +rifles were cracking rapidly, and smoke arose over the two lines. +The wind caught wisps of it and carried them off down the river. + +"It goes better than I thought," said Paul as he reloaded his +rifle. + +"Not yet," said Henry, "we are fighting the white men only. +Where are all the Indians, who alone outnumber our men more than +two to one?" + +"Here they come," said Shif'less Sol, pointing to the depths of +the swamp, which was supposed to protect the left flank of the +Wyoming force. + +The five saw in the spaces, amid the briars and vines, scores of +dark figures leaping over the mud, naked to the breech cloth, +armed with rifle and tomahawk, and rushing down upon the +unprotected side of their foe. The swamp had been but little +obstacle to them. + +Henry and his comrades gave the alarm at once. As many as +possible were called off immediately from the main body, but they +were not numerous enough to have any effect. The Indians came +through the swamp in hundreds and hundreds, and, as they uttered +their triumphant yell, poured a terrible fire into the Wyoming +left flank. The defenders were forced to give ground, and the +English and Tories came on again. + +The fire was now deadly and of great volume. The air was filled +with the flashing of the rifles. The cloud of smoke grew +heavier, and faces, either from heat or excitement, showed red +through it. The air was filled with bullets, and the Wyoming +force was being cut down fast, as the fire of more than a +thousand rifles converged upon it. + +The five at the fringe of the swamp loaded and fired as fast as +they could at the Indian horde, but they saw that it was creeping +closer and closer, and that the hail of bullets it sent in was +cutting away the whole left flank of the defenders. They saw the +tall figure of Timmendiquas, a very god of war, leading on the +Indians, with his fearless Wyandots in a close cluster around +him. Colonel John Durkee, gathering up a force of fifty or +sixty, charged straight at the warriors, but he was killed by a +withering volley, which drove his men back. + +Now occurred a fatal thing, one of those misconceptions which +often decide the fate of a battle. The company of Captain +Whittlesey, on the extreme left, which was suffering most +severely, was ordered to fall back. The entire little army, +which was being pressed hard now, seeing the movement of +Whittlesey, began to retreat. Even without the mistake it is +likely they would have lost in the face of such numbers. + +The entire horde of Indians, Tories, Canadians, English, and +renegades, uttering a tremendous yell, rushed forward. Colonel +Zebulon Butler, seeing the crisis, rode up and down in front of +his men, shouting: "Don't leave me, my children! the victory is +ours!" Bravely his officers strove to stop the retreat. Every +captain who led a company into action was killed. Some of these +captains were but boys. The men were falling by dozens. + +All the Indians, by far the most formidable part of the invading +force, were through the swamp now, and, dashing down their +unloaded rifles, threw themselves, tomahawk in hand, upon the +defense. Not more than two hundred of the Wyoming men were left +standing, and the impact of seven or eight hundred savage +warriors was so great that they were hurled back in confusion. A +wail of grief and terror came from the other side of the river, +where a great body of women and children were watching the +fighting. + +"The battle's lost," said Shif'less Sol, + +"Beyond hope of saving it," said Henry, "but, boys, we five are +alive yet, and we'll do our best to help the others protect the +retreat." + +They kept under cover, fighting as calmly as they could amid such +a terrible scene, picking off warrior after warrior, saving more +than one soldier ere the tomahawk fell. Shif'less Sol took a +shot at "Indian" Butler, but he was too far away, and the bullet +missed him. + +"I'd give five years of my life if he were fifty yards nearer," +exclaimed the shiftless one. + +But the invading force came in between and he did not get another +shot. There was now a terrible medley, a continuous uproar, the +crashing fire of hundreds of rifles, the shouts of the Indians, +and the cries of the wounded. Over them all hovered smoke and +dust, and the air was heavy, too, with the odor of burnt +gunpowder. The division of old men and very young boys stood +next, and the Indians were upon them, tomahawk in hand, but in +the face of terrible odds all bore themselves with a valor worthy +of the best of soldiers. Three fourths of them died that day, +before they were driven back on the fort. + +The Wyoming force was pushed away from the edge of the swamp, +which had been some protection to the left, and they were now +assailed from all sides except that of the river. "Indian" +Butler raged at the head of his men, who had been driven back at +first, and who had been saved by the Indians. Timmendiquas, in +the absence of Brant, who was not seen upon this field, became by +valor and power of intellect the leader of all the Indians for +this moment. The Iroquois, although their own fierce chiefs, +I-Tiokatoo, Sangerachte, and the others fought with them, +unconsciously obeyed him. Nor did the fierce woman, Queen +Esther, shirk the battle. Waving her great tomahawk, she was +continually among the warriors, singing her song of war and +death. + +They were driven steadily back toward the fort, and the little +band crumbled away beneath the deadly fire. Soon none would be +left unless they ran for their lives. The five drew away toward +the forest. They saw that the fort itself could not hold out +against such a numerous and victorious foe, and they had no mind +to be trapped. But their retreat was slow, and as they went they +sent bullet after bullet into the Indian flank. Only a small +percentage of the Wyoming force was left, and it now broke. +Colonel Butler and Colonel Dennison, who were mounted, reached +the fort. Some of the men jumped into the river, swam to the +other shore and escaped. Some swam to a little island called +Monocacy, and hid, but the Tories and Indians hunted them out and +slew them. One Tory found his brother there, and killed him with +his own hand, a deed of unspeakable horror that is yet mentioned +by the people of that region. A few fled into the forest and +entered the fort at night. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE BLOODY ROCK + + +Seeing that all was lost, the five drew farther away into the +woods. They were not wounded, yet their faces were white despite +the tan. They had never before looked upon so terrible a scene. +The Indians, wild with the excitement of a great triumph and +thirsting for blood, were running over the field scalping the +dead, killing some of the wounded, and saving others for the +worst of tortures. Nor were their white allies one whit behind +them. They bore a full part in the merciless war upon the +conquered. Timmendiquas, the great Wyandot, was the only one to +show nobility. Several of the wounded he saved from immediate +death, and he tried to hold back the frenzied swarm of old squaws +who rushed forward and began to practice cruelties at which even +the most veteran warrior might shudder. But Queen Esther urged +them on, and "Indian" Butler himself and the chiefs were afraid +of her. + +Henry, despite himself, despite all his experience and powers of +self-control, shuddered from head to foot at the cries that came +from the lost field, and he was sure that the others were doing +the same. The sun was setting, but its dying light, brilliant +and intense, tinged the field as if with blood, showing all the +yelling horde as the warriors rushed about for scalps, or danced +in triumph, whirling their hideous trophies about their heads. +Others were firing at men who were escaping to the far bank of +the Susquehanna, and others were already seeking the fugitives in +their vain hiding places on the little islet. + +The five moved farther into the forest, retreating slowly, and +sending in a shot now and then to protect the retreat of some +fugitive who was seeking the shelter of the woods. The retreat +had become a rout and then a massacre. The savages raged up and +down in the greatest killing they had known since Braddock's +defeat. The lodges of the Iroquois would be full of the scalps +of white men. + +All the five felt the full horror of the scene, but it made its +deepest impress, perhaps, upon Paul. He had taken part in border +battles before, but this was the first great defeat. He was not +blind to the valor and good qualities of the Indian and his claim +upon the wilderness, but he saw the incredible cruelties that he +could commit, and he felt a horror of those who used him as an +ally, a horror that he could never dismiss from his mind as long +as he lived. + +"Look!" he exclaimed, "look at that!" + +A man of seventy and a boy of fourteen were running for the +forest. They might have been grandfather and grandson. +Undoubtedly they had fought in the Battalion of the Very Old and +the Very Young, and now, when everything else was lost, they were +seeking to save their lives in the friendly shelter of the woods. +But they were pursued by two groups of Iroquois, four warriors in +one, and three in the other, and the Indians were gaining fast. + +"I reckon we ought to save them," said Shif'less Sol. + +"No doubt of it," said Henry. "Paul, you and Sol move off to the +right a little, and take the three, while the rest of us will +look out for the four." + +The little band separated according to the directions, Paul and +Sol having the lighter task, as the others were to meet the group +of four Indians at closer range. Paul and Sol were behind some +trees, and, turning at an angle, they ran forward to intercept +the three Indians. It would have seemed to anyone who was not +aware of the presence of friends in the forest that the old man +and the boy would surely be overtaken and be tomahawked, but +three rifles suddenly flashed among the foliage. Two of the +warriors in the group of four fell, and a third uttered a yell of +pain. Paul and Shif'less Sol fired at the same time at the group +of three. One fell before the deadly rifle of Shif'less Sol, but +Paul only grazed his man. Nevertheless, the whole pursuit +stopped, and the boy and the old man escaped to the forest, and +subsequently to safety at the Moravian towns. + +Paul, watching the happy effect of the shots, was about to say +something to Shif'less Sol, when an immense force was hurled upon +him, and he was thrown to the ground. His comrade was served in +the same way, but the shiftless one was uncommonly strong and +agile. He managed to writhe half way to his knees, and he +shouted in a tremendous voice: + +"Run, Henry, run! You can't do anything for us now!" + +Braxton Wyatt struck him fiercely across the mouth. The blood +came, but the shiftless one merely spat it out, and looked +curiously at the renegade. + +"I've often wondered about you, Braxton," he said calmly. " I +used to think that anybody, no matter how bad, had some good in +him, but I reckon you ain't got none." + +Wyatt did not answer, but rushed forward in search of the +others. But Henry, Silent Tom, and Long Jim had vanished. A +powerful party of warriors had stolen upon Shif'less Sol and +Paul, while they were absorbed in the chase of the old man and +the boy, and now they were prisoners, bound securely. Braxton +Wyatt came back from the fruitless search for the three, but his +face was full of savage joy as he looked down at the captured +two. + +"We could have killed you just as easily," he said, "but we +didn't want to do that. Our friends here are going to have their +fun with you first." + +Paul's cheeks whitened a little at the horrible suggestion, but +Shif'less Sol faced them boldly. Several white men in uniform +had come up, and among them was an elderly one, short and squat, +and with a great flame colored handkerchief tied around his bead. + +"You may burn us alive, or you may do other things jest ez bad to +us, all under the English flag," said Shif'less Sol, " but I'm +thinkin' that a lot o' people in England will be ashamed uv it +when they hear the news." + +"Indian" Butler and his uniformed soldiers turned away, leaving +Shif'less Sol and Paul in the hands of the renegade and the +Iroquois. The two prisoners were jerked to their feet and told +to march. + + +"Come on, Paul," said Shif'less Sol. "'Tain't wuth while fur us +to resist. But don't you quit hopin', Paul. We've escaped from +many a tight corner, an' mebbe we're goin' to do it ag'in." + +"Shut up!" said Braxton Wyatt savagely. "If you say another word +I'll gag you in a way that will make you squirm." + +Shif'less Sol looked him squarely in the eye. Solomon Hyde, who +was not shiftless at all, had a dauntless soul, and he was not +afraid now in the face of death preceded by long torture. + +"I had a dog once, Braxton Wyatt," he said, "an' I reckon he wuz +the meanest, ornierest cur that ever lived. He liked to live on +dirt, the dirtier the place he could find the better; he'd rather +steal his food than get it honestly; he wuz sech a coward that he +wuz afeard o' a rabbit, but ef your back wuz turned to him he'd +nip you in the ankle. But bad ez that dog wuz, Braxton, he wuz a +gentleman 'longside o' you." + +Some of the Indians understood English, and Wyatt knew it. He +snatched a pistol from his belt, and was about to strike Sol with +the butt of it, but a tall figure suddenly appeared before him, +and made a commanding gesture. The gesture said plainly: "Do +not strike; put that pistol back!" Braxton Wyatt, whose soul was +afraid within him, did not strike, and he put the pistol back. + +It was Timmendiquas, the great White Lightning of the Wyandots, +who with his little detachment had proved that day how mighty the +Wyandot warriors were, full equals of Thayendanegea's Mohawks, +the Keepers of the Western Gate. He was bare to the waist. One +shoulder was streaked with blood from a slight wound, but his +countenance was not on fire with passion for torture and +slaughter like those of the others. + +"There is no need to strike prisoners," he said in English. +"Their fate will be decided later." + +Paul thought that he caught a look of pity from the eyes of the +great Wyandot, and Shif'less Sol said: + +"I'm sorry, Timmendiquas, since I had to be captured, that you +didn't capture me yourself. I'm glad to say that you're a great +warrior." + +Wyatt growled under his breath, but he was still afraid to speak +out, although he knew that Timmendiquas was merely a distant and +casual ally, and had little authority in that army. Yet he was +overawed, and so were the Indians with him. + +"We were merely taking the prisoners to Colonel Butler," he said. +"That is all." + +Timmendiquas stared at him, and the renegade's face fell. But he +and the Indians went on with the prisoners, and Timmendiquas +looked after them until they were out of sight. + +"I believe White Lightning was sorry that we'd been captured," +whispered Shif'less Sol. + +"I think so, too," Paul whispered back. + +They had no chance for further conversation, as they were driven +rapidly now to that point of the battlefield which lay nearest to +the fort, and here they were thrust into the midst of a gloomy +company, fellow captives, all bound tightly, and many wounded. +No help, no treatment of any kind was offered for hurts. The +Indians and renegades stood about and yelled with delight when +the agony of some man's wound wrung from him a groan. The scene +was hideous in every respect. The setting sun shone blood red +over forest, field, and river. Far off burning houses still +smoked like torches. But the mountain wall in the east, was +growing dusky with the coming twilight. From the island, where +they were massacring the fugitives in their vain hiding places, +came the sound of shots and cries, but elsewhere the firing had +ceased. All who could escape had done so already, and of the +others, those who were dead were fortunate. + +The sun sank like a red ball behind the mountains, and darkness +swept down over the earth. Fires began to blaze up here and +there, some for terrible purpose. The victorious Iroquois; +stripped to the waist and painted in glaring colors, joined in a +savage dance that would remain forever photographed on the eye of +Paul Cotter. As they jumped to and fro, hundreds of them, waving +aloft tomahawks and scalping knives, both of which dripped red, +they sang their wild chant of war and triumph. White men, too, +as savage as they, joined them. Paul shuddered again and again +from head to foot at this sight of an orgy such as the mass of +mankind escapes, even in dreams. + +The darkness thickened, the dance grew wilder. It was like a +carnival of demons, but it was to be incited to a yet wilder +pitch. A singular figure, one of extraordinary ferocity, was +suddenly projected into the midst of the whirling crowd, and a +chant, shriller and fiercer, rose above all the others. The +figure was that of Queen Esther, like some monstrous creature out +of a dim past, her great tomahawk stained with blood, her eyes +bloodshot, and stains upon her shoulders. Paul would have +covered his eyes had his hands not been tied instead, he turned +his head away. He could not bear to see more. But the horrible +chant came to his ears, nevertheless, and it was reinforced +presently by other sounds still more terrible. Fires sprang up +in the forest, and cries came from these fires. The victorious +army of "Indian" Butler was beginning to burn the prisoners +alive. But at this point we must stop. The details of what +happened around those fires that night are not for the ordinary +reader. It suffices to say that the darkest deed ever done on +the soil of what is now the United States was being enacted. + +Shif'less Sol himself, iron of body and soul, was shaken. He +could not close his ears, if he would, to the cries that came +from the fires, but he shut his eyes to keep out the demon dance. +Nevertheless, he opened them again in a moment. The horrible +fascination was too great. He saw Queen Esther still shaking her +tomahawk, but as he looked she suddenly darted through the +circle, warriors willingly giving way before her, and disappeared +in the darkness. The scalp dance went on, but it had lost some +of its fire and vigor. + +Shif'less Sol felt relieved. + +"She's gone," he whispered to Paul, and the boy, too, then opened +his eyes. The rest of it, the mad whirlings and jumpings of the +warriors, was becoming a blur before him, confused and without +meaning. + +Neither he nor Shif'less Sol knew how long they had been sitting +there on the ground, although it had grown yet darker, when +Braxton Wyatt thrust a violent foot against the shiftless one and +cried: + +"Get up! You're wanted!" + +A half dozen Seneca warriors were with him, and there was no +chance of resistance. The two rose slowly to their feet, and +walked where Braxton Wyatt led. The Senecas came on either side, +and close behind them, tomahawks in their hands. Paul, the +sensitive, who so often felt the impression of coming events from +the conditions around him, was sure that they were marching to +their fate. Death he did not fear so greatly, although he did +not want to die, but when a shriek came to him from one of the +fires that convulsive shudder shook him again from head to foot. +Unconsciously he strained at his bound arms, not for freedom, but +that he might thrust his fingers in his ears and shut out the +awful sounds. Shif'less Sol, because he could not use his hands, +touched his shoulder gently against Paul's. + +"Paul," he whispered, "I ain't sure that we're goin' to die, +leastways, I still have hope; but ef we do, remember that we +don't have to die but oncet." + +"I'll remember, Sol," Paul whispered back. + +"Silence, there!" exclaimed Braxton Wyatt. But the two had said +all they wanted to say, and fortunately their senses were +somewhat dulled. They had passed through so much that they were +like those who are under the influence of opiates. The path was +now dark, although both torches and fires burned in the distance. +Presently they heard that chant with which they had become +familiar, the dreadful notes of the hyena woman, and they knew +that they were being taken into her presence, for what purpose +they could not tell, although they were sure that it was a bitter +one. As they approached, the woman's chant rose to an uncommon +pitch of frenzy, and Paul felt the blood slowly chilling within +him. + +"Get up there!" exclaimed Braxton Wyatt, and the Senecas gave +them both a push. Other warriors who were standing at the edge +of an open space seized them and threw them forward with much +violence. When they struggled into a sitting position, they saw +Queen Esther standing upon a broad flat rock and whirling in a +ghastly dance that had in it something Oriental. She still swung +the great war hatchet that seemed always to be in her hand. Her +long black hair flew wildly about her head, and her red dress +gleamed in the dusk. Surely no more terrible image ever appeared +in the American wilderness! In front of her, lying upon the +ground, were twenty bound Americans, and back of them were +Iroquois in dozens, with a sprinkling of their white allies. + +What it all meant, what was about to come to pass, nether Paul +nor Shif'less Sol could guess, but Queen Esther sang: + + We have found them, the Yengees + Who built their houses in the valley, + They came forth to meet us in battle, + Our rifles and tomahawks cut them down, + As the Yengees lay low the forest. + Victory and glory Aieroski gives to his children, + The Mighty Six Nations, greatest of men. + + There will be feasting in the lodges of the Iroquois, + And scalps will hang on the high ridge pole, + But wolves will roam where the Yengees dwelt + And will gnaw the bones of them all, + Of the man, the woman, and the child. + Victory and glory Aieroski gives to his children, + The Mighty Six Nations, greatest of men. + +Such it sounded to Shif'less Sol, who knew the tongue of the +Iroquois, and so it went on, verse after verse, and at the end of +each verse came the refrain, in which the warriors joined: + +"Victory and glory Aieroski gives to his children. The mighty Six +Nations, greatest of men." + +"What under the sun is she about?" whispered Shif'less Sol. + +"It is a fearful face," was Paul's only reply. + +Suddenly the woman, without stopping her chant, made a gesture to +the warriors. Two powerful Senecas seized one of the bound +prisoners, dragged him to his feet, and held him up before her. +She uttered a shout, whirled the great tomahawk about her head, +its blade glittering in the moonlight, and struck with all her +might. The skull of the prisoner was cleft to the chin, and +without a cry he fell at the feet of the woman who had killed +him. Paul uttered a shout of horror, but it was lost in the +joyful yells of the Iroquois, who, at the command of the woman, +offered a second victim. Again the tomahawk descended, and again +a man fell dead without a sound. + +Shif'less Sol and Paul wrenched at their thongs, but they could +not move them. Braxton Wyatt laughed aloud. It was strange to +see how fast one with a bad nature could fall when the +opportunities were spread before him. Now he was as cruel as the +Indians themselves. Wilder and shriller grew the chant of the +savage queen. She was intoxicated with blood. She saw it +everywhere. Her tomahawk clove a third skull, a fourth, a fifth, +a sixth, a seventh, and eighth. As fast as they fell the +warriors at her command brought up new victims for her weapon. +Paul shut his eyes, but he knew by the sounds what was passing. +Suddenly a stern voice cried: + +"Hold, woman! Enough of this! Will your tomahawk never be +satisfied?" + +Paul understood it , the meaning, but not the words. He opened +his eyes and saw the great figure of Timmendiquas striding +forward, his hand upraised in protest. + +The woman turned her fierce gaze upon the young chief. +"Timmendiquas," she said, "we are the Iroquois, and we are the +masters. You are far from your own land, a guest in our lodges, +and you cannot tell those who have won the victory how they shall +use it. Stand back!" + +A loud laugh came from the Iroquois. The fierce old chiefs, +Hiokatoo and Sangerachte, and a dozen warriors thrust themselves +before Timmendiquas. The woman resumed her chant, and a hundred +throats pealed out with her the chorus: + +Victory and glory Aieroski gives to his children The mighty Six +Nations, greatest of men. + +She gave the signal anew. The ninth victim stood before her, and +then fell, cloven to the chin; then the tenth, and the eleventh, +and the twelfth, and the thirteenth, and the fourteenth, and the +fifteenth, and the sixteenth-sixteen bound men killed by one +woman in less than fifteen minutes. The four in that group who +were left had all the while been straining fearfully at their +bonds. Now they bad slipped or broken them, and, springing to +their feet, driven on by the mightiest of human impulses, they +dashed through the ring of Iroquois and into the forest. Two +were hunted down by the warriors and killed, but the other two, +Joseph Elliott and Lebbeus Hammond, escaped and lived to be old +men, feeling that life could never again hold for them anything +so dreadful as that scene at "The Bloody Rock." + +A great turmoil and confusion arose as the prisoners fled and the +Indians pursued. Paul and Shif'less Sol; full of sympathy and +pity for the fugitives and having felt all the time that their +turn, too, would come under that dreadful tomahawk, struggled to +their feet. They did not see a form slip noiselessly behind +them, but a sharp knife descended once, then twice, and the bands +of both fell free. + +"Run! run!" exclaimed the voice of Timmendiquas, low but +penetrating. "I would save you from this!" + +Amid the darkness and confusion the act of the great Wyandot was +not seen by the other Indians and the renegades. Paul flashed +him one look of gratitude, and then he and Shif'less Sol darted +away, choosing a course that led them from the crowd in pursuit +of the other flying fugitives. + +At such a time they might have secured a long lead without being +noticed, had it not been for the fierce swarm of old squaws who +were first in cruelty that night. A shrill wild howl arose, and +the pointing fingers of the old women showed to the warriors the +two in flight. At the same time several of the squaws darted +forward to intercept the fugitives. + +"I hate to hit a woman," breathed Shif'less Sol to Paul, "but I'm +goin' to do it now." + +A hideous figure sprang before them. Sol struck her face with +his open hand, and with a shriek she went down. He leaped over +her, although she clawed at his feet as he passed, and ran on, +with Paul at his side. Shots were now fired at him, but they +went wild, but Paul, casting a look backward out of the corner of +his eye, saw that a real pursuit, silent and deadly, had begun. +Five Mohawk warriors, running swiftly, were only a few hundred +yards away. They carried rifle, tomahawk, and knife, and Paul +and Shif'less Sol were unarmed. Moreover, they were coming fast, +spreading out slightly, and the shiftless one, able even at such +a time to weigh the case coolly, saw that the odds were against +them. Yet he would not despair. Anything might happen. It was +night. There was little organization in the army of the Indians +and of their white allies, which was giving itself up to the +enjoyment of scalps and torture. Moreover, he and Paul were, +animated by the love of life, which is always stronger than the +desire to give death. + +Their flight led them in a diagonal line toward the mountains. +Only once did the pursuers give tongue. Paul tripped over a +root, and a triumphant yell came from the Mohawks. But it merely +gave him new life. He recovered himself in an instant and ran +faster. But it was terribly hard work. He could hear Shif'less +Sol's sobbing breath by his side, and he was sure that his own +must have the same sound for his comrade. + +"At any rate one uv 'em is beat," gasped Shif'less Sol. "Only +four are ban-in' on now." + +The ground rose a little and became rougher. The lights from the +Indian fires had sunk almost out of sight behind them, and a +dense thicket lay before them. Something stirred in the thicket, +and the eyes of Shif'less Sol caught a glimpse of a human +shoulder. His heart sank like a plummet in a pool. The Indians +were ahead of them. They would be caught, and would be carried +back to become the victims of the terrible tomahawk. + +The figure in the bushes rose a little higher, the muzzle of a +rifle was projected, and flame leaped from the steel tube. + +But it was neither Shif'less Sol nor Paul who fell. They heard a +cry behind them, and when Shif'less Sol took a hasty glance +backward he saw one of the Mohawks fall. The three who were left +hesitated and stopped. When a second shot was fired from the +bushes and another Mohawk went down, the remaining two fled. + +Shif'less Sol understood now, and he rushed into the bushes, +dragging Paul after him. Henry, Tom, and Long Jim rose up to +receive them. + +"So you wuz watchin' over us! "exclaimed the shiftless one +joyously. "It wuz you that clipped off the first Mohawk, an' we +didn't even notice the shot." + +"Thank God, you were here!" exclaimed Paul. "You don't know what +Sol and I have seen!" + +Overwrought, he fell forward, but his comrades caught him. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE MELANCHOLY FLIGHT + + +Paul revived in a few minutes. They were still lying in the +bushes, and when he was able to stand up again, they moved at an +angle several hundred yards before they stopped. One pistol was +thrust into Paul's hand and another into that of Shif'less Sol. + +Keep those until we can get rifles for you," said Henry. "You may +need 'em to-night." + +They crouched down in the thicket and looked back toward the +Indian camp. The warriors whom they had repulsed were not +returning with help, and, for the moment, they seemed to have no +enemy to fear, yet they could still see through the woods the +faint lights of the Indian camps, and to Paul, at least, came the +echoes of distant cries that told of things not to be written. + +"We saw you captured, and we heard Sol's warning cry," said +Henry. " There was nothing to do but run. Then we hid and +waited a chance for rescue." + +"It would never have come if it had not been for Timmendiquas," +said Paul. + +"Timmendiquas!" exclaimed Henry. + +"Yes, Timmendiquas," said Paul, and then be told the story of +"The Bloody Rock," and how, in the turmoil and excitement +attending the flight of the last four, Timmendiquas had cut the +bonds of Shif'less Sol and himself. + +"I think the mind o' White Lightnin', Injun ez he is," said +Shif'less Sol, "jest naterally turned aginst so much slaughter +an' torture o' prisoners." + +"I'm sure you're right," said Henry. + +"'Pears strange to me," said Long Jim Hart, "that Timmendiquas +was made an Injun. He's jest the kind uv man who ought to be +white, an' he'd be pow'ful useful, too. I don't jest eggzactly +understan' it." + +"He has certainly saved the lives of at least three of us," said +Henry. "I hope we will get a chance to pay him back in full." + +"But he's the only one," said Shif'less Sol, thinking of all that +he had seen that night. "The Iroquois an' the white men that's +allied with 'em won't ever get any mercy from me, ef any uv 'em +happen to come under my thumb. I don't think the like o' this +day an' night wuz ever done on this continent afore. I'm for +revenge, I am, like that place where the Bible says, 'an eye for +an eye, an' a tooth for a tooth,' an' I'm goin' to stay in this +part o' the country till we git it!" + +It was seldom that Shif'less Sol spoke with so much passion and +energy. + +"We're all going to stay with you, Sol," said Henry. We're +needed here. I think we ought to circle about the fort, slip in +if we can, and fight with the defense." + +"Yes, we'll do that," said Shif'less Sol, "but the Wyoming fort +can't ever hold out. Thar ain't a hundred men left in it fit to +fight, an' thar are more than than a thousand howlin' devils +outside ready to attack it. Thar may be worse to come than +anything we've yet seen." + +"Still, we'll go in an' help," said Henry. "Sol, when you an' +Paul have rested a little longer we'll make a big loop around in +the woods, and come up to the fort on the other side." + +They were in full accord, and after an hour in the bushes, where +they lay completely hidden, recovering their vitality and energy, +they undertook to reach the fort and cabins inclosed by the +palisades. Paul was still weak from shock, but Shif'less Sol had +fully recovered. Neither bad weapons, but they were sure that +the want could be supplied soon. They curved around toward the +west, intending to approach the fort from the other side, but +they did not wholly lose sight of the fires, and they heard now +and then the triumphant war whoop. The victors were still +engaged in the pleasant task of burning the prisoners to death. +Little did the five, seeing and feeling only their part of it +there in the dark woods, dream that the deeds of this day and +night would soon shock the whole civilized world, and remain, for +generations, a crowning act of infamy. But they certainly felt +it deeply enough, and in each heart burned a fierce desire for +revenge upon the Iroquois. + +It was almost midnight when they secured entrance into the fort, +which was filled with grief and wailing. That afternoon more +than one hundred and fifty women within those walls had been made +widows, and six hundred children had been made orphans. But few +men fit to bear arms were left for its defense, and it was +certain that the allied British and Indian army would easily take +it on the morrow. A demand for its surrender in the name of King +George III of England had already been made, and, sitting at a +little rough table in the cabin of Thomas Bennett, the room +lighted only by a single tallow wick, Colonel Butler and Colonel +Dennison were writing an agreement that the fort be surrendered +the next day, with what it should contain. But Colonel Butler +put his wife on a horse and escaped with her over the mountains. + +Stragglers, evading the tomahawk in the darkness, were coming in, +only to be surrendered the next day; others were pouring forth in +a stream, seeking the shelter of the mountains and the forest, +preferring any dangers that might be found there to the mercies +of the victors. + +When Shif'less Sol learned that the fort was to be given up, be +said: + +"It looks ez ef we had escaped from the Iroquois jest in time to +beg 'em to take us back." + +"I reckon I ain't goin' to stay 'roun' here while things are +bein' surrendered," said Long Jim Hart. + +"I'll do my surrenderin' to Iroquois when they've got my hands +an' feet tied, an' six or seven uv 'em are settin' on my back," +said Tom Ross. + +"We'll leave as soon as we can get arms for Sol and Paul," said +Henry. "Of course it would be foolish of us to stay here and be +captured again. Besides, we'll be needed badly enough by the +women and children that are going." + +Good weapons were easily obtained in the fort. It was far better +to let Sol and Paul have them than to leave them for the Indians. +They were able to select two fine rifles of the Kentucky pattern, +long and slender barreled, a tomahawk and knife for each, and +also excellent double-barreled pistols. The other three now had +double-barreled pistols, too. In addition they resupplied +themselves with as much ammunition as scouts and hunters could +conveniently carry, and toward morning left the fort. + +Sunrise found them some distance from the palisades, and upon the +flank of a frightened crowd of fugitives. It was composed of one +hundred women and children and a single man, James Carpenter, who +was doing his best to guide and protect them. They were +intending to flee through the wilderness to the Delaware and +Lehigh settlements, chiefly Fort Penn, built by Jacob Stroud, +where Stroudsburg now is. + +When the five, darkened by weather and looking almost like +Indians themselves, approached, Carpenter stepped forward and +raised his rifle. A cry of dismay rose from the melancholy line, +a cry so intensely bitter that it cut Henry to the very heart. +He threw up his hand, and exclaimed in a loud voice: + +"We are friends, not Indians or Tories! We fought with you +yesterday, and we are ready to fight for you now!" + +Carpenter dropped the muzzle of the rifle. He had fought in the +battle, too, and he recognized the great youth and his comrades +who had been there with him. + +"What do you want of us?" asked he. + +"Nothing," replied Henry, "except to help you." + +Carpenter looked at them with a kind of sad pathos. + +"You don't belong here in Wyoming," he said, "and there's nothing +to make you stick to us. What are you meaning to do?" + +"We will go with you wherever you intend to go," replied Henry; +"do fighting for you if you need it, and hunt game for you, which +you are certain to need." + +The weather-beaten face of the farmer worked. + +"I thought God had clean deserted us," he said, "but I'm ready to +take it back. I reckon that he has sent you five to help me with +all these women and little ones." + +It occurred to Henry that perhaps God, indeed, had sent them for +this very purpose, but he replied simply: + +"You lead on, and we'll stay in the rear and on the sides to +watch for the Indians. Draw into the woods, where we'll be +hidden." + +Carpenter, obscure hero, shouldered his rifle again, and led on +toward the woods. The long line of women and children followed. +Some of the women carried in their arms children too small to +walk. Yet they were more hopeful now when they saw that the five +were friends. These lithe, active frontiersmen, so quick, so +skillful, and so helpful, raised their courage. Yet it was a +most doleful flight. Most of these women had been made widows +the day before, some of them had been made widows and childless +at the same time, and wondered why they should seek to live +longer. But the very mental stupor of many of them was an aid. +They ceased to cry out, and some even ceased to be afraid. + +Henry, Shif'less Sol, and Tom dropped to the rear. Paul and Long +Jim were on either flank, while Carpenter led slowly on toward +the mountains. + +"'Pears to me," said Tom, "that the thing fur us to do is to +hurry 'em up ez much ez possible." + +"So the Indians won't see 'em crossing the plain," said Henry. +"We couldn't defend them against a large force, and it would +merely be a massacre. We must persuade them to walk faster." + +Shif'less Sol was invaluable in this crisis. He could talk +forever in his-placid way, and, with his gentle encouragement, +mild sarcasm, and anecdotes of great feminine walkers that he had +known, he soon had them moving faster. + +Henry and Tom dropped farther to the rear. They could see ahead +of them the long dark line, coiling farther into the woods, but +they could also see to right and left towers of smoke rising in +the clear morning sunlight. These, they knew, came from burning +houses, and they knew, also, that the valley would be ravaged +from end to end and from side to side. After the surrender of +the fort the Indians would divide into small bands, going +everywhere, and nothing could escape them. + +The sun rose higher, gilding the earth with glowing light, as if +the black tragedy had never happened, but the frontiersmen +recognized their greatest danger in this brilliant morning. +Objects could be seen at a great distance, and they could be seen +vividly. + +Keen of sight and trained to know what it was they saw, Henry, +Sol, and Tom searched the country with their eyes, on all sides. +They caught a distant glimpse of the Susquehanna, a silver spot +among some trees, and they saw the sunlight glancing off the +opposite mountains, but for the present they saw nothing that +seemed hostile. + +They allowed the distance between them and the retreating file to +grow until it was five or six hundred yards, and they might have +let it grow farther, but Henry made a signal, and the three lay +down in the grass. + + +"You see 'em, don't you!" the youth whispered to his comrade. + +"Yes, down thar at the foot o' that hillock," replied Shif'less +Sol; " two o' em, an' Senecas, I take it." + +"They've seen that crowd of women and children," said Henry. + +It was obvious that the flying column was discovered. The two +Indians stepped upon the hillock and gazed under their hands. It +was too far away for the three to see their faces, but they knew +the joy that would be shown there. The two could return with a +few warriors and massacre them all. + +"They must never get back to the other Indians with their news," +whispered Henry. "I hate to shoot men from ambush, but it's got +to be done. Wait, they're coming a little closer." + +The two Senecas advanced about thirty yards, and stopped again. + +"S'pose you fire at the one on the right, Henry," said Tom, " an' +me an' Sol will take the one to the left." " All right," said +Henry. "Fire!" + +They wasted no time, but pulled trigger. The one at whom Henry +had aimed fell, but the other, uttering a cry, made off, wounded, +but evidently with plenty of strength left. + +"We mustn't let him escape! We mustn't let him carry a +warning!" cried Henry. + +But Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross were already in pursuit, covering +the ground with long strides, and reloading as they ran. Under +ordinary circumstances no one of the three would have fired at a +man running for his life, but here the necessity was vital. If +he lived, carrying the tale that he had to tell, a hundred +innocent ones might perish. Henry followed his comrades, +reloading his own rifle, also, but he stayed behind. The Indian +had a good lead, and he was gaining, as the others were compelled +to check speed somewhat as they put the powder and bullets in +their rifles. But Henry was near enough to Shif'less Sol and +Silent Tom to hear them exchange a few words. + +"How far away is that savage?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"Hundred and eighty yards," said Tom Ross. + +"Well, you take him in the head, and I'll take him in the body." + +Henry saw the two rifle barrels go up and two flashes of flame +leap from the muzzles. The Indian fell forward and lay still. +They went up to him, and found that he was shot through the head +and also through the body. + +"We may miss once, but we don't twice," said Tom Ross. + +The human mind can be influenced so powerfully by events that the +three felt no compunction at all at the shooting of this fleeing +Indian. It was but a trifle compared with what they had seen the +day and night before. + +"We'd better take the weapons an' ammunition o' both uv 'em," +said Sol. "They may be needed, an' some o ' the women in that +crowd kin shoot." + +They gathered up the arms, powder, and ball, and waited a little +to see whether the shots had been heard by any other Indians, but +there was no indication of the presence of more warriors, and the +rejoined the fugitives. Long Jim had dropped back to the end of +the line, and when he saw that his comrades carried two extra +rifles, he understood. + +"They didn't give no alarm, did they?" he asked in a tone so low +that none of the fugitives could hear. + +"They didn't have any chance," replied Henry. "We've brought +away all their weapons and ammunition, but just say to the women +that we found them in an abandoned house." + +The rifles and the other arms were given to the boldest and most +stalwart of the women, and they promised to use them if the need +came. Meanwhile the flight went on, and the farther it went the +sadder it became. Children became exhausted, and had to be +carried by people so tired that they could scarcely walk +themselves. There was nobody in the line who had not lost some +beloved one on that fatal river bank, killed in battle, or +tortured to death. As they slowly ascended the green slope of +the mountain that inclosed a side of the valley, they looked back +upon ruin and desolation. The whole black tragedy was being +consummated. They could see the houses in flames, and they knew +that the Indian war parties were killing and scalping everywhere. +They knew, too, that other bodies of fugitives, as stricken as +their own, were fleeing into the mountains, they scarcely knew +whither. + +As they paused a few moments and looked back, a great cry burst +from the weakest of the women and children. Then it became a sad +and terrible wail, and it was a long time before it ceased. It +was an awful sound, so compounded of despair and woe and of +longing for what they had lost that Henry choked, and the tears +stood in Paul's eyes. But neither the five nor Carpenter made +any attempt to check the wailing. They thought it best for them +to weep it out, but they hurried the column as much as they +could, often carrying some of the smaller children themselves. +Paul and Long Jim were the best as comforters. The two knew how, +each in his own way, to soothe and encourage. Carpenter, who +knew the way to Fort Penn, led doggedly on, scarcely saying a +word. Henry, Shif'less Sol, and Tom were the rear guard, which +was, in this case, the one of greatest danger and responsibility. + +Henry was thankful that it was only early summer the Fourth of +July, the second anniversary of the Declaration of +Independence-and that the foliage was heavy and green on the +slopes of the mountain. In this mass of greenery the desolate +column was now completely hidden from any observer in the valley, +and he believed that other crowds of fugitives would be hidden in +the same manner. He felt sure that no living human being would +be left in the valley, that it would be ravaged from end to end +and then left to desolation, until new people, protected by +American bayonets, should come in and settle it again. + +At last they passed the crest of the ridge, and the fires in the +valley, those emblems of destruction, were hidden. Between them +and Fort Penn, sixty miles away, stretched a wilderness of +mountain, forest, and swamp. But the five welcomed the forest. +A foe might lie there in ambush, but they could not see the +fugitives at a distance. What the latter needed now was +obscurity, the green blanket of the forest to hide them. +Carpenter led on over a narrow trail; the others followed almost +in single file now, while the five scouted in the woods on either +flank and at the rear. Henry and Shif'less Sol generally kept +together, and they fully realized the overwhelming danger should +an Indian band, even as small as ten or a dozen warriors, appear. +Should the latter scatter, it would be impossible to protect all +the women and children from their tomahawks. + +The day was warm, but the forest gave them coolness as well as +shelter. Henry and Sol were seldom so far back that they could +not see the end of the melancholy line, now moving slowly, +overborne by weariness. The shiftless one shook his head sadly. + +"No matter what happens, some uv 'em will never get out o' these +woods." + +His words came true all too soon. Before the afternoon closed, +two women, ill before the flight, died of terror and exhaustion, +and were buried in shallow graves under the trees. Before dark a +halt was made at the suggestion of Henry, and all except +Carpenter and the scouts sat in a close, drooping group. Many of +the children cried, though the women had all ceased to weep. +They had some food with them, taken in the hurried flight, and +now the men asked them to eat. Few could do it, and others +insisted on saving what little they had for the children. Long +Jim found a spring near by, and all drank at it. + +The six men decided that, although night had not yet come, it +would be best to remain there until the morning. Evidently the +fugitives were in no condition, either mental or physical, to go +farther that day, and the rest was worth more than the risk. + +When this decision was announced to them, most of the women took +it apathetically. Soon they lay down upon a blanket, if one was +to be had; otherwise, on leaves and branches. Again Henry +thanked God that it was summer, and that these were people of the +frontier, who could sleep in the open. No fire was needed, and, +outside of human enemies, only rain was to be dreaded. + +And yet this band, desperate though its case, was more fortunate +than some of the others that fled from the Wyoming Valley. It +had now to protect it six men Henry and Paul, though boys in +years, were men in strength and ability - five of whom were the +equals of any frontiersmen on the whole border. Another crowd of +women was escorted by a single man throughout its entire flight. + +Henry and his comrades distributed themselves in a circle about +the group. At times they helped gather whortleberries as food +for the others, but they looked for Indians or game, intending to +shoot in either case. When Paul and Henry were together they +once heard a light sound in a thicket, which at first they were +afraid was made by an Indian scout, but it was a deer, and it +bounded away too soon for either to get a shot. They could not +find other game of any kind, and they came back toward the +camp-if a mere stop in the woods, without shelter of any kind, +could be called a camp. + +The sun was now setting, blood red. It tinged the forest with a +fiery mist, reminding the unhappy group of all that they had +seen. But the mist was gone in a few moments, and then the +blackness of night came with a weird moaning wind that told of +desolation. Most of the children, having passed through every +phase of exhaustion and terror, had fallen asleep. Some of the +women slept, also, and others wept. But the terrible wailing +note, which the nerves of no man could stand, was heard no +longer. + +The five gathered again at a point near by, and Carpenter came to +them. + +"Men," he said simply, "don't know much about you, though I +know you fought well in the battle that we lost, but for what +you're doin' now nobody can ever repay you. I knew that I never +could get across the mountains with all these weak ones." + +The five merely said that any man who was a man would help at +such a time. Then they resumed their march in a perpetual circle +about the camp. + +Some women did not sleep at all that night. It is not easy to +conceive what the frontier women of America endured so many +thousands of times. They had seen their husbands, brothers, and +sons killed in the battle, and they knew that the worst of +torture had been practiced in the Indian camp. Many of them +really did not want to live any longer. They merely struggled +automatically for life. The darkness settled down thicker and +thicker; the blackness in the forest was intense, and they could +see the faces of one another only at a little distance. The +desolate moan of the wind came through the leaves, and, although +it was July, the night grew cold. The women crept closer +together, trying to cover up and protect the children. The wind, +with its inexpressibly mournful note, was exactly fitted to their +feelings. Many of them wondered why a Supreme Being had +permitted such things. But they ceased to talk. No sound at all +came from the group, and any one fifty yards away, not +forewarned, could not have told that they were there. + +Henry and Paul met again about midnight, and sat a long time on a +little hillock. Theirs had been the most dangerous of lives on +the most dangerous of frontiers, but they had never been stirred +as they were tonight. Even Paul, the mildest of the five, felt +something burning within him, a fire that only one thing could +quench. + +"Henry," said he, "we're trying to get these people to Fort Penn, +and we may get some of them there, but I don't think our work +will be ended them. I don't think I could ever be happy again if +we went straight from Fort Penn to Kentucky." + +Henry understood him perfectly. + +"No, Paul," he said, "I don't want to go, either, and I know the +others don't. Maybe you are not willing to tell why we want to +stay, but it is vengeance. I know it's Christian to forgive your +enemies, but I can't see what I have seen, and hear what I have +heard, and do it." + +"When the news of these things spreads," said Paul, "they'll send +an army from the east. Sooner or later they'll just have to do +it to punish the Iroquois and their white allies, and we've got +to be here to join that army." + +"I feel that way, too, Paul," said Henry. + +They were joined later by the other three, who stayed a little +while, and they were in accord with Henry and Paul. + +Then they began their circles about the camp again, always +looking and always listening. About two o'clock in the morning +they heard a scream, but it was only the cry of a panther. +Before day there were clouds, a low rumble of distant thunder, +and faint far flashes of lightning. Henry was in dread of rain, +but the lightning and thunder ceased, and the clouds went away. +Then dawn came, rosy and bright, and all but three rose from the +earth. The three-one woman and two children-had died in silence +in the night, and they were buried, like the others, in shallow +graves in the woods. But there was little weeping or external +mourning over them. All were now heavy and apathetic, capable of +but little more emotion. + +Carpenter resumed his position at the head of the column, which +now moved slowly over the mountain through a thick forest matted +with vines and bushes and without a path. The march was now so +painful and difficult that they did not make more than two miles +an hour. The stronger of them helped the men to gather more +whortleberries, as it was easy to see that the food they had with +them would never last until they reached Fort Penn, should they +ever reach it. + +The condition of the country into which they had entered steadily +grew worse. They were well into the mountains, a region +exceedingly wild and rough, but little known to the settlers, who +had gone around it to build homes in the fertile and beautiful +valley of Wyoming. The heavy forest was made all the more +difficult by the presence everywhere of almost impassable +undergrowth. Now and then a woman lay down under the bushes, and +in two cases they died there because the power to live was no +longer in them. They grew weaker and weaker. The food that they +had brought from the Wyoming fort was almost exhausted, and the +wild whortleberries were far from sustaining. Fortunately there +was plenty of water flowing tinder the dark woods and along the +mountainside. But they were compelled to stop at intervals of an +hour or two to rest, and the more timid continually expected +Indian ambush. + +The five met shortly after noon and took another reckoning of the +situation. They still realized to the full the dangers of Indian +pursuit, which in this case might be a mere matter of accident. +Anybody could follow the broad trail left by the fugitives, but +the Iroquois, busy with destruction in the valley, might not +follow, even if they saw it. No one could tell. The danger of +starvation or of death from exhaustion was more imminent, more +pressing, and the five resolved to let scouting alone for the +rest of the day and seek game. + +"There's bound to be a lot of it in these woods," said Shif'less +Sol, "though it's frightened out of the path by our big crowd, +but we ought to find it." + +Henry and Shif'less Sol went in one direction, and Paul, Tom, and +Long Jim in another. But with all their hunting they succeeded +in finding only one little deer, which fell to the rifle of +Silent Tom. It made small enough portions for the supper and +breakfast of nearly a hundred people, but it helped wonderfully, +and so did the fires which Henry and his comrades would now have +built, even had they not been needed for the cooking. They saw +that light and warmth, the light and warmth of glowing coals, +would alone rouse life in this desolate band. + +They slept the second night on the ground among the trees, and +the next morning they entered that gloomy region of terrible +memory, the Great Dismal Swamp of the North, known sometimes, to +this day, as "The Shades of Death." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE SHADES OF DEATH + + +"The Shades of Death" is a marsh on a mountain top, the great, +wet, and soggy plain of the Pocono and Broad mountains. When the +fugitives from Wyoming entered it, it was covered with a dense +growth of pines, growing mostly out of dark, murky water, which +in its turn was thick with a growth of moss and aquatic plants. +Snakes and all kinds of creeping things swarmed in the ooze. +Bear and panther were numerous. + +Carpenter did not know any way around this terrible region, and +they were compelled to enter it. Henry was again devoutly +thankful that it was summer. In such a situation with winter on +top of it only the hardiest of men could survive. + +But they entered the swamp, Carpenter silent and dogged, still +leading. Henry and his comrades kept close to the crowd. One +could not scout in such a morass, and it proved to be worse than +they bad feared. The day turned gray, and it was dark among the +trees. The whole place was filled with gloomy shadows. It was +often impossible to judge whether fairly solid soil or oozy murk +lay before them. Often they went down to their waists. +Sometimes the children fell and were dragged up again by the +stronger. Now and then rattle snakes coiled and hissed, and the +women killed them with sticks. Other serpents slipped away in +the slime. Everybody was plastered with mud, and they became +mere images of human beings. + +In the afternoon they reached a sort of oasis in the terrible +swamp, and there they buried two more of their number who had +perished from exhaustion. The rest, save a few, lay upon the +ground as if dead. On all sides of them stretched the pines and +the soft black earth. It looked to the fugitives like a region +into which no human beings had ever come, or ever would come +again, and, alas! to most of them like a region from which no +human being would ever emerge. + +Henry sat upon a piece of fallen brushwood near the edge of the +morass, and looked at the fugitives, and his heart sank within +him. They were hardly in the likeness of his own kind, and they +seemed practically lifeless now. Everything was dull, heavy, and +dead. The note of the wind among the leaves was somber. A long +black snake slipped from the marshy grass near his feet and +disappeared soundlessly in the water. He was sick, sick to death +at the sight of so much suffering, and the desire for vengeance, +slow, cold, and far more lasting than any hot outburst, grew +within him. A slight noise, and Shif'less Sol stood beside him. + +"Did you hear?" asked the shiftless one, in a significant tone. + +"Hear what?" asked Henry, who had been deep in thought. + +"The wolf howl, just a very little cry, very far away an' under +the horizon, but thar all the same. Listen, thar she goes +ag'in!" + +Henry bent his ear and distinctly heard the faint, whining note, +and then it came a third time. + +He looked tip at Shif'less Sol, and his face grew white -- but +not for himself. + +"Yes," said Shif'less Sol. He understood the look. We are +pursued. Them wolves howlin' are the Iroquois. What do you +reckon we're goin' to do, Henry?" + +"Fight!" replied the youth, with fierce energy. "Beat 'em off!" + +"How?" + +Henry circled the little oasis with the eye of a general, and his +plan came. + +"You'll stand here, where the earth gives a footing," he said, +"you, Solomon Hyde, as brave a man as I ever saw, and with you +will be Paul Cotter, Tom Ross, Jim Hart, and Henry Ware, old +friends of yours. Carpenter will at once lead the women and +children on ahead, and perhaps they will not hear the battle that +is going to be fought here." + +A smile of approval, slow, but deep and comprehensive, stole over +the face of Solomon Hyde, surnamed, wholly without fitness, the +shiftless one. "It seems to me," he said, "that I've heard o' +them four fellers you're talkin' about, an' ef I wuz to hunt all +over this planet an' them other planets that Paul tells of, I +couldn't find four other fellers that I'd ez soon have with me." + +"We've got to stand here to the death," said Henry. + +"You're shorely right," said Shif'less Sol. + +The hands of the two comrades met in a grip of steel. + +The other three were called and were told of the plan, which met +with their full approval. Then the news was carried to +Carpenter, who quickly agreed that their course was the wisest. +He urged all the fugitives to their feet, telling them that they +must reach another dry place before night, but they were past +asking questions now, and, heavy and apathetic, they passed on +into the swamp. + +Paul watched the last of them disappear among the black bushes +and weeds, and turned back to his friends on the oasis. The five +lay down behind a big fallen pine, and gave their weapons a last +look. They had never been armed better. Their rifles were good, +and the fine double-barreled pistols, formidable weapons, would +be a great aid, especially at close quarters. + +"I take it," said Tom Ross, "that the Iroquois can't get through +at all unless they come along this way, an' it's the same ez ef +we wuz settin' on solid earth, poppin' em over, while they come +sloshin' up to us." + +"That's exactly it," said Henry. "We've a natural defense which +we can hold against much greater numbers, and the longer we hold +'em off, the nearer our people will be to Fort Penn." + +"I never felt more like fightin' in my life," said Tom Ross. + +It was a grim utterance, true of them all, although not one among +them was bloodthirsty. + +"Can any of you hear anything?" asked Henry. "Nothin'," replied +Shif'less Sol, after a little wait, "nothin' from the women +goin', an' nothin' from the Iroquois comin'." + +"We'll just lie close," said Henry. "This hard spot of ground +isn't more than thirty or forty feet each way, and nobody can get +on it without our knowing it." + +The others did not reply. All lay motionless upon their sides, +with their shoulders raised a little, in order that they might +take instant aim when the time came. Some rays of the sun +penetrated the canopy of pines, and fell across the brown, +determined faces and the lean brown hands that grasped the long, +slender-barreled Kentucky rifles. Another snake slipped from the +ground into the black water and swam away. Some water animal +made a light splash as he, too, swam from the presence of these +strange intruders. Then they beard a sighing sound, as of a foot +drawn from mud, and they knew that the Iroquois were approaching, +savages in war, whatever they might be otherwise, and expecting +an easy prey. Five brown thumbs cocked their rifles, and five +brown forefingers rested upon the triggers. The eyes of woodsmen +who seldom missed looked down the sights. + +The sound of feet in the mud came many times. The enemy was +evidently drawing near. + +"How many do you think are out thar?" whispered Shif'less Sol to +Henry. + +"Twenty, at least, it seems to me by the sounds." "I s'pose the +best thing for us to do is to shoot at the first head we see." + +"Yes, but we mustn't all fire at the same man." + +It was suggested that Henry call off the turns of the marksmen, +and he agreed to do so. Shif'less Sol was to fire first. The +sounds now ceased. The Iroquois evidently had some feeling or +instinct that they were approaching an enemy who was to be +feared, not weak and unarmed women and children. + +The five were absolutely motionless, finger on trigger. The +American wilderness had heroes without number. It was Horatius +Cocles five times over, ready to defend the bridge with life. +Over the marsh rose the weird cry of an owl, and some water birds +called in lonely fashion. + +Henry judged that the fugitives were now three quarters of a mile +away, out of the sound of rifle shot. He had urged Carpenter to +marshal them on as far as be could. But the silence endured yet +a while longer. In the dull gray light of the somber day and the +waning afternoon the marsh was increasingly dreary and mournful. +It seemed that it must always be the abode of dead or dying +things. + +The wet grass, forty yards away, moved a little, and between the +boughs appeared the segment of a hideous dark face, the painted +brow, the savage black eyes, and the hooked nose of the Mohawk. +Only Henry saw it, but with fierce joy-the tortures at Wyoming +leaped up before him-he fired at the painted brow. The Mohawk +uttered his death cry and fell back with a splash into the mud +and water of the swamp. A half dozen bullets were instantly +fired at the base of the smoke that came from Henry's rifle, but +the youth and his comrades lay close and were unharmed. +Shif'less Sol and Tom were quick enough to catch glimpses of +brown forms, at which they fired, and the cries coming back told +that they had hit. + +"That's something," said Henry. "One or two Iroquois at least +will not wear the scalp of white woman or child at their belts." + +"Wish they'd try to rush us," said Shif'less Sol. "I never felt +so full of fight in my life before." + +"They may try it," said Henry. "I understand that at the big +battle of the Oriskany, farther up in the North, the Iroquois +would wait until a white man behind a tree would fire, then they +would rush up and tomahawk him before he could reload." + +"They don't know how fast we kin reload," said Long Jim, "an' +they don't know that we've got these double-barreled pistols, +either." + +"No, they don't," said Henry, "and it's a great thing for us to +have them. Suppose we spread out a little. So long as we keep +them from getting a lodging on the solid earth we hold them at a +great disadvantage." + +Henry and Paul moved off a little toward the right, and the +others toward the left. They still had good cover, as fallen +timber was scattered all over the oasis, and they were quite sure +that another attack would be made soon. It came in about fifteen +minutes. The Iroquois suddenly fired a volley at the logs and +brush, and when the five returned the fire, but with more deadly +effect, they leaped forward in the mud and attempted to rush the +oasis, tomahawk in hand. + +But the five reloaded so quickly that they were able to send in a +second volley before the foremost of the Iroquois could touch +foot on solid earth. Then the double barreled pistols came into +play. The bullets sent from short range drove back the savages, +who were amazed at such a deadly and continued fire. Henry +caught sight of a white face among these assailants, and he knew +it to be that of Braxton Wyatt. Singularly enough he was not +amazed to see it there. Wyatt, sinking deeper and deeper into +savagery and cruelty, was just the one to lead the Iroquois in +such a pursuit. He was a fit match for Walter Butler, the +infamous son of the Indian leader, who was soon to prove himself +worse than the worst of the savages, as Thayendanegea himself has +written. + +Henry drew a bead once on Braxton Wyatt-he had no scruples now +about shooting him-but just as he was about to pull the trigger +Wyatt darted behind a bush, and a Seneca instead received the +bullet. He also saw the renegade, Blackstaffe, but he was not +able to secure a shot at him, either. Nevertheless, the Iroquois +attack was beaten back. It was a foregone conclusion that the +result would be so, unless the force was in great numbers. It is +likely, also, that the Iroquois at first had thought only a +single man was with the fugitives, not knowing that the five had +joined them later. + +Two of the Iroquois were slain at the very edge of the solid +ground, but their bodies fell back in the slime, and the others, +retreating fast for their lives, could not carry them off. Paul, +with a kind of fascinated horror, watched the dead painted bodies +sink deeper. Then one was entirely gone. The hand of the other +alone was left, and then it, too, was gone. But the five had +held the island, and Carpenter was leading the fugitives on +toward Fort Penn. They had not only held it, but they believed +that they could continue to hold it against anything, and their +hearts became exultant. Something, too, to balance against the +long score, lay out there in the swamp, and all the five, bitter +over Wyoming, were sorry that Braxton Wyatt was not among them. + +The stillness came again. The sun did not break through the +heavy gray sky, and the somber shadows brooded over "The Shades +of Death." They heard again the splash of water animals, and a +swimming snake passed on the murky surface. Then they heard the +wolf's long cry, and the long cry of wolf replying. + +"More Iroquois coming," said Shif'less Sol." Well, we gave them a +pretty warm how d'ye do, an' with our rifles and double-barreled +pistols I'm thinkin' that we kin do it ag'in." + +"We can, except in one case," said Henry, " if the new party +brings their numbers up to fifty or sixty, and they wait for +night, they can surround us in the darkness. Perhaps it would be +better for us to slip away when twilight comes. Carpenter and +the train have a long lead now." + +"Yes," said Shif'less Sol," Now, what in tarnation is that?" + +"A white flag," said Paul. A piece of cloth that had once been +white had been hoisted on the barrel of a rifle at a point about +sixty yards away. + +"They want a talk with us," said Henry. + +"If it's Braxton Wyatt," said Long Jim, "I'd like to take a shot +at him, talk or no talk, an' ef I missed, then take another." + +"We'll see what they have to say," said Henry, and he called +aloud: "What do you want with us?" + +"To talk with you," replied a clear, full voice, not that of +Braxton Wyatt. + +"Very well," replied Henry, "show yourself and we will not fire +upon you." + +A tall figure was upraised upon a grassy hummock, and the hands +were held aloft in sign of peace. It was a splendid figure, at +least six feet four inches in height. At that moment some rays +of the setting sun broke through the gray clouds and shone full +upon it, lighting up the defiant scalp lock interwoven with the +brilliant red feather, the eagle face with the curved Roman beak, +and the mighty shoulders and chest of red bronze. It was a +genuine king of the wilderness, none other than the mighty +Timmendiquas himself, the great White Lightning of the Wyandots. + +"Ware," he said, "I would speak with you. Let us talk as one +chief to another." + +The five were amazed. Timmendiquas there! They were quite sure +that he had come up with the second force, and he was certain to +prove a far more formidable leader than either Braxton Wyatt or +Moses Blackstaffe. But his demand to speak with Henry Ware might +mean something. + +"Are you going to answer him?" said Shif'less Sol. + +"Of course," replied Henry. + +"The others, especially Wyatt and Blackstaffe, might shoot." + +"Not while Timmendiquas holds the flag of truce; they would not +dare." + +Henry stood up, raising himself to his full height. The same +ruddy sunlight piercing the somber gray of the clouds fell upon +another splendid figure, a boy only in years, but far beyond the +average height of man, his hair yellow, his eyes a deep, clear +blue, his body clothed in buckskin, and his whole attitude that +of one without fear. The two, the white and the red, kings of +their kind, confronted each other across the marsh. + +"What do you wish with me, Timmendiquas?" asked Henry. In the +presence of the great Wyandot chief the feeling of hate and +revenge that had held his heart vanished. He knew that Paul and +Shif'less Sol would have sunk under the ruthless tomahawk of +Queen Esther, if it had not been for White Lightning. He himself +had owed him his life on another and more distant occasion, and +he was not ungrateful. So there was warmth in his tone when he +spoke. + +"Let us meet at the edge of the solid ground," said Timmendiquas, +"I have things to say that are important and that you will be +glad to hear." + +Henry walked without hesitation to the edge of the swamp, and the +young chief, coming forward, met him. Henry held out his hand in +white fashion, and the young chief took it. There was no sound +either from the swamp or from those who lay behind the logs on +the island, but some of the eyes of those hidden in the swamps +watched both with burning hatred. + +"I wish to tell you, Ware," said Timmendiquas, speaking with the +dignity becoming a great chief, "that it was not I who led the +pursuit of the white men's women and children. I, and the +Wyandots who came with me, fought as best we could in the great +battle, and I will slay my enemies when I can. We are warriors, +and we are ready to face each other in battle, but we do not seek +to kill the squaw in the tepee or the papoose in its birch-bark +cradle." + +The face of the great chief seemed stirred by some deep emotion, +which impressed Henry all the more because the countenance of +Timmendiquas was usually a mask. + +"I believe that you tell the truth," said Henry gravely. + +"I and my Wyandots," continued the chief, "followed a trail +through the woods. We found that others, Senecas and Mohawks, +led by Wyatt and Blackstaffe, who are of your race, had gone +before, and when we came up there had just been a battle. The +Mohawks and Senecas had been driven back. It was then we learned +that the trail was made by women and little children, save you +and your comrades who stayed to fight and protect them." + +"You speak true words, Timmendiquas," said Henry. + +"The Wyandots have remained in the East to fight men, not to kill +squaws and papooses," continued Timmendiquas. "So I say to you, +go on with those who flee across the mountains. Our warriors +shall not pursue you any longer. We will turn back to the valley +from which we come, and those of your race, Blackstaffe and +Wyatt, shall go with us." + +The great chief spoke quietly, but there was an edge to his tone +that told that every word was meant. Henry felt a glow of +admiration. The true greatness of Timmendiquas spoke. + +"And the Iroquois?" he said, "will they go back with you?" + +"They will. They have killed too much. Today all the white +people in the valley are killed or driven away. Many scalps have +been taken, those of women and children, too, and men have died +at the stake. I have felt shame for their deeds, Ware, and it +will bring punishment upon my brethren, the Iroquois. It will +make so great a noise in the world that many soldiers will come, +and the villages of the Iroquois will cease to be." + +"I think it is so, Timmendiquas," said Henry. "But you will be +far away then in your own land." + +The chief drew himself up a little. + +"I shall remain with the Iroquois," he said. "I have promised to +help them, and I must do so." + +"I can't blame you for that," said Henry, "but I am glad that you +do not seek the scalps of women and children. We are at once +enemies and friends, Timmendiquas." + +White Lightning bowed gravely. He and Henry touched hands again, +and each withdrew, the chief into the morass, while Henry walked +back toward his comrades, holding himself erect, as if no enemy +were near. + +The four rose up to greet him. They had heard part of what was +said, and Henry quickly told them the rest. + +"He's shorely a great chief," said Shif'less Sol. He'll keep his +word, too. Them people on ahead ain't got anything more to fear +from pursuit." + +He's a statesman, too," said Henry. "He sees what damage the +deeds of Wyoming Valley will do to those who have done them. He +thinks our people will now send a great army against the +Iroquois, and I think so, too." + +"No nation can stand a thing like that," said Paul, and I didn't +dream it could happen." + +They now left the oasis, and went swiftly along the trail left by +the fugitives. All of them had confidence in the word of +Timmendiquas. There was a remote chance that some other band had +entered the swamp at a different point, but it was remote, +indeed, and it did not trouble them much. + +Night was now over the great swamp. The sun no longer came +through the gray clouds, but here and there were little flashes +of flame made by fireflies. Had not the trail been so broad and +deep it could easily have been lost, but, being what it was, the +skilled eyes of the frontiersmen followed it without trouble. + +"Some uv 'em are gittin' pow'ful tired," said Tom Ross, looking +at the tracks in the mud. Then he suddenly added: "Here's whar +one's quit forever." + +A shallow grave, not an hour old, had been made under some +bushes, and its length indicated that a woman lay there. They +passed it by in silence. Henry now appreciated more fully than +ever the mercy of Timmendiquas. The five and Carpenter could not +possibly have protected the miserable fugitives against the great +chief, with fifty Wyandots and Iroquois at his back. +Timmendiquas knew this, and he had done what none of the Indians +or white allies around him would have done. + +In another hour they saw a man standing among some vines, but +watchful, and with his rifle in the hollow of his arm. It was +Carpenter, a man whose task was not less than that of the five. +They were in the thick of it and could see what was done, but he +had to lead on and wait. He counted the dusk figures as they +approached him, one, two, three, four, five, and perhaps no man +ever felt greater relief. He advanced toward them and said +huskily: + +"There was no fight! They did not attack!" + +"There was a fight," said Henry, "and we beat them back; then a +second and a larger force came up, but it was composed chiefly of +Wyandots, led by their great chief, Timmendiquas. He came +forward and said that they would not pursue women and children, +and that we could go in safety." + +Carpenter looked incredulous. + +"It is true," said Henry, "every word of it." + +"It is more than Brant would have done," said Carpenter, "and it +saves us, with your help." + +"You were first, and the first credit is yours, Mr. Carpenter," +said Henry sincerely. + +They did not tell the women and children of the fight at the +oasis, but they spread the news that there would be no more +pursuit, and many drooping spirits revived. They spent another +day in the Great Dismal Swamp, where more lives were lost. On +the day after their emergence from the marsh, Henry and his +comrades killed two deer, which furnished greatly needed food, +and on the day after that, excepting those who had died by the +way, they reached Fort Penn, where they were received into +shelter and safety. + +The night before the fugitives reached Fort Penn, the Iroquois +began the celebration of the Thanksgiving Dance for their great +victory and the many scalps taken at Wyoming. They could not +recall another time when they had secured so many of these +hideous trophies, and they were drunk with the joy of victory. +Many of the Tories, some in their own clothes, and some painted +and dressed like Indians, took part in it. + +According to their ancient and honored custom they held a grand +council to prepare for it. All the leading chiefs were present, +Sangerachte, Hiokatoo, and the others. Braxton Wyatt, +Blackstaffe, and other white men were admitted. After their +deliberations a great fire was built in the center of the camp, +the squaws who had followed the army feeding it with brushwood +until it leaped and roared and formed a great red pyramid. Then +the chiefs sat down in a solemn circle at some distance, and +waited. + +Presently the sound of a loud chant was heard, and from the +farthest point of the camp emerged a long line of warriors, +hundreds and hundreds of them, all painted in red and black with +horrible designs. They were naked except the breechcloth and +moccasins, and everyone waved aloft a tomahawk as he sang. + +Still singing and brandishing the tomahawks, which gleamed in the +red light, the long procession entered the open space, and danced +and wheeled about the great fire, the flames casting a lurid +light upon faces hideous with paint or the intoxication of +triumph. The glare of their black eyes was like those of Eastern +eaters of hasheesh or opium, and they bounded to and fro as if +their muscles were springs of steel. They sang: + + We have met the Bostonians* in battle, + We slew them with our rifles and tomahawks. + Few there are who escaped our warriors. + Ever-victorious is the League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee. + +[*Note: All the Americans were often called Bostonians by the +Indians as late as the Revolutionary War.] + + Mighty has been our taking of scalps, + They will fill all the lodges of the Iroquois. + We have burned the houses of the Bostonians. + Ever-victorious is the League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee. + + The wolf will prowl in their corn-fields, + The grass will grow where their blood has soaked; + Their bones will lie for the buzzard to pick. + Ever-victorious is the League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee. + + We came upon them by river and forest; + As we smote Wyoming we will smite the others, + We will drive the Bostonians back to the sea. + Ever-victorious is the League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee. + + +The monotonous chant with the refrain, "Ever-victorious is the +League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee," went on for many verses. +Meanwhile the old squaws never ceased to feed the bonfire, and +the flames roared, casting a deeper and more vivid light over the +distorted faces of the dancers and those of the chiefs, who sat +gravely beyond. + +Higher and higher leaped the warriors. They seemed unconscious +of fatigue, and the glare in their eyes became that of maniacs. +Their whole souls were possessed by the orgy. Beads of sweat, +not of exhaustion, but of emotional excitement, appeared upon +their faces and naked bodies, and the red and black paint +streaked together horribly. + +For a long time this went on, and then the warriors ceased +suddenly to sing, although they continued their dance. A moment +later a cry which thrilled every nerve came from a far point in +the dark background. It was the scalp yell, the most terrible of +all Indian cries, long, high-pitched, and quavering, having in it +something of the barking howl of the wolf and the fiendish shriek +of a murderous maniac. The warriors instantly took it up, and +gave it back in a gigantic chorus. + +A ghastly figure bounded into the circle of the firelight. It +was that of a woman, middle-aged, tall and powerful, naked to the +waist, her body covered with red and black paint, her long black +hair hanging in a loose cloud down her back. She held a fresh +scalp, taken from a white head, aloft in either band. It was +Catharine Montour, and it was she who had first emitted the scalp +yell. After her came more warriors, all bearing scalps. The +scalp yell was supposed to be uttered for every scalp taken, and, +as they had taken more than three hundred, it did not cease for +hours, penetrating every part of the forest. All the time +Catharine Montour led the dance. None bounded higher than she. +None grimaced more horribly. + +While they danced, six men, with their hands tied behind them and +black caps on their heads, were brought forth and paraded around +amid hoots and yells and brandishing of tomahawks in their faces. +They were the surviving prisoners, and the black caps meant that +they were to be killed and scalped on the morrow. Stupefied by +all through which they had gone, they were scarcely conscious +now. + +Midnight came. The Iroquois still danced and sang, and the calm +stars looked down upon the savage and awful scene. Now the +dancers began to weary. Many dropped unconscious, and the others +danced about them where they lay. After a while all ceased. +Then the chiefs brought forth a white dog, which Hiokatoo killed +and threw on the embers of the fire. When it was thoroughly +roasted, the chiefs cut it in pieces and ate it. Thus closed the +Festival of Thanksgiving for the victory of Wyoming. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A FOREST PAGE + + +When the survivors of the band of Wyoming fugitives that the five +had helped were behind the walls of Fort Penn, securing the food +and rest they needed so greatly, Henry Ware and his comrades felt +themselves relieved of a great responsibility. They were also +aware how much they owed to Timmendiquas, because few of the +Indians and renegades would have been so forbearing. +Thayendanegea seemed to them inferior to the great Wyandot. +Often when Brant could prevent the torture of the prisoners and +the slaughter of women and children, he did not do it. The five +could never forget these things in after life, when Brant was +glorified as a great warrior and leader. Their minds always +turned to Timmendiquas as the highest and finest of Indian types. + +While they were at Fort Penn two other parties came, in a fearful +state of exhaustion, and also having paid the usual toll of death +on the way. Other groups reached the Moravian towns, where they +were received with all kindness by the German settlers. The five +were able to give some help to several of these parties, but the +beautiful Wyoming Valley lay utterly in ruins. The ruthless fury +of the savages and of many of the Tories, Canadians, and +Englishmen, can scarcely be told. Everything was slaughtered or +burned. As a habitation of human beings or of anything +pertaining to human beings, the valley for a time ceased to be. +An entire population was either annihilated or driven out, and +finally Butler's army, finding that nothing more was left to be +destroyed, gathered in its war parties and marched northward with +a vast store of spoils, in which scalps were conspicuous. When +they repassed Tioga Point, Timmendiquas and his Wyandots were +still with them. Thayendanegea was also with them here, and so +was Walter Butler, who was destined shortly to make a reputation +equaling that of his father, "Indian" Butler. Nor had the +terrible Queen Esther ever left them. She marched at the head of +the army, singing, horrid chants of victory, and swinging the +great war tomahawk, which did not often leave her hand. + +The whole force was re-embarked upon the Susquehanna, and it was +still full of the impulse of savage triumph. Wild Indian songs +floated along the stream or through the meadows, which were quiet +now. They advanced at their ease, knowing that there was nobody +to attack them, but they were watched by five woodsmen, two of +whom were boys. Meanwhile the story of Wyoming, to an extent +that neither Indians nor woodsmen themselves suspected, was +spreading from town to town in the East, to invade thence the +whole civilized world, and to stir up an indignation and horror +that would make the name Wyoming long memorable. Wyoming had +been a victory for the flag under which the invaders fought, but +it sadly tarnished the cause of that flag, and the consequences +were to be seen soon. + +Henry Ware, Paul Cotter, Sol Hyde, Tom Ross, and Jim Hart were +thinking little of distant consequences, but they were eager for +the present punishment of these men who had committed so much +cruelty. From the bushes they could easily follow the canoes, +and could recognize some of their occupants. In one of the rear +boats sat Braxton Wyatt and a young man whom they knew to be +Walter Butler, a pallid young man, animated by the most savage +ferocity against the patriots. He and Wyatt seemed to be on the +best of terms, and faint echoes of their laughter came to the +five who were watching among the bushes on the river bank. +Certainly Braxton Wyatt and he were a pair well met. + +"Henry," said Shif'less Sol longingly, "I think I could jest +about reach Braxton Wyatt with a bullet from here. I ain't over +fond o' shootin' from ambush, but I done got over all scruples so +fur ez he's concerned. Jest one bullet, one little bullet, +Henry, an' ef I miss I won't ask fur a second chance." + +"No, Sol, it won't do," said Henry. "They'd get off to hunt us. +The whole fleet would be stopped, and we want 'em to go on as +fast as possible." + +"I s'pose you're right, Henry," said the shiftless one sadly, +"but I'd jest like to try it once. I'd give a month's good +huntin' for that single trial." + +After watching the British-Indian fleet passing up the river, +they turned back to the site of the Wyoming fort and the houses +near it. Here everything had been destroyed. It was about dusk +when they approached the battlefield, and they heard a dreadful +howling, chiefly that of wolves. + +I think we'd better turn away," said Henry. " We couldn't do +anything with so many." + +They agreed with him, and, going back, followed the Indians up +the Susquehanna. A light rain fell that night, but they slept +under a little shed, once attached to a house which had been +destroyed by fire. In some way the shed had escaped the flames, +and it now came into timely use. The five, cunning in forest +practice, drew up brush on the sides, and half-burned timber +also, and, spreading their blankets on ashes which had not long +been cold, lay well sheltered from the drizzling rain, although +they did not sleep for a long time. + +It was the hottest period of the year in America, but the night +had come on cool, and the rain made it cooler. The five, +profiting by experience, often carried with them two light +blankets instead of one heavy one. With one blanket beneath the +body they could keep warmer in case the weather was cold. + +Now they lay in a row against the standing wall of the old +outhouse, protected by a six- or seven-foot slant of board roof. +They had eaten of a deer that they had shot in the morning, and +they had a sense of comfort and rest that none of them had known +before in many days. Henry's feelings were much like those that +he had experienced when he lay in the bushes in the little canoe, +wrapped up from the storm and hidden from the Iroquois. But here +there was an important increase of pleasure, the pattering of the +rain on the board roof, a pleasant, soothing sound to which +millions of boys, many of them afterwards great men, have +listened in America. + +It grew very dark about them, and the pleasant patter, almost +musical in its rhythm, kept up. Not much wind was blowing, and +it, too, was melodious. Henry lay with his head on a little heap +of ashes, which was covered by his under blanket, and, for the +first time since he had brought the warning to Wyoming, he was +free from all feeling of danger. The picture itself of the +battle, the defeat, the massacre, the torture, and of the savage +Queen Esther cleaving the heads of the captives, was at times as +vivid as ever, and perhaps would always return now and then in +its original true colors, but the periods between, when youth, +hope, and strength had their way, grew longer and longer. + +Now Henry's eyelids sank lower and lower. Physical comfort and +the presence of his comrades caused a deep satisfaction that +permeated his whole being. The light wind mingled pleasantly +with the soft summer rain. The sound of the two grew strangely +melodious, almost piercingly sweet, and then it seemed to be +human. They sang together, the wind and rain, among the leaves, +and the note that reached his heart, rather than his ear, +thrilled him with courage and hope. Once more the invisible +voice that had upborne him in the great valley of the Ohio told +him, even here in the ruined valley of Wyoming, that what was +lost would be regained. The chords ended, and the echoes, +amazingly clear, floated far away in the darkness and rain. +Henry roused himself, and came from the imaginative borderland. +He stirred a little, and said in a quiet voice to Shif'less Sol: + +"Did you hear anything, Sol?" + +"Nothin' but the wind an' the rain." + +Henry knew that such would be the answer. + +"I guess you didn't hear anything either, Henry," continued the +shiftless one, "'cause it looked to me that you wuz 'bout ez near +sleep ez a feller could be without bein' ackshooally so." + +"I was drifting away," said Henry. + +He was beginning to realize that he had a great power, or rather +gift. Paul was the sensitive, imaginative boy, seeing everything +in brilliant colors, a great builder of castles, not all of air, +but Henry's gift went deeper. It was the power to evoke the +actual living picture of the event that bad not yet occurred, +something akin in its nature to prophecy, based perhaps upon the +wonderful power of observation, inherited doubtless, from +countless primitive ancestors. The finest product of the +wilderness, he saw in that wilderness many things that others did +not see, and unconsciously he drew his conclusions from superior +knowledge. + +The song had ceased a full ten minutes, and then came another +note, a howl almost plaintive, but, nevertheless, weird and full +of ferocity. All knew it at once. They had heard the cry of +wolves too often in their lives, but this had an uncommon note +like the yell of the Indian in victory. Again the cry arose, +nearer, haunting, and powerful. The five, used to the darkness, +could see one another's faces, and the look that all gave was the +same, full of understanding and repulsion. + +"It has been a great day for the wolf in this valley," whispered +Paul, "and striking our trail they think they are going to find +what they have been finding in such plenty before." + +"Yes," nodded Henry, "but do you remember that time when in the +house we took the place of the man, his wife and children, just +before the Indians came?" + +"Yes," said Paul. + +"We'll treat them wolves the same way," said Shif'less Sol. + +"I'm glad of the chance," said Long Jim. + +"Me, too," said Tom Ross. + +The five rose up to sitting positions against the board wall, and +everyone held across his knees a long, slender barreled rifle, +with the muzzle pointing toward the forest. All accomplished +marksmen, it would only be a matter of a moment for the stock to +leap to the shoulder, the eye to glance down the barrel, the +finger to pull the trigger, and the unerring bullet to leap +forth. + +"Henry, you give the word as usual," said Shif'less Sol. + +Henry nodded. + +Presently in the darkness they heard the pattering of light feet, +and they saw many gleaming eyes draw near. There must have been +at least thirty of the wolves, and the five figures that they saw +reclining, silent and motionless, against the unburned portion of +the house might well have been those of the dead and scalped, +whom they had found in such numbers everywhere. They drew near +in a semicircular group, its concave front extended toward the +fire, the greatest wolves at the center. Despite many feastings, +the wolves were hungry again. Nothing had opposed them before, +but caution was instinctive. The big gray leaders did not mind +the night or the wind or the rain, which they had known all their +lives, and which they counted as nothing, but they always had +involuntary suspicion of human figures, whether living or not, +and they approached slowly, wrinkling back their noses and +sniffing the wind which blew from them instead of the five +figures. But their confidence increased as they advanced. They +had found many such burned houses as this, but they had found +nothing among the ruins except what they wished. + +The big leaders advanced more boldly, glaring straight at the +human figures, a slight froth on their lips, the lips themselves +curling back farther from the strong white teeth. The outer ends +of the concave semicircle also drew in. The whole pack was about +to spring upon its unresisting prey, and it is, no doubt, true +that many a wolfish pulse beat a little higher in anticipation. + With a suddenness as startling as it was terrifying the five +figures raised themselves, five long, dark tubes leaped to their +shoulders, and with a suddenness that was yet more terrifying, a +gush of flame shot from five muzzles. Five of the wolves-and +they were the biggest and the boldest, the leaders-fell dead upon +the ashes of the charred timbers, and the others, howling their +terror to the dark, skies, fled deep into the forest. + +Henry strode over and pushed the body of the largest wolf with +his foot. + +"I suppose we only gratified a kind of sentiment in shooting +those wolves," he said, " but I for one am glad we did it." + +"So am I," said Paul. + +"Me, too," said the other three together. + +They went back to their positions near the wall, and one by one +fell asleep. No more wolves howled that night anywhere near +them. + +When the five awakened the next morning the rain had ceased, and +a splendid sun was tinting a blue sky with gold. Jim Hart built +a fire among the blackened logs, and cooked venison. They had +also brought from Fort Penn a little coffee, which Long Jim +carried with a small coffee pot in his camp kit, and everyone had +a small tin cup. He made coffee for them, an uncommon wilderness +luxury, in which they could rarely indulge, and they were +heartened and strengthened by it. + +Then they went again up the valley, as beautiful as ever, with +its silver river in the center, and its green mountain walls on +either side. But the beauty was for the eye only. It did not +reach the hearts of those who had seen it before. All of the +five loved the wilderness, but they felt now how tragic silence +and desolation could be where human life and all the daily ways +of human life had been. + +It was mid-summer, but the wilderness was already reclaiming its +own. The game knew that man was gone, and it had come back into +the valley. Deer ate what had grown in the fields and gardens, +and the wolves were everywhere. The whole black tragedy was +written for miles. They were never out of sight of some trace of +it, and their anger grew again as they advanced in the blackened +path of the victorious Indians. + +It was their purpose now to hang on the Indian flank as scouts +and skirmishers, until an American army was formed for a campaign +against the Iroquois, which they were sure must be conducted +sooner or later. Meanwhile they could be of great aid, gathering +news of the Indian plans, and, when that army of which they +dreamed should finally march, they could help it most of all by +warning it of ambush, the Indian's deadliest weapon. + +Everyone of the five had already perceived a fact which was +manifest in all wars with the Indians along the whole border from +North to South, as it steadily shifted farther West. The +practical hunter and scout was always more than a match for the +Indian, man for man, but, when the raw levies of settlers were +hastily gathered to stem invasion, they were invariably at a +great disadvantage. They were likely to be caught in ambush by +overwhelming numbers, and to be cut down, as had just happened at +Wyoming. The same fate might attend an invasion of the Iroquois +country, even by a large army of regular troops, and Henry and +his comrades resolved upon doing their utmost to prevent it. An +army needed eyes, and it could have none better than those five +pairs. So they went swiftly up the valley and northward and +eastward, into the country of the Iroquois. They had a plan of +approaching the upper Mohawk village of Canajoharie, where one +account says that Thayendanegea was born, although another +credits his birthplace to the upper banks of the Ohio. + +They turned now from the valley to the deep woods. The trail +showed that the great Indian force, after disembarking again, +split into large parties, everyone loaded with spoil and bound +for its home village. The five noted several of the trails, but +one of them consumed the whole attention of Silent Tom Ross. + +He saw in the soft soil near a creek bank the footsteps of about +eight Indians, and, mingled with them, other footsteps, which he +took to be those of a white woman and of several children, +captives, as even a tyro would infer. The soul of Tom, the good, +honest, and inarticulate frontiersman, stirred within him. A +white woman and her children being carried off to savagery, to be +lost forevermore to their kind! Tom, still inarticulate, felt +his heart pierced with sadness at the tale that the tracks in the +soft mud told so plainly. But despair was not the only emotion +in his heart. The silent and brave man meant to act. + +"Henry," he said, "see these tracks here in the soft spot by the +creek." + +The young leader read the forest page, and it told him exactly +the same tale that it had told Tom Ross. + +"About a day old, I think," he said. + +"Just about," said Tom; "an' I reckon, Henry, you know what's in +my mind." + +"I think I do," said Henry, " and we ought to overtake them by +to-morrow night. You tell the others, Tom." + +Tom informed Shif'less Sol, Paul, and Long Jim in a few words, +receiving from everyone a glad assent, and then the five followed +fast on the trail. They knew that the Indians could not go very +fast, as their speed must be that of the slowest, namely, that of +the children, and it seemed likely that Henry's prediction of +overtaking them on the following night would come true. + +It was an easy trail. Here and there were tiny fragments of +cloth, caught by a bush from the dress of a captive. In one +place they saw a fragment of a child's shoe that had been dropped +off and abandoned. Paul picked up the worn piece of leather and +examined it. + +"I think it was worn by a girl," he said, "and, judging from its +size, she could not have been more than eight years old. Think +of a child like that being made to walk five or six hundred miles +through these woods!" + +"Younger ones still have had to do it," said Shif'less Sol +gravely, "an' them that couldn't-well, the tomahawk." + +The trail was leading them toward the Seneca country, and they +had no doubt that the Indians were Senecas, who had been more +numerous than any others of the Six Nations at the Wyoming +battle. They came that afternoon to a camp fire beside which the +warriors and captives had slept the night before. + +"They ate bar meat an' wild turkey," said Long Jim, looking at +some bones on the ground. + +"An' here," said Tom Ross, "on this pile uv bushes is whar the +women an' children slept, an' on the other side uv the fire is +whar the warriors lay anywhars. You can still see how the bodies +uv some uv 'cm crushed down the grass an' little bushes." + +"An' I'm thinkin'," said Shif'less Sol, as he looked at the trail +that led away from the camp fire, "that some o' them little ones +wuz gittin' pow'ful tired. Look how these here little trails are +wobblin' about." + +"Hope we kin come up afore the Injuns begin to draw thar +tomahawks," said Tom Ross. + +The others were silent, but they knew the dreadful significance +of Tom's remark, and Henry glanced at them all, one by one. + +"It's the greatest danger to be feared," he said, "and we must +overtake them in the night when they are not suspecting. If we +attack by day they will tomahawk the captives the very first +thing." + +"Shorely,', said the shiftless one. + +"Then," said Henry, " we don't need to hurry. "We'll go on until +about midnight, and then sleep until sunrise." + +They continued at a fair pace along a trail that frontiersmen far +less skillful than they could have followed. But a silent dread +was in the heart of every one of them. As they saw the path of +the small feet staggering more and more they feared to behold +some terrible object beside the path. + +"The trail of the littlest child is gone," suddenly announced +Paul. + +"Yes," said Henry, "but the mother has picked it up and is +carrying it. See how her trail has suddenly grown more uneven." + +"Poor woman," said Paul. "Henry, we're just bound to overtake +that band." + +"We'll do it," said Henry. + +At the appointed time they sank down among the thickest bushes +that they could find, and slept until the first upshot of dawn. +Then they resumed the trail, haunted always by that fear of +finding something terrible beside it. But it was a trail that +continually grew slower. The Indians themselves were tired, or, +feeling safe from pursuit, saw no need of hurry. By and by the +trail of the smallest child reappeared. + +"It feels a lot better now," said Tom Ross. "So do I." + +They came to another camp fire, at which the ashes were not yet +cold. Feathers were scattered about, indicating that the Indians +had taken time for a little side hunt, and had shot some birds. + +"They can't be more than two or three hours ahead," said Henry, +"and we'll have to go on now very cautiously." + +They were in a country of high hills, well covered with forests, +a region suited to an ambush, which they feared but little on +their own account; but, for the sake of extreme caution, they now +advanced slowly. The afternoon was long and warm, but an hour +before sunset they looked over a hill into a glade, and saw the +warriors making camp for the night. + +The sight they beheld made the pulses of the five throb heavily. +The Indians had already built their fire, and two of them were +cooking venison upon it. Others were lying on the grass, +apparently resting, but a little to one side sat a woman, still +young and of large, strong figure, though now apparently in the +last stages of exhaustion, with her feet showing through the +fragments of shoes that she wore. Her head was bare, and her +dress was in strips. Four children lay beside her' the youngest +two with their heads in her lap. The other two, who might be +eleven and thirteen each, had pillowed their heads on their arms, +and lay in the dull apathy that comes from the finish of both +strength and hope. The woman's face was pitiful. She had more +to fear than the children, and she knew it. She was so worn that +the skin hung loosely on her face, and her eyes showed despair +only. The sad spectacle was almost more than Paul could stand. + +"I don't like to shoot from ambush," he said, "but we could cut +down half of those warriors at our firs fire and rush in on the +rest." + +"And those we didn't cut down at our first volley would tomahawk +the woman and children in an instant," replied Henry. " We +agreed, you know, that it would be sure to happen. We can't do +anything until night comes, and then we've got to be mighty +cautious." + +Paul could not dispute the truth of his words, and they withdrew +carefully to the crest of a hill, where they lay in the +undergrowth, watching the Indians complete their fire and their +preparations for the night. It was evident to Henry that they +considered themselves perfectly safe. Certainly they had every +reason for thinking so. It was not likely that white enemies +were within a hundred miles of them, and, if so, it could only be +a wandering hunter or two, who would flee from this fierce band +of Senecas who bad taken revenge for the great losses that they' +had suffered the year before at the Oriskany. + +They kept very little watch and built only a small fire, just +enough for broiling deer meat which they carried. They drank at +a little spring which ran from under a ledge near them, and gave +portions of the meat to the woman and children. After the woman +had eaten, they bound her hands, and she lay back on the grass, +about twenty feet from the camp fire. Two children lay on either +side of her, and they were soon sound asleep. The warriors, as +Indians will do when they are free from danger and care, talked a +good deal, and showed all the signs of having what was to them a +luxurious time. They ate plentifully, lolled on the grass, and +looked at some hideous trophies, the scalps that they carried at +their belts. The woman could not keep from seeing these, too, +but her face did not change from its stony aspect of despair. +Then the light of the fire went out, the sun sank behind the +mountains, and the five could no longer see the little group of +captives and captors. + +They still waited, although eagerness and impatience were tugging +at the hearts of every one of them. But they must give the +Indians time to fall asleep if they would secure rescue, and not +merely revenge. They remained in the bushes, saying but little +and eating of venison that they carried in their knapsacks. + +They let a full three hours pass, and the night remained dark, +but with a faint moon showing. Then they descended slowly into +the valley, approaching by cautious degrees the spot where they +knew the Indian camp lay. This work required at least three +quarters of an hour, and they reached a point where they could +see the embers of the fire and the dark figures lying about it. +The Indians, their suspicions lulled, had put out no sentinels, +and all were asleep. But the five knew that, at the first shot, +they would be as wide awake as if they had never slept, and as +formidable as tigers. Their problem seemed as great as ever. So +they lay in the bushes and held a whispered conference. + +"It's this," said Henry. " We want to save the woman and the +children from the tomahawks, and to do so we must get them out of +range of the blade before the battle begins." "How?" said Tom +Ross. + +"I've got to slip up, release the woman, arm her, tell her to run +for the woods with the children, and then you four must do the +most of the rest." + +"Do you think you can do it, Henry ?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +I can, as I will soon show you. I'm going to steal forward to +the woman, but the moment you four hear an alarm open with your +rifles and pistols. You can come a little nearer without being +heard." + +All of them moved up close to the Indian camp, and lay hidden in +the last fringe of bushes except Henry. He lay almost flat upon +the ground, carrying his rifle parallel with his side, and in his +right hand. He was undertaking one of the severest and most +dangerous tests known to a frontiersman. He meant to crawl into +the very midst of a camp of the Iroquois, composed of the most +alert woodsmen in the world, men who would spring up at the +slightest crackle in the brush. Woodmen who, warned by some +sixth sense, would awaken at the mere fact of a strange presence. + +The four who remained behind in the bushes could not keep their +hearts from beating louder and faster. They knew the tremendous +risk undertaken by their comrade, but there was not one of them +who would have shirked it, had not all yielded it to the one whom +they knew to be the best fitted for the task. + +Henry crept forward silently, bringing to his aid all the years +of skill that he had acquired in his life in the wilds. His body +was like that of a serpent, going forward, coil by coil. He was +near enough now to see the embers of the fire not yet quite dead, +the dark figures scattered about it, sleeping upon the grass with +the long ease of custom, and then the outline of the woman apart +from the others with the children about her. Henry now lay +entirely flat, and his motions were genuinely those of a serpent. +It was by a sort of contraction and relaxation of the body that +he moved himself, and his progress was absolutely soundless. + +The object of his advance was the woman. He saw by the faint +light of the moon that she was not yet asleep. Her face, worn +and weather beaten, was upturned to the skies, and the stony look +of despair seemed to have settled there forever. She lay upon +some pine boughs, and her hands were tied behind her for the +night with deerskin. + +Henry contorted himself on, inch by inch, for all the world like +a great snake. Now he passed the sleeping Senecas, hideous with +war paint, and came closer to the woman. She was not paying +attention to anything about her, but was merely looking up at the +pale, cold stars, as if everything in the world had ceased for +her. + +Henry crept a little nearer. He made a slight noise, as of a +lizard running through the grass, but the woman took no notice. +He crept closer, and. there he lay flat upon the grass within six +feet of her, his figure merely a slightly darker blur against the +dark blur of the earth. Then, trusting to the woman's courage +and strength of mind, he emitted a hiss very soft and low, like +the warning of a serpent, half in fear and half in anger. + +The woman moved a little, and looked toward the point from which +the sound had come. It might have been the formidable hiss of a +coiling rattlesnake that she heard, but she felt no fear. She +was too much stunned, too near exhaustion to be alarmed by +anything, and she did not look a second time. She merely settled +back on the pine boughs, and again looked dully up at the pale, +cold stars that cared so little for her or hers. + +Henry crept another yard nearer, and then he uttered that low +noise, sibilant and warning, which the woman, the product of the +border, knew to be made by a human being. She raised herself a +little, although it was difficult with her bound hands to sit +upright, and saw a dark shadow approaching her. That dark shadow +she knew to he the figure of a man. An Indian would not be +approaching in such a manner, and she looked again, startled into +a sudden acute attention, and into a belief that the incredible, +the impossible, was about to happen. A voice came from the +figure, and its quality was that of the white voice, not the red. + +"Do not move," said that incredible voice out of the unknown. "I +have come for your rescue, and others who have come for the same +purpose are near. Turn on one side, and I will cut the bonds +that hold your arms." + +The voice, the white voice, was like the touch of fire to Mary +Newton. A sudden fierce desire for life and for the lives of her +four children awoke within her just when hope had gone the call +to life came. She had never heard before a voice so full of +cheer and encouragement. It penetrated her whole being. +Exhaustion and despair fled away. + +"Turn a little on your side," said the voice. + +She turned obediently, and then felt the sharp edge of cold steel +as it swept between her wrists and cut the thongs that held them +together. Her arms fell apart, and strength permeated every vein +of her being. + +"We shall attack in a few moments," said the voice, "but at the +first shots the Senecas will try to tomahawk you and your +children. Hold out your hands." + +She held out both hands obediently. The handle of a tomahawk was +pressed into one, and the muzzle of a double-barreled pistol into +the other. Strength flowed down each hand into her body. + +"If the time comes, use them; you are strong, and you know how," +said the voice. Then she saw the dark figure creeping away. + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE PURSUIT ON THE RIVER + + +The story of the frontier is filled with heroines, from the far +days of Hannah Dustin down to the present, and Mary Newton, whom +the unknown figure in the dark had just aroused, is one of them. +It had seemed to her that God himself had deserted her, but at +the last moment he had sent some one. She did not doubt, she +could not doubt, because the bonds had been severed, and there +she lay with a deadly weapon in either hand. The friendly +stranger who had come so silently was gone as he had come, but +she was not helpless now. Like many another frontier woman, she +was naturally lithe and powerful, and, stirred by a great hope, +all her strength had returned for the present. + +Nobody who lives in the wilderness can wholly escape +superstition, and Mary Newton began to believe that some +supernatural creature had intervened in her behalf. She raised +herself just a little on one elbow and surveyed the surrounding +thicket. She saw only the dead embers of the fire, and the dark +forms of the Indians lying upon the bare ground. Had it not been +for the knife and pistol in her hand, she could have believed +that the voice was only a dream. + +There was a slight rustling in the thicket, and a Seneca rose +quickly to his knees, grasping his rifle in both hands. The +woman's fingers clutched the knife and pistol more tightly, and +her whole gaunt figure trembled. The Seneca listened only a +moment. Then he gave a sharp cry, and all the other warriors +sprang up. But three of them rose only to fall again, as the +rifles cracked in the bushes, while two others staggered from +wounds. + +The triumphant shout of the frontiersmen came from the thicket, +and then they rushed upon the camp. Quick as a flash two of the +Senecas started toward the woman and children with their +tomahawks, but Mary Newton was ready. Her heart had leaped at +the shots when the Senecas fell, and she kept her courage. Now +she sprang to her full height, and, with the children screaming +at her feet, fired one barrel of the pistol directly into the +face of the first warrior, and served the second in the same way +with the other barrel when he was less than four feet away. +Then, tomahawk in hand, she rushed forward. In judging Mary +Newton, one must consider time and place. + +But happily there was no need for her to use her tomahawk. As +the five rushed in, four of them emptied their double-barreled +pistols, while Henry swung his clubbed rifle with terrible +effect. It was too much for the Senecas. The apparition of the +armed woman, whom they had left bound, and the deadly fire from +the five figures that sprang upon them, was like a blow from the +hand of Aieroski. The unhurt and wounded fled deep into the +forest, leaving their dead behind. Mary Newton, her great deed +done, collapsed from emotion and weakness. The screams of the +children sank in a few moments to frightened whimpers. But the +oldest, when they saw the white faces, knew that rescue had come. + +Paul brought water from the brook in his cap, and Mary Newton was +revived; Jim was reassuring the children, and the other three +were in the thickets, watching lest the surviving Senecas return +for attack. + +"I don't know who you are, but I think the good God himself must +have sent you to our rescue," said Mary Newton reverently. + +"We don't know," said Paul, "but we are doing the best we can. +Do you think you can walk now?" + +"Away from the savages? Yes!" she said passionately. She looked +down at the dead figures of the Senecas, and she did not feel a +single trace of pity for them. Again it is necessary to consider +time and place. + +"Some of my strength came back while I was lying here," she said, +"and much more of it when you drove away the Indians." + +"Very well," said Henry, who had returned to the dead camp fire +with his comrades, "we must start on the back trail at once. The +surviving Senecas, joined by other Iroquois, will certainly +pursue, and we need all the start that we can get." + +Long Jim picked up one of the two younger children and flung him +over his shoulder; Tom Ross did as much for the other, but the +older two scorned help. They were full of admiration for the +great woodsmen, mighty heroes who had suddenly appeared out of +the air, as it were, and who had swept like a tornado over the +Seneca band. It did not seem possible now that they, could be +retaken. + +But Mary Newton, with her strength and courage, had also +recovered her forethought. + +"Maybe it will not be better to go on the back trail," she said. +"One of the Senecas told me to-day that six or seven miles +farther on was a river flowing into the Susquehanna, and that +they would cross this river on a boat now concealed among bushes +on the bank. The crossing was at a sudden drop between high +banks. Might not we go on, find the boat, and come back in it +down the river and into the Susquehanna?" + +"That sounds mighty close to wisdom to me," said Shif'less Sol. +"Besides, it's likely to have the advantage o' throwin' the +Iroquois off our track. They'll think, o' course, that we've +gone straight back, an' we'll pass 'em ez we're going forward." + +"It's certainly the best plan," said Henry, "and it's worth our +while to try for that hidden boat of the Iroquois. Do you know +the general direction?" + +"Almost due north." + +"Then we'll make a curve to the right, in order to avoid any +Iroquois who may be returning to this camp, and push for it." + +Henry led the way over hilly, rough ground, and the others +followed in a silent file, Long Jim and Tom still carrying the +two smallest children, who soon fell asleep on their shoulders. +Henry did not believe that the returning Iroquois could follow +their trail on such a dark night, and the others agreed with him. + +After a while they saw the gleam of water. Henry knew that it +must be very near, or it would have been wholly invisible on such +a dark night. + +"I think, Mrs. Newton," he said, "that this is the river of which +you spoke, and the cliffs seem to drop down just as you said they +would." + +The woman smiled. + +"Yes," she said, "you've done well with my poor guess, and the +boat must be hidden somewhere near here." + +Then she sank down with exhaustion, and the two older children, +unable to walk farther, sank down beside her. But the two who +slept soundly on the shoulders of Long Jim and Tom Ross did not +awaken. Henry motioned to Jim and Tom to remain there, and +Shif'less Sol bent upon them a quizzical and approving look. + +"Didn't think it was in you, Jim Hart, you old horny-handed +galoot," he said, "carryin' a baby that tender. Knew Jim could +sling a little black bar 'roun' by the tail, but I didn't think +you'd take to nussin' so easy." + +"I'd luv you to know, Sol Hyde," said Jim Hart in a tone of high +condescension, "that Tom Ross an' me are civilized human bein's. +In face uv danger we are ez brave ez forty thousand lions, but +with the little an' the weak we're as easy an' kind an' soft ez +human bein's are ever made to be." + +"You're right, old hoss," said Tom Ross. + +"Well," said the shiftless one, "I can't argify with you now, ez +the general hez called on his colonel, which is me, an' his +major, which is Paul, to find him a nice new boat like one o' +them barges o' Clepatry that Paul tells about, all solid silver, +with red silk sails an' gold oars, an' we're meanin' to do it." + +Fortune was with them, and in a quarter of an hour they +discovered, deep among bushes growing in the shallow water, a +large, well-made boat with two pairs of oars and with small +supplies of parched corn and venison hidden in it. + +"Good luck an' bad luck come mixed," said the shift-less one, +"an' this is shorely one o' our pieces o' good luck. The woman +an' the children are clean tuckered out, an' without this boat we +could never hev got them back. Now it's jest a question o' +rowin' an' fightin'." + +"Paul and I will pull her out to the edge of the clear water," +said Henry, "while you can go back and tell the others, Sol." + +"That just suits a lazy man," said Sol, and he walked away +jauntily. Under his apparent frivolity he concealed his joy at +the find, which he knew to be of such vast importance. He +approached the dusky group, and his really tender heart was +stirred with pity for the rescued captives. Long Jim and Silent +Tom held the smaller two on their shoulders, but the older ones +and the woman, also, had fallen asleep. Sol, in order to conceal +his emotion, strode up rather roughly. Mary Newton awoke. + +"Did you find anything?" she asked. + +"Find anything?" repeated Shif'less Sol. "Well, Long Jim an' Tom +here might never hev found anything, but Henry an' Paul an' me, +three eddicated men, scholars, I might say, wuz jest natcherally +bound to find it whether it wuz thar or not. Yes, we've +unearthed what Paul would call an argosy, the grandest craft that +ever floated on this here creek, that I never saw before, an' +that I don't know the name uv. She's bein' floated out now, an' +I, the Gran' Hidalgo an' Majordomo, hev come to tell the princes +and princesses, an' the dukes and dukesses, an' all the other +gran' an' mighty passengers, that the barge o' the Dog o' Venice +is in the stream, an' the Dog, which is Henry Ware, is waitin', +settin' on the Pup to welcome ye." + +"Sol," said Long Jim, "you do talk a power uv foolishness, with +your Dogs an' Pups." + +"It ain't foolishness," rejoined the shiftless one. "I heard +Paul read it out o' a book oncet, plain ez day. They've been +ruled by Dogs at Venice for more than a thousand years, an' on +big 'casions the Dog comes down a canal in a golden barge, +settin' on the Pup. I'll admit it 'pears strange to me, too, but +who are you an' me, Jim Hart, to question the ways of foreign +countries, thousands o' miles on the other side o' the sea?" + +"They've found the boat," said Tom Ross, "an' that's enough!" + +"Is it really true?" asked Mrs. Newton. + +"It is," replied Shif'less Sol, "an' Henry an' Paul are in it, +waitin' fur us. We're thinkin', Mrs. Newton, that the roughest +part of your trip is over." + +In another five minutes all were in the boat, which was a really +fine one, and they were delighted. Mary Newton for the first +time broke down and wept, and no one disturbed her. The five +spread the blankets on the bottom of the boat, where the children +soon went to sleep once more, and Tom Ross and Shif'less Sol took +the oars. + +"Back in a boat ag'in," said the shiftless one exultantly. +"Makes me feel like old times. My fav'rite mode o' travelin' +when Jim Hart, 'stead o' me, is at the oars." + +"Which is most o' the time," said Long Jim. + +It was indeed a wonderful change to these people worn by the +wilderness. They lay at ease now, while two pairs of powerful +arms, with scarcely an effort, propelled the boat along the +stream. The woman herself lay down on the blankets and fell +asleep with the children. Henry at the prow, Tom Ross at the +stern, and Paul amidships watched in silence, but with their +rifles across their knees. They knew that the danger was far +from over. Other Indians were likely to use this stream, unknown +to them, as a highway, and those who survived of their original +captors could pick up their trail by daylight. And the Senecas, +being mad for revenge, would surely get help and follow. +Henry believed that the theory of returning toward the Wyoming +Valley was sound. That region had been so thoroughly ravaged now +that all the Indians would be going northward. If they could +float down a day or so without molestation, they would probably +be safe. The creek, or, rather, little river, broadened, flowing +with a smooth, fairly swift current. The forest on either side +was dense with oak, hickory, maple, and other splendid trees, +often with a growth of underbrush. The three riflemen never +ceased to watch intently. Henry always looked ahead. It would +have been difficult for any ambushed marksman to have escaped his +notice. But nothing occurred to disturb them. Once a deer came +down to drink, and fled away at sight of the phantom boat gliding +almost without noise on the still waters. Once the far scream of +a panther came from the woods, but Mary Newton and her children, +sleeping soundly, did not hear it. The five themselves knew the +nature of the sound, and paid no attention. The boat went +steadily on, the three riflemen never changing their position, +and soon the day began to come. Little arrows of golden light +pierced through the foliage of the trees, and sparkled on the +surface of the water. In the cast the red sun was coming from +his nightly trip. Henry looked down at the sleepers. They were +overpowered by exhaustion, and would not awake of their own +accord for a long time. + +Shif'less Sol caught his look. + +"Why not let 'em sleep on?" he said. + +Then he and Jim Hart took the oars, and the shiftless one and Tom +Ross resumed their rifles. The day was coming fast, and the +whole forest was soon transfused with light. + +No one of the five had slept during the night. They did not feel +the need of sleep, and they were upborne, too, by a great +exaltation. They had saved the prisoners thus far from a +horrible fate, and they were firmly resolved to reach, with them, +some strong settlement and safety. They felt, too, a sense of +exultation over Brant, Sangerachte, Hiokatoo, the Butlers, the +Johnsons, Wyatt, and all the crew that had committed such +terrible devastation in the Wyoming Valley and elsewhere. + +The full day clothed the earth in a light that turned from silver +to gold, and the woman and the children still slept. The five +chewed some strips of venison, and looked rather lugubriously at +the pieces they were saving for Mary Newton and the children. + +"We ought to hev more'n that," said Shif'less Sol. Ef the worst +comes to the worst, we've got to land somewhar an' shoot a deer." + +"But not yet," said Henry in a whisper, lest he wake the +sleepers. "I think we'll come into the Susquehanna pretty soon, +and its width will be a good thing for us. I wish we were there +now. I don't like this narrow stream. Its narrowness affords +too good an ambush." + +"Anyway, the creek is broadenin' out fast," said the shiftless +one, "an' that is a good sign., What's that you see ahead, +Henry-ain't it a river?" + +"It surely is," replied Henry, who caught sight of a broad +expanse of water, "and it's the Susquehanna. Pull hard, Sol! In +five more minutes we'll be in the river." + +It was less than five when they turned into the current of the +Susquehanna, and less than five more when they heard a shout +behind them, and saw at least a dozen canoes following. The +canoes were filled with Indians and Tories, and they had spied +the fugitives. + +"Keep the women and the children down, Paul," cried Henry. + +All knew that Henry and Shif'less Sol were the best shots, and, +without a word, Long Jim and Tom, both powerful and skilled +watermen, swung heavily on the oars, while Henry and Shif'less +Sol sat in the rear with their rifles ready. Mary Newton awoke +with a cry at the sound of the shots, and started to rise, but +Paul pushed her down. + +"We're on the Susquehanna now, Mrs. Newton," he said, " and we +are pursued. The Indians and Tories have just seen us, but don't +be afraid. The two who are watching there are the best shots in +the world." + +He looked significantly at Henry and Shif'less Sol, crouching in +the stern of the boat like great warriors from some mighty past, +kings of the forest whom no one could overcome, and her courage +came back. The children, too, had awakened with frightened +cries, but she and Paul quickly soothed them, and, obedient to +commands, the four, and Mary Newton with them, lay flat upon the +bottom of the boat, which was now being sent forward rapidly by +Jim Hart and Tom. Paul took up his rifle and sat in a waiting +attitude, either to relieve one of the men at the oars or to +shoot if necessary. + +The clear sun made forest and river vivid in its light. The +Indians, after their first cry, made no sound, but so powerful +were Long Jim and Tom that they were gaining but little, although +some of the boats contained six or eight rowers. + +As the light grew more intense Henry made out the two white faces +in the first boat. One was that of Braxton Wyatt, and the other, +he was quite sure, belonged to the infamous Walter Butler. Hot +anger swept through all his veins, and the little pulses in his +temples began to beat like trip hammers. Now the picture of +Wyoming, the battle, the massacre, the torture, and Queen Esther +wielding her great tomahawk on the bound captives, grew +astonishingly vivid, and it was printed blood red on his brain. +The spirit of anger and defiance, of a desire to taunt those who +had done such things, leaped up in his heart. + +"Are you there, Braxton Wyatt?" he called clearly across the +intervening water. "Yes, I see that it is you, murderer of women +and children, champion of the fire and stake, as savage as any of +the savages. And it is you, too, Walter Butler, wickeder son of +a wicked father. Come a little closer, won't you? We've +messengers here for both of you!" + +He tapped lightly the barrel of his own rifle and that of +Shif'less Sol, and repeated his request that they come a little +closer. + +They understood his words, and they understood, also, the +significant gesture when he patted the barrel of the rifles. The +hearts of both Butler and Wyatt were for the moment afraid, and +their boat dropped back to third place. Henry laughed aloud when +he saw. The Viking rage was still upon him. This was the +primeval wilderness, and these were no common foes. + +"I see that you don't want to receive our little messengers," he +cried. "Why have you dropped back to third place in the line, +Braxton Wyatt and Walter Butler, when you were first only a +moment ago? Are you cowards as well as murderers of women and +children?" + +"That's pow'ful good talk," said Shif'less Sol admiringly. +"Henry, you're a real orator. Give it to 'em, an' mebbe I'll get +a chance at one o' them renegades." + +It seemed that Henry's words had an effect, because the boat of +the renegades pulled up somewhat, although it did not regain +first place. Thus the chase proceeded down the Susquehanna. + +The Indian fleet was gaining a little, and Shif'less Sol called +Henry's attention to it. + +"Don't you think I'd better take a shot at one o' them rowers in +the first boat?" he said to Henry. "Wyatt an' Butler are a +leetle too fur away." + +"I think it would give them a good hint, Sol!" said Henry. "Take +that fellow on the right who is pulling so hard." + +The shiftless one raised his rifle, lingered but a little over +his aim, and pulled the trigger. The rower whom Henry had +pointed out fell back in the boat, his hands slipping from the +handles of his oars. The boat was thrown into confusion, and +dropped back in the race. Scattering shots were fired in return, +but all fell short, the water spurting up in little jets where +they struck. + +Henry, who had caught something of the Indian nature in his long +stay among them in the northwest, laughed in loud irony. + +"That was one of our little messengers, and it found a listener!" +he shouted. "And I see that you are afraid, Braxton Wyatt and +Walter Butler, murderers of women and children! Why don't you +keep your proper places in the front?" + +"That's the way to talk to 'em," whispered Shif'less Sol, as he +reloaded. "Keep it up, an' mebbe we kin git a chance at Braxton +Wyatt hisself. Since Wyoming I'd never think o' missin' sech a +chance." + +"Nor I, either," said Henry, and he resumed in his powerful +tones: "The place of a leader is in front, isn't it? Then why +don't you come up?" + +Braxton Wyatt and Walter Butler did not come up. They were not +lacking in courage, but Wyatt knew what deadly marksmen the +fugitive boat contained, and he had also told Butler. So they +still hung back, although they raged at Henry Ware's taunts, and +permitted the Mohawks and Senecas to take the lead in the chase. + +"They're not going to give us a chance," said Henry. "I'm +satisfied of that. They'll let redskins receive our bullets, +though just now I'd rather it were the two white ones. What do +you think, Sol, of that leading boat? Shouldn't we give another +hint?" + +"I agree with you, Henry," said the shiftless one. They're +comin' much too close fur people that ain't properly interduced +to us. This promiskus way o' meetin' up with strangers an' +lettin' 'em talk to you jest ez ef they'd knowed you all their +lives hez got to be stopped. It's your time, Henry, to give 'em +a polite hint, an' I jest suggest that you take the big fellow in +the front o' the boat who looks like a Mohawk." + +Henry raised his rifle, fired, and the Mohawk would row no more. +Again confusion prevailed in the pursuing fleet, and there was a +decline of enthusiasm. Braxton Wyatt and Walter Butler raged and +swore, but, as they showed no great zeal for the lead themselves, +the Iroquois did not gain on the fugitive boat. They, too, were +fast learning that the two who crouched there with their rifles +ready were among the deadliest marksmen in existence. They fired +a dozen shots, perhaps, but their rifles did not have the long +range of the Kentucky weapons, and again the bullets fell short, +causing little jets of water to spring up. + +"They won't come any nearer, at least not for the present," said +Henry, "but will hang back just out of rifle range, waiting for +some chance to help them." + +Shif'less Sol looked the other way, down the Susquehanna, and +announced that he could see no danger. There was probably no +Indian fleet farther down the river than the one now pursuing +them, and the danger was behind them, not before. + +Throughout the firing, Silent Tom Ross and Long Jim Hart had not +said a word, but they rowed with a steadiness and power that +would have carried oarsmen of our day to many a victory. +Moreover, they had the inducement not merely of a prize, but of +life itself, to row and to row hard. They had rolled up their +sleeves, and the mighty muscles on those arms of woven steel rose +and fell as they sent the boat swiftly with the silver current of +the Susquehanna. + +Mary Newton still lay on the bottom of the boat. The children +had cried out in fright once or twice at the sound of the firing, +but she and Paul bad soothed them and kept them down. Somehow +Mary Newton had become possessed of a great faith. She noticed +the skill, speed, and success with which the five always worked, +and, so long given up to despair, she now went to the other +extreme. With such friends as these coming suddenly out of the +void, everything must succeed. She had no doubt of it, but lay +peacefully on the bottom of the boat, not at all disturbed by the +sound of the shots. + +Paul and Sol after a while relieved Long Jim and Tom at the oars. +The Iroquois thought it a chance to creep up again, but they were +driven back by a third bullet, and once more kept their distance. +Shif'less Sol, while he pulled as powerfully as Tom Ross, whose +place he had taken, nevertheless was not silent. + +"I'd like to know the feelin's o' Braxton Wyatt an' that feller +Butler," he said. " Must be powerful tantalizin' to them to see +us here, almost where they could stretch out their hands an' put +'em on us. Like reachn' fur ripe, rich fruit, an' failin' to git +it by half a finger's length." + +"They are certainly not pleased," said Henry," but this must end +some way or other, you know." + +"I say so, too, now that I'm a-rowin'," rejoined the shiftless +one, "but when my turn at the oars is finished I wouldn't care. +Ez I've said more'n once before, floatin' down a river with +somebody else pullin' at the oars is the life jest suited to me." + +Henry looked up. "A summer thunderstorm is coming," he said, " +and from the look of things it's going to be pretty black. +Then's when we must dodge 'em." + +He was a good weather prophet. In a half hour the sky began to +darken rapidly. There was a great deal of thunder and lightning, +but when the rain came the air was almost as dark as night. Mary +Newton and her children were covered as much as possible with the +blankets, and then they swung the boat rapidly toward the eastern +shore. They had already lost sight of their pursuers in the +darkness, and as they coasted along the shore they found a large +creek flowing into the river from the east. + +They ran up the creek, and were a full mile from its mouth when +the rain ceased. Then the sun came out bright and warm, quickly +drying everything. + +They pulled about ten miles farther, until the creek grew too +shallow for them, when they hid the boat among bushes and took to +the land. Two days later they arrived at a strong fort and +settlement, where Mary Newton and her four children, safe and +well, were welcomed by relatives who had mourned them as dead. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +"THE ALCOVE" + + +They arrived at the fort as evening was coming on, and as soon as +food was served to them the five sought sleep. The frontiersmen +usually slept soundly and for a long time after prodigious +exertions, and Henry and his comrades were too wise to make an +exception. They secured a single room inside the fort, one given +to them gladly, because Mary Newton had already spread the fame +of their exploits, and, laying aside their hunting shirts and +leggins, prepared for rest. + +"Jim," said Shif'less Sol, pointing to a low piece of furniture, +flat and broad, in one corner of the room, "that's a bed. Mebbe +you don't think it, but people lay on top o' that an' sleep +thar." + +Long Jim grinned. + +"Mebbe you're right, Sol," he said. "I hev seen sech things ez +that, an' mebbe I've slep' on 'em, but in all them gran' old +tales Paul tells us about I never heard uv no big heroes sleepin' +in beds. I guess the ground wuz good 'nough for A-killus, +Hector, Richard-Kur-de-Leong, an' all the rest uv that fightin' +crowd, an' ez I'm that sort uv a man myself I'll jest roll down +here on the floor. Bein' as you're tender, Sol Hyde, an' not +used to hard life in the woods, you kin take that bed yourself, +an' in the mornin' your wally will be here with hot water in a +silver mug an' a razor to shave you, an' he'll dress you in a +ruffled red silk shirt an' a blue satin waistcoat, an' green +satin breeches jest comin' to the knee, where they meet yellow +silk stockin's risin' out uv purple satin slippers, an' then +he'll clap on your head a big wig uv snow-white hair, fallin' all +about your shoulders an' he'll buckle a silver sword to your +side, an' he'll say: "Gentlemen, him that hez long been known ez +Shif'less Sol, an' desarvin' the name, but who in reality is the +King o' France, is now before you. Down on your knees an' say +your prayers!" + +Shif'less Sol stared in astonishment. + +"You say a wally will do all that fur me, Jim? Now, what under +the sun is a wally ?" + +"I heard all about 'em from Paul," replied Long Jim in a tone of +intense satisfaction. "A wally is a man what does fur you what +you ought to do fur yourself." + +"Then I want one," said Shif'less Sol emphatically. "He'd jest +suit a lazy man like me. An' ez fur your makin' me the King o' +France, mebbe you're more'n half right about that without knowin' +it. I hev all the instincts uv a king. I like to be waited on, +I like to eat when I'm hungry, I like to drink when I'm thirsty, +I like to rest when I'm tired, an' I like to sleep when I'm +sleepy. You've heard o' children changed at birth by fairies an' +sech like. Mebbe I'm the real King o' France, after all, an' my +instincts are handed down to me from a thousand royal ancestors." + +"Mebbe it's so," rejoined Long Jim. "I've heard that thar hev +been a pow'ful lot uv foolish kings." + +With that he put his two blankets upon the floor, lay down upon +them, and was sound asleep in five minutes. But Shif'less Sol +beat him to slumberland by at least a minute, and the others were +not more than two minutes behind Sol. + +Henry was the first up the next morning. A strong voice shouted +in his ear: "Henry Ware, by all that's glorious," and a hand +pressed his fingers together in an iron grasp. Henry beheld the +tall, thin figure and smiling brown face of Adam Colfax, with +whom he had made that adventurous journey up the Mississippi and +Ohio. + +"And the others?" was the first question of Adam Colfax. + +"They're all here asleep inside. We've been through a lot of +things, but we're as sound as ever." + +"That's always a safe prediction to make," said Adam Colfax, +smiling. "I never saw five other human beings with such a +capacity for getting out of danger." + +"We were all at Wyoming, and we all still live." + +The face of the New Englander darkened. + +"Wyoming!" he exclaimed. "I cannot hear of it without every vein +growing hot within me." + +"We saw things done there," said Henry gravely, the telling of +which few men can bear to hear." + +"I know! I know!" exclaimed Adam Colfax. "The news of it has +spread everywhere!" + +"What we want," said Henry, "is revenge. It is a case in which +we must strike back, and strike hard. If this thing goes on, not +a white life will be safe on the whole border from the St. +Lawrence to the Mississippi." + +"It is true," said Adam Colfax, "and we would send an army now +against the Iroquois and their allies, but, Henry, my lad, our +fortunes are at their lowest there in the East, where the big +armies are fighting. That is the reason why nobody has been sent +to protect our rear guard, which has suffered so terribly. You +may be sure, too, that the Iroquois will strike in this region +again as often and as hard as they can. I make more than half a +guess that you and your comrades are here because you know this." + +He looked shrewdly at the boy. + +"Yes," said Henry, "that is so. Somehow we were drawn into it, +but being here we are glad to stay. Timmendiquas, the great +chief who fought us so fiercely on the Ohio, is with the +Iroquois, with a detachment of his Wyandots, and while he, as I +know, frowns on the Wyoming massacre, he means to help +Thayendanegea to the end." + +Adam Colfax looked graver than ever. + +"That is bad," he said. "Timmendiquas is a mighty warrior and +leader, but there is also another way of looking at it. His +presence here will relieve somewhat the pressure on Kentucky. I +ought to tell you, Henry, that we got through safely with our +supplies to the Continental army, and they could not possibly +have been more welcome. They arrived just in time." + +The others came forth presently and were greeted with the same +warmth by Adam Colfax. + +"It is shore mighty good for the eyes to see you, Mr. Colfax," +said Shif'less Sol, "an' it's a good sign. Our people won when +you were on the Mississippi an' the Ohio' - an' now that you're +here, they're goin' to win again." + +"I think we are going to win here and everywhere," said Adam +Colfax, "but it is not because there is any omen in my presence. +It is because our people will not give up, and because our +quarrel is just." + +The stanch New Englander left on the following day for points +farther east, planning and carrying out some new scheme to aid +the patriot cause, and the five, on the day after that, received +a message written on a piece of paper which was found fastened to +a tree on the outskirts of the settlement. It was addressed to +"Henry Ware and Those with Him," and it read: + + + "You need not think because you escaped us at Wyoming and on + the Susquehanna that you will ever get back to Kentucky. + There is amighty league now on the whole border between the + Indians and the soldiers of the king. You have seen at + Wyoming what we can do, and you will see at other places and + on a greater scale what we will do. + + "I find my own position perfect. It is true that + Timmendiquas does not like me, but he is not king here. I + am the friend of the great Brant; and Hiokatoo, Sangerachte, + Hahiron, and the other chiefs esteem me. I am thick with + Colonel John Butler, the victor of Wyoming; his son, the + valiant and worthy Walter Butler; Sir John Johnson, Colonel + Guy Johnson, Colonel Daniel Claus, and many other eminent + men and brave soldiers. + + "I write these words, Henry Ware, both to you and your + comrades, to tell you that our cause will prevail over + yours. I do not doubt that when you read this you will try + to escape to Kentucky, but when we have destroyed everything + along the eastern border, as we have at Wyoming, we shall + come to Kentucky, and not a rebel face will be left there. + + "I am sending this to tell you that there is no hole in + which you can hide where we cannot reach you. With my + respects, BRAXTON WYATT." + +Henry regarded the letter with contempt. + +"A renegade catches something of the Indian nature," he said, +"and always likes to threaten and boast." + +But Shif'less Sol was highly indignant. + +"Sometimes I think," he said, "that the invention o' writin' wuz +a mistake. You kin send a man a letter an' call him names an' +talk mighty big when he's a hundred miles away, but when you've +got to stan' up to him face to face an' say it, wa'al, you change +your tune an' sing a pow'ful sight milder. You ain't gen'ally +any roarin' lion then." + +"I think I'll keep this letter," said Henry, "an' we five will +give an answer to it later on." + +He tapped the muzzle of his rifle, and every one of the four +gravely tapped the muzzle of his own rifle after him. It was a +significant action. Nothing more was needed. + +The next morning they bade farewell to the grateful Mary Newton +and her children, and with fresh supplies of food and ammunition, +chiefly ammunition, left the fort, plunging once more into the +deep forest. It was their intention to do as much damage as they +could to the Iroquois, until some great force, capable of dealing +with the whole Six Nations, was assembled. Meanwhile, five +redoubtable and determined borderers could achieve something. + +It was about the first of August, and they were in the midst of +the great heats. But it was a period favoring Indian activity, +which was now at its highest pitch. Since Wyoming, loaded with +scalps, flushed with victory, and aided by the king's men, they +felt equal to anything. Only the strongest of the border +settlements could hold them back. The colonists here were so +much reduced, and so little help could be sent them from the +East, that the Iroquois were able to divide into innumerable +small parties and rake the country as with a fine tooth comb. +They never missed a lone farmhouse, and rarely was any fugitive +in the woods able to evade them. And they were constantly fed +from the North with arms, ammunition, rewards for scalps, +bounties, and great promises. + +But toward the close of August the Iroquois began to hear of a +silent and invisible foe, an evil spirit that struck them, and +that struck hard. There were battles of small forces in which +sometimes not a single Iroquois escaped. Captives were retaken +in a half-dozen instances, and the warriors who escaped reported +that their assailants were of uncommon size and power. They had +all the cunning of the Indian and more, and they carried rifles +that slew at a range double that of those served to them at the +British posts. It was a certainty that they were guided by the +evil spirit, because every attempt to capture them failed +miserably. No one could find where they slept, unless it was +those who never came back again. + +The Iroquois raged, and so did the Butlers and the Johnsons and +Braxton Wyatt. This was a flaw in their triumph, and the British +and Tories saw, also, that it was beginning to affect the +superstitions of their red allies. Braxton Wyatt made a shrewd +guess as to the identity of the raiders, but he kept quiet. It +is likely, also, that Timmendiquas knew, but be, too, said +nothing. So the influence of the raiders grew. While their acts +were great, superstition exaggerated them and their powers +manifold. And it is true that their deeds were extraordinary. +They were heard of on the Susquehanna, then on the Delaware and +its branches, on the Chemung and the Chenango, as far south as +Lackawaxen Creek, and as far north as Oneida Lake. It is likely +that nobody ever accomplished more for a defense than did those +five in the waning months of the summer. Late in September the +most significant of all these events occurred. A party of eight +Tories, who had borne a terrible part in the Wyoming affair, was +attacked on the shores of Otsego Lake with such deadly fierceness +that only two escaped alive to the camp of Sir John Johnson. +Brant sent out six war parties, composed of not less than twenty +warriors apiece, to seek revenge, but they found nothing. + +Henry and his comrades had found a remarkable camp at the edge of +one of the beautiful small lakes in which the region abounds. +The cliff at that point was high, but a creek entered into it +through a ravine. At the entrance of the creek into the river +they found a deep alcove, or, rather, cave in the rock. It ran +so far back that it afforded ample shelter from the rain, and +that was all they wanted. It was about halfway between the top +and bottom of the cliff, and was difficult of approach both from +below and above. Unless completely surprised-a very unlikely +thing with them-the five could hold it against any force as long +as their provisions lasted. They also built a boat large enough +for five, which they hid among the bushes at the lake's edge. +They were thus provided with a possible means of escape across +the water in case of the last emergency. + +Jim and Paul, who, as usual, filled the role of housekeepers, +took great delight in fitting up this forest home, which the +fittingly called " The Alcove." The floor of solid stone was +almost smooth, and with the aid of other heavy stones they broke +off all projections, until one could walk over it in the dark in +perfect comfort. They hung the walls with skins of deer which +they killed in the adjacent woods, and these walls furnished many +nooks and crannies for the storing of necessities. They also, +with much hard effort, brought many loads of firewood, which Long +Jim was to use for his cooking. He built his little fireplace of +stones so near the mouth of "The Alcove" that the smoke would +pass out and be lost in the thick forest all about. If the wind +happened to be blowing toward the inside of the cave, the smoke, +of course, would come in on them all, but Jim would not be +cooking then. + +Nor did their operations cease until they had supplied "The +Alcove" plentifully with food, chiefly jerked deer meat, although +there was no way in which they could store water, and for that +they had to take their chances. But their success, the product +of skill and everlasting caution, was really remarkable. Three +times they were trapped within a few miles of "The Alcove," but +the pursuers invariably went astray on the hard, rocky ground, +and the pursued would also take the precaution to swim down the +creek before climbing up to "The Alcove." Nobody could follow a +trail in the face of such difficulties. + +It was Henry and Shif'less Sol who were followed the second time, +but they easily shook off their pursuers as the twilight was +coming, half waded, half swam down the creek, and climbed up to +"The Alcove," where the others were waiting for them with cooked +food and clear cold water. When they had eaten and were +refreshed, Shif'less Sol sat at the mouth of "The Alcove," where +a pleasant breeze entered, despite the foliage that hid the +entrance. The shiftless one was in an especially happy mood. + +"It's a pow'ful comf'table feelin',"he said,"to set up in a nice +safe place like this, an' feel that the woods is full o' ragin' +heathen, seekin' to devour you, and wonderin' whar you've gone +to. Thar's a heap in knowin' how to pick your home. I've +thought more than once 'bout that old town, Troy, that Paul tells +us 'bout, an' I've 'bout made up my mind that it wuzn't destroyed +'cause Helen eat too many golden apples. but 'cause old King +Prime, or whoever built the place, put it down in a plain. That +wuz shore a pow'ful foolish thing. Now, ef he'd built it on a +mountain, with a steep fall-off on every side, thar wouldn't hev +been enough Greeks in all the earth to take it, considerin' the +miserable weepins they used in them times. Why, Hector could hev +set tight on the walls, laughin' at 'em, 'stead o' goin' out in +the plain an' gittin' killed by A-killus, fur which I've always +been sorry." + +"It's 'cause people nowadays have more sense than they did in +them ancient times that Paul tells about," said Long Jim. "Now, +thar wuz 'Lyssus, ten or twelve years gittin' home from Troy. +Allus runnin' his ship on the rocks, hoppin' into trouble with +four-legged giants, one-eyed women, an' sech like. Why didn't he +walk home through the woods, killin' game on the way, an' hevin' +the best time he ever knowed? Then thar wuz the keerlessness of +A-killus' ma, dippin' him in that river so no arrow could enter +him, but holdin' him by the heel an' keepin' it out o' the water, +which caused his death the very first time Paris shot it off with +his little bow an' arrer. Why didn't she hev sense enough to let +the heel go under, too. She could hev dragged it out in two +seconds an' no harm done 'ceptin', perhaps, a little more yellin' +on the part of A-killus." + +"I've always thought Paul hez got mixed 'bout that Paris story," +said Tom Ross. "I used to think Paris was the name uv a town, +not a man, an' I'm beginnin' to think so ag'in, sence I've been +in the East, 'cause I know now that's whar the French come from." + +"But Paris was the name of a man," persisted Paul. "Maybe the +French named their capital after the Paris of the Trojan wars." + +"Then they showed mighty poor jedgment," said Shif'less Sol. "Ef +I'd named my capital after any them old fellers, I'd have called +it Hector." + +"You can have danger enough ,when you're on the tops of hills," +said Henry, who was sitting near the mouth of the cave. "Come +here, you fellows, and see what's passing down the lake." + +They looked out, and in the moonlight saw six large war canoes +being rowed slowly down the lake, which, though narrow, was quite +long. Each canoe held about a dozen warriors, and Henry believed +that one of them contained two white faces, evidently those of +Braxton Wyatt and Walter Butler. + +"Like ez not they've been lookin' fur us," said Tom Ross. + +"Quite likely," said Henry, "and at the same time they may be +engaged in some general movement. See, they will pass within +fifty feet of the base of the cliff." + +The five lay on the cave floor, looking through the vines and +foliage, and they felt quite sure that they were in absolute +security. The six long war canoes moved slowly. The moonlight +came out more brightly, and flooded all the bronze faces of the +Iroquois. Henry now saw that he was not mistaken, and that +Braxton Wyatt and Walter Butler were really in the first boat. +From the cover of the cliff he could have picked off either with +a rifle bullet, and the temptation was powerful. But he knew +that it would lead to an immediate siege, from which they might +not escape, and which at least would check their activities and +plans for a long time. Similar impulses flitted through the +minds of the other four, but all kept still, although fingers +flitted noiselessly along rifle stocks until they touched +triggers. + +The Iroquois war fleet moved slowly on, the two renegades never +dreaming of the danger that had threatened them. An unusually +bright ray of moonshine fell full upon Braxton Wyatt's face as he +paused, and Henry's finger played with the trigger of his rifle. +It was hard, very hard, to let such an opportunity go by, but it +must be done. + +The fleet moved steadily down the lake, the canoes keeping close +together. They turned into mere dots upon the water, became +smaller and smaller still, until they vanished in the darkness. + +"I'm thinkin'," said Shif'less Sol, "that thar's some kind uv a +movement on foot. While they may hev been lookin' fur us, it +ain't likely that they'd send sixty warriors or so fur sech a +purpose. I heard something three or four days ago from a hunter +about an attack upon the Iroquois town of Oghwaga." + +"It's most likely true," said Henry, "and it seems to me that +it's our business to join that expedition. What do you fellows +think?" + +"Just as you do," they replied with unanimity. + +"Then we leave this place and start in the morning," said Henry. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE FIRST BLOW + + +Summer was now waning, the foliage was taking on its autumn hues, +and Indian war parties still surged over the hills and mountains, +but the five avoided them all. On one or two occasions they +would have been willing to stop and fight, but they had bigger +work on hand. They had received from others confirmation of the +report that Long Jim had heard from the hunters, and they were +quite sure that a strong force was advancing to strike the first +blow in revenge for Wyoming. Curiously enough, this body was +commanded by a fourth Butler, Colonel William Butler, and +according to report it was large and its leaders capable. + +When the avenging force lay at the Johnstown settlement on the +Delaware, it was joined by the five. They were introduced to the +colonel by the celebrated scout and hunter, Tini Murphy, whom +they had met several times in the woods, and they were received +warmly. + +"I've heard of you," said Colonel Butler with much warmth," both +from hunters and scouts, and also from Adam Colfax. Two of you +were to have been tomahawked by Queen Esther at Wyoming." + +Henry indicated the two. + +"What you saw at Wyoming is not likely to decrease your zeal +against the Indians and their white allies," continued Colonel +Butler. + +"Anyone who was there," said Henry, " would feel all his life, +the desire to punish those who did it." + +"I think so, too, from all that I have heard," continued Colonel +Butler. "It is the business of you young men to keep ahead of +our column and warn us of what lies before us. I believe you +have volunteered for that duty." + +The five looked over Colonel Butler's little army, which numbered +only two hundred and fifty men, but they were all strong and +brave, and it was the best force that could yet be sent to the +harassed border. It might, after all, strike a blow for Wyoming +if it marched into no ambush, and Henry and his comrades were +resolved to guard it from that greatest of all dangers. + +When the little column moved from the Johnstown settlement, the +five were far ahead, passing through the woods, up the +Susquehanna, toward the Indian villages that lay on its banks, +though a great distance above Wyoming. The chief of these was +Oghwaga, and, knowing that it was the destination of the little +army, they were resolved to visit it, or at least come so near it +that they could see what manner of place it was. + +"If it's a big village," said Colonel Butler, "it will be too +strong to attack, but it may be that most of the warriors are +absent on expeditions." + +They had obtained before starting very careful descriptions of +the approaches to the village, and toward the close of an October +evening they knew that they were near Oghwaga, the great base of +the Iroquois supplies. They considered it very risky and unwise +to approach in the daytime, and accordingly they lay in the woods +until the dark should come. + +The appearance of the wilderness had changed greatly. in the +three months since Wyoming. All the green was now gone, and it +was tinted red and yellow and brown. The skies were a mellow +blue, and there was a slight haze over the forest, but the air +had the wonderful crispness and freshness of the American autumn. +It inspired every one of the five with fresh zeal and energy, +because they believed the first blow was about to be struck. + +About ten o'clock at night they approached Oghwaga, and the +reports of its importance were confirmed. They had not before +seen an Indian village with so many signs of permanence. They +passed two or three orchards of apple and peach trees, and they +saw other indications of cultivation like that of the white +farmer. + +"It ain't a bad-lookin' town," said Long Jim Hart. "But it'll +look wuss," said Shif'less Sol, "onless they've laid an ambush +somewhar. I don't like to see houses an' sech like go up in fire +an' smoke, but after what wuz done at Wyomin' an' all through +that valley, burnin' is a light thing." + +"We're bound to strike back with all our might," said Paul, who +had the softest heart of them all. + +"Now, I wonder who's in this here town," said Tom Ross. "Mebbe +Timmendiquas an' Brant an' all them renegades." + +"It may be so," said Henry. "This is their base and store of +supplies. Oh, if Colonel Butler were only here with all his men, +what a rush we could make!" + +So great was their eagerness that they crept closer to the +village, passing among some thick clusters of grapevines. Henry +was in the lead, and he heard a sudden snarl. A large cur of the +kind that infest Indian villages leaped straight at him. + +The very suddenness of the attack saved Henry and his comrades +from the consequences of an alarm. He dropped his rifle +instinctively, and seized the dog by the throat with both hands. +A bark following the snarl had risen to the animal's throat, but +it was cut short there. The hands of the great youth pressed +tighter and tighter, and the dog was lifted from the earth. The +four stood quietly beside their comrade, knowing that no alarm +would be made now. + +The dog kicked convulsively, then hung without motion or noise. +Henry cast the dead body aside, picked up his rifle, and then all +five of them sank softly down in the shelter of the grapevines. +About fifteen yards away an Indian warrior was walking cautiously +along and looking among the vines. Evidently he had heard the +snarl of the dog, and was seeking the cause. But it had been +only a single sound, and he would not look far. Yet the hearts +of the five beat a little faster as he prowled among the vines, +and their nerves were tense for action should the need for it +come. + +The Indian, a Mohawk, came within ten yards of them, but he did +not see the five figures among the vines, blending darkly with +the dark growth, and presently, satisfied that the sound he had +heard was of no importance, he walked in another direction, and +passed out of sight. + +The five, not daunted at all by this living proof of risk, crept +to the very edge of the clusters of grapevines, and looked upon +an open space, beyond which stood some houses made of wood; but +their attention was centered upon a figure that stood in the +open. + +Although the distance was too great and the light too poor to +disclose the features, every one of the scouts recognized the +figure. It could be none other than that of Timmendiquas, the +great White Lightning of the Wyandots. He was pacing back and +forth, somewhat in the fashion of the white man, and his manner +implied thought. + +"I could bring him down from here with a bullet," said Shif'less +Sol, "but I ain't ever goin' to shoot at the chief, Henry." + +"No," said Henry, "nor will I. But look, there's another." + +A second figure came out of the dark and joined the first. It +was also that of a chief, powerful and tall, though not as tall +as Timmendiquas. It was Thayendanegea. Then three white figures +appeared. One was that of Braxton Wyatt, and the others they +took to be those of "Indian" Butler and his son, Walter Butler. +After a talk of a minute or two they entered one of the wooden +houses. + +"It's to be a conference of some kind," whispered Henry. "I wish +I could look in on it." + +"And I," said the others together. + +"Well, we know this much," continued Henry. "No great force of +the Iroquois is present, and if Colonel Butler's men come up +quickly, we can take the town." + +"It's a chance not to be lost," said Paul. + +They crept slowly away from the village, not stopping until they +reached the crest of a hill, from which they could see the roofs +of two or three of the Indian houses. + +"I've a feeling in me," said Paul, "that the place is doomed. +We'll strike the first blow for Wyoming." + +They neither slept nor rested that night, but retraced their +trail with the utmost speed toward the marching American force, +going in Indian file through the wilderness. Henry, as usual, +led; Shif'less Sol followed, then came Paul, and then Long Jim, +while Silent Tom was the rear guard. They traveled at great +speed, and, some time after daylight, met the advance of the +colonial force under Captain William Gray. + +William Gray was a gallant young officer, but he was startled a +little when five figures as silent as phantoms appeared. But he +uttered an exclamation of delight when he recognized the leader, +Henry. + +"What have you found?" he asked eagerly. + +"We've been to Oghwaga," replied the youth, "and we went all +about the town. They do not suspect our coming. At least, they +did not know when we left. We saw Brant, Timmendiquas, the +Butlers, and Wyatt enter the house for a conference." + +"And now is our chance," said eager young William Gray. "What if +we should take the town, and with it these men, at one blow." + +"We can scarcely hope for as much as that," said Henry, who knew +that men like Timmendiquas and Thayendanegea were not likely to +allow themselves to be seized by so small a force, "but we can +hope for a good victory." + +The young captain rode quickly back to his comrades with the +news, and, led by the five, the whole force pushed forward with +all possible haste. William Gray was still sanguine of a +surprise, but the young riflemen did not expect it. Indian +sentinels were sure to be in the forest between them and Oghwaga. +Yet they said nothing to dash this hope. Henry had already seen +enough to know the immense value of enthusiasm, and the little +army full of zeal would accomplish much if the chance came. +Besides the young captain, William Gray, there was a lieutenant +named Taylor, who had been in the battle at Wyoming, but who had +escaped the massacre. The five had not met him there, but the +common share in so great a tragedy proved a tie between them. +Taylor's name was Robert, but all the other officers, and some of +the men for that matter, who had known him in childhood called +him Bob. He was but little older than Henry, and his earlier +youth, before removal to Wyoming, had been passed in Connecticut, +a country that was to the colonials thickly populated and +containing great towns, such as Hartford and New Haven. + +A third close friend whom they soon found was a man unlike any +other that they had ever seen. His name was Cornelius Heemskerk. +Holland was his birthplace, but America was his nation. He was +short and extremely fat, but he had an agility that amazed the +five when they first saw it displayed. He talked much, and his +words sounded like grumbles, but the unctuous tone and the smile +that accompanied them indicated to the contrary. He formed for +Shif'less Sol an inexhaustible and entertaining study in +character. + + +"I ain't quite seen his like afore," said the shiftless one to +Paul. "First time I run acrost him I thought he would tumble +down among the first bushes he met. 'Stead o' that, he sailed +right through 'em, makin' never a trip an' no noise at all, same +ez Long Jim's teeth sinkin' into a juicy venison steak." + +"I've heard tell," said Long Jim, who also contemplated the +prodigy," that big, chunky, awkward-lookin' things are sometimes +ez spry ez you. They say that the Hipperpotamus kin outrun the +giraffe across the sands uv Afriky, an' I know from pussonal +experience that the bigger an' clumsier a b'ar is the faster he +kin make you scoot fur your life. But he's the real Dutch, ain't +he, Paul, one uv them fellers that licked the Spanish under the +Duke uv Alivy an' Belisarry?" + +"Undoubtedly," replied Paul, who did not consider it necessary to +correct Long Jim's history, "and I'm willing to predict to you, +Jim Hart, that Heemskerk will be a mighty good man in any fight +that we may have." + +Heemskerk rolled up to them. He seemed to have a sort of +circular motion like that of a revolving tube, but he kept pace +with the others, nevertheless, and he showed no signs of +exertion. + +"Don't you think it a funny thing that I, Cornelius Heemskerk, am +here?" he said to Paul. + +"Why so, Mr. Heemskerk?" replied Paul politely. "Because I am a +Dutchman. I have the soul of an artist and the gentleness of a +baby. I, Cornelius Heemskerk, should be in the goot leetle +country of Holland in a goot leetle house, by the side of a goot +leetle canal, painting beautiful blue china, dishes, plates, +cups, saucers, all most beautiful, and here I am running through +the woods of this vast America, carrying on my shoulder a rifle +that is longer than I am, hunting the red Indian and hunted by +him. Is it not most rediculous, Mynheer Paul?" + +"I think you are here because you are a brave man, Mr. +Heemskerk," replied Paul, "and wish to see punishment inflicted +upon those who have committed great crimes." + +"Not so! Not so! replied the Dutchman with energy. "It is +because I am one big fool. I am not really a big enough man to +be as big a fool as I am, but so it is! so it is!" Shif'less +Sol regarded him critically, and then spoke gravely and with +deliberation: " It ain't that, Mr. Heemskerk, an' Paul ain't +told quite all the truth, either. I've heard that the Dutch was +the most powerfullest fightin' leetle nation on the globe; that +all you had to do wuz to step on the toe uv a Dutchman's wooden +shoe, an' all the men, women, an' children in Holland would jump +right on top o' you all at once. Lookin' you up an' lookin' you +down, an' sizin' you up, an' sizin you down, all purty careful, +an' examinin' the corners O' your eyes oncommon close, an' also +lookin' at the way you set your feet when you walk, I'm +concludin' that you just natcherally love a fight, an' that you +are lookin' fur one." + +But Cornelius Heemskerk sighed, and shook his head. + +"It is flattery that you give me, and you are trying to make me +brave when I am not," he said. "I only say once more that I +ought to be in Holland painting blue plates, and not here in the +great woods holding on to my scalp, first with one hand and then +with the other." + +He sighed deeply, but Solomon Hyde, reader of the hearts of men, +only laughed. + +Colonel Butler's force stopped about three o'clock for food and a +little rest, and the five, who had not slept since the night +before, caught a few winks. But in less than an hour they were +up and away again. The five riflemen were once more well in +advance, and with them were Taylor and Heemskerk, the Dutchman, +grumbling over their speed, but revolving along, nevertheless, +with astonishing ease and without any sign of fatigue. They +discovered no indications of Indian scouts or trails, and as the +village now was not many miles away, it confirmed Henry in his +belief that the Iroquois, with their friends, the Wyandots, would +not stay to give battle. If Thayendanegea and Timmendiquas were +prepared for a strong resistance, the bullets of the skirmishers +would already be whistling through the woods. + +The waning evening grew colder, twilight came, and the autumn +leaves fell fast before the rising wind. The promise of the +night was dark, which was not bad for their design, and once more +the five-now the seven approached Oghwaga. From the crest of the +very same hill they looked down once more upon the Indian houses. + +"It is a great base for the Iroquois," said Henry to Heemskerk," +and whether the Indians have laid an ambush or not, Colonel +Butler must attack." + +"Ah," said Heemskerk, silently moving his round body to a little +higher point for a better view, "now I feel in all its fullness +the truth that I should be back in Holland, painting blue +plates." + +Nevertheless, Cornelius Heemskerk made a very accurate survey of +the Iroquois village, considering the distance and the brevity of +the time, and when the party went back to Colonel Butler to tell +him the way was open, he revolved along as swiftly as any of +them. There were also many serious thoughts in the back of his +head. + +At nine o'clock the little colonial force was within half a mile +of Oghwaga, and nothing had yet occurred to disclose whether the +Iroquois knew of their advance. Henry and his comrades, well in +front, looked down upon the town, but saw nothing. No light came +from an Indian chimney, nor did any dog howl. just behind them +were the troops in loose order, Colonel Butler impatiently +striking his booted leg with a switch, and William Gray seeking +to restrain his ardor, that he might set a good example to the +men. + +"What do you think, Mr. Ware?" asked Colonel Butler. + +"I think we ought to rush the town at once." + +"It is so!" exclaimed Heemskerk, forgetting all about painting +blue plates. + +"The signal is the trumpet; you blow it, Captain Gray, and then +we'll charge." + +William Gray took the trumpet from one of the men and blew a +long, thrilling note. Before its last echo was ended, the little +army rushed upon the town. Three or four shots came from the +houses, and the soldiers fired a few at random in return, but +that was all. Indian scouts had brought warning of the white +advance, and the great chiefs, gathering up all the people who +were in the village, had fled. A retreating warrior or two had +fired the shots, but when the white men entered this important +Iroquois stronghold they did not find a single human being. +Timmendiquas, the White Lightning of the Wyandots, was gone; +Thayendanegea, the real head of the Six Nations, had slipped +away; and with them had vanished the renegades. But they had +gone in haste. All around them were the evidences. The houses, +built of wood, were scores in number, and many of them contained +furniture such as a prosperous white man of the border would buy +for himself. There were gardens and shade trees about these, and +back of them, barns, many of them filled with Indian corn. +Farther on were clusters of bark lodges, which had been inhabited +by the less progressive of the Iroquois. + +Henry stood in the center of the town and looked at the houses +misty in the moonlight. The army had not yet made much noise, +but he was beginning to hear behind him the ominous +word,"Wyoming," repeated more than once. Cornelius Heemskerk had +stopped revolving, and, standing beside Henry, wiped his +perspiring, red face. + +"Now that I am here, I think again of the blue plates of Holland, +Mr. Ware," he said. "It is a dark and sanguinary time. The men +whose brethren were scalped or burned alive at Wyoming will not +now spare the town of those who did it. In this wilderness they +give blow for blow, or perish." + +Henry knew that it was true, but he felt a certain sadness. His +heart had been inflamed against the Iroquois, he could never +forget Wyoming or its horrors; but in the destruction of an +ancient town the long labor of man perished, and it seemed waste. +Doubtless a dozen generations of Iroquois children had played +here on the grass. He walked toward the northern end of the +village, and saw fields there from which recent corn had been +taken, but behind him the cry, "Wyoming!" was repeated louder and +oftener now. Then he saw men running here and there with +torches, and presently smoke and flame burst from the houses. He +examined the fields and forest for a little distance to see if +any ambushed foe might still lie among them, but all the while +the flame and smoke behind him were rising higher. + +Henry turned back and joined his comrades. Oghwaga was +perishing. The flames leaped from house to house, and then from +lodge to lodge. There was no need to use torches any more. The +whole village was wrapped in a mass of fire that grew and swelled +until the flames rose above the forest, and were visible in the +clear night miles away. + +So great was the heat that Colonel Butler and the soldiers and +scouts were compelled to withdraw to the edge of the forest. The +wind rose and the flames soared. Sparks flew in myriads, and +ashes fell dustily on the dry leaves of the trees. Bob Taylor, +with his hands clenched tightly, muttered under his breath, +"Wyoming! Wyoming!" + +"It is the Iroquois who suffer now," said Heemskerk, as he +revolved slowly away from a heated point. + +Crashes came presently as the houses fell in, and then the sparks +would leap higher and the flames roar louder. The barns, too, +were falling down, and the grain was destroyed. The grapevines +were trampled under foot, and the gardens were ruined. Oghwaga, +a great central base of the Six Nations, was vanishing forever. +For four hundred years, ever since the days of Hiawatha, the +Iroquois had waxed in power. They had ruled over lands larger +than great empires. They had built up political and social +systems that are the wonder of students. They were invincible in +war, because every man had been trained from birth to be a +warrior, and now they were receiving their first great blow. + +From a point far in the forest, miles away, Thayendanegea, +Timmendiquas, Hiokatoo, Sangerachte, "Indian" Butler, Walter +Butler, Braxton Wyatt, a low, heavybrowed Tory named Coleman, +with whom Wyatt had become very friendly, and about sixty +Iroquois and twenty Tories were watching a tower of light to the +south that had just appeared above the trees. It was of an +intense, fiery color, and every Indian in that gloomy band knew +that it was Oghwaga, the great, the inviolate, the sacred, that +was burning, and that the men who were doing it were the white +frontiersmen, who, his red-coated allies had told him, would soon +be swept forever from these woods. And they were forced to stand +and see it, not daring to attack so strong and alert a force. + +They sat there in the darkness among the trees, and watched the +column of fire grow and grow until it seemed to pierce the skies. +Timmendiquas never said a word. In his heart, Indian though he +was, he felt that the Iroquois had gone too far. In him was the +spirit of the farseeing Hiawatha. He could perceive that great +cruelty always brought retaliation; but it was not for him, +almost an alien, to say these things to Thayendanegea, the mighty +war chief of the Mohawks and the living spirit of the Iroquois +nation. + +Thayendanegea sat on the stump of a tree blown down by winter +storms. His arms were folded across his breast, and he looked +steadily toward that red threatening light off there in the +south. Some such idea as that in the mind of Timmendiquas may +have been passing in his own. He was an uncommon Indian, and he +had had uncommon advantages. He had not believed that the +colonists could make head against so great a kingdom as England, +aided by the allied tribes, the Canadians, and the large body of +Tories among their own people. But he saw with his own eyes the +famous Oghwaga of the Iroquois going down under their torch. + +"Tell me, Colonel John Butler," he said bitterly, where is your +great king now? Is his arm long enough to reach from London to +save our town of Oghwaga, which is perhaps as much to us as his +great city of London is to him?" + +The thickset figure of "Indian" Butler moved, and his swart face +flushed as much as it could. + +"You know as much about the king as I do, Joe Brant," he replied. +"We are fighting here for your country as well as his, and you +cannot say that Johnson's Greens and Butler's Rangers and the +British and Canadians have not done their part." + +"It is true," said Thayendanegea, "but it is true, also, that one +must fight with wisdom. Perhaps there was too much burning of +living men at Wyoming. The pain of the wounded bear makes him +fight the harder, and it, is because of Wyoming that Oghwaga +yonder burns. Say, is it not so, Colonel John Butler ?" + +"Indian" Butler made no reply, but sat, sullen and lowering. The +Tory, Coleman, whispered to Braxton Wyatt, but Timmendiquas was +the only one who spoke aloud. + +"Thayendanegea," he said, "I, and the Wyandots who are with me, +have come far. We expected to return long ago to the lands on +the Ohio, but we were with you in your village, and now, when +Manitou has turned his face from you for the time, we will not +leave you. We stay and fight by your side." + +Thayendanegea stood up, and Timmendiquas stood up, also. + +"You are a great chief, White Lightning of the Wyandots " he +said, " and you and I are brothers. I shall be proud and happy +to have such a mighty leader fighting with me. We will have +vengeance for this. The power of the Iroquois is as great as +ever." + +He raised himself to his full height, pointing to the fire, and +the flames of hate and resolve burned in his eyes. Old Hiokatoo, +the most savage of all the chiefs, shook his tomahawk, and a +murmur passed through the group of Indians. + +Braxton Wyatt still talked in whispers to his new friend, +Coleman, the Tory, who was more to his liking than the morose and +savage Walter Butler, whom he somewhat feared. Wyatt was perhaps +the least troubled of all those present. Caring for himself +only, the burning of Oghwaga caused him no grief. He suffered +neither from the misfortune of friend nor foe. He was able to +contemplate the glowing tower of light with curiosity only. +Braxton Wyatt knew that the Iroquois and their allies would +attempt revenge for the burning of Oghwaga, and he saw profit for +himself in such adventures. His horizon had broadened somewhat +of late. The renegade, Blackstaffe, had returned to rejoin Simon +Girty, but be had found a new friend in Coleman. He was coming +now more into touch with the larger forces in the East, nearer to +the seat of the great war, and he hoped to profit by it. + +"This is a terrible blow to Brant," Coleman whispered to him. +"The Iroquois have been able to ravage the whole frontier, while +the rebels, occupied with the king's troops, have not been able +to send help to their own. But they have managed to strike at +last, as you see." + +"I do see," said Wyatt, "and on the whole, Coleman, I'm not +sorry. Perhaps these chiefs won't be so haughty now, and they'll +soon realize that they need likely chaps such as you and me, eh, +Coleman." + +"You're not far from the truth," said Coleman, laughing a little, +and pleased at the penetration of his new friend. They did not +talk further, although the agreement between them was well +established. Neither did the Indian chiefs or the Tory leaders +say any more. They watched the tower of fire a long time, past +midnight, until it reached its zenith and then began to sink. +They saw its crest go down behind the trees, and they saw the +luminous cloud in the south fade and go out entirely, leaving +there only the darkness that reined everywhere else. + +Then the Indian and Tory leaders rose and silently marched +northward. It was nearly dawn when Henry and his comrades lay +down for the rest that they needed badly. They spread their +blankets at the edge of the open, but well back from the burned +area, which was now one great mass of coals and charred timbers, +sending up little flame but much smoke. Many of the troops were +already asleep, but Henry, before lying down, begged William Gray +to keep a strict watch lest the Iroquois attack from ambush. He +knew that the rashness and confidence of the borderers, +especially when drawn together in masses, had often caused them +great losses, and he was resolved to prevent a recurrence at the +present time if he could. He had made these urgent requests of +Gray, instead of Colonel Butler, because of the latter's youth +and willingness to take advice. + +"I'll have the forest beat up continually all about the town," he +said. "We must not have our triumph spoiled by any afterclap." + +Henry and his comrades, wrapped in their blankets, lay in a row +almost at the edge of the forest. The heat from the fire was +still great, but it would die down after a while, and the October +air was nipping. Henry usually fell asleep in a very few +minutes, but this time, despite his long exertions and lack of +rest, he remained awake when his comrades were sound asleep. +Then he fell into a drowsy state, in which be saw the fire rising +in great black coils that united far above. It seemed to Henry, +half dreaming and forecasting the future, that the Indian spirit +was passing in the smoke. + +When he fell asleep it was nearly daylight, and in three or four +hours be was up again, as the little army intended to march at +once upon another Indian town. The hours while he slept had +passed in silence, and no Indians had come near. William Gray +had seen to that, and his best scout had been one Cornelius +Heemskerk, a short, stout man of Dutch birth. + +"It was one long, long tramp for me, Mynheer Henry," said +Heemskerk, as he revolved slowly up to the camp fire where Henry +was eating his breakfast," and I am now very tired. It was like +walking four or five times around Holland, which is such a fine +little country, with the canals and the flowers along them, and +no great, dark woods filled with the fierce Iroquois." + +"Still, I've a notion, Mynheer Heemskerk, that you'd rather be +here, and perhaps before the day is over you will get some +fighting hot enough to please even you." + +Mynheer Heemskerk threw up his hands in dismay, but a half hour +later he was eagerly discussing with Henry the possibility of +overtaking some large band of retreating Iroquois. + +Urged on by all the scouts and by those who had suffered at +Wyoming, Colonel Butler gathered his forces and marched swiftly +that very morning up the river against another Indian town, +Cunahunta. Fortunately for him, a band of riflemen and scouts +unsurpassed in skill led the way, and saw to it that the road was +safe. In this band were the five, of course, and after them +Heemskerk, young Taylor, and several others. + +"If the Iroquois do not get in our way, we'll strike Cunahunta +before night," said Heemskerk, who knew the way. + +"It seems to me that they will certainly try to save their +towns," said Henry. "Surely Brant and the Tories will not let us +strike so great a blow without a fight." + +"Most of their warriors are elsewhere, Mynheer Henry," said +Heemskerk, " or they would certainly give us a big battle. We've +been lucky in the time of our advance. As it is, I think we'll +have something to do." + +It was now about noon, the noon of a beautiful October day of the +North, the air like life itself, the foliage burning red on the +hills, the leaves falling softly from the trees as the wind blew, +but bringing with them no hint of decay. None of the vanguard +felt fatigue, but when they crossed a low range of hills and saw +before them a creek flowing down to the Susquehanna, Henry, who +was in the lead, stopped suddenly and dropped down in the grass. +The others, knowing without question the significance of the +action, also sank down. + +"What is it, Henry ?" asked Shif'less Sol. + +"You see how thick the trees are on the other side of that bank. +Look a little to the left of a big oak, and you will see the +feathers in the headdress of an Iroquois. Farther on I think I +can catch a glimpse of a green coat, and if I am right that coat +is worn by one of Johnson's Royal Greens. It's an ambush, Sol, +an ambush meant for us." + +"But it's not an ambush intended for our main force, Mynheer +Henry," said Heemskerk, whose red face began to grow redder with +the desire for action. "I, too, see the feather of the +Iroquois." + +"As good scouts and skirmishers it's our duty, then, to clear +this force out of the way, and not wait for the main body to come +up, is it not?" asked Henry, with a suggestive look at the +Dutchman. + +"What a goot head you have, Mynheer Henry!" exclaimed Heemskerk. +"Of course we will fight, and fight now!" + +"How about them blue plates?" said Shif'less Sol softly. But +Heemskerk did not hear him. + +They swiftly developed their plan of action. There could be no +earthly doubt of the fact that the Iroquois and some Tories were +ambushed on the far side of the creek. Possibly Thayendanegea +himself, stung by the burning of Oghwaga and the advance on +Cunahunta, was there. But they were sure that it was not a large +band. + +The party of Henry and Heemskerk numbered fourteen, but every one +was a veteran, full of courage, tenacity, and all the skill of +the woods. They had supreme confidence in their ability to beat +the best of the Iroquois, man for man, and they carried the very +finest arms known to the time. + +It was decided that four of the men should remain on the hill. +The others, including the five, Heemskerk, and Taylor, would make +a circuit, cross the creek a full mile above, and come down on +the flank of the ambushing party. Theirs would be the main +attack, but it would be preceded by sharpshooting from the four, +intended to absorb the attention of the Iroquois. The chosen ten +slipped back down the hill, and as soon as they were sheltered +from any possible glimpse by the warriors, they rose and ran +rapidly westward. Before they had gone far they heard the crack +of a rifle shot, then another, then several from another point, +as if in reply. + +"It's our sharpshooters," said Henry. " They've begun to disturb +the Iroquois, and they'll keep them busy." + +"Until we break in on their sport and keep them still busier," +exclaimed Heemskerk, revolving swiftly through the bushes, his +face blazing red. + +It did not take long for such as they to go the mile or so that +they intended, and then they crossed the creek, wading in the +water breast high, but careful to keep their ammunition dry. +Then they turned and rapidly descended the stream on its northern +bank. In a few minutes they heard the sound of a rifle shot, and +then of another as if replying. + +"The Iroquois have been fooled," exclaimed Heemskerk. "Our four +good riflemen have made them think that a great force is there, +and they have not dared to cross the creek themselves and make an +attack." + +In a few minutes more, as they ran noiselessly through the +forest, they saw a little drifting smoke, and now and then the +faint flash of rifles. They were coming somewhere near to the +Iroquois band, and they practiced exceeding caution. Presently +they caught sight of Indian faces, and now and then one of +Johnson's Greens or Butler's Rangers. They stopped and held a +council that lasted scarcely more than half a minute. They all +agreed there was but one thing to do, and that was to attack in +the Indian's own way-that is, by ambush and sharpshooting. + +Henry fired the first shot, and an Iroquois, aiming at a foe on +the other side of the creek, fell. Heemskerk quickly followed +with a shot as good, and the surprised Iroquois turned to face +this new foe. But they and the Tories were a strong band, and +they retreated only a little. Then they stood firm, and the +forest battle began. The Indians numbered not less than thirty, +and both Braxton Wyatt and Coleman were with them, but the value +of skill was here shown by the smaller party, the one that +attacked. The frontiersmen, trained to every trick and wile of +the forest, and marksmen such as the Indians were never able to +become, continually pressed in and drove the Iroquois from tree +to tree. Once or twice the warriors started a rush, but they +were quickly driven back by sharpshooting such as they had never +faced before. They soon realized that this was no band of border +farmers, armed hastily for an emergency, but a foe who knew +everything that they knew, and more. + +Braxton Wyatt and his friend Coleman fought with the Iroquois, +and Wyatt in particular was hot with rage. He suspected that the +five who had defeated him so often were among these marksmen, and +there might be a chance now to destroy them all. He crept to the +side of the fierce old Seneca chief, Hiokatoo, and suggested that +a part of their band slip around and enfold the enemy. + +Old Hiokatoo, in the thick of battle now, presented his most +terrifying aspect. He was naked save the waist cloth, his great +body was covered with scars, and, as he bent a little forward, he +held cocked and ready in his hands a fine rifle that had been +presented to him by his good friend, the king. The Senecas, it +may be repeated, had suffered terribly at the Battle of the +Oriskany in the preceding year, and throughout these years of +border were the most cruel of all the Iroquois. In this respect +Hiokatoo led all the Senecas, and now Braxton Wyatt used as he +was to savage scenes, was compelled to admit to himself that this +was the most terrifying human being whom he had ever beheld. He +was old, but age in him seemed merely to add to his strength and +ferocity. The path of a deep cut, healed long since, but which +the paint even did not hide, lay across his forehead. Others +almost as deep adorned his right cheek, his chin, and his neck. +He was crouched much like a panther, with his rifle in his hands +and the ready tomahawk at his belt. But it was the extraordinary +expression of his eyes that made Braxton Wyatt shudder. He read +there no mercy for anything, not even for himself, Braxton Wyatt, +if he should stand in the way, and it was this last fact that +brought the shudder. + +Hiokatoo thought it a good plan. Twenty warriors, mostly Senecas +and Cayugas, were detailed to execute it at once, and they stole +off toward the right. Henry had suspected some such diversion, +and, as he had been joined now by the four men from the other +side of the creek, he disposed his little force to meet it. Both +Shif'less Sol and Heemskerk had caught sight of figures slipping +away among the trees, and Henry craftily drew back a little. +While two or three men maintained the sharpshooting in the front, +he waited for the attack. It came in half an hour, the flanking +force making a savage and open rush, but the fire of the white +riflemen was so swift and deadly that they were driven back +again. But they had come very near, and a Tory rushed directly +at young Taylor. The Tory, like Taylor, had come from Wyoming, +and he had been one of the most ruthless on that terrible day. +When they were less than a dozen feet apart they recognized each +other. Henry saw the look that passed between them, and, +although he held a loaded rifle in his hand, for some reason he +did not use it. The Tory fired a pistol at Taylor, but the +bullet missed, and the Wyoming youth, leaping forth, swung his +unloaded rifle and brought the stock down with all his force upon +the head of his enemy. The man, uttering a single sound, a sort +of gasp, fell dead, and Taylor stood over him, still trembling +with rage. In an instant Henry seized him and dragged him down, +and then a Seneca bullet whistled where he had been. + +"He was one of the worst at Wyoming-I saw him!" exclaimed young +Taylor, still trembling all over with passion. + +"He'll never massacre anybody else. You've seen to that," said +Henry, and in a minute or two Taylor was quiet. The +sharpshooting continued, but here as elsewhere, the Iroquois had +the worst of it. Despite their numbers, they could not pass nor +flank that line of deadly marksmen who lay behind trees almost in +security, and who never missed. Another Tory and a chief, also, +were killed, and Braxton Wyatt was daunted. Nor did he feel any +better when old Hiokatoo crept to his side. + +"We have failed here," he said. "They shoot too well for us to +rush them. We have lost good men." Hiokatoo frowned, and the +scars on his face stood out in livid red lines. + +"It is so," he said. " These who fight us now are of their best, +and while we fight, the army that destroyed Oghwaga is coming up. +Come, we will go." + +The little white band soon saw that the Indians were gone +from their front. They scouted some distance, and, finding no +enemy, hurried back to Colonel Butler. The troops were pushed +forward, and before night they reached Cunahunta, which they +burned also. Some farther advance was made into the Indian +country, and more destruction was done, but now the winter was +approaching, and many of the men insisted upon returning home to +protect their families. Others were to rejoin the main +Revolutionary army, and the Iroquois campaign was to stop for the +time. The first blow had been struck, and it was a hard one, but +the second blow and third and fourth and more, which the five +knew were so badly needed, must wait. + +Henry and his comrades were deeply disappointed. They had hoped +to go far into the Iroquois country, to break the power of the +Six Nations, to hunt down the Butlers and the Johnsons and Brant +himself, but they could not wholly blame their commander. The +rear guard, or, rather, the forest guard of the Revolution, was a +slender and small force indeed. + +Henry and his comrades said farewell to Colonel Butler with much +personal regret, and also to the gallant troops, some of whom +were Morgan's riflemen from Virginia. The farewells to William +Gray, Bob Taylor, and Cornelius Heemskerk were more intimate. + +"I think we'll see more of one another in other campaigns," said +Gray. + +"We'll be on the battle line, side by side, once more," said +Taylor, "and we'll strike another blow for Wyoming." + +"I foresee," said Cornelius Heemskerk, "that I, a peaceful man, +who ought to be painting blue plates in Holland, will be drawn +into danger in the great, dark wilderness again, and that you +will be there with me, Mynheer Henry, Mynheer Paul, Mynheer the +Wise Solomon, Mynheer the Silent Tom, and Mynheer the Very Long +James. I see it clearly. I, a man of peace, am always being +pushed in to war." + +"We hope it will come true," said the five together. + +"Do you go back to Kentucky?" asked William Gray. + +"No," replied Henry, speaking for them all, " we have entered +upon this task here, and we are going to stay in it until it is +finished." + +"It is dangerous, the most dangerous thing in the world," said +Heemskerk. "I still have my foreknowledge that I shall stand by +your side in some great battle to come, but the first thing I +shall do when I see you again, my friends, is to look around at +you, one, two, three, four, five, and see if you have upon your +heads the hair which is now so rich, thick, and flowing." + +"Never fear, my friend," said Henry, "we have fought with the +warriors all the way from the Susquehanna to New Orleans and not +one of us has lost a single lock of hair." + +"It is one Dutchman's hope that it will always be so," said +Heemskerk, and then he revolved rapidly away lest they see his +face express emotion. + +The five received great supplies of powder and bullets from +Colonel Butler, and then they parted in the forest. Many of the +soldiers looked back and saw the five tall figures in a line, +leaning upon the muzzles of their long-barreled Kentucky rifles, +and regarding them in silence. It seemed to the soldiers that +they had left behind them the true sons of the wilderness, who, +in spite of all dangers, would be there to welcome them when they +returned. + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE DESERTED CABIN + + +When the last soldier had disappeared among the trees, Henry +turned to the others. "Well, boys," he asked, "what are you +thinking about?" + +"I?" asked Paul. "I'm thinking about a certain place I know, a +sort of alcove or hole in a cliff above a lake." + +"An' me?" said Shif'less Sol. "I'm thinkin' how fur that alcove +runs back, an' how it could be fitted up with furs an' made warm +fur the winter." + +"Me?" said Tom Ross. "I'm thinkin' what a snug place that alcove +would be when the snow an' hail were drivin' down the creek in +front of you." + +"An' ez fur me," said Long Jim Hart, "I wuz thinkin' I could run +a sort uv flue from the back part uv that alcove out through the +front an' let the smoke pass out. I could cook all right. It +wouldn't be ez good a place fur cookin' ez the one we hed that +time we spent the winter on the island in the lake, but 'twould +serve." + +"It's strange," said Henry, " but I've been thinking of all the +things that all four of you have been thinking about, and, since +we are agreed, we are bound to go straight to 'The Alcove' and +pass the winter there." + +Without another word he led the way, and the others followed. It +was apparent to everyone that they must soon find a winter base, +because the cold had increased greatly in the last few days. The +last leaves had fallen from the trees, and a searching wind +howled among the bare branches. Better shelter than blankets +would soon be needed. + +On their way they passed Oghwaga, a mass of blackened ruins, +among which wolves howled, the same spectacle that Wyoming now +afforded, although Oghwaga had not been stained by blood. + +It was a long journey to "The Alcove," but they did not hurry, +seeing no need of it, although they were warned of the wisdom of +their decision by the fact that the cold was increasing. The +country in which the lake was situated lay high, and, as all of +them were quite sure that the cold was going to be great there, +they thought it wise to make preparations against it, which they +discussed as they walked in, leisurely fashion through the woods. +They spoke, also, of greater things. All felt that they had been +drawn into a mightier current than any in which they had swam +before. They fully appreciated the importance to the Revolution +of this great rearguard struggle, and at present they did not +have the remotest idea of returning to Kentucky under any +circumstances. + +"We've got to fight it out with Braxton Wyatt and the Iroquois," +said Henry. "I've heard that Braxton is organizing a band of +Tories of his own, and that he is likely to be as dangerous as +either of the Butlers." + +"Some day we'll end him for good an' all," said Shif'less Sol. + +It was four or five days before they reached their alcove, and +now all the forest was bare and apparently lifeless. They came +down the creek, and found their boat unharmed and untouched still +among the foliage at the base of the cliff. + +"That's one thing safe," said Long Jim, "an' I guess we'll find +'The Alcove' all right, too." + +"Unless a wild animal has taken up its abode there," said Paul. + +"'Tain't likely," replied Long Jim. "We've left the human smell +thar, an' even after all this time it's likely to drive away any +prowlin' bear or panther that pokes his nose in." + +Long Jim was quite right. Their snug nest, like that of a +squirrel in the side of a tree, had not been disturbed. The +skins which they had rolled up tightly and placed on the higher +shelves of stone were untouched, and several days' hunting +increased the supply. The hunting was singularly easy, and, +although the five did not know it, the quantity of game was much +greater in that region than it had been for years. It had been +swept of human beings by the Iroquois and Tory hordes, and deer, +bear, and panther seemed to know instinctively that the woods +were once more safe for them. + +In their hunting they came upon the ruins of charred houses, and +more than once they saw something among the coals that caused +them to turn away with a shudder. At every place where man had +made a little opening the wilderness was quickly reclaiming its +own again. Next year the grass and the foliage would cover up +the coals and the hideous relics that lay among them. + +They jerked great quantities of venison on the trees on the cliff +side, and stored it in "The Alcove." They also cured some bear +meat, and, having added a further lining of skins, they felt +prepared for winter. They had also added to the comfort of the +place. They had taken the precaution of bringing with them two +axes, and with the heads of these they smoothed out more of the +rough places on the floor and sides of "The Alcove." They thought +it likely, too, that they would need the axes in other ways later +on. + +Only once during these arrangements did they pass the trail of +Indians, and that was made by a party of about twenty, at least +ten miles from "The Alcove." They seemed to be traveling north, +and the five made no investigations. Somewhat later they met a +white runner in the forest, and he told them of the terrible +massacre of Cherry Valley. Walter Butler, emulating his father's +exploit at Wyoming, had come down with a mixed horde of Iroquois, +Tories, British, and Canadians. He had not been wholly +successful, but he had slaughtered half a hundred women and +children, and was now returning northward with prisoners. Some +said, according to the runner, that Thayendanegea had led the +Indians on this occasion, but, as the five learned later, he had +not come up until the massacre was over. The runner added +another piece of information that interested them deeply. Butler +had been accompanied to Cherry Valley by a young Tory or renegade +named Wyatt, who had distinguished himself by cunning and +cruelty. It was said that Wyatt had built up for himself a +semi-independent command, and was becoming a great scourge. + +"That's our Braxton," said Henry. "He is rising to his +opportunities. He is likely to become fully the equal of Walter +Butler." + +But they could do nothing at present to find Wyatt, and they went +somewhat sadly back to "The Alcove." They had learned also from +the runner that Wyatt had a lieutenant, a Tory named Coleman, and +this fact increased their belief that Wyatt was undertaking to +operate on a large scale. + +"We may get a chance at him anyhow," said Henry. "He and his +band may go too far away from the main body of the Indians and +Tories, and in that case we can strike a blow if we are +watchful." + +Every one of the five, although none of them knew it, received an +additional impulse from this news about Braxton Wyatt. He had +grown up with them. Loyalty to the king had nothing to do with +his becoming a renegade or a Tory; he could not plead lost lands +or exile for taking part in such massacres as Wyoming or Cherry +Valley, but, long since an ally of the Indians, he was now at the +head of a Tory band that murdered and burned from sheer pleasure. + +"Some day we'll get him, as shore as the sun rises an' sets," +said Shif'less Sol, repeating Henry's prediction. + +But for the present they "holed up," and now their foresight was +justified. To such as they, used to the hardships of forest +life, "The Alcove" was a cheery nest. From its door they watched +the wild fowl streaming south, pigeons, ducks, and others +outlined against the dark, wintry skies. So numerous were these +flocks that there was scarcely a time when they did not see one +passing toward the warm South. + +Shif'less Sol and Paul sat together watching a great flock of +wild geese, arrow shaped, and flying at almost incredible speed. +A few faint honks came to them, and then the geese grew misty on +the horizon. Shif'less Sol followed them with serious eyes. + +"Do you ever think, Paul," he said, "that we human bein's ain't +so mighty pow'ful ez we think we are. We kin walk on the groun', +an' by hard learnin' an' hard work we kin paddle through the +water a little. But jest look at them geese flyin' a mile high, +right over everything, rivers, forests any mountains, makin' a +hundred miles an hour, almost without flappin' a wing. Then they +kin come down on the water an' float fur hours without bein' +tired, an' they kin waddle along on the groun', too. Did you +ever hear of any men who had so many 'complishments? Why, Paul, +s'pose you an' me could grow wings all at once, an' go through +the air a mile a minute fur a month an' never git tired." + +"We'd certainly see some great sights," said Paul, "but do you +know, Sol, what would be the first thing I'd do if I had the gift +of tireless wings?" + +"Fly off to them other continents I've heard you tell about." + +"No, I'd swoop along over the forests up here until I picked out +all the camps of the Indians and Tories. I'd pick out the +Butlers and Braxton Wyatt and Coleman, and see what mischief they +were planning. Then I'd fly away to the East and look down at +all the armies, ours in buff and blue, and the British redcoats. +I'd look into the face of our great commander-in-chief. Then I'd +fly away back into the West and South, and I'd hover over +Wareville. I'd see our own people, every last little one of +them. They might take a shot at me, not knowing who I was, but +I'd be so high up in the air no bullet could reach me. Then I'd +come soaring back here to you fellows." + +"That would shorely be a grand trip, Paul," said Shif'less Sol, " +an' I wouldn't mind takin' it in myself. But fur the present +we'd better busy our minds with the warnin's the wild fowl are +givin' us, though we're well fixed fur a house already. It's +cu'rus what good homes a handy man kin find in the wilderness." + +The predictions of the wild fowl were true. A few days later +heavy clouds rolled up in the southwest, and the five watched +them, knowing what they would bring them. They spread to the +zenith and then to the other horizon, clothing the whole circle +of the earth. The great flakes began to drop down, slowly at +first, then faster. Soon all the trees were covered with white, +and everything else, too, except the dark surface of the lake, +which received the flakes into its bosom as they fell. + +It snowed all that day and most of the next, until it lay about +two feet on the ground. After that it turned intensely cold, the +surface of the snow froze, and ice, nearly a foot thick, covered +the lake. It was not possible to travel under such circumstances +without artificial help, and now Tom Ross, who had once hunted in +the far North, came to their help. He showed them how to make +snowshoes, and, although all learned to use them, Henry, with his +great strength and peculiar skill, became by far the most expert. + +As the snow with its frozen surface lay on the ground for weeks, +Henry took many long journeys on the snowshoes. Sometimes be +hunted, but oftener his role was that of scout. He cautioned his +friends that he might be out-three or four days at a time, and +that they need take no alarm about him unless his absence became +extremely long. The winter deepened, the snow melted, and +another and greater storm came, freezing the surface, again +making the snowshoes necessary. Henry decided now to take a +scout alone to the northward, and, as the others bad long since +grown into the habit of accepting his decisions almost without +question, be started at once. He was well equipped with his +rifle, double barreled pistol, hatchet, and knife, and he carried +in addition a heavy blanket and some jerked venison. He put on +his snowshoes at the foot of the cliff, waved a farewell to the +four heads thrust from "The Alcove" above, and struck out on the +smooth, icy surface of the creek. From this he presently passed +into the woods, and for a long time pursued a course almost due +north. + +It was no vague theory that had drawn Henry forth. In one of his +journeyings be had met a hunter who told him of a band of Tories +and Indians encamped toward the north, and he had an idea that it +was the party led by Braxton Wyatt. Now he meant to see. + +His information was very indefinite, and he began to discover +signs much earlier than he had expected. Before the end of the +first day he saw the traces of other snowshoe runners on the icy +snow, and once he came to a place where a deer had been slain and +dressed. Then he came to another where the snow had been +hollowed out under some pines to make a sleeping place for +several men. Clearly he was in the land of the enemy again, and +a large and hostile camp might be somewhere near. + +Henry felt a thrill of joy when he saw these indications. All +the primitive instincts leaped up within him. A child of the +forest and of elemental conditions, the warlike instinct was +strong within him. He was tired of hunting wild animals, and now +there was promise of a' more dangerous foe. For the purposes +that he had in view he was glad that be was alone. The wintry +forest, with its two feet of snow covered with ice, contained no +terrors for him. He moved on his snowshoes almost like a skater, +and with all the dexterity of an Indian of the far North, who is +practically born on such shoes. + +As he stood upon the brow of a little hill, elevated upon his +snowshoes, he was, indeed, a wonderful figure. The added height +and the white glare from the ice made him tower like a great +giant. He was clad completely in soft, warm deerskin, his hands +were gloved in the same material, and the fur cap was drawn +tightly about his head and ears. The slender-barreled rifle lay +across his shoulder, and the blanket and deer meat made a light +package on his back. Only his face was uncovered, and that was +rosy with the sharp but bracing cold. But the resolute blue eyes +seemed to have grown more resolute in the last six months, and +the firm jaw was firmer than ever. + +It was a steely blue sky, clear, hard, and cold, fitted to the +earth of snow and ice that it inclosed. His eyes traveled the +circle of the horizon three times, and at the end of the third +circle he made out a dim, dark thread against that sheet of blue +steel. It was the light of a camp fire, and that camp fire must +belong to an enemy. It was not likely that anybody else would be +sending forth such a signal in this wintry wilderness. + +Henry judged that the fire was several miles away, and apparently +in a small valley hemmed in by hills of moderate height. He made +up his mind that the band of Braxton Wyatt was there, and he +intended to make a thorough scout about it. He advanced until +the smoke line became much thicker and broader, and then he +stopped in the densest clump of bushes that he could find. He +meant to remain there until darkness came, because, with all +foliage gone from the forest, it would be impossible to examine +the hostile camp by day. The bushes, despite the lack of leaves, +were so dense that they hid him well, and, breaking through the +crust of ice, he dug a hole. Then, having taken off his +snowshoes and wrapped his blanket about his body, he thrust +himself into the hole exactly like a rabbit in its burrow. He +laid his shoes on the crust of ice beside him. Of course, if +found there by a large party of warriors on snowshoes he would +have no chance to flee, but he was willing to take what seemed to +him a small risk. The dark would not be long in coming, and it +was snug and warm in the hole. As he sat, his head rose just +above the surrounding ice, but his rifle barrel rose much higher. +He ate a little venison for supper, and the weariness in the +ankles that comes from long traveling on snowshoes disappeared. + +He could not see outside the bushes, but he listened with those +uncommonly keen ears of his. No sound at all came. There was +not even a wind to rustle the bare boughs. The sun hung a huge +red globe in the west, and all that side of the earth was tinged +with a red glare, wintry and cold despite its redness. Then, as +the earth turned, the sun was lost behind it, and the cold dark +came. + +Henry found it so comfortable in his burrow that all his muscles +were soothed, and he grew sleepy. It would have been very +pleasant to doze there, but he brought himself round with an +effort of the will, and became as wide awake as ever. He was +eager to be off on his expedition, but he knew how much depended +on waiting, and he waited. One hour, two hours, three hours, +four hours, still and dark, passed in the forest before he roused +himself from his covert. Then, warm, strong, and tempered like +steel for his purpose, he put on his snowshoes, and advanced +toward the point from which the column of smoke had risen. + +He had never been more cautious and wary than he was now. He was +a formidable figure in the darkness, crouched forward, and moving +like some spirit of the wilderness, half walking, half gliding. + +Although the night had come out rather clear, with many cold +stars twinkling in the blue, the line of smoke was no longer +visible. But Henry did not expect it to be, nor did he need it. +He had marked its base too clearly in his mind to make any +mistake, and he advanced with certainty. He came presently into +an open space, and he stopped with amazement. Around him were +the stumps of a clearing made recently, and near him were some +yards of rough rail fence. + +He crouched against the fence, and saw on the far side of the +clearing the dim outlines of several buildings, from the chimneys +of two of which smoke was rising. It was his first thought that +he had come upon a little settlement still held by daring +borderers, but second thought told him that it was impossible. +Another and more comprehensive look showed many signs of ruin. +He saw remains of several burned houses, but clothing all was the +atmosphere of desolation and decay that tells when a place is +abandoned. The two threads of smoke did not alter this +impression. + +Henry divined it all. The builders of this tiny village in the +wilderness bad been massacred or driven away. A part of the +houses had been destroyed, some were left standing, and now there +were visitors. He advanced without noise, keeping behind the +rail fence, and approaching one of the houses from the chimneys +of which the smoke came. Here be crouched a long time, looking +and listening attentively; but it seemed that the visitors had no +fears. Why should they, when there was nothing that they need +fear in this frozen wilderness? + +Henry stole a little nearer. It had been a snug, trim little +settlement. Perhaps twenty-five or thirty people had lived +there, literally hewing a home out of the forest. His heart +throbbed with a fierce hatred and, anger against those who had +spoiled all this, and his gloved finger crept to the hammer of +his rifle. + +The night was intensely cold. The mercury was far below zero, +and a wind that had begun to rise cut like the edge of a knife. +Even the wariest of Indians in such desolate weather might fail +to keep a watch. But Henry did not suffer. The fur cap was +drawn farther over chin and ears, and the buckskin gloves kept +his fingers warm and flexible. Besides, his blood was uncommonly +hot in his veins. + +His comprehensive eye told him that, while some of the buildings +had not been destroyed, they were so ravaged and damaged that +they could never be used again, save as a passing shelter, just +as they were being used now. He slid cautiously about the +desolate place. He crossed a brook, frozen almost solidly in its +bed, and he saw two or three large mounds that had been +haystacks, now covered with snow. + +Then he slid without noise back to the nearest of the houses from +which the smoke came. It was rather more pretentious than the +others, built of planks instead of logs, and with shingles for a +roof. The remains of a small portico formed the approach to the +front door. Henry supposed that the house had been set on fire +and that perhaps a heavy rain had saved a part of it. + +A bar of light falling across the snow attracted his attention. +He knew that it was the glow of a fire within coming through a +window. A faint sound of voices reached his ears, and he moved +forward slowly to the window. It was an oaken shutter originally +fastened with a leather strap, but the strap was gone, and now +some one had tied it, though not tightly, with a deer tendon. +The crack between shutter and wall was at least three inches, and +Henry could see within very well. + +He pressed his side tightly to the wall and put his eyes to the +crevice. What he saw within did not still any of those primitive +feelings that had risen so strongly in his breast. + +A great fire had been built in the log fireplace, but it was +burning somewhat low now, having reached that mellow period of +least crackling and greatest heat. The huge bed of coals threw a +mass of varied and glowing colors across the floor. Large holes +had been burned in the side of the room by the original fire, but +Indian blankets had been fastened tightly over them. + +In front of the fire sat Braxton Wyatt in a Loyalist uniform, a +three-cornered hat cocked proudly on his head, and a small sword +by his side. He had grown heavier, and Henry saw that the face +had increased much in coarseness and cruelty. It had also +increased in satisfaction. He was a great man now, as he saw +great men, and both face and figure radiated gratification and +pride as he lolled before the fire. At the other corner, sitting +upon the floor and also in a Loyalist uniform, was his +lieutenant, Levi Coleman, older, heavier, and with a short, +uncommonly muscular figure. His face was dark and cruel, with +small eyes set close together. A half dozen other white men and +more than a dozen Indians were in the room. All these lay upon +their blankets on the floor, because all the furniture had been +destroyed. Yet they had eaten, and they lay there content in the +soothing glow of the fire, like animals that had fed well. Henry +was so near that he could hear every word anyone spoke. + +"It was well that the Indians led us to this place, eh, Levi?" +said Wyatt. + +"I'm glad the fire spared a part of it," said Coleman. "Looks as +if it was done just for us, to give us a shelter some cold winter +night when we come along. I guess the Iroquois Aieroski is +watching over us." + +Wyatt laughed. + +"You're a man that I like, Levi," he said. "You can see to the +inside of things. It would be a good idea to use this place as a +base and shelter, and make a raid on some of the settlements east +of the hills, eh, Levi?" + +"It could be done," said Coleman. "But just listen to that wind, +will you! On a night like this it must cut like a saber's edge. +Even our Iroquois are glad to be under a roof." + +Henry still gazed in at the crack with eyes that were lighted up +by an angry fire. So here was more talk of destruction and +slaughter! His gaze alighted upon an Indian who sat in a corner +engaged upon a task. Henry looked more closely, and saw that he +was stretching a blonde-haired scalp over a small hoop. A +shudder shook his whole frame. Only those who lived amid such +scenes could understand the intensity of his feelings. He felt, +too, a bitter sense of injustice. The doers of these deeds were +here in warmth and comfort, while the innocent were dead or +fugitives. He turned away from the window, stepping gently upon +the snowshoes. He inferred that the remainder of Wyatt's band +were quartered in the other house from which he had seen the +smoke rising. It was about twenty rods away, but he did not +examine it, because a great idea had been born suddenly in his +brain. The attempt to fulfill the idea would be accompanied by +extreme danger, but he did not hesitate a moment. He stole +gently to one of the half-fallen outhouses and went inside. Here +he found what he wanted, a large pine shelf that had been +sheltered from rain and that was perfectly dry. He scraped off a +large quantity of the dry pine until it formed almost a dust, and +he did not cease until he had filled his cap with it. Then he +cut off large splinters, until he had accumulated a great number, +and after that he gathered smaller pieces of half-burned pine. + +He was fully two hours doing this work, and the night advanced +far, but he never faltered. His head was bare, but he was +protected from the wind by a fragment of the outhouse wall. +Every two or three minutes he stopped and listened for the sound +of a creaking, sliding footstep on the snow, but, never hearing +any, he always resumed his work with the same concentration. All +the while the wind rose and moaned through the ruins of the +little village. When Henry chanced to raise his head above the +sheltering wall, it was like the slash of a knife across his +cheek. + +Finally he took half of the pine dust in his cap and a lot of the +splinters under his arm, and stole back to the house from which +the light had shone. He looked again through the crevice at the +window. The light had died down much more, and both Wyatt and +Coleman were asleep on the floor. But several of the Iroquois +were awake, although they sat as silent and motionless as stones +against the wall. + +Henry moved from the window and selected a sheltered spot beside +the plank wall. There he put the pine dust in a little heap on +the snow and covered it over with pine splinters, on top of which +he put larger pieces of pine. Then he went back for the +remainder of the pine dust, and built a similar pyramid against a +sheltered side of the second house. + +The most delicate part of his task had now come, one that good +fortune only could aid him in achieving, but the brave youth, his +heart aflame with righteous anger against those inside, still +pursued the work. His heart throbbed, but hand and eye were +steady. + +Now came the kindly stroke of fortune for which he had hoped. +The wind rose much higher and roared harder against the house. +It would prevent the Iroquois within, keen of ear as they were, +from hearing a light sound without. Then he drew forth his flint +and steel and struck them together with a hand so strong and +swift that sparks quickly leaped forth and set fire to the pine +tinder. Henry paused only long enough to see the flame spread to +the splinters, and then he ran rapidly to the other house, where +the task was repeated-he intended that his job should be +thorough. + +Pursuing this resolve to make his task complete, he came back to +the first house and looked at his fire. It had already spread to +the larger pieces of pine, and it could not go out now. The +sound made by the flames blended exactly with the roaring of the +wind, and another minute or two might pass before the Iroquois +detected it. + +Now his heart throbbed again, and exultation was mingled with his +anger. By the time the Iroquois were aroused to the danger the +flames would be so high that the wind would reach them. Then no +one could put them out. + +It might have been safer for him to flee deep into the forest at +once, but that lingering desire to make his task complete and, +also, the wish to see the result kept him from doing it. He +merely walked across the open space and stood behind a tree at +the edge of the forest. + +Braxton Wyatt and his Tories and Iroquois were very warm, very +snug, in the shelter of the old house with the great bed of coals +before them. They may even have been dreaming peaceful and +beautiful dreams, when suddenly an Iroquois sprang to his feet +and uttered a cry that awoke all the rest. + +"I smell smoke!" he exclaimed in his tongue, "and there is fire, +too! I hear it crackle outside!" + +Braxton Wyatt ran to the window and jerked it open. Flame and +smoke blew in his face. He uttered an angry cry, and snatched at +the pistol in his belt. + +"The whole side of the house is on fire!" he exclaimed. "Whose +neglect has done this?" + +Coleman, shrewd and observing, was at his elbow. + +"The fire was set on the outside," he said. "It was no +carelessness of our men. Some enemy has done this!" + +"It is true!" exclaimed Wyatt furiously. "Out, everybody! The +house burns fast!" + +There was a rush for the door. Already ashes and cinders were +falling about their heads. Flames leaped high, were caught by +the roaring winds, and roared with them. The shell of the house +would soon be gone, and when Tories and Iroquois were outside +they saw the remainder of their band pouring forth from the other +house, which was also in flames. + +No means of theirs could stop so great a fire, and they stood in +a sort of stupefaction, watching it as it was fanned to greatest +heights by the wind. + +All the remaining outbuildings caught, also, and in a few moments +nothing whatever would be left of the tiny village. Braxton +Wyatt and his band must lie in the icy wilderness, and they could +never use this place as a basis for attack upon settlements. + +"How under the sun could it have happened?" exclaimed Wyatt. + +"It didn't happen. It was done," said Coleman. "Somebody set +these houses on fire while we slept within. Hark to that!" + +An Iroquois some distance from the houses was bending over the +snow where it was not yet melted by the heat. He saw there the +track of snowshoes, and suddenly, looking toward the forest, +whither they led, he saw a dark figure flit away among the trees. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +HENRY'S SLIDE + + +Henry Ware, lingering at the edge of the clearing, his body +hidden behind one of the great tree trunks, had been watching the +scene with a fascinated interest that would not let him go. He +knew that his work there was done already. Everything would be +utterly destroyed by the flames which, driven by the wind, leaped +from one half-ruined building to another. Braxton Wyatt and his +band would have enough to do sheltering themselves from the +fierce winter, and the settlements could rest for a while at +least. Undeniably he felt exultation as be witnessed the +destructive work of his hand. The border, with its constant +struggle for-life and terrible deeds, bred fierce passions. + +In truth, although he did not know it himself, he stayed there to +please his eye and heart. A new pulse beat triumphantly every +time a timber, burned through, fell in, or a crash came from a +falling roof. He laughed inwardly as the flames disclosed the +dismay on the faces of the Iroquois and Tories, and it gave him +deep satisfaction to see Braxton Wyatt, his gaudy little sword at +his thigh, stalking about helpless. It was while he was looking, +absorbed in such feelings, that the warrior of the alert eye saw +him and gave the warning shout. + +Henry turned in an instant, and darted away among the trees, half +running, half sliding over the smooth, icy covering of the snow. +After him came warriors and some Tories who had put on their +snowshoes preparatory to the search through the forest for +shelter. Several bullets were fired, but he was too far away for +a good aim. He heard one go zip against a tree, and another cut +the surface of the ice near him, but none touched him, and he +sped easily on his snowshoes through the frozen forest. But +Henry was fully aware of one thing that constituted his greatest +danger. Many of these Iroquois had been trained all their lives +to snowshoes, while he, however powerful and agile, was +comparatively a beginner. He glanced back again and saw their +dusky figures running among the trees, but they did not seem to +be gaining. If one should draw too near, there was his rifle, +and no man, white or red, in the northern or southern forests, +could use it better. But for the present it was not needed. He +pressed it closely, almost lovingly, to his side, this best +friend of the scout and frontiersman. + +He had chosen his course at the first leap. It was southward, +toward the lake, and he did not make the mistake of diverging +from his line, knowing that some part of the wide half circle of +his pursuers would profit by it. + +Henry felt a great upward surge. He had been the victor in what +he meant to achieve, and he was sure that he would escape. The +cold wind, whistling by, whipped his blood and added new strength +to his great muscles. His ankles were not chafed or sore, and he +sped forward on the snowshoes, straight and true. Whenever he +came to a hill the pursuers would gain as he went up it, but when +he went down the other side it was he who gained. He passed +brooks, creeks, and once a small river, but they were frozen +over, many inches deep, and he did not notice them. Again it was +a lake a mile wide, but the smooth surface there merely increased +his speed. Always he kept a wary look ahead for thickets through +which he could not pass easily, and once he sent back a shout of +defiance, which the Iroquois answered with a yell of anger. + +He was fully aware that any accident to his snowshoes would prove +fatal, the slipping of the thongs on his ankles or the breaking +of a runner would end his flight, and in a long chase such an +accident might happen. It might happen, too, to one or more of +the Iroquois, but plenty of them would be left. Yet Henry had +supreme confidence in his snowshoes. He had made them himself, +he had seen that every part was good, and every thong had been +fastened with care. + +The wind which bad been roaring so loudly at the time of the fire +sank to nothing. The leafless trees stood up, the branches +unmoving. The forest was bare and deserted. All the animals, +big and little, had gone into their lairs. Nobody witnessed the +great pursuit save pursuers and pursued. Henry kept his +direction clear in his mind, and allowed the Iroquois to take no +advantage of a curve save once. Then he came to a thicket so +large that he was compelled to make a considerable circle to pass +it. He turned to the right, hence the Indians on the right +gained, and they sent up a yell of delight. He replied defiantly +and increased his speed. + +But one of the Indians, a flying Mohawk, had come dangerously +near-near enough, in fact, to fire a bullet that did not miss the +fugitive much. It aroused Henry's anger. He took it as an +indignity rather than a danger, and he resolved to avenge it. So +far as firing was concerned, he was at a disadvantage. He must +stop and turn around for his shot, while the Iroquois, without +even checking speed, could fire straight at the flying target, +ahead. + +Nevertheless, he took the chance. He turned deftly on the +snowshoes, fired as quick as lightning at the swift Mohawk, saw +him fall, then Whirled and resumed his flight. He had lost +ground, but he had inspired respect. A single man could not +afford to come too near to a marksman so deadly, and the three or +four who led dropped back with the main body. + +Now Henry made his greatest effort. He wished to leave the foe +far behind, to shake off his pursuit entirely. He bounded over +the ice and snow with great leaps, and began to gain. Yet he +felt at last the effects of so strenuous a flight. His breath +became shorter; despite the intense cold, perspiration stood upon +his face, and the straps that fastened the snowshoes were chafing +his ankles. An end must come even to such strength as his. +Another backward look, and he saw that the foe was sinking into +the darkness. If he could only increase his speed again, be +might leave the Iroquois now. He made a new call upon the will, +and the body responded. For a few minutes his speed became +greater. A disappointed shout arose behind him, and several +shots were fired. But the bullets fell a hundred yards short, +and then, as he passed over a little hill and into a wood beyond, +he was hidden from the sight of his pursuers. + +Henry knew that the Iroquois could trail him over the snow, but +they could not do it at full speed, and he turned sharply off at +an angle. Pausing a second or two for fresh breath, he continued +on his new course, although not so fast as before. He knew that +the Iroquois would rush straight ahead, and would not discover +for two or three minutes that they were off the trail. It would +take them another two or three minutes to recover, and he would +make a gain of at least five minutes. Five minutes had saved the +life of many a man on the border. + +How precious those five minutes were! He would take them all. +He ran forward some distance, stopped where the trees grew thick, +and then enjoyed the golden five, minute by minute. He had felt +that he was pumping the very lifeblood from his heart. His +breath had come painfully, and the thongs of the snowshoes were +chafing his ankles terribly. But those minutes were worth a +year. Fresh air poured into his lungs, and the muscles became +elastic once more. In so brief a space be had recreated himself. + +Resuming his flight, he went at a steady pace, resolved not to do +his utmost unless the enemy came in sight. About ten minutes +later he heard a cry far behind him, and he believed it to be a +signal from some Indian to the others that the trail was found +again. But with so much advantage he felt sure that he was now +quite safe. He ran, although at decreased speed, for about two +hours more, and then he sat down on the upthrust root of a great +oak. Here he depended most upon his ears. The forest was so +silent that he could hear any noise at a great distance, but +there was none. Trusting to his ears to warn him, he would +remain there a long time for a thorough rest. He even dared to +take off his snowshoes that he might rub his sore ankles, but he +wrapped his heavy blanket about his body, lest he take deep cold +in cooling off in such a temperature after so long a flight. + +He sat enjoying a half hour, golden like the five minutes, and +then he saw, outlined against the bright, moonlit sky, something +that told him he must be on the alert again. It was a single +ring of smoke, like that from a cigar, only far greater. It rose +steadily, untroubled by wind until it was dissipated. It meant +"attention!" and presently it was followed by a column of such +rings, one following another beautifully. The column said: " The +foe is near." Henry read the Indian signs perfectly. The rings +were made by covering a little fire with a blanket for a moment +and then allowing the smoke to ascend. On clear days such +signals could be seen a distance of thirty miles or more, and he +knew that they were full of significance. + +Evidently the Iroquois party had divided into two or more bands. +One had found his trail, and was signaling to the other. The +party sending up the smoke might be a half mile away, but the +others, although his trail was yet hidden from them, might be +nearer. It was again time for flight. + +He swiftly put on the snowshoes, neglecting no thong or lace, +folded the blanket on his back again, and, leaving the friendly +root, started once more. He ran forward at moderate speed for +perhaps a mile, when he suddenly heard triumphant yells on both +right and left. A strong party of Iroquois were coming up on +either side, and luck had enabled them to catch him in a trap. + +They were so near that they fired upon him, and one bullet nicked +his glove, but he was hopeful that after his long rest he might +again stave them off. He sent back no defiant cry, but, settling +into determined silence, ran at his utmost speed. The forest +here was of large trees, with no undergrowth, and he noticed that +the two parties did not join, but kept on as they had come, one +on the right and the other on the left. This fact must have some +significance, but he could not fathom it. Neither could he guess +whether the Indians were fresh or tired, but apparently they made +no effort to come within range of his rifle. + +Presently he made a fresh spurt of speed, the forest opened out, +and then both bands uttered a yell full of ferocity and joy, the +kind that savages utter only when they see their triumph +complete. + +Before, and far below Henry, stretched a vast, white expanse. He +had come to the lake, but at a point where the cliff rose high +like a mountain, and steep like a wall. The surface of the lake +was so far down that it was misty white like a cloud. Now he +understood the policy of the Indian bands in not uniting. They +knew that they would soon reach the lofty cliffs of the lake, and +if he turned to either right or left there was a band ready to +seize him. + +Henry's heart leaped up and then sank lower than ever before in +his life. It seemed that he could not escape from so complete a +trap, and Braxton Wyatt was not one who would spare a prisoner. +That was perhaps the bitterest thing of all, to be taken and +tortured by Braxton Wyatt. He was there. He could hear his +voice in one of the bands, and then the courage that never failed +him burst into fire again. + +The Iroquois were coming toward him, shutting him out from +retreat to either right or left, but not yet closing in because +of his deadly rifle. He gave them a single look, put forth his +voice in one great cry of defiance, and, rushing toward the edge +of the mighty cliff, sprang boldly over. + +As Henry plunged downward he heard behind him a shout of +amazement and chagrin poured forth from many Iroquois throats, +and, taking a single glance backward, he caught a glimpse of +dusky faces stamped with awe. But the bold youth had not made a +leap to destruction. In the passage of a second he had +calculated rapidly and well. While the cliff at first glance +seemed perpendicular, it could not be so. There was a slope +coated with two feet of snow, and swinging far back on the heels +of his snowshoes, he shot downward like one taking a tremendous +slide on a toboggan. Faster and faster he went, but deeper and +deeper he dug his shoes into the snow, until he lay back almost +flat against its surface. This checked his speed somewhat, but +it was still very great, and, preserving his self-control +perfectly, he prayed aloud to kindly Providence to save him from +some great boulder or abrupt drop. + +The snow from his runners flew in a continuous shower behind him +as he descended. Yet he drew himself compactly together, and +held his rifle parallel with his body. Once or twice, as he went +over a little ridge, he shot clear of the snow, but he held his +body rigid, and the snow beyond saved him from a severe bruise. +Then his speed was increased again, and all the time the white +surface of the lake below, seen dimly through the night and his +flight, seemed miles away. + +He might never reach that surface alive, but of one thing lie was +sure. None of the Iroquois or Tories had dared to follow. +Braxton Wyatt could have no triumph over him. He was alone in +his great flight. Once a projection caused him to turn a little +to one side. He was in momentary danger of turning entirely, and +then of rolling head over heels like a huge snowball, but with a +mighty effort he righted himself, and continued the descent on +the runners, with the heels plowing into the ice and the snow. + +Now that white expanse which had seemed so far away came miles +nearer. Presently he would be there. The impossible had become +possible, the unattainable was about to be attained. He gave +another mighty dig with his shoes, the last reach of the slope +passed behind him, and he shot out on the frozen surface of the +lake, bruised and breathless, but without a single broken bone. + +The lake was covered with ice a foot thick, and over this lay +frozen snow, which stopped Henry forty or fifty yards from the +cliff. There he lost his balance at last, and fell on his side, +where he lay for a few moments, weak, panting, but triumphant. + +When he stood upright again he felt his body, but he had suffered +nothing save some bruises, that would heal in their own good +time. His deerskin clothing was much torn, particularly on the +back, where he had leaned upon the ice and snow, but the folded +blanket had saved him to a considerable extent. One of his shoes +was pulled loose, and presently he discovered that his left ankle +was smarting and burning at a great rate. But he did not mind +these things at all, so complete was his sense of victory. He +looked up at the mighty white wall that stretched above him +fifteen hundred feet, and he wondered at his own tremendous +exploit. The wall ran away for miles, and the Iroquois could not +reach him by any easier path. He tried to make out figures on +the brink looking down at him, but it was too far away, and he +saw only a black line. + +He tightened the loose shoe and struck out across the lake. He +was far away from "The Alcove," and he did not intend to go +there, lest the Iroquois, by chance, come upon his trail and +follow it to the refuge. But as it was no more than two miles +across the lake at that point, and the Iroquois would have to +make a great curve to reach the other side, he felt perfectly +safe. He walked slowly across, conscious all the time of an +increasing pain in his left ankle, which must now be badly +swollen, and he did not stop until he penetrated some distance +among low bills. Here, under an overhanging cliff with thick +bushes in front, he found a partial shelter, which he cleared +out yet further. Then with infinite patience he built a fire +with splinters that he cut from dead boughs, hung his blanket in +front of it on two sticks that the flame might not be seen, took +off his snowshoes, leggins, and socks, and bared his ankles. +Both were swollen, but the left much more badly than the other. +He doubted whether he would be able to walk on the following day, +but he rubbed them a long time, both with the palms of his hands +and with snow, until they felt better. Then he replaced his +clothing, leaned back against the faithful snowshoes which had +saved his life, however much they had hurt his ankles, and gave +himself up to the warmth of the fire. + +It was very luxurious, this warmth and this rest, after so long +and terrible a flight, and he was conscious of a great +relaxation, one which, if he yielded to it completely, would make +his muscles so stiff and painful that he could not use them. +Hence he stretched his arms and legs many times, rubbed his +ankles again, and then, remembering that he had venison, ate +several strips. + +He knew that he had taken a little risk with the fire, but a fire +he was bound to have, and he fed it again until he had a great +mass of glowing coals, although there was no blaze. Then he took +down the blanket, wrapped himself in it, and was soon asleep +before the fire. He slept long and deeply, and although, when he +awoke, the day had fully come, the coals were not yet out +entirely. He arose, but such a violent pain from his left ankle +shot through him that he abruptly sat down again. As he bad +feared, it had swollen badly during the night, and he could not +walk. + +In this emergency Henry displayed no petulance, no striving +against unchangeable circumstance. He drew up more wood, which +he had stacked against the cliff, and put it on the coals. He +hung up the blanket once more in order that it might hide the +fire, stretched out his lame leg, and calmly made a breakfast off +the last of his venison. He knew be was in a plight that +might appall the bravest, but be kept himself in hand. It was +likely that the Iroquois thought him dead, crushed into a +shapeless mass by his frightful slide of fifteen hundred feet, +and he had little fear of them, but to be unable to walk and +alone in an icy wilderness without food was sufficient in itself. +He calculated that it was at least a dozen miles to "The Alcove," +and the chances were a hundred to one against any of his comrades +wandering his way. He looked once more at his swollen left +ankle, and he made a close calculation. It would be three days, +more likely four, before he could walk upon it. Could he endure +hunger that long? He could. He would! Crouched in his nest +with his back to the cliff, he had defense against any enemy in +his rifle and pistol. By faithful watching he might catch sight +of some wandering animal, a target for his rifle and then food +for his stomach. His wilderness wisdom warned him that there was +nothing to do but sit quiet and wait. + +He scarcely moved for hours. As long as he was still his ankle +troubled him but little. The sun came out, silver bright, but it +had no warmth. The surface of the lake was shown only by the +smoothness of its expanse; the icy covering was the same +everywhere over hills and valleys. Across the lake he saw the +steep down which he had slid, looming white and lofty. In the +distance it looked perpendicular, and, whatever its terrors, it +had, beyond a doubt, saved his life. He glanced down at his +swollen ankle, and, despite his helpless situation, he was +thankful that he had escaped so well. + +About noon he moved enough to throw up the snowbanks higher all +around himself in the fashion of an Eskimos house. Then he let +the fire die except some coals that gave forth no smoke, +stretched the blanket over his head in the manner of a roof, and +once more resumed his quiet and stillness. He was now like a +crippled animal in its lair, but he was warm, and his wound did +not hurt him. But hunger began to trouble him. He was young and +so powerful that his frame demanded much sustenance. Now it +cried aloud its need! He ate two or three handfuls of snow, and +for a few moments it seemed to help him a little, but his hunger +soon came back as strong as ever. Then he tightened his belt and +sat in grim silence, trying to forget that there was any such +thing as food. + +The effort of the will was almost a success throughout the +afternoon, but before night it failed. He began to have roseate +visions of Long Jim trying venison, wild duck, bear, and buffalo +steaks over the coals. He could sniff the aroma, so powerful had +his imagination become, and, in fancy, his month watered, while +its roof was really dry. They were daylight visions, and he knew +it well, but they taunted him and made his pain fiercer. He slid +forward a little to the mouth of his shelter, and thrust out his +rifle in the hope that be would see some wild creature, no matter +what; he felt that be could shoot it at any distance, and then he +would feast! + +He saw nothing living, either on earth or in the air, only +motionless white, and beyond, showing but faintly now through the +coming twilight, the lofty cliff that had saved him. + +He drew back into his lair, and the darkness came down. Despite +his hunger, he slept fairly well. In the night a little snow +fell at times, but his blanket roof protected him, and he +remained dry and warm. The new snow was, in a way, a +satisfaction, as it completely hid his trail from the glance of +any wandering Indian. He awoke the next morning to a gray, +somber day, with piercing winds from the northwest. He did not +feel the pangs of hunger until he had been awake about a half +hour, and then they came with redoubled force. Moreover, he bad +become weaker in the night, and, added to the loss of muscular +strength, was a decrease in the power of the will. Hunger was +eating away his mental as well as his physical fiber. He did not +face the situation with quite the same confidence that he felt +the day before. The wilderness looked a little more threatening. + +His lips felt as if he were suffering from fever, and his +shoulders and back were stiff. But he drew his belt tighter +again, and then uncovered his left ankle. The swelling had gone +down a little, and he could move it with more freedom than on the +day before, but he could not yet walk. Once more he made his +grim calculation. In two days he could certainly walk and hunt +game or make a try for "The Alcove," so far as his ankle was +concerned, but would hunger overpower him before that time? +Gaining strength in one direction, he was losing it in another. + +Now he began to grow angry with himself. The light inroad that +famine made upon his will was telling. It seemed incredible that +he, so powerful, so skillful, so self reliant, so long used to +the wilderness and to every manner of hardship, should be held +there in a snowbank by a bruised ankle to die like a crippled +rabbit. His comrades could not be more than ten miles away. He +could walk. He would walk! He stood upright and stepped out +into the snow, but pain, so agonizing that he could scarcely keep +from crying out, shot through his whole body, and he sank back +into the shelter, sure not to make such an experiment again for +another full day. + +The day passed much like its predecessor, except that he took +down the blanket cover of his snow hut and kindled up his fire +again, more for the sake of cheerfulness than for warmth, because +he was not suffering from cold. There was a certain life and +light about the coals and the bright flame, but the relief did +not last long, and by and by he let it go out. Then be devoted +himself to watching the heavens and the surface of the snow. +Some winter bird, duck or goose, might be flying by, or a +wandering deer might be passing. He must not lose any such +chance. He was more than ever a fierce creature of prey, sitting +at the mouth of his den, the rifle across his knee, his tanned +face so thin that the cheek bones showed high and sharp, his eyes +bright with fever and the fierce desire for prey, and the long, +lean body drawn forward as if it were about to leap. + +He thought often of dragging himself down to the lake, breaking a +hole in the ice, and trying to fish, but the idea invariably came +only to be abandoned. He had neither hook nor bait. In the +afternoon he chewed the edge of his buckskin hunting shirt, but +it was too thoroughly tanned and dry. It gave back no +sustenance. He abandoned the experiment and lay still for a long +time. + +That night he had a slight touch of frenzy, and began to laugh at +himself. It was a huge joke! What would Timmendiquas or +Thayendanegea think of him if they knew how he came to his end? +They would put him with old squaws or little children. And how +Braxton Wyatt and his lieutenant, the squat Tory, would laugh! +That was the bitterest thought of all. But the frenzy passed, +and he fell into a sleep which was only a succession of bad +dreams. He was running the gauntlet again among the Shawnees. +Again, kneeling to drink at the clear pool, he saw in the water +the shadow of the triumphant warrior holding the tomahawk above +him. One after another the most critical periods of his life +were lived over again, and then he sank into a deep torpor, from +which he did not rouse himself until far into the next day. + +Henry was conscious that he was very weak, but he seemed to have +regained much of his lost will. He looked once more at the fatal +left ankle. It had improved greatly. He could even stand upon +it, but when he rose to his feet he felt a singular dizziness. +Again, what he had gained in one way he had lost in another. The +earth wavered. The smooth surface of the lake seemed to rise +swiftly, and then to sink as swiftly. The far slope down which +he had shot rose to the height of miles. There was a pale tinge, +too, over the world. He sank down, not because of his ankle, but +because he was afraid his dizzy head would make him fall. + +The power of will slipped away again for a minute or two. He was +ashamed of such extraordinary weakness. He looked at one of his +hands. It was thin, like the band of a man wasted with fever, +and the blue veins stood out on the back of it. He could +scarcely believe that the hand was his own. But after the first +spasm of weakness was over, the precious will returned. He could +walk. Strength enough to permit him to hobble along had returned +to the ankle at last, and mind must control the rest of his +nervous system, however weakened it might be. He must seek food. + +He withdrew into the farthest recess of his covert, wrapped the +blanket tightly about his body, and lay still for a long time. +He was preparing both mind and body for the supreme effort. He +knew that everything hung now on the surviving remnants of his +skill and courage. + +Weakened by shock and several days of fasting, he had no great +reserve now except the mental, and he used that to the utmost. +It was proof of his youthful greatness that it stood the last +test. As he lay there, the final ounce of will and courage came. +Strength which was of the mind rather than of the body flowed +back into his veins; he felt able to dare and to do; the pale +aspect of the world went away, and once more he was Henry Ware, +alert, skillful, and always triumphant. + +Then he rose again, folded the blanket, and fastened it on his +shoulders. He looked at the snowshoes, but decided that his left +ankle, despite its great improvement, would not stand the strain. +He must break his way through the snow, which was a full three +feet in depth. Fortunately the crust had softened somewhat in +the last two or three days, and he did not have a covering of ice +to meet. + +He pushed his way for the first time from the lair under the +cliff, his rifle held in his ready hands, in order that he might +miss no chance at game. To an ordinary observer there would have +been no such chance at all. It was merely a grim white +wilderness that might have been without anything living from the +beginning. But Henry, the forest runner, knew better. Somewhere +in the snow were lairs much like the one that he had left, and in +these lairs were wild animals. To any such wild animal, whether +panther or bear, the hunter would now have been a fearsome +object, with his hollow cheeks, his sunken fiery eyes, and his +thin lips opening now and then, and disclosing the two rows of +strong white teeth. + +Henry advanced about a rod, and then he stopped, breathing hard, +because it was desperate work for one in his condition to break +his way through snow so deep. But his ankle stood the strain +well, and his courage increased rather than diminished. He was +no longer a cripple confined to one spot. While be stood +resting, he noticed a clump of bushes about half a rod to his +left, and a hopeful idea came to him. + +He broke his way slowly to the bushes, and then he searched +carefully among them. The snow was not nearly so thick there, +and under the thickest clump, where the shelter was best, he saw +a small round opening. In an instant all his old vigorous life, +all the abounding hope which was such a strong characteristic of +his nature, came back to him. Already he had triumphed over +Indians, Tories, the mighty slope, snow, ice, crippling, and +starvation. + +He laid the rifle on the snow and took the ramrod in his right +hand. He thrust his left hand into the hole, and when the rabbit +leaped for life from his warm nest a smart blow of the ramrod +stretched him dead at the feet of the hunter. Henry picked up +the rabbit. It was large and yet fat. Here was food for two +meals. In the race between the ankle and starvation, the ankle +had won. + +He did not give way to any unseemly elation. He even felt a +momentary sorrow that a life must perish to save his own, because +all these wild things were his kindred now. He returned by the +path that he had broken, kindled his fire anew, dexterously +skinned and cleaned his rabbit, then cooked it and ate half, +although he ate slowly and with intervals between each piece. +How delicious it tasted, and how his physical being longed to +leap upon it and devour it, but the power of the mind was still +supreme. He knew what was good for himself, and he did it. +Everything was done in order and with sobriety. Then he put the +rest of the rabbit carefully in his food pouch, wrapped the +blanket about his body, leaned back, and stretched his feet to +the coals. + +What an extraordinary change had come over the world in an hour! +He had not noticed before the great beauty of the lake, the lofty +cliffs on the farther shore, and the forest clothed in white and +hanging with icicles. + +The winter sunshine was molten silver, pouring down in a flood. + +It was not will now, but actuality, that made him feel the +strength returning to his frame. He knew that the blood in his +veins had begun to sparkle, and that his vitality was rising +fast. He could have gone to sleep peacefully, but instead he +went forth and hunted again. He knew that where the rabbit had +been, others were likely to be near, and before he returned he +had secured two more. Both of these he cleaned and cooked at +once. When this was done night had come, but he ate again, and +then, securing all his treasures about him, fell into the best +sleep that he had enjoyed since his flight. + +He felt very strong the next morning, and he might have started +then, but he was prudent. There was still a chance of meeting +the Iroquois, and the ankle might not stand so severe a test. He +would rest in his nest for another day, and then he would be +equal to anything. Few could lie a whole day in one place with +but little to do and with nothing passing before the eyes, but it +was a part of Henry's wilderness training, and he showed all the +patience of the forester. He knew, too, as the hours went by, +that his strength was rising all the while. To-morrow almost the +last soreness would be gone from his ankle and then he could +glide swiftly over the snow, back to his comrades. He was +content. He had, in fact, a sense of great triumph because he +had overcome so much, and here was new food in this example for +future efforts of the mind, for future victories of the will over +the body. The wintry sun came to the zenith, then passed slowly +down the curve, but all the time the boy scarcely stirred. Once +there was a flight of small birds across the heavens, and he +watched them vaguely, but apparently he took no interest. Toward +night he stood up in his recess and flexed and tuned his muscles +for a long time, driving out any stiffness that might come +through long lack of motion. Then he ate and lay down, but he +did not yet sleep. + +The night was clear, and he looked away toward the point where he +knew "The Alcove" lay. A good moon was now shining, and stars by +the score were springing out. Suddenly at a point on that far +shore a spark of red light appeared and twinkled. Most persons +would have taken it for some low star, but Henry knew better. It +was fire put there by human hand for a purpose, doubtless a +signal, and as he looked a second spark appeared by the first, +then a third, then a fourth. He uttered a great sigh of +pleasure. It was his four friends signaling to him somewhere in +the vast unknown that they were alive and well, and beckoning him +to come. The lights burned for fifteen or twenty minutes, and +then all went out together. Henry turned over on his side and +fell sound asleep. In the morning he put on his snowshoes and +started. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE SAFE RETURN + + +The surface of the snow had frozen again in the night, and Henry +found good footing for his shoes. For a while he leaned most on +the right ankle, but, as his left developed no signs of soreness, +he used them equally, and sped forward, his spirits rising at +every step. The air was cold, and there was but little breeze, +but his own motion made a wind that whipped his face. The +hollows were mostly gone from his cheeks, and his eyes no longer +had the fierce, questing look of the famishing wild animal in +search of prey. A fine red color was suffused through the brown +of his face. He had chosen his course with due precaution. The +broad surface, smooth, white, and glittering, tempted, but he put +the temptation away. He did not wish to run any chance whatever +of another Iroquois pursuit, and he kept in the forest that ran +down close to the water's edge. It was tougher traveling there, +but he persisted. + +But all thought of weariness and trouble was lost in his glorious +freedom. With his crippled ankle he had been really like a +prisoner in his cell, with a ball and chain to his foot. Now he +flew along, while the cold wind whipped his blood, and felt what +a delight it was merely to live. He went on thus for hours, +skirting down toward the cliffs that contained "The Alcove." He +rested a while in the afternoon and ate the last of his rabbit, +but before twilight he reached the creek, and stood at the hidden +path that led up to their home. + +Henry sat down behind thick bushes and took off his snowshoes. +To one who had never come before, the whole place would have +seemed absolutely desolate, and even to one not a stranger no +sign of life would have been visible had he not possessed +uncommonly keen eyes. But Henry had such eyes. He saw the +faintest wisp of smoke stealing away against the surface of the +cliff, and he felt confident that all four were there. He +resolved to surprise them. + +Laying the shoes aside, he crept so carefully up the path that he +dislodged no snow and made no noise of any kind. As be gradually +approached "The Alcove" he beard the murmur of voices, and +presently, as he turned an angle in the path, he saw a beam of +glorious mellow light falling on the snow. + +But the murmur of the voices sent a great thrill of delight +through him. Low and indistinct as they were, they had a +familiar sound. He knew all those tones. They were the voices +of his faithful comrades, the four who had gone with him through +so many perils and hardships, the little band who with himself +were ready to die at any time, one for another. + +He crept a little closer, and then a little closer still. Lying +almost flat on the steep path, and drawing himself forward, he +looked into "The Alcove." A fire of deep, red coals glowed in one +corner, and disposed about it were the four. Paul lay on his +elbow on a deerskin, and was gazing into the coals. Tom Ross was +working on a pair of moccasins, Long Jim was making some kind of +kitchen implement, and Shif'less Sol was talking. Henry could +hear the words distinctly, and they were about himself. + +"Henry will turn up all right," he was saying. "Hasn't he always +done it afore? Then ef he's always done it afore he's shorely +not goin' to break his rule now. I tell you, boys, thar ain't +enough Injuns an' Tories between Canady an' New Orleans, an' the +Mississippi an' the Atlantic, to ketch Henry. I bet I could +guess what he's doin' right at this moment." + +"What is he doing, Sol?" asked Paul. + +"When I shet my eyes ez I'm doin' now I kin see him," said the +shiftless one. "He's away off thar toward the north, skirtin' +around an Injun village, Mohawk most likely, lookin' an' +listenin' an' gatherin' talk about their plans." + +"He ain't doin' any sech thing," broke in Long Jim. + +"I've sleet my eyes, too, Sol Hyde, jest ez tight ez you've shet +yours, an' I see him, too, but he ain't doin' any uv the things +that you're talkin' about." + +"What is he doing, Jim?" asked Paul. + +"Henry's away off to the south, not to the north," replied the +long one, "an' he's in the Iroquois village that we burned. One +house has been left standin', an' he's been occupyin' it while +the big snow's on the groun'. A whole deer is hangin' from the +wall, an' he's been settin' thar fur days, eatin' so much an' +hevin' such a good time that the fat's hangin' down over his +cheeks, an' his whole body is threatenin' to bust right out uv +his huntin' shirt." + +Paul moved a little on his elbow and turned the other side of his +face to the fire. Then he glanced at the silent worker with the +moccasins. + +"Sol and Jim don't seem to agree much in their second sight," he +said. "Can you have any vision, too, Tom?" + +"Yes," replied Tom Ross, "I kin. I shet my eyes, but I don't see +like either Sol or Jim, 'cause both uv 'em see wrong. I see +Henry, an' I see him plain. He's had a pow'ful tough time. He +ain't threatenin' to bust with fat out uv no huntin' shirt, his +cheeks ain't so full that they are fallin' down over his jaws. +It's t'other way roun'; them cheeks are sunk a mite, he don't +fill out his clothes, an' when he crawls along he drags his left +leg a leetle, though he hides it from hisself. He ain't spyin' +on no Injun village, an' he ain't in no snug camp with a dressed +deer hangin' by the side uv him. It's t'other way 'roan'. He's +layin' almost flat on his face not twenty feet from us, lookin' +right in at us, an' I wuz the first to see him." + +All the others sprang to their feet in astonishment, and Henry +likewise sprang to his feet. Three leaps, and he was in the +mellow glow. + + +"And so you saw me, Tom," he exclaimed, as he joyously grasped +one hand after another. "I might have known that, while I could +stalk some of you, I could not stalk all of you." + +"I caught the glimpse uv you," said Silent Tom, while Sol an' Jim +wuz talkin' the foolish talk that they most always talk, an' when +Paul called on me, I thought I would give 'em a dream that 'wuz +true, an' worth tellin'." + +"You're right," said Henry. "I've not been having any easy time, +and for a while, boys, it looked as if I never would come back. +Sit down, and I will tell you all about it." + +They gave him the warmest place by the fire, brought him the +tenderest food, and he told the long and thrilling tale. + +"I don't believe anybody else but you would have tried it, +Henry," said Paul, when they heard of the fearful slide. + +"Any one of you would have done it," said Henry, modestly. + +"I'm pow'ful glad that you done it for two reasons," said +Shif'less Sol. "One, 'cause it helped you to git away, an' the +other, 'cause that scoundrel, Braxton Wyatt, didn't take you. +'Twould hurt my pride tre-men-jeous for any uv us to be took by +Braxton Wyatt." + +"You speak for us all there, Sol," said Paul. + +"What have all of you been doing?" asked Henry. + +"Not much of anything," replied Shif'less Sol. We've been +scoutin' several times, lookin' fur you, though we knowed you'd +come in some time or other, but mostly we've been workin' 'roun' +the place here, fixin' it up warmer an' storin' away food." + +"We'll have to continue at that for some time, I'm afraid," said +Henry, "unless this snow breaks up. Have any of you heard if any +movement is yet on foot against the Iroquois?" + +"Tom ran across some scouts from the militia," replied Paul, "and +they said nothing could be done until warm weather came. Then a +real army would march." + +"I hope so," said Henry earnestly. + +But for the present the five could achieve little. The snow +lasted a long time, but it was finally swept away by big rains. +It poured for two days and nights, and even when the rain ceased +the snow continued to melt under the warmer air. The water +rushed in great torrents down the cliffs, and would have entered +"The Alcove" had not the five made provision to turn it away. As +it was, they sat snug and dry, listening to the gush of the +water, the sign of falling snow, and the talk of one another. +Yet the time dragged. + +"Man wuz never made to be a caged animile," said Shif'less Sol. +"The longer I stay shet up in one place, the weaker I become. My +temper don't improve, neither, an' I ain't happy." + +"Guess it's the same with all uv us," said Tom Ross. + +But when the earth came from beneath the snow, although it was +still cold weather, they began again to range the forest far in +every direction, and they found that the Indians, and the Tories +also, were becoming active. There were more burnings, more +slaughters, and more scalpings. The whole border was still +appalled at the massacres of Wyoming and Cherry Valley, and the +savages were continually spreading over a wider area. Braxton +Wyatt at the head of his band, and with the aid of his Tory +lieutenant, Levi Coleman, had made for himself a name equal to +that of Walter Butler. As for "Indian" Butler and his men, no +men were hated more thoroughly than they. + +The five continued to do the best they could, which was much, +carrying many a warning, and saving some who would otherwise have +been victims. While they devoted themselves to their strenuous +task, great events in which they were to take a part were +preparing. The rear guard of the Revolution was about to become +for the time the main guard. A great eye had been turned upon +the ravaged and bleeding border, and a great mind, which could +bear misfortune-even disaster-without complaint, was preparing to +send help to those farther away. So mighty a cry of distress had +risen, that the power of the Iroquois must be destroyed. As the +warm weather came, the soldiers began to march. + +Rumors that a formidable foe was about to advance reached the +Iroquois and their allies, the Tories, the English, and the +Canadians. There was a great stirring among the leaders, +Thayendanegea, Hiokatoo, Sangerachte, the Johnsons, the Butlers, +Claus, and the rest. Haldimand, the king's representative in +Canada, sent forth an urgent call to all the Iroquois to meet the +enemy. The Tories were' extremely active. Promises were made to +the tribes that they should have other victories even greater +than those of Wyoming and Cherry Valley, and again the terrible +Queen Esther went among them, swinging her great war tomahawk +over her head and chanting her song of death. She, more than any +other, inflamed the Iroquois, and they were eager for the coming +contest. + +Timmendiquas had gone back to the Ohio country in the winter, +but, faithful to his promise to give Thayendanegea help to the +last, he returned in the spring with a hundred chosen warriors of +the Wyandot nation, a reenforcement the value of which could not +be estimated too highly. + +Henry and his comrades felt the stir as they roamed through the +forest, and they thrilled at the thought that the crisis was +approaching. Then they set out for Lake Otsego, where the army +was gathering for the great campaign. They were equipped +thoroughly, and they were now so well known in the region that +they knew they would be welcome. + +They traveled several days, and were preparing to encamp for the +last night within about fifteen miles of the lake when Henry, +scouting as usual to see if an enemy were near, heard a footstep +in the forest. He wheeled instantly to cover behind the body of +a great beech tree, and the stranger sought to do likewise, only +he had no convenient tree that was so large. It was about the +twelfth hour, but Henry could see a portion of a body protruding +beyond a slim oak, and he believed that he recognized it. As he +held the advantage he would, at any rate, hail the stranger. + +"Ho, Cornelius Heemskerk, Dutchman, fat man, great scout and +woodsman, what are you doing in my wilderness? Stand forth at +once and give an account of yourself, or I will shoot off the +part of your body that sticks beyond that oak tree!" + +The answer was instantaneous. A round, plump body revolved from +the partial shelter of the tree and stood upright in the open, +rifle in hand and cap thrown back from a broad ruddy brow. + +"Ho, Mynheer Henry Ware," replied Cornelius Heemskerk in a loud, +clear tone, "I am in your woods on perhaps the same errand that +you are. Come from behind that beech and let us see which has +the stronger grip." + +Henry stood forth, and the two clasped hands in a grip so +powerful that both winced. Then they released hands +simultaneously, and Heemskerk asked: + +"And the other four mynheers? Am I wrong to say that they are +near, somewhere ?" + +"You are not wrong," replied Henry. "They are alive, well and +hungry, not a mile from here. There is one man whom they would +be very glad to see, and his name is Cornelius Heemskerk, who is +roaming in our woods without a permit." + +The round, ruddy face of the Dutchman glowed. It was obvious +that he felt as much delight in seeing Henry as Henry felt in +seeing him. + +"My heart swells," he said. "I feared that you might have been +killed or scalped, or, at the best, have gone back to that far +land of Kentucky." + +"We have wintered well," said Henry, "in a place of which I shall +not tell you now, and we are here to see the campaign through." + +"I come, too, for the same purpose," said Heemskerk. "We shall be +together. It is goot." "Meanwhile," said Henry, "our camp +fire is lighted. Jim Hart, whom you have known of old, is +cooking strips of meat over the coals, and, although it is a mile +away, the odor of them is very pleasant in my nostrils. I wish +to go back there, and it will be all the more delightful to me, +and to those who wait, if I can bring with me such a welcome +guest." + +"Lead on, mynheer," said Cornelius Heemskerk sententiously. + +He received an equally emphatic welcome from the others, and then +they ate and talked. Heemskerk was sanguine. + +"Something will be done this time," he said. "Word has come from +the great commander that the Iroquois must be crushed. The +thousands who have fallen must be avenged, and this great fire +along our border must be stopped. If it cannot be done, then we +perish. We have old tales in my own country of the cruel deeds +that the Spaniards did long, long ago, but they were not worse +than have been done here." + +The five made no response, but the mind of every one of them +traveled back to Wyoming and all that they had seen there, and +the scars and traces of many more tragedies. + +They reached the camp on Lake Otsego the next day, and Henry saw +that all they had heard was true. The most formidable force that +they had ever seen was gathering. There were many companies in +the Continental buff and blue, epauletted officers, bayonets and +cannon. The camp was full of life, energy, and hope, and the +five at once felt the influence of it. They found here old +friends whom they had known in the march on Oghwaga, William +Gray, young Taylor, and others, and they were made very welcome. +They were presented to General James Clinton, then in charge, +received roving commissions as scouts and hunters, and with +Heemskerk and the two celebrated borderers, Timothy Murphy and +David Elerson, they roamed the forest in a great circle about the +lake, bringing much valuable information about the movements of +the enemy, who in their turn were gathering in force, while the +royal authorities were dispatching both Indians and white men +from Canada to help them. + +These great scouting expeditions saved the five from much +impatience. It takes a long time for an army to gather and then +to equip itself for the march, and they were so used to swift +motion that it was now a part of their nature. At last the army +was ready, and it left the lake. Then it proceeded in boats down +the Tioga flooded to a sufficient depth by an artificial dam +built with immense labor, to its confluence with the larger +river. Here were more men, and the five saw a new commander, +General James Sullivan, take charge of the united force. Then +the army, late in August, began its march upon the Iroquois. + +The five were now in the van, miles ahead of the main guard. +They knew that no important movement of so large a force could +escape the notice of the enemy, but they, with other scouts, made +it their duty to see that the Americans marched into no trap. + +It was now the waning summer. The leaves were lightly touched +with brown, and the grass had begun to wither. Berries were +ripening on the vines, and the quantity of game had increased, +the wild animals returning to the land from which civilized man +had disappeared. The desolation seemed even more complete than +in the autumn before. In the winter and spring the Iroquois and +Tories had destroyed the few remnants of houses that were left. +Braxton Wyatt and his band had been particularly active in this +work, and many tales had come of his cruelty and that of his +swart Tory lieutenant, Coleman. Henry was sure, too, that +Wyatt's band, which numbered perhaps fifty Indians and Tories, +was now in front of them. + +He, his comrades, Heemskerk, Elerson, Murphy, and four others, +twelve brave forest runners all told, went into camp one night +about ten miles ahead of the army. They lighted no fire, and, +even had it been cold, they would not have done so, as the region +was far too dangerous for any light. Yet the little band felt no +fear. They were only twelve, it is true, but such a twelve! No +chance would either Indians or Tories have to surprise them. + +They merely lay down in the thick brushwood, three intending to +keep watch while the others slept. Henry, Shif'less Sol, and +Heemskerk were the sentinels. It was very late, nearly midnight; +the sky was clear, and presently they saw smoke rings ascending +from high hills to their right, to be answered soon by other +rings of smoke to their left. The three watched them with but +little comment, and read every signal in turn. They said: "The +enemy is still advancing," "He is too strong for us...... We must +retreat and await our brethren." + +"It means that there will be no battle to-morrow, at least," +whispered Heemskerk. " Brant is probably ahead of us in command, +and he will avoid us until he receives the fresh forces from +Canada." + +"I take it that you're right," Henry whispered back. +"Timmendiquas also is with him, and the two great chiefs are too +cunning to fight until they can bring their last man into +action." + +"An' then," said the shiftless one, "we'll see what happens." + +"Yes," said Henry very gravely, "we'll see what happens. The +Iroquois are a powerful confederacy. They've ruled in these +woods for hundreds of years. They're led by great chiefs, and +they're helped by our white enemies. You can't tell what would +happen even to an army like ours in an ambush." + +Shif'less Sol nodded, and they said no more until an hour later, +when they heard footsteps. They awakened the others, and the +twelve, crawling to the edge of the brushwood, lay almost flat +upon their faces, with their hands upon the triggers of their +rifles. + +Braxton Wyatt and his band of nearly threescore, Indians and +Tories in about equal numbers, were passing. Wyatt walked at the +head. Despite his youth, he had acquired an air of command, and +he seemed a fit leader for such a crew. He wore a faded royal +uniform, and, while a small sword hung at his side, he also +carried a rifle on his shoulder. Close behind him was the swart +and squat Tory, Coleman, and then came Indians and Tories +together. + +The watchful eyes of Henry saw three fresh scalps hanging from as +many belts, and the finger that lay upon the trigger of his rifle +fairly ached to press it. What an opportunity this would be if +the twelve were only forty, or even thirty! With the advantage +of surprise they might hope to annihilate this band which had won +such hate for itself on the border. But twelve were not enough +and twelve such lives could not be spared at a time when the army +needed them most. + +Henry pressed his teeth firmly together in order to keep down his +disappointment by a mere physical act if possible. He happened +to look at Shif'less Sol, and saw that his teeth were pressed +together in the same manner. It is probable that like feelings +swayed every one of the twelve, but they were so still in the +brushwood that no Iroquois heard grass or leaf rustle. Thus the +twelve watched the sixty pass, and after they were gone, Henry, +Shif'less Sol, and Tim Murphy followed for several miles. They +saw Wyatt proceed toward the Chemung River, and as they +approached the stream they beheld signs of fortifications. It +was now nearly daylight, and, as Indians were everywhere, they +turned back. But they were convinced that the enemy meant to +fight on the Chemung. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +A GLOOMY COUNCIL + + +The next night after Henry Ware and his comrades lay in the +brushwood and saw Braxton Wyatt and his band pass, a number of +men, famous or infamous in their day, were gathered around a low +camp fire on the crest of a small hill. The most distinguished +of them all in looks was a young Indian chief of great height and +magnificent build, with a noble and impressive countenance. He +wore nothing of civilized attire, the nearest approach to it +being the rich dark-blue blanket that was flung gracefully over +his right shoulder. It was none other than the great Wyandot +chief, Timmendiquas, saying little, and listening without +expression to the words of the others. + +Near Timmendiquas sat Thayendanegea, dressed as usual in his +mixture of savage and civilized costume, and about him were other +famous Indian chiefs, The Corn Planter, Red jacket, Hiokatoo, +Sangerachte, Little Beard, a young Seneca renowned for ferocity, +and others. + +On the other side of the fire sat the white men: the young Sir +John Johnson, who, a prisoner to the Colonials, had broken his +oath of neutrality, the condition of his release, and then, +fleeing to Canada, had returned to wage bloody war on the +settlements; his brother-in-law, Colonel Guy Johnson; the swart +and squat John Butler of Wyoming infamy; his son, Walter Butler, +of the pallid face, thin lips, and cruel heart; the Canadian +Captain MacDonald; Braxton Wyatt; his lieutenant, the dark Tory, +Coleman; and some others who had helped to ravage their former +land. + +Sir John Johnson, a tall man with blue eyes set close together, +wore the handsome uniform of his Royal Greens; he had committed +many dark deeds or permitted them to be done by men under his +command, and he had secured the opportunity only through his +broken oath, but he had lost greatly. The vast estates of his +father, Sir William Johnson, were being torn from him, and +perhaps he saw, even then, that in return for what he had done he +would lose all and become an exile from the country in which he +was born. + +It was not a cheerful council. There was no exultation as after +Wyoming and Cherry Valley and the Minisink and other places. Sir +John bit his lip uneasily, and his brother-in-law, resting his +hand on his knee, stared gloomily at the fire. The two Butlers +were silent, and the dark face of Thayendanegea was overcast. + +A little distance before these men was a breastwork about half a +mile long, connecting with a bend of the river in such a manner +that an enemy could attack only in front and on one flank, that +flank itself being approached only by the ascent of a steep ridge +which ran parallel to the river. The ground about the camp was +covered with pine and scrub oaks. Many others had been cut down +and added to the breastwork. A deep brook ran at the foot of the +hill on which the leaders sat. About the slopes of this hill and +another, a little distance away, sat hundreds of Indian warriors, +all in their war paint, and other hundreds of their white allies, +conspicuous among them Johnson's Royal Greens and Butler's +Rangers. These men made but little noise now. They were resting +and waiting. + +Thayendanegea was the first to break the silence in the group at +the fire. He turned his dark face to Sir John Johnson and said +in his excellent English: "The king promised us that if we would +take up arms for him against the Yankees, he would send a great +army, many thousands, to help us. We believed him, and we took +up the hatchet for him. We fought in the dark and the storm with +Herkimer at the Oriskany, and many of our warriors fell. But we +did not sulk in our lodges. We have ravaged and driven in the +whole American border along a line of hundreds of miles. Now the +Congress sends an army to attack us, to avenge what we have done, +and the great forces of the king are not here. I have been +across the sea; I have seen the mighty city of London and its +people as numerous as the blades of grass. Why has not the king +kept his promise and sent men enough to save the Iroquois ?" + +Sir John Johnson and Thayendanegea were good friends, but the +soul of the great Mohawk chief was deeply stirred. His +penetrating mind saw the uplifted hand about to strike-and the +target was his own people. His tone became bitterly sarcastic as +he spoke, and when he ceased he looked directly at the baronet in +a manner that showed a reply must be given. Sir John moved +uneasily, but he spoke at last. + +"Much that you say is true, Thayendanegea," he admitted, "but the +king has many things to do. The war is spread over a vast area, +and he must keep his largest armies in the East. But the Royal +Greens, the Rangers, and all others whom we can raise, even in +Canada, are here to help you. In the coming battle your fortunes +are our fortunes." + +Thayendanegea nodded, but he was not yet appeased. His glance +fell upon the two Butlers, father and son, and he frowned. + +"There are many in England itself," he said, "who wish us harm, +and who perhaps have kept us from receiving some of the help that +we ought to have. They speak of Wyoming and Cherry Valley, of +the torture and of the slaughter of women and children, and they +say that war must not be carried on in such a way. But there are +some among us who are more savage than the savages themselves, as +they call us. It was you, John Butler, who led at Wyoming, and +it was you, Walter Butler, who allowed the women and children to +be killed at Cherry Valley, and more would have been slain there +had I not, come up in time." + +The dark face of "Indian" Butler grew darker, and the pallid face +of his son grew more pallid. Both were angry, and at the same +time a little afraid. + +"We won at Wyoming in fair battle," said the elder Butler. + +"But afterwards?" said Thayendanegea. + +The man was silent. + +"It is these two places that have so aroused the Bostonians +against us," continued Thayendanegea. "It is because of them +that the commander of the Bostonians has sent a great army, and +the Long House is threatened with destruction." + +"My son and I have fought for our common cause," said "Indian" +Butler, the blood flushing through his swarthy face. + +Sir John Johnson interfered. + +"We have admitted, Joseph, the danger to the Iroquois," he said, +calling the chieftain familiarly by his first Christian name, +"but I and my brother-in-law and Colonel Butler and Captain +Butler have already lost though we may regain. And with this +strong position and the aid of ambush it is likely that we can +defeat the rebels." + +The eyes of Thayendanegea brightened as he looked at the long +embankment, the trees, and the dark forms of the warriors +scattered numerously here and there. + +"You may be right, Sir John," he said; "yes, I think you are +right, and by all the gods, red and white, we shall see. I wish +to fight here, because this is the best place in which to meet +the Bostonians. What say you, Timmendiquas, sworn brother of +mine, great warrior and great chief of the Wyandots, the bravest +of all the western nations?" + +The eye of Timmendiquas expressed little, but his voice was +sonorous, and his words were such as Thayendanegea wished to +hear. + +"If we fight-and we must fight-this is the place in which to meet +the, white army," he said. "The Wyandots are here to help the +Iroquois, as the Iroquois would go to help them. The Manitou of +the Wyandots, the Aieroski of the Iroquois, alone knows the end." + +He spoke with the utmost gravity, and after his brief reply he +said no more. All regarded him with respect and admiration. +Even Braxton Wyatt felt that it was a noble deed to remain and +face destruction for the sake of tribes not his own. + +Sir John Johnson turned to Braxton Wyatt, who had sat all the +while in silence. + +"You have examined the evening's advance, Wyatt," he said. "What +further information can you give us?" + +"We shall certainly be attacked to-morrow," replied Wyatt, "and +the American army is advancing cautiously. It has out strong +flanking parties, and it is preceded by the scouts, those +Kentuckians whom I know and have met often, Murphy, Elerson, +Heemskerk, and the others." + +"If we could only lead them into an ambush," said Sir John. "Any +kind of troops, even the best of regulars, will give way before +an unseen foe pouring a deadly fire upon them from the deep +woods. Then they magnify the enemy tenfold." + +"It is so," said the fierce old Seneca chief, Hiokatoo. "When we +killed Braddock and all his men, they thought that ten warriors +stood in the moccasins of only one." + +Sir John frowned. He did not like this allusion to the time when +the Iroquois fought against the English, and inflicted on them a +great defeat. But he feared to rebuke the old chief. Hiokatoo +and the Senecas were too important. + +"There ought to be a chance yet for an ambuscade," he said. "The +foliage is still thick and heavy, and Sullivan, their general, is +not used to forest warfare. What say you to this, Wyatt?" + +Wyatt shook his head. He knew the caliber of the five from +Kentucky, and he had little hope of such good fortune. + +"They have learned from many lessons," he replied, and their +scouts are the best. Moreover, they will attempt anything." + +They relapsed into silence again, and the sharp eyes of the +renegade roved about the dark circle of trees and warriors that +inclosed them. Presently he saw something that caused him to +rise and walk a little distance from the fire. Although his eye +suspected and his mind confirmed, Braxton Wyatt could not believe +that it was true. It was incredible. No one, be he ever so +daring, would dare such a thing. But the figure down there among +the trees, passing about among the warriors, many of whom did not +know one another, certainly looked familiar, despite the Indian +paint and garb. Only that of Timmendiquas could rival it in +height and nobility. These were facts that could not be hidden +by any disguise. + +"What is it, Wyatt?" asked Sir John. "What do you see? Why do +you look so startled?" + +Wyatt sought to reply calmly. + +"There is a warrior among those trees over there whom I have not +seen here before," he replied. "he is as tall and as powerful as +Timmendiquas, and there is only one such. There is a spy among +us, and it is Henry Ware." + +He snatched a pistol from his belt, ran forward, and fired at the +flitting figure, which was gone in an instant among the trees and +the warriors. + +"What do you say?" exclaimed Thayendanegea, as he ran forward, "a +spy, and you know him to be such!" + +"Yes, he is the worst of them all," replied Wyatt. "I know him. +I could not mistake him. But he has dared too much. He cannot +get away." + +The great camp was now in an uproar. The tall figure was seen +here and there, always to vanish quickly. Twenty shots were +fired at it. None hit. Many more would have been fired, but the +camp was too much crowded to take such a risk. Every moment the +tumult and confusion increased, but Thayendanegea quickly posted +warriors on the embankment and the flanks, to prevent the escape +of the fugitive in any of those directions. + +But the tall figure did not appear at either embankment or flank. +It was next seen near the river, when a young warrior, striving +to strike with a tomahawk, was dashed to the earth with great +force. The next instant the figure leaped far out into the +stream. The moonlight glimmered an instant on the bare head, +while bullets the next moment pattered on the water where it had +been. Then, with a few powerful strokes, the stranger reclaimed +the land, sprang upon the shore, and darted into the woods with +more vain bullets flying about him. But he sent back a shout of +irony and triumph that made the chiefs and Tories standing on the +bank bite their lips in anger. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +BATTLE OF THE CHEMUNG + + +Paul had been sleeping heavily, and the sharp, pealing notes of a +trumpet awoke him at the sunburst of a brilliant morning. Henry +was standing beside him, showing no fatigue from the night's +excitement, danger, and escape, but his face was flushed and his +eyes sparkled. + +"Up, Paul! Up!" he cried. "We know the enemy's position, and we +will be in battle before another sun sets." + +Paul was awake in an instant, and the second instant he was on +his feet, rifle in hand, and heart thrilling for the great +attack. He, like all the others, had slept on such a night fully +dressed. Shif'less Sol, Long Jim, Silent Tom, Heemskerk, and the +rest were by the side of him, and all about them rose the sounds +of an army going into battle, commands sharp and short, the +rolling of cannon wheels, the metallic rattle of bayonets, the +clink of bullets poured into the pouches, and the hum of men +talking in half-finished sentences. + +It was to all the five a vast and stirring scene. It was the +first time that they bad ever beheld a large and regular army +going into action, and they were a part of it, a part by no means +unimportant. It was Henry, with his consummate skill and daring, +who had uncovered the position of the enemy, and now, without +snatching a moment's sleep, he was ready to lead where the fray +might be thickest. + +The brief breakfast finished, the trumpet pealed forth again, and +the army began to move through the thick forest. A light wind, +crisp with the air of early autumn, blew, and the leaves rustled. +The sun, swinging upward in the east, poured down a flood of +brilliant rays that lighted up everything, the buff and blue +uniforms, the cannon, the rifles, the bayonets, and the forest, +still heavy with foliage. + +"Now! now!" thought every one of the five, "we begin the +vengeance for Wyoming!" + +The scouts were well in front, searching everywhere among the +thickets for the Indian sharpshooters, who could scorch so +terribly. As Braxton Wyatt had truly said, these scouts were the +best in the world. Nothing could escape the trained eyes of +Henry Ware and his comrades, and those of Murphy, Ellerson, and +the others, while off on either flank of the army heavy +detachments guarded against any surprise or turning movement. +They saw no Indian sign in the woods. There was yet a deep +silence in front of them, and the sun, rising higher, poured its +golden light down upon the army in such an intense, vivid flood +that rifle barrels and bayonets gave back a metallic gleam. All +around them the deep woods swayed and rustled before the light +breeze, and now and then they caught glimpses of the river, its +surface now gold, then silver, under the shining sun. + +Henry's heart swelled as he advanced. He was not revengeful, but +he had seen so much of savage atrocity in the last year that he +could not keep down the desire to see punishment. It is only +those in sheltered homes who can forgive the tomahawk and the +stake. Now he was the very first of the scouts, although his +comrades and a dozen others were close behind him. + +The scouts went so far forward that the army was hidden from them +by the forest, although they could yet hear the clank of arms and +the sound of commands. + +Henry knew the ground thoroughly. He knew where the embankment +ran, and he knew, too, that the Iroquois had dug pits, marked by +timber. They were not far ahead, and the scouts now proceeded +very slowly, examining every tree and clump of bushes to see +whether a lurking enemy was hidden there. The silence endured +longer than he had thought. Nothing could be seen in front save +the waving forest. + +Henry stopped suddenly. He caught a glimpse of a brown +shoulder's edge showing from behind a tree, and at his signal all +the scouts sank to the ground. + +The savage fired, but the bullet, the first of the battle, +whistled over their heads. The sharp crack, sounding triply loud +at such a time, came back from the forest in many echoes, and a +light puff of smoke arose. Quick as a flash, before the brown +shoulder and body exposed to take aim could be withdrawn, Tom +Ross fired, and the Mohawk fell, uttering his death yell. The +Iroquois in the woods took up the cry, pouring forth a war whoop, +fierce, long drawn, the most terrible of human sounds, and before +it died, their brethren behind the embankment repeated it in +tremendous volume from hundreds of throats. It was a shout that +had often appalled the bravest, but the little band of scouts +were not afraid. When its last echo died they sent forth a +fierce, defiant note of their own, and, crawling forward, began +to send in their bullets. + +The woods in front of them swarmed with the Indian skirmishers, +who replied to the scouts, and the fire ran along a long line +through the undergrowth. Flashes of flames appeared, puffs of +smoke arose and, uniting, hung over the trees. Bullets hissed. +Twigs and bark fell, and now and then a man, as they fought from +tree to tree. Henry caught one glimpse of a face that was white, +that of Braxton Wyatt, and he sought a shot at the renegade +leader, but he could not get it. But the scouts pushed on, and +the Indian and Tory skirmishers dropped back. Then on the flanks +they began to hear the rattle of rifle fire. The wings of the +army were in action, but the main body still advanced without +firing a shot. + +The scouts could now see through the trees the embankments and +rifle pits, and they could also see the last of the Iroquois and +Tory skirmishers leaping over the earthworks and taking refuge +with their army. Then they turned back and saw the long line of +their own army steadily advancing, while the sounds of heavy +firing still continued on both flanks. Henry looked proudly at +the unbroken array, the front of steel, and the cannon. He felt +prouder still when the general turned to him and said: + +"You have done well, Mr. Ware; you have shown us exactly where +the enemy lies, and that will save us many men. Now bigger +voices than those of the rifles shall talk." + +The army stopped. The Indian position could be plainly seen. +The crest of the earthwork was lined with fierce, dark faces, and +here and there among the brown Iroquois were the green uniforms +of the Royalists. + +Henry saw both Thayendanegea and Timmendiquas, the plumes in +their hair waving aloft, and he felt sure that wherever they +stood the battle would be thickest. + +The Americans were now pushing forward their cannon, six +three-pounders and two howitzers, the howitzers, firing +five-and-a-half-inch shells, new and terrifying missiles to the +Indians. The guns were wheeled into position, and the first +howitzer was fired. It sent its great shell in a curving line at +and over the embankment, where it burst with a crash, followed by +a shout of mingled pain and awe. Then the second howitzer, aimed +well like the first, sent a shell almost to the same point, and a +like cry came back. + + +Shif'less Sol, watching the shots, jumped up and down in +delight. + +"That's the medicine!" he cried. "I wonder how you like that, +you Butlers an' Johnsons an' Wyatts an' Mohawks an' all the rest +o' your scalp-taking crew! Ah, thar goes another! This ain't +any Wyomin'!" + +The three-pounders also opened fire, and sent their balls +squarely into the rifle pits and the Indian camp. The Iroquois +replied with a shower of rifle bullets and a defiant war whoop, +but the bullets fell short, and the whoop hurt no one. + +The artillery, eight pieces, was served with rapidity and +precision, while the riflemen, except on their flanks, where they +were more closely engaged, were ordered to hold their fire. The +spectacle was to Henry and his comrades panoramic in its effect. +They watched the flashes of fire from the mouths of the cannon, +the flight of the great shells, and the bank of smoke which soon +began to lower like a cloud over the field. They could picture +to themselves what was going on beyond the earthwork, the dead +falling, the wounded limping away, earth and trees torn by shell +and shot. They even fancied that they could hear the voices of +the great chiefs, Thayendanegea and Timmendiquas, encouraging +their men, and striving to keep them in line against a fire not +as deadly as rifle bullets at close quarters, but more +terrifying. + +Presently a cloud of skirmishers issued once more from the Indian +camp, creeping among the trees and bushes, and seeking a chance +to shoot down the men at the guns. But sharp eyes were watching +them. + +"Come, boys," exclaimed Henry. "Here's work for us now." + +He led the scouts and the best of the riflemen against the +skirmishers, who were soon driven in again. The artillery fire +had never ceased for a moment, the shells and balls passing over +their heads. Their work done, the sharpshooters fell back again, +the gunners worked faster for a while, and then at a command they +ceased suddenly. Henry, Paul, and all the others knew +instinctively what was going to happen. They felt it in every +bone of them. The silence so sudden was full of meaning. + +"Now!" Henry found himself exclaiming. Even at that moment the +order was given, and the whole army rushed forward, the smoke +floating away for the moment and the sun flashing off the +bayonets. The five sprang up and rushed on ahead. A sheet of +flame burst from the embankment, and the rifle pits sprang into +fire. The five beard the bullets whizzing past them, and the +sudden cries of the wounded behind them, but they never ceased to +rush straight for the embankment. + +It seemed to Henry that he ran forward through living fire. +There was one continuous flash from the earthwork, and a +continuous flash replied. The rifles were at work now, thousands +of them, and they kept up an incessant crash, while above them +rose the unbroken thunder of the cannon. The volume of smoke +deepened, and it was shot through with the sharp, pungent odor of +burned gunpowder. + +Henry fired his rifle and pistol, almost unconsciously reloaded, +and fired again, as he ran, and then noticed that the advance had +never ceased. It had not been checked even for a moment, and the +bayonets of one of the regiments glittered in the sun a straight +line of steel. + +Henry kept his gaze fixed upon a point where the earthwork was +lowest. He saw there the plumed head of Thayendanegea, and he +intended to strike if he could. He saw the Mohawk gesticulating +and shouting to his men to stand fast and drive back the charge. +He believed even then, and he knew later, that Thayendanegea and +Timmendiquas were showing courage superior to that of the +Johnsons and Butters or any of their British and Canadian allies. +The two great chiefs still held their men in line, and the +Iroquois did not cease to send a stream of bullets from the +earthwork. + +Henry saw the brown faces and the embankment coming closer and +closer. He saw the face of Braxton Wyatt appear a moment, and he +snapped his empty pistol at it. But it was hidden the next +instant behind others, and then they were at the embankment. He +saw the glowing faces of his comrades at his side, the singular +figure of Heemskerk revolving swiftly, and behind them the line +of bayonets closing in with the grimness of fate. + +Henry leaped upon the earthwork. An Indian fired at him point +blank, and he swung heavily with his clubbed rifle. Then his +comrades were by his side, and they leaped down into the Indian +camp. After them came the riflemen, and then the line of +bayonets. Even then the great Mohawk and the great Wyandot +shouted to their men to stand fast, although the Royal Greens and +the Rangers had begun to run, and the Johnsons, the Butlers, +McDonald, Wyatt, and the other white men were running with them. + +Henry, with the memory of Wyoming and all the other dreadful +things that had come before his eyes, saw red. He was conscious +of a terrible melee, of striking again and again with his clubbed +rifle, of fierce brown faces before him, and of Timmendiquas and +Thayedanegea rushing here and there, shouting to their warriors, +encouraging them, and exclaiming that the battle was not lost. +Beyond he saw the vanishing forms of the Royal Greens and the +Rangers in full flight. But the Wyandots and the best of the +Iroquois still stood fast until the pressure upon them became +overwhelming. When the line of bayonets approached their breasts +they fell back. Skilled in every detail of ambush, and a +wonderful forest fighter, the Indian could never stand the +bayonet. Reluctantly Timmendiquas, Thayendanegea and the +Mohawks, Senecas, and Wyandots, who were most strenuous in the +conflict, gave ground. Yet the battlefield, with its numerous +trees, stumps, and inequalities, still favored them. They +retreated slowly, firing from every covert, sending a shower of +bullets, and now and then tittering the war whoop. + +Henry heard a panting breath by his side. He looked around and +saw the face of Heemskerk, glowing red with zeal and exertion. + +"The victory is won already!" said he. "Now to drive it home!" + +"Come on," cried Henry in return, "and we'll lead!" + +A single glance showed him that none of his comrades had fallen. +Long Jim and Tom Ross had suffered slight wounds that they +scarcely noticed, and they and the whole group of scouts were +just behind Henry. But they now took breath, reloaded their +rifles, and, throwing themselves down in Indian fashion, opened a +deadly fire upon their antagonists. Their bullets searched all +the thickets, drove out the Iroquois, and compelled them to +retreat anew. + +The attack was now pressed with fresh vigor. In truth, with so +much that the bravest of the Indians at last yielded to panic. +Thayendanegea and Timmendiquas were carried away in the rush, and +the white leaders of their allies were already out of sight. On +all sides the allied red and white force was dissolving. +Precipitate flight was saving the fugitives from a greater loss +in killed and wounded-it was usually Indian tactics to flee with +great speed when the battle began to go against them-but the +people of the Long House had suffered the greatest overthrow in +their history, and bitterness and despair were in the hearts of +the Iroquois chiefs as they fled. + +The American army not only carried the center of the Indian camp, +but the heavy flanking parties closed in also, and the whole +Indian army was driven in at every point. The retreat was +becoming a rout. A great, confused conflict was going on. The +rapid crackle of rifles mingled with the shouts and war whoops of +the combatants. Smoke floated everywhere. The victorious army, +animated by the memory of the countless cruelties that had been +practiced on the border, pushed harder and harder. The Iroquois +were driven back along the Chemung. It seemed that they might be +hemmed in against the river, but in their flight they came to a +ford. Uttering their cry of despair, "Oonali! Oonali!" a wail +for a battle lost, they sprang into the stream, many of them +throwing away their rifles, tomahawks, and blankets, and rushed +for the other shore. But the Scouts and a body of riflemen were +after them. + +Braxton Wyatt and his band appeared in the woods on the far +shore, and opened fire on the pursuers now in the stream. He +alone among the white men had the courage, or the desperation, to +throw himself and his men in the path of the pursuit. The +riflemen in the water felt the bullets pattering around them, and +some were struck, but they did not stop. They kept on for the +bank, and their own men behind them opened a covering fire over +their heads. + +Henry felt a great pulse leap in his throat at the sight of +Braxton Wyatt again. Nothing could have turned him back now. +Shouting to the riflemen, he led the charge through the water, +and the bank's defenders were driven back. Yet Wyatt, with his +usual dexterity and prudence, escaped among the thickets. + +The battle now became only a series of detached combats. Little +groups seeking to make a stand here and there were soon swept +away. Thayendanegea and Timmendiquas raged and sought to gather +together enough men for an ambush, for anything that would sting +the victors, but they were pushed too hard and fast. A rally was +always destroyed in the beginning, and the chiefs themselves at +last ran for their lives. The pursuit was continued for a long +time, not only by the vanguard, but the army itself moved forward +over the battlefield and deep into the forest on the trail of the +flying Iroquois. + +The scouts continued the pursuit the longest, keeping a close +watch, nevertheless, against an ambush. Now and then they +exchanged shots with a band, but the Indians always fled quickly, +and at last they stopped because they could no longer find any +resistance. They had been in action or pursuit for many hours, +and they were black with smoke, dust, and sweat, but they were +not yet conscious of any weariness. Heemskerk drew a great red +silk handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped his glowing face, +which was as red as the handkerchief. + +"It's the best job that's been done in these parts for many a +year," he said. "The Iroquois have always thought they were +invincible, and now the spell's been broke. If we only follow it +up." + +"That's sure to be done," said Henry. "I heard General Sullivan +himself say that his orders were to root up the whole Iroquois +power." + +They returned slowly toward the main force, retracing their steps +over the path of battle. It was easy enough to follow it. They +beheld a dead warrior at every step, and at intervals were +rifles, tomahawks, scalping knives, blankets, and an occasional +shot pouch or powder horn. Presently they reached the main army, +which was going into camp for the night. Many camp fires were +built, and the soldiers, happy in their victory, were getting +ready for supper. But there was no disorder. They had been told +already that they were to march again in the morning. + +Henry, Paul, Tom, Jim, and Shif'less Sol went back over the field +of battle, where many of the dead still lay. Twilight was now +coming, and it was a somber sight. The earthwork, the thickets, +and the trees were torn by cannon balls. Some tents raised by +the Tories lay in ruins, and the earth was stained with many dark +splotches. But the army had passed on, and it was silent and +desolate where so many men had fought. The twilight drew swiftly +on to night, and out of the forest came grewsome sounds. The +wolves, thick now in a region which the Iroquois had done so much +to turn into a wilderness, were learning welcome news, and they +were telling it to one another. By and by, as the night +deepened, the five saw fiery eyes in the thickets, and the long +howls came again. + +"It sounds like the dirge of the people of the Long House," said +Paul, upon whose sensitive mind the scene made a deep impression. + +The others nodded. At that moment they did not feel the flush of +victory in its full force. It was not in their nature to rejoice +over a fallen foe. Yet they knew the full value of the victory, +and none of them could wish any part of it undone. They returned +slowly to the camp, and once more they heard behind them the howl +of the wolves as they invaded the battlefield. + +They were glad when they saw the cheerful lights of the camp +fires twinkling through the forest, and heard the voices of many +men talking. Heemskerk welcomed them there. + +"Come, lads," he said. "You must eat-you won't find out until +you begin, how hungry you are-and then you must sleep, because we +march early to-morrow, and we march fast." + +The Dutchman's words were true. They had not tasted food since +morning; they had never thought of it, but now, with the +relaxation from battle, they found themselves voraciously hungry. + +"It's mighty good," said Shif'less Sol, as they sat by a fire and +ate bread and meat and drank coffee, "but I'll say this for you, +you old ornery, long-legged Jim Hart, it ain't any better than +the venison an' bulffaler steaks that you've cooked fur us many a +time." + +"An' that I'm likely to cook fur you many a time more," said Long +Jim complacently. + +"But it will be months before you have any chance at buffalo +again, Jim," said Henry. "We are going on a long campaign +through the Iroquois country." + +"An' it's shore to be a dangerous one," said Shif'less Sol. "Men +like warriors o' the Iroquois ain't goin' to give up with one +fight. They'll be hangin' on our flanks like wasps." + +"That's true," said Henry, "but in my opinion the Iroquois are +overthrown forever. One defeat means more to them than a half +dozen to us." + + +They said little more, but by and by lay down to sleep before the +fires. They had toiled so long and so faithfully that the work +of watching and scouting that night could be intrusted to others. +Yet Henry could not sleep for a long time. The noises of the +night interested him. He watched the men going about, and the +sentinels pacing back and forth around the camp. The sounds died +gradually as the men lay down and sank to sleep. The fires which +had formed a great core of light also sank, and the shadows crept +toward the camp. The figures of the pacing sentinels, rifle on +shoulder, gradually grew dusky. Henry's nerves, attuned so long +to great effort, slowly relaxed. Deep peace came over him, and +his eyelids drooped, the sounds in the camp sank to the lowest +murmur, but just as he was falling asleep there came from the +battlefield behind then the far, faint howl of a wolf, the dirge +of the Iroquois. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +LITTLE BEARD'S TOWN + + +The trumpets called early the next morning, and the five rose, +refreshed, ready for new labors. The fires were already lighted, +and breakfast was cooking. Savory odors permeated the forest. +But as soon as all had eaten, the army marched, going northward +and westward, intending to cut through the very center of the +Iroquois country. Orders had come from the great commander that +the power of the Six Nations, which had been so long such a +terrible scourge on the American frontier, must be annihilated. +They must be made strangers in their own country. Women and +children were not to be molested, but their towns must perish. + +As Thayendanegea had said the night before the Battle of the +Chemung, the power beyond the seas that had urged the Iroquois to +war on the border did not save them. It could not. British and +Tories alike had promised them certain victory, and for a while +it had seemed that the promises would come true. But the tide +had turned, and the Iroquois were fugitives in their own country. + +The army continued its march through the wilderness, the scouts +in front and heavy parties of riflemen on either flank. There +was no chance for a surprise. Henry and his comrades were aware +that Indian bands still lurked in the forest, and they had +several narrow escapes from the bullets of ambushed foes, but the +progress of the army was irresistible. Nothing could check it +for a moment, however much the Indian and Tory chiefs might plan. + +They camped again that night in the forest, with a thorough ring +of sentinels posted against surprise, although there was little +danger of the latter, as the enemy could not, for the present at +least, bring a sufficient force into the field. But after the +moon had risen, the five, with Heemskerk, went ahead through the +forest. The Iroquois town of Kanawaholla lay just ahead, and the +army would reach it on the morrow. It was the intention of the +scouts to see if it was still occupied. + +It was near midnight when the little party drew near to +Kanawaholla and watched it from the shelter of the forest. Like +most other Iroquois towns, it contained wooden houses, and +cultivated fields were about it. No smoke rose from any of the +chimneys, but the sharp eyes of the scouts saw loaded figures +departing through a great field of ripe and waving corn. It was +the last of the inhabitants, fleeing with what they could carry. +Two or three warriors might have been in that group of fugitives, +but the scouts made no attempt to pursue. They could not +restrain a little feeling of sympathy and pity, although a just +retribution was coming. + +"If the Iroquois had only stood neutral at the beginning of the +war, as we asked them," said Heemskerk, "how much might have been +spared to both sides! Look! Those people are stopping for a +moment." + +The burdened figures, perhaps a dozen, halted at the far edge of +the corn field. Henry and Paul readily imagined that they were +taking a last look at their town, and the feeling of pity and +sympathy deepened, despite Wyoming, Cherry Valley, and all the +rest. But that feeling never extended to the white allies of the +Iroquois, whom Thayendanegea characterized in word and in writing +as "more savage than the savages themselves." + +The scouts waited an hour, and then entered the town. Not a soul +was in Kanawaholla. Some of the lighter things had been taken +away, but that was all. Most of the houses were in disorder, +showing the signs of hasty flight, but the town lay wholly at the +mercy of the advancing army. Henry and his comrades withdrew +with the news, and the next day, when the troops advanced, +Kanawaholla was put to the torch. In an hour it was smoking +ruins, and then the crops and fruit trees were destroyed. + +Leaving ruin behind, the army continued its march, treading the +Iroquois power under foot and laying waste the country. One +after another the Indian towns were destroyed, Catherinetown, +Kendaia, Kanadesaga, Shenanwaga, Skoiyase, Kanandaigua, Honeyoye, +Kanaghsawa, Gathtsewarohare, and others, forming a long roll, +bearing the sounding Iroquois names. Villages around Cayuga and +other lakes were burned by detachments. The smoke of perishing +towns arose everywhere in the Iroquois country, while the +Iroquois themselves fled before the advancing army. They sent +appeal after appeal for help from those to whom they had given so +much help, but none came. + +It was now deep autumn, and the nights grew cold. The forests +blazed with brilliant colors. The winds blew, leaves rustled and +fell. The winter would soon be at hand, and the Iroquois, so +proud of what they had achieved, would have to find what shelter +they could in the forests or at the British posts on the Canadian +frontier. Thayendanegea was destined to come again with bands of +red men and white and inflict great loss, but the power of the +Six Nations was overthrown forever, after four centuries of +victory and glory. Henry, Paul, and the rest were all the time +in the thick of it. The army, as the autumn advanced, marched +into the Genesee Valley, destroying everything. Henry and Paul, +as they lay on their blankets one night, counted fires in three +different directions, and every one of the three marked a +perishing Indian village. It was not a work in which they took +any delight; on the contrary, it often saddened them, but they +felt that it had to be done, and they could not shirk the task. + +In October, Henry, despite his youth, took command of a body of +scouts and riflemen which beat up the ways, and skirmished in +advance of the army. It was a democratic little band, everyone +saying what he pleased, but yielding in the end to the authority +of the leader. They were now far up the Genesee toward the Great +Lakes, and Henry formed the plan of advancing ahead of the army +on the great Seneca village known variously as the Seneca Castle +and Little Beard's Town, after its chief, a full match in cruelty +for the older Seneca chief, Hiokatoo. Several causes led to this +decision. It was reported that Thayendanegea, Timmendiquas, all +the Butlers and Johnsons, and Braxton Wyatt were there. While +not likely to be true about all, it was probably true about some +of them, and a bold stroke might effect much. + +It is probable that Henry had Braxton Wyatt most in mind. The +renegade was in his element among the Indians and Tories, and he +had developed great abilities as a partisan, being skillfully +seconded by the squat Tory, Coleman. His reputation now was +equal at least to that of Walter Butler, and he had skirmished +more than once with the vanguard of the army. Growing in Henry's +heart was a strong desire to match forces with him, and it was +quite probable that a swift advance might find him at the Seneca +Castle. + +The riflemen took up their march on a brisk morning in late +autumn. The night had been clear and cold, with a touch of +winter in it, and the brilliant colors of the foliage had now +turned to a solid brown. Whenever the wind blew, the leaves fell +in showers. The sky was a fleecy blue, but over hills, valley, +and forest hung a fine misty veil that is the mark of Indian +summer. The land was nowhere inhabited. They saw the cabin of +neither white man nor Indian. A desolation and a silence, +brought by the great struggle, hung over everything. Many +discerning eyes among the riflemen noted the beauty and fertility +of the country, with its noble forests and rich meadows. At +times they caught glimpses of the river, a clear stream sparkling +under the sun. + +"Makes me think o' some o' the country 'way down thar in +Kentucky," said Shif'less Sol, "an' it seems to me I like one +about ez well ez t'other. Say, Henry, do you think we'll ever go +back home? 'Pears to me that we're always goin' farther an' +farther away." + +Henry laughed. + +"It's because circumstances have taken us by the hand and led us +away, Sol," he replied. + +"Then," said the shiftless one with a resigned air, "I hope them +same circumstances will take me by both hands, an' lead me +gently, but strongly, back to a place whar thar is peace an' rest +fur a lazy an' tired man like me." + +"I think you'll have to endure a lot, until next spring at +least," said Henry. + +The shiftless one heaved a deep sigh, but his next words were +wholly irrelevant. + +"S'pose we'll light on that thar Seneca Castle by tomorrow +night?" he asked. + +"It seems to me that for a lazy and tired man you're extremely +anxious for a fight," Henry replied. + +"I try to be resigned," said Shif'less Sol. But his eyes were +sparkling with the light of battle. + +They went into camp that night in a dense forest, with the Seneca +Castle about ten miles ahead. Henry was quite sure that the +Senecas to whom it belonged had not yet abandoned it, and with +the aid of the other tribes might make a stand there. It was +more than likely, too, that the Senecas had sharpshooters and +sentinels well to the south of their town, and it behooved the +riflemen to be extremely careful lest they run into a hornet's +nest. Hence they lighted no fires, despite a cold night wind +that searched them through until they wrapped themselves in their +blankets. + +The night settled down thick and dark, and the band lay close in +the thickets. Shif'less Sol was within a yard of Henry. He had +observed his young leader's face closely that day, and he had a +mind of uncommon penetration. + +"Henry," he whispered, "you're hopin' that you'll find Braxton +Wyatt an' his band at Little Beard's town?" + +"That among other things," replied Henry in a similar whisper. + +"That first, and the others afterwards," persisted the shiftless +one. + +"It may be so," admitted Henry. + +"I feel the same way you do," said Shif'less Sol. "You see, +we've knowed Braxton Wyatt a long time, an' it seems strange that +one who started out a boy with you an' Paul could turn so black. +An' think uv all the cruel things that he's done an' helped to +do. I ain't hidin' my feelin's. I'm jest itchin' to git at +him." + +"Yes," said Henry, "I'd like for our band to have it out with +his." + +Henry and Shif'less Sol, and in fact all of the five, slept that +night, because Henry wished to be strong and vigorous for the +following night, in view of an enterprise that he had in mind. +The rosy Dutchman, Heemskerk, was in command of the guard, and he +revolved continually about the camp with amazing ease, and with a +footstep so light that it made no sound whatever. Now and then +he came back in the thicket and looked down at the faces of the +sleeping five from Kentucky. "Goot boys," he murmured to +himself. "Brave boys, to stay here and help. May they go +through all our battles and take no harm. The goot and great God +often watches over the brave." + +Mynheer Cornelius Heemskerk, native of Holland, but devoted to +the new nation of which he had made himself a part, was a devout +man, despite a life of danger and hardship. The people of the +woods do not lose faith, and he looked up at the dark skies as if +he found encouragement there. Then he resumed his circle about +the camp. He heard various noises-the hoot of an owl, the long +whine of a wolf, and twice the footsteps of deer going down to +the river to drink. But the sounds were all natural, made by the +animals to which they belonged, and Heemskerk knew it. Once or +twice he went farther into the forest, but he found nothing to +indicate the presence of a foe, and while he watched thus, and +beat up the woods, the night passed, eventless, away. + +They went the next day much nearer to the Seneca Castle, and saw +sure indications that it was still inhabited, as the Iroquois +evidently were not aware of the swift advance of the riflemen. +Henry had learned that this was one of the largest and strongest +of all the Iroquois towns, containing between a hundred and two +hundred wooden houses, and with a population likely to be swollen +greatly by fugitives from the Iroquois towns already destroyed. +The need of caution-great caution-was borne in upon him, and he +paid good heed. + +The riflemen sought another covert in the deep forest, now about +three miles from Little Beard's Town, and lay there, while Henry, +according to his plan, went forth at night with Shif'less Sol and +Tom Ross. He was resolved to find out more about this important +town, and his enterprise was in full accord with his duties, +chief among which was to save the vanguard of the army from +ambush. + +When the complete darkness of night had come, the three left the +covert, and, after traveling a short distance through the forest, +turned in toward the river. As the town lay on or near the +river, Henry thought they might see some signs of Indian life on +the stream, and from this they could proceed to discoveries. + +But when they first saw the river it was desolate. Not a canoe +was moving on its surface, and the three, keeping well in the +undergrowth, followed the bank toward the town. But the forest +soon ceased, and they came upon a great field, where the Senecas +had raised corn, and where stalks, stripped of their ears and +browned by the autumn cold, were still standing. But all the +work of planting, tending, and reaping this great field, like all +the other work in all the Iroquois fields, had been done by the +Iroquois women, not by the warriors. + +Beyond the field they saw fruit trees, and beyond these, faint +lines of smoke, indicating the position of the great Seneca +Castle. The dry cornstalks rustled mournfully as the wind blew +across the field. + +"The stalks will make a little shelter," said Henry, "and we must +cross the field. We want to keep near the river." + +"Lead on," said Shif'less Sol. + +They took a diagonal course, walking swiftly among the stalks and +bearing back toward the river. They crossed the field without +being observed, and came into a thick fringe of trees and +undergrowth along the river. They moved cautiously in this +shelter for a rod or two, and then the three, without word from +any one of them, stopped simultaneously. They heard in the water +the unmistakable ripple made by a paddle, and then the sound of +several more. They crept to the edge of the bank and crouched +down among the bushes. Then they saw a singular procession. + +A half-dozen Iroquois canoes were moving slowly up the stream. +They were in single file, and the first canoe was the largest. +But the aspect of the little fleet was wholly different from that +of an ordinary group of Iroquois war canoes. It was dark, +somber, and funereal, and in every canoe, between the feet of the +paddlers, lay a figure, stiff and impassive, the body of a chief +slain in battle. It had all the appearance of a funeral +procession, but the eyes of the three, as they roved over it, +fastened on a figure in the first canoe, and, used as they were +to the strange and curious, every one of them gave a start. + +The figure was that of a woman, a wild and terrible creature, who +half sat, half crouched in the canoe, looking steadily downward. +Her long black hair fell in disordered masses from her uncovered +head. She wore a brilliant red dress with savage adornments, but +it was stained and torn. The woman's whole attitude expressed +grief, anger, and despair. + +"Queen Esther!" whispered Henry. The other two nodded. + +So horrifying had been the impression made upon him by this woman +at Wyoming that he could not feel any pity for her now. The +picture of the great war tomahawk cleaving the heads of bound +prisoners was still too vivid. She had several sons, one or two +of whom were slain in battle with the colonists, and the body +that lay in the boat may have been one of them. Henry always +believed that it was-but he still felt no pity. + +As the file came nearer they heard her chanting a low song, and +now she raised her face and tore at her black hair. + +"They're goin' to land," whispered Shif'less Sol. + +The head of the file was turned toward the shore, and, as it +approached, a group of warriors, led by Little Beard, the Seneca +chief, appeared among the trees, coming forward to meet them. +The three in their covert crouched closer, interested so +intensely that they were prepared to brave the danger in order to +remain. But the absorption of the Iroquois in what they were +about to do favored the three scouts. + +As the canoes touched the bank, Catharine Montour rose from her +crouching position and uttered a long, piercing wail, so full of +grief, rage, and despair that the three in the bushes shuddered. +It was fiercer than the cry of a wolf, and it came back from the +dark forest in terrifying echoes. + +"It's not a woman, but a fiend," whispered Henry; and, as before, +his comrades nodded in assent. + +The woman stood erect, a tall and stalwart figure, but the beauty +that had once caused her to be received in colonial capitals was +long since gone. Her white half of blood had been submerged +years ago in her Indian half, and there was nothing now about her +to remind one of civilization or of the French Governor General +of Canada who was said to have been her father. + +The Iroquois stood respectfully before her. It was evident that +she had lost none of her power among the Six Nations, a power +proceeding partly from her force and partly from superstition. +As the bodies were brought ashore, one by one, and laid upon the +ground, she uttered the long wailing cry again and again, and the +others repeated it in a sort of chorus. + +When the bodies-and Henry was sure that they must all be those of +chiefs-were laid out, she tore her hair, sank down upon the +ground, and began a chant, which Tom Ross was afterwards able to +interpret roughly to the others. She sang: + + The white men have come with the cannon and bayonet, + Numerous as forest leaves the army has come. + Our warriors are driven like deer by the hunter, + Fallen is the League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee! + + Our towns are burned and our fields uprooted, + Our people flee through the forest for their lives, + The king who promised to help us comes not. + Fallen is the League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee! + + The great chiefs are slain and their bodies lie here. + No longer will they lead the warriors in battle; + No more will they drive the foe from the thicket. + Fallen is the League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee! + + Scalps we have taken from all who hated us; + None, but feared us in the days of our glory. + But the cannon and bayonet have taken our country; + Fallen is the League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee! + +She chanted many verses, but these were all that Tom Ross could +ever remember or translate. But every verse ended with the +melancholy refrain: "Fallen is the League of the +Ho-de-no-sau-nee!" which the others also repeated in chorus. +Then the warriors lifted up the bodies, and they moved in +procession toward the town. The three watched them, but they did +not rise until the funeral train had reached the fruit trees. +Then they stood up, looked at one another, and breathed sighs of +relief. + +"I don't care ef I never see that woman ag'in," said Shif'less +Sol. "She gives me the creeps. She must be a witch huntin' for +blood. She is shore to stir up the Iroquois in this town." + +"That's true," said Henry, "but I mean to go nearer." + +"Wa'al," said Tom Ross, "I reckon that if you mean it we mean it, +too." + +"There are certainly Tories in the town," said Henry, and if we +are seen we can probably pass for them. I'm bound to find out +what's here." + +"Still huntin' fur Braxton Wyatt," said Shif'less Sol. + +"I mean to know if he's here," said Henry. + +"Lead on," said the shiftless one. + +They followed in the path of the procession, which was now out of +sight, and entered the orchard. From that point they saw the +houses and great numbers of Indians, including squaws and +children, gathered in the open spaces, where the funeral train +was passing. Queen Esther still stalked at its head, but her +chant was now taken up by many scores of voices, and the volume +of sound penetrated far in the night. Henry yet relied upon the +absorption of the Iroquois in this ceremonial to give him a +chance for a good look through the town, and he and his comrades +advanced with boldness. + +They passed by many of the houses, all empty, as their occupants +had gone to join in the funeral lament, but they soon saw white +men-a few of the Royal Greens, and some of the Rangers, and other +Tories, who were dressed much like Henry and his comrades. One +of them spoke to Shif'less Sol, who nodded carelessly and passed +by. The Tory seemed satisfied and went his way. + +"Takes us fur some o' the crowd that's come runnin' in here ahead +o' the army," said the shiftless one. + +Henry was noting with a careful eye the condition of the town. +He saw that no preparations for defense had been made, and there +was no evidence that any would be made. All was confusion and +despair. Already some of the squaws were fleeing, carrying heavy +burdens. The three coupled caution with boldness. If they met a +Tory they merely exchanged a word or two, and passed swiftly on. +Henry, although he had seen enough to know that the army could +advance without hesitation, still pursued the quest. Shif'less +Sol was right. At the bottom of Henry's heart was a desire to +know whether Braxton Wyatt was in Little Beard's Town, a desire +soon satisfied, as they reached the great Council House, turned a +corner of it, and met the renegade face to face. + +Wyatt was with his lieutenant, the squat Tory, Coleman, and he +uttered a cry when he saw the tall figure of the great youth. +There was no light but that of the moon, but he knew his foe in +an instant. + +"Henry Ware!" he cried, and snatched his pistol from his belt. + +They were so close together that Henry did not have time to use a +weapon. Instinctively he struck out with his fist, catching +Wyatt on the jaw, and sending him down as if he had been shot. +Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross ran bodily over Coleman, hurling him +down, and leaping across his prostrate figure. Then they ran +their utmost, knowing that their lives depended on speed and +skill. + +They quickly put the Council House between them and their +pursuers, and darted away among the houses. Braxton Wyatt was +stunned, but he speedily regained his wits and his feet. + +"It was the fellow Ware, spying among us again! be cried to his +lieutenant, who, half dazed, was also struggling up. "Come, men! +After them! After them!" + +A dozen men came at his call, and, led by the renegade, they +began a search among the houses. But it was hard to find the +fugitives. The light was not good, many flitting figures were +about, and the frantic search developed confusion. Other Tories +were often mistaken for the three scouts, and were overhauled, +much to their disgust and that of the overhaulers. Iroquois, +drawn from the funeral ceremony, began to join in the hunt, but +Wyatt could give them little information. He had merely seen an +enemy, and then the enemy had gone. It was quite certain that +this enemy, or, rather, three of them, was still in the town. + +Henry and his comrades were crafty. Trained by ambush and +escape, flight and pursuit, they practiced many wiles to deceive +their pursuers. When Wyatt and Coleman were hurled down they ran +around the Council House, a large and solid structure, and, +finding a door on the opposite side and no one there or in sight +from that point, they entered it, closing the door behind them. + +They stood in almost complete darkness, although at length they +made out the log wall of the great, single room which constituted +the Council House. After that, with more accustomed eyes, they +saw on the wall arms, pipes, wampum, and hideous trophies, some +with long hair and some with short. The hair was usually blonde, +and most of the scalps had been stretched tight over little +hoops. Henry clenched his fist in the darkness. + +"Mebbe we're walkin' into a trap here," said Shif'less Sol. + +"I don't think so," said Henry. "At any rate they'd find us if +we were rushing about the village. Here we at least have a +chance." + +At the far end of the Council House hung mats, woven of rushes, +and the three sat down behind them in the very heart of the +Iroquois sanctuary. Should anyone casually enter the Council +House they would still be hidden. They sat in Turkish fashion on +the floor, close together and with their rifles lying across +their knees. A thin light filtered through a window and threw +pallid streaks on the floor, which they could see when they +peeped around the edge of the mats. But outside they heard very +clearly the clamor of the hunt as it swung to and fro in the +village. Shif'less Sol chuckled. It was very low, but it was a +chuckle, nevertheless, and the others heard. + +"It's sorter takin' an advantage uv 'em," said the shiftless one, +"layin' here in thar own church, so to speak, while they're +ragin' an' tearin' up the earth everywhar else lookin' fur us. +Gives me a mighty snug feelin', though, like the one you have +when you're safe in a big log house, an' the wind an' the hail +an' the snow are beatin' outside." + +"You're shorely right, Sol," said Tom Ross. + +"Seems to me," continued the irrepressible Sol, "that you did git +in a good lick at Braxton Wyatt, after all. Ain't he unhappy +now, bitin' his fingers an' pawin' the earth an' findin' nothin'? +I feel real sorry, I do, fur Braxton. It's hard fur a nice young +feller to have to suffer sech disappointments." + +Shif'less Sol chuckled again, and Henry was forced to smile in +the darkness. Shif'less Sol was not wholly wrong. It would be a +bitter blow to Braxton Wyatt. Moreover, it was pleasant where +they sat. A hard floor was soft to them, and as they leaned +against the wall they could relax and rest. + +"What will our fellows out thar in the woods think?" asked Tom +Ross. + +"They won't have to think," replied Henry. "They'll sit quiet as +we're doing and wait." + +The noise of the hunt went on for a long time outside. War whoops +came from different points of the village. There were shrill +cries of women and children, and the sound of many running feet. +After a while it began to sink, and soon after that they heard no +more noises than those of people preparing for flight. Henry +felt sure that the town would be abandoned on the morrow, but his +desire to come to close quarters with Braxton Wyatt was as strong +as ever. It was certain that the army could not overtake Wyatt's +band, but he might match his own against it. He was thinking of +making the attempt to steal from the place when, to their great +amazement, they heard the door of the Council House open and +shut, and then footsteps inside. + +Henry looked under the edge of the hanging mat and saw two dusky +figures near the window. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE FINAL FIGHT + + +Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross were also looking under the mats, and +the three would have recognized those figures anywhere. The +taller was Timmendiquas, the other Thayendanegea. The thin light +from the window fell upon their faces, and Henry saw that both +were sad. Haughty and proud they were still, but each bore the +look that comes only from continued defeat and great +disappointment. It is truth to say that the concealed three +watched them with a curiosity so intense that all thought of +their own risk was forgotten. To Henry, as well as his comrades, +these two were the greatest of all Indian chiefs. + +The White Lightning of the Wyandots and the Joseph Brant of the +Mohawks stood for a space side by side, gazing out of the window, +taking a last look at the great Seneca Castle. It was +Thayendanegea who spoke first, using Wyandot, which Henry +understood. + +"Farewell, my brother, great chief of the Wyandots," he said. +"You have come far with your warriors, and you have been by our +side in battle. The Six Nations owe you much. You have helped +us in victory, and you have not deserted us in defeat. You are +the greatest of warriors, the boldest in battle, and the most +skillful." + +Timmendiquas made a deprecatory gesture, but Thayendanegea went +on: + +"I speak but the truth, great chief of the Wyandots. We owe you +much, and some day we may repay. Here the Bostonians crowd us +hard, and the Mohawks may yet fight by your side to save your own +hunting grounds." + +"It is true," said Timmendiquas. "There, too, we' must fight the +Americans." + +"Victory was long with us here," said Thayendanegea, "but the +rebels have at last brought an army against us, and the king who +persuaded us to make war upon the Americans adds nothing to the +help that he has given us already. Our white allies were the +first to run at the Chemung, and now the Iroquois country, so +large and so beautiful, is at the mercy of the invader. We +perish. In all the valleys our towns lie in ashes. The American +army will come to-morrow, and this, the great Seneca Castle, the +last of our strongholds, will also sink under the flames. I know +not how our people will live through the Winter that is yet to +come. Aieroski has turned his face from us." + +But Timmendiquas spoke words of courage and hope. + +"The Six Nations will regain their country," he said. "The great +League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee, which has been victorious for so +many generations, cannot be destroyed. All the tribes from here +to the Mississippi will help, and will press down upon the +settlements. I will return to stir them anew, and the British +posts will give us arms and ammunition." + +The light of defiance shone once more in the eyes of +Thayendanegea. + +"You raise my spirits again," he said. "We flee now, but we +shall come back again. The Ho-de-no-saunee can never submit. We +will ravage all their settlements, and burn and destroy. We will +make a wilderness where they have been. The king and his men +will yet give us more help." + +Part of his words came true, and the name of the raiding +Thayendanegea was long a terror, but the Iroquois, who had +refused the requested neutrality, had lost their Country forever, +save such portions as the victor in the end chose to offer to +them. + +"And now, as you and your Wyandots depart within the half hour, I +give you a last farewell," said Thayendanegea. + +The hands of the two great chiefs met in a clasp like that of the +white man, and then Timmendiquas abruptly left the Council House, +shutting the door behind him. Thayendanegea lingered a while at +the window, and the look of sadness returned to his face. Henry +could read many of the thoughts that were passing through the +Mohawk's proud mind. + +Thayendanegea was thinking of his great journey to London, of the +power and magnificence that he had seen, of the pride and glory +of the Iroquois, of the strong and numerous Tory faction led by +Sir John Johnson, the half brother of the children of Molly +Brant, Thayendanegea's own sister, of the Butlers and all the +others who had said that the rebels would be easy to conquer. He +knew better now, he had long known better, ever since that +dreadful battle in the dark defile of the Oriskany, when the +Palatine Germans, with old Herkimer at their head, beat the +Tories, the English, and the Iroquois, and made the taking of +Burgoyne possible. The Indian chieftain was a statesman, and it +may be that from this moment he saw that the cause of both the +Iroquois and their white allies was doomed. Presently +Thayendanegea left the window, walking slowly toward the door. +He paused there a moment or two, and then went out, closing it +behind him, as Timmendiquas had done. The three did not speak +until several minutes after he had gone. + +"I don't believe," said Henry, "that either of them thinks, +despite their brave words, that the Iroquois can ever win back +again." + +"Serves 'em right," said Tom Ross. "I remember what I saw at +Wyoming." + +"Whether they kin do it or not," said the practical Sol, "it's +time for us to git out o' here, an' go back to our men." + +"True words, Sol," said Henry, "and we'll go." + +Examining first at the window and then through the door, opened +slightly, they saw that the Iroquois village bad become quiet. +The preparations for departure had probably ceased until morning. +Forth stole the three, passing swiftly among the houses, going, +with silent foot toward the orchard. An old squaw, carrying a +bundle from a house, saw them, looked sharply into their faces, +and knew them to be white. She threw down her bundle with a +fierce, shrill scream, and ran, repeating the scream as she ran. + +Indians rushed out, and with them Braxton Wyatt and his band. +Wyatt caught a glimpse of a tall figure, with two others, one on +each side, running toward the orchard, and he knew it. Hate and +the hope to capture or kill swelled afresh. He put a whistle to +his lip and blew shrilly. It was a signal to his band, and they +came from every point, leading the pursuit. + +Henry heard the whistle, and he was quite sure that it was Wyatt +who had made the sound. A single glance backward confirmed him. +He knew Wyatt's figure as well as Wyatt knew his, and the dark +mass with him was certainly composed of his own men. The other +Indians and Tories, in all likelihood, would turn back soon, and +that fact would give him the chance he wished. + +They were clear of the town now, running lightly through the +orchard, and Shif'less Sol suggested that they enter the woods at +once. + +"We can soon dodge 'em thar in the dark," he said. + +"We don't want to dodge 'em," said Henry. + +The shiftless one was surprised, but when he glanced at Henry's +face he understood. + +"You want to lead 'em on an' to a fight?" he said. + +Henry nodded. + +"Glad you thought uv it," said Shif'less Sol. + +They crossed the very corn field through which they had come, +Braxton Wyatt and his band in full cry after them. Several shots +were fired, but the three kept too far ahead for any sort of +marksmanship, and they were not touched. When they finally +entered the woods they curved a little, and then, keeping just +far enough ahead to be within sight, but not close enough for the +bullets, Henry led them straight toward the camp of the riflemen. +As he approached, he fired his own rifle, and uttered the long +shout of the forest runner. He shouted a second time, and now +Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross joined in the chorus, their great cry +penetrating far through the woods. + +Whether Braxton Wyatt or any of his mixed band of Indians and +Tories suspected the meaning of those great shouts Henry never +knew, but the pursuit came on with undiminished speed. There was +a good silver moon now, shedding much light, and he saw Wyatt +still in the van, with his Tory lieutenant close behind, and +after them red men and white, spreading out like a fan to inclose +the fugitives in a trap. The blood leaped in his veins. It was +a tide of fierce joy. He had achieved both of the purposes for +which he had come. He had thoroughly scouted the Seneca Castle, +and he was about to come to close quarters with Braxton Wyatt and +the band which he had made such a terror through the valleys. + +Shif'less Sol saw the face of his young comrade, and he was +startled. He had never before beheld it so stern, so resolute, +and so pitiless. He seemed to remember as one single, fearful +picture all the ruthless and terrible scenes of the last year. +Henry uttered again that cry which was at once a defiance and a +signal, and from the forest ahead of him it was answered, signal +for signal. The riflemen were coming, Paul, Long Jim, and +Heemskerk at their head. They uttered a mighty cheer as they saw +the flying three, and their ranks opened to receive them. From +the Indians and Tories came the long whoop of challenge, and +every one in either band knew that the issue was now about to be +settled by battle, and by battle alone. They used all the +tactics of the forest. Both sides instantly dropped down among +the trees and undergrowth, three or four hundred yards apart, and +for a few moments there was no sound save heavy breathing, heard +only by those who lay close by. Not a single human being would +have been visible to an ordinary eye there in the moonlight, +which tipped boughs and bushes with ghostly silver. Yet no area +so small ever held a greater store of resolution and deadly +animosity. On one side were the riflemen, nearly every one of +whom had slaughtered kin to mourn, often wives and little +children, and on the other the Tories and Iroquois, about to lose +their country, and swayed by the utmost passions of hate and +revenge. + +"Spread out," whispered Henry. "Don't give them a chance to +flank us. You, Sol, take ten men and go to the right, and you, +Heemskerk, take ten and go to the left." + +"It is well," whispered Heemskerk. "You have a great head, +Mynheer Henry." + +Each promptly obeyed, but the larger number of the riflemen +remained in the center, where Henry knelt, with Paul and Long Jim +on one side of him, and Silent Tom on the other. When he thought +that the two flanking parties had reached the right position, he +uttered a low whistle, and back came two low whistles, signals +that all was ready. Then the line began its slow advance, +creeping forward from tree to tree and from bush to bush. Henry +raised himself up a little, but he could not yet see anything +where the hostile force lay hidden. They went a little farther, +and then all lay down again to look. + +Tom Ross had not spoken a word, but none was more eager than he. +He was almost flat upon the ground, and he had been pulling +himself along by a sort of muscular action of his whole body. +Now he was so still that he did not seem to breathe. Yet his +eyes, uncommonly eager now, were searching the thickets ahead. +They rested at last on a spot of brown showing through some +bushes, and, raising his rifle, he fired with sure aim. The +Iroquois uttered his death cry, sprang up convulsively, and then +fell back prone. Shots were fired in return, and a dozen +riflemen replied to them. The battle was joined. + +They heard Braxton Wyatt's whistle, the challenging war cry of +the Iroquois, and then they fought in silence, save for the crack +of the rifles. The riflemen continued to advance in slow, +creeping fashion, always pressing the enemy. Every time they +caught sight of a hostile face or body they sent a bullet at it, +and Wyatt's men did the same. The two lines came closer, and all +along each there were many sharp little jets of fire and smoke. +Some of the riflemen were wounded, and two were slain, dying +quietly and without interrupting their comrades, who continued to +press the combat, Henry always leading in the center, and +Shif'less Sol and Heemskerk on the flanks. + +This battle so strange, in which faces were seen only for a +moment, and which was now without the sound of voices, continued +without a moment's cessation in the dark forest. The fury of the +combatants increased as the time went on, and neither side was +yet victorious. Closer and closer came the lines. Meanwhile +dark clouds were piling in a bank in the southwest. Slow thunder +rumbled far away, and the sky was cut at intervals by lightning. +But the combatants did not notice the heralds of storm. Their +attention was only for each other. + +It seemed to Henry that emotions and impulses in him had +culminated. Before him were the worst of all their foes, and his +pitiless resolve was not relaxed a particle. The thunder and the +lightning, although he did not notice them, seemed to act upon +him as an incitement, and with low words he continually urged +those about him to push the battle. + +Drops of rain fell, showing in the moonshine like beads of silver +on boughs and twigs, but by and by the smoke from the rifle fire, +pressed down by the heavy atmosphere, gathered among the trees, +and the moon was partly hidden. But file combat did not relax +because of the obscurity. Wandering Indians, hearing the firing, +came to Wyatt's relief, but, despite their aid, he was compelled +to give ground. His were the most desperate and hardened men, +red and white, in all the allied forces, but they were faced by +sharpshooters better than themselves. Many of them were already +killed, others were wounded, and, although Wyatt and Coleman +raged and strove to hold them, they began to give back, and so +hard pressed were they that the Iroquois could not perform the +sacred duty of carrying off their dead. No one sought to carry +away the Tories, who lay with the rain, that had now begun to +fall, beating upon them. + +So much had the riflemen advanced that they came to the point +where bodies of their enemies lay. Again that fierce joy surged +up in Henry's heart. His friends and he were winning. But he +wished to do more than win. This band, if left alone, would +merely flee from the Seneca Castle before the advance of the +army, and would still exist to ravage and slay elsewhere. + +"Keep on, Tom! Keep on!" he cried to Ross and the others. +"Never let them rest!" + +"We won't! We ain't dreamin' o' doin' sech a thing," replied the +redoubtable one as he loaded and fired. "Thar, I got another!" + +The Iroquois, yielding slowly at first, began now to give way +faster. Some sought to dart away to right or left, and bury +themselves in the forest, but they were caught by the flanking +parties of Shif'less Sol and Heemskerk, and driven back on the +center. They could not retreat except straight on the town, and +the riflemen followed them step for step. The moan of the +distant thunder went on, and the soft rain fell, but the deadly +crackle of the rifles formed a sharper, insistent note that +claimed the whole attention of both combatants. + +It was now the turn of the riflemen to receive help. Twenty or +more scouts and others abroad in the forest were called by the +rifle fire, and went at once into the battle. Then Wyatt was +helped a second time by a band of Senecas and Mohawks, but, +despite all the aid, they could not withstand the riflemen. +Wyatt, black with fury and despair, shouted to them and sometimes +cursed or even struck at them, but the retreat could not be +stopped. Men fell fast. Every one of the riflemen was a +sharpshooter, and few bullets missed. + +Wyatt was driven out of the forest and into the very corn field +through which Henry had passed. Here the retreat became faster, +and, with shouts of triumph, the riflemen followed after. Wyatt +lost some men in the flight through the field, but when he came +to the orchard, having the advantage of cover, he made another +desperate stand. + +But Shif'less Sol and Heemskerk took the band on the flanks, +pouring in a destructive fire, and Wyatt, Coleman, and a fourth +of his band, all that survived, broke into a run for the town. + +The riflemen uttered shout after shout of triumph, and it was +impossible to restrain their pursuit. Henry would have stopped +here, knowing the danger of following into the town, especially +when the army was near at band with an irresistible force, but he +could not stay them. He decided then that if they would charge +it must be done with the utmost fire and spirit. + +"On, men! On!" he cried. "Give them no chance to take cover." + +Shif'less Sol and Heemskerk wheeled in with the flanking parties, +and the riflemen, a solid mass now, increased the speed of +pursuit. Wyatt and his men had no chance to turn and fire, or +even to reload. Bullets beat upon them as they fled, and here +perished nearly all of that savage band. Wyatt, Coleman, and +only a half dozen made good the town, where a portion of the +Iroquois who had not yet fled received them. But the exultant +riflemen did not stop even there. They were hot on the heels of +Wyatt and the fugitives, and attacked at once the Iroquois who +came to their relief. So fierce was their rush that these new +forces were driven back at once. Braxton Wyatt, Coleman, and a +dozen more, seeing no other escape, fled to a large log house +used as a granary, threw themselves into it, barred the doors +heavily, and began to fire from the upper windows, small openings +usually closed with boards. Other Indians from the covert of +house, tepee, or tree, fired upon the assailants, and a fresh +battle began in the town. + +The riflemen, directed by their leaders, met the new situation +promptly. Fired upon from all sides, at least twenty rushed into +a house some forty yards from that of Braxton Wyatt. Others +seized another house, while the rest remained outside, sheltered +by little outhouses, trees, or inequalities of the earth, and +maintained rapid sharpshooting in reply to the Iroquois in the +town or to Braxton Wyatt's men in the house. Now the combat +became fiercer than ever. The warriors uttered yells, and +Wyatt's men in the house sent forth defiant shouts. From another +part of the town came shrill cries of old squaws, urging on their +fighting men. + +It was now about four o'clock in the morning. The thunder and +lightning had ceased, but the soft rain was still falling. The +Indians had lighted fires some distance away. Several carried +torches. Helped by these, and, used so long to the night, the +combatants saw distinctly. The five lay behind a low embankment, +and they paid their whole attention to the big house that +sheltered Wyatt and his men. On the sides and behind they were +protected by Heemskerk and others, who faced a coming swarm. + +"Keep low, Paul," said Henry, restraining his eager comrade. +"Those fellows in the house can shoot, and we don't want to lose +you. There, didn't I tell you!" + +A bullet fired from the window passed through the top of Paul's +cap, but clipped only his hair. Before the flash from the window +passed, Long Jim fired in return, and something fell back inside. +Bullets came from other windows. Shif'less Sol fired, and a +Seneca fell forward banging half out of the window, his naked +body a glistening brown in the firelight. But he hung only a few +seconds. Then he fell to the ground and lay still. The five +crouched low again, waiting a new opportunity. Behind them, and +on either side, they heard the crash of the new battle and +challenging cries. + +Braxton Wyatt, Coleman, four more Tories, and six Indians were +still alive in the strong log house. Two or three were wounded, +but they scarcely noticed it in the passion of conflict. The +house was a veritable fortress, and the renegade's hopes rose +high as he heard the rifle fire from different parts of the town. +His own band had been annihilated by the riflemen, led by Henry +Ware, but he had a sanguine hope now that his enemies had rushed +into a trap. The Iroquois would turn back and destroy them. + +Wyatt and his comrades presented a repellent sight as they +crouched in the room and fired from the two little windows. His +clothes and those of the white men had been torn by bushes and +briars in their flight, and their faces had been raked, too, +until they bled, but they had paid no attention to such wounds, +and the blood was mingled with sweat and powder smoke. The +Indians, naked to the waist, daubed with vermilion, and streaked, +too, with blood, crouched upon the floor, with the muz'zles of +their rifles at the windows, seeking something human to kill. +One and all, red and white, they were now raging savages, There +was not one among them who did not have some foul murder of woman +or child to his credit. + +Wyatt himself was mad for revenge. Every evil passion in him was +up and leaping. His eyes, more like those of a wild animal than +a human being, blazed out of a face, a mottled red and black. By +the side of him the dark Tory, Coleman, was driven by impulses +fully as fierce. + +"To think of it!" exclaimed Wyatt. "He led us directly into a +trap, that Ware! And here our band is destroyed! All the good +men that we gathered together, except these few, are killed!" + +"But we may pay them back," said Coleman. "We were in their +trap, but now they are in ours! Listen to that firing and the +war whoop! There are enough Iroquois yet in the town to kill +every one of those rebels!" + +"I hope so! I believe so!" exclaimed Wyatt. "Look out, Coleman! +Ah, he's pinked you! That's the one they call Shif'less Sol, and +he's the best sharpshooter of them all except Ware!" + +Coleman had leaned forward a little in his anxiety to secure a +good aim at something. He had disclosed only a little of his +face, but in an instant a bullet had seared his forehead like the +flaming stroke of a sword, passing on and burying itself in the +wall. Fresh blood dripped down over his face. He tore a strip +from the inside of his coat, bound it about his head, and went on +with the defense. + +A Mohawk, frightfully painted, fired from the other window. Like +a flash came the return shot, and the Indian fell back in the +room, stone dead, with a bullet through his bead. + +"That was Ware himself," said Wyatt. "I told you he was the best +shot of them all. I give him that credit. But they're all good. +Look out! There goes another of our men! It was Ross who did +that! I tell you, be careful! Be careful!" + +It was an Onondaga who fell this time, and he lay with his head +on the window sill until another Indian pulled him inside. A +minute later a Tory, who peeped guardedly for a shot, received a +bullet through his head, and sank down on the floor. A sort of +terror spread among the others. What could they do in the face +of such terrible sharpshooting? It was uncanny, almost +superhuman, and they looked stupidly at one another. Smoke from +their own firing had gathered in the room, and it formed a +ghastly veil about their faces. They heard the crash of the +rifles outside from every point, but no help came to them. + +"We're bound to do something!" exclaimed Wyatt. "Here you, +Jones, stick up the edge of your cap, and when they fire at it +I'll put a bullet in the man who pulls the trigger." + +Jones thrust up his cap, but they knew too much out there to be +taken in by an old trick. The cap remained unhurt, but when +Jones in his eagerness thrust it higher until he exposed his arm, +his wrist was smashed in an instant by a bullet, and he fell back +with a howl of pain. Wyatt swore and bit his lips savagely. He +and all of them began to fear that they were in another and +tighter trap, one from which there was no escape unless the +Iroquois outside drove off the riflemen, and of that they could +as yet see no sign. The sharpshooters held their place behind +the embankment and the little outhouse, and so little as a +finger, even, at the windows became a sure mark for their +terrible bullets. A Seneca, seeking a new trial for a shot, +received a bullet through the shoulder, and a Tory who followed +him in the effort was slain outright. + +The light hitherto had been from the fires, but now the dawn was +coming. Pale gray beams fell over the town, and then deepened +into red and yellow. The beams reached the room where the +beleaguered remains of Wyatt's band fought, but, mingling with +the smoke, they gave a new and more ghastly tint to the desperate +faces. + +"We've got to fight!" exclaimed Wyatt. "We can't sit here and be +taken like beasts in a trap! Suppose we unbar the doors below +and make a rush for it?" + +Coleman shook his head. "Every one of us would be killed within +twenty yards," he said. + +"Then the Iroquois must come back," cried Wyatt. "Where is Joe +Brant? Where is Timmendiquas, and where is that coward, Sir John +Johnson? Will they come?" + +"They won't come," said Coleman. + +They lay still awhile, listening to the firing in the town, which +swayed hither and thither. The smoke in the room thinned +somewhat, and the daylight broadened and deepened. As a +desperate resort they resumed fire from the windows, but three +more of their number were slain, and, bitter with chagrin, they +crouched once more on the floor out of range. Wyatt looked at +the figures of the living and the dead. Savage despair tore at +his heart again, and his hatred of those who bad done this +increased. It was being served out to him and his band as they +had served it out to many a defenseless family in the beautiful +valleys of the border. Despite the sharpshooters, he took +another look at the window, but kept so far back that there was +no chance for a shot. + +"Two of them are slipping away," he exclaimed. "They are Ross +and the one they call Long Jim! I wish I dared a shot! Now +they're gone!" + +They lay again in silence for a time. There was still firing in +the town, and now and then they heard shouts. Wyatt looked at +his lieutenant, and his lieutenant looked at him. + +"Yours is the ugliest face I ever saw," said Wyatt. + +"I can say the same of yours-as I can't see mine," said Coleman. + +The two gazed once more at the hideous, streaked, and grimed +faces of each other, and then laughed wildly. A wounded Seneca +sitting with his back against the wall began to chant a low, +wailing death song. + +"Shut up! Stop that infernal noise!" exclaimed Wyatt savagely. + +The Seneca stared at him with fixed, glassy eyes and continued +his chant. Wyatt turned away, but that song was upon his nerves. +He knew that everything was lost. The main force of the Iroquois +would not come back to his help, and Henry Ware would triumph. +He sat down on the floor, and muttered fierce words under his +breath. + +"Hark!" suddenly exclaimed Coleman. "What is that?" + +A low crackling sound came to their ears, and both recognized it +instantly. It was the sound of flames eating rapidly into wood, +and of that wood was built the house they now held. Even as they +listened they could hear the flames leap and roar into new and +larger life. + +"This is, what those two, Ross and Hart, were up to!" exclaimed +Wyatt. "We're not only trapped, but we're to be burned alive in +our trap!" + +"Not I," said Coleman, "I'm goin' to make a rush for it." + +"It's the only thing to be done," said Wyatt. "Come, all of you +that are left!" + +The scanty survivors gathered around him, all but the wounded +Seneca, who sat unmoved against the wall and continued to chant +his death chant. Wyatt glanced at him, but said nothing. Then +he and the others rushed down the stairs. + +The lower room was filled with smoke, and outside the flames were +roaring. They unbarred the door and sprang into the open air. A +shower of bullets met them. The Tory, Coleman, uttered a choking +cry, threw up his arms, and fell back in the doorway. Braxton +Wyatt seized one of the smaller men, and, holding him a moment or +two before him to receive the fire of his foe, dashed for the +corner of the blazing building. The man whom he held was slain, +and his own shoulder was grazed twice, but he made the corner. +In an instant he put the burning building between him and his +pursuers, and ran as he had never run before in all his life, +deadly fear putting wings on his heels. As he ran he heard the +dull boom of a cannon, and he knew that tile American army was +entering the Seneca Castle. Ahead of him he saw the last of the +Indians fleeing for the woods, and behind him the burning house +crashed and fell in amid leaping flames and sparks in myriads. +He alone had escaped from the house. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +DOWN THE OHIO + + +"We didn't get Wyatt," said Henry, "but we did pretty well, +nevertheless." + +"That's so," said Shif'less Sol. "Thar's nothin' left o' his +band but hisself, an' I ain't feelin' any sorrow 'cause I helped +to do it. I guess we've saved the lives of a good many innocent +people with this morning's work." + +"Never a doubt of it," said Henry, "and here's the army now +finishing up the task." + +The soldiers were setting fire to the town in many places, and in +two hours the great Seneca Castle was wholly destroyed. The five +took no part in this, but rested after their battles and labors. +One or two had been grazed by bullets, but the wounds were too +trifling to be noticed. As they rested, they watched the fire, +which was an immense one, fed by so much material. The blaze +could be seen for many miles, and the ashes drifted over all the +forest beyond the fields. + +All the while the Iroquois were fleeing through the wilderness to +the British posts and the country beyond the lakes, whence their +allies had already preceded them. The coals of Little Beard's +Town smoldered for two or three days, and then the army turned +back, retracing its steps down the Genesee. + +Henry and his comrades felt that their work in the East was +finished. Kentucky was calling to them. They had no doubt that +Braxton Wyatt, now that his band was destroyed, would return +there, and he would surely be plotting more danger. It was their +part to meet and defeat him. They wished, too, to see again the +valley, the river, and the village in which their people had made +their home, and they ,wished yet more to look upon the faces of +these people. + +They left the army, went southward with Heemskerk and some others +of the riflemen, but at the Susquehanna parted with the gallant +Dutchman and his comrades. + +"It is good to me to have known you, my brave friends," said +Heemskerk, "and I say good-by with sorrow to you, Mynheer Henry; +to you, Mynheer Paul; to you, Mynheer Sol; to you, Mynheer Tom; +and to you, Mynheer Jim." + +He wrung their hands one by one, and then revolved swiftly away +to hide his emotion. + +The five, rifles on their shoulders, started through the forest. +When they looked back they saw Cornelius Heemskerk waving his +hand to them. They waved in return, and then disappeared in the +forest. It was a long journey to Pittsburgh, but they found it a +pleasant one. It was yet deep autumn on the Pennsylvania hills, +and the forest was glowing with scarlet and gold. The air was +the very wine of life, and when they needed game it was there to +be shot. As the cold weather hung off, they did not hurry, and +they enjoyed the peace of the forest. They realized now that +after their vast labors, hardships, and dangers, they needed a +great rest, and they took it. It was singular, and perhaps not +so singular, how their minds turned from battle, pursuit, and +escape, to gentle things. A little brook or fountain pleased +them. They admired the magnificent colors of the foliage, and +lingered over the views from the low mountains. Doe and fawn +fled from them, but without cause. At night they built splendid +fires, and sat before them, while everyone in his turn told tales +according to his nature or experience. + +They bought at Pittsburgh a strong boat partly covered, and at +the point where the Allegheny and the Monongahela unite they set +sail down the Ohio. It was winter now, but in their stout +caravel they did not care. They had ample supplies of all kinds, +including ammunition, and their hearts were light when they swung +into the middle of the Ohio and moved with its current. + +"Now for a great voyage," said Paul, looking at the clear stream +with sparkling eyes. + +"I wonder what it will bring to us," said Shif'less Sol. + +"We shall see," said Henry. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of Scouts of the Valley, by Altsheler + |